A Day Late and a Dollar Short (So Sorry Jess)

We love love love you Aunt Jess, Jessie, Bad-A** Pontoon-Boat Driver, Ms. Jessica McDougall, Gabrielle's Mommy, Jeffrey's Secret Weapon. Happy Birthday (yesterday) to one of the loveliest ladies I know. xoxo

4 lbs to 4 yrs

Holy cow Hank, how you have grown. Happy Happy Birthday! You are the best little man I know.Meg and I found this little frock while sorting baby clothes to sell at an upcoming garage sale. Henry wore this during his 21 day stay in the ICN at TG. I'm not even sure the photo does it justice...this thing is small! He was about 4.5 lbs when he was finally able to wear it. I can still remember the absurd excitement I felt looking forward to him being able to wear clothes.

Girl Talk (aka: The Best Dollar I Ever Spent at a Garage Sale, Ever)

Spin 1(Liz): "Do 25 sit ups in 1 minute." - done and hilarious

Spin 2 (Henry): "If you won a million dollars, what would you spend it on?" - "a truck full of waterguns"

Spin 3 (Megan): "Call a boy and sing him your favorite song." - Pete O'Connor was the lucky recipient of this "California Girls" call.

Spin 4 (Liz): "Make another player laugh." - back to sit ups, I knew that would do it.

After the game ran it's course, Henry's fortune cards fortold that he would, "have 3 children, marry a girl named Megan and honeymoon at Tookie's Beach House. After 4 years at a dead-end-job he would end up in law school and also win the lottery, allowing him to buy his dream car, a Chevy Silverado."

For fear of having to wear a "zit sticker", ice cubes were down shirts, funny faces were held for 30 seconds, and prank calls to our favorite boys were made. This game is in the dictionary under the word, "awesome".

Korean Noodle Cuss

Nah, there wasn't really anything else I needed to do today.

...And a Happy Day to Grandma Pati Too!

Wow, the train of Birthdays is non-stop around here. We love any excuse to celebrate, and Grandma Pati is a great cause. Think we'll make a cake in her honor tonight, but we can't promise any spare pieces by the time she gets into town next week. (We'll make another one when you get here Pati) :)

Happy Day Grandpa Mike

Happy Birthday to a very special Grandpa. We love you Dad.

The Evolution of July 4th

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a party held every 4th of July. The scene was loud and blurred. One year at a small farmhouse in Lakewood, WA the lawn caught on fire due to one of the usual attendants, a Mr. Comartin's inclination to light fireworks from between his legs.

To say the scene has changed is an understatement. We've added a few underaged party-goers, upgraded the neighborhood a bit and traded a our home-made fireworks display for a view of the Comencement Bay fireworks. But the beer and the friends are the same (some of them anyway, we miss you Kevin) and we wouldn't have it any other way. The 4th of July will always be the McDougall holiday.

Phew!

I'm a few short feet from a finished fence...close enough that I can share a photo anyway. (only details missing in this photo are the 4x4 fence post caps that I added later) Malia helped get me started Tuesday morning and I've been hard at work all week. Deadline for this project was set for July 4th and it looks like I will just make it. Lu is quite a fastener assistant, handing me a few, burrying a few more in the dirt and Hank makes sure to tap all my screws in just a little bit farther with his hammer. We are a motly crew, but we've gotten the job done.