this was november 4!?

The Seattle area greeted us with the most beautiful weather upon our arrival last week. Seriously, Jon can't stop talking about his gorgeous view from the window seat on our flight into the city (probably the first time he's had a window seat since we started flying together). We flew past Mt. Rainier and saw Mt. Baker in the north, then circled north of Seattle and spotted Everett and the southern tip of Camano Island. And this was all just before sunset--you know, the magic hour with the most beautiful light. Anyway, we could hardly wait to spend some time with some of our favorite people in one of our favorite places 5 minutes from my mom's house, so on Thursday when Kendal and Amber got home from school, we headed to Mukilteo beach. (It's a shame my mom and Kenny didn't come... we seriously played hard and had a blast!) And it was like 70 degrees. In November, folks. We celebrated with ice cream from Woody's and K and A wore shorts for the occasion.

timing simultaneous swinging for photos is difficult. proof:

oh the water and the ferries and the trees and the sounds of the Sound

this park has some ingenious toys--it's probably more fun than any park I played at as a kid

but beware of things that look like tire swings but aren't

I'd like to prove to the world that I let Emory eat dirt and such (for those who never thought it would happen). And eat and play he did, so much that he had to be stripped before getting in his car seat for fear of future splinters.


and for comparison, please notice a few differences from our day at this same park this past July:
1. the handmade windmills going crazy in the wind
2. all of us were in attendance, though Kendal and Kenny aren't pictured in these photos
3. we were more warmly dressed in July than we were last week (most of us)
4. poor sickly Emory didn't even enjoy his first time in a baby swing
5. my mom's expression of absolute glee on the spinny toy thing