Diggin' to China

Note to self: If it seems like the dog has been outside for too long, he might be working on digging a hole to China.

On the other hand, if he makes it there, it might not be a bad thing.

Maybe he could work on destroying a house there, instead of mine.


Unrelated info: Simon's self-created Halloween costume
Robox. I have no words to explain.

Project Canine Confinement and Seabrook Pictures

It's not easy to keep this dog confined to one space. He always seems to find a way to escape. We tried different furniture arrangements, but he just kept finding a way to jump through the opening in the living room. We needed a gate for the widest part of the hallway which could only be purchased online. We also needed something that Simon could open and walk through, so I decided to build one.
In other news, last week we took a little break from summer to visit Seabrook on the Washington coast. We never saw the sun the whole time we were there and I actually forgot it was July. But the boys enjoyed the house and beach anyway.
Freckles liked it too.
He really liked being off his leash on the beach, so much so that he didn't want to come back to us. I really thought we might have to run to Ocean Shores to catch him, but eventually the birds he was chasing turned around and we were able to capture him.

One day we stopped in Ocean Shores for some lunch at La Chica Taqueria. It was good and the owner/chef/cashier (she does it all) was kind of like the soup Nazi from Seinfeld. She even threw a box at one customer when he tried to order steak tacos which were not on the menu.
The boys split a burrito. The menu claims them to be one and a half pound burritos. Torsten wasn't sure he'd get enough by splitting, but then he got a churro for dessert. My mom and dad came along to see the Coastal Living Idea house. It was nice, but I thought it was too much money (2 million) to spend on a place where there's no sun.

Clam Island

There is an island in the middle of Dyes Inlet that only appears on days with extremely low tides. Torsten was lucky enough to be with his friend and a canoe on one of those days and they rowed out to do some exploring. It seems the wildlife is much larger and more plentiful than what can be found closer to shore.
Check out the size of these snails!
Torsten's friend also makes him look a little short, even though Torsten is somewhere around the 90th percentile for his height. His friend must be off the chart.

Paul Rabil Camp

It's been pretty quiet around our house lately since Torsten has been away at Lacrosse camp. Last week he was in Mercer Island playing lacrosse with his favorite professional player, Paul Rabil. This week will be even more quiet, since he is at the University of Washington for a sleepover lacrosse camp.

Crazy Dog

This is what happens every time we try to eat at our house.

Summer!

The sun came out a bit today and we took the opportunity to act like it is actually summer. We took the kids and dog to Fay Bainbridge State Park. It was Freckles first trip to the beach and he seemed to like it.
Steve spent the whole time on his phone.

Now that school is out, I might actually have some time for blogging. Lately, I've been busy with this guy.
Don't let his good looks fool you. He is one tough case.
Not only does he dig holes in the back yard, he chews through laptop power cords (there's another excuse for not blogging), eat socks, and requires constant supervision.

We are only two days away from obedience graduation, although, I'm not sure he'll make it. He's definitely not going to be graduating cum laude.

Moving on to the other kids...Simon got a head start on his summer reading and already finished three books and wrote book reports for them. I've promised $5 for each book he reads this summer, so at this rate, I could owe him a pretty big sum.

Torsten finished 6th grade this week. And although not a perfect student, he did get the President's award. Here's looking forward to 7th grade, a new school, new friends, playing football, and five teachers (he's not really looking forward to that).
Now we have two months of more dog training, lacrosse, and maybe turning the backyard into a mini-golf course. The holes are ready to go!

Torsten's newest accessory

Apparently pink casts are fashionable these days. Torsten has a friend and a rubber playground ball to thank for his.

I guess four square isn't as safe as one would have thought.

But now lacrosse will have to end for the season, and we have one sad boy on our hands.

At least he has a new friend to keep him company.

Another Excuse Not to Vacuum

Freckles is our new dog and he is definitely changing life at the Robinson house. Not only does he hate the vacuum, he also loves to eat non-food items.
Like socks.
And plastic water bottles.
And pine cones.

When we try to take those things away from him, he runs.
And he's fast.
Really, really fast.

If he finally gets caught, he tries to keep the item from us permanently.
By swallowing it.
I'm still waiting for the DS screen cloth to make it way through his digestive system.

How many days should I wait before I start to worry?

When he isn't whining, he makes me laugh

Our break is coming to a close. It's still raining. And the only interesting thing has been hanging out with this guy.
He is definitely one of a kind.

Spring Break Disaster

Mariner's Spring Training in Phoenix, exploring the history of our country in Washington D.C., and walking the beach in Newport Beach were all on my list of possibilities for Spring Break this year.

But I decided we should stay home, pay the taxes, and save a little money.

What was I thinking?

This Spring Break has been so boring. The rain hasn't helped; but really, I'm not sure we'd have behaved differently if it weren't raining. I've already read 2-1/2 books, watched too many hours of TV, and eaten half of the Easter candy.

I will not repeat my mistake next year.

Then and Now

It's amazing how much our kids have grown. It doesn't seem like that long ago that they were small enough to pick up and hold. And even though some things get easier as they get older, I still find myself a little sad that they've grown up so fast.

Photographic evidence of growth:

December 2002:February 2010:
June 2006:
February 2010:
June 2006:
February 2010:
June 2006:
February 2010:
June 2006:
Februrary 2010:

The O.C.

It's slightly embarrassing to admit to having watched the TV show, The O.C., but it's true.

While we were in California, I made Steve take me to Newport Beach so I could see where it all didn't really take place. Because apparently, the show wasn't actually filmed in Newport Beach, which really shouldn't surprise me.

But we were still there.
In the O.C.
Enjoying some sun and warmth.
Checking out the surfers (and there were a lot of them).
Hanging with some cool birds.
Playing in the sand.

I wish we were still there. Because even though there has been some sun here lately, it hasn't been the 77 degrees we felt in California. Which is basically the most perfect temperature.