A little of this, a little of that

During our bonafide heat wave (we broke the record for the hottest day ever in Seattle), we met with Great Grandpa Hugh for dinner at some major chain restaurants because they have air conditioning, sorely needed as it was 108* in Kirkland (I could actually feel the 5* temperature increase when I left Seattle and arrived in Redmond). Grandpa Hugh can't get enough of his only great-grandchild and looks forward to our weekly dinner night together.

During the heat wave, Harrison (and Winston) slept in our bedroom since it had the AC unit. We ate picnic like dinners on the bed and once the boys were asleep in their play yard or kennel, mom and dad popped open the laptop and watched some downloaded tv show and movies. One night, we found Harrison sleeping on his side for the first time ever! He recently got pretty good at rolling over front to back and back to front so he rolled himself onto his side to sleep.

On Sunday 8/2, we went to Uncle John, Aunt Shivonne and cousin Gillian's house for a "casual" Sunday meal. John (a chef at heart) took the opportunity to smoke and BBQ some baby back ribs and let me tell you, these are the best you will ever have! They also have a giant garden of flowers, fruits and vegetables so Gillian and I picked blackberries and marionberries to accompany the ice cream for dessert.

"Auntie Bon Bon" captured Harrison's attention with this flower; I have never noticed him pay any attention to flowers before.

They also have several chickens in the back to provide fresh eggs. I was holding Harrison so he could stand on the deck and look and one of those sneaky suckers came over and suddenly turned her neck and pecked his toes! He barely flinched but Gillian says that they will peck at ladies painted toes because they looks like berries. From then on mom and baby kept their toes away from the hen pecking.

The last weekend in July brings about "Seafair" which is a huge celebration of all things sea related in the Puget Sound. There is a big parade, marathon, a "pirate ship" that lands and shoots a canon with a huge boom. My two favorite parts are:

(1) the Navy's aerial stunt team the "Blue Angles" which spend weekdays practicing before the big events on Saturday and Sunday. Not only are they super cool, but the view from the 47th floor of my office building is nearly unbeatable. A couple years ago one of the planes buzzed really close and I could clearly see the pilots face in the cockpit.

(2) The parade of ships through Elliot Bay. A bunch of Navy, Coast Guard and fire boats form a line and sail through Elliot Bay which I watch from the vantage point of my office (there is some loss of productivity by everyone on the floor on these days!). Usually there are maybe 20 ships including aircraft carriers and a nuclear submarine and the seaman stand on deck in their uniforms standing at salute throughout the parade. This year most of them must have been out on deployment because there were only 4 navy ships, a couple of coast guard ships and 4 fire boats. I think the fire boats are fun and still enjoyed watching the water spray... it reminds me of water parks in the kiddie pool.

The large boats at dock and cutting through the middle are ferries. The actual parade forms a big C shape in the image above.

What better way for a dog and dog's-best-friend to beat the heat then to hang out in the slew at Marymoor Dog Park. We stayed about an hour so Winston could run off some energy (he spent 22 hours a day in our bedroom during the heat) and then we left because even at 10am it was getting too hot to have the baby outside.

Writing this two or so weeks later, I must say that we are glad it is cloudy and rainy, a much needed reprieve! The heat did spur me to tackle my project to make some heavy drapes in an effort to keep the house cool. I finished the kitchen drapes but still need to work on the living room which will take me a whole weekend. Those projects will have to be a separate post.