This really just for Sarah. Sophia was cold the other day so I pulled out the hat Sarah gave here a long time ago and it still fit. Sophia really enjoyed wearing it and kept asking to wear it even after it warmed up.

One of our goals this summer, I’ll still pretend it’s summer, was to build a fence on the south side of the house to close off the only open gap in our backyard. So over the last few weeks I managed to coerce Dad into helping me build a nice wood fence. Here is a picture with my favorite model!

As those of you who have visited our place can attest; the backyard was a little overgrown. One of the areas that  worried me the most with the upcoming winter was this beautiful tree planted in the backyard behind the garage. It is nice and tall and really healthy but was planted way to close to the house!

It’s always fun to revisit a hike that you have fond memories of…    Saturday I was able to do just that as I dragged several members of my family, including my dad, hiking up to Juniper  peak.

I was asked to come up with a good hike for a bunch of guys who really wanted to be macho and enjoy the great outdoors. I looked around and decided to hike to Upper Wildcat Lake. Fortunately things didn’t turn out quite that way! I ended up not being able to get off work until fairly late Friday so I got a rather late start . . . everyone else left at 2PM to make it to the trailhead at a decent hour! As I pulled in to the parking lot I was a bit unhappy about my 18:15 start time.

Today, Sophia had her first McDonald’s hamburger, definitely a milestone. She turned two on Saturday, so I thought she was finally old enough to have one. When she was little (one year old!) I tried to keep her away from fries, hamburgers and other fast food junk. We did have some favorite fast food places though: Burger King, Subway, Taco Bell. In each of these places, she could have reasonably decent food – nothing fried, greasy, or fatty.

  For the last few months I’ve been riding the sounder commuter rail to Seattle and then riding my bike the remaining 5 miles to work. It’s great exercise and really wake a person up in the morning! One of the nice things about riding my bike is exploring new places. I normally ride over capitol hill sticking to the major roads to make good time. BUT when I get the chance I like to take wild new rides. Some of the more enjoyable have been:

1. Volunteer park: I really want to spend some time here going through the conservatory but haven't had the opportunity yet.  The water tower looks like an old fortress and the view out over the lake are amazing… I haven’t had a clear day since I’ve started carrying my camera but with the Olympics in the background it’s just breathtaking!

2. Gasworks park: This park is one of those places I’ve seen from a distance while riding for a long time. So I decided to take a longer, less hilly, route and see it up close and personal. It is very scenic and will be great fun to take the family to.  Definitely worth the extra work.