Vivian

After we finally got rid of Amy and her kids left on Saturday, we headed down to Tacoma for a visit with the newest Reading and her parents.

We hadn't seen her since her third day on the planet, so we were unbearably anxious to hold her again.

And she didn't disappoint.  What a sweetie!!
She is so content with such a pleasant disposition.  It's nice to see that her Grandpa contributed to her personality.

We sat outside on Jeff and Niki's lovely patio and enjoyed the sun and the baby.

Then we set out for dinner at a sushi restaurant.  You couldn't ask for a better baby.
The server brought a high chair that was turned upside down to hold her infant seat.
Vivi promptly fell fast asleep (tragically unphotographed) and we enjoyed a terrific meal.

Jeff had purchased tickets to the Tacoma Rainiers baseball game, so Vivi finally got to see a game.  The sun was pretty bright, so she needed the proper accoutrements.

Pretty cool stadium.

Seriously - this is the only way to watch a game.

And once you realize that you're not in the sun, you can remove the shades and don the hat.

Baseball games do move at a rather leisurely pace....

And so she napped for a couple innings.

Some pitchers are six-inning guys, some are seven-inning guys.
We had a five-inning baby.  So we went back home to get her into bed.

Nana and Grandpa got to stay in Jeff and Niki's spare room, so we had some extra Vivi time on Sunday.
Apparently, Vivi was full of smiles in the morning but Grandpa slept late and missed them.  No photos either.

But in the van on the way to breakfast, Nana got some smiles.  It's her specialty.

And the little darling (Vivi) was a perfect baby in the restaurant again.

She has the biggest eyes and just locks in on you when she looks at you.

And what is sweeter than a baby sleeping?

Her Nana made her a beautiful quilt, so we needed to get some photos on Vivi on it.

We miss her already and cannot wait to see her again.

Sorry for the lack of photos of Vivi with her grandparents.
Jeff took some and I am hoping to get them from him soon.
So watch this space for updates.

Yet Another Sunny Day

Yes, Grandpa's sunny disposition provided another sun filled day for everyone to enjoy.
The perfect day for a visit to a new playground in Mount Vernon.

But wait - there's more!!

It's not just a playground - it's also a water park!  And since it was the warmest day we've had so far this year, the water was on.

At least for a while.

So the kids were eager to show off their bronzed and toned bodies.

They did a fine job of avoiding the streams of water.

And then, mysteriously, the water stopped.

We waited and waited but....... nothing.

An indignant young mother next to us pulled out her cell phone and called Parks and Recreation to see what was up.  She was told that the water had been turned on "accidentally" and that water was not scheduled to be turned on until June 1.

Amazing.

So Lydia took up the cause and called them back, patiently explaining that we don't get that many beautiful days around here, there were many kids here with bathing suits on and it's Memorial Day weekend for Pete's sake so come on!

And they listened to reason and turned the water back on.
It didn't take long for the place to fill up with young families.

It was great fun getting drenched.

Even some of the grown ups couldn't resist.

And while the grown ups weren't paying attention, someone slipped away to steal some chips.

Get some meat on those bones, kid!

Miniature Donkeys!!

One day while driving around the Skagit Flats, I noticed a new establishment on Best Road.

A sign that read "Miniature Donkeys".

And sure enough, there was a barn and a pen and tiny little donkeys roaming around.  I made a mental note to bring the Reading/Farmers here during their visit.  I knew the kids would love them.

And by kids I mean Amy.

So one evening we went to see what we could see.

They are pretty cute.

They have a dark stripe running down their back and another on across their shoulders.

We knew we needed to feed them.

Once we realized that we were drawing them over to an electrified fence, we moved to the other side.

And everyone got in on the act.

I think this guy was our favorite.

Odds And Ends

Not every day was picture perfect, so some of our fun was indoors.
Even so, we didn't let a little cloudiness stop up from exploring Schuh Farms in Mount Vernon.

There, we got to feed the chickens.

On the way home, we spotted an eagle on top of a pole and I (of course) needed to photograph him.

We went for a drive around March Point and spotted the largest group of great blue herons we've ever seen.  Unfortunately, it was impossible to get a photo of them all at once since they scattered when we got out of the car.  But I did capture some in flight and on the ground.

We ventured over to The Children's Museum in Burlington where the kids put on a play for us.
Here's Elmo.

And other assorted characters.

There was a crane for the kids to play with.

There was even a real Peterbilt truck for them to climb in and drive, which went unphotographed.
They also had a great time on the boat, which was Jasper's favorite due to that captain's hats that he could wear.

Somehow he didn't have it on in this picture.

More to come......