School is out!

Finally school is out. It is still cold and we have not had a summer to speak of but at least no more school! Last week we went to Carkeek Park and the beach for a day. I love being down there at a low tide. We have been seeing far less creatures at the beach this year. I guess since it was so cold the algae has grown less which means less cover and protection for the animals and as a result less creatures in the tide pools.

Then we went strawberry picking with Jen and Zoey up in Watcom County. It has been 30 years since I last picked strawberries and this was epic. The berries came with a snap of the bush and were at their absolute prime. I wanted to pick Shuksan since their are a little tarter and high in pectin which makes them ideal for jam. Oh yes, canning season has started.

This week the girls did their first set of camps. In the morning both of them went to "Camp Galaxy" at Wedgwood Presbyterian. Marlene did not want to go this year but by the end of the week she had to admit that she had a lot of fun. Amelia was excited 24/7. In the afternoon Marlene had an additional camp. It was a softball special skill camp. She practiced the catcher position. Off course they worked on hitting and pitching, too.

And then 4th of July came. It was a typical miserable cold and wet Northwestern one. We celebrated with friends in Tacoma. The girls had fun with setting off little fire crackers and running around with the other kids. I was confined to a chair since I had rolled my ankle the day before and was barely able to walk. I hope it will not take too long to heal since I will be doing a lot of walking in Germany.

Happy Summer everyone!