part 3

My Aunt Sue was like a mom to me growing up... but since she wasn't my mom she was definitely more a friend as well. She & my Uncle Mike had my brother & I at their house all the time; they took us camping, we went swimming constantly at Mike's mom's place on Lake Burien, we went to the library, we played with their dogs, the list is endless. So Sue had some great plans for her time with my family: she had sticker activity books for the boys, chocolate muffins and macaroni & cheese (in that order), we went to the pet store & the boys picked out fish, we got books at her local used book store, and (on a separate day) we got to cruise Lk Burien on the "party barge!"

Charlie got a little too literal about "picking out" a goldfish. Sam was delighted with the experience (he chose a Cardinal Tetra), really, I promise. Below, Dan thought he'd chat about the solar system with the boys while they played with the sticker book... but he got schooled by Isaac who, sponge that he is, explained exactly why Mars is known as "the red planet." It's always hilarious to have a 5-yr-old tell you about iron oxidization.

Mike was enamored most of Charlie - he believes him to be the smartest, most observant baby ever. They bonded a lot, with Charlie always preferring to sit next to Mike... is that what makes him the smartest?
The day we hit Lk Burien (a really tiny all-private lake with mill foil covering the bottom), I was a total shutterbug. I tried out a few artistic shots of flowers and ducks, managed a couple decent portraits, plenty of casual action shots, and threw in a close-up of my shoes just because I loved the juxtoposition of texture with the water below me. Of course, I'm only showing the ones that turned out best. The boys had a great time feeding the ducks and themselves (stale bread and popsicles, yum).