Summer update: June & July (part of August?)

Oh well, I uploaded them and they are all out of order chronologically... that's OK :)

 Memorial Day picnic- we finally enjoy the yard we have laboured to upkeep for three years!

Strawberry harvest!

 Surprise!

 Strawberry- Rhubarb Crisp from the garden (the fruit at least is from the garden!)

 Waiting in line at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal to go to Orcas Island

 On the ferry

 Leo bathing in the kitchen sink - why not?!

Garden door project is officially done- painted to match the exterior trim of the house and finally that door is out of the garage :) Cut a small window in it for funsies (turns out to be perfectly placed for latch access). Also, I think that the winter winds will come whipping through and the window will give better airflow so as not to stress the latch too much.

Shelf installed in the laundry room. Now we will not collect junk on top of the machines! It is a small feature that makes the room feel more cozy instead of bleak.

Michelle prepared Shabbat dinner on a night when I was really pining for it. I came home to this and the love and sweetness brought me to tears.

Load up for a ride, Leo!

 Butterflies have been frequenting the secret garden

 M braids out garlic harvest. Turns out we had 53 heads!

 Up on the wall as both decor and so we can access garlic in the kitchen easily!

Cute little boy :)

 Frequent visitor to our yard. He is the ringleader of two other young bucks. That was a hot day and he bedded down for a siesta just outside the office window

 Greg shares valuable secrets with Leo

 And then we meet Aeofa ("ee-fuh") Greg's 10-week old lab puppy :)

 Serge reminds Leo that hiking is just something we do

Upside down picture: Sockeye salmon caught by our neighbor Archie. She turned out to be about 4.5 pounds.

 Leo considers the fate of seahorses in general and the resident orcas (who feed exclusively on sockeye salmon)

 Josie (Greg and Becky's daughter) has a good hold on young Leo!

 Grandpa G introducing Leo to the new dogwood tree, planted to honour his father and Leo's great grandfather.

 Grandma C and Grandpa G with a tree-happy baby

 "This is my new toy?"

 Gato love. Otto is probably cozy.... Fiona, not so much.

Cousin Surabhi and Aunt Barbara with Leo at his first food ceremony

 We tried to feed him carrots... he almost took to them :)

 Gorgeous boy

 Aunt Katie and Uncle Kevin explain the intricacies of BBQ on the 4th of July

Grandpa T and Nonna take us out to brunch for M's birthday.

Spring update: March-May 2018

So, from the last post... Leo was born in February. So in January we pretty much took a mellow month. Our culminating date was a trip to the big city! We drove to Seattle, went to a trendy Chinese Dim Sum restaurant and beat the 2 hour line, then saw the musical, The Book of Mormon. We had the very top seats in the house and eventually moved to chairs behind the back aisle! But that turned out well because we had binoculars and could see everything very clear, like we were much closer. And the second set was very comfortable too :)

And this post is essentially from the end March after the outpouring of love and support and visits from friends and family through February and into March. We took a trip to Southern California to see Leo's great-grandparents as well as other family members and friends. We also took the chance to eat sushi wherever we could including a trendy place - KazuNori- in downtown L.A. (and desert next door at Big Man Bakes). More sushi at a new place in La Jolla, tucked away in the corner of a shopping center and it was incredible-- the REAL deal :) After we got back I managed a trip up to UBC and timed it for the cherry blossoms 「桜」 on west campus. Awesome again this year!!

I'll blog the uncomfortable topic too of my grandfather dying 3 weeks after we visited. We held the funeral for him on Earth Day. But it was great that Leo and Eli shared a brief window of time together... we have pics to prove it! The funeral was a boomerang trip for me, less than 48 hours to San Diego and back. Seeing the family was so nice though. There were so many relatives who loved my grandfather and they all showed up. If they couldn't stay for the funeral, they had at least been there as he was passing on. I managed to see all but three cousins, as they were there earlier in the week before I arrived. We'll miss you Saba. Thanks for being such a steadfast role model in my life. The night before the funeral, the sun set in La Jolla in a fashion that I can't help but feel has meaning. A line... right down the middle of the sunset. How "Strich" !

Then getting used to living with Leo. Good days and easier days :) Sleep is a weird thing... we are on his schedule. And we celebrated Michelle's first Mother's Day and we have been enjoying our yard (albeit working hard to maintain it) and picnicking quite a bit, both at Lake Padden and at home too. My proposal came back and I'll be editing the third draft for acceptance soon. I am getting pumped to complete this portion of the PhD and hope to work on things throughout the summer too so I can get ready for a fall start to data collection.

And now, as June starts, we are in strawberry harvest season. Yes! Finally, some of the hard work is paying off :) And the garlic ought to be up by the time Dad and Chris come up here around the time of the summer solstice.