Blogger is having issues with the pictures loading in reverse chronological order... but rather than re-ordering all 30 or so pics I'm putting in this post, I'm leaving them in the order they loaded in. I'll try to at least label the photos so you know what event they belong with!
Mark is excited...
...because we just hung up our indoor hammock-seat! We got it many years ago in Germany, and stored it in our garage since we got here. I was hesitant to hang it in our garden because the squirrels around here have a reputation for chewing through hammock strings. We have recently had to rearrange the furniture in the living room to accommodate a certain walking, climbing youngster, so we decided to add the hammock for fun. 
Last weekend we had a wonderful visit with Gramma and Grampa Griffing. We went blueberry picking and Gramma and Mark made breakfast and there was much reading and cuddling and playing. 
Both Mark and Sean really love spending time with the Grandparents. It was fun to see that Sean really recognizes my Dad, and wanted to be held by him, volunteering snuggles and hugs. 
On August 2, 2011 Ben and I had our 8-year-wedding anniversary. Ben surprised me by taking me on a date to have a delicious crab dinner. We rarely go out without the kids (because we are one of those weird families who actually enjoy being together), and it was a treat to have Ben all to myself for a few hours! Add in wonderful food and a breathtaking view of the sun setting over the Columbia, and our evening was just perfect. I love you, Sweetie!
Don't be fooled for a moment by the angelic curls... do you see that little twinkle in Sean's eyes? This one means mischief! (In German: "Ihm sitzt der Schalk im Nacken!")
Sean now thinks of himself as a walker, and only rarely crawls. Thank goodness for the extra padding the diaper gives him, because he frequently tries to walk so speedily that he falls down a whole lot.
Sean especially loves following Mark everywhere. 
Sean frequently wakes up at the crack of dawn. I am able to "cheat" and get him to fall asleep again by snuggling and nursing him. This means he sleeps in our bed from about 5am-8am, but I'm ok with that because it means I get a little bit more sleep. 
About 2 weeks ago I climbed our giant bigleaf maple to cut out a bunch of dead wood. A few widow-makers were dangling precariously above the area of our garden where Mark most likes to play. We are getting ready to build a tree fort with some wood our neighbor gave us, and so didn't want to risk large logs falling on anyone's head. We also didn't want to pay the $300-800 that were quoted us by tree services, so I slipped into my climbing harness and fastened myself to the tree while Ben was on belay. I ended up climbing about 35-ish feet (about 11-12m) into the air. 
Here is a picture of the tree, as seen from our neighbor's yard (I'm not sure if he took pictures because he thought I would surely die, or because he just thought it was interesting). If you click on the picture to open it in a new window, you can see the red arrows on the branches that I cut. The yellow arrow shows my leg.
Here are all but 2 of the branches I cut down. The 2 missing ones landed in the neighbor's yard (in spite roping them before cutting). We gave them to our friends for fire wood.
Mark and Ben and Dad had fun a few weeks ago making "bacon pie" for men's night. Mark enjoys helping in the kitchen.
Sean really likes Grampa Bradley, and it seems that the feeling is mutual! :o) We are so thankful that Larry lives so close to us. 
Here is Mark, reading while we drive home from Gig Harbor (sorry pics are out of sequence). Mark got lucky, and didn't inherit Katie's tendency for motion-sickness. He can (and does!) read for hours in the car. 
We had such a wonderful afternoon at Great-Grandma-Nana-Carol's house (Mark still insists on calling her by all of her names, even though she told him just to call her Nana). 
Mark had fun playing with his cousin (2nd cousin?) Evan, and they made a fun little robot craft, which he is showing to Nana in this picture. 
I can hardly believe my luck. I caught Ben in a picture with a real smile! Too bad the picture is a little out of focus... but it's a keeper nonetheless. 
Sean wasn't able to play in the grass because Ben's uncle had just treated the lawn for bugs, weeds, moss, pH, and aliens. This meant he got to be held a lot. 
This would have been a lot more difficult if Sean hadn't spent a good bit of the afternoon sleeping. He was tired out from a night of teething. 
Mark and Evan had a great time playing in Nana's forest. It is every little boy's dream in there!
Mark showing his little robot craft. This was the boys' very own idea: they asked for paper and pens and scissors and tape, and disappeared into the kitchen for about half an hour. 
Sean, who normally never naps during the day, made everyone jealous of his apparent ability to sleep through anything...So, now you are caught up on some of what we have been up to, and definitely on the pictures I have from past weeks. I will try to be more diligent in posting...
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