Camping

Daughter and I have been on San Juan Island, camping with friends. Here is our campsite...
the view from the campsite...

friends playing Apples to Apples...

camp mascot, Davey...

Daughter turned 14 on Thursday; here is the birthday girl!

Two friends also had birthdays within the week, so we celebrate the lives of all three girls!

The biggest draw to San Juan Island is Orca whale watching. The best viewing is at Lime Kiln State Park, a short seven minute drive from the campground. Volunteer whale experts track whale movement as well as educate the public.

Daughter is looking intently for any sign of fin activity.

And wouldn't you know it, at 7:00 this morning, J-pod swam right past the campground!

Of course, I missed it, as I came home on Saturday. Oh, well, daughter took lots of pictures!

Marmaduke lives across the street from me!

These are my neighbors two Great Danes. They are pure bred show dogs. Serena, on the left, is the (smaller) female.

This is Spirit, a VERY large male. (See my house in the background?!)

Spirit is the star of the new movie Marmaduke! Well, he and his brother shared the lead role. It was too much for just one dog.

Yikes! I was afraid Spirit was going to lick my face!

(Please pardon my gardening clothes; the sun is actually shining, and the weeds are a-growin!)

Musical Daughter

I was trying to upload a video of the homeschool choir, but after two hours, I gave up. So here is daughter singing with the choir at a Ladies Tea (at a Reformed Baptist Church, of all things!).
Here's my beautiful girl. The choir 'uniform' is black pants with this burgundy t-shirt that has their theme on the back... Shout with joy to God, all the earth.
Sing the glory of his name. Make his praise glorious. Ps. 66:1-2

Our church had a Ladies Tea a few weeks ago. Daughter and friend Sarah sang a song called "Sisters"; they played it up and made the audience laugh!

Then there was the annual piano recital. Here is daughter and her teacher. The teacher is a real flower child. She drives a yellow VW bug and she dresses sort of like a hippie. She has such a great personality; daughter loves her as voice and piano teacher.

When I had a piano recital, the music had to be memorized. Everyone would wear nice clothes. I would stand up and say "I shall play Blah Blah Blah by So and So", or if it was a duet, "We will play ... by...". Afterwards we were supposed to take a bow. Well, not at daughters recital. Kids wore what they pleased, the teacher announced the songs, and the kids skipped away from the piano without a second look. The formal atmosphere made me so nervous; this relaxed recital was just alot of fun!