happy birthday natalie & tyler!

Hooray, our new niece/cousin was born on April 29th, just after midnight. In the "couldn't have planned it if you'd tried" category, it is also her daddy's birthday. We can't wait to meet little Natalie.

camp-in at the pacific science center

On Friday night, Neil and I (along with a couple hundred other cub scouts and parents) spent the night inside the Pacific Science Center in Seattle!

Our group's sleeping assignment was right next to the naked mole rat habitat. I was a little surprised and creeped out by how close & crowded the eating/sleeping quarters were, but the naked mole rats were very quiet & pleasant neighbors. Unlike at lunch...

Seriously, do men not feel the cool, crisp spring breeze wafting across their exposed cheeks? And no, it wasn't easy taking this picture surreptitiously. Anyway, after dinner we headed to all of the exciting and educational exhibits that the Center offers: the planetarium, the laser show, Imax theater, dinosaurs, physical fitness tests and the saltwater tidepool to name a few.

Right now the Science Center's featured exhibit is one called Grossology: the Impolite Science of the Human Body. Our group was definitely in the target audience for this one; the kids couldn't get enough! And what a treat for the parents...a whole evening of belching, vomiting, and pretty much any other bodily function you'd care to imagine.

MANTIS! Even the stick bugs, giant cockroaches and butterfly house in the insect exhibit didn't distract Neil from hissing, "grosssssology" in my ear, as a reminder of where he really wanted to be.

The meterology display, where kids can pretend to be a TV weatherman. What do you mean, more rain??

Neil and a fellow scout at the International fountain in Seattle Center.

Our view of the Space Needle walking from our night seminar (topic: poop) back to the naked mole rats for bedtime.

Neil at his favorite exhibit, the burp guy. You pump soda into his stomach until he lets out a big burp. Never let it be said that my kids aren't exposed to fine culture.

my sluggers

Alan's having a fun season on the A's - they are undefeated so far, and he is playing GREAT! This year he has started playing catcher sometimes, which he enjoys.

batter up!

Neil had his first T-ball game last weekend :)

happy easter!

Someone came hopping down the Bunny Trail...

Woo-hoo, candy for breakfast!

Coloring Easter eggs. Larry looks sooooo excited...
Yellow!

Chez Sutton! This is a shot from our car, because I forgot to take a picture until we were driving away. If you click on this picture to make it bigger, you can see Anna waving goodbye and Tyler carrying Audrey like a sack of potatoes.

You can't really tell from the picture, but the kitchen is big with lots of cabinets...it's attached to the eating area with a sliding door out to the....

HUUUUUGE back yard! The girls have already made neighborhood friends, and I think this yard's gonna be the hopping spot this summer. It's a really great house!

Audrey with her slightly-late birthday gift - Happy 5th!!!

Easter Brunch at Grandma Mag's ~ Look at the adorable bunny bread loaf I designed and baked (I mean, bought at Safeway)!

Another masterpiece from Uncle Woofie... bet you've never had 10-layer Rainbow Ribbon Jell-O before! What can we say? The man's a genius with gelatin products.

Nelson & Meg

Larry (working on a big bite of something!), Alan & Uncle Bill

Some Little Guys - Aiden & Jacob!

Some Big Kids - Joseph, Kelli, Alex & Daniel

Meg and Chase, who has the greatest baby-mohawk EVER.

finally feeling like spring

Quick-- grab the sunblock before our pasty skin starts to burn, because the sun is finally out! The boys are on spring break this week. Alan & Neil spent some time throwing the baseball around. Larry has been spending time with friends and playing computer games.We haven't made it over yet to celebrate Audrey's birthday, so here are our birthday pets for now... Ruby turned 5 last month; here she is playing with her favorite toy (bubble wrap).
Remember our old pal Scratchie?? Yeah, he's still alive. He turned 16 this month (!)

april fool's!