Point Defiance Zoo

Since "Chrome Molly" was going to be playing at the Taste of Tacoma Sunday evening in Point Defiance Park, we decided to spend the day at Point Defiance Zoo. It's the perfect place to spend a nice sunny day with kids. We had a great time.

We spent a lot of time watching the twins play with their momma. They are a little over a year old now, so they are almost as big, but still full of a lot of energy. It was super fun to watch!

Brand new leopard cub, only 9 days old!

Point Defiance Park Playground

Hanging out at the park after Aaron's amazing performance at the Taste of Tacoma. Love being with family!!

 

Chrome Molly at Taste of Tacoma

What a perfect day to be playing outside! The weather was great and the crowd was easy to please. The band played amazing and it was a ton of fun. We were really glad to have so much of our family there supporting Aaron - thanks guys!! It was fun having you there!

 

Graduation Open House

I was a terrible photographer of Jess's open house because I was trying to be a good host. It's really difficult to be both and I would rather people have a good time. I did get a couple of fun shots for Jess though ;o). We are very proud of Jess's accomplishments and it was really fun to hang out with family and friends to celebrate in them together.

We took all of Jess's Soccer jerseys and made a big dorm quilt for her. I bought all of the materials and cut out all of the jersey squares and then my  mom did the sewing. It turned out great and will keep her warm in the cold Eastern Washington winters.

Being the sodaholic that Jess is, we got her a 44 oz martini glass to drink all the soda she wanted in. I was a little worried about it being top heavy, but she is a pro so I shouldn't have even given it a thought.

Alex.... what would we do without Alex. Jess had him hold her glass for him for a minute, almost completely full, and he chugged THE WHOLE THING! Wow. That has to count for something.

Bellybutton Independence

Jess's first real act of independence since graduating from High School was accomplished last night after she got off work. She went straight to the mall and got a little bling in the belly.

She tried to talk me into going with her to get pierced together, but I was just too hesitant. It doesn't make sense to me to draw attention to the one area of the body I am most self conscience of. "Hey everyone, I am super self conscience of my tummy, but I'm gonna put a sparkly thing there as a beacon, so that is EXACTLY where your eyes will automatically be drawn". Not my idea of smart.

Not that I have a big tummy, I'm pretty happy with the way things are looking.... except, my tummy looks of someone who has had two children and is way to old for the button sparkle. The saggy skin and stretch marks are too big a give away that I am not 20 years old any more.

Jess still has that pre-birth, tight skin of youth. Having a bit of bling is cute. On her it is a statement of independence, slight rebellion and playfulness that looks good. Me? I am afraid it would look like I am trying too hard to hold on to a youth that just isn't there any more. Besides, if I'm gonna put myself through torture it would be for the tattoo I have always wanted, not another hole in my body.

Jess is cute, and the belly button ring looks good on her. She will have a lot of fun with it this summer and I'm sure will look for every opportunity she can to don a swimsuit. Bonus: when she tires of it, it just comes right out, no worse for the wear.

Father's Day

I think we had a pretty successful Father's Day here in the Cheney home. Of course, Aaron would be the one to ask for sure, but he seemed to have a great time. It really is a rare commodity these days to have a moment with just the four of us and it was so nice: just like ol' times. 

Since breakfast is Aaron's favorite meal of the day, you can't have Father's Day without going out to breakfast. We decided to take a gamble on a new place, since we don't really have anywhere we are totally in love with. I Yelped some local places and found one called "Mom's Kitchen". The second we walked in we loved it: it smelt just like grandma and grandpa's house. It was great.

After breakfast, since we were half way to the Supermall anyway, we decided to head over for a game of Glow Golf. You can't tell from the pics, because I had to use a flash, but the entire course is painted with glow in the dark paint. It really puts a fun spin on the traditional mini-golf. And, of course, Aaron won - by a lot. It was Father's day ;o)... but really, he won fair and square.

(poor design! Some places our ball got stuck - 

It really sucks to have your balls stuck - lol ;o)

Home again for Carcassonne and Aaron's present. Jess picked it out, and it was perfect. A great musical piece that is now hanging on our fireplace downstairs - well not ON the fireplace, just above it.

I do really love the changes our family is going through, but every now and again I miss the old ways..... kind of like missing having a baby. Every now and again you just want to sit and hold a baby - you don't want a baby, you just miss it some times. That's how I feel. It was a great day with just the four of us.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY AARON!!! You are the best!

Chrome Molly at Tastin' n' Racin - Lk. Samamish

So, in a 36 hour time frame I worked 8 hours, slept about 13, attended two graduations and went to two Chrome Molly events. Oh my gosh, I hope we don't have too many weekends like that - it was a barn burner for sure! Everything was very fun though, and very worth the time, so I can always make up for lost sleep and exercise later ;o)

  

In between bands Jess and Alex got a characture done.

Chrome Molly opened for Randy Hansen, and everybody was super excited to meet him. For those of you non-Seattlites who don't know who Randy Hansen is, he is probably the best and most well know Jimi Hendrix impersonator out there. He has been doing his thing for decades and Aaron went and saw him back when he was in High School. It was kind of a big deal to these guys to open for him and get to meet him.

Alex is one of the biggest kids you will ever meet - I guess that's why he fits into our family so well ;o). Um.... bungee cord trampoline! Need I say more?

While Aaron was rubbing shoulders with friends, and making new friends, the kids and I went for a walk. Unfortunately, most of the crowd was in the beer garden because that's where the bands were playing, and so Alex and Jess couldn't go in..... a few more months for Alex and a few more years for Jess.

We just wandered around and went to the playground. Gotta do something to pass the time. After a long day in the sunshine we went out to dinner and a movie together - the new X-Men movie. I liked it a lot, but I think everyone else just  thought it was okay. I'm a sucker for X-Men though.