Well, the little bon bon and I just got back from another week in Chelan with Mimi and some family friends. As usual we had a great time enjoying the sun and water and all the extra time with Mimi. A highlight of the week was taking Finley to the water park. Note to self: do not lather yourself up with oil and then take your 9 month old down a water slide. We flew down the slide and had a real dicey moment where i thought we were both going under. Fortunately, we didn’t have anymore mishaps. We spent most of the day in the baby play area, and only returned to the bigger slides after i had been thoroughly de-greasified. As soon as we convert the video recorder tape to a cd i’ll upload some footage, because it really is precious.
Finley also perfected some new tricks this week. She loves to play “so big”. I say “How biiiiiiiiiigggg is finley?” and she lifts her arms above her head while i say “so big!”. And she learned how to wave hi/bye. She loves waving to anything that moves…birds, trees blowing in the wind, strangers walking by, the lady cleaning the windows and red robin, you name it. I think she really understands what the action means, because this morning after brian kissed us goodbye she sat looking out the window waving bye bye, unprompted. Such a smart little girl!
The other highlight of our week was going for walks with Mimi early in the morning at the River Park. I say early because finley decided that during vacation would be a good time to arise an hour and a half earlier than normal. Thankfully, my loving husband presented me with some “starbucks money” for the week, which if you know us, you understand what a huge gesture this was. I am eternally grateful, because caffeine has never been so truly needed. Anyway, back to the walk. We experienced this weird phenomenon as we walked around the park. In the seven o’clock hour people were friendly. As we passed people they smiled, said hello, stopped to look at finley, asked questions about her. I know this doesn’t sound noteworthy, but it was just so refreshing to see that people are still nice and happy and friendly…let alone at that hour in the morning. It seems that more and more often I have encounters with angry, grouchy people and I was so moved by the friendliness we experienced every morning. Kinda weird I know, but it made me happy.
Anyway, we had a great time with our friends and family and are so thankful to spend another summer making memories in Chelan. `If only Brian had been there, it would have been perfect. Instead of vacationing with his family, Brian worked long hours and then came home to work more on our deck. And what a beautiful deck it is! I came home to a finished deck complete with assembled patio furniture! I can’t wait to dine al fresco! Yes, Finley is waving at the cars driving by…

Here is a little video of finley showing off her new tricks.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5O53tr8vQg&hl=en&fs=1]
This is Finley reading one of her favorite books. She’s either really vain, or thinks that her reflection is a friend.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ5Z66RtAOc&hl=en&fs=1]