Banner Norwood Friedler

On August 9th, we brought home our newest member of the family: Banner. He is a schnoodle (a schnauzer/poodle mix)

 

 He weighs three pounds, and is very sweet.

 He loves Owen, and Owen loves him...

 I think we are all in love... even through the potty training and long nights.

Henry, back to the beach

On August 8th, 33 weeks after Henry died, we took his ashes to the beach. It was never going to be an easy decision, never feel like the "right" time, but Owen kept asking when we were going to take Henry's stardust to the beach. I think Owen needed a place to help remember Henry, so we made plans. We opened the small cardboard box at home, looked at Henry's stardust, and cried. We looked through pictures of Henry, and cried. And when the tears were dried up, we drove to Cannon Beach.

 

It was a beautiful day, and the water was perfect to walk through.

 Owen wanted to get started with digging right away.  Owen has helped us so much over the past 33 weeks, and he knew he needed to dig. So, we all started to dig. Bob and Amy, Mom and Dad met us there, and we dug.

 Of course taking breaks to play too.

 But we dug. A big, beautiful hole. Whenever we were at the beach with Henry, we would dig a hole. Henry would "help" most by filling it with sand, while the three of us dug a hole. Then, both boys would play in the shallow water.  This hole was the hardest hole I have ever helped to dig, but it was beautiful. Big enough for seven people to sit around.

 We sat around the hole, and looked at pictures of Henry. We ate pirates booty, flavored with sand and tears.  Owen wanted us each to put in a piece of macaroni, "more than one a piece would be considered littering."  Then, we put Henry's ashes, which looked like what the surface of the moon would look like, into the hole. His stardust dissolved into the water, and became part of the earth. It was quite beautiful. We all helped fill in the hole, adding extra salty tears to the sand.

 Pirates Booty, Mac and Cheese, Doggie, and Ball Blanket. All things I can touch to remember Henry. But my memories of him will forever be linked closely to Cannon Beach, I am so happy he is there.

 Quotes from Yoda: Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. ... the force is all around us, binds us... luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.

After the tears, we went to the water and had a great water fight. We were soaked. We laughed, and that's what Henry taught me. Be sad, cry, but remember to laugh and have fun!

 

Owen took a bit to dry out in the sun. He was the only one who had spare clothes to drive home dry in.

Seattle

We drove up to Seattle to see our friends Heather, Jen and Luke... and to watch another airshow. This time with the Navy Blue Angels. Heather has a friend who just bought a house with a beautiful view of Lake Washington, and a quick walk to a perfect (free) spot to watch the show.

 

 Our spot had lake side seating, which was great for the boys.

 Owen, with the Blue Angels in the background. Show center was just to our right.

 Snack break, and classic faces on both these boys.

 Seriously, a great spot to watch our third airshow of the season.

 Trouble... these two are trouble.

 On our walk back, Owen said, "Mom! Take a picture of me on these steps... they are pretty!"

 The next morning, we took a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island for lunch.

The ride home, Owen took a long car nap. He's starting to perfect these... which is great on long drives, but makes bed time a bit harder. 

Home

We had a fantastic trip. 11 days away from home, and Owen had only two melt downs (I think). He's such a great traveler. We were all happy to get home, and luckily, we were able to fly on Alaska Airlines  Disneyland 737. Not that it matters from the inside, but it's fun to see on the outside.

 As soon as we got home, Owen started preparing for our next big trip: Hawaii.

Alaska: Airshow, Day two

Another great day for an airshow. This day we arrived early again, this time we brought Liberty with us. Allie, Matt and Kaiya would meet us a little bit later, once the airshow officially started.

 

It was fun for Owen and Liberty to have some time to play.

 Pilot and Co-pilot.

 They got to sit in a T17.

 The huge C5

 Standing next to a small F22

 Lucas brought his camera on the second day, and took... well, let's say over 400 pictures.

 I fell in love with this C17. It's a beautiful plane.

 While singing the Star Spangled Banner, Lucas captured the parachute and flag.

 F22

 Watching an airshow at a military base always is amazing. Lots of big planes and helicopters showing off what they do.

 Owen and an F22. Lucas got to talk to an F22 pilot, I think that may have been the best part of the vacation.

 F22

 Preparing for takeoff.