I love this group of kids.  Job has known Henry ever since they were in chess club together when they were in 2nd grade or so.  They have done stuff over the years and through Henry we met his "hilarious little brother" Jack.  Time moved forward and Lona attended school where she met Jasmine. It took a few months and they became friends. Then Jack and Max were brought into the loop and so the group became bigger.  I think Henry and Job are on the fringes since they are older and there are other kids that come and go in this group but they have fun.  Lona has done the muds to suds for three years I think.  This year it was changed from Hovander to the BMX track in Bellingham. The name changed as well to Wondermud since it is all obstacles and mud.  There are no suds involved. This group of kids trained for this.  Job and Henry were determined to beat the rest of the group and except for Max they did.  There was a painting t-shirt party a week or so before the race and so it was the Poachers (Henry and Job) and the Wharnals (Jasmine, Lona, Jack and Max). I hope this is a memory they can all share for years to come and am looking forward to many more memories with this group.

"Hello."
"Hey do you want to go to the Sounder's game on the way home from Pullman?"
That had to be a rhetorical question. Of course I did because games are more fun in person than on TV. It is something about the ambiance, atmosphere, the energy that pulses through the stadium. Absolutely no question on going or not.  I hung up and started looking for seats.  There were seats here and there but this was a date. I wasn't going to settle for anything and to tell the truth it was about the same price for us to sit where we were sitting and it was higher up. I bought the tickets,we were almost at the center and in the 100 level.  It couldn't get any better, but it did.  We pulled into Seattle with minutes to spare before kick off, trying to find a parking spot. We paid, and at a college brisk walk (a jog for me) headed towards Century Link Field. The minutes clicking by, there was no way we were going to see the first few minutes. yet we did. My camera just at the allowable limit to bring in and yet I still was able to get amazing photos for where we were. It was intense and fun and everything a soccer game is supposed to be like. The frosting on the cake: we won.

 This has been a strange summer.  John and I have done more things without the kids than we have in a long long time. I can't remember why but we were kid-less this day and so to Lynden we went.  I don't think we've ever gone to the Razz Fest but it was fun. A classic car show, street vendors including "ANYTIME TOFFEE!", downtown shops, dutch baked goods and three vs three street ball tournament. We wandered up and down front street looking and talking to people we know and making small purchases. We had no time constraints and no deadlines. It was a fun couple of hours out and felt like a vacation of sorts and a picture of what life is like when the kids have grown.

 I look up and see people walking with their phones out. They stop, do something on their phones, and then start walking. They look around, they stop and are on their phones again. I hear stories on the radio: boys foil a car theft playing Pokemon Go, teens find body in river playing Pokemon Go, come to the game, we will have lures set. What is all the hype, I had to find out. I downloaded the app with John and started walking.  I walked and walked and walked.  We went to Hovander and played, we walked around Ferndale and played, but not only that I found things out about my town. We headed to Boulevard Park, the meca for Pokemon. This time I took my camera and decided to photograph what I learned by playing Pokemon. First up was the marker between Fairhaven and Old Bellingham. It talks about how both towns came to be and how they merged together. Then onto the beautiful boardwalk along the water. Each bench place along the boardwalk was donated in memory of someone and includes something they were known for. I call it the memorial benches and I had no idea that they each had a little dedication to someone. We kept strolling and playing and talking. There was the tree that I see so many photos of and I've taken my share of photos as well.  The old boardwalk that is blocked off due to safety reasons, and the trail that leads to downtown Bellingham. There were more Pokestops where you could earn balls, but I found it interesting that there were so many interesting things along the way and it was incorporated into the game. You could play without taking the time to learn or you could learn along the way.  I do find it interesting that someone has come up with a video game that incorporates being outside and walking in order to play.  It was fun for a while but I'm not a video game kind of gal.  Job does jump on his unicycle and bike around the neighborhood to "hatch" an egg in the game.  We have stopped and talked to complete strangers and laughed because of the game finding something in common with others I may have completely overlooked or dismissed.  I see it as a game that incorporates being outside and moving and nothing more and I applaud the creators of the game for doing so.  It is amazing how they were able to pinpoint so many little things all over the US and other countries and release it all at once.  It must have taken a considerable amount of time to come up with it or to write a program that can search for things like a specific memorial placque or mural in each town. So I guess, I could say that I am pro-Pokemon for all that it can encourage.