Hiking at Artist's Peak above Mt. Baker ski area in August. Easy hike with kids; great views of Mt. Shuksan on one side and Mt. Baker on the other. Lots of ripe blueberries to eat. Perfect weather. Highly recommended.
Aaron got rid of the training wheels right around his 4th birthday. I tried a technique recommended by a friend from work, which consists of removing the pedals and lowering the seat (low enough to get both feet flat on the ground), and letting the kidlet push the bike around with his feet to figure out how balance feels on a bike. The first day Aaron was pushing the bike around the block with his feet, and coasting a bit with his feet up. The second day he wanted the pedals back on. After a bit of help with balance, he was riding on his own that same day.
This was not the best day in my rowing career. My friend John and I entered a 13 mile 'open water' Sound Rowers race on Lake Sammamish. We had high expectations, previously having been in a world masters champion quad and also getting 3rd in the world masters double. We were planning to set a course record for that race that would be around for a while. Unfortunately we were concentrating a little too much on going fast and not qute enough on, well, um, not hitting anything. We broadsided a fishing boat ten strokes after crossing the starting line.
This is our Lake Washington boat about to win the mixed 8x race at Opening Day. I'm in the 5 seat (5th from the bow). This was a fast boat, with 5 of the crew having previously won masters world championships (including Rachel and BJ in the stern pair, and John, myself, and Bryl in the next three seats). One of the other three boats in our race hung in there for a while (the other two finished way back), but by the end we were all alone.
