Weekly update!

Hey, we almost hit the "weekly" thing this time! Not bad, not bad at all.
Let's see...another busy week.
We said goodbye Uncle Niall on Sunday, back to Columbus and foreign-sounding things like "warmth" and "sunshine".
We had no fewer than 3 nights this week where Peregrine slept 7 hours straight. Whoah.
We had visits from unkas Mike and Andy, game playing friends of Taj's, and a number of solid hours game time. Somehow, Uncle Niall - the ROOKIE - managed I believe to win all three games that he had never played before. To that end, I think Boomtown is a fun lightweight filler game, I have yet to win at Neuroshima Hex despite many playings, and apparently you have to keep a close eye on what House Lannister is up to with the cities in the game A Game of Thrones. Niall came out of nowhere and whooped us.
We had visits from aunties Rebecca and Teri, from Sky's work.
Peregrine and Mama went up to Lummi Island and spent a day with Grandma Myra and Grandpa Ben (sorry, no pictures of that one!).
This weekend we debated heading out for a big to-do, but opted in the end for a day trip up to Mt Baker national park. We've never been, and "it's just around the corner" they say (not so sure I buy that...). It was chilly and we got to bundle Pip for the cold for the first time. A very nice hike, but an unfortunate level of cloud cover which meant we actually could not see Baker ever. Or Mt. Shuksan, just next door. I think we'll try to get back, and it was nice to get out of the house. The day in total was trying, as Peregrine had a bad night, and getting (us/him) TO the Park was a lot easier and less difficult than getting (us/him) FROM the Park back home. Despite our best intentions and planning efforts, we were traveling during his Melt Down Hour. It was probably just a lot of stimulation and such. Ah well - every day is an opportunity for learning.

Being up at the Park reminded me of this strange "cult of parenthood" thing that of which we're now members. There's some unwritten rule that any parents with small children are immediately part of your clique or community, and, as such, normal social rules about your or others' children don't necessarily apply. Just being on the trail with Peregrine we had more interactions with strangers than we've had hiking probably the last five years; people just want to chat and say hello and bond over...whatever it is. In the parking lot, it's perfectly OK to invite a stranger's child to sit on your car and say hello to the baby or whatever. I hear Spain is a great place to raise kids because everyone watches everyone elses' kids in the park or what have you; whichever parent the kids are closest to has responsibility for the whole gaggle regardless of whether they've ever seen them before.
Huh. Well, here's to that, then!

Pictures!