Driving lessons & Mt. Baker

Our parenting philosophy is all about getting Ruthie on the fast track. So, naturally, being 5 months old now, it's time she get some experience behind the wheel. Her first driving lesson happened this week and I've gotta say, it went pretty well. We didn't want to push her too far too fast, so we started with fundamentals. First lesson: hand positioning. "Okay, keep those little hands at 10 & 2," I told her. As the picture below shows, she has textbook form. Needless to say, I'm really proud of my little girl.


Our very good friends Jeremy & Amanda Klager came for a visit this week and we all went to Mt. Baker one afternoon. We all got to meet Toby, the littlest and newest Klager, who is 3 months older than Ruthie. They were fast friends, of course. Though, I should add, their new friendship was briefly tested when Toby (an avid thumbsucker) reached for and obtained Ruthie's soother. Fortunately "Dad" was there to police the situation and return the sacred artifact to its rightful proprietor. Disaster narrowly averted. I think Ruthie and Toby will be little buddies for a long time.
It was the perfect day to be out and about in the mountains. Sunny, warm and fresh as can be. We did some good hiking and took a lot of photos (a hobby that Jeremy and I share). We went to waterfalls, glaciers and raging rivers. It was a beautiful day and very good to see our friends. In fact, it was a perfect summer day.