Under the Trees

Cherry trees at UW were at 100% last weekend, so we called up Grandma and hopped on a bus to join the huge crowds and take a look:

Wasn't the best timing for an outing, but Franklin and I put on brave faces after Stanford (their unofficial mascot is a tree--get it?) eliminated our Jayhawks from the NCAA tournament.

And of course we put on our Jayhawk hats!


And by sheer coincidence, the Seattle Times ran a letter I wrote the other day, accompanied by this cool drawing:

I just hope they run it in the print edition. I mean, given the subject matter, don't they almost have to??

Okay, well, how about more photos with the cherry trees:

Tough to get a good shot in such bright sun and such a big crowd.

Also tough to get Franklin to smile sometimes:

But for the record that look on his face makes me smile, so...

All right reader, I have one day left of spring "break," so I'd better go finish my syllabus for next quarter!

Picture Perfect

We got the proofs from Franklin's photo shoot for Nana and Papa, and it's official: he's the best.

I'll put some favorites here, but there's more (and more!) on the photographer's site. Here's a link if you want to see all 100 of them.

Things I love about these photos: the tie, the shirt, the enthusiasm. Oh, and the hiking boots :)

I Want to See Nana and Papa!

Wish we saw them more often, but we all had a great time visiting with Nana and Papa last weekend! Thanks for all the fun!

Part of the reason they came when they did was so that Franklin could get professional photographs done at age two, just like his cousins. Can't wait to see the display of them all that Nana sets up at their place!

Anyway, can't get a photo taken without a trim first, so, off to Tim's Barbershop!

A few tears were shed, but they have a lot of toy cars, and the barber's awfully friendly and patient, so... not too bad, all things considered.

And here he is in most of the outfit Nana picked out for him:

Looking sharp!

We're still waiting to see the proofs from the photo shoot, but rest assured you'll see them soon too, reader!

The other excitement is that Nana and Papa have recently decided to try eating a vegan diet. The chance to show off some great local restaurants like Plum Bistro? I accept!

No photos there, but we did get this nice shot of Franklin enjoying the train-shaped pancakes at Cafe Flora:

If you're wondering, he ate every bite.

So great to see Franklin with his family:




Oh, and here's a little bonus tidbit: As I mentioned on Facebook, when I was juggling making dinner and reading paper drafts, a voice from the other room said, "Daddy, will you please throw the football?" So, yeah, that was basically the end of my work on Sunday :)

Anyway, I'm even happier to report that the dinner I was making was homemade black beans, which we used for tacos in some delicious soft-corn tortillas, and Franklin gave me the greatest gift of all by devouring three of them!

Delicious dinner with great company!

Oh, and a little message for all five of Franklin's grandparents: they're low fat, low sodium, gluten-free, and vegan, so everyone should be able to enjoy them with us next time you're around :)