Summer was too short again, but we managed to squeeze just about every sunny weekend possible, and a few very special weekdays out of it.

After a few years of silently cruising our lake at a modest 3 mph for about 3 years... we decided to upgrade to a nice new 4-stroke outboard. Lake Sammamish is a painfully-close 7 blocks from our house, so we really wanted to get out there and have some fun on a big lake.

The new motor is awesome, and lets us access all sorts of cool spots, like Idylwood Park in Redmond. It's a nice 5-mile trip up the west shore of the lake. There's no shortage of amazing homes to look at, and a lot of them have cool stuff like airplanes docked in their back yards, or sweet train tracks to launch boats from.

We also picked up a sweet Smith Multisport galvanized trailer to haul the boat around on. Now we can take it just about anywhere!

Elliot got his first real bike, and rode it without training wheels from day one. He'd been riding a balance bike for two years, and I guess that really helps kids forego the need for training wheels.

We had a big Halloween party, and were lucky enough to have David, Jacqueline, Ross, and Chris help us out a ton in order to get ready.

Here's the photo-gallery on facebook:

After the party, it was off to Maui for 11 days of extended summer.

Now it's time to face the long cold grey winter...

Maybe I'll buy some long-overdue new snowboard gear or something to make it seem not so bad.

-Rob and Nicole

We got this kick ass outboard for the boat! 9.8 horsepower and super-sweet!

This experimental plane was built by a couple of local Boeing dudes with some extra time and cash on their hands. It takes off and lands right in the water, using its body for both lift and buoyancy. The wings swing down for takeoff and landings.

Ponytail: check. Nude: check 1" commercial hose with pistol-grip nozzle: check. Feeling so awesome you don't even notice your bare feet are being tortured by the gravel driveway: priceless.

After spending several weeks filling his "good behavior chart" with stickers, he earned his new bike!

He rips down our street, leaving his loved ones in the dust.

Up in BC, he rips down more streets, leaving more loved ones in the dust.

Lia tries out the rain boots she inherited from her brother. Ahh puddles... the first sign of waning summer.

We took the kids to the waterslides in BC on Labor Day weekend. Here's Elliot riding the little kid's slide, he's pretty sure he wants to try the big kid's slide next...

The ladies picked these costumes up at Costco of all places, and they're totally awesome! They got about 5 of them for the kids to play dress-up with.

Lia and her mom on the trail behind Ross and Chris' house in BC.

Lia curls up on Grandpa's chest for another watching of Totoro.

The wagons at Dr. Mackenzie's pumpkin farm.

Lia picks out a pony to ride.

I don't think she got the one she wanted, but had fun anyway. Well, maybe not as much fun as she'd had if she'd gotten that one pony.

Keryn and Deklan check out one of the big-people horses.

Keryn, Deklan, Elliot, Lia, Nicole, Clara, and Julie all manage to look up at the same time! And none of the children is picking his or her nose or frowning. Small miracles are what life is really about.

I know I left the car keys over here somewhere...

Riding the boat out on Lake Sammamish with the new motor, you can see why we like it. The kids absolutely love it, and sit right in the bow, pounding their fists and laughing.

Elliot leaps off the diving board at Vasa Park on Lake Sammamish.

Checking out the crazy water-plane. The designers were really friendly and explained all about how they created it. Some of the features are their own designs and patented.

Here's an awful video taken with our point-and-shoot and scaled up in Premiere, but you can at least see the thing take off from the water.

"I get to use the hose now? Oh good, where's Elliot?"

Testing it out on the grass just to be safe. Then onto the streets.

Zoom!

Lia and Auntie on one of our walks up in BC Labor Day weekend.

After getting brave on the little kid's slide, he decides to try the bigger slide...

I think I know what this guy wants to be for Halloween.

My beautiful girls.

"I was just picking my nose in peace until you walked up with your camera. Now, turn around please and walk away, or I'll have to wipe this finger right across that polarizer."

Pickin' out pumpkins!

Elliot rides a pony at the pumpkin farm.

Julie and Clara Arguez check out the horses.

Elliot tests his new rain boots out.

Our beautiful maple, a gift last year from Mike and Keryn Means, changes color.