The weather has been unseasonably warm here this week - up in the 90s and 100s in some parts of Seattle! I've been doing all I can to keep the house cool, which is difficult when we don't have airconditioning - and the house builds up a lot of heat with consecutive warm days. At least the trees in our backyard provide some shade in the afternoon.

Isobel has managed pretty well so far, and has adapted to having a fan in her room - I think the noise has actually helped her sleep.We've also given her a little drink bottle with a straw, after seeing her response to our frappucinos recently ... she loves it! I've been putting a bit of cold water in there to start with, and she sucks down a few mouthfuls before dribbling the rest over her shirt and pants - but isn't that what kids do in the summer?!

Mum & Dad have arrived for another visit, and we picked them up from the airport on Thursday. A bit of hassle with their bags through Los Angeles - one suitcase made the flight, the other didn't. Dad filled out the paperwork and resigned himself to the loss, but luckily it turned up on our doorstep later in the evening.

Our big outing for the week was a night at the baseball - the Mariners were up against the Tigers, currently the top-ranked team in A.L. West. We weren't able to get seats in our regular spot from last year, so we got some other seats a little closer to third base - they turned out to be undercover, so my fears about Isobel getting too much sun were put to rest. It was a fantastic game, with the Mariners getting up in the end after a grand slam by Kenji Johjima. My game record is still intact - I've now been to six games here, and the Mariners have won every time!!

Isobel was incredibly well behaved for such a late night - she started off a bit grouchy once the game started and the crowd started cheering. Eventually she got used to the noise, and towards the end she was bouncing up and down in time to the music with a huge smile on her face - the other people around us were just amazed that she was still going after 10pm! She started fussing again when we were back in the car heading home, but settled to sleep pretty quickly once we made it home.

This weekend was also the annual Mustangs Northwest Roundup in Bellevue - which we missed last year due to our childbirth classes! We drove down on Sunday to have a look at all the Mustangs out on display - there were some incredibly well maintained cars on show, and seeing so many similar cars all lined up looked pretty special. The Roundup is billed as the "Worlds largest Annual gathering of Mustangs", and at a guess there must have been at least several hundred cars in the various car parks around the College. Quite an opportunity to walk around and see the different interpretations, and Andy got a few ideas for our Mustang (which is finally home again!) and the remaining things on his to-do list in the garage.

With the warmer weather this week, we've had some wonderful evenings outside. The BBQ is getting some use again, but we seem to have missed the window for getting the kiddie pool set up - the temperatures have dropped back to 70s and 80s again, so the water will be a bit cold for Isobel's footsies. The forecasters are predicting rain again next week - back to normal for Seattle!