michael micheletti - mother and child

Miles and Cheri are very close, and do a lot together. Every so often they let me take their pictures. Here are a handful that turned out well.

Cheri and Miles at Copalis Beach One of our favorite places to vacation is at Copalis Beach, up the Washington coast. It's a wide, windy beach, with a current much too strong and water too cold for safe swimming, but a great place to walk a dog, look for driftwood, and watch the wide ocean. We like to visit during the winter, and bundle up to walk in big storms, then come back to our cabin to warm up by the fire. Here are Cheri and Miles in matching jacket and boots.

Carousel in Holland The coastal resort of Scheveningen was an easy tram ride from our flat in Den Haag. The summer we lived in Holland was very warm, and the beach was a great place to be. There were cafes where they served great french fries and strong coffee, touristy gimcrack shops, and a large casino. Tourists from all over Europe came to go naked on the beach, which Miles thought was pretty interesting. One day we visited and discovered it was the Smurf festival, and wondered how much they paid the poor souls to wear forty-pound stuffed costumes on an eighty-degree day.

Miles the tiny baby and his mommy This is a picture of a very brand-new tiny baby Miles, and his exhausted mommy. They look pretty pleased to be taking a nice nap together, don't they?

Mommy-to-be Here's Cheri standing on the front walk of our houseboat, a few days prior to Miles' birth. That's Portage Bay in the background, between the two houseboats. There was always a gentle rocking motion at the houseboat, which we loved.

Cheri and Miles on Mt. Rainier Miles and Cheri out for a fine hike on a sunny summer day on Mt. Rainier. We'd generally try to stay on the easier trails close to the lodge when visiting, but sometimes would end up inching across icy patches a long ways up, even in August. Miles loves hiking and being in the woods. We saw some fine butterflies, wildflowers and animals while out hiking.

Miles and Cheri in our backyard Miles and Cheri are here standing by one of the large trees in the backyard at our first house in Shoreline. Cheri was dressed up nice to go on a business meeting, and I persuaded her to let me take a picture.

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What do Cheri and Miles like to do together?

Cheri volunteers in Miles' classroom, teaching art, and they work on lots of art projects together at home too. Of course there's all the usual drive-the-kids-here-and-there stuff that is such an essential component of modern life. Miles especially loves to join Cheri when she goes to the gym to go swimming. But they also will sometimes sit out on the porch together, talking about deep things until all hours of the morning. Miles is a thoughtful young fellow, and talking with Cheri helps him come to grips with things he's working through.

The thing they both love to do together the most is probably cooking. Miles loves watching the food channel on TV, and often wants to try making things he's seen there. He has a few recipes pretty much memorized now, and he loves to experiment. Good stuff happens when those two are in the kitchen together.

Here are websites of some of their favorite places in the area:

Miles and Cheri attend several performances a year at the Seattle Children's Theatre. The shows I've gone to with them have been great; my favorite was Still Life With Iris.

The Iron Springs Resort at Copalis Beach has a couple dozen rustic cabins located on the wild and windy Washington coastline. No phones. No TVs. No Internet. Just a kitchen, fireplace, immense view, and a couple of miles of dogs-run-free beach. A great place to weather out a winter storm, play checkers, read a trash novel, go hunting for interesting driftwood, or just goof off.

The Pacific Science Center, located near the Seattle Children's Theatre at the Seattle Center, has fun hands-on exhibits and a giant IMAX screen. Continuing the checkers theme, here you can play the game with a giant robot. The water fountains and gizmos outside are top kid-pleasers on a hot day.

Cheri and Miles often visit one of the farmers' markets together. Their favorites are the University and just out of town in Edmonds. No telling what sort of odd veggie will come back home with them.

The Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle is kid heaven for the airplane-crazed among us (this includes most ten-year-old boys we know). My favorite plane is the WWII Corsair - Miles likes the modern jets better.