Composed during the ridiculously fun first week of May, this may be my favorite illustrated month ever.

On May 4th Erika rented 5 gigantic animal costumes to spice up a going away party for the May 7th. The Animals were slowly revealed one by by in successive days at strange locations like barbeques and stage performances. Erika is a genius, we had so much fun that May 1-7 has been dubbed, "The Best Week ever." Erika has now left for China and soon to get her doctorate from the University of Indiana, and we will all miss her dearly, but damn, what a way to go out. Here's the gang going to the day portion of the party on Vashon Island.

Erika (AKA The Kougar, The Kuev, Bernie, Enrico, the Destroyer) enjoys a rare moment of solitude on the island.

Aminal Jamboree

Johnny on the Vashon Island Ropeswing, Lisabuele Park

The eagle was apparently supposed to catch the 12:10 to Southworth.

Paul and the Monkee dance for sandwiches!

Porch, Vashon Island

Bumblebee on the Puget Sound

Joanna slumbers in the Sun.

Melissa naps after too much fun at the park.

Ankle Pants race 2005. Johnny (AKA the yellow boat) cuts between the house and the barn to take the lead in front of Mark "red boat" Siano and Dave the Green Machine

May 7th, Ferry back to Seattle.

Let the Eagle Soar!

The rollerskating bear surprises the boys from the band "Awesome" with a cameo appearance at Spin the Bottle with his cohort the Bumblebee. They all lost their shit on stage.

The end of animal week, with the fantastic dancing bear exhausted and nearly passed out, from entertaining party goers. Still, quite possibly the best week ever.

Pile On!! Cinco de Mayo de Mukilteo, my first party thrown back home and it was a huge hit.

Heat lamp raising the tempature, burning the oil, fueling the fire, and making this Mukilteo party oh so hot! 

Party in my mom's basement. On the far right you can see Dave destroying the young Ryan Dobosh with his comedic phone messaging prowess. "This is David Swidler in Mukilteo and you have been destroyed . . . to reccommend me to a friend press 2 now . . . to get destroyed again press 3 . . ." 

May 5, see related story 

Back in March I would often go running down to the beach in Mukilteo in my yellow and black track suit. Some local punk kids thought it would be funny if they called me bumblebee. Ha, Ha. When Joanna went running with me one day, I passed the teenagers' houseand I held my breath hoping they wouldn't make fun of me in front of my girlfriend. Just then I heard a window open and a kid cry "Bumblebeeeee!" . . . Well today was payback time. I waited until there bus came home from school that day and ran past their house in full bumblebee regalia. Kids screamed, children flocked, cars waved and honked, and 3 punk ass kids got their minds blown.

My mother's frog collection attacks the amazing Erika Kuever. 

Team Frisbee roll call. Montana, Mark, Joanna, Johnny, Emmy, Brendan. 

When hiking Mt. Rainier it is important to note two things. If your guide book says it will be a snowy trail until mid-July, it is probably true, even if it has been an unseasonably warm winter. Two, if you can't see Mt. Rainier when you leave, you certainly won't see it when you get there, in fact you may not see anything. The Mountain and the cloud are one, and once you're on it, you're in the cloud, and even a huge waterfall 15 feet away is nearly impossible to see. 

April 25. Joanna crosses the "bridge" to the misty and mostly unvisible Comet Falls. 

April 6.  

April 6. Sun on the San Juan Islands. 

April 6th. Joanna poses with the red tulips and one tiny yellow one.  

Rope Swing! Joanna bravely took to the air only to be swallowed by a patch of pesky branches. Despite being snagged and hanging 20 feet in the air, she kept her cool until Johnny and I could swing her back to safety.  

April 18th, the original and often imitated Bald Eagle makes an appearance at Lisabuele Park. 

Dusk at Harborview Park in Everett. The best park for playing frisbee with a view of the sunset, water, islands, and mountains.