Lake Burien swarms with gnats and paddleboats alike as every dock and patio circling this little urban getaway bustles with laughing, splashing and summer fun. Next door a live band belts out feel-good tunes that echo across the water, the steady buzz of activity occasionally peaking in a stray explosion of firecrackers or a batch of whistling bottle rockets. The scent of bbq grills and sweet summer fruit mixes with smoking fuses and the fresh, cool breeze of the lake, pushing flags to full mast and sending the dozens of party rafts wafting lazily about on this perfect summer Seattle evening. It's July 4th as America's founders intended, and a day to remember all the good things about this country, and take a break from worrying about the bad. Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans!

Give you one guess what this is about... :)

Danielle and i are having lunch on the "patio" at the Full Throttle cafe inside Renton Motorcycle.

Working from the rooftop patio this morning. I planned this yesterday when it was significantly sunnier.

Got my new patio furniture set up just in time for a perfect summer evening. Come over, there's a fridge full of soda and beer and i finally have an icemaker!

Visiting Eric and Mya on a perfect summer afternoon. Kayana has started walking, just in time for her first birthday party tmrw.

I'm back in Seattle today, in case you missed that in the moblog post earlier. I wasn't outside very much this week in Denver, spending most of the 90+ degree days in a conference room with the blinds drawn, but there was a refreshing fire drill on Tuesday that forced us all outside.

It was a great few days with my new team, meeting the ones I had only heard on the phone and - more significantly - spending time in a new capacity with several of my friends from around the company that previously I didn't have many opportunities to see other than socially. It was especially great to see Katie, as since she moved to SF two years ago it's been tough to keep in touch. We both came away from the team summit feeling a little overwhelmed, a little flattered, and a lot blown away at the big challenges and opportunities in our career paths now. Now that we're both part of a global team with the freedom to travel wherever our jobs require, I'm very excited that we'll be able to see a lot more of each other.

It's sitting there, with the keys in it, running. I could totally jump in it and go on a rampage around Seattle.

It may not be central London, but at least there are mountains. :)

It's officially summer. Let's hope i don't waste another one in front of computer screens.