Funky Monkey turns three

And you know how excited a three year old gets about a birthday. We thought ahead and kept the presents out of sight. There is no way we would have been able to keep the wrapped or in the gift bags. After she fell asleep for her nap, we hung some streamers and balloons, got out the presents and took the cake out of it's hiding place. When she came downstairs after waking up, she knew something was brewing and she knew it was for her. She has been ready for this since Campbell's birthday last month. Now, she knows hers is in September. I don't think she understand yet that September comes after August but she did know that Mommy and Daddy had been shuttling boxes that had arrived in the mail out to the garage without opening them. And for about a month, she's been asking about when her birthday is. By the beginning of the week were just saying "Later this month" because we knew she was getting excited about it. So when the time came to open the presents, the wrapping paper was in trouble. Campbell was quite happy to play with the empty boxes. Ellie was ready to supply her with them. When we brought the activity desk in from the garage that we had gotten her, the living room was a wreck, Ellie was in heaven and Campbell was somewhere under the paper and boxes.

A couple observations about kid's toys:

1. Who's the brainiac who invented colored pens that have smells? Sure, this sounds like a great idea. Guess what three year olds do when a pen smells like fruit?
2. If something needs to be put together in advance, the directions will stink, it wont fit together like the schematic says and one or more of the screws will strip out.
3. A one year old doesn't comprehend that the point of Thomas the Tank Engine is to set the track up and play with the trains. Campbell likes to waddle into the middle of the setup and then play Godzilla. It would only be funnier if Ellie knew Japanese and could point, panic and run.

So after all of this, the cake beckoned.
Ellie was quite happy to get all hopped up on frosting. And Jennifer is wondering how she got it in her hair. On the back of her head.
And Campbell, well, you know.

A Trip to the Beach

Jennifer has some time off between quarters at UW so we decided to take our first family trip. We'd traveled a bit with Ellie but so far, Campbell's adventures had been limited to playgrounds and zoos. After looking at our options around the area, we headed over to the coast for a few days. The Navy has resort in Pacific Beach about 2.5 hours from here. It's open to anyone on active duty so we took advantage of the Navy's hospitality and rented a cottage. They will start renovating in October and I hope they do more than just slap on a new coat of paint. But the price was right and we were only there two nights. Heck, the Holiday Inn down the shore was $170 a night for just King suite. We paid less than half of that for 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a full kitchen and a separate living area. It sure was nice having a full size fridge and cabinets filled with dishes. And Ellie was thrilled that we were about 20 yards one of their playgrounds. We discovered that the town of Ocean Shores is only about 2 hours away so it's within day trip distance. Before it gets too cold over there, we'll definitely make a few more trips. Now that we know how easy it is to get over there, I will probably take the girls over during the week when Jennifer is back in school. Anyone up for a swim on 45 degree water?

As you can see, Campbell liked the ocean air. And Ellie loved to watch the waves. The weather was a bit nippy. We had highs in the upper 50's but there wasn't much wind so it was still bearable. I had forgotten how desolate yet beautiful the Pacific Northwest beaches are. Deep drop offs from the bluffs down to long beach expanses. For stretches of the area, you can drive quite a distance along without ever getting on paved roads. For now, we were quite content to chase Ellie's ball across the sand and let Campbell try to walk a few steps. Oh yes, Campbell has started to walk. She rambles on for 5-10 steps before she either forgets where she was off to or takes a tumble. And then she gets up and keeps going. Watching her try to pitter-pat her way across the sand was quite entertaining. The afternoon was quite entertaining. Ellie discovered that the water is quite a bit colder than she expected. She had been telling us that she needed to put her swimsuit on. But I think she was quite content to stay on the shore and away from the cold. I'm not where any tidal pools are but if we can find some, the girls will be enthralled at watching sea creatures up close.

An evening thunderstorm

It's been over 3 years since I've seen/heard one. About 45 minutes ago, lighting flitted off near the horizon. Then, a bit later, the slow retort of distant thunder. The flashes grew brighter and the salvos boomed more frequently. I actually wondered whether it would wake either of our girls up because neither has experienced one during their young lives. I stood on the front porch kind of dazed and delighted by the streaks of light. I've always liked thunderstorms. The light show coupled with the accompanying uneven, ragged music is different every time. It was coming in from over the Sound and I thought about grabbing my camera and heading to the overlook just up the road from the house.

There was that indescribable, incredible smell of rain in the air as the storm drew closer. And then the sky let loose. For a good 30 minutes, the rain pelted the ground with small fury. The earth consumed as much of it as it could and the remainder flowed out into the street to hurry down to the storm drains. Slashes of white played across the dark and was reflected back up off the wet ground. The cannonade of sound echoed back and forth. And then it quieted. The storm moved on it's way to some place else. Right now, I can here the last remnants of rain lightly drop down onto our house. The barrage fading into our past. Then, showers glanced across the area but without the symphony of sound and flashes that had come before.

Sweet music to tired old ears. And I miss Texas.