All aboard and... Let's sing!

We took the girls up to North Bend last weekend for a ride on the Santa Train. Lots of fun but it was really cold! The girls loved the train ride but sitting on Santa's lap took a little prodding. We kept the trip a secret because we knew they would be excited.

Later that day, Ellie's school had their Christmas concert. She was giddy all week. And every day leading up to it, she asked "is it Sunday?" She was awesome and loved every minute of it.

Oh, and by the way... We might get a white Christmas. It has snowed off and one for the past week. Today (Thursday) was the high mark so far. Nearly every school between Canada and Oregon, the Cascades to the Pacific was closed or delayed. We're due for more snow this weekend and it wont warm up much so it might hang around until next week.

Over the hills and far away.

The Pacific Northwest gets a lot of grief about all the rain but every now and then, we get some spectacular weather. The temperatures stayed in the 40s today but it was mostly clear and Rainier was awesome in the distance. I tried to capture the weather over it's head but this picture just does not quite do it. There were 4-5 rings of clouds over top when I took this...

Trick or Treat (Give or take 3 weeks)

Field trip!

Ellie had her first one today. We went with her pre-school to a farm down near Olympia for a trip to the pumpkin patch. Lots of fun. A short hay ride pulled by Farmer Fred's tractor took us out to the field filled with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. Did you know that pumpkin stalks have thistle like barbs on them? Farmer Fred told us that and he was right. Each kiddo picked one out to take back to school for decorating on Thursday. Ellie kept trying to convince me that we needed one for Campbell, mommy, Nana, Papa and me. Not one but five extra.

We went through a hay bale maze. It was pretty funny watching the kids wander around in there. The bails were only stacked 3 high (about chest high on me) but that was enough that they couldn't see over them. We wandered around in there for a while. After that, a farm petting zoo. There was a newly born Holstein calf, piglets, chicks, kittens, baby goats and lambs. Ellie got a little freaked out by a goat that was way too friendly but she loved the calf. I had never seen a non black and white Holstein. This one was a shade of orange. Almost, well, Burnt Orange. And that takes me to my last point.

Hook 'Em Horns!

How far that little candle throws her beams!

Time flies when you're having fun. Another year has passed and Funky is four. She was quite ready for it. Ellie knew her birthday is in September and pretty much from September 1st on, she asked every day "Is today my birthday." Starting school further convinced her that she was a big girl and ready for all sorts of new things. First and foremost was a new bike. She was thrilled to get a "big girl bike." And she was tearing around the block on it. We were quite impressed how easily she learned stopping and starting. She did well riding her Big Wheel but a trial run at the toy store on a bike had been kind of unsuccessful. She'd start pedaling, then reverse the pedals to stop and not want to go forward again. But once she was on her very own bike, the pedaling was on and the brakes were off. She asked the other day of we could ride down the the soccer fields. It's only a mile or so away. And it's kind of hilly. Pretty soon she's going to want the car keys. And then there'll be boys around. Eek!

Campbell likes riding bikes too. We got her a small tricycle for her birthday in August and she is determined to ride as fast and as far as Ellie. She will not be refused. It's so funny watching how kids are different. Ellie can be stubborn but she's more stealthy and secretive. She'll do something and plead ignorance about it. Campbell is upfront about it. Her way isn't quiet and she doesn't even try to hide it. She really wants to do everything her big sister does and she will not be denied if she has her way. Her independence is oddly funny though. She took a lot longer to get over her separation anxiety when we would go to the CDC than Ellie ever did. She doesn't freak out now, matter of fact, she really likes going and runs into the building and down to her room. It's nice to see her enjoy being around other kiddos without either of us having to be there. And as you can see, she's still the clown.

A picture is worth MORE than a thousand words

I've seen quite a few that have been jaw dropping this past week since Hurricane Ike but I think this one pretty much sums it up:

Click on the picture and you can zoom it to see the resolution better.

This is the Chase Building in downtown Houston. Yeah, those windows are all missing.

Keep our Houston relatives in mind

Not sure who knows it but my in-laws and my sister and her husband live just north of Houston. They survived the worst of Hurricane Ike but are still without power. I've seen reports that the Woodlands will be without power for up to three weeks. We have a ton of friends all over the Houston area and I don't really know who got water in their homes or trees on their roofs.

Overall, the area got lucky. Ike strayed just a bit NE as hit land and that seemed to make all the difference. The worst surge hit either open water (the channel into Galveston Bay) or High Island (which has very little development on it.) Consensus among the weather gurus is that if it had the worst had hit 10-20 miles further SE, it would have been a lot worse.

I read BBS post from a guy in Houston. They were jamming to some Rolling Stones and playing Connect Four (ha, that brings back memories). The winds were beating the house really loudly and debris was flying around outside. Then the eye passed over and it got quiet and the wind died down. They were outside (this was around 2:00 am) and then someone said "Hey, do you guys hear a train?" Whoa. There were not any trains running. They could hear a tornado. They couldn't see it though. They high tailed it back inside and dove into the bathtubs. The sound subsided but another 10-15 minutes went by and they heard another one. He said it was actually less tense with the constant gale force winds during the Hurricane than it was during the quiet hearing the tornados nearby.

So keep Tom, Linda, Athena, David and everyone else down there in your thoughts if you don't mind.

Funky goes to school...

And she was EXCITED! Through a friend from the YMCA, we were referred to the preschool at a church in Lakewood. We took Ellie to visit the school and teachers a few months ago. And then for pretty much the last 6-8 weeks, she asked continually when she would get to go to her new school. We had beautiful fall weather today. Blue sky, a slight breeze and 70 degrees.

Two weeks ago, Jennifer and I went to the parent orientation and Ellie was totally bummed that she couldn't go with us. I had dropped the Monkey Twins at the CDC so we could go but Ellie thought that "it wasn't very nice" that we didn't take her.

Then, last Thursday, she got to go to meet the other kiddos that would be in her class and make her place mat. Ellie was thrilled. Campell... not so much. She doesn't like being away from her big sister. We left Ellie at school for about 45 minutes and the whole time Campbell was very concerned about Ellie. Today, I took Campbell to the Ft. Lewis CDC. She loves going there now and it gave me a chance to let Ellie have her own special first day.

We dropped Campbell off at 11:00 and Ellie was ready to go to school. A quick stop at the Commissary for some groceries killed a little time but we still had to wait a few minutes (school starts at noon for her) and I think that was the longest hour of her life. We got there a few minutes early but that was ok.

It felt like it was only a few days ago that Funky was just a baby. Watching her grow into being a toddler. Well, she's little girl now.

After she got her stuff put away and her name tag on it was time for the parents to say goodbye and let the teachers do their thing.

She went in and I went out. The walk up the stairs and out the door out into the sun was kind of surreal. I have dropped her off at both the Ft. Wainwright and Ft. Lewis CDCs dozens of times going back to when she was barely one year old.

It took me a minute to figure out what going through my mind. I felt a little lonely.

You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.

With school coming up and schedules being new or different, we decided to do a combo birthday part for the Monkey Twins . They're birthdays are 6 weeks apart but I hated to try and plan two parties so close together.

The weather leading up to Saturday was worrisome but we ended up with blue skies and plenty of sunshine. The high was around 78 when we started. It was one of the nicest days we've had this summer.

Originally, I had planned to magnetize some bath toy fish and rig a pole for the kids. After several unsuccessful attempts at that, we found some kids lacrosse sticks at Target. Toss some rubber duckies into a kiddie pool and Voila! They loved it. Mason and Madison (my cousin Lisa's kiddos) were on mission to catch as many as possible. Mason set the Official Backyard Duck Contest tally number at 49 in around 40 seconds (give or take a few seconds.)

I doubt I'll ever be hired as professional party decorator but I had a lot of fun putting it all up.

Word to the wise though... When buying balloons, don't stick 40 of them in your car at one time. It's nearly impossible to untangle that many. I was still trying to get a few loose to put outside when our first guests arrived. Ellie thought it was great fun to "help." I don't know how we managed to keep them all from floating to the ceiling. Campbell relished in tearing down streamers wherever she found them. I had hung crepe paper up around the house and finally had to give up with any of them being near her eye or hand level.

A side benefit of preparing the house for the party is that I think I finally figured out how to get our kitchen floor sparkling clean. It involves a lot of scrubbing and time but regular mopping just wasn't getting it done.

I found a palm tree cake tin and Jennifer went to town on decorating them. She did a great job and the girls loved them. The only bad thing about cake is that I ate too much of it.

Thanks to everyone for making Funky and Crash's birthday a great success! We had a blast and hoped you did too.

After all that, I'm really glad we just did one party.

We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world

It's been a heckuva month. We've kept busy with a plethora of birthday parties, day trips and just plain fun. If you ever get to Tacoma, the Museum of Glass is well worth visiting. They have a large workshop with 5 furnaces and during weekdays, there is always a team working on pieces of glass. While we were there, they were working on a pterodactyl and a brontosaurus. Ellie was enthralled. Campbell was interested for a bit. The exhibit halls have some fantastic pieces on display (no pictures allowed, ugh.)

We took our first ferry ride this week too. I wondered how the girls would handle being on a small ship away from land. Well, they loved it. We took the Point Defiance/Vashon ride that is about 35 minutes to/from. We left the car in the parking lot and walked on. Ellie has wants to go back on the ferry NOW!!!

Our next ferry ride will be from the downtown peirs in Seattle to either Bremerton or Bainbridge. Now that I know the girls like it, a sunny day on the water will be a gret way to spend some time together.

A Day Out With Thomas... And then Daddy got to see the Thunderbirds

We have had a fantastic weekend. And there's still a birthday party tomorrow to attend.

Ellie is a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan and I had a surprise for her on Friday. The Northern Railway Museum is one of the places where they bring a Thomas look-a-like for rides and pictures. We got in the car and told her when we were on the road where we were going. She was ecstatic. We got our first taste of "Are we there yet?" Fortunately, Snoqualmie is under an hour away. When we saw Thomas parked on the tracks, she went berzerk. I think it was the happiest I have ever seen her.

Ellie in her new conductor hat. She was all ready to run the train. We were a little worried about whether she would like the ride. Well, our fears were completely unfounded.

Campbell was all grins. She had just as much fun as Ellie. By the end of the ride, we couldn't keep her on the train. She was leaning out the window, waiving at cars and generally having a blast.
The train ride goes down toward Snoqualmie Falls. From the tracks you can't see it but we drove down the line after the train ride. The Salish Lodge & Spa is on the bluffs right above the Falls and I think it's a prime candidate for a Daddy/Mommy getaway.


Nana watched the kids on Saturday afternoon and I took advantage of the break by going over to McChord Air Force Base for their Air Show. I had never seen the USAF Thunderbirds and they did not disappoint.


Charlie: So lieutenant, where exactly were you?
Maverick: Well, we...
Goose: Thank you.
Maverick: Started up on a 6, when he pulled from the clouds, and then I moved in above him.
Charlie: Well, if you were directly above him, how could you see him?
Maverick: Because I was inverted.
Iceman: [coughs whilst saying] Bull****.
Goose: No he was man, it was a really great move. He was inverted.

It's fun to play at the YMCA... And the zoo... And just chill out at home

Yeah, yeah. I know the pictures are out of order. I took the Y pics last week and didn't get around to posting them until this week. We go there 2-3 times a week to burn off some toddler energy. It's great for them and we've made some playdate friends there as well. We went to the zoo on Monday with my cousin Sarah and her kiddos. The Point Defiance Zoo has expanded the "playground" section and we learned that on sunny days, we're going to need to bring a change of clothes after Funky and Crash get done running around in the water.

Hot weather? Ha!

So we went over to Ocean Shores for the day to escape the heat. Great idea and I only wish that we had planned ahead and gone over on Saturday. It got up to 92 in Tacoma and the temps were still in the upper 80's at 7:30. The water on the Washington coast it too cold to play in but the 65 degree temps with cloud cover was a nice break from the heat.






I think we'll be finding sand in weird places for the next few days. I don't know how I managed to live in Texas for 20+ years. Summer heat down there would kill me now.

Mini vacations rule!

With little kids it can be kind of a pain to travel. With Jennifer's school schedule it wasn't very easy to get away for more than a day or two at a time. She's finished with the commute to UW for classwork and is now at Ft. Lewis full time. She's off to D.C. for 3+ weeks next weekend so we wanted to squeeze in one more mini vacation before she left. Fortunately, the Puget Sound has a treasure trove of places to visit for the day or a short overnight trip. We took the girls back to downtown Seattle last Saturday for a night and had a lot of fun. We did this back in February and enjoyed it.

The Grand Hyatt is 7 blocks up from Pike Place Market and right in the middle of a lot of shopping and restaurants. Very convenient and we got a really good deal on an awesome suite. Heck, the 1/2 bath off the entry was more than big enough for Campbell's portable crib. Jennifer and Ellie got the king bed and I got the comfy couch. The girls were entranced by the view out across Elliott Bay and down onto the streets. Right over Ellie's head is Pike Place. Off to right we could see the Space Needle. The ferries come and go up until midnight and several cruise ships departed in the late afternoon. We got to check in a little early so we did the Market first and then came back to the room to clean up and get ready for dinner. Each time we visit downtown we end up finding somewhere else great to eat. The girls really don't give a hoot but Jennifer and I like the variety. On Sunday we went to the Seattle Aquarium. Small crowd for such a nice day but we weren't complaining. It was nice to let Campbell walk around with us without worrying about her getting run over.

After the girls were in bed, I walked down the street and took some pictures. I was trying to get some street scenes and while there were a lot of people out and about I just didn't seem to see anything that caught my eye. Until I got back down to the Market. The neon "Public Market" is the icon of area and is picture friendly. After I got back to the room I kicked myself for not bringing my tripod because the added stability would have really helped. But that's just something I'll add to the list for next time. It's not like we don't bring enough stuff as it is! We're heading to Ocean Shores tomorrow to escape the heat. Officially, it hit 87 today but the temperature downstairs was 80 as of 11:00 pm. Upstairs was even warmer. The girls' rooms stay a bit cooler but the master bedroom roasts for some reason. I know the Monkey Twins will love playing in the sand. Hopefully Ellie isn't dead set on playing in the water. She tried that last time we went and ended up with 50 degree water up to her knees. So here's to 70 degrees and some shade tomorrow at the beach. Even if we do end up with sand in odd places.

I am the master of my domain

This was the scene in our laundry room last Saturday...
I managed to overload the washing machine. A bunch of towels was too much for the old girl. I called a buddy who does appliance repair but he doesn't come this far south for work. But he walked me through 90% of getting the machine apart. As I got the motor unclipped, he says "when you get it off, you'll see what the problem is. I gotta go." Uh. Well, I pulled the motor off, turned it over and there is was. A broken coupling that costs $15. My friend just saved me $200 for a house call. I picked up the piece from Sears on Monday, put the washing machine back together and was doing laundry 10 minutes later. Thanks to Bill, I learned an easy lesson in home repair and managed to feel manly all at the same time.

80 degrees and it's killing me

Four years away from Texas and I'm a wuss in the heat. We'll be up over 80 again tomorrow. If we had some ceiling fans it might make being inside a bit more bearable but for now we're getting some good breezes. The temps are back down in the 60's right now but then again, it is 11:15 at night.

I dropped the girls off at the Ft. Lewis Child Development Center this morning, came home to do some quick work around the house and then headed out to take some pictures on a beautiful sunny day. The Olympics were stunning off to the west and Mt. Rainier looked bigger than ever but not seeing it for 2-3 weeks will do that to you. There's a park down in Steilacoom that runs along the shore. Apparently, today was Senior Skip Day from Lakes High School and, well, I feel old.
The girls have been enjoying life outside more and more. Prior to today, we've had some nice "warm" weather with temps in the mid 60's. The girls think it's ALWAYS time to go to the playground. We spend as much time as possible outside. Ellie thinks every flower needs to be picked and Campbell loves to pour sand down her shirt and pants. I think she'll learn that sand in the diaper sucks soon enough.

Spring is nature's way of saying "Let's party!"

I can't take credit for that. Robin Williams said it at some point. But Spring has sprung finally for us. We had fantastic weather on Friday and Saturday last week and today brightened up after lunch time. Obviously, the Monkey Twins are enjoying the chance to play without having to avoid wet slides or swings.

The parade ground at Ft. Lewis was a great place to celebrate. The girls were competing in a "who could make a bigger shadow" contest. Then it was "who can run around in circles the most before getting too dizzy."

We moved out of Alaska, right?

I'm kidding. Sort of . We got snow Wednesday through Friday. Morning temperatures have been in the low 30's. Ellie and Campbell still get super excited when they see snow. Ellie wants to go out and try to catch snowflakes on her tongue. We've been 10-12 degrees below normal the past few days and with the precipitation, it was just time for some snow. Tom and Linda came up last week and got to enjoy the end of our winter. Tom left before the snow came but I'm betting he's ok with that. Linda is dealing with the cold weather. It was 80 when they left Houston. Heh. I miss Houston in March and April. But I don't miss July and August.

We can't complain too much. I-90 over the Snoqualmie Pass has been a mess the past few days. The State Police have traffic monitored and cars are going through at a paced 10-15 miles per hour. It was kind of funny to see some of the people being interviewed. Some skiers were trying to get out there because the fresh powder and they ended up having to turn back because they spent so long in traffic. We're looking forward to some sunshine this coming week. Supposed to see temps back into the mid 50's and little rain until at least mid week. I'm ready to let the girls run wild without having to worry about mud on them or our carpet.

We've been taking the girls to our local Y for some (un)organized play time. They have great programs and we start T-ball on Monday for Ellie and swim lesson for both girls on Saturday. That should be a blast. They both love the water so we're looking forward to getting them in the pool regularly.

I took this picture earlier in the week before the snow. We have a gorgeous tree in our backyard that is very full and provides some nice shade and a little privacy. But it flowers very nicely right now. I'm pretty sure it's a Japanese Red Maple but I'll know for sure when the leaves start sprouting. I'm getting ready for the flowers to start blooming around here. It should make for some fantastic pictures. The girls and I will be ready for some short walks up at Point Defiance when that happens. I'll let them run the trails while I snap away. I got a great wide angle lens for Christmas that should help a lot with some close ups. When we got here in May last year, there were still some great blooms and the trees were solid green. Leaves everywhere (on the limbs.) I have some tentative plans for some hiking either down near Rainier or up in the Olympics on Hurricane Ridge with the girls. The scenery should be breathtaking in late April and early May as the flowers poke out from under the snow and rain. I'm hoping to find some bike trails that are trailer friendly as well. I know there are some old railroad cuts up north and if they can be traversed with the kiddos in the Chariot trailer, I'm down with that.


Down at Pike Place Market, there's a fruit and veggie stand that also sells these fantastic bundles of peppers. The long strands are only $20 and the short ones are $10. I have a strand drying in the kitchen right now and I think it's going to look pretty cool even when the peppers shrivel. The green ones are turning orange. Not Burnt Orange (unfortunately) but more like that other UT over near the Smokey Mountains. The girls love going up to the Market. There's so much to see. One really cool thing is the street musicians. Anywhere there's an embedded brass musical note on the sidewalk, a musician, band or singer can set up and play. On any given day, there'll be a barbershop quartet down the street from a folk band playing steel guitars and a washboard. Heck, the other day, there was a guy playing an upright piano on one of the street corners.