A Day in Seattle

What a great day to spend in Seattle. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. After camping the night before with Jay, I took the boys along with Scott, Nik and the girls to enjoy one last day out with the family before the school year begins this week. We rode the ferry over from Bremerton where we were shoulder to shoulder with WSU fans heading over to Qwest field for the WSU vs OSU game (where the Cougars were crushed 39-13, by the way...). Seattle was also hosting the annual Bumbershoot Music & Arts festival, so needless to say, it was a crazy weekend in the city, but such a great day to be out in it. We started off the day at Pike Place Market. Don't have any pics of that because it was hard enough to maneuver the stroller and two kids through the crowds, let alone taking time to snap a picture. We watched the famous fish tossing, enjoyed some Humbow at the Mee Sum Pastry, and stood in line at the popular doughnut hole-in-the-wall cart. We then treked on over to Gas Works Park, a park which contains remnants of the former Seattle Gas Light Co. gasification plant. Some of the pieces are actual ruins from the old plant and some are reconditioned and made into structures that people can climb and play on. The park is on Lake Union with a backdrop of the Seattle skyline and it is so pretty. We were there for a couple of hours just letting the kids run around while the adults relaxed. After that, we headed over to Volunteer Park in Capitol Hill where they have the Seattle Asian Art Museum. We didn't have time to visit inside the museum, but enjoyed walking the grounds and the conservatory. Again, it had a beautiful backdrop of the city and in fact, there were three different wedding parties that were there having pictures taken. A grand day in the city indeed!

Can I teach my son to swim without getting into a bathing suit???

Well the new school year is upon us and since the only preschool I actually considered enrolling Scotty into is full, I've decided to "homeschool" preschool. My inspiration coming from my dear friend, Suzanne, who homeschools all four of her children and makes it look easy. Thus, I decided our first activity would be swimming. But before I sign Scotty up and pay for real lessons, I have to make sure he will get into the water! I was never inspired to take him swimming before now, so unfortunately at three years of age, the bathtub has been as close to a pool that he's ever been, aside from the few times Jay took him in the various hotel pools we came upon during our trip through Canada. He'll get in the water as long as he's hanging onto someone. I guess that means I have to get myself into a bathing suit (sigh....)....I knew the day would come. I was just hoping to be about 20 pounds lighter. O-well. It's not about me, it's about the experience I will share with my child, right? Today I dragged my brother and my two nieces out to the pool on base so they could get into the water with the boys and spare me. It worked for today, but eventually I will have to break down and face the inevitable humiliation that will be me in a bathing suit. The last time I was in a bathing suit? Our honeymoon in Hawaii over 8 years ago....yikes. On a lighter note, the weather here has been overcast and rainy with thunder and lightening storms off and on during the past week and I have to admit, I love it! It's not Juneau rain where you're lucky to see a speck of sunshine in a month's time. When it does shower here, it's actually refreshing. So much so that we treked out to the local county fair in the rain and we were the only ones prepared with rainboots and coats (thanks for the training, Juneau!). It was actually quite humorous because it didn't bother us one bit. In addition to the fair, Jay took Scotty to the car races while his dad was in town this past weekend. A long tradition of Jay and his dad, so they were excited to expose Scotty to the sport. Of course, upon the roaring, loud start of the engines, Scotty was ready to go home but that's when Jay broke out the handy dandy ear muffs and all was well again. This weekend, camping is on the agenda in honor of the last weekend of the summer. As the season comes to a close, we find ourselves being very grateful for the past couple months of warmth and sunshine. It has been more summer than we've seen in FOUR years and we've enjoyed every minute of it!

Puppy Love

"Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot about little puppies" - Gene Hill.

Had to include these pics of the new puppies in the family. Scott and Nikki's dog, Molly, just had these puppies last week. Molly is a Maltese and they bred her with a Yorkie. So cute!!

Keeping Busy

What a busy week we had! Last Tuesday my brother took the boys for a few hours while I made the dreaded trip to the Naval hospital to register with our local Tricare office. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, but boy did I feel like a small fish in a huge bowl with a million other small fish. "Sign here, sign there, take this elevator to this other office and wait. NEXT!" Definitely a far cry from the small clinics I dealt with in Juneau which is what I miss most about that town. In fact, this is the first place we've not had our choice of doctors and clinics. Since this is a huge military community (two naval bases right near us), we are mandated to go to the Naval Hospital. Makes sense, yes. But what a different experience than what I am used to being in the smaller, more remote towns. However, who am I to complain? We have good healthcare and a hospital built just for us military folks. That's pretty cool. On Wednesday, my friend and teammate from my fastpitch days came to visit us. Ruth is a good friend and fun to hang out with. Scotty calls her "Miss Rude" because he can't say the "th" for some reason. Ruth is heading to Nevada for Nursing School (God bless her!) so she is busy making her rounds to say goodbye. On Friday, Jay was ambitious enough to take Scotty camping. They went with our friends, Brian and Becky Chambers, who also have a three year old. I think it's tough on the little ones because they get bored quickly. Too young to ride bicycles around the campground or go exploring by themselves and too active to just sit around the campfire. But with record high temps this past weekend, who wanted to sit around the campfire?!?! Zac and I went out there for the evening to hang out for a little bit and I have to say, I was glad I wasn't staying overnight. There was no breeze and the heat felt heavy. But, unlike Juneau, there were no bugs! Though I missed Scotty and it was hard to look into his empty room that night, Jay says they had a great time and Scotty did really good his first night in the woods. In fact, he keeps asking when they are going again. On Saturday I hosted a garage sale with Nikki and my Aunt Holly. It was a bust. I think it was too hot for people and most were at the lake keeping cool rather than shopping garage sales. O-well. That's where Goodwill comes in handy! On Sunday Jay and Scotty went fishing with my dad and Scotty was the only one to catch and land a fish. It was pretty exciting for him and now in addition to camping, that is all he talks about wanting to do. It is great to be back in the Northwest.

Zac's First Steps

He's a walker! Zac took his first few steps on his own yesterday and he was able to perform enough for the camera, so I'm attaching a clip. I was trying to get him to walk earlier in the day but he wouldn't do it. So I finally set him up to watch Scotty do it. I took Scotty by the hands and said "walk to mommy" and Scotty, playing along like the good big brother that he is, stood up and took a few steps toward me. Low and behold, the next time I tried it with Zac he did it! Thanks to big brother Scotty for showing him how. Scotty was walking at 9 months, so like with everything, Zac at 10.5 months, is just a little bit behind brother in the development stages, but he's still a little whipper snapper. He's going to be my go-getter and he definitely has no fear.

The Great Outdoors

The weather has been fabulous here since the moment we crossed the border. And even when it's been overcast or rainy (though only a couple days, if that) we haven't complained ONCE! It's been so wonderful to be outside and have warmth around us. It's been great to wear summer clothes and see my painted toes because I am wearing flip flops. What's been even greater is letting my boys play outside. Scotty fell down the other day while running in the driveway and he scraped his knee! HALLELUJAH! Are you dirty? Is there blood? Awsome! That's the way it should be! I love to just let them loose and go wherever they may. Granted, they are slathered in SPF 50 (now that I've learned my lesson), but they are having a grand time and they finally know what sunshine and grass are! It sounds pathetic, but I speak the truth. Juneau was great in many ways, but tough on the little ones who get cabin fever a lot quicker than adults do. We are loving our new life here in Washington, though we know the rainy season is coming, we are soaking up every ray that we possibly can and enjoying every bead of sweat that runs down our faces. Our dog on the other hand is having a tough time. German Shepherd. Thick, black coat. She can't shed her Alaskan fur fast enough and I am having to vacuum what appears to be small bunnies around the house every day. Poor dog.

Day at the Zoo

The Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma is only about 45 minutes from us. Our friends, Brian & Becky Chambers, who we knew in Juneau and who are now attending grad school at UW, also live in Port Orchard and have annual passes to the zoo. They had a free guest pass and invited us to tag along, thus I took the boys and had a great time. The zoo is not very big and only takes about an hour and a half to get through it, especially when you have little ones who don't hold their attention for very long. Scotty was not much into the animals however. All he was interested in was how fast he could get from one end of any given path to the other. Oh, and how far ahead of mom he could get without her yelling to "get back here". I guess if you're a boy who's been cooped up indoors for most of your short life, all you want to do is run. And run he did....needless to say, he slept well that afternoon :) We had so much fun in fact, that we are now holders of an annual pass to the Point Defiance Zoo.