An October Day at the Beach

she almost caught one!

Scotty had sniffles yesterday so I kept him from school, however he was feeling fine and I wanted to get out of the house.  So I got a crazy idea to head to Ocean Shores, a two hour drive from our house.  It was raining and blustery and cold and the wind was blowing 100 miles an hour (that ought to be good for Scotty's cold), who wouldn't want to be at the beach in those conditions?!?!  But we had a great time beachcombing, chasing birds and digging in the sand.  A little rain never hurt anybody.  We practically had the whole beach to ourselves so we were able to let the dog run around to her hearts content.  It was a lot of fun.

Alaska Grown

I thought these "Alaska Grown" shirts were cute when I saw them on our trip to Alaska, but had no luck finding them in the boys sizes before leaving.  However, my good pal Suzanne finally found them in Juneau and surprised us with them earlier this week.  Scotty was excited to wear his to school today and it was a hit!!  Super cute.  Thanks Suz! 

Grandma's 75th Birthday Party Surprise

Patricia Lou (DeMille) Godfrey, age 16

We hosted my grandma's 75th birthday party at our house and it was a fabulous time.  She and three of her friends traveled over from eastern Washington on Saturday morning and arrived our house around 5 PM.  Meanwhile, the rest of the family arrived around 4 PM and it was a great surprise to her all who were in attendance.  My grandma is very special to me and it made me so happy to have our family and her friends at our house to celebrate this milestone.  She doesn't look 75 nor does she "act" 75, as you would be able to tell by the video clip of her 'gettin jiggy'....so glad I recorded that!!  Of course, thanks in part to the "Bourbon on the Rocks" that Jay kept feeding her all night - my Grandma was loopy and it was HILARIOUS to watch her let loose.  I know everyone had a lot of fun at the party and it was really great to see my grandma so happy and so loved.  Happy Birthday, Grandma....here's to many more!

Helping grandma find her way

The grand entrance

The cake I had made and the collage of pictures of the family

59 years later....

The Grandkids and Great-Grandkids

(seven other kids were missing unfortunately - but the most important ones were there :))

Bye Bye Baseball :(

We brought the boys to the last Mariners game of the season yesterday.  It was a beautiful Fall day in Seattle and it was Zac's very first baseball game. 

Zac checking things out

The boys were totally engaged in all the goings on

MMMM gotta have garlic fries a.k.a. Rally Fries :)

The Ms played a great game and ended a winning season with 84 wins, 77 losses.  Third place in the American League West.  A record that no one expected after last year's heartbreaking 101 losses.  It's amazing what a new General Manager, a new Manager, lots of new young players and a few older ones can do to improve a sinking program.  They called it the rebuilding process, something the Ms have long been overdue, and the new slogan this year was 'A New Day, A New Way'.  A new way indeed.  Manager Don Wakamatsu refers to a "belief system" that the players embraced and it is definitely what made things happen this year.  Despite lots of injuries and setbacks, they prevailed and it was the most enjoyable season to watch.  It beats the year they had 116 wins and all the years they made it to the playoffs.  This year was magical for a lot of reasons and I am so glad we were a part of it from start to finish.  No one knows if Griffey will be back next year, but his comeback year is something we will never forget, even if he was only batting .214!!!  He is a hero in every sense of the word.  The impact he had on the team and the fans is immeasurable, and he is definitely one of the main reasons this year was so special.

Griffey

The players saying goodbye to each other,

a rare show of comaraderie and emotion in professional sports

Prosser, Washington

The boys standing in the spot where we were married

As if the past couple of weeks hasn't been busy enough, I took the boys to eastern Washington to visit my grandma in a little town called Prosser.  I love Prosser.  When you think of country town, with one major intersection, where everyone knows everyone, you think of towns like Prosser.  I grew up going there almost every summer, spending days running around the town with the friends we made there and sometimes helping my grandparents answer phones in their Century 21 office.  My brother and I even lived there for awhile and I attended school there for the first few months of 7th grade.  I have great memories in that town.  When my grandfather died in 1990, I never thought Prosser would be the same, but it was the same ol' Prosser, I just had to make new memories there.  I love that place so much that neither Jay nor I hesitated to plan our wedding there on my grandma's lawn, overlooking the Yakima River.  And it is also the place where I celebrated the last Christmas with my mother.  I don't know what I will do when and if Prosser isn't a place we can go to anymore, so that is why I am making sure my boys know and appreciate it like I do.

The boys with their "GiGi"

My Grandma & Me

Chrissy & Me (Uncle Dan in the background)

Chris has been my grandma's neighbor since 1979

Doin' the Puyallup

MMMM - fair food is the best!

As part of Zac's birthday, we took the boys to the Puyallup Fair.  Our coastie friends, Anthony & Sherri Owens and their daughter, Sammie, met us there and we had a grand time.  Sammie & Scotty have been playmates since they were infants, way back during our days in Juneau, and it's as if time has never passed when the two of them get together, so much so, that it gets Sherri all googly-eyed with wedding plans every time.  I have to admit, they are very cute together.  I didn't think Scotty would go on any rides, so thought we'd be spending most of our time in the animal exhibits, but I was wrong.  As soon as Scotty saw the bumper cars, he wanted to go on them.  So I accompanied him first and then Jay went with him the second time. 

By that time, the Owens arrived and Sammie took over.  Those two went on every kiddie ride possible, sometimes even twice, and they had a blast.  It was really good to see Scotty come out of his shell a little more. 

Sammie's tooth is missing from a mishap she & Scotty had at our house in Juneau, when they were running and bumped into each other, knocking Sammie face-first into the wall.  I guess he had to make sure she always remembers him...

To top the night off (literally, we closed the fair down!!) Sherri and I had to get rid of the last bit of tickets, so we found the only roller coaster still open called Monster Mouse.  It's smaller than some of the roller coasters, but still crazy enough for a couple of 30-something year old women!  I was definitely feeling the effects of the whip lash I'd received the day after, but it was worth it!  I haven't laughed that hard or screamed that much in a long time! 

We had to get our pictures taken in the photo booth (Sherri got the better end of the photo strip)

Zachary turns TWO!

I can't believe it's been two years since our little guy came into this world!  Every day it seems he does something new that amazes us or entertains us.  Big brother Scotty definitely has a hand in all of Zac's advancements and we're so happy they have each other, they are best buds for sure.  Scott & Nik hosted the birthday party at their house and had an awesome seafood spread complete with crab, shrimp, catfish and lots of butter!  YUM!