Monthly Archives: August 2008

Fun with Friends

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This post is a tad late, just got the camera out and realized I had these pictures on it.

Robb and his boys came by for a visit on Sunday and the boys had a blast playing in the yard. Our guys look up to his guys and seeing them just give us a glimmer of life in a couple of years. He’s got great kids, though and it’s sure fun to see them all playing together. It was actually, as Robb pointed out, all of the kids doing their own thing and then merging together and back apart again. Strange how kids play.

The first and last pics are my favorites…Jonah was shooting hoops and Robb was showing off some mad skills and blocking his shots, they were both totally cracking up. Then the boys playing ping pong and eating popsicles…or Robb playing ping pong and the boys were eating popsicles. Like Jonah’s cool dude hair? He’s growing it out, sweet.

Speaking of hair, Levi has been asking for a blue “fauxhawk” and I think he may just get one. It’s only hair, right?!

Enjoy the pics!

Dude, are you serious?

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Apparently…yes. I had just finished helping Mary load stuff in her truck to take to the new house when I jokingly told her that she best tie it down really well because I only had an hour between then and having to take the boys to aikido so I wouldn’t be able to bail her booty out of jail if that stuff got loose. Who’s laughing now, it was ME who got pulled over because apparently the tabs on the van had expired. We honestly didn’t even get a notice to renew and who pays attention to that stuff? Not me, but the ticket the officer gave me screams “pay attention to this stuff, Kendra”

Oh well, it’ll get taken care of and court gives me an excuse to get out of my t-shirt and cargo shorts and get all dressed up in my adoption/funeral/wedding outfit, right? Ha, like I really want to do that.

Get Out of Bed Free Pass

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Here’s my latest attempt at creating order out of chaos. We’ve been having HUGE issues at bedtime lately, they just don’t seem to want to stay in their beds. First it’s getting up to go potty, then it’s getting up for one more hug, then getting up because there’s a moth in the room, and so on and so on. My latest creating is the one use only Get Out of Bed pass.
Wish us luck tonight!

Couch Potato or Sports Junkie?

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Seriously…there’s a fine line here but I find myself glued to the television watching the Olympics. We Tivo all the NBC coverage and also have 5 other channels to scan for great stuff to watch. I still haven’t found the table tennis coverage for Carlos to watch so if anyone knows where/when that’s going to be let me know.

See, th other funny thing about the Olympic games is that I’m a total wreck about it! Doesn’t matter who’s competing but I’m always overflowing with emotions and find myself tearing up with happiness for the atheletes. Of course, there’s Michael Phelps who is amazing, and our local star Emily Silver (congrats on the silver for you, girl!) and all but I’m an equal opportunity sobber…I like ’em all. Don’t ask me to talk about it either, I’ll get all emotional.

What is it about the Olympics?

Chugga Chugga Toot Toot

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Dee was busy helping Mary move today so Nana, Papa and I loaded up the wee beasties and took a short drive to Port Orchard today to see the trains at Kitsap Live Steamers. It’s easy to find and the people couldn’t be nicer, they are excited that others can enjoy their hobby. It’s worth checking out for sure. If you look really close in the first picture you can see my blue shirt at the end of the train. We rode the train a couple of times then had a picnic in the park next door. All in all a great day!
I love this picture of Levi and Papa! They both have the prettiest blue eyes and you can feel the love when you look at the picture.

I Didn't Do It!

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Dee and I were enjoying watching the opening ceremonies this morning (and forwarding through the jibber jabber…thank God for Tivo), Trey was playing with the pirate ship and Carlos and Levi were in the kitchen working on their drawings. Each of the boys has their own notebook and pens that they spend countless hours writing letters in and drawing pictures. Honestly, the best 50 cents I’ve spent in my life. So while we’re all peacefully doing our things, Carlos comes in to tell us that Levi is writing on himself. Now, our only rules for the pens/notebooks is that you can only write on the notebook and if you don’t then you are done for the day. Carlos is notorious for writing little “c”s on drawers or the floor or wherever he wants to “tag”. So when Carlos came in to tattle on Levi about writing on himself, we called him in and this is what we found….”Carlos” written on his neck! Either Levi is really flexible or our little gangster was at it again. You would think that if you are going to break the rules like that, you would have the sense not to write your own name and advertise the crime! Dude!

Slip n Slide

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We finally got out the slip n slide, it was warm enough and the wind had died down so the kids didn’t get too chilled. Trey also got a car wash that we put over the top of the slip n slide that made it super cool. Levi, Alice and Trey couldn’t get enough but Carlos hung back and played wiht the pirate ships in the kiddie pool.
Ah…..summer.

Raising the Bar

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I actually won a contest! I get to host a house party and preview a new TNT show, Raising the Bar. Apparently I get to invite friends and family to our place to view the show early, we get a box of party favors and all. Should be cool! Wanna come? It’ll be Saturday, August 23rd at 7pm.

Here’s a basic synopsis of the show.

With a balanced scale in her hand and a cloth covering her eyes, Lady Justice represents the principles of fairness and blind objectivity. Nowhere is this symbol more relevant – and more challenged – than in the courtroom battle between district attorney and public defender. This is the compelling foundation of TNT’s RAISING THE BAR, a powerful new legal drama from Emmy® winning producer Steven Bochco. The gripping series stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar (NYPD Blue), Gloria Reuben (ER) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle) and follows the lives of young lawyers who work on opposite sides – the public defender’s office and the district attorney’s office – as well as those who sit in judgment on their cases. The series, which was created by Bochco and lawyer/writer David Feige (author of Indefensible), is set to premiere Monday, Sept. 1, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT). RAISING THE BAR not only looks at courtroom battles but also the relationships among people on different sides. “The primary characters are a group of young public defenders and prosecutors who go up against each other during the day, but they’re friends and hang out with each other at night,” Bochco says. “They argue and negotiate with each other. They are dedicated players within what we feel is a broken criminal justice system.” Bochco points out that the series strives to provide a balanced view of the system and those who work within it. “RAISING THE BAR is not geared specifically toward the public defenders or the prosecutors,” he says. “We try to give equal time to both points of view, with an eye toward revealing the extent to which the system doesn’t work very well. It certainly doesn’t have all that much to do with justice. It has more to do with keeping the conveyor belt turning, the idea that if every case in the system goes to trial, the system grinds to a halt.” In RAISING THE BAR, Gosselaar plays Jerry Kellerman, an idealistic public defender who will stop at nothing to help those who cannot help themselves. Reuben plays Rosalind Whitman, Jerry’s passionate and protective boss. Teddy Sears (Ugly Betty) is Richard Patrick Woolsley, who foregoes a cushy job in his father’s firm to work for the public defender’s office. Natalia Cigliuti (All My Children) is Roberta “Bobbi” Gilardi, a new member of the team who quickly proves she can hold her own against even the toughest courtroom opponent. -more- On the opposite side, Melissa Sagemiller (Sleeper Cell) plays Michelle Ernhardt, an attorney in the DA’s office who struggles with balancing the need to win cases with the desire to see justice done. She works for assistant DA Nick Balco, played by Currie Graham (Boston Legal), whose razor-sharp knowledge of the law is countered by his easy manipulation of it. They are joined by J. August Richards (Conviction) as Marcus McGrath, who is relentless in putting criminals behind bars. The courtroom arena where they face off belongs to Judge Trudy Kessler, played by Kaczmarek. She is imperious, treating the courtroom as her own private fiefdom as she prepares to make a political run to become the next district attorney. Working for her is law clerk Charlie Sagansky, played by Jonathan Scarfe (Into the West), a man with a wealth of secrets.

S'more Pics, Lucky You!

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We caught the 5am boat out of Kingston (yeah, getting up at 3:30 was FUN) and then made it up to Anacortes in time for the 7:45 boat. WHEW, no waiting in lines at the boat. All in all we were in good spirits despite the early morning. The boys slept in the car and by the time we were on the boat they were ready to roll.


We had time to spare before Jenn and Rob got to the resort and we could check in so we took the boys out to Moran State Park to hike. They loved the waterfalls, what a treat to be able to get so close. They got to touch the water, too but we made it a short hike just to be sure we didn’t push it. The view from the top of Mount Constitution was breathtaking, too!


Levi is such a sailor!


The Hukilau, from the water.


This is Rob in the “fold up boat”…it truly does fold up and it’s surprisingly sturdy, too!


Strike a pose, Dee!


Jim helping Rob get the fold up boat back onboard.


Levi and Jack trying to convince Katy (the dog) to tinkle in the “doggy potty” onboard. She preferred to piddle on the deck, though. She’s still learning how to be a boat dog.

Vacation Slide Show

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Here are a bunch of pics for you, yes, I will bore you with our family vacation photos. Cool thing about this is that you can close them whenever you want, not have to listen to me rant about every one of them (sorry for that last night, mom and dad!) Happy to be back but we could have easily stayed. Jenn and Rob spoiled us and we couldn’t thank them more!


How cute is this little guy?


Carlos and I coming back from our fishing trip. I look shockingly big compared to my little guy, that’s not so good!


Suprisingly, Dee didn’t catch much with the Lightning McQueen rod.


Carlos caught the first fish! He really wanted to spend most his time fishing, and he and I even went out on our own to fish while the other kids played. It was really nice to have time just me and him and chat while we waited for the fish to bite.


We fished a lot off the dock, we caught a bunch of fish and the boys did great. I even caught a keeper sized cod right before we left.


Off to fish, let’s go get the big one!


This is where Carlos was on all of our boat trips…clinging to me, then crashing for hours. Talk about butt rocks, those boat chairs aren’t so comfy after 3 hours.


Dinner time!


Carlos spent most of his time on the boat sleeping, I think that was his way to cope with the sea sickness.


Even Levi caught a little shut eye on the boat while he took a break from playing with all the kids in the cabin.


Trey’s make-shift bed on the boat.


Trey crashed on the boat, the funny part about this that you can’t see is that he’s still holding his peanut butter sandwich. At one point, he woke up, stuffed the rest in his mouth, laid back down and napped some more.


Rob hanging out with the kids by the fire and Levi LOVING holding the puppy.


This log looked so much like a seal, I had to take a picture.


Yum…garlic steamed clams, my favorite!


Carlos’ silhouette


Jenn took a billion pictures, can’t wait to see hers and share them too.


Dee got some gourmet marshmallows (caramel and banana flavors) from my mom that she shared with the grown-ups. The kids got Western Family, but didn’t seem to mind.


Trey enjoys the sunset in only a coat and crocs!


Our yurt (or tent cabin as they called it) was perfect for us, with a queen bed for Dee and I and a futon for the boys. Didn’t spend much time here but it worked well.


Rob, Jenn and Judy (Jenn’s sister) hanging out at the lodge and planning the day. Jenn’s holding a lovely map of the islands and pointing out “you are here”


Here are my little future bloggers!


Ping Pong Tournament (Dee and Jenn’s mom)


Ah, how sweet are these boys?! Yes, I did plan for the red sweatshirts…we try to dress brightly when we travel (and this was the morning of our last day) so we don’t lose anyone.