We have been trying to take full of these last few days of sunshine in our gray, gray state. It’s been actually beautiful when it hasn’t been raining. We were invited over for treats and cocoa (homemade!) by a new mom that I met at my MNMs group, Esther. It was great, they live in a house just down from the house I grew up in so it brought back many memories of my childhood. We used to play football in “Betty’s” (now Esther’s) yard and my bus stop was at the end of our dirt road, which was where her house is. A quick walk from our house to hers and it was the perfect way to burn off a little of the boy’s energy. We spent a bunch of time on the beach chatting while the boys were looking for crabs. Then we ventured back to their house for awhile before heading back home.
A great afternoon, and what a treat is was to hang out with our new neighbors!

Last weekend was the Holiday Festival at the Clear Creek Nursery in Silverdale. We planned to get there a little early to watch the salmon run upstream but there weren’t many doing it at that point. It was fun to watch a few make the journey, what effort it takes them to go even 10 yards.
Then it was inside to the festival…who knew Santa and the Mrs would be there for us to take pictures with the kids (our own pics, not $20 a shot) and they also had “snow” which was really small soap bubbles but really looked like snow and the boys loved it. Got some great pics and then Bill and Melissa joined us for dinner and hanging out at our place. Always fun!
If you get a chance, stop in to the nursery (which has super cool stuff) and check it out.

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Add skateboard builder to my list of occupations. I pieced together a couple of skateboards from Goodwill to make one nice board for Carlos. It’s huge, but he makes it work. The little board was really slow and this one he can at least get some momentum and ride awhile. He’s quite the daredevil and now going down the hills. If only I knew someone who could actually teach him how to do it! It’s hard to explain when I really have no clue. Anyone? Anyone? He’s a quick study and very motivated. May be the perfect sport for our athletic little introvert.
Trey came along to ride his scooter. He seems to have no interest in the skateboard, but LOVES cruising all over with the scooter. Got a couple cool shots of him dropping into the bowl and riding up on a skeleton graffiti.
Also while we were there, we ran into a mom who I see all over town and her family who were taking family snapshots at the skateboard park. I got to take advantage of my photography skills and nice camera and take some pictures for them. What a great idea! Think we might just have to steal that one and get some cool family photos there. The graffiti isn’t too obscene (seriously, it’s Bainbridge Island!) and it sets a nice backdrop for the pictures.

Every so often we treat the boys to a movie night…tonight’s the night! We bring their mattresses and comforters out into the living room, pop some popcorn and settle in for a night of movies. There’s just something special about doing this and it’s become a once a month or so tradition. Tonight’s feature is Journey to the Center of the Earth. Cheesy, yes but it’s one of their favorites. Eventually they all crash….

We had such a treat today, our friend Rachel (our dear friend and former boss, Beth’s daughter) brought her beautiful baby girl over to visit. Kenley is a doll! It was nice to have some baby girl energy in the house and so fun to catch up with Rachel. The whole family is doing well and she was over on the island for a mom’s lunch (the former prenatal group who have all had their babies and now get together). Baby time is amazing and Dee and I fought over who was going to hold her and I even got her to smile for a picture in the end. Thanks again, Rachel, for coming to hang out with us for awhile and introducing us to your sweet baby girl!
Check out their blog (Story of the Peanut King) for some cute pics and more about baby Kenley!

Carlos has a new skill…oh yes, we’re oh so proud….he can climb the door jam. It’s pretty amazing to watch, and I’m impressed with his athletic abilities but it makes a mom nervous!

I was talking to the boys this morning about not wasting food (a daily occurrence) and being thankful for what we have. We’re a family that doesn’t always have a lot (we’ve had Top Ramen for dinner!), but we have never missed a meal. That inspired me to get our family more involved in our community and help to give back.
If you can collect a bag full of food (and are a local), the boys and I would be more than willing to pick them up and deliver them to Helpline. I am hoping to make this a once a month thing, not just at the holidays. It feels good to give!
Email me if you are interested in participating!

Blast from the past – Brotherly Love

So my dad owns a marketing company, and in a recent business email he received, the footer was encouraging him to vote “no” for Ref 71. It would have been easy for him to let it go, but he didn’t and I wanted to share his response (and one of my favorite pictures of him and Levi). He’s an amazing dad, so supportive and I know having a gay daughter hasn’t been easy for him. Anyhow, he didn’t expect for me to even read his email (thanks, Mom for sharing it!) but he did give me permission to share it with you all.

His response:
“P.S. I already voted the “other” way on Referendum 71. I feel quite strongly the other way. My daughter is gay, but she and her partner have adopted three foster kids and given them one of the best and most loving homes you can imagine. They also go the extra mile to provide care for children (over 30 so far) who need temporary care because of what is happening at home (quite often it’s due to something major enough to be a major headline in the news). She and her life partner have been together for many years. I feel they do more than most by far to make our community a better place to live, and I strongly feel that they should have rights similar to what I and others enjoy. I guess we’ll have to disagree on that one.”

Thanks for everything, Dad!

We’ve got some boys with rad moves on their scooters and skateboards. We realized awhile back that the skateboard park is an awesome place to spend a morning. The skateboarders aren’t usually out there until at least noon, probably too tired from video gaming the night before. It’s also like a big baby jail…they can slide in and skate around but can’t easily get out.
It’s fun to bring a ball or two as well and have them chase it around. There’s nowhere to get hurt, and lots of fun to be had. Carlos is really trying to learn to skateboard, it’s fun to watch him but he’s grown so much that his mini sized skateboard is too small. Looks like that might go on the ol’ Christmas list!