Ah, Cabo…the place where I finally crossed “snorkel in crystal clear water” off my bucket list.  Well, mostly…it was mostly clear and not totally warm but I’m guessing it’s as close as I’ll get to tropical so I’m making it count.
 Jumped on the tenders and had plans to meet up with our pre-paid Greyline tour to board a catamaran, enjoy a lunch and open bar and go snorkeling.  You know what they say about best laid plans…we shopped the local crafts market while we waited for our tour and eventually found out that the boat we were supposed to be on had broken down and our tour had been cancelled. 
We ended up grabbing some fish tacos at a local taco cart and hopping a water taxi out to Lover’s Beach.  It was gorgeous!!!  The sand was a bit coarse but the water was clear (and Carlos and I finally found some fish to watch while we snorkeled).  We had a mostly private spot and settled in for a few hours.  The boys built a giant sand hole with moats around to keep the water out.  We swam and worked had at keeping Erin off the huge rocks.  I swear she will be a rock climber someday, she is fearless and sure footed.  Good thing her uncle loves to climb, too!

Our visit to Puerto Vallerta did NOT disappoint!  What an incredible city.  The water, the beach, the people, the sun, the food.  Loved it all.
Ok, so maybe not ALL.  We had a super bumpy crazy bus ride that I could have done without.  The picture of Erin on the bus is one of my favorites.  I asked her, “Are you ok?” and she said, “No, no I am not ok.”  I think it is safe to say that we were all happy we survived that trip!
We taste tested tamarind (yum for some, not so much for others…Carlos and I liked the Chile Tamarind that was spicy & sweet) 

Checked out some really amazing crafts, visited a church and bought rosary beads and took in the silence.  Much to the delight of the kids, we found a Mexican candy store and stocked up on Chicklets and other candies.  The gummy display in the window was really fun.
Next was meeting up with our friend, Sarah, who is living in Puerto Vallarta.  She took us to some tasty street food off the beaten path, which was the highlight of the day.  We strolled the beach a bit before we had to say our goodbyes and head back toward the boat.
Grabbed some lime and chile popsicles and made our way back.  A great day!

 We spent a LOT of time at the pool during our cruise.  It was warm, the kids were entertained, and it was so relaxing. 
The coolest part was that the pool was designed so that the water can swish back and forth with the motion of the water.  Didn’t always make for easy swimming but the kids thought it was super fun to get bobbed back and forth.
Next to the pool was the soft serve, pizza, bar and hamburger places.  Walk 20 feet and you have food!
I thought it was amazing that they played movies while you swam.  We saw Princess Bride, Top Gun,

 Mamma Mia and a Billy Joel concert.  Also, at night, they would play movies while you sat on the loungers with blankets.  They brought around pizza, cookies and milk and popcorn while you watched.  We saw Captain Phillips (amazing movie, but an odd choice to play on a cruise) and Gravity.
We have realized that all we really need for an incredible family vacation is the people, a pool, good food and warmth.

Our family doesn’t travel much, and when we do go places it is always very local.  We camp, we find vacation rentals and ever so often a hotel w a pool.

Today is about love – I love my wife and the life we share, I love my kids and my family and friends, too.  Valentine’s Day is expressing the love.  For us, we celebrate our love as a couple, but it’s also the day we adopted our sweet girl, Erin Carly.
Hope you all feel loved today, take it in and soak it up.  It’s out there.  I know I’m feeling it.

 Today was a day of celebration for our city.  The Seahawks won the Superbowl!  I remember back when the Sonics were the champions and there was a big parade with Jack Sikma and Downtown Freddie Brown and Lenny Wilkins.  The streets of Seattle were abuzz with excitement, much like today.  I knew that I needed my kids to see it for themselves, to hear the cheers and feel the excitement. (Trey chose to stay in school, can’t argue w that and Erin went to my parents since she is still recovering from the tonsils coming out) but Levi, Carlos and I made the trek into the city to

 celebrate our Hawks.
We parked at a friend’s house, then headed for the 8:40 ferry.  There were NO parking spaces anywhere near the terminal and the whole ramp was full of fans all the way up to the parking lot.  I have never seen the boat so crowded, standing room only!
The ferry worker told us the boat before had been overloaded w foot passengers and we heard later that the boat after had been as well.
The cheers of “SEA-HAWKS” rang out every so often and everyone was in their blue and green.

 We walked up to 4th & Columbia and found a place that the kids could see that parade and waited and waited and froze a bit and waited some more.  At one point, someone threw a bunch of Fruit Gushers into the crowds as a snack and the boys loved that.  We were offered a blanket by a complete stranger and everyone was in the moment.  Many cell phone pictures were taken, but there was not much cell service at all.  A good thing, we could all be present.  Turns out that there were 700,000 people watching this parade!
Once it started, a nice lady in front of us let the boys come stand w her so they were right next to the vehicles going by.  She was really aware and kept a close eye on them to be sure they were safe.  They got to see the players up close and that was amazing.  Marshawn Lynch threw Skittles into the crowd and Derrick Coleman signed “thank you” to everyone as they went by.
Once the parade was over, we headed down to the boat and Carlos was talking so loudly and quickly, he couldn’t believe he had seen at his idols in person!
So many memories, great day we will never forget.
 (on a side note, major Seattle pride as there were ZERO arrests today w this crowd!  We were given a 12th Man flag by a fan walking by and I said thanks and the woman said “it’s what we do, we’re all fans and your boys need this more than I do”)

I have been a Seahawks fan for many, many years as long as I can remember.  My dad and I would go in the yard and throw the football around.  I had a Seahawks uniform complete w shoulder pads and a helmet and I dreamt that one day I would play and win the Punt, Pass Kick Competition.  Steve Largent was an idol and the Hawks were horrible, for the most part.   How exciting that this young team has done so well.  They have made football in Seattle something people want to watch again.  I think it’s so neat to have my sons want to go out in the yard for a pass, run routes and try to make the diving catches just like I used to love to to.  Go Hawks!

I truly, with all of my heart, believe that this statement is true even if most all of the kids we have cared for won’t even remember us.  Hopefully we will be a feeling they carry with them of a place of love.  I believe we make a difference and provide a safe, loving home to all of the kids who come live with us and it matters.  For some it is just a couple of days, some a couple of years.  We are blessed to have them and have learned something from each and every one.
I will admit, as much as we love it and feel rewarded by doing it, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns.
Fostering isn’t just about loving a child in need.   It’s about working with “rules” (no haircuts, log every bump & scratch, dr visits for every cough, etc), working with social workers (sometimes great, sometimes super frustrating) and biological parents (who are often times not super happy you are taking care of their child and complain about the way they are being cared for).
Over the last 11 years and 54 kids we have come to know, we have had incredibly great experiences and some incredibly frustrating ones.
We have made the choice as the parents to open our home to kids who need a safe place to be while the adults work out their issues.  Unfortunately, this means our boys know about drugs and abuse and that sometimes people do horrible things to others.  They are too young to know these things, but they do because there is no other way to explain how a 6 week old baby is broken and needs to live with us for awhile.
But they are learning to care for these babies and be tender and sweet and they are learning that babies are a LOT of hard work.  There are times when they resent them, the jealousy rises and there are tears and drama.   I get it, it’s super hard to share your mom in such an intense way.  I can only hope that us fostering and these experiences, while tough while we are in the trenches (right now!!!!), will be looked back upon in a positive way and help my kids become more open and accepting of others who may be struggling.