Visitors

  My dad and Marva drove out last week to visit us.  It's been really nice to see them and we've had alot of fun.  This weekend we went to Western Washington to take in some of the scenery in the Olympic Peninsula. 

We stayed in Forks, WA on the outskirts of the Olympic National Park and headed to the Pacific coast for the afternoon of exploring.

This was the first time that we were at the Washington coastline.  I've heard its a bit more rough than the Oregon coast - but equally as beautiful.  Campbelle slipped off a log and fell into a rock and really cut her lip - that was the end of that exploring.

The following day we went to the the only rain forest in North America.  The conditions of coast line facing forest, mountains behind and land level create the perfect setting for a crazy amount of rainfall.  This forest receives an average of 200 inches of rain a year and as a result showcases some amazing plant/moss/mushroom life.  It really was spectacular to see, but read my next post for the most amazing elk encounter.

 

 

 

Elk Story

While we were at the Hoh Rain forest in Western Washington in the Olympic Mnt range, we went on a little hike.  It was an easy, paved mile long trail that took us through the most amazing forest with trees dripping with moss.  Near the end we came across a herd of elk on the path - maybe about 10-15 elk.  Some other hikes in front of us came across it first and so we all were stopped and taking pictures.  It is mating season for elk, and the male elk or bull gather a bunch of female elk to form his own harem.  Supposedly one should never get between a bull and his harem during this courting season - they have a tendency to get very aggressive as they would see you as a threat.  Female elk would supposedly kick and swath at you with their front legs, while the males would ram you with their horns.   So respectfully we waited until the herd was over the path and then waited for the bull, who we knew would be following up the pack.  We waited for several minutes and sure enough the bull meandered slowly and cautiously down the hill and across the path.  The group of hikers, now about 15 of us, started to continue along the path, amazed at what we just saw and how close we were to these huge, beautiful animals.  Then all of a sudden, a guy in front the pack turned around and in a calm panic told everyone to 'go back, go back'.  Here comes an even bigger bull trotting down the path, directly towards us.  Another lesson I learned during that hike, even though you don't ever want to be caught between a bull and his harem, you never, never want to be caught between two bulls during mating season.  So with the first bull stopped on the other side of the path and the new, bigger bull directly on the path just feet away from us.... you can image just where this group of 15 hikers were - directly in between them.  It was at this point that I quickly formulated my plan of action... shove the kids into the hollowed out log that we were backed against and Leif and I would cover the opening.... well luckily it didn't come to that as the 2nd bull past by and we quickly ran in the other direction.  At the point of the 2nd bull crossing, we were literally 2 feel away from him.  I have to say that I was a bit scared and couldn't help but think of what a crappy, freak story this would be if one of us were impaled by an elk!  Campbelle, who really held her composure during the whole ordeal, really broke down and cried after it was over on the way back to the car.  It would have been interesting to stick around and see if the two elk ever did spar, but we were all a bit relieved to be on our way.

 

Posh Spice... yeah right

You've asked, so I finally deliver. Here is a picture of my new hairdo. I went in asking for "Posh Spice, but not quite". I like it and will probably keep it like this for awhile.

Gratulerer med dagen, Farmor

Happy Birthday Farmor! We are looking forward to see you in November.

 

                       

Campbelle's birthday cake picture.

Don't you just love a quiz?

I do love a good quiz.  Thanks Tammy for sharing.

1. WHAT CURSE WORD DO YOU USE THE MOST?
I try not to. Sometimes I just catch myself mouthing the word…
2. DO YOU OWN AN IPOD?
Are you kidding me??  We are a Microsoft family.  We own Zunes.  Way way better (ok, not really - I only drink the kool-aid sometimes)

3. WHAT PERSON ON YOUR TOP 8 DO YOU TALK TO THE MOST?
I've heard of Fav Five, so if that's anything like that, I'd say my sister Tammy and then Gina and Leif (while they're at work, but they are usually shorter with me)

4. WHAT TIME IS YOUR ALARM CLOCK SET TO?
I don't usually set alarms because Leif sets his at 5:00am and then will snooze for the next 2 hours.  So need for me to set anything.

6. DO YOU WEAR FLIP-FLOPS WHEN IT'S COLD?
Always, but usually just in the house during the winter

7. WOULD YOU RATHER TAKE THE PICTURE OR BE IN THE PICTURE?
Take the picture.

8. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
We are just waiting for the babysitter and then headed out the door to see Eastern Promises.

9. DO ANY OF YOUR FRIENDS HAVE CHILDREN?
Some do, some don't

10. HAS ANYONE EVER CALLED YOU LAZY?
Probably - most likely my OCD sisters!

11. DO YOU EVER TAKE MEDICATION TO HELP YOU FALL ASLEEP?
Yeah, sometimes. 
12. WHAT CD IS CURRENTLY IN YOUR CD PLAYER?
CD's - what are those??  My latest download was Colbie Calliat.  She's very fun.

13. DO YOU PREFER REGULAR OR CHOCOLATE MILK?
Both are good - but I drink more regular
14. HAS ANYONE TOLD YOU A SECRET THIS WEEK?
Yeah.

15. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD STARBUCKS?
Are you kidding me, I live in Seattle.  There's 2 across the street!!
16. CAN YOU WHISTLE?
Yes
17. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Shoes and height
18. DO YOU THINK PEOPLE TALK ABOUT YOU BEHIND YOUR BACK?
Oh, probably - hopefully more good than bad.

19. DID YOU WATCH CARTOONS AS A CHILD?
I liked Scooby Doo and Smurfs
20. WHAT MOVIE DO YOU KNOW EVERY LINE TO?
Breakfast Club

23. DO YOU OWN ANY BAND T-SHIRTS?
Damn Yankees - when I was 15.  It said "Yank This" on the back and my mom wouldn't let me where it.  (wow, I can totally understand her now!!)

24. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SALAD DRESSING?
Ranch

25. IS ANYONE IN LOVE WITH YOU?
I'm pretty sure there are a few! :-)
26. DO YOU DO YOUR OWN DISHES?
Gosh no... I'd stick just about anything into our dishwasher!

27. EVER CRY IN PUBLIC?
Sometimes.
28. ARE YOU ON A DESKTOP COMPUTER OR A LAP TOP?
Desktop.
29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY WANTING ANY PIERCINGS OR TATTOOS?
I'm done.

30. WHATS THE WEATHER LIKE?
Beautiful, sunny crisp fall day.

31. WOULD YOU EVER DATE ANYONE COVERED IN TATTOOS?
I'm not sure about 'covered' - but you shouldn't judge a person by a few tattoos.

32. WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE THIS?
Made homemade applesauce.  It's still in the oven so we'll see how it turns out and if I'll ever be doing it again

33. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SLEPT ON THE FLOOR?
Does camping count - seems like our air mattress was just about on the floor when we woke up
34. HOW MANY HOURS OF SLEEP DO YOU NEED TO FUNCTION?
7-ish
35. DO YOU EAT BREAKFAST DAILY?
Yes, I try to
36. ARE YOUR DAYS FULL AND FAST PACED?
A majority of our days are pretty relaxed.  I'm relishing in it now, as I know those days are coming to a close as soon as Campbelle's in school next year.
37. DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE CALORIES IN THE PACKAGE/BOX?
I try to.
38. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
You're kidding me, right?
39. HOW OLD WILL YOU BE TURNING ON YOUR NEXT BIRTHDAY?
I'll be 35 in January
40. ARE YOU PICKY ABOUT SPELLING AND GRAMMAR?
As a former English teacher you'd think I would be, but I think I've let my standards go the past few years.

41. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO SIX FLAGS?
Yes
43. DO YOU GET ALONG BETTER WITH THE SAME SEX OR THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Probably same sex, as I have way more close girlfriends as opposed to my main boy friend - Leif.

44. DO YOU LIKE MUSTARD?
Spicy brown.
45. DO YOU SLEEP ON YOUR SIDE, STOMACH or BACK?
Any and all - and switch it up several times a night.
46. DO YOU WATCH THE NEWS?
I try to watch the news but its a crazy time of day.  So it seems like the majority of my news is from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart - so does that count.
47. HOW DID YOU GET ONE OF YOUR SCARS?
My sister Gina hit me in the head with a nutcracker when we were little. 
48. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU MAD?
Probably the Comcast cable people back in July.  They showed up for an appointment a day early and then when I call to reschedule the next available appointment was like in 6 weeks!!  Errrgg
49. DO YOU LIKE ANYBODY?
Of course - loads of people
50. WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU PURCHASED?
Matcha Tea Latte

Rome

Well my little guilty pleasure of watching Rome has finally come to an end for us last night, it was a brief obsession - only two seasons\20 episodes long.  Those of you who've heard me talk about it know that it is full of blood and brutality and quite possibly only 1 step away from being considered porn (only on HBO!!) But it really is far more than that... a great story of political corruption, of love and betrayal and the fall of a Republic and rise of an empire.  So if you can get past the R-rated stuff - it really is a good show.  It also helps that Mark Anthony and Lucius Vorenus are rather nice looking.  (Good thing I can watch 'Lucius' in the NBC show Journeyman this fall!)

Funny story....

Does anyone remember an old Eddie Murphy standup routine* where he impersonates a  little boy taunting another because of an ice-cream cone? He sings a song something like this: 'I got some ice cream I got some ice cream, and you don't got none, and you don't got none because your mom's on welfare, she's on welfare and you can't afford it...." and it goes on and on in that same insulting manner.

The other day we were at the outlet malls shopping and the kids wanted to ride on one of those little 'ride-thing-ies' but I didn't have any quarters so I told them I didn't have any money. Well today I had to return some stuff to the same mall. I told them if they were good shoppers they would get two rides. (My kids respond amazingly to bribery - nearly as good as threats). On their last ride - a convertible sports car - there was a little boy sitting on the Dumbo ride. Only he was just sitting there - it wasn't going. Christian - my little 2 year old smarty-pants- sees that the other boys ride isn't 'running' and proceeds to taunt him in what I swear was the same Eddie Murphy song (which, I swear he has never heard - truly). "You don't have any money, your mommy has no money, your pappa has no money. But my mommy's got some so I get to ride. You don't have none, so you don't. Maybe they should get a job." Needless to say his ride was cut short and a nice little lecture happened in the car seconds afterward.

I know this happened because Campbelle and Christian have really been curious about why Pappa has to work... I explain he works to earn money, buy food, clothes, make our lives more comfortable, ect... and duh, he obviously works to put them on little 'ride-thing-ies'.

 

**Please note that I do not fully condone the language used in this clip.  If you are at work, I would suggest turning your volume down - or put your headphones on.  In no way does this represent the language used in this household.  :-)

Puyallup Fair

We did the Puyallup Fair this weekend and had a really nice day.  The kids enjoyed several rides, Christian was unfazed by anything too fast or too high or too spiny - he took it all in with a straight face.  Campbelle really wanted to do the scarier rides, and then she did them, and then the workers almost stopped to get her off as she was crying so hard.  Funny thing is that she said she really had fun!!    Makes us a bit curious how Disney World will go this December. 

And it may surprise you but we didn't eat any fair food.  Nothing, nadda, zip! Neither a krusty pup or a scone, nor a fried twinkie or scotch egg (ok, they didn't every have such things as those at this fair).   Instead I packed a healthy snack of carrots and cucumber sticks with some nice humus for us to enjoy.

 

Not.  And if you haven't figured it out.  Those aren't my kids in the photo.  I dropped and broke our camera the day before. 

My Little Einstein

Do you suppose he is contemplating the theory of relativity and thinking about the fact that matter and energy are different forms of the same thing – matter can be turned into energy and energy into matter… or thinking about how a single proton forms the nucleus of a hydrogen atom ... or perhaps he’s just wondering what’s for lunch. Hmmmmm?

(the back of his t-shirt says, "I'm no Einstein, but I do know that two cookies are better than one")

First Day of Preschool

We had our first day of preschool for both kids on Tuesday morning and both were very excited to be going. Campbelle ran right into her class and gave the teachers a big hug (same teachers she had last year). Christian held me hand and walked in very wearily. There were about 4 other kids really crying in class and as he looked around and saw that, his grip on my hand got a little tighter. I knelt down to tell him I was going and he gave me a kiss and hug and slowly turned around to go start playing... but changed his mind and came back and asked me for one more kiss. Then he said in such a sweet, solemn voice, "You'll be back for me, right mom?" Aghhhh - heart breaking!!

Pick up was an entirely different story. Mr Christian, who typically is a man of few words, could not stop talking about all they had done that morning. In fact, I believe I've gotten more out of him in one school day than I have in the 2 years combined that Campbelle has gone. I think he's really proud about being such a big boy going to school.

Ballet Girl

Finally, after waiting what she would say was a life-time, Campbelle is taking ballet lessons and her little heart could not be more excited. I have seen our little 'drama queen' excited about things in the past, but never have I witnessed her ecstatic like on the drive to her first lessons. She seriously could not contain herself. It made it all feel better to me. You see, I was regretting the decision to sign her up for this ballet class when I found out all the 'rules'. For example, no 'rip-off' ballet stuff, only authorized apparel from dance stores.... no kidding no Target!! And parents are not permitted to stay - the last lesson is the 'observation' lesson and photographs can be taken at that time.... no kidding, no photos before. And hair must be pulled back into a bun - that means using bobby pins, hair gel and whatever else it takes to hold it there .... no kidding, every week stinking week (I'm not one to muss with hair too much - this is a huge challenge for me)!! The kids are only 4 year olds for gosh sakes!! I was beginning to think these ballerinas who ran this studio were a bit too uptight - maybe stems from all the buns they've had to wear tightly in their hair all these years.

However, after seeing the pure joy on her face before and after class - I'll quietly play by their rules for the next 10 weeks. And I suppose the road to Carnegie Hall wasn't paved with flyaway hair!

Gina's 3-Day Walk

As I type this blog, Gina is probably on about mile 50 of her 60 mile journey through Seattle. She has been walking in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 Day Fundraising event. She raised over $2300 for research and education and now she is walking 60 miles to prove her committment to the cause. And I couldn't be more proud of her. Way to go Gina and Team Fight Like a Girl.

What an emotional experience the 3 Day is - we went out to cheer Gina and her teammates on Saturday afternoon. It was so much fun to see all the crazy dressed walkers and 3Day crew. The kids had a blast handing out candy to everyone. It is also such a heartwarming event - you just want to truly thank each and everyone of those walkers and give them a hug to show you appreciation. A few days earlier, I had tried to explain to Campbelle - as best for a 4 year old to grasp - about the 3Day and how people raise money to stop Cancer - this terrible disease that Grandma Karen died from. And that afternoon, Campbelle told one walker - "Thanks for walking so someday no one will get sick anymore." The lady and I both had tears in our eyes and she kissed Campbelle on the head and said "Yes sweetheart, I'm walking for you!"

And then there was Mr Christian and his sign. He really wooed some of those walkers.

At first, they just threw handfuls of candy at the walkers - kinda like in a parade. After a little coaching, they figured it out and then proceeded to hand out 2 buckets full of candy and then a box full of paper fans.

Gina and her team "Fight Like a Girl"

Housewarming Party

Picture if you will, a house (ok, just kitchen) full of great friends - laughing, eating, telling stories and having just a great time together. That's what our housewarming party looked like - I just forgot to snap a few pictures until everyone was gone. We had a fantastically fun night, and as always, feel so grateful for such wonderful friends in our lives.

Gold Creek Pond Hike

Today the 4 of us went for a hike up near Snoqualmie Pass. I'm not sure you could really call it a 'hike' since it was a nicely paved walking path, with no incline what so ever - but it was such a great day.

The pond was so crystal clear (all that good, pure mountain snow) and the sky was perfectly blue. The kids had a great time collecting various things as they walked - I think with all Christian's rocks, his pack weighed a good 12 lbs more than when we began our trip.

Both were disappointed that they didn't see much for animals - "Not even a bear," they said with such disappointment. Leif and I were thankful for that. It was a good ending to a nice long weekend.