Roo

Museum of Flight

Ellie really wanted to take us to the Museum of Flight. She's been lucky enough to go several times with school programs, but Jeff and I had only been there once before for a work party - and then only some of the rooms were open. So, we decided a family field trip was in order. While we were parking, we spotted some of our friends also going into the museum.

What a treat! Ellie got to hang with Augie and Callum, and we got to catch up with their parents. Win. Win.

Our antigravity kids watching a presentation like astronauts:

Kayak Girl

Mother’s Day 2013

Palm Sunday Choir Performance

Birthday, Part 1

Ellie and Ainsley have been best friends since they met at 2 and 3 months old. Ainsley is a month older than Ellie. They met in our PEPS group and immediately seemed to gravitate to each other.

So when they said they both wanted to do the same thing for their birthdays this year (party at Pump It Up), and invite the same people (friends from school), we (the parents) suggested they have a joint party. We were very careful to explain the party wouldn't be on either of their actual birthdays but rather sometime in-between, and they would have to share the limelight. Even so, they thought it was THE BEST IDEA EVER.

So today we had the joint birthday party for Ellie and Ainsley at Pump It Up, a crazy bouncy-house extravaganza.

(A word about the matching dresses: This mostly happened by accident. Dana picked up these dresses on a super sale, and she let me know that Ainsley would likely wear hers for the party. Jeff and I, not being matching dresses kind-a-folk, purchased three new dresses for Ellie that she could choose from to wear at the party. She disregarded the ones we set before her and dug this one out of the closet instead. When we let Ellie know that Ainsley might show up in the same dress, the response was "THAT'S SO AWESOME! WE CAN BE TWINS!" We decided the universe was laughing at us.)

One thing that ended up being way cooler than anticipated was that we asked that in leu of gifts (since getting a gift for both girls could get unwieldy, and really, they don't need more toys!), that folks consider giving a cash donation. We explained that we would take a small sum out for the girls to buy a small gift, and the rest we would donate to a charity of their choosing.

Oh my gosh, folks were so generous - we couldn't believe it! After the party, we all came back to our house and opened all the cards. We got $250! So, we gave the girls $15 each to buy a gift, and the rest they decided would go to PAWS (a local kitty rescue).

We took the girls to our favorite local toy store, and they got to choose what they wanted to buy with their $15. They had so much fun discussing the options and getting each other's opinion. Ainsley ended up getting a hummingbird finger puppet and a bag full of marbles. Ellie got a small horse and an accessories kit that included a saddle, bridle, and feed bucket.

When Jeff and Ellie get back from California (for Macworld and a visit with Susan and Ron), we'll take the girls to PAWS to deliver the $220 donation. I can't wait.

Mt Rainier Vacation

In the middle of August my mom came up for an extended visit. Part of the visit included several days at a cabin near Mt. Rainier.

(This is going to be a bit of a photo fest, but I just couldn't narrow this down any more. I love all these photos and they all really help to tell the story of our trip.)

Day 1:

On our first morning, Ellie took her chalk out to the cul-de-sac and had a grand pirate adventure while we made lunches to take with us hiking.

We decided to tackle the longest, and most spectacular hike first: The Naches Peak Trail Loop.

Look at the beauty around us. It's breathtaking, and yet Ellie was much more interested in the dirt.

About a third of the way along the loop, there is a beautiful little alpine lake. No one else was around and Ellie couldn't resist putting her feet in. It only took about two minutes for her to accidentally get more than her feet wet. Luckily, we know our child well enough that we had some extra clothes on hand. After doing inventory and realizing we had extras of everything but shorts and shoes, those came off and she was free to play as she saw fit. If there is dirt or water, Ellie is in it.

Ellie carried her own backpack each day. That way, she had access to her own water, food, collection box, and stuffed animal whenever she wanted it.

After hiking a little more than half way, you literally turn a corner and Whamo! get hit with the beautiful sight of Mt. Rainier.

We hiked a little over six miles that first day, and we were all rather tired by the end.

After we came out of the park, we drove into town for groceries and saw these guys just hanging out in the middle of the town between a restaurant and the gas station.

Day 2:

The cabin we stayed in is in Packwood, WA, which is on the south side of Mt. Rainier. As it turns out, it is also only about an hour from the northeast side of Mt. Saint Helens. Since none of us had been there, we decided that a trip to the other famous mountain in our state was in order.

We stopped at every roadside turnout, reading all the signs and learning about that fateful May day in 1980 when the volcano blew. The landscape was fascinating, with dead trees intermingled with new lush growth.

We walked the Harmony Trail to Spirit Lake. It was only two miles, but quite steep in parts. The landscape in this area was often barren but populated with Elk prints; Ellie and I had a fun time trying to find them all. Mom located a quiet place to sit and enjoy the scenery and Jeff got a rare moment of solitude and was able to take photos of the lake without a child constantly trying to get his attention.

Look! More dirt.

Day 3:

We opted to go North for our next day at Mt. Rainier. Although still cheerful, Ellie was getting a little tired and slow. She was just not used to this level of activity day after day. We intended a longer walk along the Glacier Basin Trail (one of few trails that gets you up close and personal with one of the larger glaciers), but realized pretty quickly that Ellie just wasn't going to be up for it. Thankfully, we were able to take a shorter trail that lead off from Glacier Basin called the Emmons Moraine Trail. Much of the trail followed alongside the White River.

During the entire trip Ellie was amazing! She carried her own supplies, rarely asked to be carried, didn't grumble or get upset and was pretty much game for anything we threw her way. The only time she truly lost it, was on this trail when I accidentally stepped on a bug.

Anyone who knows Ellie knows she loves animals, and the idea that I had killed one just devastated her. She was inconsolable for about 15 minutes. It was only when Jeff retraced our steps and couldn't find any evidence of a bug (squished or otherwise), that she began to calm down. She then walked back and forth verifying Jeff's findings. We decided that the bug must have just got pushed down into the soft dirt and scampered away at it's first opportunity.

She rebounded pretty quickly after that. We continued to walk along the trail, crossed the river on this tiny bridge (we were all impressed that she didn't think twice about crossing over on it), and found this beautiful spot for lunch.

From the same spot, this was our view to the east…

And this was the view to the west.

The trail was a little tricky in spots. This is one of the few areas where the adults got nervous, but again, Ellie, although she said she didn't like it, was a complete trooper.

On the way back, we took some time to play near the river (with strict instructions not to go in as the current was pretty strong).

After leaving the beautiful White River, we drove to Sunrise Visitor Center, where Ellie enjoyed an ice cream and a lovely view.

Day 4:

This ended up being our day of driving. We drove the entire length of the park along the south road from Nisqually to Ohanapecosh (I love saying Ohanapecosh! Try it, it will make you happy). After a brief stop at Longmire (we talked to a Ranger and found out that the beautiful green lake we saw the day before doesn't have a name. "We usually call it 'the pretty green lake'." It's hard to believe a lake that large doesn't have a name) we continued driving and admiring the scenery.

Anyway, one of our unplanned stops became a favorite. Narada Falls was a beautiful spot with a steep paved trail down to the falls. Jeff captured this lovely rainbow as a memento.

After that, we headed up to Paradise. We were on a mission to get Ellie a Junior Ranger badge she had worked so hard for: On our first day, we stopped by a ranger station and found out that if she completed a workbook at the end she could get sworn in as a Junior Ranger. She had to go on scavenger hunts, find historic buildings in the park, talk to Rangers, learn about the important safety measures to take while hiking, etc. We of course helped out a bit, pointing out things on her list, but she really did most of the work.

We made a big deal about it, but she seemed a bit skeptical about the whole thing. But at Paradise, a ranger looked over her completed materials and then swore her in (even though she was suddenly shy) as a Junior Ranger.

That is until we were hiking later in the day when a wonderful women stopped in her tracks when she saw Ellie and in an excited whisper said, "Oh! Are you a Junior Ranger? (turning to her husband) Honey, look. She's a Junior Ranger. Wow!" You can see how pleased Ellie was at the attention of a complete stranger.

The meadows of wildflowers were stunning at Paradise and we decided to go on a walk to Myrtle Falls while we were there just to enjoy them a little longer.

While we were hiking or out of the car Ellie was totally engaged, but while driving she only had eyes for the iPad. We experienced several delays due to road maintenance. Although we don't normally let her use the iPad as often as she did on this trip, I was sure glad we had it with us.

Our last major stop of the day was at Grove of the Patriarchs. Since we got there later in the day, we had the trail mostly to ourselves and walking through these beautiful giant trees when it was so quiet and getting dark was very comforting. I'm sure Ellie felt it too as she whispered almost the entire time.

Each night when we came home, we'd get dinner then crawl into the hot tub. Ellie and Mom didn't like it too hot, but just sitting in the warmth helped us relax and mend for the next day of hiking.

My favorite part of the trip was the wacky and truly wonderful conversations we had with Ellie each day. Ellie would usually start it off with something like, "Pretend you are a unicorn pegasus see-through fire stallion" or "I am a mermaid, and I live in a castle in the desert" or "Watch out!, you stepped in a dinosaur footprint - there must be some close by." From there we just had to ask clarifying questions ("Do you have a place to swim in the dessert, or do you just flop around in your mermaid tail on the castle floor?") and play along to see her imagination in full force. It was fabulous and these discussions would often get quite complex and go an for a very long time.

On the last day, Ellie took some time to enjoy the cabin we were staying in. This little nook is right off the bedroom and she decided to color quietly rather than help me pack. Imagine.

On the way home, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch and this mural was across the way. Ellie insisted on petting the horse. I love that it looks like the man in the mural is watching us.

Our Beautiful Ballerina

Saturday was Ellie's ballet recital. She was wonderful!

I was really impressed with how much she's matured and grown as a dancer since her last (mini) recital in December. This time she got to wear a costume and be on a real stage. I believe she recognized the difference and stepped up. She also had a lot of fun!

Her friends Kelly and Ava from Agape were in the recital too (they have class on another day).

And here she is with her dance teacher, Miss Beth

Ellie hasn't decided if she wants to continue with dance in the fall or try something else, but either way, I'm thrilled that she had such a great experience. We were so proud of her!

Jukebox Jamboree
Presented by Academy of Music & Dance
Sat, June 23 2:00PM
Seattle Children's Theater

Ellie in Black Sun

I'm the “photographer” in the family, but Kim routinely grabs photos that take my breath away. This is Ellie resting in the Black Sun sculpture in Volunteer Park. (Be sure to view it in the Lightbox mode at Flickr.)

Pony Party!

Ellie is four years old! (I'm still trying to wrap my head around that.)

Obviously she needed a party, and Ellie started talking about options for her big day in September. Most of the ideas involved inviting everyone in her school to a park for a picnic.

As her birthday is in February (not usually good picnic weather) and hosting 20-40 kids (not to mention the parents) is daunting at best, Jeff and I were planning on keeping Ellie's birthday party pretty small and simple. So we were both a little surprised that we found ourselves considering a pony party.

I don't even remember how I got this idea in my head, but once it was there, it took root and would not budge. We were concerned that it may be too extravagant and didn't want to set expectations that every birthday would involve lavish parties. But really, it was perfect, and we knew Ellie would love it. I did some research and was excited to find Seattle Pony Party.

On the day of the party, they invited Ellie to come early and help brush the ponies to get them ready for their saddles.

We loved that Ellie got to spend some time with the horses beforehand. Ellie tends to need time acclimating to new situations, so this was a great way to get to know the horses and give them some special attention.

Originally, we were supposed to have two ponies, but the ponies were "in a mood" that day, so only Applesauce came to our party. She was joined by two horses, Willy and Kriya.

Pretty soon our guests started to arrive: Logan, Ainsley, cousin Emma, and parents; and Ellie's grandparents Larry, Janet, and Patty. After donning helmets, the kids were ready to ride.

Since we had three horses (okay, one pony and two horses) and four kids, each kid only had to take a small break before getting another chance to ride.

To make things a bit more interesting, a few obstacles where placed in the arena for the kids/horses to maneuver around: cones, jumps, etc. Ellie also got to trot at one point, which resulted in these big smiles.

The kiddos rode for a little over an hour. And then, yes, we made them pose. This is Willy and he had some difficulty standing still for the photo.

By then the horses needed some nourishment and acknowledgement of a job well done, so the kiddos fed them a copious amount of carrots.

Then it was time for cupcakes!

Ellie got quite a few horse-themed presents, including several toy horses.

As it was such an unusually beautiful and warm day, the folks at the stable decided it was a good time to give Willy a bath. After cake and presents, they invited anyone who wanted to help to come over and get soapy. Ellie and Emma were the most enthusiastic washers.

Ainsley took the opportunity to visit some of the other horses that live at the stable.

I was thrilled that the kids got a glimpse into the care and feeding of the horses and were able to help in some small way.

Most importantly, the party was just a big success and everyone had a good time.

There are many more pictures of the event. Check out Jeff's Set and Kim's Set on Flickr.

Snow Days with Neighbors

This may seem like an old refrain, but once again I'm feeling extraordinarily blessed to live in this neighborhood. We really do have The Best Neighbors Anywhere, and the fact that Ellie is growing up in such a warm, caring environment makes me very thankful.

The forecast said snow on Sunday and Monday with it clearing by Tuesday. Perfect! Monday was a school holiday (MLK day) so Ellie would be home anyway and we could spend the day playing in the snow. Then Tuesday she would go back to school and I could spend the rest of the week getting ready for our various upcoming travels. That was the plan. The forecast said it would work. The forecasters lied. Or were just very mistaken.

On Sunday, the snow started falling. That is, everywhere but in our neighborhood. We watched our Facebook statuses coming in from all over the area with folks talking about how much fun they were having in the snow and how crappy it was to drive in. But we didn't see even a single flake. The thing about Seattle that you need to know is that there are lots of microclimates. There was lots of snow only four miles away, but it wasn't at our house. So, Ellie sat in our living room watching some TV, and would occasionally glance out the window to see if it had started snowing yet. At one point I came into the room and Ellie had her nose pressed to the window and was whispering, "Please snow. Please snow." We were both pretty grumpy that we didn't get snow on Sunday. But, there was always Monday - we would get snow then.

Nope. It was very cold on Monday, but no snow. So, Ellie and I spent the holiday doing art exploration projects and going swimming at my gym. We had a good time, but all we really wanted was to play in the snow that everyone else had but we didn't.

Since all the schools in Seattle are on the same schedule, regardless of microclimate, school was starting two hours late for everyone despite the lack of snow in our neighborhood. Around 9:15 I bundled Ellie up and got her off to school. When I got home it started to snow. Not a lot, but it definitely was snowing. At 11:00 we got the call that the Seattle School District closed all the schools due to snow. I needed to pick Ellie up right away.

By the time Ellie and I had some lunch, we had about an inch of snow outside. We got on our rain boots and went outside to enjoy the little snow we had. Ellie had fun jumping in the "snow mud" and we watched as the snow turned to hail.

Things get icy fast in Seattle, so I started to shovel off the walkway so we could walk on it later. What I didn't realize is that Ellie had been making bug tracks in the snow (see double parallel dots at bottom of photo), and was therefore very mad at me that I had messed up her creation. To compensate she scraped the snow off the grass and put it on the walkway so she could redo the tracks. After 5 or 6 scoops she got bored and came back inside for naps (playing in the snow is hard work).

We checked the forecast and it said that the south end and east of the mountains would get lots of snow, but the city of Seattle wasn't likely to get much more. Again, wrong.

Wednesday morning, we woke up to about five inches of snow. One of our neighbors suggested a walk through the winter wonderland of Crown Hill. First one neighbor said yes, then another, then another. Pretty soon a large contingent was tromping through the snow.

Since Ellie and Logan really wanted to go sledding, we headed over to Soundview Park to find a safe hill or two to slide down. We started out pretty tame, but within a few minutes, both kids were looking for longer, steeper slopes.

A small group broke off and walked over to a nearby coffee shop. They brought back coffee and hot chocolate for all.

"Thus fortified, the kids started making snow angels and the adults took the opportunity to sneak off with the sleds. A snowball fight was started. We were all 10 years old again." (From Heidi's blog. I couldn't say it better.)

The kids started getting cold, and many of the adults had work to do, so after a couple hours we headed home. But, not without spontaneously deciding that we needed to do a pot luck dinner.

Later that evening, we headed over to Tor and Jessica's for a scrumptious hodgepodge meal. Spouses and children that couldn't come on the walk were there for dinner. The house was full, there weren't enough chairs for everyone, and everyone was feeling the warmth of good company and good cake (yay for neighbors that bake!).

The next morning, we got an email from Heidi and Bert that they were going to find a new hill for Logan to go sledding on, and would we like to join them? Yes! By now we had about seven or eight inches of snow. After so much playing the day before Jeff wasn't able to come along, but Ellie and I headed over to see what adventures we could find.

Just two blocks away is a nice steep street that dead ends at an apartment complex. It proved to be fantastic place to go sledding.

Although the snow was great for sledding, tossing, and making snow angels, it wasn't wet enough to make a good snowball or a decent snow man.

The kids crossing over the line from having fun to so cold they can barely move was the impetus to head inside. We went back to Heidi's place where Neighbor-Emeritus Cheryl read stories and entertained the kids until they were warm again.

I went back to the house for about 1/2 an hour to put in a load of laundry and left Ellie to play. About the time I was going to head back, we got a neighbor-wide email that said simply, "hot cookies coming out every 10 minutes!" Jeff came downstairs from his office, and said, "Did you see that email from Evil Heidi? I think we need to go over."

A few more neighbors joined us and we had another spontaneous get-together over warm cookies.

The forecast said that it would start to warm up and rain on Thursday, but it just kept snowing. None of us were surprised when Seattle Schools said the schools would stay closed on Friday. (If you are keeping track, Ellie went to school all of two hours this week.) The kids and Bert, who is a teacher, were thrilled. Most of the other adults still had to telecommute and do some work, and I was rather panicked that I hadn't had an opportunity to finish laundry and get us all packed for our trips (leaving the next day).

Friday morning Heidi, who knew I was trying to get stuff done between snowball fights, invited Ellie to come over. "She is welcome to hang out all day while you guys get stuff done." Best Neighbors Anywhere.

Although still cold, it had started to rain just a bit saturating the snow and making it perfect to build a snowman. When Ellie and I went over, Bert, Cheryl, and Logan were just starting to build one. Logan suggested they build a robot, and with everyone's joyful consent proceeded to build.

It wasn't until I came over later that I saw they had build two snowbots: Wall-E and Eve from Logan's favorite movie.

Cheryl said that Ellie helped a lot, mostly gathering snow onto her sled and hauling it over to where Bert and Cheryl were forming the snowbots. She also helped pack much of the snow on the smaller Wall-E snowbot.

Mid-afternoon Aimee, the same neighbor who suggested the walk, asked if we were all down for getting together for adult beverages and appetizers that evening. Very few of us had much food in the house (it wasn't supposed to be snowing this long, and the streets were rather treacherous), but we all had booze and enough scraps of food to contribute.

The result was another neighbor-wide gathering of experimental cocktails, juice (for the kids), cheese, crackers, freezer-meatballs, shrimp, and corn chips. It was wonderful.

In previous places we've lived, we haven't really known our neighbors. Jeff and I tend to be rather reserved about meeting new people and inserting ourselves into their lives. But in this neighborhood, we take care of each other. We have fun with each other. We rely on each other and find a deep amount of pleasure and satisfaction in being neighborly. That is a lesson I wish Ellie to learn and it is best taught by example.