senior center

I took the boys to a park in downtown Issaquah the other day, situated right next to the Senior Center. Brighton was curious what went on at a Senior center and so I did my best to explain what purpose they served and what kind of people could be found there. Well, the next day, we were in a public restroom and  I was helping Seth tinkle. Brighton was right outside the stall waiting for us and noticed someone emerge from the neighboring stall and head toward the sink. I didn't see her but I sure did hear Brighton proclaim in a not so reverent voice, "Mom, I think that lady lives at a Senior Center!" Luckily I was still partially hidden and was able to avoid the awkwardness. I know she heard him. She had to have been deaf not to. Which I guess is a possibility if Brighton's estimations are accurate...

thoughts on writing

I've never enjoyed writing. Well, I guess there was that one time in 1st or 2nd grade when I carried around a manila envelope full of short stories I had written, begging anyone and everyone to let me read them to them. But since then, I have had a distaste for constructing sentences and fitting them into paragraphs. In fact, in college, once I had gotten myself through the core English and History classes, I had a system. Since I was a math/stat major I didn't have to worry much as far as those classes went, but there were still a lot of religion and elective requirements I had to fulfill. So, back to my system. After registering for an elective class that looked interesting, I would attend on the first day, collect the syllabus, and scan it for any potential papers or writing assignments. If there were some (or even any) I would then drop the class and attend a different one. I added and dropped LOTS of classes during the add/drop time period, searching course outlines for the right no-papers fit. I wasn't kidding when I told one of my English professors one day that I'd rather take a 4 hour math exam than write a one page paper.

So why did I feel the need to compose the above paragraph? Because just like I feel guilty for never having kept a journal, and just like I feel guilty for not documenting my childrens' lives, I feel guilty about my pathetic efforts to keep this blog alive. And maybe if I give a reason or an explanation or an excuse, I'll feel less guilty? Probably not but it was worth a try.

how can it be?

Took a few pictures this morning as we headed out the door to preschool. We decided last minute (as in 4 days ago) to enroll Seth as well. He's technically a month too young to be on a typical preschool schedule but a lady in our ward who runs her own gig was happy to take him. I felt a little guilty and sad dropping them off today but, ain't gonna lie, it was awesome roaming Costco by myself. I can't believe they have Christmas stuff out already.

Anyway, back to preschool. I swear, when I picked Seth up today, he seemed a whole year older. Where did my baby go? How can it be?

(No, I didn't get any pictures of them looking normal)

unwanted houseguest

Was playing with flashcards on the floor with the boys this morning and saw something out of the corner of my eye. Perched on the wall, not far above our heads, was this:

(not my picture. stole it from the internet.)

I freaked. I don't do insects well. Especially when they're 4 inches long and look like spider meets mosquito.

My effort to remain calm in front of the kids was shot when the thing started to fly around in our little living room. I sent off some frantic texts to Brent ("Hellllllllllllp!" "It's HUGE!!!" "My heart is pounding!"), stuff like that. I don't know what I was expecting him to do for me, haha. My boys were wide-eyed and I was left to my own devices.

The thing landed on the blinds and I knew I had to act quick, before it started flying around again (which would surely have stopped my heart). My own devices, unfortunately, didn't include a long-armed flyswatter, so I grabbed a hot wheel track and stunned it long enough to suck it into an outstretched vacuum hose. I feel bad murderizing the thing but boy oh boy it felt good to breathe again.

Did some googling afterward and identified it as a "crane fly," which are extremely common in the Pacific Northwest. Hopefully I won't freak out next time, because there will surely be a next time.

Oh, and it turns out they're completely harmless. Physically, anyway.

some sabbath day pictures

Sure do love my boys.

things i miss most

I absolutely, positively, 100% don't miss a Las Vegas summer. But I do have a good number of things I do miss about "home" and since I'm feeling a little homesick today...

Things I miss most about LV (in a very particular order):

1. My family (duh)
2. The Leavitts
3. The Las Vegas Temple
4. The Villa Bonita ward
5. Fresh & Easy
6. My one story house(s)
7. Cafe Rio
8. Sultan's Grill
9. The rest of my favorite restaurants: Mundo, Hush Puppy,Viva Michoacan, Fukuda, Joey's Pizza, Pei Wei, Smashburger, Sabor (even though I only went once), Bahama Breeze, and some others I'm probably forgetting
10. Being a 4 hours drive away from Disneyland
11. Town Square
12. Sonic Ice

just to name a few...

pine lake park (the sequel)

First, I'd like to direct you to my husband's post about our visit to Pine Lake Park yesterday. My post is a follow up to that one. So if you haven't already read it, and if you give a hoot, go to http://gudleg.blogspot.com/2011/08/pine-lake-park.html before continuing on.

So, yes, the sun shone. And the moon, well, it appeared in multiple places yesterday. (Lucky for you, this one shone from a distance).

And yes, there was a promised prize for catching a minnow. The boys tried for a bit and were unsuccessful. They quickly, and surprisingly without much resistance, resigned themselves to an ice-cream free evening. Brent, however, was already savoring the stuff in his mind and would not give up. Twenty, thirty, FIFTY minutes of trying to catch a fish in a bucket. He wanted B&J bad. If it weren't for Seth's urinary tract, we probably would have been there until the sun went down. And even in the presence of sundry moons, minnow visibility would be lost. Maybe next time.

cell phone drama

If you haven't heard much from me text-wise the past week and a half it's because:

Either
A) You never get texts from me anyway, so why would you have gotten one this past week and a half?

Or
B) I didn't have anything interesting to text about.

Or
C) My phone died and I was left using this little girl for a week and a half. Check out the multiple letters per key. A texting nightmare!

Text text text. I sound like a teenager.

Anyway, thanks to Ebay, my new (used) phone arrived today and I can breathe a sigh of relief. Long live Karma!

return of the croup

I become a crazy woman when I have sick kids. Like you don't want to be anywhere near me. I don't know why I can't be calm and clear minded and just grateful it isn't something more serious. Seth has croup again. Seems it was two weeks on, one week off for six whole months. He got sick in October of last year and the croup just kept coming back. Several doctor appointments, several doses of steroid, several prescriptions for antibiotic to kill the ear infections, one failed hearing test, and MANY sleepless nights. The last couple of times we just decided to wait it out because we were worried about medicating him too much.

WELL, we were sitting at the dinner table last week, delighting in the fact that it had been almost four whole weeks without a bout of croup. Brent chalked it up to the fine drizzle in the Seattle air and declared the relocation a convenient cure. I said to Brent, and I quote myself: "You'd better not jinx it." Not five days later and we're dealing with full blown croup. Constant coughing, chest retractions, and miserable miserable nights. So today I am crazy. And this little guy, well, he's just sad. And very very cute.

busted

We all know the type. The type who swipes your camera and takes senseless pictures of themselves unbeknownst to you. And it's days, even months, later that you discover the obtrusion. Case in point. Here is a lovely collage of pictures I discovered yesterday. Taken nearly 7 months ago, on Christmas Eve.

Behold: Jameson.

Now brace yourself. It gets worse. 

And finally (be scared)....

@Jameson: Next time you're tempted to take someone else's camera into your own hands, think twice about it. You might end up pasted all over that someone's public blog.

converse x4

The boys were getting stir crazy so even though it's been a pretty rainy day (no complaints!), we ventured to Target to pass some time. I let them wander the toy aisles for a bit and then as we were leaving my eye caught some clearance tags in the shoe section. 75% off select Converse shoes! I made out like a bandit and got some for each of us. The total was $29.70 for 4 pairs! Now I understand these ain't no all-stars, but one-stars float my boat just as well. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! 

the glorious fourth

We've never had to celebrate a major holiday alone, but since we're here and you're there, we were left to fend for ourselves yesterday. Brent was a champ and took the boys to the park for awhile in the morning. They had a blast being pushed "super duper higher" in the swings. I stayed home and planned the feast: jalapeno cheeseburgers, potato chips, watermelon, rice krispie treats and Squirt. Gourmet, I know. 

Here's how our American meal went down:


* The hamburgers were a flop. I forgot to take the ground beef out of the freezer and since I have issues with defrosting meat in the microwave, dinner was several hours later than I'd originally intended. The onions I spent 45 minutes caramelizing  never quite came to fruition. Think slimy pink wormy things on top of your cheeseburger. Also, it wasn't until we'd finished eating the burgers that I realized the special sauce that was supposed to go on them was still in a bowl in the refrigerator.

* What's a 4th of July celebration without watermelon? I chose an awesome one at Costco, bee stings and everything. Put it in the refrigerator the night before to make it nice and cold. Took it out yesterday morning to cut it up and only then realized that our knives were still on the moving truck (that was already a week late). Since I was still scarred from having to grate cheese a couple days earlier with the butter knife, I made Brent do the dirty work.

* Brighton and I spent some time looking online for a fun treat to make together for our 4th of July dessert. We decided on rice krispie cut-outs. After unsuccessful trips to 3 different stores to find red white and blue sprinkles...and after realizing a little too late that we do not, in fact, have a star shaped cookie cutter...and after losing the battle of rice krispies vs. cocoa krispies with Brighton...and after remembering that our box of popsicle sticks was on the aforementioned moving truck...and after a futile attempt to convince the kids to make homemeade ice cream instead...

this

became this

Independence day krispy chocolate hearts. And a gingerbread man for good measure.

Fortunately the potato chips and Squirt were spot on. And fortunately we didn't try to keep the kids awake until dark for a fireworks show that wasn't going to happen. Apparently they're banned here in Issaquah. Maybe something to do with trees all around? And finally, fortunately the true reason for yesterday's celebration has little to do with pyrotechnics and BBQs. Let freedom ring!


Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

issaquah, sweet issaquah

The last half hour of the drive was nothing short of spectacular. As we ventured through the Snoqualmie Pass and inched closer to our new home in Issaquah, I was in awe of the beauty of the forest surrounding me. A sort of excitement I'd never known welled up in me! The scenery was amazing and I was thrilled to know I'd be living in the middle of it. I know that sounds overly dramatic, but it really was an exciting moment. I took some pictures with my phone but they were pretty pathetic. So I stole a few pictures from the web of the view from (and of) I-90 heading through the Pass and nearing Issaquah.

It really is so beautiful here. The place we're renting is in Issaquah Highlands, "an urban village planned community" (thank you wikipedia) about 17 miles east of Seattle. Here's the neighborhood view from our front window:

Here's the neighborhood view from the street:

And in case you're wondering, that beauty you see in the background is Tiger Mountain. I love that I get to look out at it everyday. I don't love that it's laden with these:

Rahhhr! So there you have it: Issaquah, Washington. When are you going to come visit?

the 20 hour drive

It was, for the most part, uneventful. And thankfully so. Some minor noteworthys:

* Ely, NV is full of extremely odd individuals (I guess that's not completely fair to say since the only folks we ran into were the ones who served us/lunched with us at McDonald's that day. Think Twilight Zone).

* It's amazing how giddy two little boys get when they're given the green light to pee in the dirt on the side of a highway.

* Vittles, Strawberry Shortcake DVDs (Brent's a softie), naps, They Might Be Giants and this passed the time pretty well for the kids. A neck pillow (thanks mom!) was my saving grace. I don't know how Brent survived, but he did.

* I finally found it. World's best beef jerky! Located at a Love's travel stop in Ontario, OR. If you're ever passing through Ontario, Oregon and pass a Love's travel stop (or any Love's gas station for that matter), PLEASE buy me some beef jerky. I'll pay you back. And give you a $1 tip. Thank you.

* I was pretty set on taking a family picture underneath the "Welcome to Washington" sign, inspired by my SIL who recently relocated to Austin with her family. Unfortunately, as we came up on the sign going north on I-82, we realized it was smack dab in the middle of a bridge over the Columbia River. And there was no shoulder on the road. So much for the cool picture.

Here's the bridge:

Here's the sign:

And here's my solution:

(Photo editing is obviously not one of my more polished skills).

welcome to [ever]greener pastures

Cam: "I see what you did there."