Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Epic Fun in Sept.

Please disregard the date...it was the only way i could feel good about adding the annual outing to Puyallup Fair on the blog better late than never but with earlier entry so didn't trump the baby:) for the record, we went on sept. 12 & it was great considering the next weekend was rainy! plus we were pleasantly surprised no lines for the boys' rides even on a fri. night-i had already taken the boys around to the animals on our "free day" the previous fri. i like that tradition 'cuz we don't have to pay admission after the annual parade on the first day, but the boys don't really get the fact that i literally bring no $ with me on purpose so we just get to check out animals & shows then come back with daddy for rides & food:)
We also found out about the fishing this year (only featured on weekends) & highly recomm. 'cuz moms & dads just get to sit & watch the experts @ work:)













Don't recomm this ride-I repeat, stay away! it's a rip-off 'cuz the boys only got to go through once & then were forced to stay in ball pit & we all know how sanitary those are:(














We're some of those mean parents who buy the cheap pack @ Fred Meyer & limit their kids' tickets vs. dizzy pass-esp. since I was pregnant! So Cole got to go solo on Tiger Coaster& Dane spent some quality bonding with Vinny...The ride operator took pity on him when he realized wasn't quite the same without co. so let Chris & Cole jump on second time around:)Gotta love guys like that!

















I actually got away with a free slide too accidentally 'cuz I climbed up with the boys to hold their sacks & the guy @ top let me go down with 'em too once Dane got scared...Great to feel like we were getting our $'s worth:) when everything else adds up so fast there-I even went back to game booth where they won their Kung-Fu Panda then proceeded to lose it in the pavilion with all samples-ugh! The kind operator there took pity on 'em & gave me another:) so they wouldn't go home empty-handed...This was too good to pass up the photo op:)Also celebrated my 32nd b-day...Besides my fun breakfast c/o all the Parker boys & fabulous Farelli's pizza with my parents & sister too-where else would I spend a fall saturday if i want to see my husband? @ Husky Stadium:) He was kind enough to call in advance so they would post this message. You can't really see, but it said "Happy Birthday Beck! Love, Chris, Cole, Dane & Future Dawg"

First Encounter with Tooth Fairy

One fine summer evening after eating corn on the cob, Cole decided the time had come to take matters into his own hands literally & ran into the bathroom leaving the rest of us outside to wonder what had become of him. He soon came out with tooth in hand & blood on shirt to prove he'd won the battle within:) You can see that the permanent tooth had already erupted quite a bit behind it & thankfully further back for his bulldog bite's sake...

The funniest part besides his determination that particular night despite the pain & after waiting for it to take care of itself for so long was that he didn't mean for it to come out before kindergarten started. He knew from touring his potential classroom last spring that the teacher recognized students with missing teeth & he didn't want to miss out:) So he made sure we wrote a note in hopes the tooth fairy would leave the evidence on her debut to the Parker house:)

Meanwhile Dane became quieter than usual & appeared quite disturbed as we discussed the tooth fairy. Of course he had been listening as Cole had all kinds of questions re: her appearance, entrance to his room etc. when it was time for bed so that he could stay awake longer:) So Dane had me write another note just for him & promptly put it under his pillow as well...

Needless to say, the tooth fairy obeyed only to let Cole lose it himself a second time for good in his excitement the next am re: whoppin' $2 the tooth fairy also left for him! Good thing his little holder only holds so many quarters:)

Monday, August 11, 2008

Happy Birthday from Cowabunga Carl!

The theme had been Cole's idea for months & he was so excited for it to finally happen much less be his 6th b-day...
As all of his buddies arrived, we played "Birthday Ninja Says" like Simon:) My talented sister helped him to color an enlarged version of Michelangelo on which to pin a belt 'cuz the original idea of pinning the shell on the turtle didn't work out-thanks Britt for saving the day!Our cousin-in-law saved me much time & anguish by decorating a sweet cake for the affair as shown here-thanks Kelly! Here are all of the ninjas in training!The birthday boy shows us how it's done...Even Annie got in on the action as one of two girls who had the privilege of attending:)Apparently @ his age it's not a party without a pinata that we filled not only with candy but ninja stars, small ninjas and sewer slime:Last but not least, we tested their TMNT knowledge with trivia from movie clips like Scene-It:

I could never have pulled it off on my own so I definitely appreciated the moral support of all my sisters & of course, dad who skipped work in order to provide pizza & root beer for all of the turtles in attendance- I feel like parties @ home are so much more stressful than just taking 'em somewhere more exciting than my limited creativity provides-ugh! My friends make it look so easy with their homemade fanfares from paleontology and safaris to boot camps. Good thing we have a year off before inviting friends again to celebrate so mom can recooperate:)

9 Years of Habitude

Wish I had more pics. to enhance this post & yes, our non-coordinated attire does bug me for those of you who know my tendencies:), but couldn't let our anniversary go by without re-cap of our festivities (not TMI, I promise:))...You'll understand why I left camera @ home though 'cuz we decided to convert my spa gift certificate from Mothers' Day into a couple massage! Neither of us had ever tried that before, so it was new & different! I don't think I need to worry about Chris leaving me for Delilah & Samson, I mean Corey, is not a threat to him either:) My sisters were kind enough to not only drive back from cabin for brief intermission (figured that way mom & dad could enjoy night to themselves for early anniversary as well) but also to watch our boys all evening so we could make the drive to Ballard (Chris heard about Habitude from KJR:)), eat a fine dinner (so much for our plans to go cheap with drive-thru; instead we took someone's recommendation for Matador mexican restaurant that, for the record, was tasty but not indigenous...oh well!) & try to locate our engagement spot. That full-day affair nine years ago is a story of its own, but suffice it to say, we found the park but not exact location where Chris took a knee @ sunset on the night of full moon:) The ice cream that I'd packed was more like a milk shake by then, but can't go wrong with Ben & Jerry's company! The night ended with....Chris falling asleep in the car since he'd begun his day @ 4A so we could celebrate in the first place:) Gotta love him!!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Seabrook

Last year we enjoyed a weekend on the coast with some friends from high school & called it a reunion of sorts 'cuz our husbands had gone while single right after their missions. Except this time the wives were included & we stayed in a million-dollar beach house:) Our buddy Jeremiah Shakespeare (who served with Chris as AP in TX) is pretty much second in command over that project (sorry I don't know your official job title Speazy?!) so he hooked us up, together with the nice cottage rental lady, for a great deal to split amongst four couples. We had such a great time that we wanted to schedule again, but it's become even more popular of a destination a year later & our group changed somewhat=>other Parkers (Chris' cousin Chad & Kyla), Gehrings (Stefan & Molly) & Birds (Zac & Sherida), so latter guys still Curtis pals & we love their wives anyway:) We missed those who couldn't join us due to other summer plans & priorities, but totally understand & will have to plan ahead for '09. This year we ended up only having to pay for maid service following our 3-night stay thanks to a nice bishop from Woodinville whose home isn't even in the rental pool but he accommodated us:) Little did we know how great it would be to have such a fabulous place to shelter us from the stormy midsummer weather-ugh! Needless to say, we could see the waves from the window but the guys didn't even skim board this time:) Instead it was prime kite-flying weather; just ask Chad who nearly assaulted us on more than one occasion in addition to another group of innocent beach bystanders:) Thankfully Stefan & Zac had some more expertise to share & our lives were spared not to mention the borrowed kite is still intact!

















Chris thought it'd be cool to have bbq lunch on beach too, but we didn't account for wind & had to take advantage of extra layers-silly us! In fact we pretty much wore multiple sweatshirts the whole time...oh well!We decided to venture over to Westport & made the hour + drive since the ferry wasn't in operation. Somehow it hadn't been much more developed than Chris remembered visiting as a child:) but still fun to check out existing shops in case rain interfered with our other outdoor antics. Also enjoyed salt-water taffy & other random souvenirs along the way to make it somewhat worth our while...hey, can't fault us for being spontaneous?!We celebrated Sherida & Kyla's b-day with fancy dinner @ the Ocean Crest that night. We had a beautiful view of the ocean @ sunset & delicious meal albeit leisurely service! Apparently that restaurant has even been featured in Sunset magazine! The best part is we didn't have to worry about occupying our children or staying out past their bedtime (not that my boys have one, but other more disciplined parents appreciated that aspect:)!The ladies (Sherida, Kyla & I minus Molly 'cuz she was taking care o' Lana; don't feel too sorry for her 'cuz she still had a massage earlier that a.m.:)) took advantage of the cruisers & explored the metropolis that is Pacific Beach:) Probably not the safest idea on the highway, but hey! Took me over a week to recover from using coaster brakes on the hill, but I'll spare you the details of that minor accident:) Smiling through the pain...let's just say that I felt like I'd already delivered & leave it @ that-ugh! No wonder I haven't felt like I could water ski this summer if I can't even ride a simple bike?!Meanwhile the guys exercised @ Ocean Crest (who has hosted Apollo Ohno, but otherwise left much to be desired:) or went shooting in the forest (not to fear! no small animals were injured; they assured us that they only used inanimate objects as targets:) What trip to the ocean would be complete without a bonfire or two with uh, 8 pallets of wood & extra from Seabrook's firepits:) My favorite part were the s'mores & we're not just talking plain Hershey style! Once again Chad had a bright idea of adding some sparks, but we weren't the ones with fireworks if anyone asks. Let's just say that Screaming Mimi lived up to her name & more even after we thought she was done & threw her in the fire-uh oh!


















Since I didn't have to hurry back to Primary in Puyallup ('cuz I was released after whoppin' yr. & am back with YW), we visited the Ocean Shores Branch over which Jeremiah is currently president. That enabled us to spend extra afternoon with Shakespeares & their cute girls We caught up that evening with our boys who had already flown south to Lake Merwin with Shaws-thanks grandpa & grandma for another great weekend o' childcare! Chris drove all that way so he could drop me off & say "hi" to 'em before returning to work himself while we played for a few more days! Thanks honey for the round trip!
All in all, we couldn't have asked for better company, food (especially 'cuz we took turns with planning/preparation) plus fun & games regardless of the weather:)