He's Got Good Taste

Since it's official on FB, must be real deal since that's THE authoritative source eh?! Parker boys and I just wanted to add our endorsement of Jake's taste in women, universities and sports:) They had a blast with "Uncle Jake" in my parent's yard wrestling, playing King o' the Trampoline & having private football clinic. Helped that grandma picked 'em up early so they had afternoon outta childcare! We were all appreciative of Jake & Brooke's efforts to entertain 'em on little or no sleep from driving home all night...Didn't have long to bond since they were headed up to M's game that very night they came into town! Hope to see him again this summer & hope even more that he gets starting posit on the Coug Squad! Either way, we're fans!!
Of course, we're glad to add Aunt Brooke to nearby fam until Aug @ least:) Of course, while I'm mentioning aunts....we're glad that Aunt Britt's still in the Great NoWest. Thanks Uncle Lance for sharing Jake's good taste & staying nearby for a while so we could see this handsome guy grow!

Always a good time with Aunt Cait as well...She runs over to greet boys whenever we have chance to bond & there's no doubt that nephews/nieces are her top priority:)
Now if we could just get Uffens girls up here for the summer-good times in WA would be complete!

Sunday Best

I know I have posted previously with these future missionaries in their Sunday best; however, I just have to repeat how grateful I am for them-esp on this day o' rest even when they go a lil' stir crazy with break from activity level during reg week...gotta love 'em!! Should prob learn to take their pic prior to Church rather than afterward when can't possib stay in those clothes a second longer:) We're quarter of way through year & I still can't fig out how we can be late when they are dressed 2 hrs before start time? Guess we're still working on the "ready" part...I always manage to find one more thing to do ie futile search for 2T khaki pants in Luke's closet-Can you believe MIA for boy #3?! S'pose I will settle for being on time and then try to be early one of these fine Sundays! Don't get your hopes up anytime soon...

Tulip Pedal WITHOUT the Ped/tals

Difficult to make this post succinct let alone the title as I learned a lot o' life lessons yesterday while on this adventure with my good friend Candice. She didn't want to be pictured, but was an all-star traveling companion and should be noted, logged 22 mi. on her bike for first ride o' 2010!! On the other hand, I was not so prepared...Should've known wasn't the brightest idea when I haven't ridden my bike since college and even then, it was just to/from campus-certainly nothing hard-core. But this sounded fun & scenic (note: would've been had we gone mo earlier?!) & change o' pace from the half marathons I've attempted. I knew Candice enjoyed cycling & tried to tempt a couple of my sisters to join me...I had my dad pull my bike down from its rack in the garage & my neighbor "tuned it up", but wasn't his fault he missed potential tire troubles 'cuz my dad had warned me it was all in sad shape. He did offer me a couple of other bikes as opt, but I politely declined 'cuz I didn't want the responsibility nor did I think my bike was that ancient?! Needless to say, I knew I was down to one bearing & hoped there weren't many hills to challenge the gears...Should've realized when I put my bike out the previous night for my friend to load for our early start that a flat tire was NOT a good sign to begin what ended up being just 20 mi. course. I wanted to try 40 initially but we decided we could drive toward bay for view later:) Turned out that was the only way I saw tulips too despite the valiant efforts of Joe @ the equipment station,
'Cuz the tube within my rear tire was DONE on the first road aptly named Chilberg:)
I didn't want my friend to miss out on full course 'cuz she felt badly for my ignorance, so I sent her ahead & decided I would just get a good run in along with plenty o' photo oppor. Too bad I couldn't @ least make it full distance of half marathon as I hoped, but my knee reminded me that I had not even run for a couple weeks let alone trained for any races in the near future with current circumstances. Guess this became sub for Snoqualmie Half (5/1)?! The other insane part of our am was fact that we thought we had to leave Puyallup @ 4:30A to get up to La Conner on time, but found out there was no official start meaning we could've literally rolled in whenever & been fine with exception of weather, which also left a lot to be desired:/ That is not good news for 2 working women who are clearly not a fan of early mornings esp on Sat?! Oh well!!

Prob don't care, but here are some visuals for what I learned as great time for self-reflection running 9 mi. afterward solo...Get ready for me to be all philosophical on ya-'Bout as deep as my blog gets:)

Very apparent that we are all @ different stages in life!

Just what I was thinking...

Until I spotted Bald Eagle overseeing the tilling o' fields, latter of which I saw way more than beautiful flowers on post cards from the area:)
Flying outta my frame like another balding head I know:/

3 blooms to remind me of sons still planted in my life and needing constant care...
no rush to uproot them!

These kind were definitely on their way out too!

Only field on my course that was in full bloom:)

Ventured over to Tulip Town, but wasn't even open yet as you can see
& if it were, wouldn't have spent $5 to go inside?!

Best didn't get any better as road was appropriately named...word itself was part o' inside joke that prob would've "had to be there" in jr high to fully appreciate but just goes to show I can't escape the sentimental nostalgia (redundant?) of my past no matter how hard I try-ugh!
T'is certainly cyclical like the sign!!

This guy was just marinating in a marsh @ the corner...

Oh, there's main attraction finally?! Only problem was I think it would've been more appealing had they placed purple next to yellow:) I'm not the brightest tool in the shed, so took me a while & reminder from my mother that they aren't going to waste when in full bloom since big business comes from harvesting bulbs:)

For the record, right after we drove by these fields we picked up another lady who'd experienced 2 flat tires as well JUST after having her bike serviced (didn't know that was regular deal for avid cyclers), so @ least I wasn't only one?!

I have to say if you are ever up in that area, our lunch was awesome in Anacortes & we'd highly recomm Adrift (also symbolic @ this point in my life) restaurant incl 2, count 'em, 2 cookies, that I fully enjoyed after my hearty lunch jam-packed with flavor!! Prob cancelled out our workout, but hey! We felt like we'd deserved 'em for the exertion of the am?!
Thanks Candice for letting me be along for the ride literally! If you ever decide to switch from banking, you would be an excellent therapist:) Don't worry...I won't give up my day job for writing OR photography?! But certainly welcome release from life if only for a day--Thanks Grandpa Gar & Grandma Neecy for taking care of Cole, Dane & Luke so Mom could escape even if not clearest route. We couldn't get into shower/baths fast enough by time we got home from going straight to Cole's practice in downpour...even prior to late dinner! Loved ending it by falling asleep while watching a movie curled up with my boys!

Huey See, Huey Do!

After Easter egg hunt, it was Luke's idea to grab the older boys' hands on either side of him...How cool is that?




























I don't feel self-righteous posting this 'cuz only managed to get boys to watch one talk from General Conference on Sat c/o Pres. Monson...But I love how intently they are listening to prophet esp as Luke mimics serious pose from his bros. They have taught him some other things that make me cringe or him screech like a Velociraptor, but they all @ least look like they're paying attention here eh? Funny to see him observe for first time how to sit like that & now he copies it all the time.
He will even join 'em when meeting with their baseball teams after practice just to be like the big boys:)

His other deal lately that isn't necess like Cole n Dane (although nice to still have my choice of 3 men to cuddle with these days) is his affinity toward blankies. Might be just toward all comfort obj in general as he adjusts to childcare, but unique feature of his Linus stage is the fact that it's quantity over quality:) He seriously had 5 this am & wanted me to carry him & them out of his crib, immediately downstairs & even wanted to be swaddled in his high chair for breakfast...definitely must-have while watching cartoons with bros too!
If they get a balloon, so does he complete with accompanying static accentuated by his longer hair 'cuz I just can't part with curls--Definitely tries to keep up with 'em on the playground--
Still waiting to record his performance of Nursery songs since doesn't always want to do it when I have camera ready, but here he is showing his latest body part label--
Can't say the youngest in this fam isn't pictured as much as oldest:) More of his latest tricks later when he's in the mood...

Thank You Easter Bunny; No Thank You Mother Nature?!

Gotta keep up the frosting tradition with Dent girlfriends & invited Kanekoas to join in on the fun...


































I cannot tell a lie...This is first time that my boys have actually dyed Easter eggs & I'm not ashamed 'cuz I genuinely expected a huge mess and feared many other pieces of furniture/body parts to change color in the process...not that anything we own is that valuable, but I was grateful that their skin escaped relatively unscathed with only one pink ring (of all colors?!) on the table (mom's fault) & they thoroughly enjoyed activity!!
















Additional description necess for some of our carefully colored eggs:) Word to wise: I didn't pay attention in the good ole' days & learned quickly this time around that while eggs must be immersed in hot water for shrink-wrap to work, they must first be cooled down enough to pull onto egg without shrinking along the way so no short cuts:) Needless to say, those deserve extra appreciation! Also feel free to overlook fact that we experienced severe cracking issue prob 'cuz boys were a lil' excited to go ahead with dying process & ended up being lil' toasty on their paws hence slipped outta reach on multiple occas?! Cole drew a cute bunny on one situated on far right in the middle row:) Very tan egghead couple located on bottom row (far right side) as well. I'm particularly fond o' denim hue in the middle on the top row as well as spring green 'cuz it's just the right shade for this time o' yr. Proud o' purple/yellow tipped one in the lower left corner in addition to fancy tri-color...That's extent of thought we put into it, but boys would've done it all night if i'd let them! That was real beauty of the bonding!
Kept our pre-Easter festivities in Puyallup since I thought we already had 2 practices, for T-ball & Coach-Pitch respectively sched in the Valley. Tried the egg hunt @ the rec ctr, but not best experience for a few reasons: As you can see, EMTs were more of a hazard than anything else during the craze. The stash wasn't that exciting; Halloween candy @ Lattin's way back when was @ least more abundant if you're going for quantity over quality. Last but not least, Huey could've cared less re: his indoor version...






































Also my boys weren't chosen ones to grab "golden" version; guess I should be proud they didn't dissolve into tears like some kids (truly Easter miracle for those of you who have bonded with Dane lately can attest)& only $1 investment per kid. Fwiw, I asked & am not the best with numbers, but can only determine odds really not in favor when only 8 golden eggs avail for what seemed like @ least 100 kids in their age level?! I also had to remind another mother who blocked my kids out on the starting line t'was not purpose of Easter and remind myself why such activities haven't been our top priority in the spring:/

Speaking of which, after token community egg hunt venture on preceding day, I really try not to focus entirely on whole Easter bunny business since holiday has such deeper significance; I think commercial side is even more of contrast than Christmas. But I do let 'em hunt for numbered eggs with obj inside that symbolize Easter on Sunday & have to add some candy to their hidden baskets with Church book/activities--any excuse to make life seem sweeter eh?!




















































Didn't let weather dampen our spirits, but did postpone the "Springy" photo shoot we'd anticipated before we retired their purple attire until football season:) Believe it or not, Aunt Britt didn't realize that she picked out same tie for Ben. So, of course, he had to participate following Sun (though not much better outdoors) & loved every min as did the rest of 'em. They were clearly bribed with DQ blizzard next night if they cooperated...Some outtakes of course that I will save for another post, but these are keepers just 'cuz they're handsome no matter what pose we try to force on 'em:)