Two Brave Boy's

Not to bad for Polaroid shots! And yes, although there is no picture, I did hold the Python too! In fact I have one somewhere of me holding it with B on my lap when he was like three years old. We love it when the reptile man comes to the school! We saw many snakes including a black mambo (B's favorite) Watched, first hand, a King Cobra strike. Touched a very large tortoise. And the highlight of the night, according to my children, is when the gigantic snapping turtle peed all over the reptile man. Snakes, lizards and Scales OH MY!


Check him out!
http://www.reptileman.com/intro.html

Nine Years and Counting

Shad and I recently celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary by playing the day away amid the warm sun and cool water of Seattle. I have no pictures to share from the day because I left my camera at home. Zero pictures. WHAT?!?! You gasp. Yep, I even left it on purpose. My goal was not to record the day but to be fully engulfed in the beauty of living it.

It was eighty degrees without a cloud in the sky. A slight breeze and a clean smell to the air. It was breathtakingly beautiful. A rare day even in Summer on the Seattle waterfront.

We started the day out at the University district Tully's and sipped lattes like any good Seattleite does and waited for the Augua Verde paddle club to open. We rented a double Kayak and paddled around the ship canal enjoying the sun and amazing houseboats. We drooled on all the boats that slipped passed us and daydreamed that we could take one home. I also made the decision some where on the heading of Gas Works Park that I will someday own a kayak and cruise Lake Union again with my mother. I LOVED the silent beauty of slipping through the water, our strokes perfectly matched, taking in the salt air. Shad would say that he noticed my steering abilities made us appear to be a Russian attack sub. (for those of you who don't understand: It meant that I had a habit of veering left, then right, then left, then right, in big lazy "s" shapes... You get the picture.) I didn't care. As long as I stayed away from bigger vessels, what did it matter that I covered twice the amount of water to get to the same place. I WAS HAVING FUN!!!!!! If you are EVER going to Seattle, make it a MUST DO. Believe me, you wont regret it. Even if you have NEVER kayaked before, you can do this and you will have fun! You even get a small discount for paying in cash.

http://www.aguaverde.com/kayak.htm

After we paddled the morning away we headed back to Augua Verde to have a marvelous lunch of fresh and original Mexican food. Check out Augua Verdes menu's. There is a reason that Rachel Ray did a piece on $40 dollars a day that included it. Take a peek at the unusual ingredients. It is a favorite of the college crowd. Great food and great prices. If you start drooling over the menu I actually have their recipe for halibut tacos. Just ask nicely and I might share. All the while we were munching we were sitting outside watching the waves and the sailboats pass by. As we waddled back out to the car the line to get in was already going down the block. Get there early!!!! It is one of the best little secrets on the waterfront.
Take a peek at their unusual house drinks and the Margaritas menu too, its phenomenal! My fresh mango Margarita was yummy!

http://www.aguaverde.com/cafe.htm

Next we headed towards the Needle and scoped out Tower Records. We were searching for another Cross Canadian Ragweed CD. Live at "Billy Bobs" is on Shad's wish list. Then off we went to Pike Place Market to carouse through the antique shops and one of my favorite past times, people watching. There is no better place to watch people and entertain yourself like downtown Seattle. My eyes and attention don't even know where to settle!!!

I have so many memories entwined with that particular stretch of waterfront. Years of taking out of towners for the tour, stolen weekends during my teen years, bachelorette parties, one particularly interesting weekend that included a trip to "Cowgirls Inc. Which I now affectionately call the "Den of Sin". Not a place for the faint of heart but it will keep everyone out there who likes to people watch entertained for years!!!! I think my mother would faint if I recommended it, no good little girl would, so I won't, nope not me, I wouldn't do such a thing, wouldn't even think of it, not even simply for the entertainment factor....would not even mention that Saturday nights are the rowdiest... hehehe

Anyway, Hubby and I walked for miles upon miles in the sun simply enjoying each others company. We took the afternoon Argosy "Locks Cruise" and spent the next two hours sipping cocktails on the bow of a boat seeing parts of Seattle that I didn't even know existed. It was like seeing "the other side of the railroad tracks" except it was on water and there were million dollar houseboats and commercial fishing vessels and an entire industrial world that I didn't even know was there. We passed under one bridge with less that a foot of clearance. That was pretty darn freaky with cars zooming overhead. The locks were very cool. The Salmon were jumping three feet out of the water all around the Locks. We cruised along on the bow in shorts and teeshirts and never even got cold. It is so rare to have a day like that on the waterfront. I could not have begged for more perfect weather. We sailed and we laughed.

http://www.argosycruises.com/publiccruises/locks.cfm


We got off the boat while I longingly looked at the parasailing outfit next door. With my eyebrows raised hubby said "I don't think so". Oh well, I will keep working on him. We set off walking again. We walked from Pike Place to Safeco field and back again. IT WAS A LONG WALK!!!! My poor little feet died but we had a great time.

We went to FX McRorys and had a couple of mediocre appetizers before heading back. Shad was not impressed but after having lunch at Augua Verde it would have been hard to find anything that would. Although, If your ever in town for a game at Safeco check them out. They are directly across the street and have a special game night menu.

We had brought extra clothes to head out and see the night life or head for the comedy club but by eight we were getting pretty tired and decided that going home and snuggling in an empty "kid free" house sounded better than a site seeing trip to the "Den of Sin". It was a great day!

The following morning I had a few moments of regret that I did not have fantastic photos of our day but I think it's ok. The film could never have caught the feeling of fun, excitement and energy that the day held.

Happy Anniversary baby, I absolutely adore you. Nine years and we're still not tired of kissing each other. I am so glad that I married you. Thank you for a spectacular day and for the best waterfront kiss of my life..... so far...... (:

The First day of Kindergarten, again!

Well here we go again. T and I have been through this once before so we are Kindergarten "Pro's" at this point. When we moved from Colorado T missed Washington's cut off date by two weeks and they would not let him start even though he had already gone for a quarter, so after a nice long unexpected break we are on our way to kindergarten once again! Freshly ironed cotton along with our favorite pair of shorts. It was a hot and happy afternoon. I am volunteering in his classroom once a week so I had the splendid opportunity to stick around and see his first day of school firsthand! Bus rides, ABC's, snack time and hallpasses. The fun has begun! I was so proud of my little man as he followed directions, listened intently and did his job of line leading so proficiently. It was a great day and I am SO GLAD that I was there to see all of it!


B's advice on going to kindergarten:
Don't worry you'll get to eat next year.

The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round.....

Fall is in the air and a very "grown up" third grader is off to another year filled with exciting possibilities. I don't know where the time has gone but it is defiantly laughing at me as I stood this morning and kissed my son goodbye.

I love the first day of school. All the kids are in crisp new clothes, squeaky shiny shoes and their hair has that nice watered down control factor going on. My son is eight yet he smells of RightGuard and Tommy borrowed from Dads bathroom cabinet. I wish that he wouldn't grow up quite so fast. Another year or two and I will be able to wear his shoes. His hip new glasses are showing off sparkling blue eyes just waiting for the first recess bell to ring. His "pizza" sandwich is packed in his new backpack but I have a sneaky suspicion that most of it will get thrown in the trash as he dashes out the big metal doors for the playground. Last years exciting discovery was tetherball. I wonder what this year will bring...

As my husband and I walked home after dropping him off I tried to decide what half of my heart was going to win the emotion of the morning.

I felt happy for him. All of the wonder and awe. To be a "big" third grader. For endless possibilities to unfold. A new school, a new teacher, new friends. A whole new world.

I felt deeply sad in my heart. Each year that passes my "little boy" is left further behind in my heart. My "baby" is slowly fading before my eyes while turning into a young man. He barely fits into my lap anymore to read.

In the end I swept the clenching sadness aside and anxiously waited for him to get home and share the adventures of his day with me.

Why I Love This Man

On the way home from running errands today, my husband stopped on the side of the road, as he has done many times since we have been married and helped a fellow human being in need.

This time it happened to be a woman who was attempting to change a tire with a physical handicap that made it nearly impossible for her to do so. As I sat in the truck with my son watching the sun and wind play with the tall grasses of the field we were next to it struck me just how many times he had done this. I had the wonderful opportunity yet again to explain to my children the compassion and generous nature of their father.

Even if we had been running late on our way to an appointment he still would have stopped. That is just one of the many things that I admire about him. After about twenty minutes, having successfully sent the woman on her way, he came back to the truck wiping the grease from his hands with a big smile on his face. I just love this man.

I remember the time he stopped at a busy four way intersection and helped push a dead car off the road while impatient drivers honked and tried to go around him unaffected by the scene. The time he stopped to pick up a few big bricks that had fallen off of something that was slowing down rush hour traffic. If I remember correctly someone was honking and flinging profanity on that one even though what my husband was doing was actually going to allow him to keep driving and make his right hand turn. Or the many times that he gave stranded drivers a road side jump. He never makes a big deal out of it but he always has the same slight smile when the job is finished. Watching him makes my heart feel warm and full.

It is the same smile that comes each time he buys lemonade from the kids in our neighborhood or a neighborhood miles away. Lemonade, Cool-Aide, Oreos, you name it, he's stopped for it. With a smile and a chuckle it brightens all of our days. Don't even get me started on the number of Girl Scout cookies that comes in to this house on a yearly basis. My husband is a truly caring man under his macho swagger and serious gaze.

What I love most is that he truly leads by example. He doesn't lecture his sons on how to be better men, he shows them in the little things he does each and every day. I have no doubt that they will grow to have deep respect, compassion and tolerance for most people they meet. He would give you the shirt off of his back if you really needed it but don't you dare talk bad about your wife, hurt your children or abuse drugs or alcohol and expect him to even give you a second look. He has no time for a person like that. As his deep voice would say; "I have no time for stupid people." He is a man of deep convictions.

I am fortunate. I am surrounded by women that endure so much by selfish men. I may have to bite my tongue occasionally and pick up his socks or the newspaper for the fiftieth time but those things really don't matter to me. What matters is that I have a husband that I can respect and trust.