Rock Star

My friend Gretchen ran in the Rock & Roll Marathon, her fourth marathon, on Saturday.  I decided to go over to Seattle with her husband and cheer her on.  I'm so glad I went!  She said it would give me "marathon fever", but it didn't.  I still have absolutely NO desire to run 26.2 miles.  But, it was an amazing experience none-the-less. 

Mike and I waited for her at the 14 mile mark to give her some refreshment and encouragement.  She was so far ahead of her anticipated time that we didn't even see her until she was almost right in front of us.

She still had 12.2 miles to go, so Mike and I walked down to the finish line at Qwest stadium.  We got an awesome spot, right at the finish line.  I stood and watched runners finish for an hour and it was a very emotional experience.  I couldn't believe how strong they were.  I totally expected to see runners collapsing all over the place, but most were smiling and cheering.  One man sommersaulted over the line, and one did a cartwheel!  I saw only one woman in really bad shape who needed help from the medical team to stand up after she crossed the line.  Gretchen's expected finish time was about 4:10.  She was hoping for 4:0something, and she finished in 3:57!  And she was able to walk and talk afterwards!  She's a rock star!  I was so proud of her. 

Here she is, coming down the stretch.  The clock says 4:04 because that's the offical time.  Each runner had a tracker on their shoe that recorded their actual time.   A funny side-note, see the man in the green t-shirt holding a child's hand on the right of the picture?  Somehow his kid got into the finish area and was running away from the finish line.  The poor guy had to run against traffic to catch his kid, after just finishing 26.2 miles!  Where's the mom? is what I say!

The finish line!

Yay!  She did it! 

Pioneer Trek

Last weekend, Nathan and Kylie joined approximately 200 other youth in our Stake for Pioneer Trek.  They weren't too excited about going.  Wearing a dress for four days did not sound like fun to Kylie, and Nathan wasn't too keen on "playing dress-up" and "pretending to be a pioneer" either.  Right up to the minute they got on the busses at 6:45 Wednesday morning, I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing sending them off into the wilderness with nothing but the most basic necessities.  I had a prayer in my heart the whole time they were gone that they would have an amazing experience and come home with a greater appreciation for their cushy lives.  I didn't know what to expect when I picked them up Saturday night.  I was hoping for hugs and not scowls, but I braced myself to hear "I hate you and I'm never speaking to you again!" 

I drove into the Stake Center parking lot and everyone was smiling and laughing.  Everyone was hugging each other and taking one last picture together.  Even my kids!  Success!  They both had a wonderful experience.  Both said it was really, really hard, especially the first day when they trekked until 2:00 in the morning, 11 miles in all, in the near 100 degree heat (until the sun went down, of course).  Many changes were made from the original plan, and Nathan said he felt like the changes were truly inspired.  He said they had the experience they needed and he felt fortunate to be part of it.  He also met a really cute girl, which didn't hurt!  Kylie was in a family group with no one she knew, but loved it anyway.  Her "Pa" came up to me in the parking lot and told me what an amazing girl she is, so hardworking, eager to help, and a great cook!  Of course I all ready knew that. 

In the car on the ride home, they were calculating how old they would all be for the next trek. If it's in four years like it should be, Kylie will be 18 and able to go again, and Jillian can go for her first time.  Ben will have to wait until the one after that, but they're already making plans for Kylie and Nathan to go with him as "aunt" and "uncle". 

My prayers were answered.  I love it when my kids have great experiences like this.  It's so important for them to learn that they can do hard things and not just survive, but learn, grow, and find joy.

 I copied these pictures from the Silverdale 2nd ward's facebook page, since obviously I wasn't there to take pictures!   Here they are unloading some of the busses.  I think there were 6 busses total.

Handcarts ready and waiting!

Picking "families". 

I'm not so sure I liked how they did this.  The lined up all the girls on one side (by height) and all the boys on the other.  Then the "ma" would run through the line and pick three or four girls, and the "pa" would pick three or four boys.  They were supposed to pick kids they didn't know, and who didn't know each other.  Too much like picking teams on the playground for my taste!  I asked the kids, "Wouldn't that make the kids who were picked last feel bad?"  And Kylie said, "Yeah, I was one of the last ones picked."  Ouch.

Treking with their families.  Kylie is in the orange dress.  It made her easy to pick out in the pictures!

You can see the line of carts on the road.  There were 25 carts in all.

Nathan's family.  He was the oldest kid in the family, so a lot was expected of him.

They did one water crossing.  It took a few hours to get all 25 carts across, one at a time!

It's Alive!

All the rain and cool weather has made our grass grow like crazy!  Mowing once a week isn't enough! Strange creatures are forming in the mounds of clippings!

75, Oh 75! Wherefore art thou, 75?

It's June 15 and so far the Seattle area has failed to reach the 75 degree mark this year.  We've broken our previous record of June 9th, and according to a weather blog I read, it will be a while until we get another warm spell.  Heavy bummer, especially since school is out today!  It always takes me at least a week to get used to having the kids around all day, every day, and with foul weather it's that much harder. 

The sun tried really hard to make an appearance this weekend, and didn't do too badly on Saturday at least.  We spent the morning at the Russell's garage sale, watching the USA vs. England World Cup match in their driveway.  Sitting in the sun was pleasant and we had great hopes of our first real day of summer.  After we returned home and worked in the yard for a while, the kids asked if we could go to the beach.  It felt warm enough to all of us, so we headed out.  I was certain it must be about 80.  Driving to the beach, the thermometer in my car fluxuated between 68 and 72.  I guess when it's been over 9 months since we've felt temperatures over 75, 72 feels hot.    It was hot enough for the kids to play in the sand and build sand castles, and even for Ben to swim!   And judging from all the people who were also swimming, we aren't the only ones who thought it was a warm day!

I didn't get a picture of him all the way in, but he was swimming around like it was 90.  We sure know how to take advantage of every little bit of sun we get! 

Voyage #12--Fort Ward to Blakely Harbor

Friday afternoon was supposed to be gorgeous.  According to my weather source, at 11:00 the clouds were supposed to break up and the sun was supposed to come out.  By our 2:00 launch time, it finally happened!  I'm so glad we decided to keep our kayaking date and not let the daunting clouds of the morning keep us away.

The water was beautiful.  It really doesn't matter too much if the sun isn't out, as long as the winds are calm and it's not raining.  Actually, Brooke preferred the cooler weather.  When the sun came out towards the end of our trip and it started to get warmer, she started to feel sea sick.   A little too much yaking for her!

Right past Fort Ward State Park is a salmon hatchery.  I heard they raise Atlantic salmon.  Don't tell the poor fishies that they're practically in the Pacific, not the Atlantic!  They were swimming and jumping around inside these pens making quite a splash. 

This house is right by the fish pens.  Notice the tribute to the salmon on the eaves.

There are several beautiful homes on this side of the island.  The sunny south side, which it looks like they take advantage of if their huge porches are any indication!

Also on the southern most end of the Island is The Country Club.  It's so exclusive, I don't even know if it has a name other than "The Country Club".  The metal railing in the picture above is  The Club's outdoor swimming pool.   Right on the beach.  Rough, huh?

Restoration Point marks the southern most point on the Island.  All the land here is part of The Club.

Here's the view of Seattle from Restoration Point.  Not too shabby!

The clouds were starting to break up more as we got to Restoration Point. Can you see the elephant?

This beautiful home is in Blakely Harbor.  It doesn't look like it belongs here, though...maybe France or Italy?  I've never been to either, so I can't say for sure.

After about 2 1/2 hours of paddling, we reached Blakely Harbor, "former site of Port Blakely Mill, one of the world's largest sawmills in the late 1800s".  I don't know what the cement building was, or how old it is, but I can only imagine what it's used for now.

A tranquil pond sits at the very end of the harbor.  Maybe it was once the log pond? 

One last look out towards the harbor before we called it a day.  We only have one more section of the Island left.  I'm sad to think our adventure is coming to an end! 

International District Field Trip Take 2

I can't believe it's been two years since I took Nate on this same field trip!  I expect I'll get to go two more times...

I think they use the exact same maps and information sheets every year.  I was able to find a few places this time that we couldn't with Nate's group, but it we mostly saw the same things.  It's an enjoyable trip, though, so I'm glad I went again.  The weather was great, which made it even better.  I had an eager group who wanted to get to the first location before everyone else, so we hoofed it up the hills from the ferry.  I definitely got a workout!  Our first stop was Kobe Park at the top of 6th and Yesler, the highest point in the ID. 

L to R:  Jared, Dylan, Harrison, Serena, Kylie, Kate

The Danny Woo Community Gardens are right below Kobe Park.  Once again, the kids were eager to move along, so we didn't spend much time wandering through the maze-like paths or admiring the intricate gardens. 

They did stop for a minute so I could take their picture.

But then they were off again!

Under 1-5, the pillars are painted with beautiful koi.  We stopped here for a second before moving on to the fortune cookie factory, where we had to buy another huge bag of "unfortunate cookies".  They're so addictive! 

Their favorite spot was the Children's Park, which was one site we couldn't find when I went with Nate's group.  They could have stayed and played here all afternoon if other groups hadn't arrived.  I don't know if they felt embarrased to be playing on the tiny merry-go-round, but as soon as other people showed up, they were ready to move on.

Uwajimaya was next, where we ate lunch and browsed the store.  The kids stocked up on candy and I bought some curry paste in hopes of recreating the delicious red curry chicken I had for lunch.

Our last official stop was Hing Hay Pavilion.  Dylan really wanted to play tag here, but the nice lady playing the soothing guitar music was a big deterrent. 

We made our way back to the ferry, stopping at a bakery so Jared could get some bubble tea.  By the time we got to the ferry, everyone was pretty mellow.  I was tired, at least!  But I think we all had a great day.  I'll be back in three years with Jillian's class!

There's Hope!

While I was making dinner this evening, I looked out the window and I saw this:

Actual proof that they really can get along and have fun together.  Maybe summer won't be so bad...

Teatro Woodwardi

The school year is drawing to a close and Kylie is almost done with 8th grade.  I can't believe she will be in high school next year!  

Every year Woodward Middle School has an 8th grade banquet to celebrate, and every year the theme is different.  This year was "Teatro Woodwardi", in the style of "Teatro ZinZanni".  It's a pretty big deal and I have mixed feelings about it.  Lots of parents put in lots of hours to make it an elaborate, enjoyable event.  Some girls buy expensive dresses, some boys rent expensive suits.  Even though the school says there is a dress code for the event (dresses are supposed to have at least spaghetti straps and fall at or below the knee), it is definitely not enforced.  I was embarrased to look at what some of the girls were wearing.  There's no way some of them could have bent over without fully exposing themselves on both ends.   I know it's exciting to be moving on to high school, feeling like you're growing up and all, but seriously?  These girls are only 14 years old! 

I'm glad I have a practical, modest daughter.  She chose to wear pants.  I would have been fine with her wearing a cute, summery dress, but neither one of us are shoppers and she really doesn't like to wear dresses.  The thought of going out to look for a dress wasn't appealing to either of us.  My mom offered to make her a dress, and even started one, but before it was finished we all decided it wasn't going to look right on Kylie.  She borrowed a cute blouse from my mom and wore her nice black slacks.  You can't really tell from the picture how cute the blouse is, it's a sheer, lightweight fabric with some ruffles and lace.  She thought it was a little too ruffly, but I thought she looked great!

 

I love Kylie's attitude.  She wasn't afraid to be different and to be comfortable.  She knew that even if she did wear a dress, she would still be different than most of the girls.  Fortunately, her close girl friends wore dresses that were age appropriate. 

(That one girl on the end, she isn't one of Kylie's close friends.)

When Kylie got home, she was so glad she was comfortable.  She said most of the girls had to hold on to their dresses to even dance.  Kylie was able to enjoy herself and BE herself.  With that attitude, high school should be no problem!

Happy 40th, Brad!

Yesterday was Brad's 40th birthday.  Wow, he's old! 

We had a great party with our families.   Ashley, Brandon and Jane are home from Hawaii and it was wonderful to see them again.  With all the cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, we had 20 people here! 

Brad wanted cioppino for dinner and I was a little apprehensive about making it until he told me Central Market sells the soup base and all you have to do is add the seafood.  It was excellent.  I added scallops, shrimp, clams, and cod.  Delicioso!  We also had grilled chicken, two big salads, yummy bread, and for dessert, German Chocolate cake (from scratch!)

This could be an interesting year for Brad.  He's still trying to decide which direction to take his career.  Some big changes could be on the horizon!  I'm excited for him and the possiblities he has before him.  I feel so blessed to have a husband who takes such good care of our family and I'm happy to support him in whatever he decides.  Here's to another amazing 40 years!

I hope it's not in the water!

After Scott and Elizabeth had Levi in February, and Tifanie and Tad gave birth to Mariko in April, I thought it would be a while before we had anymore cousins in the family.  I was wrong! 

Last week, Rachael and Tyler sent us these cute pictures of their 1 year old, Hudson:

Yep, Hudson is going to be a big brother in February!

And then tonight at Brad's birthday dinner, my sister Corey said, "Everyone, Hyrum has a secret."  (Hyrum is her 5 year old.)  And Hyrum said, "My mom's going to have a baby after Christmas!" 

Wow!  Two more cousins, #13 and 14 grandchildren for my parents!