Christmas '07

It was a great Christmas this year. Both of the boys really got into the whole thing. For the first time, Brennen really understood that Santa brought presents & he had to be good.

It's so much fun for Bryan and I to see Brennen grow & begin to realize things that some of us forget about or take for granted. We always have a great time remembering when B was that age and reminding him how much he cried on Christmas when he was about the same age. He opened one present and just wanted to play with that one present. Brennen, like most aspects, is 180 degrees from B. He dove in headfirst and started opening all of his ... and then some that weren't his.

All in all it was a great day and the boys had a great time. Their annual gift from me (some sort of Nerf dart gun, ball launched) sparked an all out fight between Bryan, B, Brennen, Tim & PJ. Good times had by all, every once in a while it's good to break out the nerf guns and just start shooting at each other. War games in the house!

Brennen was most happy to get his monster trucks from Santa, BJ & his uncles Tim & PJ. Bryan and I were also "thinking" when we bought our kids a hockey / soccer set complete with little goals to fit in the hallway. Only after we were thinking ... "seriously, did we really give our kids sticks to play against each other with?" Good times!

Yea! More monster trucks for Brennen
Don't forget those yummy stocking stuffers early in the morning

Then it snowed! Something we Seattleites are not accustomed to! In fact of all the people I talked to today, none of us could remember the last time we had a white Christmas. B took the opportunity to have a snowball fight with his uncles & managed to hit uncle Timmy & take him out for most of it, I guess it takes one hit just right for a guy and he's done with the snowball fight. It made the day complete!

B playing with his sled on the little hill in our back yard

Maybe he's getting ready to go snowboarding?

Brennen with one of his new toys

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Holidays are coming

It's been a very busy year and so far, a very busy holiday season. We're doing well and today BJ started his winter break. He's very excited for his next couple of weeks off for the holidays. So, things in our house have been buzzing and hopefully 2008 will have many good changes to come!

It's been crazy & I haven't been able to post near as much as I'd like. With the holidays & a little time off, I'll have more time to post! I will post more here soon, I promise.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Torrential Downpours & the Flooding Caused

For those of you who live here in Western Washington, you are all too aware of the storms and the damage it's caused. Just thought I'd reflect a bit, it has been crazy. I went to bed Sunday night and thought "wow, there's alot of rain coming down". Didn't realize how much it really was until BJ's school called around 1:00 Monday and said, most roads to his school are flooded out and we're asking parents to come pick up their kids as soon as they can.

Instant panic ensued. So of course, I got Brennen ready to go and headed off to pick him up. The main road to his school, 228th was closed just past Canyon Park so I had to go on quite the detour. Tried to get on 405 - HWY 522 and it was closed as well. Then it was through the Bothell Business Park (Northcreek), which had been evacuated earlier in the day, to try and go to the back of Woodinville to Kokanee. The wait began, it took me an hour and 40 minutes to get to B's school to pick him up. What is normally a 10 minute, 5 mile drive ... an hour & 40 minutes ... what the heck! At least it only took us an hour to get home ... much better right?

I didn't realize until I got home, just how bad Woodinville really suffered. 522 was closed for 2 days, something I've never ever encountered in all my 31 years in the area. On the I-5 corridor between Seattle & Portland it's even worse, Centralia / Chehalis are completely decimated. I-5 has been closed since Monday and will be closed at least through Friday. Seeing as how I work at UPS, and all my trailers come through the I-5 corridor, you can only imagine the trouble we're having at work. I'm sure many, many other businesses are feeling the pinch as well. What a crazy week of weather.

Check out these pics of some of the flooding:

This is right off of the 522 exit on the left, right across from DQ & the 76 station.

Can you believe this is I-5 in Chehalis about 1/2 way between Seattle & Portland?
That's right, one of the main arteries of the west coast, with all the water on it!

A Season of Disappointment

Look at these two boys ... dressed in purple hoping for a Husky win. Wins that were hard to come by and often lost in the 2nd half.

We had the opportunity / punishment of going to the Apple Cup only to see the Cougars come away with the win. Holy crap .... what the H is that?

I guess there's always another season, but I don't know if my poor Husky heart can deal with ANOTHER losing season. Seriously, get rid of everyone in charge of the defense and do it quick!

Soccer Season Wraps

B's Soccer season has once again wrapped up for they year. It was Bryan & my 4th year coaching the Sharks and each & every year they continue to get better. We're hoping to have a couple of original players back next year ... 'cause, we'll we missed them. It's always tough to lose a part of the original Sharks family. At least the new Sharks are all great, but there's just something about the originals!

B had a pretty good season, he developed his shot and became a true forward. Following in his mother's footsteps, the boy can't play a lick of defense and he has the amazing ability to find the keeper, no matter how big that goal is. He's definitely come into his own as quite the goal scorer though, even when he's shooting straight at the keeper. Just imagine B, next year we'll proactice on shooting away from the keeper.

Trick or Treat

It was a fun Halloween this year with Brennen & BJ. Brennen went as a little boxer & B went as ... well ... a scary monster thing. He wanted to be something very scary.

Brennen was very cute in his boxer costume, complete with his Everlast hooded cape! We couldn't pry the skittles out of his hand though while trick or treating! With the skittles it's hard to wear the little boxing gloves, the only time we could get his gloves on was when he & BJ were boxing in the backyard. Oh well, we think he was cute anyways.

He thought is was great that people just handed out candy for knocking on the door. Now he just wants to eat it all, unlike his brother who at the same age didn't care too much for candy. Brennen woke up this morning and the first thing he asked for was his bucket. It just suits his personality!

Boxing in the backyard - get the monster Brennen

The infamous Skittles

Scary Monster B

Brennen going for more candy

Tales from the Patch ...

Even though it's a little late into the season, we headed out to the Pumpkin farm today! Brennen's been talking about visiting the pumpkin farm since September. Brennen went nuts when we got there and just ran towards all the pumpkins. BJ of course tried to find the biggest pumpkin he could, looking all over and ending up finding it right at the entrance. That's so B. Our rule though is that if you pick a pumpkin, you have to be able to carry it out, B tried a couple but couldn't carry them all the way out & almost dropped one on Brennen. That would not have been a pretty sight!

Don't drop it on Brennen!

Brennen loves the pumpkins, I seriously think it's one of his favorite times of the year, at least right now! He picked two little pumpkins and wouldn't let them go the rest of the day, he wanted someone to carry him and the pumpkins, not just the pumpkins.

Brennen & B at the entrance

Brennen in Heaven

Brennen found a pumpkin phone!

B's Final pumpkin pick!

Final XCountry meet

The regular XCountry season has come to an end. It ended on a pretty wet, cold and overall nasty day. This year we have definitely not had a nice fall, it went straight from Summer to late fall / early winter. I think the only thing we have yet to see that will confirm we're in winter is the frost. I'm sure that's right around the corner.

Anyway, back to XCountry. For his last meet, Kokanee (B's School) got to host. There were 6 different elementary schools involved and in the 4th grade boys alone, probably close to 60 boys. Lots & Lots of kids! B did great and ended up coming in 13th place. We are so proud of him and his determination to keep going. I honestly don't think you could pay me enough to get out there & run cross country. Go BJ! Now there is one more run, the annual Pumpkin Run with all of the kids in the Northshore School District. I think B's planning to do that and then we're done with running for the season.

Here are some more pics of the day ...

B & his friend Marshall just before the race began

B, Marshall & Caleb (soccer buddies) at the beginning

Coming around the corner, almost finished

At the finish line .. 13th place, well done B

6 out of 10 boys from the soccer team did Cross Country ... Go Sharks!

A Hike in the Fall

This weekend had the chance to do a little hiking in the fall leaves before the cold sets in. I took the kids and met up with our friends, the Mabbutt's, and hiked to Tradition Lake on Tiger Mountain. It was a very good hike for the kids as it was mostly flat. With a 2 year old, 3 year old, a slightly limping 6 year old and 7 & 9 year old ... flat is good! It was a little challenging on the way back with the little ones, but all in all it was a ton of fun. The fall was in full bloom and I just love the different shades of yellow & red.

There was a pretty cool tree along the way that all of the kids that fit into. Brennen thought the tree was more fun to run through. Of course, as long as the kid has room to run, you can bet you'll be chasing him! Sometimes he is too much for me ...

In the sticks down by Tradition Lake.

On the trail heading back, Brennen loves to be on his brother's shoulders.

Getting all 5 of 'em looking at the camera, and with some smiles to boot! That's an achievement, especially since it was at the end of the hike. I think these are some of the best lookin' kids out there! Check out some more of our pics from the hike.

Xcountry almost over

Well, I've taken a stab at putting up a quick video clip. Not a good clip, from not a good camera, but it's a first so if I can I'll be posting more in no time. First item ... get a new video camera!

BJ has done really well with Xcountry this year. He's pretty consistent between the 6 - 10 spot and he's still shooting to finish in the top five. We think it's pretty awesome he's been in the top ten in all three matches he's had already this year. He was pretty tired at the end of this one today and next week should be even tougher. The next one is at his elementary (Kokanee) and from what the boys tell me, it's by far the hardest course. We'll try to get B plenty of rest & feed him lots of carbs the night before. Go B!

Here's a clip of him at the finish line ...

Half Way Point

Well, here we are the half way point of BJ's soccer season. 5 games down, 5 to go. It's been such a great 1st half of the season. The boys are improving & BJ's enjoying the season. Next year will be alot of fun 'cause we'll be able to do a post - season tournament as well. BJ's team is doing well and sitting at 3 - 1 - 1. Not too bad for a team that lost half of it's players from last year.

I'm telling you though, I'm having such a hard time this year being able to take pictures or keep my sideline manners in check. B's getting to an age where it's alot more competitive & my coaching style is alot of pacing and "coaching" from the side, loudly. I have only been told by Bryan to "zip it" twice, that I can remember, probably more if you were to ask him. I have to say though, bad officials kill me & I probably shouldn't say anything. It's hard though 'cause I'm a ref too and I know what they should be calling / not calling. Ah well, time for me to take a deep breath, I'm such a dork!

Here comes the keeper, Shoot B, Shoot!

SHOT!

XCountry

BJ has decided that he again wants to do cross country for his elementary school team. I don't know where he gets the stamina for running. I can't run unless I'm chasing something, preferably a soccer ball, and I'm pretty sure Bryan's not into running either.

Oh well, he does love it and it keeps him busy, so it's fine by us! He did really well in his first XCountry meet last week finishing 6th from all the 4th grade boys from 4 schools and this week he finished 8th with 3 schools competing. Top ten finishes ... well done BJ!

BJ ready to cross the finish line

If Only ...

So close, and yet sooo far. BJ and I went to the Huskies Vs. USC fully expecting the USC Trojans to completely walk all over the Dawgs. To our enjoyment, USC looked awful, seriously this is the #1 team in the nation? The Huskies didn't look all that great either though, they couldn't put it in the end zone and all too often made mistakes at just the right time.

They made a game of it though ... no matter how ugly, the Huskies lost by only 3! Even though USC isn't #1 as of today (they're #2 now) it was awesome to stay with 'em until then end of the game. It made it worth it to go to a cold, semi-wet game and cheer on the Dawgs!

Let's hope the huskies can pull it out the rest of the season and play well. At least they've got two weeks now to get healthy as next week is their bye week. GO DAWGS!

Yeah, the picture's not great but hey back off it came from my phone! :P

Do the Puyallup

Ah yes, it's fair time! We all played hookey on Monday and went down to the Puyallup fair. I wish the weather could've been better, it was pretty nasty in the early afternoon & then cleared up for the most part the rest of the day. It didn't matter, the boys had fun and Brennen got to meet his hero ... DIEGO! BJ has certainly become quite the daredevil on rides, I guess a week at amusement park camp will do that to a kid.

As you can see ... Brennen absolutely loves Diego!

Brennen on one of the kiddie rides

Brennen wanted so badly to go on the rides with BJ, then when we took him over to one of the kiddie rides he got in, got excited & got bored & wanted out ... NOW! So before it even started he got out, I'm not sure if he was more upset that the car wasn't moving when he was in it or when the cars were moving & he wasn't in it. The kid definitely has my patience ... or should I say lack thereof!

The Boys on the Extreme Scream

BJ on one of the rides Bryan & I refused to go on

Brennen did love all the animals, especially the baby chicks!

Disappointment for the Dawgs

I do love the fall, college football, youth soccer is in full swing and BJ's team is keeping both Bryan & I very busy. So, while I love the fall, it keeps us very busy and I don't blog as much. Bear with me I'll do as much as I can!

It was band day at the Husky Game ... far too many instruments at one time!

My friend Deanna & I at the game

Anyways, I had the chance to go to the Husky - Ohio State game yesterday and as a Husky fan on the heels of two wins I had great hopes for the game. The Huskies held it together through the first half and went in at half time up 7 - 3. We had a glimmer of hope and the excitement of the 2nd half coming up. Then, the train wreck happened! In the third quarter the Huskies gave up a 68 yard touchdown toss to go down 10 - 7. Still not bad though right? Then the fumbled the kickoff and just like that it was Ohio State 17 - 7. Seriously, I couldn't believe it!

Ohio State went to work and exposed our cornerbacks & Jake Locker for exactly what they are ... FRESHMEN! The offense was three & out for most of the 2nd half and only when it didn't matter anymore were they able to put together a drive for a touchdown. It was terribly disappointed, but it just proved that the Huskies aren't that good yet. They're getting there but they've still got a ways to go. Locker WILL be an incredible quarterback, but he's gotta grow & develop and asking a Freshman quarterback to beat the #10 team in the nation proved far too difficult a task.

After the Buckeyes went up 27 - 7, this just explains the whole thing!

Keep posted to the blog, I'll be going to 3 more Husky games & hopefully those will have much better outcomes!