Alaskan Adventure

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-27T12:55:00.002-09:00

Yesterday we traveled to Kachess Lake for a little post-Christmas snowshoe. Dood loved reuniting with the snow!

Abe and Frannie modeling their Christmas Pjs. (The pink tutu is separate)

Merry Go Round

2011-12-16T16:30:00.004-09:00

We took the train to have lunch with Mom & Abe had his first merry go round ride.

Jacob & Hannah's birthday party at the Ship Canal Grill.

Bath with cousin Frances. (Moms Emily, Sarah & the other cousins had a bath in this same tub over 20 years ago)

Ahoy to the World!

2011-12-05T20:14:00.002-09:00

Today we put up our Christmas Tree. I got a little over zealous and cut a little too much off the top. But it still looks pretty good - actually a lot better than I thought it would. We only got as far as putting on the lights and hanging up one ornament each before we had to head down to Seward Park for the Christmas Ships. Down there we saw a horse drawn wagon, a bonfire, and we all shared some hot chocolate and cookies. And of course we listened to some good Christmas music performed by a choir on a ship. The moon was out and the air was crisp, which made it a perfect night to listen to some music. I didn't even wear a hat!

There is the Christmas Ship that had the choir on it. Previously there had been more ships that follow it around. This year there were only about three other ships - probably because it's early into the season.
We were hoping we could hop a ride on the horse drawn carriage before the show. But it looks like you had to buy a $50 dinner if you wanted the ride. Maybe next year.
Abe sure did love getting close to the horses. He even touched one!
Everyone getting ready to listen to the music.
What a great night for some outdoor Christmas music on the water!

Christmas Tree Cutting 2011

2011-12-04T14:25:00.004-09:00

Starting in Alaska, Emily and I like to go out into the woods and cut down our Christmas tree. And this Sunday it was a beautifully clear day so we decided to go out and get ourselves a tree. The sad thing is that there isn't money in the budget to plow the forrest access roads this year so we couldn't go where we went last year (around Exit 44 on I-90). But we say that our neighbors got a tree yesterday, and they said they went to exit 38 and had no trouble, so there we went.

About to head out and go find ourselves a tree!
Banjo loved being back in the snow. He ran all over and rolled around like crazy.
The area where we were was filled with really big trees. Which means there wasn't a lot of room for little trees to grow. But there was this clearing on the side of the hill that Emily decided to scope out. She ended up finding us a good one, but we had to hike down about 200 feet. And the snow had a layer of ice on it making it a little tricky to get down.
Emily happy that she found our tree.
Making our way to cut down the tree.

It's kind of hard to tell, but our tree is behind me.
A beautiful and clear day up on the Pass.
'Dood just love the snow.
TIM-BIRRRRRRR!!!!!!
Abe liked using the walking pole.
Back at the car with our tree.
Emily made some hot chocolate. It sure tasted extra hot and good after our outdoor adventure.

Asian Santa at the Wing Luke

2011-12-04T14:13:00.003-09:00

On Saturday the Wing Luke museum was visited by Asian Santa. And since we had membership card (thanks to Grandpa Clave), we were able to get one free picture. Of course in true Abe (and Daddy Neil) fashion, he cried while he was on his lap. Afterwards we made some Christmas tags and cards with colored glue-glitter and cut-out pictures. And we had some yummy snacks as well.

Even though Santa offered candy canes, Abe wasn't too sure about that guy.
We watched other kids go see Santa from the safety of the theatre seats.
Uh-oh, don't put me on!
Santa tried to relax Abe by reading him a book. Good try Santa, but no dice.

Haning 'round the house

2011-12-04T14:03:00.003-09:00

Just a few pictures of us lying around the house. Since we bought a new camera before we went to Mexico, I was playing around with some of the settings. Hence the graphics on a few pictures.

After dinner one night, Abe said he wanted me to take a picture of him and Mom. So I did. It's probably one of the better smiles we have of his.
I've shown Abe a few of Casper Babypants' music videos on the computer. Of course 'Babies getting up' is his favorite. Here he is dancing along to it.

Saturday night fun

2011-11-19T19:09:00.006-09:00

Today Neil and Hannah and I went for our last long run before the big race next week. It was cold out, but it was a really nice day! Afterwards we all went to Geraldine's for a little breakfast/lunch. Abe was a big fan of the tomato soup.

Then this evening we had an early dinner (since we skipped breakfast we were hungry). Then we popped some popcorn and successfully lit our first fire in our fireplace (last year we couldn't get it lit).

We played Farkle. Abe actually beat us both.
For some reason Abe liked to lick our heads for good luck when it was our turns to roll the dice.

Reindeer!

2011-11-15T19:27:00.000-09:00

On Tuesday Abe's school took a little trip to see the reindeer at Swanson's nursery. Having lived in a town where reindeer are penned as pets in people's yards, it actually exceeded my expectations. Abe was most impressed by the donkey and camel. There were also 2 reindeer. We saw them sleeping, and for some reason Abe asked if they'd brushed their teeth. I told him that I didn't think they had, but it was okay, because they didn't eat any sugar. Well, that really made an impression on him. Now when he tells people about the reindeer and how they don't brush their teeth.

Curly and Moe were the names of the camel and donkey.
We had circle time in the hay next to this little sleigh they had set up.

There was a pretty cool model train set up that all the kids enjoyed watching.

"Shhhhtays in Mexicoooooooo!"

2011-11-14T20:38:00.003-09:00

If you get the song reference in the title, way to go.

Here are a few more pictures of our trip in Mexico. One thing I will miss down there is how warm it was. It was HOT!!!! Even if you were relatively cool in town, by the time you hiked up back the hill to our house, you would be soaking wet and on fire. Good thing the pool was there to cool down every time.

Hannah found some hikes we could do around town, so one day the kids (i.e. everyone minus the grandparents and Abe) tried one. It was just a hike on the same hill that we were staying on. And by 'hike', we just walked up a really steep road. But the view was pretty nice, which was similar to the one from our house.
Grandpa Clave brought his iPad with him, which meant lots of Angry Birds and some can game.
At la playa de muerto we helped Abe make a sand castle. I think we had more fun than he did.
Ole!!! Abe and Emily sporting some local flair poolside. Abe sure looked good in his sombrero (and 100 SPF flame suit).
This is the scorpion spider Calvin was writing about. After playing games one night Jacob and Jenilyn went down to their room, and a few minutes later they were back up with us. Jacob said he saw the biggest spider of his life, with really long legs and huge body. Then everyone decided to go try and kill the sucker, but I missed all of the fun because I was getting Abe back to bed. But I could hear Hannah scream a few times all the way from downstairs.
Abe and Jenilyn at the main beach of Sayulita.
Abe and Emily holding hands.
We had an umbrella at the house that we could use to give us shade. Here Abe is with his new friend Nick, helping him burry the umbrella so it won't fall over.
Here we are at La Playa de Muerto. I think it's called that because we walked through a graveyard to get to the beach. We set up in the shade so we could cool off after playing in the ocean.
Abe getting down an dirty in the sand.

We'll post some more pictures when we get around to it.

Casa del Cielo (House of the Sky)

2011-11-13T13:55:00.009-09:00

Adios. This was taken by our driver to the Airport. He knocks on the door and says its time to go. We said we didn't expect him for another hour. It turns out that our time was off by an hour the entire week.

Marrietta Island, an uninhabited national park.

Humpback Whale

We stayed at this place about 25 years ago.

What a life, eat, play and sleep.

Abe's new amigo.

Beach Bum.

Boogie Boarding

Our Daily Churro's that only cost a few pesos

We liked to eat loco

Play del Los Muretas, a small beach used mainly by Mexicans

Snapper at Captain Cooks.

Salud

Jacob & Jennilyn's night to cook. I was banned from the grill.

Chicken Mole, Chile Relleno, Cammarones (shrimp), rice, beans & flan prepared by our housekeepers, Alma & her daughter in law Sonia.

Abe's new outfit.

Hey look, there's a Baby Ruth in the pool.

Our house was at the top of the hill, although it was only a short walk into town & to the beach. There was a big open living space with a nice kitchen. There was no exterior wall, only the open arches. It never gets cold there. Abe really liked skinny dipping in the pool making blueberry soup. Although he did have a couple of "accidents" in the pool (hopefully the people who are staying after us do not follow this blog). We had another bit of excitement one night. Jacob found a huge spider in his room. We think it was a scorpion. Emily can post a picture of it. Most of our time was spent going to the beach, eating and napping. One day we took a bus into Puerto Vallarta. Another day the kids took a snorkeling trip where they say humpback whales & dolphins. We booked the trip from a guy on the beach at a fraction of the cost of one of the organized tours. Everyone had a good time, despite the little mishap with the grill.

The Mexican Burning Man

2011-11-06T19:31:00.004-09:00

We're having a great time on our trip so far. The casa de cielo where we're staying is a short walk to town. This morning we hung out at the beach. The water is nice and warm, and Abe loved playing in the sand. Tonight for dinner we were going to have BBQ chicken...

Clave was getting the grill ready outside when we all heard Hannah scream bloody murder. Then we heard a loud splash. We all came running to find a fire on the ground and Clave running around in the pool. Clave 's face and chest caught on fire. I had to pour water over the fire on the ground, it spread into the inside of the house because the lighter fluid spilled. And jenilyn used her nursing skills to treat poor Clave. He has a few black spots on his face and is missing his eyebrows and eye lashes. And he is all swollen. Hopefully the rest of our trip will be less exciting.

UPDATE:

I went to Harborview today, which has the top burn unit around. They said it is healing nicely. The scarring is hard to predict, but they thought my face should be as pretty as it was.

All Hallow's Eve

2011-10-31T18:54:00.004-08:00

On Saturday Abe went to his pre-schools Halloween party. There was lots of tasty food and good costumes. For group activities everyone did the Hokey Pokey. Then each class had a dance-off. After that, they had had a costume parade outside around the grass. Abe saw a few of his fellow Tots-classmates as well as other kids.

Alex as Wonderwoman and Lucy as a Lady bug - both in Abe's Tot's Class.
Caleb the Astronaut enjoying some festive snacks.
Abe, Lucy, Hana and Caleb semi-posing for a picture on a pew. This is about the best you can do when they're this age.
Abe really liked to dance to the music in the corner of the room. Here he is getting down with Dad.

On Halloween Abe dressed up like Joshua Giraffe (you know, like the Raffi song), Emily dressed up as a spider (thanks to Kaite) and Banjo as his classic Banjo-latern. We hit up just a few houses after dinner. Abe was real excited to go trick or treating and have people "put cand in bu-ket".

Everyone posing before we head for our Trick or Treating fun!

Abe getting some candy from our neighbors across the street.

Dad had to have some candy for the boy when he got home.

Abe checking out his loot. He got one piece of candy before bed. And he was nice enough that he wanted Mom and Dad to each have a piece as well. Abe chose a Twix for his piece, gave Dad a 100 Grand, and Mom ad KitKat.

Dirty mouth = satisfied boy

Pumpkin Patch--first attempt

2011-10-24T19:08:00.003-08:00

A few weekends ago Neil went to Las Vegas with his brother, so Abe and I had a nice 3-day weekend to the two of us. On Saturday we went out to Woodinville with Sarah, Katie, and Frannie to the Hana Andersen outlet, and then to a pumpkin patch.

The weather was great! And the bees were out. We were there for about 5 minutes, when I turned to see Abe swatting a bee from his face. It ended up stinging him right below the eye, and that ended our pumpkin patch fun. He had a few hives on his body, so the consulting nurse consulted us to go to the ER. So off we went.

The little guy looked quite pathetic, and now has a fear of pumpkin patches. When we went last week it was raining so I lead him to believe that bees don't like the rain, so he would be safe. Also, he now associates bee stings with popcicles. He got two out of the experience. And, now I have a bottle of benadril on hand.

Pumpkin TIme!!!

2011-10-23T14:00:00.002-08:00

On Friday we went to a pumpkin farm with Sarah, Katie and Frances - the same one Emily, Abe and I went to last year. It is down in Kent, so the corn maze was closed by the time we got there. But the free chocolate milk was still open, and all three of us enjoyed some farm-fresh brown moo-juice. We were going to buy two giant pumpkins, but they were over 110 pounds total. And at 33 cents/pound, that was way too much. So we just bought one, but it was still 50+ pounds!!!

It was raining, but we all had our boots and rain gear. Afterwards we had a tasty dinner of Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes at IKEA. Not only was it tasty, but we picked up some stuff so we can hang up Abe's artwork around the house.

Here is Abe enjoying his chocolate milk. He drank a whole carton last year too.
On Saturday night we carved our pumpkins - the one (pictured here) we bought on Friday, and the one Great-Gramu grew Abe in her garden. That's one large pumpkin, huh?

Here's Dad carving off the top so we can clear out its guts.
This is the pumpkin Great-gramu grew for Abe. She made sure everyone would know it was his.
Here is Abe hard at work cleaning out the giant pumpkin. He throws himself all-in when he tries to do something.

Abe wanted to make a happy face on the pumpkin. Emily was the expert carver and made a great happy face. I don't know why he has such a weird look on his face though.

After we carved them up, we placed our pumpkins outside and lit them up. Too bad that silly home security system sign in the picture.

We tried to get Abe and Banjo to pose next to the pumpkins, but Abe preferred to stand infront of them. Banjo didn't help out either I guess.

Spooky, spooky Halloween pumpkins being blocked by a boy and his 'Dood.

A rare visitor

2011-10-23T13:53:00.002-08:00

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to get a text from my old college buddy Jesse Jacka. Jacka lived with me in Marcus House, and we have had many games of Pinocle, hearts, spades, and FUBAR spades together. And don't forget the drinking. He is definitely one of my best drinking buddies.

He just got out of the army (he had been stationed in Korea) and was on a month-long road trip visiting friends and family. He was in Portland visiting some college friends, and wanted to come up and visit us. So he drove up Tuesday night and had dinner with us and slept in Abe's toy room. He made quick friends with Abe and Banjo - Abe could actually say his name by the end. It was great to spend some time with Jacka, since he haven't seen him since our wedding 5 years ago.

The Zoo, a Wedding, the sculpture park, children's museum, and family!

2011-10-02T18:33:00.007-08:00

Our Minnesota trip has been a lot fun. The weather has been spectacular, and it was so great to see Molly and Chris, and spend time with them during their wedding festivities. And it was great to see Heidi and Brad and Katie and Emma (and their dog, Lucy) too! I wish we didn't have to wake up in 7 hours to fly home. Here are some highlights:

Abe was an all-star on the plane. We had to fly to Chicago, have a 3 hour layover, and still have a 1+ hour flight to Minneapolis. He did was very entertained on the plane with this Thomas the Tank Engine DVD, Play-Doh, and Dora coloring book. He even took a little snooze on my shoulder. He only had a big cry and fuss during the last 20 minutes of the flight when we were descending into Chicago and he wanted to color on Emily's lap instead of being stuck in his carseat.
The weather was gorgeous the whole time we were in MN. On Friday we decided to take advantage by going to the Como Park Zoo (on a suggestion from Heidi). It was a really cool zoo. They had a really neat primate exhibit, and two polar bears. And I think it is really cool that it's free (and the suggested donation is only $2 for adults, and $1 for kids). Abe, Emily, and I had a great time.
Then it was off to the rehearsal dinner in downtown Minneapolis. It was on the 22nd floor of this apartment complex with nice views of the city. Here are Abe, Emily, Molly, and Chirs' cousin Max (the ring bearer and Abe's new idol). Max is 6 and Abe enjoyed following Max around during the weekend.
Abe and Mom taking in the nightime view. The blue lights on the building behind them kept moving and changing all night, kind of like a light show. It was pretty neat.
When got home the Ressler's were busy hooking up their new 55 inch TV and making their Mii's. Then Katie showed us her dance moves on Wii. Abe got so excited he danced along with her. It was super cute.
Ahhh, the day of the wedding. It was at 11 0'clock on Saturday morning. We had to get there an hour early because Emily was an usher. It was a very elegant and heart-felt ceremony. Here Molly is walking down the isle with her dad Bruce and mom Audrey. They did not 'give' Molly away as is the custom of most weddings. And during the reception during the speeches, we found out why when Bruce read a poem, and part of it went "We do not give, we will only share". I thought that was very sweet.
Molly and Chris saying their vows. You can see Abe's best-bud Max on the far right. Molly's brother John was her Man of Honor and Chris' brother Steve was his Best Man. Quick Chris story: this guy LOVES Abe. And as Molly says, he's not really a baby person, but he thinks Abe is one of the coolest people he knows. When Emily and Abe met Chris and Molly in Washington, D.C. last summer they all went to the National Zoo. And Christ pushed Abe around in the stroller all day. And at night he was feeing Abe bread on his brother's front lawn. And he was jealous that I got to be a house-husband and hang out with Abe all day. Needless to say, I think Chris is an alright guy.
The fam enjoying the reception outside on the balcony. Can't beat champagne, bacon-wrapped-goat-cheese-and-dates, and a sunny midwest day. After the ceremony and reception Molly's parents had a dinner for out of town guests and their house. That was also a lot of fun, and little more casual (of course I forgot the camera in my jacket pocket). It was really nice to be a part of Molly and Chris' wedding day, and (it seemed to me at least) that it all went by too fast. Soon enough we were saying good-bye to Molly and Chris and heading back to our hotel, while they were leaving for Aruba on a 7am (ouch!) flight. We love you Molly and Chris!
On Sunday we hit up the Sculpture Garden, which was actually pretty close to where the wedding was. Here Abe and Emily and in front of a sculpture of a giant spoon and cherry, in case you needed some help.
Abe had a blast at this sculpture. Emily would do as above, poking her head through the slit, looking for Abe. And Abe would laugh and run, and Emily would go chase him and everything would repeat. I got in on the action too.
I don't really know how to describe this sculpture, but it's basically a bunch of one-way mirrors and mesh. That is actually a reflection of Emily (I guess you could figure that out because she is holding the camera), and you can barely see me and Abe through the glass.
After the sculpture garden, we hit up the Children's Museum in St. Paul. Again, Abe had a blast. He he is cooking up a storm in the Korean restaurant. Abe also enjoying moving the dirty dishes to the kitchen on the conveyer belt. We also shopped in the grocery store, sang songs and danced in a recording studio, delivered mail, make paper medallions out of pulp, used a crane, played with blocks, and played in water tables. We might have to get a membership the Seattle Children's Museum next year (hint hint....).
We finally made it back to the Ressler's late Sunday afternoon. Abe was so tired from all of his activities he was out by the time I pulled out from the curb (seriously), so he had a nice nap while we drove. When we got back Emma, Abe, Emily and I play with Play-Doh. This was one of the few times I could actually get Abe to smile.
Here Abe is with his new best friends Emma and her dog Lucy. I don't know who Abe liked better on this trip; Max, Lucy, or Emma. I might have to go with Emma, because she would always play with him, like in the sandbox after dinner. And she would play him songs on the piano.
Emma quickly learned that Abe has an insatiable appetite. So to appease his desire for more music and her desire to stop playing, she turned on some demo songs for Abe and hooked him up to some earphones. But I prefer to think Abe is listening back to some phat tracks he just laid. Word.

Well, now I have to get up in 6 hours. Off to bed I go.

Minnesota here we come!!!

2011-09-29T09:09:00.002-08:00

Right now we are at gate N16 at Sea-Tac waiting to board our 11:20am flight to Minneapolis (well, really to Chicago, and then to Minneapolis). Why are we flying to the MN??? For Molly's wedding!!! Molly is one of Emily's best friends from Whitman, so we're really excited to see her again and go to her wedding. Last time we saw her was in Washington DC in 2010.

Somehow we managed to pack all of our bags and get to the airport with plenty of time. And it was a good thing, because even though we got to use the express family lane to go through airport security (thanks Abe!), it took us like 20 minutes to actually have our bags scanned and get all the way through security. Abe's diaper bag was a little suspicious (that's my fault - I forgot we had sun block lotion and desitin in there), as was his Play-Doh. They had to double-check to make sure we could bring it on the plane.

One we got to our gate we decided to buy some bagels for lunch on the plane. Little did I know that three bagels would cost $17.60!!!!! I said "$17 for three bagels???" And the lady said "They're pizza bagels". I don't care if they're dipped in freakin' gold, three bagels shouldn't cost $17. These better be the best damn bagels I've ever had in my life.

We get into Minneapolis after 9PM, and then it's off to my Heidi and Brad's house. Heidi is my cousin, and we'll be staying with her family for a few days while we're in town. It will be really nice to see Heidi, Brad, and their two daughters Katie and Emma (Katie and Emma are actually my generation - we're 3rd cousins).

Should be a fun weekend. We've brought lots of distractions for Abe on the plan (i.e. Play-Doh, Thomas the Train DVDs, coloring book, regular book, snacks, etc). Hopefully everyone won't want to kill us by the time we hit Chicago!

5 years!

2011-09-08T14:27:00.006-08:00

Five years ago today Emily and were married!!! So far it's been a wild and wonderful ride that brought us to Alaska for three years and a wonderful dog named Banjo and an even more wonderful and incredible son named Abe! Here are some pics of our wedding that I dug up. Of course I could only find two discs of our wedding pictures, and one of the discs only had like 5 pictures on it. Enjoy!

Let's toast! From left to right is Emily's brother Jacob, my friend Gil, Scott, me, Emily, Hannah, and Emily's friends from Whitman Molly and Tessa.
Don't our programs look nice.
The girls getting ready.
Calvin, Mom and Dad.
The dance with the parents.

Jacob and Jenilyn.
More toasting!

Let's eat cake!!!

Smootch!!!

Our good friend Mike Won from Whitman.
Never enough toasting!!
Hannah giving her speech.
Scott doing his best man duties.
Chap and Marta. They just got married last Saturday down in Costa Rica. Congratulations you two!!!
Emily and her Grandpa.
The Marcus House gang from Whitman: Libby, Jacka, Conrad, Joe Thayer and his wife Minna.
More Whitties: Dan, Justin, Melissa, Brown John and his date (????)
One the beach in Golden Gardens after the ceremony.
Check out the happy couple!!!

More from Abe's birthday

2011-09-07T15:45:00.005-08:00

On Abe's actually birthday (August 26th) my parents and Scott took Abe and me out to eat for some birthday pizza at California Pizza Kitchen up in Northgate. Abe definitely enjoys his pizza. And while we were waiting for it he enjoyed walking around in the mall.

After Emily got off of work, we took Lil' Bud to the zoo. We saw some elephants, which I thought were pretty cool. Abe is cute because he can say 'elf' when we sees elephants.
Two 'efls' out for a play.
We also hit up the komodo dragon house. There are also meerkats and an anteaters, too.
This box must have been full of ants, because the anteater was absolutely going to town on it. He would only briefly take his head out of the box from time to time.
They have this temporary Dinosaur exhibit at the zoo that we went too. They have these animatronic dinosaurs that move, roar, and spit water at you. I think Abe was a little overwhelmed by it all. I thought it was pretty cool. I read the little information markers of all of the dinosaurs.
Since it was Abe's birthday we let him pic a present out for himself at the gift shop. He picked a little dinosaur cup. Emily modeled a nice dinosaur head for us as well.
After the zoo we went to El Sombrero in Columbia City (not Walla Walla). Here's Abe catching a Colt's pre-season game in the bar.
Emily made sure to tell the staff that it was Abe's birthday, and they did not disappoint. They brought out a cute little sombrero for the guy and gave him a yummy birthday treat.
"Gobble gobble yum yum....."
Dad and the birthday boy.
Since Emily's Grandpa wasn't going to Abe's big family party on Sunday, we went over there after dinner so he could celebrate with Abe. Emily made some tasty lemon cupcakes for Abe.

It's hard to believe that Abe is already two! He's growing up so quickly, and he's learning so many new things everyday. We just love him so much!!!

A boy turns Two!!!

2011-09-06T20:08:00.003-08:00

Our little Abram SaanZai Hoff turned two almost two weeks ago, on August 26th. We had a big family Birthday BBQ for him on Sunday the 28th. It was a wonderful evening to have everyone hang out in our backyard. Abe had a bubble machine and pinata ( both thanks to Auntie Nanna). Abe had a fun time banging on the pinata, but needed a little help to crack it open. And the poor guy gets so sad when it's all over. Take a look!

Children's Museum

2011-08-22T18:36:00.003-08:00

Making a hat with feathers & pom poms

Abe is quite good at making dots and lines.

When Abe pushed the button, a puff of air would send a ping pong ball up the tube. After the big kids left, he kind of hogged this spot.

We were part of the museum parade.

Last week Guy (Grandma) and Ba Pa (Grandpa) took Abe to the Children's Museum. As you can see, Abe had a good time.

Casper Babypants!!!!!

2011-08-15T20:48:00.003-08:00

One of Abe's (and mine) favorite bands is Casper Babypants. It's a kids band started by the lead singer of the Presidents of the United States of America, Chris Ballew. And one of the cool parts of living in Seattle is that Casper Babypants perform free, live shows (quite a lot of them around now, actually). And they played last Friday at the Tukwilla community center, which is pretty close to our house. Even though the set was during Abe's nap time (noon), I decided to take the chance and take Abe to see the show. I asked Scott to come along to join in on the fun, which he gladly did.

The day was hot and Casper Babypants were playing outside on the grass. They started the set with "Babies getting up", which happens to only be Abe's favorite song, ever. When we first got the CD (Emily got it for me for Father's Day), he only wanted to listen to this song. I'd never seen anything like it. After it would finish, and we'd try to listen to another song on the CD, Abe would say "Lil' baby" (the first line in the song), and we'd have to listen to it again. Even sometimes when we listen to other CD's, he'll shout out "Lil' baby" and we'll have to listen to it again. I'm glad they played it.
Pretty festive crowd. I'd guess there were about 100 people there.
There is a water-park-type play-thingy right next to the grassy area where the concert was. And of course before it started, Abe kept trying to go play with all the other kids in the water fun.
Uncle Scott and Abe enjoying the show.
Abe and Dad enjoying a sunny Friday afternoon. With Abe sporting his new smile.

Seafair!!!

2011-08-15T20:31:00.005-08:00

So I'm a few weeks behind, but Seafair was two weeks ago. On Saturday the Lorimer's had a July Birthday/Blue Angels party. Emily's Uncle Pete was nice enough to snap a few photos of the festivities. We had a great view of the planes, and they flew right over the house a few times.

The Blue Angels are part of the US Navy. Who knew?

WHHHHEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!!!
$40 million well spent.
After watching the Blue Angels, Abe is really good at pointing out every airplane that flies overhead.

On Sunday we decided to continue the Seafair fun by using the location of our new house to our advantage. We are probably a little less than 1.5 miles to Lake Washington, so we decided to walk down on Sunday morning with Sarah, Katie and Franny to watch the hydros race. While we didn't pay the $30 to go inside the fence to hang out in the pits, we did have fun right outside.
Our little parade procession down to the lake. Abe enjoyed dragging his little hydro behind him in the wagon.
Franny sporting her cool pink noise-cancelling headphones.
Abe decided he wanted to give them a try as well. He liked him so much, they were the reason he wanted to go to the Sounders game on Saturday. "Hea fones. You you!!!" (Abe seems to have confused 'you' with 'me', and refers to himself as 'you')
Abe and Dad hanging out by the fence.
Sometimes it pays off to have a Dad that's 6'4". Especially when you want to catch a view of the hydros, and don't want that chain-link fence in the way.
We were able to watch a few heats of the hydros before heading home.
Here is the beginning of one of the heats. They are on the approach...
...and they sure make large roostertail as they zoom by. How on earth do they drive with all of that spray blocking their view?

Random Summer 2011 Pictures

2011-08-08T13:53:00.006-08:00

Since I haven't been so good at writing up-to-date entries this summer, here are some pictures of our random going-ons around Washington.

Back in June, my Dad's sister, Aunt Val, visited from Idaho. Here we are enjoying some Viet-wiches on our ferry ride to Friday Harbor. While she was in town I introduced her to Banjo (she had two poodles, are recently the last one died), showed her our new house, and took her to Geraldine's.
Here are Emily and Abe tending to our awesome garden. Those giant stalks in both boxes are our peas. We had no idea they would take off like they did. We pretty much had to pick them every 2 or 3 days, or they would get too large and tough. They sure did make for a yummy summer snack, especially with humus.

For Father's Day, we took Abe to his first Mariner's game at Safeco, my Scott and my Mom and Dad. Here we are waiting for the light rail under Beacon Hill.

I don't think Abe noticed the game too much, but he did seem to have a pretty good time. We walked around a bunch during the game, and he liked looking at everything going on.

Summer means the farmer's market in Columbia City is now up and running. On Wednesdays we try and meet Emily there after work to pick things to eat that night. We have only done it twice so far, but it's fun. This night we had lobster ravioli, fresh bread, and pea vines (I think - they may have been something else) and garlic all bought fresh from the market. And with a little homemade pasta sauce, it made for a tasty dinner.

We have enjoyed many camping adventures this summer. In early July we went to Kalaloch, on the Olympic Peninsula with our friend Rachel. As you can tell from the picture it wasn't the best of weather at the beach, but it was still fun.

Abe enjoyed having his own seat at our campsite.

When we went camping with our church last week, we had a juggler in our midst. After he put on a little show with his Chinese Yo-Yo, he let Emily and I try out. She was a little better than me (of course), but not by much. We could both throw the diablo and catch it.

And what would the summer be with a trip to The 'Juan for my birthday? Here Emily and Abe are inspecting what lives on the rocks during an extremely low tide.

Abe didn't want to be left out on our walks, so he wanted his own walking stick.

Abe enjoyed it when Grandpa would pull him around the basement in the Ore Thingy. Not a bad way to travel.

Me and Abe at the tail end of the 4th of July Parade.

Abe wouldn't be Abe if he didn't enjoy pushing things and traveling with his bears, Baby and Groovy.

The happy fam enjoying some sun on the pavers by the water.

Abe's first Sounders FC game

2011-08-06T20:30:00.002-08:00

We took Abe to his first Sounders FC game a few weeks ago against the Colorado Rapids. While it was a loud for the little guy at times (like during the beginning of the game festivities), I think he liked it. It was a one o'clock match, so we packed a lunch, but I somehow lost Abe's sandwich. So I shared mine with him..

Abe enjoyed it when the fans would clap. And there was a lot to clap for in a 4-3 Sounders win.
The noise was a little much for Abe at times. So we went inside the Club Level to eat our lunch to give his eardrums a break.
The fam enjoying another Sounders FC win!
Since Abe's normal nap time is around 1PM, when the game started. He conked out at halftime, and pretty much napped on my shoulders for the whole second half.
Even though it's loud, the little guy can still find a way to nap.

Nooksack River Camping Trip

2011-07-31T16:53:00.002-08:00

This weekend we went camping with some families from church. We were in the north cascades on this family's own private campground. His family had homesteaded it over 150 years ago from norway. They have over 100 acres of land, and turned part of it on the river into a campground.

Chillin' in the tent. Last time we camped with Rachel Abe slept really well in the pack n play. This time he was into sleeping on my mat--eventhough we still had the pack n play taking up half the tent.

The guy's aunt had 100 acres next to his family's land, and when she died it was all donated to the county to make a park. We went on a little hike through the county land.
Abe's newest way to smile is to hold open his mouth as wide as he can.
Abe had a great time trying to tag along with the big kids. There was one other boy who was his age. Abe like to hug him and call him a baby.
Abe with Duncan the dog--his new best friend.

1, 2, 3 Jump (Lake Crescent)

2011-07-25T16:25:00.005-08:00

Abe was filling up the holes with rocks.

Dungeness spit is one of the worlds longest at 5 miles.

Lake Crescent is the 3rd largest lake in Western Washington. It's deepest point is 624 ft. Although it was in the 80's, the water was cold.

Marymere Falls

The Last time we were here, there was no Abe

Who needs them in the Picture

Leading the Hike on the Spruce Lake Trail. One of only three hikes in the Olympic National Park that allows dogs.

Log Cabin Resort

The Locke's (minus Jacob) spent a couple of days at Lake Crescent. We lucked out on the weather. It was the first weekend int the 80's. Emily, Neil & Abe stayed in a "rustic" cabin that allowed dogs. The rest of us stayed in an A frame chalet along the lake. We had a good time hiking and boating.

Guest Post by Calvin

Born on the 4th of July

2011-07-25T16:12:00.002-08:00

Parade Clown ?

Friday Harbor Parade

View from the Hoff's

Neil celebrated his birthday in the traditional manner by attending the Friday Harbor 4th of July Parade. We spotted quite a few Orcas just behind Neil & Abe. You can tell where they are because all of the whale watching boats gather around to spot them for us. Ruth & I spent the night & "Rocked the Dock" with David & Dianne until the fireworks. Pictures of us dancing might have been as funny as the one with Neil & the clown nose. Fortunately we don't have any.

Guest Post by Calvin

The Drrty-Drrty Dash

2011-07-14T14:42:00.006-08:00

So....it's been a while. But we're all still here kicking in Seattle. We've celebrated Father's Day, the 4th of July, my birthday, and had a friend from Alaska visit and did some camping. While Rachel was here, we did the Dirty Dash - a 10K (more like only 4 or 5 miles) on a moto-cross track in Kent. It had obstacles like jumping over walls and tires, crawling on your belly in mud while getting cold water sprayed on you, some weird structure to climb through, a slop 'n slide down about 30 feet, and a muddy lake to walk/swim through at the end. It was a lot of fun. Here are some of the pictures that we have the option of buying. Or one could just do this.

I have never been accused of looking graceful while doing athletic events. How else does one get the nickname "The Sloff"????

"Whew...time to keep moving."

Emily did well jumping over all of the walls. There were about 7 of them, and some were pretty tall.

Rachel hitting the bottom of the slop 'n slide. Imagine a big slip 'n slide down about 30 feet up with a bunch of mud at the bottom. Some guy dressed like Harry Potter went down right before us.

Emily has a smile on her face because she knows she's almost done with the race.

VICTORY!!! Finished and filthy.

If only BBC could have done the race with us. He'd appreciate this picture.

Bad start to the day

2011-06-16T14:30:00.003-08:00

So I woke up this morning and decided to take Banjo and Abe to Martha Washington for some chuck it fun. When I got into the Explorer, I noticed that someone had broken part of the ignition off, and forced open part of the steering column. Some hooligan kids must wonder the streets at night causing mischief of one kind. Anyways, the car still started, and off to MW we went.

The waves were a little choppy on the lake, but all in all it was a great day out. We noticed one person at the park, who was walking his dog on his leash. They quickly left, so Banjo, Abe and I were the ONLY ones at the park.

About a half hour later, after some chuck its in the field, and some swimming in the lake, an Animal Control officer approached us. Apparently someone had called them a half hour earlier about 'an off-leash dog". The officer was actually very nice and professional, but he gave me a $54 ticket for breaking the off-leash law.

Now I can accept the risk of having Banjo off-leash, and running into an officer sometime and getting a ticket. But when there is NO ONE at the freakin' park, who am I really hurting? It's 8:30 am on a Thursday. No one is around. I'm not preventing anyone from enjoying the park. But someone who lives next to park, likes to get into peoples business, and hates dogs and their owners must have felt inclined to give a call. Instead of coming out and telling me, hey, I live here, could you please put your dog on a lease, they had to take the cowardly way out and call someone up to do their dirty job. That is what pisses me off. If there was anyone else at the park I would have put Banjo on a lease.

So that's my rant. After that we went home, had a snack, and then went up to the Woodland Park Zoo and had a fun day. Abe had a big (>2.5 hours) nap in the afternoon so I was able to watch more of my lectures.

poop hand

2011-06-14T21:04:00.002-08:00

It happens.

finally downloaded some pics

2011-06-14T20:56:00.002-08:00

Abe and Franny have tummy time.

We found a replacement dog park! Ever since we moved back from Anchorage, we all have really missed the wonderful dog park at university lake. Banjo would just give up whenever we'd take him to the off leash areas. Even Magnason--which everyone would suggest when we complained about missing our AK dog park was a dud for Banj. But, we found a little unofficial dog park right near our house! Martha Washington is a big open area right on the lake, and Banjo (and Abe) LOVE it!

Banjo getting back into his swimming. The last time we were there I threw a rock in the water, and poor banjo just kept swimming further and further out looking for it. I was afraid he was going to drown. Poor Abe started to cry when I frantically called for him.
Showing off my fresh grown lettuce!
Nothing says summer like eating naked!

Sheep, sheep, and church

2011-06-04T20:53:00.004-08:00

Celebrating Emily's 30th birthday wasn't the only reason we went camping on Whidbey Island. One of the pastors at our church, Katherine, lives there. And once a year she invites kids and their families to come visit her sheep farm. So we went camping on Friday night, and then visited the sheep on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. We got to go inside the pen where the sheep live and feed them a snack. Abe loved looking at the sheep, even if he was a little hesitant in letting them eat out of his hands. We even went on a little hike, too.

Everywhere we go, it seems Abe makes friends with the local dogs.
Abe taking in the action inside the sheep pen.
Abe walking around with Mom, watching the sheep run around.
Baaaa!!!!
Abe and Dad getting down and dirty.

You can see Katherine passing out sheep snacks for us to feed to the sheep.

Emily turns 30!!!!

2011-06-03T20:46:00.004-08:00

While we have been absent from our blog-making duties, someone had a milestone birthday. And no, it wasn't Abe. Emily turned 30 on May 20th! We celebrated by going camping with the whole family (all 4 of us) at Deception Pass on Whidbey Island. It was a beautiful day, and we hung out on the beach for a while before going back to our campsite to make dinner. We made an Emily-and-Neil car-camping classic: campfire pizza pockets. We actually made them the first time we ever camped together 8 years ago, also at Deception Pass. For Emily's birthday dessert she borrowed a recipe from our good friend Kari in Alaska. She made a cobbler in a dutch oven. It had pineapple and cherry pie filling. It was super tasty.

All was well until we went to bed. Or I should say tried to go to bed. Because someone (his name rhyme's with Wabram) didn't want to sleep in the tent. He climbed over Emily for over an hour, and when she got fed up with that, I walked around with him at our campsite. I actually got Abe to fall asleep, but in the process of getting him back into the tent and in his sleepingbag he woke up. Then after more crawling around, I finally took him for a car ride at midnight. We drove for about 30 minutes, came back, and then slept in the car for a few hours. When he finally woke up again he wanted to see Emily, so we went back into the tent, and finally he slept in the tent.

Here is Abe enjoying his camping pizza pocket. He ate almost the whole thing.
Emily tending to the fire, her dinner, and the dessert.
Ooohhhh......birthday cobbler!!!
I took this in the morning. It was a long journey, but Lil' Buddy finally got some sleep in the tent.
We were going to make breakfast at the campsite, but of course it rained during the night and continued into the morning. So we broke camp early and ate breakfast at a restaurant instead. Abe enjoyed his hot chocolate that came with a mountain of whip cream.

Pre-Mother's Day fun

2011-05-07T21:30:00.004-08:00

On Saturday we took advantage of the nice weather (even if it was just for a little while) with a little pre-mother's day fun. We went running around the Loop at Seward Park with Melyssa and Justin at 8 in the morning. A little later in the day we went back to the Loop, this time armed with bikes and Chariot in hand. Even there was a quick rain shower, we made our way around twice. And after dinner we made our way to Full Tilt, our local ice-cream shop, for tasty treat and some old school arcade action.

Abe and I modeling our helmets before our ride. Abe only likes to ride in his Chariot if Baby Bear and Groovy can accompany him.
Action photo of Emily and Abe cruising around the Loop.
Abe contemplating the big questions in life.
Emily was teaching Abe how to throw rocks in the lake. Hope that doesn't come back to bite us.
Abe had his own bowl of ice cream - Blue Moon. It's suppose to taste like Fruity Pebbels, or bubble gum according to Emily.
Abe showing off his empty bowl. He started trying to eat our ice cream once he was all done.
Full Tilt sports some classic arcade games - Street Fighter II, Donkey Kong, etc. Here Abe and I are playing a racing game.

The Thayer's, Zoo, DIck's and The 'Dood!

2011-05-07T19:50:00.004-08:00

It's been way too long since the last blog post. A few things to catch people up on: our good friends from Whitman Joe and Minna, and their two kids Ellie and Cole came up from southern Washington to visit for a few days during spring break. They were our first over-night guests. We had fun playing Pinnocle, eating Flying Squirrel pizza, and introducing them to Settlers of Catan (with the help of Teresa). It was good to see them again and we had a lot fun.

Ellie and Abe sitting on the couch looking cute, and a little surprised.
Joe using his teaching skills and reading a story for Abe and Ellie.
Ellie sure likes her 3 month old brother Cole.
I got in on the story reading as well. And I seemed to peak Banjo's interest as well.

Emily and I each bought a year-pass to the Woodland Park Zoo. A bit ago we took Abe and met Sarah, Katie and Francis at a zoo. We had a great time, and Abe seemed to enjoy looking at all of the animals.
Abe catching one last look at a giraffe while Emily moves on to the next animal.
I had to put in a hippo picture for my friends Jimmy and Mary, who now live in D.C. They really like hippos. I mean they really like hippos. At Whitman they had over 15 stuffed animal hippos on their bed. And they each had their own name and own personality. Seriously.
After the Zoo we were hungry. So of course we went to Dick's for some burgers. It was Abe's first trip. Since he was a little too short to eat off the trunk, we popped open the hatchback so Abe would have a place to eat.
Abe really did attack his cheeseburger with gusto.
I got to hold Franny so Katie could get a chance to eat. Love that Dick's sign.

What would be a blog post without some pictures of Banjo? Here is how Emily likes to unwind after a hard day of work.
They look so happy, don't they?
Nothing like an evening kiss before bed.
Slurp slurp yum.

Steer manure and dirt

2011-04-13T20:20:00.003-08:00

Two weekends ago we finally filled our garden beds with STEERCO (steer manure and soil). Grandpa Clave helped us out with a little man-power and letting us borrow his wheel-barrow. But really, I was the one who wheeled the dirt from the driveway to our back yard. Emily planted the beds with veggie seeds (mustard greens, lettuce, rainbow chard and peas). Abe liked helping out and digging in the dirt.

Grandpa Clave brought some mustard greens from his garden to plant in ours.
Emily showing Abe how it's done.
Abe liked helping out.
Dig, dig, dig!
Abe liked playing with the shovel that I used the move the dirt.
So when I was shoveling the dirt into the wheelbarrow with the above shovel, I thought Abe was safely away from me. Then I got a scoop, turned to my left to put it into the wheelbarrow, when Abe had snuck between me and the wheelbarrow. So instead of dumping the dirt, I clipped Abe right by his eye on his head. The poor guy bounced off the wheelbarrow, and then fell in the giant dirt/manure pile. Good thing Mom was there to lift his spirits.
The bruise that resulted in the collision with the giant shovel. I was a little surprised there wasn't any blood. He's not worse for the wear.

I'm Sounders...I'm Sounders...I'm Sounders 'til I die!

2011-04-10T22:26:00.004-08:00

The fam was going to go the San Juan's this weekend with my family, but Abe got sick. It didn't seem like the best time take Abe on a trip, so we stayed home this weekend. That meant we were able to attend the Sounders FC match against the Chicago Fire with Ruth. With the first win of the year for the Sounders, good times were had by all.

I love any excuse to wear my Electricity jersey that Emily got me for Christmas. And Emily sports her sweatshirt that she bought on sale on Saturday.

Little Franny

2011-04-10T22:09:00.002-08:00

Sarah, Katie and little Frances came by last weekend for a little Settlers of Catan (well, Sarah and Katie came for that, Frances came to sleep and eat). When Frances had some awake time, we both got to hold her. I forgot how light 2-month old babies can be!

Frances made some big smiles for Emily.

More smiles!

19 big months!

2011-04-05T13:12:00.003-08:00

Our little guy turned 19 months last week! Here our the mandatory Abe and Banjo pics. These were taken a little after Abe had woken up from a 3+ hour nap (2+ in crib, 1 in my arms). Poor Banjo was just chillin' on his bead chewing on his bone when Abe came over for some rides.

One thing Abe sure loves: giving Banjo hugs.
"Look at me!"

The almost-San Juans

2011-04-02T19:04:00.002-08:00

Last Thursday Abe and I were going to go to my parents place on San Juan Island with my folks and Scott. I said 'were' because we missed the ferry, and the next one wasn't going to leave for 4 more hours. And by the time we would have made it to our house, it would have been way past Abe's bedtime. So Abe and I headed back to Seattle while my Mom, Dad, and brother waited it out. But we did stop by this nice state park to decompress from our drive up. Abe had a great time at the park exploring his surroundings.

Grandpa and Abe standing on the woodchips
One big, one small.
Uncle Scott and Abe on the beach.
Everyone pose for the family picture.
"This is pretty fun!"

Clams, part 2

2011-04-02T18:52:00.003-08:00

Here are a few more clamming pictures from a few weeks ago.

Abe got into using the clam gun.
He tries so hard.
Not quite...
A little more...
Did I catch anything???Banjo enjoyed his time on the beach. He loves tugging on his leash.
Emily and Clave - very visible on the beach.
Everyone looking for their clams.
Here Emily and Abe getting ready for the early tide Sunday morning.
I think this was about 6:30am on Sunday. It was light by the time we were at the surf looking for clams. It was a lot easier finding clams (and catching them) on Sunday morning than Saturday night.

clamy clamy ding dong

2011-03-22T20:03:00.002-08:00

This weekend we went clam digging at ocean shores. There was a low tide on Saturday evening, and then an early one Sunday morning. On the drive down we stopped at Cabela's for lunch and so Neil could get some boots. Cabela's is the Ikea of the outdoors, and with tons of ammo. I had an elk meat sandwich, which was pretty good.

On saturday evening we went clamming. The clams weren't really showing, but we ended up getting a few. Abe had a blast playing on the beach, as did the dood. Banjo even grabbed one of the clams that we dug up and pranced around with it in his mouth.

On Sunday morning we had a killing. We all got our limits within about half an hour. The clams were super easy to find. Now it's clam stir fry, fried clams, clam chowder, clam spaghetti (and maybe a few clam farts) for us!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!

2011-03-18T10:57:00.002-08:00

Yesterday during the day time I spent St. Patrick's Day with Abe and my brother Scott. He came to our house so we could watch some NCAA action. He was pretty excited because he had a perfect bracket through the first half of the day. Then I made a nice Irish meal for dinner (corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes) and Emily picked up some yummy soda bread on the way home from work. Then Emily went to swimming while I put Abe to bed.

It may not be a traditional green, but it works.
Uncle Scott watching some NCAA action.
Abe has his green thanks to his Aunt Sarah.
Abe "pumping up" some enthusiasm for the days games.
Even the 'Dood gets in on the action.

Winthrop - 2006 & 2011

2011-03-15T10:59:00.012-08:00

Abe, Emily and I went to Winthrop last weekend for a little R and R. Winthrop is in the central part of the state in the Cascade Mountains. We wanted to get a little cross-country skiing in while there was still a little snow. And Winthrop has a special place in our hearts - it's where I proposed to Emily 5 years ago (almost to the day).

Here we are eating our pre-ski meal. The white bear on the table is Abe's 'Baby Bear'. One day when Emily was trying to get Abe not to play with the hairdryer, she started hugging Baby Bear and giving him kisses. Then Abe started doing the same thing. Kids are so easy to manipulate.
Emily and Abe getting ready for our ski. We ended up skiing this trail system in Mazama, which is about 15 miles west of Winthrop.
Emily getting her skis on. Abe and Baby Bear are all set to go in the chariot.
Me pulling Abe. It was a lot of fun to be out in the snow again skiing. It was an overcast day, but great conditions. We ended up skiing about 9 miles in 2 hours.

Pulling a little extra weight makes for a good workout.

We found a guy using a parasail to ski. It was pretty cool. We'd never seen anything like it before. Check out the video.

Abe taking an after-ski break in his fleece suit. Trying fruitlessly to turn on the TV.
When we were eating lunch, two deer came to our deck. And they stayed there a long time. Maybe people around here feed them, but they were not at all scared by our presence.
We took Abe on the deck so he could get a firsthand look. He was a little apprehensive at first, but he really liked the deer towards after a while. Side note: Abe is wearing a new winter coat we just bought for him at REI. It's an Obermyer coat, which seems fitting since I wore a brown Obermyer coat for about 8 years in high-school and college. Abe is keeping the tradition alive.
The deer seem intrigued by Abe as well. Emily and I made good use of the hot tube during our two nights. After we put Abe down in his Pack 'n Play, we took the baby monitor outside so we could have a soak.
Abe loves those deer!

So our stay wasn't all fun and games. When we went out to get groceries for dinner on Saturday night, after we bought what we needed and went back to the car, it would not start (this has been a problem for almost a year now - no place we take it to can seem to fix it, or really knows what's wrong with it). So we ate some pizza for dinner at a nearby joint, because if you wait a while sometimes it starts again. It didn't, so we hitch-hiked a ride back to our place (only about a mile away) with this nice lady and her daughter, who happen to own the BBQ joint in town. In the morning I walked back to the car, and thankfully this time it started. We packed up our gear, and thankfully the car started a second time. But then we needed to fill up with gas. And when I tried to get turn the car on a third time after filling up with gas, it wouldn't start. But I tried a few more times, and thankfully it started. Needless to say, the next time I turned the engine off was in front of our house in Seattle. We stopped in Leavenworth so Emily and I could go Number 1, but we kept the engine on. Abe was a trooper the whole time - he stayed in his car seat for almost 5 and a half hours straight. And he had a cheery disposition almost the whole time (Emily was a huge help with that). Oh, and we got stuck in this nasty snow storm, skidded off the road and hit a snow bank, but just bounced off and were alright. We quickly turned around afterwards (b/c this was when we had turned off of US 2 to take 97 to I-90, so we decided to go back to US 2). It was a little nerve-wracking at time, but all in all it was a lot of fun.

Now we step in the way-back-machine. These are some pictures from the trip Emily and I took 5 years ago, in 2006.

My snow-pants were a little tight back then. I think they were the same ones from when I was in middle-school.

This was actually the first time I ever cross-country skiied.

Emily taking a little ski-break. Gotta love the snow!

Enjoying our time in the outdoors.

This is the cabin we stayed in. We stayed at the same place in 2011 as in 2006 (I don't know if it was the EXACT same cabin, but it was the same place - River's Edge).

We took a balloon ride there 5 years ago. Here they are setting it up for our big ride.

I love how you can see the flame heating up the air to fill the balloon.

Here is our balloon operator Kirk. The funny thing is that Emily and Kirk had taken a wilderness first-aid class together a few years earlier. Emily took it so that she could be a Scramble Leader at Whitman.

Here is a shot of Winthrop while up in the air. The bridge that crosses the river leads you into the main downtown area.
More scenery from our ride.

This is right after I proposed to Emily. The newly engaged couple!!!

Two Bad Boys

2011-03-09T20:22:00.001-09:00

So Abe has reached the age where he gets in very persistent in his pursuit of what he wants and becomes very grumpy if he doesn't get it. Last weekend when we were cooking Abe kept trying to grab the pots on the burners. When he wouldn't stop, we gave Abe his first time-out. Emily had him stand in the corner for a minute. He cried the whole time, but stayed where he was suppose to. A few days later he kept taking things out of the dishwasher when Emily told him not to. She gave him another time-out, but this time he didn't do to well. He had one of his super-cries and ended up passing out. Good thing Emily could tell he was about to pass out so she could pick him up before he passed out. Silly Buddy.

A few days later I was making dinner. I had chopped up all of the lamb and was about to start cooking it when Abe needed a change. When I got back from changing Abe's diaper and was about to start cooking the lamb, something seemed a little strange. Like I couldn't the lamb anywhere. I quickly deduced where the missing lamb was: in Banjo's stomach! I gave the 'Dood a good yell and put him in his kennel until Emily came home. Bad Banjo!

Every blog needs a few random pictures.

Abe wearing our head lamp. We used it to look at our fireplace. He was trying to do the same thing.
Banjo: pre-eating-one-pound-of-raw-lamb.
Last weekend we made two raised flower beds for our back yard. 10' x 4' and 12' x 4'. Here Abe is helping pull up some weird boarder that the last owners had. That weird double-cone behind Abe is one of our compost bin. We also buried the bottom half of that last weekend. That's the compost bin where we put Banjo's poops.
Abe playing with a friendly worm.
We made some grubbin' French Toast this weekend. We used Jewish Sabbath bread we had the night before.

bigger than 95 out of 100 kids

2011-03-04T18:21:00.002-09:00

I guess Uncle Stuart was right. Maybe he does resemble Stewie a little. Today Abe had his 18 month visit. His head is in the 95th percentile. I guess that's why he always screams when you try to take his shirts on and off. At least it's in proportion. Abe is 70-90th for height and weight. Big boy, and it's no wonder. Tonight Abe literally had 5+ servings of pasta. I'm not joking when I say he ate more than me.

When the doctor asked about Abe's developmental milestones he wondered if Abe could throw a ball and stack things. Neil said that he could throw (how could he not? He's so in love with Banjo?), but not stack. When I got home from work today they'd been working on it, so now can stack his lovely blocks that Tessa made him. I guess he's just putting his large brain to use.

Super Abe Run!

2011-03-01T19:31:00.004-09:00

One of the fun things about living so close to Seward Park is well, going to Seward Park. We normally go run there with Hannah and Nick (and of course Abe and Banjo) on Saturday mornings. And the Sunday before President's Day Emily, Abe, Banjo and I went for a walk. And what did we "run" into? Well, the 3rd annual Run With Abe 5K. We actually ran into one of Emily's old friends who ran in it, and it's a fund raiser for people who like to do Race for the Cure races. Anyways we thought it was pretty cool.

Check out the nifty picture of that other Abe.
Our walk ran over into Abe's nap-time. He's such a trooper.

Here is a little video of our walk around the loop.
While Emily and I enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee on the weekends, Abe enjoys his own drink. Emily warms up some milk for him in one of our mugs for him.
This is super shaggy-Banjo. He looks a little different now.

18 Months!!!

2011-03-01T19:29:00.003-09:00

Hard to imagine but our little Abram SaanZai is 18 months old!!! Per our family tradition, here are some pictures of Abe with Banjo. Some a little before his half-birthday, some a few days after. Banjo might look a little different now, too. We gave him a haircut.

Abe likes to spend time with the 'Dood any way possible. Even chillin' and sharing a few laughs on the couch.
Abe giving his older bro a hug.
Abe rarely doles out kisses even to his parents, but he always has plenty for Banjo.
Look at us!

Seattle Aquarium

2011-03-01T18:26:00.003-09:00

We went to the Seattle Aquarium on President's Day a few weeks back. We had some passes that we bought from Groupon. It was nice because there was a very long line to go in, but we bipassed all that because we had already bought our ticket. It was Octopus Week at the Aquarium so they had a giant Northwest Octopus in the 20 ft by 40ft tank in the entrance. It was pretty cool and I think Abe liked it.

Abe really enjoyed the hands-on tide pools. Here he is touching a sea anemone.
"Look at all the cool things in the water!"
Mom (posing) and Abe (engrossed) by the hands-on fun.
Abe loved watching the water.
Abe seems to have found a friendly otter friend!

Happy V day!

2011-02-15T20:17:00.004-09:00

Yesterday for Valentines day Neil, Abe and I made a super delicious pizza.

Abe helping with the cheese. (I wish I could spell it out the way he says it.)

Dad teaching Abe his special pizza making skills. Abe has so much to aspire to.

Putting on the toppings--red and green peppers, onions, 2 heads of roasted garlic, feta, italian sausage, and parsley.

The finished product. (none for you dood!)

Locke dinner

2011-02-15T20:15:00.003-09:00

On Sunday Abe attended his first Locke dinner. Like his coat? We all wore it to Locke dinners many many years ago.

Settling in

2011-02-15T20:10:00.002-09:00

We've been settling into our new house. We had a little impromptu party for the superbowl. Abe went on an eating binge. I caught him sneaking food from the table (fortunately all he could reach was the veggie tray). He'd take the veggie, put it in his mouth and then return it to the tray. The best was when he had a cookie. Hannah asked him to give her one. He went and got a fresh one, and tried to give hannah the nearly finished one that he had. He refused to give up the new one.

Abe has been really into the tools. Here he's helping to find the studs in the shower.

17 months

2011-02-15T20:09:00.002-09:00

This is overdue, but we finally have internet hooked up. Someone's catching up to the dood!

Welcome Frances Jeanne Lorimer!!!!

2011-01-25T20:25:00.004-09:00

Today Sarah and Katie welcomed Frances Jeanne Lorimer into the world! After a LONG 28+ hours of labor (they were admitted into UW at 2:30AM on Monday), Katie gave birth to the beautiful Frances at 4:24 this morning. Emily, Abe, Hannah, Ruth, great-gramu-Jeannne and myself went to go visit the two new moms (and two new grandma's as well - Paula and Ellen were there) when Emily got of work. Now Abe has his first Second Cousin that he can play with!

Frances Jeanne Lorimer at 7 pounds, 8 oz., 19 3/4 inches long. And a beautiful head of hair.
Abe and his cousin Frances posing for the first of probable thousands of photos together.
Great-gramu-Jeanne, Frances, Emily, Abe, Paula, and Ellen getting cozy.
Frances felt like a little cloud compared to Abe. She is very cute.
Abe being gentle with his new cousin.

500th blog spectacular!

2011-01-08T17:47:00.005-09:00

This is our 500th post to our blog!!! That seems like an awful lot of posts, but I guess we've been at this for over three years, so it's not that crazy.

Today we bought some paint samples to help us decided how to paint the rooms in our new house. It's a good thing we bought the samples, because the two colors we thought we liked for the living room/dining room were WAY too orange. We have a better idea now of what colors we like, so it's back to Loewe's tonight to pick up some actual gallons of paint, and a few more samples.

We even had our first visitors - Sarah and Katie. They brought over very useful housewarming presents - toilet paper, garbage bags, and some drinks!

Emily and Abe posing infront of our new house.
SOLD!!!!
Abe and Banjo enjoying the vastness of their new backyard.
We went to Maruta's for sushi for lunch - a Seahawks playoff game tradition.
Emily and Abe making creative use of a step stool.

We're home owners!

2011-01-07T19:58:00.004-09:00

Today we closed on our first home. We are now the proud owners of a nice house (with a large, fenced back yard) in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle. We received the keys at 5 PM tonight, and after we put Abe down to sleep for the night we dropped off a few cleaning supplies and looked around a bit. Of course we had to bring Banjo with us so he could check out the new digs, and have some runs in his new yard. On Saturday we'll start painting some of the rooms (while we listen to the Seahawks playoff game of course). I couldn't think of a better way to start off the first day in our new house!!!

Not the best spot for the family shot (sans SaanZai). This is part of the kitchen.
Banjo was getting ready to explore his new territory in the back yard.
Emily giving Banjo some love.
The 'Dood made himself feel right at home on the hardwood floors.

2011!!!

2011-01-06T19:23:00.004-09:00

So it seems that I have not been so good at updating our blog since we've returned to Seattle. I'll try and be more consistent in the New Year. Happy 2011 everyone! Now where's my flying car and holodeck???

Here is the family getting in the Christmas Spirit. It's hard to see, but Abe has two Christmas trees on his headband.
If there is one thing Abe loves doing these days, it's hugging Banjo. Those guys are best buds.
More Banjo-loving going on. This is Abe at 16 months.
I wish I could pull this off, but I don't think it would look at cute. Plus, I'm pretty sure Emily couldn't hold me like that.
On New Year's Eve Day, Emily, Calvin and Ruth went clam digging. Abe and Banjo are checking out the catch. They made some darn tasty clam jook (rice porridge, and toss in the clams right before you eat it so the clams just get cooked).

Abe

2010-12-26T18:58:00.002-09:00

Unlike his parents Abe seems to be into cleaning and organizing. Two of his favorite things are sweeping and taking things out of one place and placing them neatly in rows somewhere else (maybe he's ocd). It was quiet after dinner and I found him in the kitchen taking all of the bowls out of the cupboard.

Yesterday Abe was testing out his new broom, and I held out the dustpan for him to "sweep" into. Then he picked it up and ran into the other room. We had no idea where he was going, but I guess we should have known. He went into the kitchen, opened up the cupboard under the sink and "emptied" out his dust pan. Monkey see monkey do.

What does Santa say, Abe?

2010-12-26T18:42:00.003-09:00

On Tuesday we took Abe and Banjo to see santa. Neil went and waited in line and then I walked over and met him and Abe and Banjo. We were 2nd in line, which sure beats the 4 hour wait that people had the day before. I was worried that Abe would pull a blue face and hold his breath, but he actually didn't do too bad. We got Banjo posed in front and then I placed Abe on Santa's knee. THe photographer had a whistle to get banjo's attention. I think it will be a pretty good picture. Abe cried a little but nothing too histaricle.

On Christmas eve we went downtown to see the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton (we didn't end up seeing them, because there was a big line and Abe was a little fussy). When we walked by Santa's workshop at nordstrom I pointed out santa to Abe. He burried his head in me and grabbed on. Nevertheless, Santa was good to Abe. He got 3 stockings! He could have cared less about opening presents or what they were. But, all and all it was a great Christmas.

Some things never die

2010-12-04T18:43:00.002-09:00

For our first christmas in Alaska, Neil and I went with our good friends, Kari, Rachel and Jared, to chop down a Christmas tree. The first year we went snow camping the night after thanksgiving and then went out and got our trees in the morning. The next year Neil, Abe, Scott-who was visiting for thanksgiving, and Banjo and I went out to the same place and got a great tree for our house. So, this year we wanted to keep the tradition alive. We drove up to the pass and hiked out to find a tree. Quite a few other people had the same idea. We saw a lot of other cars out there. The road that we took up to get the car had been recently plowed, but it was still a little tretrous. Even with 4 wheel drive we didn't make it all the way up, but we found a great little spot and a great little tree. Apparently the really nice douglas firs were up a bit higher, so next year we'll need to get some chains.

Seattle Marathon

2010-11-28T16:53:00.006-09:00

Emily, Neil & Hannah ran the Seattle Half Marathon (13.1 miles) in times that would have won the full marathon. The race started at the Seattle Center then to the I-90 tunnel, along the lake to the Aboretum, to Eastlake and back to the Center. They look pretty good for someone who just ran 13 miles. The individual competition was won by Hannah who gets her training as a professional dog runner.

15 Months

2010-11-27T13:17:00.004-09:00

Abe's catching up to Banjo.

A few new pictures

2010-11-24T15:41:00.004-09:00

So it's been a long while since we have made a blog. Here some random pictures from the last month or so.

Here are Abe and I outside a Starbucks on the Big Island. Notice the matching outfits. We bought these at a swap meet in Honolulu with Keri and Jared back in 2009.
The fam at the beach. Check out the super-cool 100-spf flame suit for the boy.
Back in Seattle. Abe likes to play with his little IKEA kitchen. On this day Emily was cleaning the real kitchen with a Clorox wipe, which inspired Abe to wipe down his kitchen with a Clorox wipe. Monkey see, monkey do.
Emily made some super-delicious cookies for her Grandpa and my Dad for Veterans Day. They were very large, and made Abe very curious.
We introduced Abe to yogurt a little while ago, and he loves it! He basically can eat an entire container, although he doesn't quite get it all into his mouth.

Nothing says 'Seattle' like snow before Thanksgiving. We took Abe outside so he could experience the snow again (although he was probably about 8 months old the last time he saw snow). As you can tell, it was a little windy when Emily took this picture of us.

Abe was not the biggest fan of the snow. Either that, or it was too close to bed time. After little Abe went to bed, Mom, Dad and Banjo went for a cross-country ski down to Maplewood park. The snow was a little thin, but it was a lot of fun to go out and ski again.

We let Banjo off his leash so he could play and frolic in the snow like back home in Anchorage. The 'Dood loves the snow!

On Tuesday I took Abe and Banjo for a walk around Jefferson Park. It was super sunny and nice out, which reminded me of Anchorage. The wind did whip around during one part of our walk and put a chill in us.

Happy Hallows Eve!

2010-11-01T22:10:00.002-08:00

Yesterday Abe had his first trick or treating experience! Banjo went as a jack o lantern and Abe was dressed as Banjo dressed as a jack o lantern. I even had a costume! In order to paint on Abe's gumdrop nose, I let him try out the pencil on me first. And, because Abe refuses to wear anything on his head, I got to wear his pumpkin hat with dog ears along with Neil's giant orange coat.

Check out the little video!

Boogie Down

2010-10-26T16:11:00.002-08:00

Check out the surfers. Lunch was at the Kona Brewery.

Aloha

2010-10-26T08:50:00.008-08:00

Hawaii is always a lot more fun when it is cold & raining in Seattle. Although we did experience some of that weather when we visited Volcano. In Kona, the weather is the same boring 80 degrees everyday. The pictures in the forrest are at the lava tube. You couldn't see any hot lava, but we did see the steam vents.

On the way to Volcano we stopped at the Black Sand beach, which is really just ground up lava. Too bad we couldn't get a picture of Abe riding the turtle. You are supposed to stay 15 feet away.

I played golf at Makeli where there are wild peacocks & turkeys roaming around. There were also wild pigs that dug up the grass, although I didn't see any.

Harvest time

2010-10-22T19:56:00.002-08:00

Ever since college I have had a special fondness for corn mazes. I've taken Neil to a few around Seattle, but we hadn't yet found any that came close in comparison to the one that Molly and I went to in Walla Walla. This year I think we may have found a winner. We went to this farm in Kent that had 2 mazes--one that looked like a vampire and another that looked like a castle. We took the vampire. Being a corn-maze purist, I refused to use the provided map to navigate, but Neil, not so pure in corn mazing used the map and seeked out the numbered posts along the course (kind of like a scavenger hunt). It was a pretty cool maze! The only draw-back was that unlike the one in Walla Walla where you could go in after dark. This one is only open during daylight.

Our main mission in going to the farm, however, was to take Abe to the pumpkin patch. He loved all of the pumpkins sitting out in a row. In fact, he kept trying to run away from us, out of the corn maze, to go back to the pumpkins. We chose a nice tall pumpkin that we later carved. Since we're going to Hawaii tomorrow it is on display down the street at Sarah and Katie's.

I'm going to eat you alive!

2010-10-06T12:07:00.003-08:00

Someone took this picture with my camera. Someone looks a little scary with that knife and fork.

Happy freakin' birthday dood

2010-10-06T12:00:00.004-08:00

So, on Monday I baked a special cake for Banjo with a recipe that I'd found online for a "doggie birthday cake". It was made of all human ingredients--carrots, peanut butter, flour, honey, egg, etc. It baked up really nicely in this little bunt pan. So, we asked Sarah, Katie and Olive over so Banjo could share his cake (with Olive), and we could play some Settlers. But, when it came time to cut up the cake we couldn't find it. It had completely disappeared off of the counter. Seems as though the birthday boy helped himself to an early treat. So...we didn't sing to him and he spent the rest of the evening outside (nothing good can become of a dog eating an entire cake).

13-months and 3-years!

2010-10-04T12:28:00.004-08:00

Abe turned 13 months last Sunday, but we were a little late in snapping his monthly dood picture, and today is Banjo's third birthday! Three cheers for Banny! What a great dog.

The Whitley's in Seattle!

2010-10-04T12:12:00.003-08:00

On Saturday we got together with our Alaskan friends--Guang Ming and Joel. I originally met Guang Ming at a music class for Abe, where we hit it off because we both have 1/4 Chinese babies. They are on vacation in Seattle for the week. My parents watched their two kids, Charlotte and Luke, while we went out to Seattle's best burger place (according to Neil)--and ate them in Gas Works Park. ANd then, for the you-wouldn't-do-this-in Alaska experience. We had to drive up to a vet in greenwood to pick up some prozac for my mom's fostercat.

swimmer hoff

2010-09-26T18:54:00.001-08:00

He got mad when it was time to leave the pool.

The life of an urban dog

2010-09-26T18:46:00.002-08:00

Banjo has had to adjust to life in the big city. The dog parks here fail in comparison to the one we'd take him to in Anchorage. He still enjoys a good chuck-it though. Today hannah and I took him to fido fest at U Village. Imagine a bunch of yuppie dogs toted around collecting organic dog treats. There was also a doga (doggie yoga) demonstration, dog marriages, and dog agility demonstrations. It was all for a good cause though--to raise money for the humane society.

Do the Puyalup

2010-09-26T18:29:00.003-08:00

Last Saturday Abe and I went to the Puyalup Fair with Sarah and Katie. We went early and were able to park on the street. We walked around and saw all of the animals. Abe was really intrigued by this girl and her little goat, so she asked if he wanted to pet it. He got really excited to get out of his stroller for a closer look, but when it came time to pet it, he touched a total of one hair between his fingers and that was enough. Naturally Abe was a fan of my shave ice and his Fischer's scone. This visit was actually Abe's second visit to a fair. Last year we took him when he was 11 days old. There weren't any giant cabbages at this one, but he sized up to the giant pumpkins.

Teslin - Ho!

2010-09-23T19:15:00.003-08:00

My Dad and I safely arrived at Teslin this evening at 5:30pm.

We left Anchorage at 8:15 am on Wednesday. We stopped off to top off for gas, grabbed some Micky D's, and hit the highway. We had lunch in Glennallen, crossed the boarder, and had dinner in Beaver Creek (which is where we were staying). We walked into the restaurant and it was packed (only 3 tables in the place). The patrons were nice enough to tell us to grab a chair and belly up. So we sat down to a table of 4 Canadians - they were working on the road just east of us. We talked to them while we had our dinner and had a good time. Of course the topic turned to Dubya, and how he screwed up the US after 9/11 (Canadian's words, not ours). Good times.

This morning we left Beaver Creek at 8:30. We drove through the worksite of our dinner companions. After a while there was snow on the ground, but not on the road. We had lunch at Haines Junction (tasty seafood chowder and grilled ham and cheese). After lunch we visited the Kluane visitors center in Haines Junction. It's part of the world heritage site with Wrangell-St. Ellias National Park in the US. We saw a little movie, and looked at some of the displays. It was a lot of fun.

Then we stopped off at White Horse - the capital of the Yukon. My Dad wanted to see this cool dinosaur museum. But of course they were already on their winter hours (only open noon - 5 Sunday and Monday), but we looked at some stuff outside. I learned about giant 8 foot beavers, that are the size of black bears, that roamed the land.

Now we're in Teslin. Pretty close to the B.C. boarder. I called up Emily and got to talk to her (yay!). And I called up my Mom and Scott, but no one was home (boo). Hopefully I can talk to them soon.

Peace out, Alaska!!!

2010-09-21T16:19:00.003-08:00

My time in Alaska is at a close. Today was my last day of work. Tomorrow my Dad and I will be in the car and on the road by 8am. With any luck we'll be in Seattle by Monday night.

We have had a great 3 years in this darn state. This is the place where Emily and I grew into being a married couple, I got my first dog (Banjo!), we had our first child (Abram!!!), and we became a real family. This place will always have a special place in my heart.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of our time in The Last Frontier.

Banjo looking at wild white yonder at Powerline Trail at Flattop. One of my favorite pictures.
Emily and Banjo ice skating on West Chester Lagoon by our first house.
Emily and I out for an October hike along the coast in 2007. This was before I moved here.
Emily (plus Abe), Banjo and me on a hike last June. We did this same hike on my birthday this year, but didn't make it all the way to the stream.
Banjo and me hanging out in the canoe at Red Shirt Lakes. This was Labor Day weekend 2008 - just that day Gov. Palin announced she would be Sen. McCain's running mate. And the world was never the same again.

the last great alaskan hike

2010-09-16T12:52:00.003-08:00

This is a little late, but I just discovered the pictures on the camera. On our last weekend in Alaska we drove out to Hatcher's pass and hiked the reed lakes trail with Kari and Jared. This was the hike that made them decide that they wanted to stay another year in Alaska...uh oh. It was a beautiful hike. There were tons of big blueberries out, and the weather was pretty nice out. We hiked up a ways, and then we had to cross this boulder field. Neil had Abe on his back, and he did great. Banjo had the most trouble, until we figured out that his pack that he had on was throwing off his balance. Once we took that off he did really well leaping from boulder to boulder. The hike was about 7 miles round trip. We ate lunch up by the lake, and then hiked a little ways longer to find a waterfall. Abe was a rock star and had a great time the whole way, but by the time we stopped at dairy queen on the way home he had had enough. Chicken fingers were tossed. We'll miss days like this.

Jefferson!

2010-09-15T20:17:00.002-08:00

They've been working on re-doing the park by my parents' house. The playground portion recently opened up, and we took abe to it this past weekend. It's really well done and actually has quite a bit of play equipment for little ones. So, yesterday when he wasn't very into napping in the morning I took him there again. Abe (or at least my dad's) favorite part was this little saucer that he sat in and spun around. Abe was mostly interested in playing with the wood chips. It was all fun, until he decided to eat them.

the walking manwich

2010-09-15T19:26:00.003-08:00

Today Abe walked 11 laps around the first floor of my parents' house pushing the stroller for stability. I think he would have done a few more, but I had to stop (I was guiding the stroller to help maneuver around the turns) to get my phone. Needless to say he's sleeping quite nicely right now.

THis morning we went up to visit Abe's grandma/pa and uncle scott. We went to Ravenna park and played in the sand for a while. Then came back for a sloppy joe. Abe took the sloppy to heart!

hair cut time!

2010-09-08T19:17:00.003-08:00

2010-09-06T20:48:00.004-08:00

On Saturday we celebrated Abe's birthday at Woodlawn park with friends, family, and Banjo! My grandma wrote Abe a song about his best friend--brother Banjo.

The birthday boy!

2010-09-06T20:39:00.003-08:00

A little late...but better late than never. We flew down to Seattle (Neil, Abe, Banjo, me) on Aug 26 just in time for Abe's birthday. Abe survived Alaska for exactly one year. We had a great little celebration put on by grandma and grandpa. Abe thoroughly enjoyed the cake once he knew what to do with it. He really could have cared less for opening presents. But he made quite a hall nonetheless. Now that he's had them for over a week he's really enjoyed playing with his new blocks, tunnel, walker, and musical instruments.

What's more ALaskan than...

2010-08-20T19:22:00.002-08:00

..eating dip netted salmon and hand picked blueberry crisp for dinner/dessert? That would be attending Uncle Ted's funeral. On Tuesday night I happened to be driving home right around the same time they were driving Ted Steven's body to the Anchorage Baptist Church for the funeral service the following day. I was really amazed to see so many people lining the street with signs and flags and cameras waiting to see the hurse drive by. So, with Neil's prodding, Abe and I walked over to the service the following day. The church was equipped to hold up to 4,000 people, but only around 2,000 got to sit in the sanctuary, so we headed over early. I was hoping that Abe would nap during the service, but instead he napped on the way over, so he was ready to go by the time the service was about to start. So, I walked outside in the hall with him. He was being very good, but he was cooing a little, and apparently this guy could hear him over the bag pipe music, so we left. But, the coolest part about this whole experience was that while Abe and I were walking down the street, Joe Biden's car pulled up and he and his aide walked out and walked along the street next to me. I kept looking at him (trying to figure out if it actually was him) and he would give me this little smirk.

Even though Neil and I helped campaign with Steven's opponent, it was neat to be a part of the memorial. He did a lot for the state, and as my grandma reminded me, a lot for himself as well.

Here's the ABT by our house. I think it's funny that it says that it's "a caring community church", since it was their congregation that so vehemently opposed to adding gays and lesbians to the anti-discrimination laws in Anchorage.

News!

2010-08-15T13:43:00.002-08:00

The picture says it all. We're moving--dood and all--back to Seattle! When we fly down at the end of August Abe, Banjo and I will be staying in Seattle. Neil's planning to fly back up for a few more weeks of work. Then he'll drive down the AlCan with his dad a few weeks later. I'll be entering the workforce once again at the VA, and Neil will be taking some classes at UW and working as a fulltime dad! We're sad to being leaving our Alaskan Adventure behind. We've had a lot of great friendships and adventures here, but we're excited for the *yet to be determined new blog name* chapter of our lives. Peace out yo!

Friday night bubbles

2010-08-15T13:38:00.001-08:00

Abe with angst.

Abe with warm bubblies.

I'll eat you up!

2010-08-15T13:36:00.002-08:00

We take our eating seriously.

Blueberries for Abe

2010-08-15T13:11:00.006-08:00

Yesterday we went on a blueberry picking adventure. We got an early start on the day and met some friends up at glennalps. From there we biked down the powerline trail about 2.5 miles. (This was easier said than done. We were biking into an extremely strong wind, and the trail was pretty hilly. I was toeing Abe in the chariot, and I seriously thought I was going to faint.) Then we all locked our bikes and chariots together and hiked a ways to this lovely blueberry picking spot. Because it was a bit off the beaten path it hadn't been picked over. We hung out had some lunch and picked berries. Neil and I filled both of our tupperwares to the top. (Blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup (made from last years berries) for breakfast). The weather in the morning was actually pretty nice--reminded my why I love living in alaska. But, then the rain came in, and actually broke a record for the number of consecutive days of rain. So, we headed back. Going home was 10 times easier thanks to the wind, which was still blowing in the same direction. While we were standing on the path, our bikes literally rolled forward on their own, because of the wind.

Pretty cool scenery for picking.

Abe sampling our handy-work.
We left Banjo at home, because he likes to jump in front of bikes, and a few years ago when we took him blueberry picking he ate our friends berries. Sophie and Todd's dog Riley, was a nice substitute for Abe.
Check them berries out!

An apology to our 'Dood

2010-08-02T20:45:00.002-08:00

Dear Banjo,

Ever since Abe and I returned home you've stunk. Your dad didn't think so, but to a more discerning nose, you were really quite foul. I tried bathing you, but it didn't seem to help. So, we did what we thought was for the best. For your own good, we decided to rid you of all that stinky hair. You were so trusting standing there in the bathroom, eating your peanut butter Kong while I chizzled away at your hair.

It turned out we stole your one true beauty. I'm sorry Banjo. The next time I come at you with those clippers run in the other direction!

Love, Your master

I guess he had it coming

2010-07-30T21:13:00.002-08:00

When Abe was about 5 months I wrote about how this kid named Casey tried to throw a wooden instrument at Abe's face. Well, Abe is now having his go as the wild "bully". Yesterday I took him to Cuddlers and being the a.) big ham that he is and, b.) only kid who can move, Abe seized the moment and crawled back and forth in the circle screaming and throwing toys at all of the other little immobile babies. I think it's time for Cruisers.

Here is a video of Abe practicing throwing his toys.

Eleven months

2010-07-30T20:53:00.001-08:00

This month's Abe/Banjo picture proved a little more difficult, now that both boys are mobile.

Babes in the City

2010-07-30T20:41:00.004-08:00

Here are a few more pics from Seattle that Elliot took with his camera.
Thank goodness I don't have twins!
Jude tackle!
Abe wasn't a fan.
Best Buds!
The boys with baby Porter (who made his grand entrance yesterday).

My first TV interview

2010-07-29T19:47:00.002-08:00

Yesterday the local CBS affiliate came to the crime lab to interview someone from the DNA section. They were doing a story on Anthony Dillard, who had been indited the day before. DNA evidence had linked him to two cold-case sex assaults (2005 and 2007). Abi, our DNA tech manager came in the back office area to see if anyone wanted to be interviewed on camera. Since everyone had already gone home for the day and I was the only one back there, I got 'volunteered'. So I met the reporter and the camera lady, and the reporter asked me some basic, general questions about CODIS and the work we do in the DNA section while the TV camera was rolling. Abi was also asked a few questions as well.

So I was all excited to watch the 10pm news. But when they ran the segment on Mr. Dillard, they didn't air any part of either one of our interviews. An airplane at the air force base crashed that night, so I'm thinking that story took time away from the DNA story. That, or our interviews were really bad. All in all it was a good experience to talk to the media about my job, and good practice for when I'm in court.

Catching up--in no particular order

2010-07-28T21:25:00.003-08:00

Here are a few pictures taken while Abe and I were in Seattle.

Abe(less) in Seattle

2010-07-19T19:29:00.004-08:00

We are enjoying Emily & Abe's visit to Seattle this week. Today we had celebrated the summer birthdays of Ruth, Elaine, Calvin, Melissa, Melyssa and Melvin at Tea Gardern. Yesterday Abe went to the Bon Odori. When they arrived last week, we had a little barbecue.

NOW I'm a true Alaskan!!!

2010-07-18T21:04:00.002-08:00

This weekend I had a true Alaskan experience - I went dip netting with my friend Mark. What's dip netting do you ask? It's when you 'dip' your 'net' into the water. Then the salmon swim into the net and you pull them out of the water. Simple as that! You can either do it on the shore of a river, or on a boat.

Mark just bought a 14-foot boat and was anxious to take it dip netting. He gave me a call at work on Thursday afternoon, wanted to know if I wanted to try it out as well, and I said sure. We left Friday afternoon for the Kenai river down on the Kenai Peninsula. It was about a 4 hour drive. We were in the river and fishing by about 6:30. I manned the net (which is 5 feet in diameter on a 15-foot pole) while Mark manned the motor. I'd catch the fish, move the next towards Mark who would pop the fish out in the boat. Then he would club it with his fish-club (think a tiny wooden bat - although we saw some people at there who actually used real bats) and rip it's gills out. Then he'd toss it in a cooler, or hand it to me to toss in a cooler.

Once we got going and I put my first net in the water, no joke we had a fish in the boat less than 2 minutes later. We made a killing. We filled up our first 2 giant coolers in about 2 hours. Then we went back to shore where Mark started cleaning our catch while I picked up 2 more coolers from the parent of our friends who lived in the nearby town. So we made it back on the water by 9:30, which left us an hour and half left to fish - you can't fish from 11pm - 6am. And in that last hour-30 we caught 17 more fish. Which brought our total to 52 fish. Not bad for a few hours of fishing, huh?

We decided to sleep in our cars that night at the boat launch. We didn't get out of the water until about 12:30am, so we were pretty tired. Banjo slept up front with me in the passenger seat. Banjo was a trooper the whole trip - I had to leave him in the back of the car the whole time we were out fishing b/c there was no room in the boat for him.

We got up at 5:30am the next day and went to Ames Bridge so we could finish gutting and cleaning the fish. Mark would gut them while I chopped the heads off. We were probably gutting and cleaning fish for about 2 hours. Then we were starved so went to this really good greasy spoon place in the city of Kenai. I had biscuits and gravy, hash browns, 2 poached eggs, and a sausage patty. I was so hungry, but I couldn't even finish it all b/c it was so much food. So Banjo got to finish the rest of my very-generously-sized sausage patty.

My share of our catch was 15 fish. Each 'head of household' is entitled to 25 fish per year, and you get 10 more per extra person in your house. Since Mark also has a wife and baby, that means we each can keep 45 fish. I kept 1 to eat that night, I'm shipping 4 down to Seattle, and the other 10 I took to Indian Meats to have filleted, vacuum packed and flash-frozen. Now I need to figure out where to put 53 pounds of fish????

All in all it was an awesome experience and I'm glad Mark invited me along. If the fish are running next weekend, I'm going to go down again and try dip netting from shore, which is about 10 times harder than on a boat. Hopefully dip netting from a boat hasn't spoiled me too much!