Santa Came Through!

Santa was feeling generous this year and finally brought Katie the Jeep she has wanted since last Christmas! She was excited, but nervous about driving it the first time. However, it didn't take her long to get the hang of it. She drove down the street and picked up her friend who also seemed to enjoy the ride.

It's a Party!

This year we decided to have a birthday party for Katie so she could invite her friends to celebrate with her. Because it's such a busy time of year anyway, we hesitated to add to the chaos, but in the end, we went ahead with it because Katie wanted it so badly. So, we held it at KidzBounce in Preston so the kids could bounce off the walls and get all of their wiggles out! Katie was thrilled!

Festival of Peace and Light

Katie's school presented an impressive holiday concert today. The kindergarten students sang Trotta Trotta Cavellino in Italian, Jingle Bells in Spanish, and Peace in 12 Languages. They held it at the BCC gym and it lasted about an hour. Here is a 2-minute video of Katie's participation:

Morning at Our House

Saturday Morning Soccer

Highlights from Katie's soccer game this morning:

Katie and Her Puppy, Lucy

It's been about 20 years since we had a puppy in the family and wow, it's all coming back to me now... I have to say, it's a good thing she's as cute and sweet as she is during the day, because her barking for attention in the middle of the night is anything but cute and sweet! Each night, I wonder what in the world was I thinking to agree that we get a puppy! I have to believe that she'll soon learn to chill out at night so we can get some uninterrupted sleep! Potty training is actually going well. We're really enjoying her. I especially love taking her over to visit Betty (Regina's Mom) who is in a nearby rehab center recovering from her June 10 stroke. Betty enjoys holding Lucy (the puppy) in her lap. Her face lights up when she realizes we've brought the puppy with us to visit. Lucy loves the attention, of course.

Here's a short video of Katie and Lucy playing in the yard:

Leaps and Bounds

While I went to my dentist appointment this morning, Mel was kind enough to watch Katie for me. I was gone for a couple of hours or so and when I returned, Katie and I stayed there the rest of the day. It was a hot, sunny afternoon, so we spent some time in the backyard getting wet and playing with bubbles. When I saw how excited their dog (also named Katie) was about the bubbles, I ran and got my video camera. Take a look at what she was doing:

In the Kitchen with Katie

Katie made breakfast this morning! We had cinnamon biscuits my Mom used to make for us when we were kids. Check out this video of Katie in the kitchen:

Daycation to Lake Wenatchee

Katie and I drove this morning to Lake Wenatchee State Park to spend the day with Mel and Courtney and their family. We had hoped to tour the lake on their boat, but the winds kicked up causing it to be pretty unsafe. So, we hung out around their campsite and on the shore. We left at about 9pm and got home two hours later. It was a fun day! I didn't take much video, but here's some of what I did get:

Katie loved spending time with Mel and Courtney's dog, also named Katie! One of these days we're going to have to get her a dog!

Celebrating Another Day of Life

Although I seem to be feeling a little down recently, my spirits were raised by visiting Mel and Courtney and their 17-month-old twins, Jack and Avery. Katie and I spent a few hours over at their house late this afternoon and they treated us to pizza for dinner. The kids played in the backyard getting dirty and wet, while having a great time together. Of course I had my camera running and here's what I got:

No More Training Wheels for Katie!

Today was the second time Katie tried to ride her bike without training wheels. A few weeks ago she tried it, got frustrated pretty quickly and quit. This time, however, her friend next door was with her. He gave her a quick lesson and she caught on very quickly. She refused to let me help her at all and as it turned out, she didn't need my assistance anyway!

Katie's New Adventure

First thing this morning Katie and I headed over to the Skate King in Bellevue so Katie could learn how to skate! She was so excited! It really amused her that the very first thing they learned was how to fall correctly. Who knew there was a right and wrong way to fall! Anyway, she got lots of practice falling, as you'll see in this video. She did a good job though and is anxious to keep learning.

A Video Tribute

One of the things Regina's Dad, Alex, enjoyed was to capture the important and interesting events in his family's life in home movies. Fortunately, all of the 8mm films he shot were converted to DVD a few years ago and each of his kids now has a copy. Over the last few days, I have been reviewing all of that footage (whew!) and put together a 4-minute video of clips I pulled from Alex and Betty's home movies. Enjoy!

Happy Fourth of July!

Time to Go Home

Our last day in Waynesboro (Virginia) was Saturday, June 27. We stopped by the hospital to visit Betty and say good bye. It was upsetting to leave her, but we were there for two weeks and it was time to return home. It's during times like this when I wish we didn't live so far away. Below is a picture of Regina and her Mom.

We also stopped by the nursing home to say good bye to Alex, Regina's Dad. He has Alzheimer's disease and isn't able to hold a conversation anymore. So, we brought things to do with him - a few 24-piece puzzles and a toy. These things are good for keeping his hands and mind busy. The kids enjoyed playing too, so it was a good way to get Grandpa to interact with his grandkids at a time in his life when his social skills are deterioriating.



Later in the afternoon, about 4pm or so, we drove up to Northern Virginia and checked into the Marriott by Dulles Airport. We did this because our flight home the next day was at 7am. Fortunately, we were able to have dinner with my brother's wife, Peggy and their two kids, Justin (12) and Josh (9). We met them at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Anita's in Chantilly. Here is a picture of Katie with her cousins, Justin and Josh.



And finally, here is a 7-minute video of some footage I shot during our impromptu visit. Hope you enjoy it!

More Fun in the Sun

Today we took Katie to a park in Beaverton to play in the water. Fun times!

Music: Lost in This Moment by Big and Rich

The End of a Long Weekend

We decided to drive up to Seattle late Thursday night to avoid traffic on Friday afternoon. We got in late and by the time we got there, unpacked and got Katie to bed it was 11:00. We followed soon afterward. On Friday, Katie had a great time with old neighborhood friends while I worked. We ended the day by having dinner with friends and a walk around the neighborhood.

Music: Sunshine by Schuyler Fisk

Saturday was a day of play and relaxation for all. Katie spent the day with her Seattle sitter at the pool while we enjoyed a lunch out and a movie topped off with running a few errands. Katie spent the whole day outside and ended the day playing again outside with the neighborhood kids. While we are all out, someone came through the house so luckily it looked nice.

Sunday was a day of work! Suzie worked inside and I worked outside on the mulch and plants. Before we knew it, it was the end of the day. Everything looked so good we decided to drive down to Portland that night instead of on Monday thereby missing all the traffic. We left Seattle around 6:30 pm Sunday night and had a great drive back.

With all the travel, play, and work, all three of us woke up feeling sluggish. After lunch, Katie wanted to go to the mall to get new toys. We headed to the mall, and everyone walked away with something. Kate got a cash register from Disney, Suzie got a jewelry box from Nordstrom's and I got a dress shirt from Nordstrom's. Still feeling lack luster but not wanting to go home since it was so nice outside, we headed to the Starbucks near our apartment and enjoyed a drink outside while Katie played with her new toy. There is a Columbia outlet store there so we decided to walk through it and ended up buying two outdoor chairs. There are so many water parks here that we thought it would be good to have a place to sit while Katie played in the water or at the playground.

After playing grocery store with Katie's new cash register for over an hour, everyone is now getting ready for the upcoming week. I paid bills while Suzie kept Katie busy. Now we are all watch SpongeBob (just don't get the attraction but kids love it and ours is no different). Bath time is next up before bed. It was a fun weekend, but now I need a day off to rest!

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

This afternoon Regina, Katie and I headed to Woodburn, OR to visit the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. They are hosting a tulip festival since they are in full bloom right now, so we decided to visit.

Below is a short video followed by a few photos. Enjoy.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium

Today we felt like a road trip and Regina had heard good things about the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, so we all buckled in and headed out. It was a rainy, yucky day, but we were able to forget about that during our visit to the aquarium. It was totally worthwhile.

Katie's First Filling