Halloween 2009

Well, since Katie was dressing up as a Dalmation for Halloween, I just couldn't resist dressing up as Cruella de Ville! So, I ordered a wig online and made a cape with a big collar. Underneath the cape, I just wore all black. It came together nicely! Regina dressed up as Sponge Bob Square Pants and of course was very popular with the kids. She handed out candy while Katie and I did the neighborhood. There were tons of kids out. Lots more than last year and I thought it was crazy last year!

Halloween at Briarwood

We dressed up and visited Betty this afternoon to participate in the costume contest they were hosting. It was a small, informal event, but fun. We took Lucy along with us and she wore a Dalmation cape I made for her!

Getting Ready for Halloween

Here are some pictures of Katie in her Dalmation costume. She's totally into everything DOG right now, so this is the perfect costume for her. Notice the jack-o-lanterns Katie and Regina carved.

Pumpkin Shopping at Fall City Farms

Katie, Regina and I spent some time at Fall City Farms today looking for the perfect pumpkins for carving. The weather cooperated and we enjoyed exploring. Here are some pictures:

12-Week-Old Lucy

Katie is completely in love with her new puppy, Lucy. She's a Yorki-Poo, which is a Yorksire Terrier/Poodle mix. Here she is at 12 weeks old!

Betty's New Home (for now, anyway)

Regina's Mom, Betty, is currently residing at a rehab center near our home in the Seattle area where she is recovering from her June 2009 stroke. Here are some pictures of this beautiful facility. It is also a retirement community and I wouldn't mind retiring here at all!

Here is a nice big deck on the main floor of the retirement center.
The health center, where Betty is staying, is 2 floors above this.

Katie and her Grandma out on the deck.

Another shot of the girls.

This is the main area of the deck.
Behind it is the lobby and main entrance to the retirement center.

Main lobby area.

There is a full bar where residents can gather with friends for drinks.

They also have a restaurant for dinner.

And a cafe for lunch.

On the health center level where Betty's room is located,
they offer this private dining area where patients can enjoy a meal
with their family and/or friends.

Betty's Recovery Update

You may remember that Regina's Mom, Betty, suffered a massive stroke on June 10, 2009. On Labor Day weekend, she was discharged from the hospital in Waynesboro, VA where she lived at the time of the stroke. Still unable to walk, talk or take care of herself, she required 24-hour nursing care and physical rehabilitation therapies, so we brought her out here to Portland where she was admitted to Avamere Rehabilitation of King City. Well, when Regina got laid off and we made the decision to return to Seattle, obviously we had to also move Betty.

Fortunately, we found Briarwood Health Center which is close to home and provides excellent healthcare and stroke rehabilitation services. We were very fortunate that a bed just happened to open up the day we toured the facility, so we jumped on the opportunity to claim it.

Katie's "2nd" First Day of Kindergarten

This is turning out to be a time of transition for us, the most recent development being our move back to Seattle from Portland. Regina got laid off from her job that had required her to relocate to Portland. Our housing there was a rental and our house here in Seattle didn't sell, so we are now back in our home in the Seattle area! She'll look for employment here so we don't have to worry about selling the house and moving.

Fortunately, we were able to get Katie admitted into Chestnut Hill Academy in Bellevue. Last winter, we had applied there (as well as to Catlin Gable in Portland) just in case we ended up back here. And here we are! Katie's first day was Monday, October 5. She missed about a month of classes here, but it shouldn't be a problem. Although we LOVED Catlin Gable and will miss being part of their community, we are very pleased with our choice of school here. We had toured it last year during an open house and discovered it is an amazing school.

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:

Added to the Family Today

Katie has wanted a dog for so long and this past week Suzie and Katie went to the shelter and found a great dog. We went today to see if she was still there and no luck. After checking out all the dogs, Katie got more upset because she could finally get a dog but there were none to bring home. So, we checked out some puppies (thought we were going to pick one of the cock-a-poos that were just born to pick up in a few weeks) and found this one ready to come home!

It is a Yorkie Poodle mix and very tiny (just over 2 pounds). She is cute, playful and really likes to be around us. We haven't seen the cats since she arrived! Suzie and Katie came up with "Lucy" so we have a dog and a name! We finally got both to bed -- everyone was excited.

Katie's First Soccer Game

This morning was Katie's first soccer game and appropriately so, since we are in the Pacific Northwest, it was raining. They didn't let a little rain stop the games though! Katie refused to wear any kind of rain gear and couldn't wait to get wet.

This soccer league is all about having fun. The girls will learn the basics and get to try out their skills in a game, but nobody is keeping score.

Katie could hardly contain her excitement as she played. Everytime she looked over at us on the sidelines, her huge smile shone brightly through the rain. All of the girls were excited to be out there.

We are pleased to report that Katie scored a couple of goals and one of them involved taking the ball from one end of the field to the other without allowing anyone to steal it from her and then she aimed right for the goal and it went in. She was particularly proud of this play!

Today was the first of eight games. So, we'll be on the soccer field every morning for the next 7 Saturdays, cheering for the girls!

Day at the Zoo

Katie and I decided to go to the zoo since it was in the upper 80s and absolutely beautiful outside. Of course, we did not know that it was the opening day for the lion and wild dog exhibit. We got there after lunch so we missed the really big crowds.

As we were walking into the zoo, Katie told me that she wanted to see snakes first. The Portland zoo only has a few in various exhibits around the zoo. When a zoo helper saw us looking at the map, she showed us where they were and then told us we needed to see the snake that was in the new exhibit area first. She walked us all the way there. The lions were out so we saw them first. Then, Katie could not take her eyes off of the wild dogs. I had not seen them before and they were very cool looking. They were very active, too. Yes, we have a stuffed animal wild dog now!

The snake was huge, too! We saw birds of prey up close in a show and then rode the train before walking around and seeing several other animals. We ended the long day at Red Robin for dinner and then visiting my Mom.

Happy 13th Birthday, Paige!

Love - Regina, Katie and Suzie

Katie's First Day of Kindergarten

Our baby Katie is a Kindergartner! She was excited, but admitted she was nervous. She's worried about not remembering names the first day.

I packed her a lunch today, for the first time. She requested turkey roll-up for lunch, so that's what I made. She also got yogurt, milk and red grapes. Her morning snack is, per her request, strawberry cereal (bite-size shredded wheat with strawberry-flavored coating).

At about 8:30, the teacher had to remind all the lingering parents that it was time to go. She and her assistant already had the kids busy with a small project.

Their school day is over at 1:30pm, which will take some getting used to because preschool went to 6pm! I'm going to miss all that extra time I used to have to get things done.

Head in the Clouds

I find myself spending too much time thinking about the things I don't have or can't have instead of living in the moment. It sure is fun to daydream about what could be and on a sunny warm day it feels like it is all within reach.

It is a fun way to pass time...

Power Walk

I have been working out and trying to close out strong for our Biggest Loser competition at work. I haven't been feeling very well the last few days but I was determined to walk even if it meant doing a lot of little ones. Today, I did two power walks and combined walked 6.75 miles! I even had to walk over a snake... my feet are soar but it felt good.

Can't wait for the new season of BL! I have been watching some of the old ones as I didn't watch it much before the last two seasons. The show sure keeps me motivated.

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:

Me? Youtube-ing?

I loved the link Suzie shared with the wedding dance. I just saw this one and thought I would share it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QujA8YYgTWU&NR=1

Enjoy.