Colin Visits Boulder

Uncle Dave, Colin, Grandpa, and Grandma

Colin Likes the Waterfall
Feeding the minnows after dinner with Grandpa
Splashing his feet in the water - grandpa is pointing to his toy boy that he just tossed downstream.

We are currently visiting Colin's grandparents that live in Boulder. He has enjoyed visits to Grandma and Grandpa's office (there was a doggie in one of the offices -- 14 year old Henry) and he has EXPECIALLY enjoyed playing in his grandparent's newly landscaped backyard. Picking up rocks of different sizes is so much fun!

On Friday we drove down to Englewood (South Denver area) to see Susan and her two lil' ones -- she and Geoff lived upstairs from us when we lived in Indiana. We had a great visit and enjoyed catching up.

Uncle Dave turned 25 on Saturday -- Happy birthday Uncle Dave! We celebrated with a yummy dinner on the deck and Colin discovered that he really likes corn tortilla chips. Guess it was bound to happen sooner or later! He has also discovered that he likes cinnamon rolls from Great Harvest (always wanting what mom eats, I suppose!)

Now back to the great outdoors here at the house, which he just loves! There are waterfalls that end in a pool of water filled with minnows, and Colin thinks it's such pure joy to run up the foot path, across the stone bridge, and up to the area with a large assortment of rocks. Forget the need for books and toys -- rocks rock!

This afternoon Grandpa seated him on a flat rock at the water's edge at the top of the falls. He splashed his feet in the water with great vigor and then dropped his toy boat into the water saying, "bye, bye!" The boat tumbled down the two falls and ended up in the lower pool. I'm sure this is the first of many toy boat waterfall adventures in years to come. In future years I could see his Fisher Price Little People going down in a toy raft only to plummet to their "death" in the falls. It's inevitable -- he's a boy!

You know you're too old when....

There are times when you realize you are way too old for some things. Take for example the youthful fashion of wearing a t-shirt 2 sizes too small to reveal your cute naval ring or tatoo on your lower back. I have neither, and the too tight thing doesn't really work, either.

But what about technology? Are some of us ever too old for some technology? Take text messaging, for example. I've never sent one, as it takes me a few minutes to even program in the name of a friend for my phone's address book. And the people who drive while doing it?? Insane! Matt was almost run over by a teenager texting as he drove up I-5. And on the radio when they tell you can can text your vote to a certain number, not really sure how that works, either.

My friend Pam emailed me back about this blog and told me I should register on Facebook to find people I went to highschool with. So I register to see what it's all about. And, yes, all of the people from my highschool are (drum roll, please!) still in highschool! So I'm not too sure about this already, and then I check out her posting. It has a feature that will let me "poke" her. Not sure what that is, but it sounds like teasing, so I clicked on it and then called it a night after emailing her some silly comment that the movie "13 Going on 30" with Jennifer Garner was ringing a bell...And then this morning I get an email that my brother-in-law has "written on my Wall" in Facebook (English, please?)

Do I sound like a curmudgeon? Probably, but I do believe for parents there is complete value in knowing and understanding all evolving technology. I met a woman in January -- a grandmother and a dear Christian woman. She gave me the advice to know all of the technology our kids use, as her grandson had posted a plea for help on his Myspace page. Days later when the plea was not heard by his family (and after online teasing from his peers) he decided to end his time on earth. So as foreign as the whole Facebook, Myspace thing may be, if your kids are using it, GET CONNECTED!

Now as I ramble on about technology, I have to tell you that Colin's great grandma is an excellent technology wizard and even just emailed us a gorgeous picture (above) of her standing in front of the huge hibiscus growing in front of her house. We've enjoyed sharing pictures with her online, as well, and she even voted on our latest blog poll. Such a cool grandma! One of the greatest joys, however, has been sharing my faith online with my Grandma. During my study of Daniel this past year, we shared back and forth by email how the book of Daniel has really impacted our study of the Bible as a whole and how God's transformational Word is just so amazing to read and enjoy.

Technology. Transformation. Such a blessing.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Matt's birthday, so we celebrated the day with sleeping lots, eating out, and eating out once more. We had planned to do brunch, but our little guy napped late, so we opted for lunch at Manzana. For dinner, we enjoyed date night on the waterfront at the Yarrow Bay Beach Cafe, and it was scrumptious!

We enjoyed dessert at home -- a "Mojo Madness" mudpie from Coldstone -- it was layered with chocolate cake, coffee ice cream mixed with oreo and pecans, more chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream mixed with more sinful oreos and nuts, all topped with fudge ganache and chocolate shavings. We highly recommend this one!

Fun at The Little Gym

Colin walks along the bars

Colin had fun today at The Little Gym. We normally go on Thursdays, but we went today because we are going to be in Colorado with Grandma & Grandpa later this week. His favorite activity is near the end when they get out a big container of balls of various sizes and colors. He has learned how to dunk the ball in the kid-sized basketball hoop, making his basketball-loving mom proud.

It's been interesting to see other kids this age and talk with their parents/grandparents/nannies. The number one comment we get after asked his age is, "He's so tall!" And then they look at me as if thinking, "She's not that tall." So I've started just saying, "Yes, he gets it from his Dad..."

Bad Weather Week

The posting today was suppose to be of Matt holding a big 'ole Hawaiian fish from a night of deep sea fishing with his buddy Jeff. Matt had tied in a fishing trip from Kona while in Hawaii this week, and was super excited because the weeks leading up to this were filled with reports of "fabulous fishing!" Wouldn't you know, a tropical storm was brewing among the islands and only allowed them to fish for 2 (unsuccessful) hours. The storm missed them, but it's hard to know for sure -- better safe than sorry.

The weather has been a bummer here, as well. This was a rainy, cool week, which reminded me of our dreary winter season. Kind of a bummer to miss scheduled park outings! We did have a play group here on Wednesday, so Colin got to show his non-charming side by taking his toys away from all of the other little kids ("hey -- that toy is MINE!") Fortunately we all undertand that at the age of one sharing is not exactly in these kiddos' skill set!

And no, I didn't make it to kickboxing this week. The first morning I got up, but was running late and decided to walk in the neighborhood. At 5:45 am the racoons are still out rummaging through the yards, so I had a close encounter with one racoon bandit as he leaped onto a fence right as I was walking past. He looked at me with the eyes of a thief on a mission, as if to say, "You didn't see ANYTHING" (like the penguins in Madagasgar...) Hmmmm...maybe kickboxing sounds like a better plan!

Top Ten Intimate Escapes

There's still LOTS of voting time for your top vacation destination recommendation for us, but I wanted to share a list of top ten gem hotels in the Carribean, as compiled by Trip Advisor (thanks for the tip, Grandpa!)

We're a bit loyal to Marriott/Renaissance (turning his travel for work into our family vacations -- using rewards points.) It's all about the reward points/miles!

1. Turtle Nest Inn: Cayman Islands
2. Compass Point Dive Resort: Cayman Islands
3. Le Petit Hotel: St. Maarten/St. Martin
4. The Bungalows Hotel: Mexico
5. Hotel L'Esplanade: St. Maarten/St. Martin
6. Crystals: St. Lucia
7. Los Milagros Hotel: Mexico
8. Hotel Villas Las Anclas: Mexico
9. Villa Beach Cottages: St. Lucia
10. Paradera Park Apartments: Aruba

A "Royal" Deal

While I'm on this bargain hunting topic, I thought I would mention my latest deal. I found out last Friday about a children's clothing boutique store in San Jose, CA that is closing and they are selling everything online for $3 or $5. I checked it out, and it looked like a great idea -- the clothing is all their own label.

I ordered Colin several cords for this fall -- the package arrived today and they look like pretty decent quality - what a deal for $3 a piece! Check out Royal Bambini online.

A woman in my mom's group that use to live in San Francisco heard about the deal from her California mom friends, so I thought I'd spread the word to those of you even further away. Isn't the mommy pipeline great?

Monster Cannas

With lots of rain recently hitting the Houston area, Dad's cannas have been on a power growth spurt. The picture says it all! They typically grow to about 5 feet, but Master-Gardener-Milty (aka Grandaddy) is coaxing his to grow into the sky for a "Jack and the beanstalk" type of scenario. Wow!

Colin's Coupe

Following a recent posting of Colin smiling from ear to ear while playing in an outdoor toy car, I went on a mission to find him one for our back patio. I refused to be shamed into paying $60 at the store, as my garage sale, bargain hunting friend, Crystal, swore she found one for $5. So it wasn't $5, but it was super cheap, AND it has a push handle for me, making it all the better! While we were at it we found a tricycle for next year.

I just love Craigslist! I also found another posting where the items were FREE! I got an Ikea kids table and 2 chairs (will need a coat of paint), 2 baby gates, a porta potty, AND a Little Tikes slide. Did I mention this was all free? It was purge day for one family's house, and they just wanted it gone and fast! Lucky us, they were just a few miles away, so it cost maybe $1 in gas to make the trip.

OK, so I know I'm sounding really cheap, but I just love the thrill of a good deal on kids items. They are just going to get played with really hard, and paying full price is just money down the drain!

Nirvana For My Inner Marketing Geek

And now a break from singing "The Wheels on the Bus," and reading, "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb:"

During all of my years in doing professional services marketing, one of the biggest things I always pushed my consultants to do for marketing (and that I could never do for them) was to pursue speaking engagements at the annual conferences for key associations. It's one of the best ways to set yourself apart from the competition with a very captive target audience. (Did I miss any buzz words?)

Seriously, though, Matt must have been listening, because his will be a speaker for a session at the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) Annual Conference (See page 19 of the final conference brochure for details.) The conference is in DC in early October. This makes my inner marketing geek very happy!

Hot!

Today the mercury neared the 100 degree mark, and for those of you non-Seattleites, note that no one around here has AC in their homes! We spent the day out -- we hit the outlet (time for a bigger pair of shoes for the lil guy) and then we had dinner at Crossroads Mall. This is NOT a day to cook indoors! I'll bet pizza delivery was a big hit tonight!

Fortunately we bought window units for our bedrooms last year, so we will sleep OK tonight. There is no way we could sleep without them. At 7 pm tonight, the den was 86 degrees (as captured in the picture), and the upstairs was around 91 -- whew!

Kick-it!

So I finally did it -- I drug my tail out of bed yesterday morning for a 5:30 am Kickboxing-Aerobic Class. I ran into the class instructor, and a friend of mine (Michelle), the night before at a BBQ event -- and it helped that she conviced me to go as I was woofing down a hamburger and chips!

Michelle is so inspiring to me, as her dedicaton to transforming the physical health of women at church started with her very own transformation. Her energy is amazing!

I woke up completely sore this morning, but got up and did it again...the class is 5 days a week at our church and it's free! Not sure I'll be hitting the ground running 5 days a week, but it feels great to get moving, all while Colin and Dad are still at home in bed.

Cat Acne

So I took Mr. hot and furry to the vet yesterday, and after a thorough skin check, the vet determined that the places on his chin were most likely just kitty acne (and not cancerous tumors like he had in April -- yeah!) So she sent us packing with a topical gel of benzoyl peroxide to treat his chin. So he's now a metrosexual kitty, who has topical gel for his chin -- too funny!

* For once, we are thankful for acne...it means it's not a skin tumor instead!

Happy 4th of July!

Colin Has Fun Driving his Friend's Car

What a gorgeous day and not a cloud in the sky! Summer here reaally DOES start on the 4th of July! We enjoyed an afternoon stroll through downtown Kirkland, where the parade had just ended. There were booths with various vendors -- and we were on the prowl for a really good chocolate chip cookie. At one booth we overheard the lady saying something about an ingredient that would clean out your colon -- next! Then the next booth had wheat-free, all vegetarian, everything else-free ingredients. What's the fun in those cookies? So we settled for a cold drink from our friends at Starbucks.

We then headed over to a BBQ with some friends, and Colin loved the kiddie swimming pool and kiddie toys/cars in their backyard! He was fairly tolerant of one of the toddlers pouring a cup of cold water on his head in the pool. Guess it felt good in all that heat! Our little firecracker enjoyed playing with his friends, but at 7:00 pm on the dot he was like, "Put me to bed NOW!"

So that brings me to our "other"child, Elliot. It's been SOO hot in the house lately (no AC and no trees for shade during the day), so the cat is practically begging me to shave him! Or so I imagine based on his lethargic looks at me all day long. We have been letting him come to bed with us at night, as our room has an AC unit. He happily cuddles up at my feet for 6-8 hours and then BAM...4 am hits and he says, "MEOWWUT! Let me-owut of the room!"

And of course he know who sleeps by the monitor and who is the most likely to meet his cat needs. Yes, our other child, the cat! So after several licks on the face and a few cries in the ear while sitting on the steps by our mammoth bed, I get up to let him out of the room. But he runs back under the bed. Ugh! I walk down stars and get some cat food to jingle in his bowl to manipulate him into thinking I'll feed him. Too bad Colin's Goldfish crackers don't make the same noise in the cat's food dish -- it's dark, and I just wanted something to get his attention. Always a sucker for food, Elliot runs to his dish, and I chase after him to capture him and put him in the utility room for the remainder of the morning.

I come back to bed, after my cat aerobics workout, and I am wide awake. The baby is asleep -- the husband is asleep -- the cat is hungry because I didn't really feed him Colin's goldfish, and now all I can think about is that I forgot to put the salad in a ziploc bag before coming to bed last night.

Tonight the cat sleeps in his room. But I've said that every night for a week.

* We are thankful for our freedom and for celebrating with our friends.

Peek-a-Blue Berries!

Colin @ Blueberry U-Pick

Today marks the open of the U-Pick Blueberries here in Bellevue. We have a quaint little urban farm just about a mile from our house, and we picked berries until our blue hearts were content (or until Colin decided we were moving too slow, whichever came first...) We picked enough to fill a half gallon container, and it cost a whopping $2.17! What a deal!

Though Colin didn't really pick berries, I couldn't resist this shot. You will note he has one shoe off and one shoe on. I had to go hunting for the sock he pulled off -- we lost another sock in Target for this very same reason yesterday. It's just so fun to undo the velcro on your shoes and pull your socks off down to your piggies! Fortunately no lost shoes...yet!

In typical Sunday fashion (Colin's big day of rest), he napped from 9:30am until 1:30pm today, and he's currently on nap # 2. He must be growing. Just today he grabbed onto the fridge door to indicate he was hungry. I made the mistake of feeding him watermelon with his breakfast and that was all he wanted after that. He knew the watermelon was in the fridge, and thus why he grabbed the door.

* I am thankful that Colin is sleeping so much and is beginning to use some of his signs so I know what he wants

* I am thankful for a fun weekend -- we enjoyed berry picking today and yesterday we enjoyed a day at Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island. Colin loved watching the dogs chase after a ball into Lake Washington in the off-leash area.