I've always saved good quotes I've read here and there; my computer screen had them taped all around the edge at one point. Then that became a little distracting, to say the least. Nothing like trying to write a bylined article on building codes and accidentally quoting Ghandi in the middle!
Here are two you might enjoy. One is an old favorite, the other a new find:
"This above all - to thine own self be true; And it will follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not be false to any man."
- William Shakespeare, "Polonius"
"People who aren't real to each other are dangerous to each other. Stories give us the simple empathy that is the basis of the Golden Rule, which is the basis of civilized society."
- Garrison Keillor, "The Motorhome Fades into the Sunset"
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Anatomy of a Weekend
As our children grow older, the scales tip: whereas we once could skip town on the weekend for a quick trip away or to visit family, we now must check the children's calendars well in advance before making plans. But we're both OK with it: we're having a blast raising these two, watching them grow and learn and explore new things. We need to be here at home more now so they can develop their own memories, with us and with their friends.
Last weekend was wild and wacky! So many fun things going on:
Some friends stopped by our house for a bit at the end of their vacation. The children are all close in age, and they've been friends for about 6+ years. Here they are enjoying some crazy backyard water fun:
And here's Laura, my bestest friend, and AK dueting on "Heart and Soul":
The night before, AK's friend Kate spent the night and the girls watched the premiere of "Camp Rock" with the Brothers Jonai. All agreed it was a cute movie; not on the level of "HSM", but still cute.
After the movie, the insanity began. Witness: Webkinz on a Ceiling Fan.
The "Steve Dance".
Last weekend was wild and wacky! So many fun things going on:
Some friends stopped by our house for a bit at the end of their vacation. The children are all close in age, and they've been friends for about 6+ years. Here they are enjoying some crazy backyard water fun:
And here's Laura, my bestest friend, and AK dueting on "Heart and Soul":
The night before, AK's friend Kate spent the night and the girls watched the premiere of "Camp Rock" with the Brothers Jonai. All agreed it was a cute movie; not on the level of "HSM", but still cute.
After the movie, the insanity began. Witness: Webkinz on a Ceiling Fan.
The "Steve Dance".
Thursday, June 12, 2008
You say it's your birthday ...
Last Sunday, Rus and Anna Katherine hosted a shared birthday party for Ryan and me. Ryan turned 7 in early June and I'll be 40 on June 13th (about 30 minutes after this is posted!). You know I have no issues with my age; it's nothing but a number. I don't feel 40, I (like to think I) don't look 40, and I'm sure all of you will agree I certainly don't ACT 40. I'll never be one of those people who sits around counting years on the calendar, ticking off what should go wrong at a certain age. Hogwash. Balderdash. What a waste of time!
My friend Julie has a quote on her e-mail signature: "It's not the years in your life that matter, it's the life in your years." Bring on life, baby!
The party was held at a cool old barn near our house. This is Ryan waving bye-bye *after* the party. We have zero shots of him *during* the party because he never stood still!
Someone just told me I had to start acting my age. As IF. (Oh, by the way, the tiara I'm wearing is from Disney Princesses on Ice. And it flashes multicolored lights. That's what I'm talkin' about.)
AK and her good friend Mara. There's a 2-year age difference, but these wonderful girls have been friends for about 7 years. There's a Girl Scout saying that's perfect here: "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."
Me and my Mommy. :) (Thanks, Olga, for taking this picture. I love it.)
I need to give a special shout-out to my friend Greer. She turned 10 the same day as our party, but she decided to join us in our celebration and postpone her big event. She and her sister are two of the kindest, most thoughtful little girls I've ever met, and I'm grateful to know them.
My friend Julie has a quote on her e-mail signature: "It's not the years in your life that matter, it's the life in your years." Bring on life, baby!
The party was held at a cool old barn near our house. This is Ryan waving bye-bye *after* the party. We have zero shots of him *during* the party because he never stood still!
Someone just told me I had to start acting my age. As IF. (Oh, by the way, the tiara I'm wearing is from Disney Princesses on Ice. And it flashes multicolored lights. That's what I'm talkin' about.)
AK and her good friend Mara. There's a 2-year age difference, but these wonderful girls have been friends for about 7 years. There's a Girl Scout saying that's perfect here: "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."
Me and my Mommy. :) (Thanks, Olga, for taking this picture. I love it.)
I need to give a special shout-out to my friend Greer. She turned 10 the same day as our party, but she decided to join us in our celebration and postpone her big event. She and her sister are two of the kindest, most thoughtful little girls I've ever met, and I'm grateful to know them.
Happy Birthday to YOU, Sunshine!!!
Vacation Photos, Part Three: The Finale
We visited the top of the Space Needle with my friend Katy. The view was just gorgeous: we timed it just right to see the sun set behind the Cascades. It was rather cold and windy - but worth it.
Before the Space Needle, we ate oodles of seafood at the Crab Pot on the Seattle waterfront. Don't Katy and I look fabu in our matching bibs?
Katy recommended we visit Gas Works Park for the skylines view. Of course she was 100% right. We sat and watched the seaplanes land for quite a while.
My little grunge-wannabes, hangin' out at the Market. Isn't AK's hat way-cool? That's the Vancouver 2010 Olympics logo on the front.
A resident of The Butchart Gardens.
Before the Space Needle, we ate oodles of seafood at the Crab Pot on the Seattle waterfront. Don't Katy and I look fabu in our matching bibs?
Katy recommended we visit Gas Works Park for the skylines view. Of course she was 100% right. We sat and watched the seaplanes land for quite a while.
My little grunge-wannabes, hangin' out at the Market. Isn't AK's hat way-cool? That's the Vancouver 2010 Olympics logo on the front.
A resident of The Butchart Gardens.
Our Vacation, Part Dos
While in Victoria, BC, Canada, we visited The Butchart Gardens. Amazing what they did with limestone quarries a century ago! :)
Don't be surprised to see this picture come December! We're standing in front of the Parliament building in Victoria. The building stretches further to the left and right than the lens could capture. Ryan said it looked like Disney World.
On the ferry ride from Bellingham to Victoria ...
... we saw WHALES! Two rogue orcas, fresh off a meal. Don't ask what they ate.
Don't be surprised to see this picture come December! We're standing in front of the Parliament building in Victoria. The building stretches further to the left and right than the lens could capture. Ryan said it looked like Disney World.
On the ferry ride from Bellingham to Victoria ...
... we saw WHALES! Two rogue orcas, fresh off a meal. Don't ask what they ate.L-R on sofa: Aunt Suzanne, Anna Katherine, Haley, Ryan, Matt. Back row, L-R: Ashley, me. This was taken following our Memorial Day BBQ. But we didn't actually BBQ anything. We just called it that. Because it was Memorial Day. You know.
A lovely couple from Southern California took this picture of us on Chuckanut Drive in Bellingham. It's a gorgeous drive stretching along the cost. The fog had the San Juans socked in a bit, so it was very Scotland-ish.
A lovely couple from Southern California took this picture of us on Chuckanut Drive in Bellingham. It's a gorgeous drive stretching along the cost. The fog had the San Juans socked in a bit, so it was very Scotland-ish.
Our Vacation, Part 1
We had such a great time in Washington State and Canada! It's such a beautiful area of the country and we loved the cooler weather. Here's a quick peek at some of he highlights of the trip - enjoy!
This doe visits my Aunt's backyard almost daily. She surprised us one morning; Anna Katherine named her Kanga.
L-R: Anna Katherine, Ryan, my cousin Matt and his daughter Haley, all pose in Fairhaven at the end of Ski to Sea 2008.
This doe visits my Aunt's backyard almost daily. She surprised us one morning; Anna Katherine named her Kanga.
L-R: Anna Katherine, Ryan, my cousin Matt and his daughter Haley, all pose in Fairhaven at the end of Ski to Sea 2008.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Goodbye, Elmo
Tonight was the series finale of "Men in Trees," one of the best shows I've watched in decades. ABC canceled it because of "ratings," but the reality is, they never truly supported the show. It was moved all over the schedule and inexplicably pulled for months at a time. No show could survive that.
I'm thinking of not watching much network TV anymore. All the quality shows I so enjoy are so often canceled by short-sighted goobers who think we really want to see "Redneck Millionaire Real World Jacka**" three nights a week (apologies to Brad Paisley for mauling his lyrics).
Remember "Homefront"? I'm not even sure it survived an entire season. It chronicled the lives of its stars during WWII and starred Kyle Chandler from the Atlanta area.
Then there was "Sports Night." Felicity Huffman has certainly moved on to bigger things, but she rocked this show. Loved the edgy banter and diversity of characters.
My favorite of all time: "Northern Exposure." MIT was often compared to NE, and the surface similarities were sometimes humorous. NE stands alone, in my mind, in the quality television forest. Nothing has ever measured up to its plotlines, dialogue and character development.
But MIT came close, very close. With another year or two under its belt, there might be a tie in my heart for best show. But we'll never know.
So goodbye, Elmo. I will miss spending an hour with you every week. Annie - you probably made the right decision for you, but you broke my heart, along with Patrick's. Jack and Marin, I'll miss the goofy way you two drive each other insane, then come together in compromise and grow even closer. Rub Uncle Ned's furry little head and give him a kiss. Drive carefully Jane and Sam, and eat a potato for me.
I'm thinking of not watching much network TV anymore. All the quality shows I so enjoy are so often canceled by short-sighted goobers who think we really want to see "Redneck Millionaire Real World Jacka**" three nights a week (apologies to Brad Paisley for mauling his lyrics).
Remember "Homefront"? I'm not even sure it survived an entire season. It chronicled the lives of its stars during WWII and starred Kyle Chandler from the Atlanta area.
Then there was "Sports Night." Felicity Huffman has certainly moved on to bigger things, but she rocked this show. Loved the edgy banter and diversity of characters.
My favorite of all time: "Northern Exposure." MIT was often compared to NE, and the surface similarities were sometimes humorous. NE stands alone, in my mind, in the quality television forest. Nothing has ever measured up to its plotlines, dialogue and character development.
But MIT came close, very close. With another year or two under its belt, there might be a tie in my heart for best show. But we'll never know.
So goodbye, Elmo. I will miss spending an hour with you every week. Annie - you probably made the right decision for you, but you broke my heart, along with Patrick's. Jack and Marin, I'll miss the goofy way you two drive each other insane, then come together in compromise and grow even closer. Rub Uncle Ned's furry little head and give him a kiss. Drive carefully Jane and Sam, and eat a potato for me.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Smack me, please.
And the most important news of all: today is Ryan's 7th birthday! His best buddy from school gave him the Indiana Jones Mr. Potato Head - probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I made strawberry cupackes with buttercream icing and fresh strawberries on top, as requested. And his favorite meal ever: ranch noodles with ham. Scout gave him a stuffed Horton (as in Hears a Who), Anna Katherine gave him a cool handmade Cars button-down little dude shirt, and Rus and I gave him a hockey stick and combination compass/flashlight/caribiner from Canada. Eh?
Happy Birthday to Ryan!!!
XOKim
Happy Birthday to Ryan!!!
XOKim
It's not summer until WE say it's summer!
No excuses about the lack of postings. If you have a child, much less children, you understand what happens at the end of the school year. It's like click-click-clicking to the top of a huge roller coaster hill then waiting ... waiting ... aaaaaaand GO! It's the last few weeks of school, hold on tight, people!
Just for fun, here's what we experienced/accomplished during the final week of school this year: three pool parties, one Girl Scout badge ceremony, one baseball pizza banquet, one baseball game (with a certain player maintaining his hitting streak for six at-bats!), one haircut (and highlights, yes), 4th grade field day, 1st grade field day, 1st grade water day. Oh - and Rus was in school all week for his Masters, and we were prepping for our 9-day trip to the Pacific Northwest. Yawn. It was quite boring and unevenful, really. NOT!
So wrapping up the school year: Anna Katherine responded to The New Rules and made straight A's for the first time in 4th grade. She worked her tush off in the process. She's very proud of her accomplishment, and she's enjoying her new bag of clothes from Justice. Not that it was a bribe or anything.
Ryan finished off his year in grand style. He had such a growing experience, learning how to buckle down and get his work done, THEN play and be silly. He's matured quite a bit this year. His "grades" the last 2 quarters were excellent and he's become quite the little reader. Can't imagine where he gets that from.
So now we're into summer 2008! Both children are loving Huck Finn camp at school; today's activity included dragging wood around and "building" a fort in the woods. They came home stinky, sweaty and covered in dirt, so it was a successful day.
More to come from our trip to Washington State and British Columbia!
XOKim
Just for fun, here's what we experienced/accomplished during the final week of school this year: three pool parties, one Girl Scout badge ceremony, one baseball pizza banquet, one baseball game (with a certain player maintaining his hitting streak for six at-bats!), one haircut (and highlights, yes), 4th grade field day, 1st grade field day, 1st grade water day. Oh - and Rus was in school all week for his Masters, and we were prepping for our 9-day trip to the Pacific Northwest. Yawn. It was quite boring and unevenful, really. NOT!
So wrapping up the school year: Anna Katherine responded to The New Rules and made straight A's for the first time in 4th grade. She worked her tush off in the process. She's very proud of her accomplishment, and she's enjoying her new bag of clothes from Justice. Not that it was a bribe or anything.
Ryan finished off his year in grand style. He had such a growing experience, learning how to buckle down and get his work done, THEN play and be silly. He's matured quite a bit this year. His "grades" the last 2 quarters were excellent and he's become quite the little reader. Can't imagine where he gets that from.
So now we're into summer 2008! Both children are loving Huck Finn camp at school; today's activity included dragging wood around and "building" a fort in the woods. They came home stinky, sweaty and covered in dirt, so it was a successful day.
More to come from our trip to Washington State and British Columbia!
XOKim
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