What a gorgeous weekend we just had! Saturday we headed out to the annual Viking Festival. Tookie is a part of the "BRATS" group at his school. They learn to ride unicycles, ball walk, juggle and such. They were in the Viking parade this year and he did a great job on his unicycle!

Sunday's weather was just as beautiful. We hung out and watched some world championship poker and then had a barbeque, Steve made some very tasty burgers.

Lisa is suffering from a bad cough, possibly bronchitis, eek! Poor girl :( I'm really hoping she gets better fast so, well, she feels better #1 and also so we can get out and about in this fantastic sunshine! I'm ready to get out on my bike and take in some of that sweet Washington air. Lisa loves to run, (me, not so much). Once the Hood canal bridge is open we want to get out on the Discovery trail that leads along the Puget Sound in front of Sequim. The trail leads all the way to Port Angeles. That will be another blog with picture to come!

It's March already! It still feels like winter. This is my first blog on here so I'll try to keep it brief and not ramble as I'm famous for.

Holidays



Snow was the major theme of the 2008 holidays. We had a white Christmas this year. The snow fell a week before Christmas and as of today we still have a lot of snow on the ground. Thankfully, Mom's flight just happened to come in on one of the few days that the airport was running smoothly. Because of the snow, UPS didn't deliver a few gifts that were ordered online. We also didn't get our Honeybaked Ham Brunch delivered. Jen did happen to run into the FEDEX driver at our vet's office and he gave her a few packages and some for our neighbors too.

Mom came in on the 23rd and spent the afternoon settling in and then we headed to the casino for a little fun. I won $1500 dollars and she came home $20 dollars ahead. On Christmas eve we were supposed to go to my Dad's but the roads were full of snow and ice. We were using chains to get in and out of our road and it was still dicey so we spent the day at home wrapping gifts, drinking hot cocoa and playing games. We tracked Santa online at NORAD and when he got to the eastern coast Chandler headed to bed so he would be sound asleep by the time he reached Washington. We then watched "Burn After Reading". Cody and Cami were both super excited. Cody admitted later that he didn't sleep all night. I think he knew he was getting gerbils and was super excited about that.

At 5:45AM on Christmas day the kids came upstairs and woke us up singing jingle bells loudly - accompanied by jingle bells. It was orchestrated by the oldest of them all which made it super cute - even at 5:45AM. When the sun came up we were treated to a beautiful snowfall. It snowed on and off all day. We opened presents first thing and then had a nice brunch of Belgian waffles with bacon and scrambled eggs. We spent the rest of the day lounging around and enjoying our new gifts.



We went to my Dad's the following Saturday. We had a nice ham dinner and opened gifts. The picture to the right was taken with the new digital camera that my Dad and Joyce got us for Christmas.

Jen's birthday was on the 30th and we celebrated by spending the night at the casino resort. The kids and mom shared a room and Jen and I shared a room. Jen won her first jackpot and ended up winning $1000. It was a nice birthday surprise for her. She had to work some the next day so I slept in until check-out and then the rest of us went for a late breakfast in town.



Jen and I spent New Year's Eve dancing the night away. Red Star Events put on a NYE party at the Eagles club in Bremerton. There was finger foods, chocolates and champagne for toasting. I had the most scrumptious bacon wrapped date and Jen loved the salami cold cuts and toasted onion dip that tasted just like an onion ring. We had a great time visiting with our lovely friends Mary and Nani. We danced and reminisced with our friends Bryan and Noah and Eric and Michael. Jay introduced us to his mother who didn't look even the slightest bit mortified during the drag queen and king shows. We walked back to our hotel around 2:30AM thankful that we would not be suffering any hangovers for New Year's day. Although, I did suffer from various aches and pains due to dancing all night long like a 20 year old!

I woke my mom up at 7AM to catch the 7:20 ferry. Luckily she was able to pull herself together quickly and the ferry was only a short (cold and snowy) walk from our hotel. Her flight home was uneventful. I woke everyone up and we checked out early so that we could come home and sleep the day away in our own beds. We ended up driving home with new snow falling. It was a slow trip but we made it safe and sound. When Jen and I finally woke up we went out for some Mexican food and rented some movies. It was a nice relaxing day.

Although we didn't travel anywhere this year the holidays ended up being very memorable. Because of the snow we were almost forced to spend lots of family time together. As the kids get older I cherish the time we have before they have flown the nest. Chandler made Christmas special for us all because he's still so young and it's so much fun watching him enjoy the magic of Santa Claus and Christmas morning. My mom was great company. We played some cribbage and some slot machines. We laughed and rested a lot. Jen and I spent another holiday in love with each other. We are happy and content and planning on enjoying 2009 together with our family and friends.

Summer and Fall with the H Crew


Cami went to Camp Shane for 9 weeks this summer. The camp is in upstate New York. It's a traditional summer camp with a twist... lots of exercise and portion controlled camp food. During her camp stay she got to visit NYC to do some touristy things and see a Broadway show. Although she was homesick at times, she had an excellent time. She came home looking (and I think feeling) beautiful.


Cody spent about a month in Texas with my mom. He had a great time too. At the end of his visit in Texas he went to his second summer of Astronaut Camp at the Kansas Cosmosphere. My Uncle Bill who lives in Oklahoma City flew Cody to camp in his airplane. A week later, I surprised Cody by showing up to pick him up (he thought Mimi was coming) and then we drove into Kansas City for a weekend mini-vacation. Cody and I both loved Kansas city. Neither of us had ever been there. The picture is of me standing on a walkway from Union Station to the Hallmark Gold Crown Center shopping area. Kansas City is in the background.

Chandler went to soccer camp this year. He had great fun running and playing all day. He also enjoyed his alone time with Mommy and Jen while Cody and Cami were away.

Jen and I got away for a week to Playa de Carmen, Mexico. The beaches were magnificent and you could see Cozumel from our resort. We swam with dolphins, rode on a Seadoo, went shopping and had a fabulous meal in the ritzy part of Playa. We also went to the Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza, and visited one of nature's true wonders, a cenote, or underground, open at the top cave containing a beautiful pool of crystal blue water.


Soon enough it was back to school time. Chandler started first grade, Cody became a sophomore and Cami a freshman. As you can see from the picture, Chandler was psyched about starting first grade. All three kids seemed ready to get back to school. Mom and Jen were super ready :)

Chandler Graduated from Kindergarten!!

On June 17th, Chandler's kindergarten class, The Tiger Class, held graduation. They sang songs, showed us their sign language skills, threw in a little pomp and circumstance and then everyone ate cake.

Memorial Day Weekend

The kids and Jen had a 4 day weekend. I had a 3 day weekend. On Saturday Jen and I got up and headed out the door kind of early, for a Saturday anyways. I got my hair cut and then we headed over to the Poulsbo farmers market. We bought a couple of tomato plants and a couple of jalapeño plants. We talked about going to Seattle for the afternoon but when we got home the sun was out and I felt like getting the yard work done. While I weeded and trimmed back gangly bushes, Cody planted the vegetables and declared the garden was now his. He wants to tend it. Jen worked at getting the garage more workout friendly. Cami weeded the dandelions from the upper yards while moaning and groaning the entire time. She even asked if I would ground her instead of making her weed. After a couple of hours of this we relaxed on the porch for a little while and then got dressed and went to see the Indiana Jones movie. We all gave it a thumbs up. It was just fun – exactly what we needed after seeing so many dark movies lately.

Sunday the big kids slept in and Jen and I went to church. The service was a bridging ceremony for the seniors. Jen and I were both touched by the speeches they gave about what growing up in the UU church. We definitely want our kids to start going in the Fall. After church, Jen and I went to eat at Anthony’s. It was a beautiful day out and it looked like we were going to have a nice relaxing meal – until the loud drunk came in with his elderly father and sat at the table next to us. It was sad. The guy was so drunk and he was angry they weren’t bringing his drinks quickly enough. In hindsight we should have moved. Next time it happens, we will. Our breakfast was delicious though. On the way home we stopped at Fred Meyers and bought some new patio chairs. We found a great deal. When we got home Jen mowed and I planned the dinner menu for the next day while watching hockey with Cody. We went to pick up Chandler at 6 and he was in a great mood. During our chat in the car on the way home he thanked Jen for joining our family. That’s how he said it. It was so cute. He was so happy and bubbly. We stopped by Taco Time on the way home and then I dropped Jen and Chandler off and headed back to the grocery store. I ended up getting Tofu, lamb, veggie and chicken kabobs. When I got home from the grocery store I found that Cody and Chandler had gathered enough dry wood to fire up the outdoor fireplace and make some smores. They were very proud of themselves for being such great woodsmen….lol. After we tucked Chandler into bed Cody, Jen and I watched Apocalypto and then we all went to bed.

Monday morning we slept in a bit and then Jen started cleaning and I started cooking. I made a macaroni salad, my standard pink salad, a fresh cream cheese cake, baked beans and raspberry chipotle dip. Then Cody and I headed to the store to pick up some ice. We got home and chilled out until our guests arrived. Jen barbecued the kabobs and I finished cooking the corn on the cob. We all sat down to eat and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Afterwards, we headed downstairs for some Rock Band and we rocked it until about 10:30 when we came upstairs for some dessert. The fresh cream cheesecake was disappointing. It wasn’t set enough but it tasted pretty good – like cream cheese mousse. It was pretty with the berries ladled on top of it but after the first piece was cut it turned into an almost gooey mess. Oh well, we also had chocolate chip cookies for anyone turned off by the goo. Only the kids ate them. After the guests left we cleaned up a little, I braided Cami’s hair and then we all headed off to bed. It turned out to be a really nice weekend with new memories made.

Hiking The Spruce Railroad Trail

This trail winds around the north shore of beautiful Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula. The trail was built during World War I as a railroad to transport Spruce trees from the wilderness to Port Angeles where they would be shipped to facilities that built aircraft. The railroad was completed 19 days after Armistice Day, and was never used for military purposes. It was sold and used for commercial logging until 1954. In 1981 it was turned into a trail by Olympic National Park rangers.

It was a beautiful day and Cody, Jen and I headed out for the 7 mile hike at around 9AM. We drove to Lake Crescent singing along to a road trip CD that I'd made. It included some Merle Hagard, CCR and Hank Williams Jr.. Cody acted like we were ridiculous but I think he enjoyed it. We arrived at the trailhead around 11AM. It was an absolutely gorgeous day out. We had a picnic lunch packed in the backpack. Cody volunteered to carry it. We called him our pack mule.

About a mile into the trail, we came across a spot called The Devil's Punch Bowl. A bridge seperated it from Lake Crescent. You can look out over the lake, it's 5,000 acres and 9 miles long, to the surrounding Olympic peaks. It is then clear why people might have thought it had no bottom (it's actually about 600 feet deep). Native Americans reportedly refused to canoe or fish in the lake, believing evil spirits lived in its depths. There is a story about the lake that tells about a woman being murdered by her husband. She was thrown into the lake and her body turned up three years later and had turned to soap. It looked very peaceful to me and when we came back to it at 2PM there were people jumping off of the bridge and swimming.

There were two tunnels built during the railroad construction. They have both collapsed so you can't go through them but I did get this picture of Cody standing at the entrance of the longer tunnel. We had to hike about 100 feet up a hill to get to the entrance and when we got there it felt like the air conditioner was on. We could even see our breath.

After the last tunnel entrance we turned around and headed out. We didn't get to have our picnic lunch because the mosquitos were swarming everytime we stopped. We opted to eat a little while we walked and stop at Wendy's on the way home. Everyone was happy with that.

I drove halfway home and then Jen took the wheel. I promptly fell asleep only to be wakened by my cell phone a few minutes later. It was my mom and we had a nice chat.

The H Crew

This blog is meant to celebrate and chronicle the incredibly true story of two girls in love. We live a ferry ride away from Seattle in a small town called Poulsbo. We share our beautiful life with three shining stars. Cami is 13, Cody is 14 and Chandler is 6. The teens keep us busy trying to stay one step ahead of them and Chandler is always the entertaining love bug.

Jen's freestyle essay about herself reads: Mostly interested in seeing my girl happy and smiling. Watching the sunset from the ferry (or anywhere) with my hand in hers is just one of many personal favs..playing some ping pong or frisbee and sharing lovely times with the H crew :) ..hiking, camping, fishing, live music venues, volunteering with human rights orgs., traveling as a tourist and an explorer, playing at the beach, chatting over a great local brew or coffee.. playing my guitar on the front porch for my sweetie (ahhhh, heaven), song writing (even the super silly off the top of my head getting a laugh ones), slam poetry..so much more than I should even attempt to write here..bottom line is I'm into postive activities that broaden the mind and feed the soul :)

Lisa's freestyle essay about herself reads: Smiling, laughing, deep conversations, playing ping-pong, hanging out with my girl doing anything, and Sudoku (I should kill the person who introduced me to this). I love music. When you're in my space you'll usually hear music. I've even made banana pancakes while listening to "Banana Pancakes". How many people can say that? Let's see what else am I interested in? FOOTBALL!! My favorite team is the Seahawks and the team I love to hate (and watch lose) is the Cowboys! I love my kids, love my home and love my girl. I believe I am truly The Luckiest. I'm fairly political and entirely non-religious. I do know how to keep my mouth shut about both when it's appropriate. Most of all I'm interested in finding ways to be happy and healthy and to live every day of my life.

I'll see if I can get the kids to write something about themselves to share here. That should be interesting!