Proud as S*!#

Attention everyone!  Grace has pooped, NOT in her diaper, but as you can clearly see, in the mini-Elmo potty.  This, quite simply, makes me proud as s*!#.  The mere concept of having one child in diapers again makes me proud for two curcial reasons:

1) Spend less money!.  As any parent knows, diapers cost money, and you go though a bunch of them each day/week/month.  With two kids, it seems like I'm making a diaper run to Costco for the "Mega Apocalypse Pack" at least once a fortnight.  If it's the "Mega Apocalypse Pack," shouldn't it last more than 2 weeks?

2) Less work!  Now, you  might focus on the fact, if Grace is potty trained (which, let's not kid ourselves here - she's not - but she's clearly demonstrated that she can be) then this means less work for her parents changing diapers as Grace becomes more independent.  And that, INDEPENDENCE, is the real gold mine.  Independence: it's what we as Americans fought for 235+ years ago, and it's what every parent hopes their children will achieve.  Because we really just want a few minutes alone together to remember why we loved each other enough to have kids in the first place!  Is that too much?  Just the simple idea that we are one step closer to a day where there are no more butt pastes and creams, no more wipes, no more diapers (disposable or cloth), and no more diaper bag stuffed to the gills with all this stuff, brings a tear to my eye.

Quality Sam Time

With me working every other weekend and the kids in daycare each week, I just don't get to spend enough time with my kids. If I don't have too much to get done on my off weeks I try and keep each child home one day of the week for some 1 on 1 time. Grace went hiking Monday and today was Sam's time. Here's our little guy helping dad with our quarterly finances.

Picnics

Since swimming lessons have ended, Sarah and I have taken the opportunity to enjoy the water locations of Tacoma's local parks, along with a cooler packed with dinner.  Play time and picnics.  So far, we have visited two locations, both with "spray parks"; Jefferson Park near 6th Ave, and Kandle Park which has recently undergone a major renovation.  Grace much prefers swimming in a real pool to the "spray" zones, but this second time around, she was beginning to warm up to the idea of splashing in fountains.  Sam has yet to be introduced to the splash zone, but if you saw him in the tub, splashing away at the bubbles, you would agree that he's going to be a natural once he's up and moving.

The picnic dinners sure aren't fancy, and usually the's a mess; that just seems to happen when you have kids.  Even so, we sure do have a bunch of fun.

Grace taking a spin in Mommy's shoes. 

Face cleaning - always fun. 

Sam and I have a staring contest. 

Sam wins - he hasn't blinked in 4 days.

Summer Hiking Trip #1

Scott and I dropped off Samuel at daycare yesterday and took Grace hiking just outside of Mt. Rainier National Park. We tagged along with our good friends, the Mraz family, and of course Porter came along, being a National Forest and all. He was happy as could be to attend. 

We hiked 5 miles round to Summit Lake, although didn't make it to the actual lake due to snow cover. We stopped at a small lake just starting to melt out, had lunch, and didn't realize that wasn't Summit Lake until the fog started to lift after lunch and we could see a bit farther down the snow pack to a much larger picturesque lake.  The trail itself was good for the kids, lots of moss, lichen, and plenty of wildflowers. Overall, it was a success. Next hiking trip planned for August 6th. Can't wait.

Oh, and ended up with a flat tire on the way home from picking Samuel up from daycare. Likely as the result of the endless gravel road we had to travel to the trailhead and back. Good thing it happened close to home. Costco was able to fit us in within the hour to get it fixed. Ended up with four new tires for the car. Weren't planning on doing that for a couple more months, but nothing like a flat tire to push the inevitable :)

 

 The hillsides in parts were covered with avalanche lilies.

 Porter taking a rest in the grass.

 Grace and Joey passed out at trail end. Good work dads!

 Didn't want to wake the sleeping beauty.

View from our lunch spot.

Coffee Run

We are taking Grace hiking today and stopped at Starbucks on our way out of town for some coffee. Grace enjoyed her first steamer, also known as flavored steamed milk. She loved it. Our cute Seattle girl and her Starbucks drink, so cliche.

Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock, move over.  There's a new "abstract expressionist" in town & she's related to me.  I imagine this piece will go for somewhere near $50,000,000.  I can hardly imagine how I'm going to spend all that money.   

If only it were that simple.

Grace isn't necessarily artistic, but at least once a day she asks if she can paint.  If I had this much fun in the bath tub getting dirty I would want to paint every day too.  She's accustom to the paint brush, but this time Sarah took it to the next level demonstrating how you can use your whole hand to apply colorful splatters of paint.  Grace really took to making hand prints like a dog to a bone.  The giggles where plentiful.  Unfortunately, even though she has learned the "Cleaning up Our Room" song in daycare, she has yet to master the actual act of cleaning up.  We got lots of practice this day.

True elation at the concept of applying paint with the hands instead of an impliment. 

I imagine this is what Michelangelo looked like shortly before a plaster session of the Sistine Chapel

I don't imagine Michelangelo looked like this after

Go for a Run (in Hawaii) - Get Paid

It has been some time since I've added to my "Do awesome stuff, get paid" series, however, I've had a couple of great flights of recent with the AF Reserves and thought I should share.  

Diamond Head

About a month ago, I was preparing for my evaluation.  What better way to prepare for an evaluation than to shadow a fellow coworker getting their evaluation on an overnight trip to Hawaii.  The Mai Tais were flowing at the end of a long day while enjoying some live music and the sunset at the famous Hale Koa Barefoot Bar.  

You may or may not know that I'm training for a marathon.  Even in paradise, the training schedule must grind on.  Lucky for me, paradise also offers great routes for marathon training.  With some help of a fellow distance runner, I plotted a course that would take me around Diamond Head.  I'd never been closer to the volcano than Waikiki beach, so this would be a real treat.  If all went well, I would also hike the trail to the top of Diamond Head and enjoy the views.  The only drawback was I had to rise at 6am to complete my run on time.  Remnants of the Mai Tais almost didn't let me get out of bed, but once I was on the road, everything went smoothly.

Above is the route I mapped and ran - excluding the trail on Diamond Head.   I used GMap Pedometer to determine the course and distance.  As I don't have a camera on my phone, I didn't get any of the spectacular photos from the view at the top.  Google image search "Diamond Head hike" and you will get to see roughly what I was treated to that morning.  

Since I had never ben to Diamond Head, I thought the trail was simply a trail, like the ones we have on the mountains here in the Pacific Northwest.  I was so wrong.  Above you see a portion of the park brochure and the trail climbing up from the crater to the lookout point.  It was awesome.

In the footsteps of Ironmen

Two weeks after my Diamond head run, it was my turn to be evaluated.  As luck would have it, we would be headed back to Hawaii, but to the big island this time.  The story is similar, the fun was just as large, and yes, more marathon training.  A few island drinks and dinner at Huggo's on the Rocks before an early morning with 16 miles of training.

Island drinks! 

Once again, sunset view with live music!

The training this time would not be up/around a volcano, but across fields of dried lava.  Kona is the home of the Ironman Championship course.  I would be running 16 miles on the same hallowed grounds as folks who first swim over two miles, then bike 112 miles, and then run 26.2 miles.  It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.  Again, I was forced to wake at 6am to complete the training in time before flying home to WA.  This early start time turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the temperatures of the cool morning were much more palatable than the heat I contended with the last few miles of the course.

Again, I used GMap Pedometer.

A view of the actual Ironman marathon course.  See how my training and the course align?  Download the original course map HERE.

Swim Lessons at the Y

Sarah enrolled Grace in swimming lessons at the local YMCA.  Grace has taken to water like a politician to money - she loves in it, around it, playing with it - except when it splashes in your face.  The YMCA classes are really great.  Grace not only gets one on one time with Mom, she gets to interact with a bunch of kids her age.  I'll admit, I expected to see other children afraid of the water, but everyone in Grace's class seems to really enjoy the pool experience.  As I've said in the past, I hope our kids enjoy the water as much as I do.

No, this is not a new form of infant water boarding.  The underwater platform provides a safe place for the kids to stand, away from the edge of the pool.  Also, the bar in the middle gives them a goal to swim under.  I've found the hardest part of getting kids use to the water is having them actually go under the surface without trying to inhale the entire pool.  Most of the early classes began with bobbing/dunking the kids, allowing them to get comfortable with being below the surface for shore periods of time.  This is the more advanced version.

Grace emerges from under the bar - triumphant! 

Mom is quite proud, can't you tell. 

 I swear she knows she's cute.  This is going to be an issue later.

 "Hey everyone!  I'm wearing a strawberry swimsuit!"

Peek-a-boo

Its been awhile since Grace has played with her tunnel and what we call the "reading hut." I picked up a 5-book set of Eric Carle books yesterday and soon found her reading away. Oh, and an update on the 'big girl bed'. Grace spent her first full night there last night. YEAH!

Savoring Summertime

We have had a good week now of consistent 70/80 degree weather and we are relishing in the sunshine.  We are taking every bit of opportunity to go for bike rides and walks and spending plenty of time in the front yard or on the back deck. Last night we rolled Sam outside in his bouncer and set up our kids picnic table out front so Scott and I could enjoy a nice cocktail and beer before dinner on the deck. Nothing beats summer in the Pacific Northwest. We just wish it lasted longer.

 I got Grace a mini watering can from the $1 Target bin.

She loves helping with watering the plants.

Big Girl Bed

At Grace's second year check-up at the doctor's office her pediatrician asked Scott, "Are you still keeping her in her cage?" Apparently our doctor's view on how long you keep your toddler in a crib did not jive with all that I'd read in the parenting books. Go figure. We were planning on transitioning her out when she started climbing out and didn't see the rush otherwise. Well, as Sam is getting older, and in real need of getting out of the bassinet as he hits his arms on the side railings, all we needed was a little extra push. So yesterday Scott set up the hand-me-down toddler bed that has been eagerly waiting for use in the garage. Grace came home from daycare and was quite excited about the prospect of sleeping in her new bed. She climbed right in with a big smile. Come night time, she didn't stay in it however and we reverted back to the crib after a few attempts. This may take awhile to instill. Anyone have some good suggestions on making this transition easier so we can get Samuel into the crib? Grace did actually suggest that "Samuel sleep in my old bed" when I first put her down last night. I think she's excited about having a "roomie."

 The new arrangement

 Grace checking out the new bed for the first time

"I'm a big girl!"

Dosewallups Camping

Note: original email was rejected by blogger because of too many photo attachments. Here is the original message with about half the photos....

I mentioned recently that Sarah and I have been too busy to compose a proper post, however, certain reoccurring events cause me to post even if we haven't spent hours editing the photos the way we might like. You see, Great Grandma Grace ("Triple G" to us) gets to see our blog only once a week - and we hate to go a week, or two in this case, without posting new photos. As such, even though I'm on a traveling work trip, I'll post these photos "as is" so Triple G has plenty of new material to absorb, even if it's not "perfect".

Last weekend, we went camping. It's the first camping trip since Grace's birth. Loading both kids, the dog, and all our camping gear into one car was quite the challenge. Getting the kids to sleep in a noisy campground the weekend before the 4th of July was even more of a challenge. Even so, with all the work, I think Sarah would agree, we look forward to many future camping adventures with our kids. This time around, we were fortunate enough to be joined by our friends Kerry and Beth and their one year old Joey. much fun was had by all.

We stayed at Dosewallups State Park on the Hood Canal. The beaches aren't white and sandy, but they hold a plentiful bounty of shellfish. I was fortunate enough to shuck my first oyster, Grace played in the sand/mud, Sam enjoyed the ride.

More to follow...

First S'more

One of the BEST parts of camping is S'MORES! Grace got hers this past weekend. Once she saw the chocolate, she could barely contain herself, but if you ask her, I thin she will tell you the waiting for the marshmallows to be roasted just perfectly by her dad was well worth the wait. I snapped off these photos while she tried to figure out what to do with all that tasty goodness. By the time it was all over, it took two washcloths to get her clean before bed.

Best of Dosewallups

Sarah took a lot of photos while we were camping, but the four pictured here are by far my favorite. No edits, crops, shading, ...nothing; just what she captured in the moment on an awesome weekend.