Seattle Aquarium

Well, this will probably aggravate my logical sensibilities, but the next few posts will NOT be ordered chronologically. (I feel a twitch coming on...). I'm feeling really guilty about my neglected blog, though, so figured I'd better start somewhere, and "somewhere" turns out to be today.

Today, I decided to brave the masses, and my people-phobia, and take the girls to the Seattle Aquarium. Let me tell you, that is a feat--I'm generally a homebody, and, when I do dare to venture out, I rarely leave home without my personal slave--I mean, husband. ;-9 Seriously, though, I never realized how spoiled I am until I go somewhere alone with the girls.

So, here are my lovelies, on the ferry to Seattle.

On the ferry ride over, I was arguing with myself as to whether an aquarium membership was really necessary--I mean, I've lived here for 13 years (!), and this was my first time to the aquarium, so of course I'd probably never even come again, blah, blah, blah. The debate was over as soon as I spotted the line, out the door, and down the sidewalk. Not having to wait in line--well, it felt kind of priceless. ;-9 And, really, we will have to go back on a day that 19 different schools are not field-tripping to the aquarium--it was crazy!

Here are my Observers at the Tidepool exhibit--they refused to touch!

The all-important Bathroom Break Photo Opp. Actually, I thought these tiles were super cool, and I wasn't the only one taking shots of the wall....:D

Outside by the...otters? Or were they seals? Notice the sunlight, pouring over their faces...it turned out to be a really pretty day.

Another seal tank.

Lucky shot--these guys weren't being all that cooperative, but can't say I blame them. I'm starting to feel a little guilty about this whole captivity-for-my-enjoyment thing.

A quick break on a cool bench.


If you look closely, you can see the otters snuggled up against the glass...

In the lobby of the Aquarium.

All for now!
 

It's Snowing. Again.

And since this is the 347 millionth snowfall we've had this winter, I no longer feel compelled to run outside, take a picture, and post it for all of my loyal readers, seeing as how you're already quite familiar with what 5 inches of snow on my minivan roof looks like, since I've posted it 346,999,999 times before.

The insanity stops here.

Really, I'm not as hateful towards the snow as it sounds; it's given me opportunity to sit here with a steaming cup of Peppermint Chocolate Soy, sift through the 20,057 pictures on my memory card, and decide which 5 are blog-worthy this morning. (I'm too impatient to upload any more than that, and I've got dirty laundry calling my name.)

Drum roll, please.....okay, not really. :)

Our Three Little Bears.

Malia was on a power trip for the rest of the day after getting to sit in

The BIG Chair.

Rocking out at Sky Church, at EMPSFM.

Seriously, it's wrong to feel this reverent when you enter a museum for rock stars,

but this place was very cool.

Back at home, the girls got to meet Ronald. If this was a video, Malia's shrieks would be the soundtrack; she lumps him in the same category with monsters, the boogeyman, and Chuck E. Cheese. ;-9

We get this look a lot these days...a sign of things to come, I fear.

If there's anything to cure my ills, skepticism, and grumpiness,
it's looking into these big brown eyes. (sigh....)

There's more, but this will be all for now. Happy Sunday!

Snow Days

Sorry, sports fans--I actually attempted to update prior to this, but blogger freaked out on me the last time I tried (it could have something to do with photo #5--yikes!), so here I am now. Just a few random photos of some time spent during December and January; you'll have to wait until inspiration strikes again for a decent post, but this will hold you over until then. :D

Snow Day! Daddy & the Girls

Island Mama, Snow Babies

This year, we got together at Jen & Adrian's place for our annual reverse-strip poker game. (Saying that just made me feel really old and boring.)

Jeff & Melanie

Richard & Christine

It's not hard to see why my husband fell for me.

(Or why blogger initially refused to upload this photo. ;-9)

Baby Finn!

During the first week of January, Daniel had a planning conference at the Great Wolf Lodge. He was lonely, so we went to keep him company. The girls had an awesome time, and I, as usual, took hardly any photos. Here are a couple I was able to scrounge up.

Playing checkers, waiting for pizza.

The wave pool. It was very cool, but, boy, do I miss Hapuna.

When we returned home, the girls took some time to practice their culinary skills.

Making pizza

Gingerbread houses in January

In closing, a short video of the girls in the snow:

Afternoon Artists

The girls received an easel and paint set from their cousins for Christmas; today is the first day I felt brave enough to let them use it (;p) and I'm glad they did:

Malia's piece is an abstract work of art, popping with her brilliant use of primary colors. Her medium was poster paints, applied in long, sweeping strokes, and then filled in with generous "blobs."

C'est Magnifique!

Mikela initially chose to showcase her extensive knowledge of Dr. Seuss's "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"; she then switched over to a more mature "Twilight" theme, after peeking at her sister's work. (And, no, I don't let them read Twilight.) Her combined use of colors adds great interest to this piece; I find the vampire quite charming. :D

Kiana started her piece with a beautiful red apple, and then continued to add elements from "Twilight," despite her lack of knowledge of said theme. She has dedicated this piece to her parents, as her mother has read the entire Twilight series, and her dad reminds her of a werewolf.

Yikes. I had text and pictures aligned differently in the previous post, but blogger doesn't seem to agree. Oh, well. You get the gist.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

And I'm not just speaking as a warm-weather native.

Front Yard

More Front Yard.

Steps to lower deck.

Snow on shed roof.

View from kitchen

Hawaiian snow shoes

Girls decorated-cute, no?

Girls with Uncle Harry!

Daniel measured yesterday--7.5 inches, before it started snowing again. He promises that once he returns home from a failed attempt to get Josh on a plane to Hawaii (flight cancelled! :( ), he and the girls are going to tear up the front yard! I'll post on their snowy fun later!

Happy Winter!

Tiny Dancer

Maybe It's In The Genes?

The songwriting, at least. Gotta work on the music-making, I guess. :)

Letters From A 1st-Grader

Well, envelopes, really.

As timeless as I may seem, I have been known to have a birthday every so often-about once a year, or so. I'd not mention this otherwise, but for the fact that my husband goes to painful lengths to plan "surprise" parties every year. Which, as you can imagine, are no longer a surprise. ;-p

So, my 2nd 30th birthday was a lovely evening spent in good company, gorging on delicious food, and receiving thoughtful gifts. When my sweet Mikela handed me her card, I was beside myself with laughter:

Aren't 6-year-olds "aosom!"? *

*For those not in the know, this word is from another Miki masterpiece, declaring

"Girls Rule, Boys Moo. Aosom!"

Let's Change Things Up A Little Bit Here...

So it seems that there may be something in Vicodin that triggers some unexplainable need in me to post to my otherwise neglected blog; what do you think brings me here today? Hmmm...

That's right, folks; I'm home, and recovering from surgery #3--whoohoo! :-9 As you can tell, I'm in good spirits; could be the painkillers, or it could be the very minor nature of the surgery. Today's procedure was just about removing scar tissue, and exposing the 2 posts that my ear prosthetic will be attached to in a few months (they've been osseointegrating into my bone under the skin.). Anyhow, 'nuff about me.

It looks like my disappearance from Blogville coincided with the beginning of school, which makes sense--it's been an incredibly busy time. Kiana & Mikela are settling into the 3rd & 1st grades nicely, while Malia patiently bides her final year at home with Mommy--wah! :)

(Oops--looks like this will be a words-only post; Blogger is having trouble uploading my files...)

Anyway, very quick run-down:

• Kiana & Miki started school
• September 7th: Aunty Heather came to stay with us.
• September 17th: Malia turned 4!
• September 20th: Uncle Josh turned 23.
• September 23rd: Daniel turned 34.
• September 25th: Aunty Heather turned 31.
• September 27th: We threw a "Welcome, Baby" shower for Jennifer & Finn.
• September 29th: Aunty Keala turned 26.
• October 9th: Miki turned 6!
• October 17th: Uncle Kale is 21! (Can you believe it!?!? 21!!!)
• October 21st: The Campbells are coming!!!!! YAY!!!!!! Check out my sister's blog for your Calista & Kawena fix; she's finally updated! ;-9

Wow. I'm glad that looks as crazy as it felt.

I've also been trying to fill my duties as this year's secretary for Pearson's PTA--keeps me on my toes. We're tying up loose ends as we prepare for our 2nd annual Pearson Pride Auction, on November 1st; I hope some of you will be able to join us that night! For those of you who don't know, it will be held at the Sons of Norway in Poulsbo, at 6:30 p.m. If you're interested, give me a call, or drop me a line--we've got some pretty cool stuff again this year!

All right, well, I've had to go back and re-spell about 15 words, so I think I'd better call it quits. Pictures to come, once I figure out what's going on with that. Have a great weekend, everybody!