Whales!

You are about to view pictures from an amazing weekend.  Of course, being there in person was much more impressive, so I have culled my hundreds of pictures down to just a handful of the best (best being a relative term).  

Meleana came for a visit and we had some fun adventures.  When we were planning her time here, I asked what she wanted to do.  Whale watching was on her bucket list, so we found a tour and got tickets.  

Then her family had some health issues and several of us got sick, so we had to reschedule the entire weekend.

Two weeks later and we finally got out to sea on the Mystic Sea tour.

It was a momentous trip so I even got my picture taken.

The beautiful Meleana!

I've not been out on the water in a boat very often in my life.  To ensure that this was a positive experience, I dosed myself with Dramamine in advance and then we were incredibly lucky to have gorgeous weather.  Incredibly lucky since it is October.

It was a long ride out to the whales.  I think they were a little shy.  We chased them clear into Canadian waters.  Apparently whales don't respect international boundaries.  Luckily, we didn't have to adhere to them strictly either.

We sailed past beautiful scenery, and eventually it paid off.

Thar she blows!

I don't remember which is which, but we chased a pair of whales that were feeding for a while and then later a juvenile headed out to sea.  Here are the highlights:

The Dramamine worked beautifully and all was well...except the few times we sailed across our own wake trying to play with a dolphin.  I was a little sad that s/he didn't want to play, but my stomach was happy to move on.

We also caught sight of a few seals sunning themselves.  The suckers are camouflaged, but I promise there is one in this picture.

It was a marvelous experience and I am so glad that Meleana picked this for one of our adventures.

Go Blue Jays!

I would be remiss if I posted about Josh's soccer season and not Ben's, so here we go!

Ben has moved up to the U8 level in league soccer.  That means two things: each team now has a goalie and each team gets individualized jerseys.  In the case of Ben's team, they also changed their name.  Instead of the Yellow Jackets, they are now the Beast Mode Blue Jays.  Ben's contribution to the name is Blue Jays, from which they get their jersey color.  I honestly had no idea where Beast Mode came from and actually assumed that it had something to do with Pokemon.  It actually is a nickname (or something like that) of a Seahawks' player.

These people are serious about the Seahawks.

So it is a mouthful, but definitely unique.  

Unlike the summer, the team in not undefeated.  I was pleased to hear they'd lost (I wasn't at the game that day), because I think kids need to learn how to lose.  Jason said the kids all seemed fine and Ben didn't seem at all bothered when I asked him about it later.  Then they went on to cream the next team 20-3.  It is probably unrelated, but I found it a little amusing.  The head of the league did not.  Our coach tried to have the kids pass to every player on our team before scoring, but at some point there needs to be some sort of mercy rule and the league doesn't have one.  I suspect that will change soon.

In the meantime, Ben continues to have a great time and improve a ton. 

A thing about soccer in the Pacific Northwest:

They play in the sun and...

...they play in the rain.

Here is our happy, soaked soccer player:

It is so fun to watch him grow and learn these new skills.  In the meantime, I should probably learn the rules of soccer so I can shout advice at the team (just kidding).  Seriously, just kidding.  We'll just go and support our team.

Mount Rainier on a Sunny Day

These pictures are a few weeks old, but I thought they were still worth blogging because of how our first trip went to Rainier.  The one when we couldn't really tell that we were anywhere near the mountain.

On the first Friday of the school year, Isaac and I joined my friend and her kids for a trek on a gorgeous day.  Rainier did not disappoint.

The parking situation, on the other hand, was atrocious (thank you NPS for closing half the parking lots at the most popular area during tourist season).  After a bit of driving, we found a spot and then discovered a strange phenomenon: international tourists taking pictures of people's license plates.  When I asked one of them about it, he said that other people had asked him and seemed surprised that people were asking.  Apparently, that didn't tip him off that maybe they should stop.

Anyway.

My friend and I chose to do the same hikes that Jason, Rachel, the kids and I did in July.  But this time, the views were much, much better.

You know who isn't very much into stunning views?  Isaac. We cycled through walking, riding in the carrier, riding on my shoulders, throwing fits, and stopping to examine the flowers.

It was a beautiful and exhausting day.

Photo credit to my friend who shall not be named on a public blog

Go Ravens!

Being a seventh grader, Josh now qualifies to play middle school sports.  He is very excited about this opportunity and has ambitious plans to play in three of the four sports seasons: soccer (fall), basketball (spring), and track (summer).  

We'll see.

In the meantime, soccer is in full swing and after two weeks of practice, the games started this week.  From now until the end of the season, the team will play every Monday and Wednesday.  The district only has four middle schools, so they will get a chance to know the other teams rather well.

Josh is attending a brand new middle school, which has its pros and cons: beautiful new building, amazing new equipment, inexperienced team, coach that was hired after the school year started.  Also, not as much interest in sports, apparently, because they only have enough players for a varsity team.  That will come to bite them in the butt later.

Or now.

Josh's first game was against his former middle school. And as I took a look at the schedule for the rest of the season, I noticed something interesting: that middle school has two JV teams and a varsity team.

You can probably see where this is going.

We brought the whole family to his first game this Monday.  So, not doing that again.  While the idea seemed great in theory, taking Baby Rage anywhere these days ends poorly.  In any case, Jason and I took turns watching the game when Josh was on the field.  Quick tip for these pictures: Josh is number 93.

They played a good game.  Their goalie is phenomenal.  They lost 7-0.  The other team was older, bigger, and hand-picked from two JV teams.  But, really, they did great.  I suspect this is going to be a rough first year, but it is great experience and hopefully they can learn a lot from the other teams.

We are so proud of Josh and his hard work!

Monkey On His Back

A couple of weeks ago, I made a very special purchase.  A cute purchase with a very specific purpose: to keep Isaac alive.  Apparently survival of the fittest DOES NOT apply to toddlers.  I spend a significant amount of time keeping this kid from permanently damaging himself when we are out and about.  After an incredibly close call with a railing and a lake, we decided to buy him a leash.  A cute leash, but a leash nonetheless.  Amazon has a wide range of animal choices, but we decided to put a monkey on his back.  

When it first arrived, he carried it around and gave it lots of loves.  Then we spent a day or two just wearing it as a backpack.  He stopped hugging it, but he did tolerate it.  Then I added the leash.  He is decidedly less enthusiastic about his stuffed friend, but it does help keep him safe.

First Day of School

Once again, we have started the 9.5 month long journey that is the school year.  It usually starts off with a bit of excitement and anxiety for everyone and then evens out into a routine in a week or so.  

Josh decided to set the alarm on his watch for 6:30am.  When I woke him up at 6:50am, he sleepily and sheepishly told me that it did go off, but he kept thinking, "Just 5 more minutes".  And thus he begins his own personal dysfunctional relationship with alarm clocks.

Ben was up first and spent much of the morning in a tizzy of anxiety.  After I talked him down, he managed to eat and feel like he wasn't going to throw up this morning.  Any morning when no one throws up is a fantastic morning.

Michael quickly consumed all 8 of his pancakes and found himself with extra time and wanted to go back to bed.  I gave him some chores to keep him moving.  Getting him out of bed once a day is enough for me.

Isaac slept until 8:30am.  A miracle!  If only he could do that every morning...

So this was not the best year for first-day-of-school pictures.  The sun comes up on the front of our house and even with the cloud cover the light was a bit bright for early morning eyes.  Also, we have a strong crazy streak.  Below is the best of the blooper reel.

Michael is starting 4th grade and ready to dominate 4-square.

Josh is in 7th grade and is a self-proclaimed MAN already.

Ben is in 2nd grade and for some reason scrunched up like a turtle for pictures this morning.

It had been cloudy this morning, but then the sun came out.  I promise we aren't vampires.  We just live in the Seattle area.

We moved to the doorway for better lighting, but to no avail.

I can't wait to hear how their respective days went.  Isaac, in the meantime, does not to seem to be suffering any sort of loss as he had me all to himself for several hours today.

Earthquake 4.0

I know that we've done this several times already, but the boys get different injuries each time and I love to get pictures of the art work on their faces and arms.

This time I got a text from Rachel asking if we could come be victims, uh, I mean survivors of another disaster.  It was not for our regular group at the county, but it was part of the training for people working for the state government.  Washington State is one of the most prepared states I have ever lived in.  They offer CERT training for government employees and I think that is fabulous.  

The kids have gotten pretty comfortable with some of the people who run these activities, so they now like to have some input on their injuries.  Ben especially has gotten adventurous: on our first go round he didn't want any moulage, but this time, well, you'll see below.

Josh jumped on the idea of a head laceration and Paul pulled out this wig.  A little extra blood on his face and he was good to go.  Although, I must admit that it was strange seeing him as a blond. 

As an homage to Nana, Michael chose broken wrist.  It doesn't actually look like her injury (I have no pictures sadly), but it looks pretty nasty nonetheless.

Ben's took the longest time to put on, so the boys got a little crazy playing with some of the props.  Josh was really hungry.

Michael asked people to shake his hand and then when it came off, cried out, "You've disarmed me!  Literally!" And then laughed hysterically.  It was pretty funny.

Ben's injury was finished and very bloody.  The blood was dripping down the sides so he had to keep a napkin on it until the fake blood solidified a bit.  I realize there is nothing in that last sentence that wasn't gross, but he was sooo happy with it!

Isaac, Mr. Trouble himself, was offered a box of stuffed animals to play with.  But he also found the dismembered limbs far more interesting.

After all victims, um survivors were ready with various injuries and their bellies were filled with pizza, they went off into the disaster zone.  I don't know what all happened next, but at various times I heard yelling and shouting.  And then at the end, they all came out healthy and happy.  They've already started plotting about their injuries for the next one.