Archive for the 'family' Category
November 29, 2008
Plenty to be grateful for this year.
This afternoon we took a little holiday trip to Seattle to hang out in the market, laugh at the fish monger’s antics, and then ride the carousel.
Thursday we had dinner at a friend’s house.
It was a collaborative effort, but we got off easy. Tamara, our good friend, made the bird and a ton of delicious food. I made tabbouleh and Holly made a string bean dish, but somehow we managed to bring mostly sweets. We were responsible for those cupcakes pictured below and there were pumpkin pies.
I had an excellent time. Aaron said it was one of his favorite thanksgivings ever.
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Tags: family, gratitude, holiday, Seattle Public Market, Thanksgiving
November 10, 2008
Timmy’s first year in the Coast Guard he was stationed at Port Seattle.
Last week Kennedy called me at work to ask if I knew any veterans. I reminded her about Timmy and my own tour of duty some thirty years ago. How quickly they forget. The fifth grade class was doing a Veteran’s Day celebration and each child was to announce their relationship to a veteran at an assembly of the entire student body. Kennedy was unimpressed with my peace time enlistment. God only knows what she believes Timmy is up to in the Coast Guard.
She ended up annoucing her nanny, Tanya who served in the Gulf with (I believe) the National Guard. Tanya was a life saver who helped us care for the kids when they were toddlers.
Aaron decided to announce me, despite the peace during my tenure in the Navy. I was very proud. I am also proud of Timmy who continues to keep our coasts safe.
Here are more pictures of Port Seattle.
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Tags: Aaron, Kennedy, Port Seattle, Tanya, Timmy, USCG, Veteran's Day
November 5, 2008
The kids were obsessed with last night’s vote.
They started watching the election results after they got home from their after school activities. It was early evening and the results were just coming in. When they heard McCain was up somewhere on the East Coast, there was much wailing.
“Oh, no!” Kennedy cried.
“How can this be,” Aaron wanted to know.
Holly told them to relax. She explained how early it was and got them ready for what we thought would be a long night of returns. Pretty soon Kennedy was aping CNN, talking like a pundit. Aaron was doing delegate math. I got home from work around 8pm. No sooner had I walked in the door, Holly called out “Obama wins!”
And there was much celebration!
I enjoyed the McCain concession speech. I had to scold Aaron for shooting the TV with his nerf dart gun while McCain was speaking. The kids brushed teeth and we all watched Obama’s victory speech.
I like it that we all enjoyed such a momentous occasion together. We never did that sort of thing when I was a boy and that was during one of America’s most tumultuous decades: Nixon, Vietnam, Civil Rights, and Women’s liberation. Not to mention all the Arab/Israeli conflicts.
I remember watching the Olympics with my Dad and brothers and Jim McKay’s plaintive voice saying, “They’re all gone.”
I said, “Dad, the Arabs.” I knew we were Arab on his side.
I don’t remember what he said. I imagine he was trying to deal with the news himself. I just always seemed to want to know more than my parents were willing to tell me. Now I realize sometimes that’s no fault of the parents.
But last night was all kinds of great. All the political questions were easily answered by Dad and Mom. It’s always good when your man wins.
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Tags: Aaron, Barack Obama, election night, family, John McCain, Kennedy, vote
November 3, 2008
We decorated the house to the nines.
Aaron (Rasta dude) and Kennedy (Kitty girl) invited some friends over.
Some ghouls showed up.
We had a big candy swap.
And there was some back room trading going on.
Almost everyone had a good time.
This morning I had to fund a twenty dollar candy buy back program. But I did it gladly. The kids had about six pounds of candy between them and my resolve was weakening from the long weekend. Holly dropped the candy off at the local Children’s Hospital.
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Tags: candy swap, costume, dog in kitty ears, halloween, party
September 29, 2008
Holly and I took a little vacation last week.
We had our getaway all planed out, but we still hadn’t settled on a destination, even though my mother-in-law had arrived and it was the morning we were supposed to leave. I wasn’t looking forward to the long drive but had been lobbying half-heartedly for somewhere in Oregon, perhaps Ashland or somewhere along the coast. Holly suggested a few of our past haunts: Portland, or north to British Columbia. We even considered a little college town just before the Canadian boarder.
With the clock ticking, we finally settled on Seattle, which sounds like desperation but ended up feeling like a whole new town without the kids. We saw a show at the Paramount (Phantom of the Opera), did a reading at Eliott Bay Book Company and saw an exhibit at a local art school. Plus lots of good food and long walks.
I remember my mom and dad taking a trip on their own when I was about 7 or 8. When they got back, I asked Mom if she missed us. I fully expected her to tell me how badly she missed me and all my siblings, but instead she just looked at me for what seemed like a very long time.
Finally she said, “Yeah. I missed you.” I knew there was something she wasn’t telling me, but I couldn’t imagine her enjoying herself on her own. I completely understand that long silence now.
Here is Holly on the Harbor steps. I love those posts on the left, which somehow make the picture.
Me hanging out at the Lusty Lady. Rome may be burning, but the Lady still has a sense of humor.
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Tags: family, Harbor steps, Lusty Lady, photography, pike place market, Post Alley, seattle, vacation
August 27, 2008
Saying prayers with Kennedy earlier this week, I wanted to point out how grateful we are to have Holly. But I didn’t want to just say we should be grateful for Mom. I wanted to really drive the point home, so I said something like, “Imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have Mom.”
Kennedy thought for a split second and then she started to laugh. “Just you,” she said. “That would be so terrible.” The snickering went on a little too long for my liking. I started feeling a little defensive.
“I could do it,” I told her. If Aaron had been there, he would have had my back (We know you could do it, Dad!), but Kennedy just kept on giggling. We really do rely on Holly.
Not long after I got Kennedy queited down, she asked me if it was scary to be married. I told her about the day Holly and I got married. We had planned a small ceremony in our apartment: Harrell flew in from California and a pastor friend was going to do the service in our living room. Holly and I were out in the kitchen. The pastor suggeted we get started and suddenly my mouth got dry. I needed a glass of water. I told Holly I’d be along in a minute, but she grabbed me by the elbow and hissed, “You’re not going anywhere.” She might have been scared. I know I was nervous. But then you say a few words, kiss, and it’s all over.
“Do you have to kiss?” Kennedy wanted to know
“I think you do have to kiss,” I told her. ”It may be a rule.”
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Tags: Holly, Kennedy, love, marriage, my wedding day
July 28, 2008
Every other year my mother-in-law and her sister organize a family reunion at a different destination. This year it was in Oregon’s Hood River valley.
We had a great view of Mount Hood from our front porch.
The Colombia River wasn’t a far drive.
We hiked up Beacon Rock, which has a lot of man-made switchbacks, rails, and bridges and looks a lot like a pachinko machine.
Some of us leapt into adventure on Hood River.
Others of us were content to sit on the sidelines.
Never disparage the sidelines. You never know what sights you might see. This woman and her three cattle dogs stole my imagination.
But the highlight of these sort of things is always meeting family and friends for a few days.
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Tags: beacon rock, blue healers, Colombia River, hood river, hood river valley, huckeba family, mount hood, pachinko machine, sager family
July 27, 2008
I took the kids to the company picnic yesterday. Thirty-thousand geeks, 3 days in July, 1 farm nestled in the foothills of the Cascade mountains: Big fun.
The afternoon started off with motorcycle daredevils on a twenty foot ramp.
The sky grew dark, but no daredevils were lost.
The children were impressed.
In boot-camp, they said the smoking lamp was lit and it meant you could have a cigarette whenever you wanted to light up. The first time I heard it, I wanted to know where this lamp was. I wanted to keep my eye on it. On the way to the park, I told the kids that if they ate a good lunch, the soda lamp was lit for the rest of the afternoon. Both their eyes got big as cans of pop. Neither asked to see the actual lamp.
We played games.
We waited in lines.
Went on rides.
And then the soda lamp was extinguished.
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Tags: daredevils, Microsoft, picnic, pictures, rides, soda lamp
April 25, 2008
I put on the rail last week (between hail storms).
The fort project took just under a year to complete, but it’s finally done, and I’m happy with the results. The kids are pleased. Holly is pleased. Dad is exhausted!
Kidding. After all, I took a year to finish.
Here is a guided tour:
Inside, looking toward the front porch, with escape hatch.
Looking up the hatch.
The main entrance.
Looking down the rope ladder.
The view from the hammock.
The long climb.
All I can say is I must have wanted one of these when I was a kid. Otherwise, why would I have spent some much time and energy building it?
What a fun project!
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Tags: construction, family, Fort project, kids, tree fort
March 29, 2008
I have been meaning to get a current picture of the progress on the fort. I got it to about 95% complete late last summer, and then somehow never got around to the rest. As soon as we get some sunny weather, I’m going to attach the rail around the front porch. Note the gable roof, rope ladder, mail box and street address. You can’t really see it, but there is a hatch on the far right of the porch, where the rope hangs.
The kids use my old wood ladder because the rope ladder is difficult to climb. Somehow they’ve managed to move chairs and a table up there. Holly doesn’t like the two-tone roof roll, but I think it gives the place a real down home feel. I still can’t believe I was able to pull this together. You never know what you can do until you try.
If you look close, you can see the neighbor’s tree fort down the block. Keeping up with the Jones ain’t easy.
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Tags: Fort project, tree fort
