Now and Then

A year ago...
and a few days ago...

Time flies. They really do grow so fast!

Vancouver Zoo

This is how we roll!

Jeff had the day off today and it was the PERFECT day to head up to the Greater Vancouver Zoo. (as opposed to the Lesser Vancouver Zoo which is near downtown and there are some strange looking people on the sidewalks!)

This cute and fuzzy little guy greeted us soon after we arrived. I love hearing a lion roar. It's certainly unmistakable. He walked around and "barked" at his lady friends. This is as close as I ever want to be to a lion!

Another highlight for me was this other cat - the cheeta. I couldn't get enough of her. Jeff and the kids went ahead and I took a zillion pictures of this gal. I'm not actually sure if it's a gal or guy, but sometimes you just gotta pick one and stick with it.

Isn't she cute?

And isn't she cute, too?

And isn't he cute too?

Hudson was confined most of the trip, but Kaylee certainly got her excercise!

Nice camel shot here.

We ate lunch by the camels and then headed to the playground so our kids could get extremely dusty and dirty. Before we left we had to go say hello to the giraffes.

This "little" one is the baby. I don't think you're supposed to pet them, but I couldn't resist that soft muzzle.

That is, until it opened it's mouth and tried to lick me! YIKES!

Check this out. No, that lady doesn't have a beer gut. She's quite pregnant.

These Canadian women are a hardy bunch!

Hudson took his first solo steps last Sunday, August 16th at the age of 12 months. Way to go!

Grandma K sent us a copy of this picture. What a cutie! Jeff would say that she got all her good looks from her mother, because he still has his.

Kaylee's favorite saying these days: "Wall-E's my best friend. He's a good guy!"

More Reasons to Love WA

Free blackberries!

This morning we went down to the waterfront. I picked blackberries while Jeff walked with the kids on the beach. I wish I had my camera because I "found" the largest hunk of petrified wood I have ever seen! It's a big huge boulder sitting right there by the parking lot. I couldn't believe it. Now I have to go back again and take a picture to show you all.

Then we headed over to what we now call the "kite park" to play on the playground and fly Kaylee's kite again. It's so nice to live so close to such neat places.

So... today I think I might make a blackberry pie!

p.s. This is my 200th post. I'm definitely making blackberry pie.

(UPDATE: Here are pictures of that rock. You tell me, does it look like petrified wood to you?)

Grandparent Fun

Recently Jeff's parents came up for a visit and I thought I'd share some pictures from our time with them. I think Grandma K took a lot more pictures of our time together, so until I get them from her, here are the best of my bunch: Playing at the fountain down in Barkley center after a fine dining experience at Bob's Burger.

Kite flying with Grandpa down by the waterfront.

A visit to the tall ships docked in Bellingham. Grandpa and Grandma are at the helm of the Lady Washington. They're standing on the same deck that Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom stood during the filming of Pirates of the Carribbean. Wow!

Here's future sea captain Kaylee at the helm of the Hawaiian Chieftain:

She Cracks Me Up

Today Kaylee said that Hudson was pushing buttons on the phone. I told her that sometimes she does the same thing to me. Then I watched as the light blub went off in her head and she said, "You're like a phone!"

Sharing the Love

The first time I saw an image of a Mandelbrot set I fell in love and became completely hooked on fractals. I love seeing fractal geometry in the world all around us: the clouds, weather patterns, plant growth, mountains, rivers, coastlines, music, dna, planets, galaxies, the universe in general. I love to create fractal art like the image above. I loved the PBS special I saw on TV last night called "Hunting the Hidden Dimension".

I just want to share the love. So if you have time, watch this!

If you want to explore fractals up close and personal, download a trial version of this software. This is the software I use and I believe it's also the software used in the Hidden Dimension show.

Kaylee Turns 3

Just three days after Hudson's first birthday, Kaylee turned three!

Kaylee requested a cake with sprinkles. So here's how the monstrosity turned out.

Kaylee's birthday landed on a Sunday, so it was nice for the whole family to be home all day. We also had Grandpa and Grandma K and Uncle B over as well. Jeff took Kaylee on their weekly run from Barkley down to Whatcom Falls park. Hudson and I dropped them off at Barkley, went to Haggens to get some supplies, then picked them up at Whatcom where we spent some time playing at the playground first. Then we drove to Jeff's work and filled up the balloons for Kaylee. We came home and had some yummy danishes for breakfast before heading off to church.

This was the first year that Kaylee seemed to understand and look forward to her birthday. It was so fun to share her excitement. This was also the first time that she actually opened her presents herself.

The big present from us was this dollhouse. I've noticed that whenever we're anywhere that has one, she is inseperable from it. I had been looking for something for quite some time and it wasn't until a couple days before her birthday that I finally found it. It had just come into the consignment store with loads and loads of furniture and accessories.

I soon learned that I needed to weed out the more intricate accessories from the hardy solid plastic pieces. She is just fine and dandy playing with the 10 or so pieces of furniture and dolls. We've got about 10 bags of extra items that we can add over the next however many birthdays and Christmases. What a find!

Everyday leading up to her birthday I asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she consistently said spaghetti. I wasn't sure she really meant spaghetti because she never seemed that thrilled whenever I made it before. This time however, she seemed to like it a lot. Maybe because she knew it was made just for her.

Then some birthday cake to top it all off.

Happy Birthday Kaylee!

Hudson Turns One

I couldn't find those little candies that go on cakes, so this year I had to do it all by hand:I think it looked a lot better in person :)

Grandma and Grandpa K and Uncle B were here this year to celebrate Hudson's first birthday. They made dinner for us that night and we feasted on pork ribs, new potatoes, beans, and french bread. It was fantastic - and the buttered bread made Hudson's face all shiny.

Kaylee was really sweet about it being Hudson's special day. Many times throughout the day she would give him a hug and kiss and tell him happy birthday.

Hudson enjoyed opening presents (rather, having Kaylee help him open presents).

Later we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He laughed and clapped his hands.

Then of course we ate some birthday cake.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hudson update:

Since he's turned 1 now, I should probrably do an update. For the last three months or so Hudson has been very clingy to me. Outwardly I discourage it as much as possible, but inwardly I melt every time he cries and reaches for me.

He's starting to test his boundaries. He knows very well the things he should not be touching. He seems to enjoy testing those boundaries, almost like it's a fun game to him. As his hand goes for those electronics, we say "NO" and he looks back at us with a big grin.

My nickname for him is "stinker".

He cannot sit still for a diaper change or for dressing. I have to hold him down with my feet in order to get a diaper on him. As soon as the old one comes off, he rolls over and takes off. It's the same with clothes. He cannot stop whatever he's doing for one second to let me get his pants on.

He's an interesting combination of sweet, sensitive and very strong willed. His smile can light up a room, but he has quite a temper too. His face gets red, his veins pop out in his head and his arms go flying. He always speaks up for himself, especially when I start making dinner. He doesn't quiet down until he is in his chair with food on his tray. Then as soon as he feels he's done eating he demands to get out of his chair. So strong willed, that boy!

He has the greatest laugh. Today he started doing this thing where he'd tilt his head back and then down again - almost like he's nodding an exaggerated "yes". I copied him and then he kept doing it over and over as he laughed and laughed.

I've learned that Hudson has very tender feelings. If I can't pick him up right away or if someone (Kaylee) borrows (takes) a toy, his face just crumples as he drops his head. You've never heard such a sad cry.

Hudson loves books. One of his favorite activities these days is to sit in his room and go through the basket of books that's on the floor. He also loves to take toys that have been in his mouth, pull them out, put them into my mouth, and then put it back into his own mouth again. I don't know what that's about, but it's funny.

He's really close to walking. I was sure he'd have done it by now. In everything else, he's been right at, or slightly before the age that Kaylee had done it. She was walking at 11 months. He took one step on his birthday, but that's it so far. He can totally do it, I'm sure of it. He's strong enough, balanced, can easily walk along with us holding one hand... but when we try to encourage him to walk to us, he quickly drops down and crawls. I suppose one of these days he'll just start walking like it's the easiest thing in the world.

So that's the latest and greatest on our little one year old.

Experiencing History - Tall Ships

Well here it is. I mentioned this the other day... the "tall ships" as I've learned they are called, are in port. The Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain sail together up and down the west coast, offering tours, educational programs and sailing trips.

Once I learned they were in town, I looked it up on the internet and found that you can go on sailing tours. I got so excited, I just HAD to go. It was a typical last minute, spontaneous decision on my part. So... I went alone. But I made new friends and had an amazing time!

I got to ride on the Hawaiian Chieftain.

I thought I left with enough time to make it to the landing by 10 a.m. But I wasn't exactly sure where to go and I ended up going to the Lady Washington instead . There they told me I had to be on the other side of the marina. I ran over there only to see the ship had already cast off. What a horrible, sinking feeling! I walked to the end of the dock and since the ship was still right there, was able to talk to the crew. They said they had been looking for me. I felt so foolish. The captain said if I wanted, he'd turn (which he had to do anyway) and then pull up to within a few feet of the end of the dock so I could jump on. That sounded fun to me, I was game!

He masterfully brought the ship around and pulled within two feet of the dock (WOW) and I jumped on as everyone clapped. Yep, that's how you make an entrance. Later I thanked him for going through the trouble of letting me on and he graciously replied that it was no problem and that it was actually pretty fun for him.

So then we were on our way...

Here's Stu the first mate, talking to an anxious-to-climb-up-to-crow's-nest Canadian boy named Michael.

I started out sitting up on the poop deck. (I had to look up why it's called the poop deck!) Everyone headed for the front of the ship, but I liked being in the back... or I should say - stern - of the ship! You're up higher, it's not as cold, and you can see what everyone is doing.

Here are a few pictures I took back there.

Then folks started figuring out that the poop deck was the place to be, so I walked around for awhile and ended up on a bench right near the helm.

This is Stu again... not the captain. Although Stu is a good name for a captain, don't you think? Patrick Stuart... Captain Stubing... I thought Stu looked pretty authentic with that hat. They're getting ready to "hoist the main sail"

The captain looks north and spies... CANADA!

It's time to come about... (look at those beautiful sails!)

...the captain consults his officers...

and then we fire...at CANADA!

That'll show 'em!

Don't mess with the Hawaiian Chieftain!

A word about the Hawaiian Chieftain... she's a replica of a typical merchant trader around the turn of the 19th century. You can click on the link here to find out more information.

On the way back in I snapped a few pictures of the Lady Washington. She's the ship that has been in a few movies. She plays "The Interceptor" in Pirates of the Caribbean and it's also in Star Trek Generations. She's the official ship of Washington State.

She is an exact replica of the original Lady Washington, built around 1750 in colonial Massachusetts (I can never read or spell that word!) Originally a freight ship, she became a privateer during the Revolutionary War. Afterwards she was refitted for an unprecedented trading voyage around Cape Horn. She was the first to make landfall on the west coast. A pioneer in Pacific trade, she was the first American ship to visit Honolulu, Hong Kong, and Japan.

The tall ships leave Blaine tomorrow and travel down here to Bellingham for a few days. I plan to visit them again with my kids. You can do a walk-on tour for a small suggested donation.

Although I hoped for more pure sailing and historical story telling on the trip, all together I was very happy with it. In fact, I didn't want it to end!

I've only sailed once before and it was enthralling. I guess that memory is what prompted me to go on this tour. That and I'm also interested in the old "tall ships" and their history. I think I'm hooked... I'm done. I got the salt water in my blood and I will always wish to go back out there. I love the rocking of the boat and how it stays with you even after you get back on land. I love the creaking of the ship, the flap of sails, the lapping of water, the cry of seagulls and the camaraderie of the crew.

To anyone who reads this blog and lives on the west coast... try and get out to see these ships. They will be in Bellingham from August 4-10. Dockside tours are on Aug 5-7, from 12:30 to 6 pm and on Saturday, Aug 8th from 10-1 pm. There are battle and adventure sails on Aug 8th and 9th. You can buy tickets online by following this link.

Support this wonderful organization and the rare educational opportunities they offer. It's a wonderful way to EXPERIENCE history and I highly recommend it.