The Seattle Story

A breath of fresh air

2012-01-16T22:19:00.000-08:00

Lest we get too cooped up with the winter weather (which has actually been fairly tame this year), the girls and I do try to grab the dry opportunities for a jaunt to the playground whenever they come about. Daddy joined us on this one, for Maggie’s maiden voyage on her new set of wheels!

And away she goes!

Good thing she was wearing a helmet! on the dinosaur?

Pretty girl

No comment.

Daddy’s girls.

Christmas 2011, part 2

2012-01-14T21:44:00.000-08:00

Per what seems to be our burgeoning tradition on the St. Pierre side of the family, on the heals of our Santa’s Elf weekend, we held the St. Pierre family Christmas part 1… The upshot of it was that Dave had to work all weekend (thanks to a company move that he had to be a lead man for) and the girls and I packed ourselves into Auntie Erin and Uncle Chris’ car. It made for a fun ride down. That weekend was, of course, a blast for the girls. I, of course, failed to bring my camera.

So, on to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, aka St. Pierre-side Christmas part 2…

Given that we were set to host a houseful for New Year’s Eve brunch, I pushed our Christmas cookie-making to just before Christmas again so that we’d have cookies for the party. That made for a hectic but fun pre-dinner activity! Dinner, of course, being the most important part of the day .

After the cookies and some excellent Chinese takeout (next year we think we can venture to an actual restaurant), the girls were pumped, ready to burst with anticipation for the big arrival.

So, we placated them by allowing them to (strategically) open a couple of gifts (pajamas and Erin & Chris’s gift so they could be part of the fun). Which made for pretty cute pix:

The next morning, it took little to remind the girls of what they had to look forward to and little to get them tearing into the piles of presents under the tree.

Amidst the new books and baby dolls and totes and towels were lots of smiles…Ok, and lots of “More?”s from Maggie What can I say? the girl was finally in on it for real this year!

The rest of Christmas day was pretty lovely and mellow…and then dark and cold, thanks to “End of the year wind storm, 2011!” (Read: we lost electricity.) But, it was a great excuse to keep it really mellow (OK, the smoky fire didn’t make me so mellow, but I got over it eventually…) and it failed to completely derail Dave’s planned Xmas dinner yumminess: slow-cooked ribs. Turns out, they don’t really have to be slow cooked to be fabulous!

So all in all I think we can claim a certain level of greatness for this holiday. Thanks to Chris and Erin, Nana and Pepere for making it merry and bright (even without electricity!)

Zoe: 5.0

2012-01-12T20:14:00.000-08:00

Yup.

We let her turn 5 this year.

I don’t know what we were thinking. I want my baby back!

But, we sure did enjoy her first *little friend party.

She wanted a “pin the candle on the cake” game; I found a pin the treasure on the pirate’s chest” and well, Nana and I kinda ran with the theme. Zoe certainly came to be *very* excited to have her friends over and was a great little hostess for Lucy and Lewis.

With a bit of hat-wearing, pirate’s chest-pinning, a treasure hunt and fishing for loot, it was a party, indeed.

X marked the spot

And a real treasure chest, to-boot!

Beware these fearsome pirates! Thick as thieves, I tell you!

A bit of decorating and “itsy bitsy spider” (which didn’t go over so well, either)

Little sibs were in on the fun, too

Maggie, just making sure…

Happy Birthday, Zoe Zo. We love you for the smart, funny and beautiful little girl you are!

*Last year, I asked Zoe if she wanted a party with friends and her response was a definitive “no-way-what-the-heck-are-you-crazy-head-shake”, so I didn’t push it and considered myself lucky that she’d let me off the hook yet another year. Then, the week after her own simple family party at home, she attended pal, Lucy’s big party at the Little Gym (tumbling mats, activities, cake and lots of kids), she asked me when she’d have her party. Gah! So this year I swore to push the friends party idea a bit harder with her. And, after lots of prodding and coaxing, I managed to eek three whole names from her (two of which were actually my starter suggestions). One couldn’t show and so we ended up – actually quite happily – with a “starter” friend party of sorts. And I think it was perfect.

Nana’s little elves

2012-01-11T20:53:00.001-08:00

So while I was downtown shopping my little heart out with pal, Becky and Dave was somewhere in the greater Olympia area bird watching with Tim, Nana and Pepere were minding Santa’s little helpers.

I think everyone had a fantastic day.

Dave and I neglected to document our giddy day of freedom, but fortunately Pepere was behind the lens in Santa’s workshop to see the elves in action.

Being perfect little angels for Nana and Pepere

Thanks (again!) to Nana and Pepere for taking the girls. The whole weekend is an annual tradition we’re coming to love and we’re so thankful you’re part of making wonderful memories for the girls.

The making of a Christmas card

2011-12-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

It came down to the wire for us this year. Despite some seriously sweet photo moments at the pumpkin farm, Halloween, gardening and Thanksgiving, we just didn’t land on a cluster of shots (Zoe, Maggie, Zoe & Maggie) that would work for our annual Xmas photo card.

Thank goodness for tree hunting!

Here are ALL of the faves. I’ll take credit for the hats, but I swear I had NOTHING to do with the coordinating outfits and hand-holding. Started out pretty cute…but you can see the deterioration in process.

Ah, nearly-three-and-nearly-five-year-olds!

Not sure where this is heading...

Rescued by the candy canes. Phew.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

XO,

The St. Alonzos

Thanksgiving 2011–part two

2011-12-24T21:24:00.000-08:00

On to the second half of Thanksgiving at the Coffield homestead (aka, “the farm”).

Again, here, we’re seeing some patterns developing: Thanksgiving family hang time seems to generally equate to a few gifts, snuggles with the Alonzos four (there’s something about that chair!), cards… and jam toast?

Oh, and of course the requisite run through Grandpa’s trees.

The girls love all the family time and I’m thankful for the photo-worthy moments!

Thanksgiving 2011–part one

2011-12-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

As we do most every year, we gather first for dinner with my side of the family then head down to Vancouver to see Dave’s side of the family. It’s a great way to make the most of the long weekend and the lovely holiday and this year we weren’t disappointed.

First up: dinner at Nana and Pepere’s house on Thursday with Auntie Erin and Uncle Chris. As always, the girls had a great time with all of the one-on-one (and one and one and one…) attention. For Dave and I, it’s a bit of a chance to hang back and enjoy.

Somehow, the St. Pierre-side family hang time inevitably ends up in stories, snuggles and smothering Uncle Chris with blankets and kisses. Ah, family memories

And of course we hit the swings before hitting the road.

Cummingbird! heeh.

Halloween 2011

2011-12-20T20:54:00.000-08:00

This year, we really packed it in for Halloween:

Friday before, we attended my office’s kiddo Halloween lunch then on the day of, both girls had parties at their respective schools, we hit the party at Central Market (of course), and then hit the street to haunt the ‘hood and gather up some treats.

A full and busy time, but this kitty and monkey were pretty great little animals!

Little elves

2011-12-18T20:49:00.000-08:00

As I said, I was strangely back on top of my game this fall and part of that meant having my act together in preps for the holidays!

Having some Christmas crafts lined up for pre-dinner and weekend downtime proved to be advantageous for so many reasons…

Note to self: Keep it in gear next year!

Garden girls

2011-12-18T20:45:00.000-08:00

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the girls’ love of gardening.

Seriously.

During the happy weather months, one or the other will often pick gardening as the pastime of choice in the few minutes between homecoming and dinner during the work week.

I must say, it’s a pretty great way to get in some fresh air, see the girls get down and dirty and…have a fighting chance with keeping up with my yard work!

I *cannot* wait until they are old enough to send out on their own!

Pumpkin

2011-12-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

So one thing I didn’t mention about our visit to Craven Farm was the petting farm…and the box of kitties therein.

That box of tiny, orange fur balls put back into motion the thinking that we could add another kitten to our crew…and this time, it didn’t stop.

(Back story: My first animal love is for dogs. I grew up with a pup and would *love* to have another. But I love dogs too much to not treat them right so before we add a pooch to the mix, a few things are going to change around here: 1) we’ll have a car big enough to transport two kids and a dog, 2) we’ll have a lifestyle that will *not* require the dog to spend 10+ hours alone in the house (or worse, outside) 3) our lifestyle will not require us to put the dog into “puppy daycare” to avoid #2) and 4) I’ll have a job where the role of an office dog is open to a St. Alonzo.)

So, the search began and we quickly (as in days) found Pumpkin. Previously known as “Pixel Pete”, this tiny guy (less than 2lbs!) was an easy add to the household. Lucy and Pumpkin were near instant pals and Oscar, well Oscar was none of the “grouch” he’d been when Lucy was introduced to the family.

After spending the first ~2 weeks with me at my office during the day (thanks to the boss’ paternity leave), he was ready to leave at home and at the mercy of Lucy and Oscar. They treated him pretty well, I think.

Pretty sweet, eh?

Craven Pumpkin Farm

2011-12-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

We just so happened to choose a *fantastic* morning to head up to Snohomish and see the Craven Pumpkin Farm. The heavy fog quickly burned off, revealing a lovely, crisp, fall day. Thank goodness, because the girls were raring to go!

Excited drive up to Snohomish

The approach to the farm – seriously, we couldn’t have staged it better!

And the girls jumped right in to take part of the exhibits; the farm did a great job of depicting tons of fairy and Grimms’ tales. So much fun.

Off to choose the right (bunch of) pumpkins!

Then off for a wagon ride through the corn maze

And at the end, a few bright and shiny…pumpkins

FALLing behind…

2011-12-13T20:09:00.001-08:00

ba-dum-dum.

Yes, the fall kind of got past me over here on the blog. Otherwise, I actually felt mostly on top of things – a first for nearly two years (yes, since Maggie).

Needless to say, I’ve got LOTS of catching up to do…

Orcas Island - 2011

2011-10-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago, Dave and I spent the days after our wedding at the Turtleback Farm Inn on Orcas Island. This year, we decided to commemorate the big Anniversary with another visit. It didn’t disappoint. Well, Olga village did, but the rest was more or less as we remembered it the first time around. It was great to spend some time alone (THANK YOU, mom & dad!) and to have some down time in different, but familiar surroundings.

The view from the drive in

The Inn

The Orchard House (ours was the top-left balcony)

Our view: lightening-struck tree and the grazing deer (But where did all the dingleberry boys go?!)

We did these in 2 nights!

Olga, ten years later –

Local color

From atop Mt. Constitution (our last time up there was 9/11. This was a far less somber visit!)

I’m fairly certain we’ll be going back in another ten years, if not sooner.

what Zoe gets to do when Maggie’s napping

2011-10-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

Help mom make birthday cookies for Pepere!

I didn’t sense any remorse for her sister’s missing out on the fun/goodies, but what Maggie doesn’t know (yet!) won’t hurt her, right?

our pal, Wulu

2011-10-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

As much as I don’t trust her sometimes (she’s the one who has peed in the beds of my babes for the past 4+ years!), our kitty, Lucy (aka, Lulu or Wulu) has actually always been a total lover with Zoe. Of course, Zoe’s always been a fairly mellow housemate.

But now, as a testament to her true sweetness (OK, I forgive you the ankle-biting when your dish is empty!) she’s even come to terms with Maggie as a permanent, if not boisterous, presence in our house.

The two “girls” have been getting friendly:

OK, Wulu. You can stay.

artistes at work

2011-09-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

I realized – gasp! – that Maggie had never had the fun/luxury/indulgence of using finger paints with me (well, given that we’re constantly cleaning that girl up, is it really surprising?!). So, I decided it was a well-overdue activity and pulled out the smocks the other day. Both Maggie and Zoe had a grand time whipping up some new pieces for our art gallery (er, kitchen).

Gotta keep the collection fresh. Besides, their palates are lovely!

Our (second year) preschooler

2011-09-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

Zoe started school again on the 12th. She never really had a break from the place all summer, having attended school “camp”, but she was a little apprehensive about the whole “new room, new teacher, new schedule” thing.

But, I’m happy to report that she came home beaming. The days may be long, but our girl LOVES school.

When it’s a little too quiet…

2011-09-26T20:31:00.001-07:00

It’s time to see what Maggie’s up to!

One night, while I was at the sink doing dishes (Z was in the tub, attended by her daddy), I noticed the usual “mom!” chatter wasn’t spilling from Moo. I turned around, expecting her to have left the room, but instead found this face crouching behind the easel.

She was SO proud of my reaction I certainly couldn’t get mad!

Oy. Good thing Crayola almost exclusively makes washables these days!

9.8.01

2011-09-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary, baby. I love you.

How many more days until Christmas?

2011-08-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

Asks my four-and-a-half-year-old.

Well, kiddo. Let’s look at the calendar. And while we’re at it, let’s have you fill yours out!

After painstakingly writing the month at the top and all those little numbers beneath, I think she’s got a better appreciation for just how far away Christmas really is.

Jen-Jen

2011-08-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

The girls love Jen.

Maggie loves “Jen-Jen” (I mean, I seriously think she pees a little every time she sees her!). And Jen-Jen loves her Maggie (she’s bought the girl no less than two pairs of shoes!).

They go way back to the very beginning when we started up at Michaela’s for daycare and Jen is always happy to see them.

So it’s a no-brainer when we hear the daycare’s got a vacation coming up. We call Jen-Jen.

And I didn’t think it would be fair to let their little lives (or rather, their lives as little people) go by without documenting some of the love.

Besides, this is an easy site to leave home on, no?:

Waiting for Nana and Pepere

2011-08-08T21:13:00.001-07:00

Weekend before last, Dave’s uncle Dale came to town (why did the camera not come out??) to catch a Mariners’ game with Dave.

The girls and I were on our own and since we were also carless (so Dave and Dale could pick up yummy Chinese on the way home from the game), it was quite providential for my folks to call and say they wanted a visit.

So Dave and Dale high-tailed it for the game and the proverbial cat made its way out of the bag. The girls were driving me a little nuts with no hope for behavioral improvement at the lunch table. I decided it would far more likely be a cooperative venture to let the girls eat on the doorstep picnic-style so they could see the GPs arrive. Little did we figure on traffic being such a beast (thanks stupid Seafair) and it took the GPs far longer than usual to make their way up. But the girls loved the novelty of eating outside and the wait afforded me with a moment to capture a few cute shots of the girls.

Just home from their trip to Bruges, it had been a while since Nana and Pepere and the girls had all seen each other and the weather was (strangely) lovely, so I think it was a nice diversion for everyone!

Summer–if only for a moment

2011-08-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

If you hadn’t heard, while the rest of the country’s been roasting in record-setting triple-digit temperatures much of the summer, Seattle has been having record-setting COLD and more rain than I care to describe. But every six days or so, we’ll get about 8 hours of summer. Just enough heat and sunshine to remind us of how it should really be (don’t get me started on global climate change…).

So, I took the rare opportunity to treat the girls to a kiddo-perennial-summer-favorite: outside popsicles. They didn’t seem to mind that they were homemade, that they were made of organic cran-raspberry juice, or that I made them sit out on the front step (my house isn’t always clean, but it’s certainly not sticky!).

Actually, I’m pretty sure they loved stripping down into their homemade tie-dye tops (what else is tie-die appropriate for if not stain-making activities?!), watching daddy do some evening yard work and slurping down those pops!

Big girl stuff (and some lovely faces)

2011-07-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

Poor Maggie’s milestones have been mostly overlooked by this here “mommy blog”, but every once in a while, I think to grab the camera and document some to share.

Dave’s been working on getting her to drink – and drink well – from a big girl glass. We find lots of milk in the bib pocket now and again, but overall she’s an ace, having yet to spill one glass!

Got milk?

Coffield family reunion - 2011

2011-07-26T20:51:00.001-07:00

It was that time of year again – third Sunday in July – so us St. Alonzos made the trek down to Vancouver, WA to connect with Dave’s mom, Lani, the grandparents and all of the extended family. The trip down took us only four hours + (well yeah! I said we brought the girls! ) and the stay was only a couple of days, but the time was grand.

Some of the better shots:

Some lovely scenery

Picking up apples from Grandpa’s lawn…

Then getting paid for it!

A very soggy reunion (with record-setting rainfall!)

Sweet (or tart?) eats

Family gathering

It’s always great to connect with the family and to show the girls where Daddy spent many of his formative summers. I’m so glad they are old enough to start collecting their own memories.

See you all next year if not sooner!

4th of July Retrospective - Long Beach, 2011

2011-07-11T22:21:00.001-07:00

It’s been declared a new tradition: camping on the 4th with the Winslow’s! (They didn’t get a mention, but were part of our 2010 4th.) But I think really it means camping down at the family property on Long Beach. Either way, it was a great long weekend out of town where we got to kick up our heels (and some sand) in the company of great family and lovely friends.

The highlights:

The beach (the weather!!)

Wee!

Hmm…OK, Cam

Double take

collaboration

Mmm…sandy pbjs

mutual admiration

splishin’

beach burrito

bathing beauty

Hannah ()

The tent

Coty dog

The park-like site

Fireside chats

The winter hats (?)

Giant frying pan! Orcas! Giant geoduck??

Tourist attractions

Souvenirs

And the welcome fatigue that comes from lots of warm, fresh air

Reflections from a reluctant runner

2011-06-28T22:07:00.001-07:00

I’m not an athlete. I have tried many, many sports over the years (gymnastics, swimming, dance, soccer, softball, tennis, in-line skating). I’m a team player, which means I keep going because I’m on the team. And I’m cheap, which means if I’ve invested in the gear, I’m using it. But with the exception of maybe bicycling, I have never excelled at any of these endeavors.

And despite being the kid who wheezed her way through the 1-mile fitness testing in the 8th grade, I took up running at age 29. Did I mention that I am not athletic? I tend to be more curvaceous than toned. Stamina is something I seriously have to *struggle* to achieve and fight to maintain. I am not fast and I often pause to stretch.

But when I make up my mind to do something, it’s pretty much a guarantee that I’m going to do it. So when I signed up for the Seattle Rock n’ Roll half marathon back in January, I didn’t make the decision lightly. I knew if I registered, I’d have to do it.

And last weekend, I did!

All in all, I’m happy with the results. My time wasn’t great (see the narrative of the big day, below), but I only walked some of the hills, and finished well and with a smile. And tonight, I felt good enough to go for a quick 3 miles.

So the day went like this:

It started on Friday, after a full work week, when my folks came up to spend the night. Once the girls went down (a-twitter with excitement to have Nana and Pepere over and to finally see what mom’s big run was all about), we nailed down the logistics. Thankfully. I didn’t need any more thinking fodder for the night ahead.

At 10:30, I went to sleep (later than I’d planned), with all my gear laying in wait and with fresh inserts in my sneaks.

And then at midnight, my dear hubby laid down in bed, and my brain WOKE UP.

I instantly knew I was screwed.

I panicked. I reasoned with myself. I tossed. I turned. I reinserted my earplugs. Repositioned my eye mask. I quietly said hateful things to my husband. I not-so-quietly said hateful things to my husband. I flipped my head down to the foot of the bed. I got up and peed no less than three times. I got up and glugged down three swallows of wine. I sat on the doorstep, trying to catch a chill. I wished I had a cigarette.

Nothing worked.

Every single time I thought sleep was coming, a fresh shot of adrenaline would kick the hamster and the wheel would start up again.

By 3:30, it was absurd. My fatigue and anxiety were so diametrically opposed that I was stuck in a total sleepless limbo.

By 5:05, I got up and started the coffee pot. Got dressed. Heated up my eggs and bagel (bleh). And then I remembered I’d forgotten to print off my sign-in sheet for the run.

When the sheet came off the printer, I nearly threw up: “NO NUMBERS WILL BE GIVEN OUT THE DAY OF THE RACE.”

What? Now I SWEAR I’d read when registering that there was an expo where you could collect your bib the day before the race, but that they’d also give out numbers the day of. Of course now, I could find no trace of this statement anywhere on the site (well, who could see clearly after 1.5 hours of sleep on any day?)

I was sitting in the car in a full sweat and panicked when Dave popped in to take me to the run. I nauseously confessed the error I was convinced had cost me the race, had lain to waste all the time and money and energy we’d put into my training. I was humiliated.

After a desperate call to my pal Danika, (who had registered for the run but bowed out in order to nurse an injury and not jeopardize her marathon the following weekend), I was left with the plan to arrive at the race and beg for mercy.

It was a long drive.

The Seattle Rock n’ Roll marathon is HUGE. Thousands of runners would participate and in just about every car around us there seemed to be other runners, anxiously making their way to the starting corrals. And then jam. Traffic came to a halt.

Realizing I was losing time – time to plea my case – I jumped out of the car about a mile from the drop off and began running. Another mile from the drop off and I reached the starting festival and made a beeline for the information tent…

where I came to find TONS of bibs stacked up, waiting for their runners to claim them, and a smiling, angelic woman holding out her hand for my sweat-crumpled sign-in form.

Saved.

I’m not a TOTAL asshole.

Or at least I wasn’t alone.

So with bib and tracking chip secured, I made my way to the corrals to wait and realize that I’d truly underestimated my running time when I’d registered. I was waaaay back in line with the 3:00 runners.

Feeling my nausea subside, the hunger came in and I made a push towards the front, hoping to speed up my launch.

After about an hour, I was off. And feeling good.

No aches in my ham. No pains in my hip/IT band. And really – amazingly - no drunken fatigue. Thank you race-day adrenaline! I had some left for the actual run!

And then I started to think of a few things I’d do differently:

* I’d run with a friend. I was actually lonely! Almost everyone else, it seemed, was paired up or in a team.

* I’d wear a hip pack so I could carry both Gatorade and water. (Thank you Ms. Reverend lady for the lovely bottle of water! those pixie cups weren’t gonna cut it!)

* I’d be prepared for the emotions. Panic and fatigue aside, I was really moved by actually running in such a big race with so many people fulfilling so many goals. Every bunch of cheerleaders moved me to tear up!

* Oh. And I’d get some sleep before running the most miles I’ve ever run in my life.

In the meantime - while I was taking my “free time” to reflect - Dave was parked about halfway along the route, ready with the camera waiting to document the fact that I actually did this.

When I saw him, I almost couldn’t breathe while choking back those tears!

After a quick kiss and hug, we ran our separate ways. Me, along *lovely* Lake Washington, towards I-90. Dave, to Capitol Hill to rendezvous with my folks and the girls. Thanks to Dave for coming up with the best plan to get the girls and my folks out to see me: park at his office and bus it downtown. No fighting the detours and crowds closed lots and insane parking fees! Genius.

The next 7 or so miles I gave in a little to the relief of seeing Dave and walked a bit more than the first 6 or so miles. But I was still running and I was still feeling good. And I wasn’t even at the really fun part yet!

At about mile 9, the wounded veterans greeted us with a series of posters honoring their fallen comrades and a stream of huge, beautiful, American flags. These guys were out to support me? Oy. Sniff. I’m not a “whoo hoo girl”, but I couldn’t help myself!

Then came the I-90 approach, weaving lanes with the real athletes of the day - the marathoners – and bidding them well for the rest of their haul. Mine was growing short!

The I-90 tunnel was a BLAST! Everyone picked up momentum with the crazy sounds of hundreds of feet hitting the pavement and music pounding through our bodies (U2 - nice choice, followed by Dee-lite – wee!). I might have pushed it a little hard up that tunnel because I have to admit that when I came out, I was a bit winded and disappointed by just how far the city was still. But it was getting closer!

And then I thought how perfect it would be if Dave thought to position my cheerleaders at the I-90 ramp that comes down along the King Street Station. I do love that guy. He didn't disappoint because he’s pretty damned smart and when it counts, he’s on the ball.

I saw dad before he saw me. Then Dave, then mom. Then the girls. My birthday gift.

A mile and a half to go. I was ready to be done, but I was still running.

At the final approach, when I knew I was just a few hundred feet from being done, I realized I still had enough to kick it into (my version of) high gear and am quite proud to report that I actually passed lots of folks to reach the finish.

(That’s me directly on the other side of the gal in the pink criss-cross shirt and then on the far edge of runners, directly under the scaffolding.)

And I kept running! I was running around the runner’s reception, looking for an info booth (had to get my swag bag and T-shirt!) and then for my family.

Then, we hiked it out to grab a bus out of town!

Don't forget to stretch!

They had to sit on my lap on the bus

And I guess Moo missed her mommy

Thankfully, we next made our way to some awesome pizza at Tutta Bella (thanks for lunch, Mom & Dad!).

When we got home, the fatigue really hit me and I gave Mom and Dad the boot (well, not exactly!) so that I could hit the shower and then get to SLEEP!

Happy birthday to me. If I can run 13.1 (+) miles in a day, I guess I can do 35.

4 Waddells/ 4 St. Alonzos/ 4 girls.

2011-06-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

June is by no means prime weather time in Seattle, but summer is fleeting before it even begins, so we booked our first camping trip of the year with our great friends, the Waddells.

Gordon, Danika, Lucy and Bea met up with us on Camano Island where the fun ensued.

setting up, breaking it in

a little grub (a little grubby!)

cozying up

s’mores (soon, snores!)

beach reach

fishin’

So Zo

tidal lessons

B, too

girls on the sand

driftwood

Dave’s trio

summer’s (almost) here!

watch out, Coupville!

all along the watch tower ()

Moo

fly time

swings

It was a great weekend, gang. We’ll certainly have to make this a tradition. The pictures, let alone the memories, are worth the hassle of living in the dirt and smelling like smoke for three days.

Richmond Beach–Memorial Day 2011

2011-06-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

With a day to spare, we packed it up and headed down the street for our lovely beach. There’s not much simpler - as far as fun goes - as the beach. Man I love where we live!

Brr!

Get that kite up there!

‘splorin’

easy does it!

Daddy and his girls

sandy cheese, anyone?

proud flyer

Moo, too

this is what departure looks like

St. Sidell visit 2011, part 9: Happy Birthday, Uncle Chris & Bon Voyage, St. Sidells!

2011-06-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

All good things must pass, and like good wine, good brothers must age. Or something like that. Regardless, our last night together was a great reason enough for a yummy fete, so we got it on.

St. Sidell visit 2011, part 8: everybody in!

2011-06-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Some of the very last fun we spent with the St. Sidell crew was spent under water. The girls love their swim lessons so much that we decided everyone else should come along. After a bit of a kerfuffle getting in to the rec swim, I’d say our little swim team had a good time.

Zoe’s big girl solo class

Maggie’s Mom n’ me tot class

Nick fish

Tim fish

Amy fish

Nana fish

The girls had a great time sharing their pool. Maybe for the next swim the boys can share their lake.

And a big thanks to Pepere for playing photojournalist and gopher all morning!

St. Sidell 2011 visit, part 7: caught in the act

2011-06-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

Some miscellaneous cuteness from the weekend at our house.

Auntie Erin & Zo

(SO) Happy hostess

Whatcha doin?

Daddy makes the bestest forts

Can you ever get a shot when they are all looking and looking good? Neither can I.

St. Sidell 2011 visit, part 6: fine and easy

2011-06-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

There were lots of goings on, but I think what’s most memorable is how this family can just hang together and connect. I thank three generations of loving hangers for that

Puzzling

Hanging on Pepere’s every word (man, I love these)

sneaking in some serious snuggling

The kids’ table. Why does this look better than it did when I had to sit there??

collaborative creation; the making of Uncle Chris’s b-day card (and I think he was proud)

St. Sidell 2011 visit, part 5: happy home bodies

2011-06-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

While the St. Sidell’s ventured out to catch up with old pals, the St. Alonzo crew had some nice down time with Nana and Pepere on the home front.

Letting the creative juices flow

Cake-making for Uncle Chris’s b-day; relax, Nana, M’s all over it!

“cornering” Pepere into reading yet another book

Don’t need no boys to get her locomotives running!

St. Sidell 2011 visit, part 4: Dressin’ up, nowhere we go

2011-06-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

Catching up with Auntie Erin and Uncle Chris, chez St. Alonzo, is certainly a reason to get all dolled up! Right?

Timmy – outfit #1

Gotcha!

You, too!

Timmy, outfit #2

Not sure I’ll be able to explain this one…

Timmy, outfit #3?!

Oh, and not to be upstaged, the girls got dressed up, too

almost everyone got in the act (‘cept the smarties…er, aunties )

St. Sidell 2011 visit, part 3: Bounce!

2011-06-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

Before heading up to Shoreline we stopped over at the bouncy fun house near Nana and Pepere’s house. It was Nick’s one request, and the crew was only happy to oblige.

A little excited

That blue one was, um. FAST!

Daring Duos

Maggie, holding her own (plus some! that girl did more runs than the rest!)

St. Sidell 2011 visit – part 2: Hang time at Nana & Pepere’s

2011-06-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

After the zoo, we all relished the amazingly cooperative weather while enjoying some hang-time at Nana’s and Pepere’s house.

Sweet tunes

Sweet sun

Nana’s helpers

Big blue ball

Girls and boys

St. Sidell family visit: 2011

2011-06-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

Greg, Amy, Nick and Tim came to town and it was so great to get all the cousins together! Thanks for making the trip guys!

This and the following few posts will chronicle the fun times.

Day 1, the Point Defiance Zoo…where LOTS of little animals had a great time monkeying around!

Got it!

Pffffish!

Gathering the troops, fueling up

Taking in a show

Stopping, some literally!, for some ice cream

Z, plus some

Little clicker

2011-06-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

Maggie doesn’t know it, but it was at about this age that Zoe started…time to get a “Maggie-proof” computer!

Happy Mother’s Day?

2011-05-30T13:58:00.001-07:00

It was.

(That was for Grandma Lani, but I got the message, too )

Scene from a Sunday morning

2011-05-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

In addition to “Zoe run” (whereby Maggie prompts Zoe to chase Maggie around the house, sending both into fits of giggles and panting), this is a typical scene on a Sunday morning.

Which is right about when I realize how very lucky we are.

Our little fishy

2011-05-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to report that we *finally* managed to get Zoe and Maggie more or less* signed up for simultaneous swim classes! Unfortunately, Maggie had a fever that kept her out of the pool one weekend, but I took the opportunity to come solo and armed with the camera to grab a few shots of the burgeoning greatness.

Killing time – ALONE in the pool – before class

Making sure the peanut gallery is paying attention?

Getting her water happy on

Rocket ship arms and bubble blowing…this girl will be doing laps around that pool, soon!

I took a bunch of video with my phone… will try to get that posted soon(er or later).

* Z is registered for an actual class while M has a mommy/daddy-and-me Tots drop-in class she can attend AT THE SAME TIME! amazing that. there were waitlists for everything else!

unsolicited

2011-05-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

SO frequently, we’ll turn to see completely unsolicited (by us, by either one) affection, much like this, stirring between the girls.

Sniff!

ready for school

2011-05-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

certainly looking it!

first Saturday

2011-05-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

To make sure we take the time to actually see some of the family that’s near and dear, we started “first Saturday of the month” dinner with my brother, Chris and sis-in-law, Erin. It doesn’t always come into fruition (we have a mutually-agreed-upon policy that this standing invitation need not be obligatory), but it’s always great when it does! Here are some shots of our April dinner:

Uncle Chris getting pointers from Zoe on applying lipstick

Pretty girls (aka, the smallest print, ever!)

That’s not where that goes, daddy!

Sunday riders

2011-05-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

If the weather cooperates and it’s somewhere between nap time and dinner time, you can usually find us on our street, rolling around one way or another. It’s all part of my big plan to find the girls easy riding come summer. And it seems to be working! Zoe’s getting gutsier (actually riding down the “hills”) and Maggie’s pressing the pedals (well, starting to). I’m sure they’ll be tearing up, in no time!

A bit of Maggie see, Maggie do

Saying “hi” to birdie

A bit more Maggie see, Maggie do

Here comes trouble!

Happy Easter!

2011-05-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

Given that our own backyard is a bit of a mess (that’s an understatement), we decided to tell the Easter Bunny to meet us down at Nana and Pepere’s where the girls could do their egg hunt in some prime environs. It was a gorgeous day, Auntie Erin and Uncle Chris were able to join us and we had a hoppin’ good time!

It was a warm day

Swing’s the thing

A beautiful visitor

when would it be OK for me to make them do this at home?

girls in the grass

Tuckered out, ready for bed!

favorite pastimes

Thanks so much to everyone for a perfectly lovely day!

Sisters

2011-05-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Feeling their spring thing.

I couldn’t pick a fave out of this series, so I’m doing them all! You choose!

I think daddy must have been behind mommy making rabbit ears or something

And here, maybe daddy was showing Z how to get her groove thing going? that’s the only thing that would explain these shots!

And lest I forget - a callout to auntie Erin for the adorable skirts!

Signs of spring

2011-05-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

It wasn’t a particularly horrible winter (we got some snow, but nothing record-breaking or earth-shattering), but was certainly a particularly persistent winter. The cold, damp days made us weary!

Any reason to even pretend that spring has actually arrived is reason enough to celebrate!

So, the girls got their fingers dirty and I got some colorful, spring-like pix in the making of some great Easter eggs!

The old pro:

Le nuveau artiste

And of course the girls loved having their eggs to “visit” every day. Except, one day they were gone! Where did they go…?

I heard there was a bunny hopping about…

2011-05-02T20:36:00.001-07:00

A super-fun day at Michaela’s with face-painting and an egg hunt lead to more signs of spring and the fun build-up to the real spring fun…

Daddy’s little helper, version 2.0

2011-05-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Maggie, too, has discovered that there’s lots of fun (and snacks!) to be had when daddy’s cooking. We’re going to have to get these girls their food service permits soon.

Dinner with (big) Tim & Becky (aka, Ducky)

2011-04-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we had in impromptu b-day and new job celebration for our great friend, Tim. We don’t have Tim and Beck over a lot but while Tim’s not entirely a stranger to the girls, the girls’ reception of his visits have been met with mixed reviews (“nooo Tim!”). This time, however, Tim was able to exercise his inner goofball and both girls were fairly smitten.

“Ducky” made a hit, too, but apparently didn’t make her way in front of the camera…We’ll getcha next time, Beck!

Sisters

2011-04-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

And lovers

good, cheap fun

2011-04-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

There’s not much more sure for fun than a big empty box. I think this one was in the playroom for the better part of a week.

Uncle Greg was here!

2011-04-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

About every three months or so, we’re honored to host a leg of my brother’s Seattle-area tour: he lives in Maine, works at Adobe in Seattle and comes out quarterly to meet with his team; we get to offer some of the food and lodging in exchange for some exploitation of his assistance with the girls.

The girls LOVE to hear that he’s coming to town and without fail, turn giddy and all-girlie-giggly and googly-eyed when he appears. I am remiss, though, at the lack of photos to document these sweet reunions. I’ll do better next visit, when Greg and his gang are all here in May. Until then, here’s a quick couple of shots to say “Uncle Greg was here!”

Sisters

2011-04-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Cruisin’.

good little mommy

2011-04-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

Not me.

Her:

Looking up, keeping up

2011-04-10T15:35:00.001-07:00

Maggie loves her big sister and anything Zoe does is subject to Maggie’s giving it a try. Nowhere is that more evident than on the playground.

I didn’t get shots of the truly precarious attempts she made at some of the playground apparatuses because, well, she’s got me on my toes. But this should give you a sense of what I’m talking about:

All that’s to say that this girl has an adventurous little spirit and doesn’t hesitate to try something ("all by myself!") if it looks like Zoe’s having fun doing it. Mostly, Zoe’s a fantastic big sister, happy to lead by example and only asks for her “space” now and again. We’ve heard ourselves tell Zoe from time to time that mimicry is a true form of flattery. Let’s hope that explanation sticks in the long run.

Daddy’s idea of fun

2011-02-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

and mommy’s idea of an injury in the making!

But, OK, it’s a great way to burn of the 4:30-5:30 stir crazies!

a girl on the edge

2011-02-26T19:59:00.000-08:00

heeh.