Thank You Elder Holland

Motherhood:-An-Eternal-Partnership

Seattle Summer

We are finally settling into a Seattle summer. The last 4 summers we've spent mornings at Splashtown, afternoons eating popsicles & having waterfights with friends, and evenings enjoying our A/C indoors. Average temperature in Houston this time of year - mid 90s. Average humidity - 97%. Also, summer in Houston starts in late April and goes strong until early October. Though the heat is miserable, we had adjusted and found many fun ways to cope.

Here in the Northwest the average temperature this time of year is in the mid 70s (and we've had a particularly chilly summer). Average humidity - 65%. We finally gave up on having any hot, sunny days about the end of June. We blew up the new pool & set it out in the yard. Then, we filled it with water. Not hose water, mind you, as this was much too cold. Instead we drained the hot water heater & poured in a few pan-fulls of hot water from the kitchen sink. Danny & Kaylee were thrilled to splash and play. It's certainly no Splashtown, but Danny managed to make his own pirate ship anyway. In the end the cold was victorious over the fun.

We finally did get a hot streak a couple weeks ago with several days in the 90s. Initially it felt GLORIOUS! Despite my whining about TX heat, I'd sort of missed the bright sunshine that warms you clear through. We played outside in the pool and soaked in our Vitamin D. We went to a splash park with friends, drank smoothies, and ate popsicles. But then, in the afternoons, I was reminded of another Northwest anomaly. No air conditioning. Fortunately, our house is in a shady area so the indoor heat never topped 90 degrees.

The HOT weather didn't stick around too long and lately we've been spoiled with sunny days and weather in the high 70s. Last week we had a blast at a beach park with friends. It's been a long time since I spent the summer in the Northwest and I had forgotten how different the beach experience is here. Instead of sun-kissed tans fleeing to the water to cool down, there are glowing white bodies fleeing from the water to warm up. The chattering teeth and goosebumps don't seem to slow anybody down though. Kaylee and Danny both braved the water, but had the most fun digging around in the sand.

Since many of our old summer favorites don't work quite as well in the new climate, we're finding many other ways to keep busy and have fun including museums, parks, libraries, the waterfront (not IN the water though), & our recently rediscovered favorite, stick collecting. I mean, hiking.So after adjusting to many changes, we are thoroughly enjoying our 1st Seattle Summer.

First Finish Line

Half Marathon - 2:06:36 placing 5,107 out of 17,608

Full Marathon - 4:09:53 placing 1,223 out of 4,094

Sweet (and sore) success. Apparently the whole experience wore Kaylee out too.

Thanks for watching the kids Mom and Dad!!

Celebrate!

Our firecracker baby turned one on July 4th. We had 2 fantastic celebrations for Kaylee's birthday. The weekend before her birthday Grandma & Grandpa Couch were visiting to help out during the race (post to come). Grandma & Grandpa Billings joined us as well and we had a wonderful 1st birthday party for Kaylee. After a pasta dinner (a Kaylee favorite & carb load for the race) we played a few games.

First, pulling Kleenex out of a box like the TV show Minute to Win It. Kaylee was slow at first, waiting for me to tell her to stop like I usually do. When she realized it was OK this time, she really got going.

Next was block races, a game from my childhood - who can build the tallest tower before Kaylee knocks it down. Matt growled and barked at her to try to inhibit her from coming near his tower. It didn't work though.

After a balloon game, it was time to open presents. I was surprised at how well Kaylee caught on to actually opening the presents, rather than just eating the paper. Her frustration came when we kept taking the new toy or book away and giving her a new gift to unwrap. She just wanted to play and play. The pictures show how intense she was about investigating each new thing - she couldn't look up at the camera even once. Thanks for all the fun gifts!

Danny also got to help with some of the unwrapping and was excited for the swimming pool that he knew he'd get to share.
Finally it was time for cake. I've decided grandparents are the perfect guests to a child's 1st birthday party. Look at all that attention and love! And notice Danny stealing a cupcake while we're all distracted.


Kaylee was not shy at all about eating the chocolate cupcake.As if the cake wouldn't do enough damage, we decided to add a scoop of ice cream too. Happy, messy girl.

On Kaylee's actual birthday some friends invited us to spend the weekend at their parents lake house for the 4th of July. The other families they had invited had children the same age as Danny & Kaylee. Though none of us had met prior to the weekend, and despite ridiculously cold & rainy weather (mid 50s!), we had a fantastic time grilling, roasting s'mores, canoeing, lighting sparklers, skipping rocks, playing games, talking, eating (a lot!), watching fireworks, & just relaxing. Danny was his usual outgoing self and made friends quickly.

Kaylee got a second birthday cake & did an even better job trying to blow out the candle & make a mess of herself.

Happy Birthday America. Happy Birthday Kaylee. Two great reasons to celebrate!

Happy Birthday Little Girl!

I can't believe it's already been 12 months since Kaylee LaRue joined our family. Now our baby is walking (though no more than 2 or 3 steps at a time), talking (duck, dog, off, mom), and eating like a big girl (her favorites are yogurt, cheese sticks, spaghetti, & chicken nuggets). She loves to play with her big brother's toys & the dog's water and her giggle is contagious. Kaylee's bright blue eyes & smile can light up even the darkest, grayest day. It's so fun to have her fearless, independent, determined spirit around. Here's a picture for each of the last 12 months.

July 4, 2009

August

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

Stay tuned for her 4th of July birthday pictures! We love you Kaylee!