1st day of school

my kids, along with myself began a new school year in a new school in seattle. i am now teaching 4th grade at st. alphonsus school in ballard. my kids are in uniform for the first time since aruba and so far so good. we have 6 nuns that either work or help out in the school, takes one back to years past.

langley cafe

labor day weekend we went to whidbey island and steve and i enjoyed a nice lunch at the langley cafe in the town we began our life as a family in. always brings me back to simpler times, when time never mattered. i was just a young mom at home with a baby.

bronco fest

for years my sister jenny and her family have been traveling down to the oregon coast for the annual bronco fest. my sister happens to have one of 600 ever made baja broncos. besides broncos there are copious amounts of quads, bikes, and other such 4-wheel objects. i had my first experience of bronco fest. it was great and one that i will remember, along with my kids. met a many of interesting characters along the way. some might say that i was one of those interesting characters.

b-day X two

every year houston and i are able to spend our celebrated birthdays together. g-ma anne always does such a nice job recognizing both of us. i feel lucky to have one of the best days celebrated with my only son.

the oosterdam

our great friend dre, from our time teaching in aruba, is working on the holland american line out of seattle this summer. we were so excited to see dre after two years removed from aruba. it brought back so many memories. we were greatful that we had a short visit with him since he is the only IT man on board and has huge responsibilities. only inport once a week for a few short hours.

end of summer

end of summer was tough to get ready for school this year. the weather has been so great here in seattle. great sunny warm days and knowing the end is near is tough. so a trip to gas works park in late august to watch all of the boaters and wish you were one of them is what we did. then we hit 'the loft' in ballard, which is a bar owned by my brother-in-laws, brother in law, if that makes any sense. great little spot in ballard.

5tth year of sun lakes

for 5 years now we have been crossing the mountains to join our whidbey possee at sun lakes. each year it is a surprise as to what cabin you will end up with. so far we have never had the same cabin. think the parents enjoy it as much as the kids. one thing you can garantee about sun lakes in central washington in august, is that it is always going to be hot and sunny.

cuz'ns

houston loves his buddy dakotah, and think dakotah kind of looks up to houst.

houst

houston just enjoying the summer and his love of kayaking on the lake

cliff jumping

the kids enjoyed cliff jumping at davis lake where mike and jenny now live. being on the lake in the evening, there's nothing like it.

davis lake

this summer we enjoyed some hot summer days at davis lake north of spokane where jenny, mike, dakotah, and wyatt now live.

houstaloid

houston had a great attitude out on the field this all star season, he was always trying to get his team excited, with a little help from his cheerleader mom. his team finished 2nd in state next to spokane, go figure that one. he had a great ride and is a great little ball player, we are so very proud of him and all that he has accomplished. GO THUNDER!!

pitching all star

houston pitched 2nd this all star season and came out a winner many times. playing bellevue in semi- finals of state was a stress breaker for mom. mom had to remove herself because she was so nervous. we were up 8-6, houston on the mound, bases loaded with one out. i took a walk to the bathrooms, came back for a pop catch by houston and a strike out on 3. they went on to the state finals against the all star team from spokane, what are the chances of that. spokane beat us in the final state game 12-7 and they went on to play in california. many ways we were glad we did not have to make that expensive trip. sure we will be at it again next year. you do now know how competitive you are as a parent until you have a child that plays competitive sports. glad it is over for this year, don't know how much more i could have taken.

an all star

houston had a great all star season of baseball, we are so proud of how far he has come.

fox news

this summer steve came home to greta van susteren on his front porch. anyone who does not know her she is a news reporter for fox. she has been following the joran/natelie holloway story since the story broke in aruba 3 years ago. supposedly joran has a new story and as it has been told to gretam, joran claims that he told his story to steve days after natalie went missing. not true! so here comes greta looking to steve to get his side of the story. as relunctant as he was to go on camera, he wanted to clear his name. who knows when and if this will air. hard to believe we were around during this terrible tragedy of one lost girl.

4th on whidbey

wonder woman and bobbie and richard join the parade this year. wonder woman had no crime to fight this year.

maxwelton parade whidbey

the queen this year is syd. she is so overjoyed! we gather at the farm and pre-funk till the parade gets underway, so whidbey, and what we wait for each year. thank god for good friends and good fun, for both kids and adults. bobbie and richard joined the riegns this year. glad to have you a part of the festivities.