Getting Around

 Sam's birthday (party #3), cake by Wegman's (east coast grocery store extraordinare)

 National Christmas tree, in the south lawn of the White House

There are 50+ trees around the National tree, for each state and territory.  This one is the Washington State tree.

Catching Up

Going through pictures this morning made me realize that there is quite a gap in the blog.  Here's our attempt at catching up.

Andrew's steel drum concert at school (he's in yellow, right side, playing the largest drums)

 Birthday boy at Vince's

 Party kids after basketball at the community center

 The early birthday party at Grandma's netted plenty of Oregon State gear

Philadephia @ Christmas

The Ben Franklin bridge lit up at night.

 Same bridge in the morning; beautiful, cold sunrise.

 The console of the Wanamaker Organ at the Philadelphia Macy's.

  Looking towards the William Penn statue from the steps of the art museum.

Art museum (cue the "Rocky" music)

Macy's light display

Young Men at the Symphony

The boys went to watch mom at work. Tonight was Cirque de la Symphonie, as the orchestra performed wtih artists from the Cirque de Soleil organization.  Strong men, jugglers, and acrobats performed to the as the Symphony played holiday music and light classics.  Perhaps the most amazing act was a woman who plays the violin upside down.  They didn't teach me that in violin methods class.  Of course, the boys loved all of it!

The Grown-up violinist

Andrew's fall violin recital was last night.  He played the 3rd movement of a Concerto by Seitz - quite a grown-up piece.  And, he looked the part by borrowing a tie from Dad's closet.  Andrew and Sam recently found a bunch of ties that Alan used to wear when he taught elementary school, and this is one of them.  From a distance, it looks like a very serious, business-like tie, but up close the pattern is made up of M&M's.

Harry P. and Franklin G.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Preview

We're ready for Halloween....pumpkins are carved, and Sam got to try out his costume at a birthday party today.

Andrew's Alliteration Assignment

Five fast Ferraris fled Florida. They went through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and finally stopped at a motel in Texas. Their drivers saw some interesting things along the way. In Alabama, they saw great green grass grow. In Mississippi, they saw seven Stegasaurus stop spinning. In Louisiana they saw mad men make macaroni. And, in Texas right before they got to the motel they saw big brown and black bulls. They were relieved when they got to the motel, and they started talking about the weird things they had seen.

Fall photo update

Wow....it's been a while, and we've been busy. Lame excuses, I know, but so true. We hope you are enjoying fall as much as we have been.

When Mom's Away...

Dad here…We were watching the Mariners game at home last night, playing ping pong on our new handmade Huskies ping-pong table (pics sometime), and noticed Felix Hernandez had a no-hitter going. I asked the boys if they’d want to go and try to see the end. Andrew was very enthusiastic. Sam was reluctant (tired, etc.) When Felix made it through 6, we got in the car and drove downtown. He lost the no-no in the 8th, just as we were pulling off the highway, but we went ahead anyway. Parked in a vacated parking spot (free) and got the cooperation of a slightly baffled security lady at the main entrance to Safeco Field. We missed Felix, hearing the thunderous ovation as he left the field from just outside the ballpark. But we did get to see Ichiro (pictured) bat, and watch David Aardsma retire Vladimir Guerrero for the final out in a 2-1 Mariners win – about as charged an atmosphere as we’ve seen this year at Safeco. The boys LOVED the whole thing and I hope they learned a little about seizing the moment, even if the moment didn’t include a no-hitter.

Oh yeah, Mom’s out of town. ;-)

Seward Park

Now that we finally have 4 bicyclists in the family, we have been seeking out spots to ride that are fun for all of us. Last night it was Seward Park, which sticks out into Lake Washington just a few miles south of Seattle. The park has a wide path that makes a 3-mile loop around the perimeter, offering spectacular views on a clear night. We went around twice since it was such a nice evening.

Sam's Turn

Last month, we took Andrew golfing while Sam was at a sleepover. Today, Dad took Sam while Andrew was at camp. Sam's philosphy on the course is "Grip it and Rip it!" Playing with three adults - including a very talented one armed golfer - he had closest to the pin three times in nine holes on an executive course. Above, he follows through in the shadow of Mt. Rainier.

On the fashion front, he threw an athletic ensemble at the task. Mariners hat, Mariners shirt, and indoor soccer shoes. Not the flair his brother had, but just as authentic to his personality.

The coolest golfer ever

Sure, you've seen Fred Couples' fantastic golf swing, but have you ever seen him wear shark sunglasses, a Star Wars t-shirt, baggy Carolina blue gym shorts, and classic 80s Vans?

Sam was away at a friend's house, so the three of us went golfing on an "executive" course (like a par 3) in the shadow of Mt. Rainier. It was a great time. Then, at Andrew's insistence, we went to a pizza place that has breadsticks. Eating pizza and breadsticks with his rail-like frame...totally unfair!

Violins a hit before ballgame

Andrew's violin group played the national anthem at the AAA Tacoma Rainiers game last night. It was also his birthday party. And Mariner's GM Jack Zduriencik was sitting nearby watching prospects Michael Pineda (5 IP, 11 K, 0 BB) and Dustin Ackley. Great fun was had by all!

This is a good video of the short performance, with Andrew adjacent to the conductor for most of it.

Tetons

After a couple of days in Yellowstone, we traveled south through Grand Tetons National park. We didn't have much time to spend there, but were able to find a reasonable hike that allowed us to take in the mountain views across Jackson Lake. The Tetons are a spectacular sight, again hard to do justice to in photos.

Yellowstone

I'm taking advantage of Starbucks free wi-fi for a trip update. We've been gone a week now, and have had a truly amazing trip. It's difficult to do justice to Yellowstone National Park in photos, but here are a few favorites. We never could have imagined what we saw while visiting there.

Top to bottom:

the Old Faithful Geyser in mid-eruption, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, a bison near a steaming hot spring, vista from the Artists Painted Pots area, Sam and Andrew near a waterfall.

Redondo Marine Center

We've been hearing for the last couple of years about the Marine Science Center down on the Redondo Waterfront (just a 10 minute drive from our house). It's a research aquarium run by Highline Community College, but it's open to the public on Saturdays, and it's free. We decided to check it out yesterday, and it was well worth it. It's a small aquarium, built out on a pier. There are no tropical fish, only local inhabitants from Puget Sound in natural surroundings. One of our tour guides said that people often bring in specimens that they catch from the next pier over. There are many types of fish, starfish, urchins, anemones and jellyfish. Apparently they had a young octopus for a while, but it outgrew it's tank so they released it back into the Sound. We spent a good 90 minutes learning about the inhabitants of Puget Sound, and made it back home in time to watch USA soccer.

Happy Father's Day!

We spent Father's Day at the racetrack with the Harvey's, enjoying some wholesome family fun. Sam had the best day of anyone; in 6 races he picked 3 winners and 2 2nd place finishers. It helped that he usually went with the favorite, so he won a total of about $8. It was rainy and cold, but we had a good time anyway. We finished the day with a barbeque at the Harvey's.

Cuteness Overload

We visited Donna and Brian yesterday to meet 6-day old Noah! Sam and Andrew were fascinated by how tiny he is (they were never that tiny, but close). He was very sweet and sleepy while we were there.

End of the Season

The AA Mariners finished up on Saturday in beautiful spring weather (finally!). Andrew and Sam had great years, particularly in defense and pitching. Andrew pitched an inning in the final game and had another terrific appearance. Alan says he is the Doug Fister of the team - the tall, crafty, right-hander. Sam's biggest accomplishment was learning to switch-hit, which probably limited his hits at the beginning of the year, but will be a great skill to have as the years go on.