SYTYCD

You won't believe how quickly I came up with that acronym! (I'm embarassed...)

Tonight was Abby's first dance recital. It was in front of the movie theaters at the Capital mall. All day she said she wasn't going to "go up there". She fell asleep in the car on the drive there, and I think that was the boost she needed. It is a short performance (2 min 11 sec), so enjoy. We especially enjoyed her "directorial enhancements"!
**I can't; for the life of me; get the video to post here. So, go here to watch it on youtube***

for Chritsmas....

Who says technology is taking over our kids' lives? I see at least one legitimate toy on this list...

9!

I can't believe this little guy is now 9! This is Caleb on his 1st birthday. He still lights up the room with his smile, brings much joy to our home, and still makes a mess with cake! We love him so much and are blessed to have him in our family.

Yellow Belt

Caleb has been working hard in tae kwon do. He took his yellow belt advancement test tonight. He looks intimidating here - his kiup (yell) is worse than his bite!

Though you can't see his face, Caleb has perfect form in this hapkido move. I feel sorry for the kid with the red hair :)

Demonstrating another hapkido move.

Breaking the board with his back kick. He broke it on the first try!

Having his yellow belt put on. We are so proud of Caleb and the progress he is making in tae kwon do!

Glen Albert Gilyeat

I took this picture from a collage of pictures from my childhood. The only one I could find with my Grandpa Gilyeat in it. Even though this was roughly 35 years ago, he hadn't changed much my whole life. Except for losing the plaid pants and non-matching plaid jacket. He passed away this morning. It is bittersweet. He truggled with Alzheimer's for a while and decided last week he was done fighting - he stopped eating. I'm glad he didn't suffer long. And as the type-writer note says "We love Grandpa!" -April

Ethics and Morality

I have really learned a lot the past few days on the above topics. I thought I knew what they were, but had a heck of a time helping Caleb understand them. See, Caleb is getting ready for his Yellow Belt advancement in Tae kwon do. The school he is in "emphasizes the mental as well as physical aspects of the art". He is required to write a report on a different topic with each advancement and this time the question is "What are ethics and morality?" Heavy stuff for an almost 9 year old. Together we did some research on-line. Let me share with you what he came up with (80% his own words):

Ethics answers questions such as "What is right and wrong?" and "What is good and bad?". It can help me make informed decisions. An ethical person will make the right decision even if no one is looking.
A moral person has manners, character, proper behavior, and is honest. My morals have been taught to me by my parents, and other trusted adults. They help me make good decisions, respect others, and contribute to society.

I am really proud of him. He did such a good job putting into words what I struggled to do. Even though it is weighty material for him, he seems to grasp it well, and I hope he will remember his definitions as he goes through his life. I hope I can, too! - April

Halloween!

Here they are. The obligatory photos of Caleb and Abby in their Halloween costumes. Abby had been telling us for weeks that she wanted to be a "sparkly unicorn; with wings". I had no idea how to make that one work. Luckily, we have a neighbor who thinks along the same lines as Abby, and is generous (thanks Gay)! That is where we scored this fantastic costume from!

Caleb was a Knight in Shining Armor. Maybe rescuing the Unicorn from some unknown danger. I love the way this shot turned out. I'm going to say I did it on purpose...
These goofy teeth were a gift from Grandma & Grandpa Hoeveler. The kids loved them! All in all, a great Halloween.

Fall fun

Today was beautiful!We invited our friends, the Hills to go with us to the Rutledge Corn Maze. We even pulled our oldest out of school so that we could take full advantage of the sunny weather.
Each year the maze is a different shape. This year it was the face of Captain Phil Harris from Deadliest Catch.
The kids grabbed maps and punch cards and we were off. Dave has mad navigation skills, so it didn't take us long to find each of the markers and we never got lost! Here's Abby and Lexi getting us started.
And Caleb and friend Zane punching their cards.
Looking along one of the trails.
The kids had a great time! And so did the parents. Thanks Hills family for making it extra fun!! - April

a new belt

Last year Caleb started a taekwondo program through the free membership we had at the YMCA. We slacked off once the school year started and then the gravy train dried up (so to speak). For the past 2 months Caleb has been taking classes at Master Na's. He loves it! Thursday he participated in his first belt advancement. He is now an Advanced White Belt - white belt with a yellow stripe in the middle.
Here he is showing his poomse - form (in Korean).


And here he is attacking this poor girl. Actually, he is demonstrating an attack, and she is demonstrating a block.

Demonstrating a roundhouse kick.

Using a side kick to break a board.

Wearing his new belt, bowing to his instructor. Master Na is the black belt in the middle.

And a great picture of Abby! It was 95 outside, and the warehouse the dojong is in was almost as hot.
We are so proud of Caleb. He worked so hard and can now appreciate the fruits of his labors. - April

Father's Day as it is now

I may not have this one around anymore.

But (thanks to my husband), I still have this one in my life.

And my kids have this one!
I am so grateful for the father's in my life. -April

What were you doing...

...30 years ago on May 18th? Don't worry, I don't remember either. But anyone who lived here in Washington I'm sure remembers. This is what happened:
We spent Saturday visiting the area.
This picture shows the mudflow area. Even after 30 years it still looks like another planet.
A stump of one of the trees that was blown off in the blast.
This hillside still shows the effects of the blast. To me, it looked as though the hill was made of play-dough and the force of the blast just flattened it a bit. The National Park Service has done a fantastic job of preserving the area, so it looks just as it did all those years ago.
We are in Washington after all, so cloudy skies are the norm. But I promise you, the ever-forming dome is somewhere behind those clouds. If it were a sunny day, one could see that the dome is almost as tall as the Seattle Space Needle, and growing more every year.
This is a lake that was formed by the mudslides caused by the eruption. The way that nature healed herself is absolutely astounding.
And I'll leave you with this picture that typifies a Northwest forest... clover, moss and ferns. -April

Ballard and Fremont

A few weekend ago, we went to Ballard (north of Seattle) for a birthday party for the kids of some friends of ours. While we have lived in Washington nearly 12 years now (yikes... has it really been that long?!), we have yet to see some of the local sites in that part of Seattle. So, we took the opportunity to be tourists in our own state.

This is where we ate lunch. It is a local joint, been around since 1954, cash only, greasy fries and soooo good!


The first place we hit was the Ballard Locks. It is used to get boats from Lake Washington to the Puget Sound, and the other way around. The kids loved watching the locks fill with water and then empty . We'll definitely go back in the late summer when the salmon are running in the fish ladder.


We saw this guy diving under the water searching for fish to eat. It was pretty amazing.


What?? I thought this would make a good picture. (Don't worry... it is a dead set of tracks!)


This is the Fremont Troll. It is located under the Aurora Street Bridge in Fremont (near Ballard). It is made of concrete and was a lot of fun to crawl around on.


Here you can see that it is holding onto an actual VW bug. Sure hope the passengers got out in time!

Abby and Caleb trying to escape from the clutches of the troll. Caleb looks seriously scared!!


We also drove past this Fremont public sculpture called "Waiting for the Interurban". I didn't use my picture because it is forever festooned with layers of junk, clothing, and masquerade attire, celebrating whatever.


And lastly, America's largest statue honoring Lenin. Truly. It really is. There is a sort-of interesting story about how it came to be in Fremont. I won't go into it here, but you can go here to check it out. It was a great day to be a Washingtonian! - April

Spring Break??

The calendar says it is spring break, but the weather outside tells a different story altogether. More like winter break, if you ask me. The rain has ruined any plans we made to visit parks and enjoy the time outside.




Although the weather feels nothing like spring and looks like this, the kids and I put our indoor time to good use and made some spring-like cupcakes for our friends and neighbors.

I let Caleb and Abby each decide upon the color of the frosting and cake. Can you guess their picks?
Now, before you think I'm cool enough to come up with this idea on my own, I'll stop you. My inspiration came from the Pick-Palate blog. http://picky-palate.com/2010/03/04/lucky-green-velvet-baby-cakes/