35? What the hell??? 2.12.10

Darrick...lookin' good.
Amy=pink, Darrick=blue, Monica=yellow, Julie=green ;-)

I think maybe I just did something good??!?!

Monica airing out her hands for optimal bowling performance.

Cutie little Jules.

Wow! 35. It really shouldn't matter. I mean, I don't feel different today than I did yesterday. But, wow. There's something about 35 that just feels old, older, not young. God willing, I'm not even to the half way point of my life; and I certainly don't look at myself as old...but, it does feel like kinda a big deal. Luckily my friends looked at it as a big deal as well and took me out to celebrate. ;-) First we met at Julie's where I got to open some fantastic gifts. Then is was off to see "Sherlock Holmes" with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. (Very good movie by the way, I highly recommend it.) From there we went for dinner and drinks. Mmmmmm. And then it was off to Glow Bowling. (We were also counting this as our February get together, unfortuantely not all of the Harem could attend.) Anyway, if you have never done this....put it on your bucket list. It's a hoot. They turn off the big lights. They turn on the florescence lights. They play music loud. And it rocks. :-) As it happened, it also was the opening ceremonies for the winter olympics so they had that playing as well. Anyway, we bowled for about 2 hours and then called it a night. All in all, a funfilled 35th. Thanks friends for making it memorable. Life is good.

Valentine's/President Progarm 2.11.10

Pierce and Logan walking in. (I love the smile Logan is giving me.)
What a good looking group...and Mrs. W is such an awesome music teacher.

"You're a grand ole flag, you're a high flyin' flag...."

Proud grandparents

Another holiday, another cuter than cute school program. So, as it happened to work out this year, Logan's preschool program was occuring the day before my birthday and the day before we were headed into a 4 day weekend. So, because I'm such a great mother and having no self-ish reasons to do so at all, I thought it best that I acutally have a 5 day weekend so I can watch Logan's program. Am I a giver or what? ;-) Anyway, we were told to dress our kids up in red, white, and blue and boy did they all look cute together. My parents were able to join me for the program and helped with the video taping (thanks Mom) while I took pictures. The kids sang 15 songs that were either love themed or patriotic. I'm so impressed every time Logan has a school program with not only how many songs the kids learn, but also all the movements and enthusiasm they bring. I fear that when I play the video back all you will be able to hear is me laughing because it's just such a cute sight. ;-) The program went off without a hitch and then it was time to mingle and eat goodies. Thanks to all the teachers and helpers that made this such a terrific event. Life is good.

Pierce Turns Four 2.7.10

Logan and the birthday boy Pierce in the ball pit.
That's quite the cake...well done Jonathan, well done.

Kara was definitely getting into the party spirit.

Love, love, love this shot. :-)

Sam was having a blast too...in fact, I'm pretty sure Jonathan didn't sit down once as he was following his little guy around.

What a fun afternoon this turned out to be. Logan's buddy Pierce was turning 4 and his parents had decided to host a Batman themed party at our local indoor playground. The laughter was contagious, the superheroes were abundant, the decorations were inspired, the cake was one of a kind, and the kids were thrilled. Logan simply loves Pierce and had so much fun celebrating his birthday with him. Thanks Jonathan and Kara for including us and Pierce, here's wishing you the best year yet. We love you guys very much. Life is good.

Redhook 2.5.10

Judy and I with some of our samples.
Darrick, Kim, and Diana...sweet, sweet friends.

Can you imagine what it would be like to not get along with your co-workers? I certainly can't. I have been lucky enough to make some wonderful friends through work and these same wonderful friends wanted to take me out for my big 35th birthday. (35? Mama Mia!) Anyway, since I had already made plans for my actual birthday and as my bff Karen says it really is my birthday week, er, birthday month, we went out tonight. Oh what fun! First we met at Judy's for a little pre-funk, then we all loaded up in her Suburban and headed to Redhook Brewery. ;-) Great friends, a good sampling of beverages, and delicious food. Not to end the night too early, we then headed over to a local pub for a nightcap and some pool. It was a wonderful evening and a great reminder as I quickly approach this milestone birthday of how lucky I am. Thanks friends...you're the best. Life is good.

Fanfest 1.31.10

I love this picture of Anne, Brady, Tommy, and Loganberry.
Logan and I down on the field.

Logan rockin' it in the outfield.


KOMO 4 News: "Logan, how was it catching popflys?"
Logan: "Tough"

Most of our monkeys waiting to get seated for lunch.

What a wonderful day with fantastic friends! So, here's a little background on "Hayman's Harem". When I began my teaching career, I met some fantastic people (you've seen them throughout my blog) and we became fast friends. Sarah, Monica, Julie, Gina, Darrick, and I were quite the force to be reckoned with. For three years we all taught together, hung out together, had Friday after school "meetings" together, started our families all around the same time, and so on. It was great. Then as is inevitable people started to move on. Sarah decided to leave the teaching profession, then Monica and Gina went into administration, and Julie moved from the high school to our new mid-high campus; thus leaving Darrick and I. The band broke up. :( Since then we've still been able to have some wonderful adventures together (going to Hawaii winter of '08 for Sarah's wedding just to name one), but we definitely don't see each other enough. So Darrick and I, in an attempt to get the band back together, decided that this year we would try to get together once a month. SO, for January we decided to go to Mariner Fanfest. A few of us went last year and, eventhough it was freakin' freezing, had a great time. This year was no different. We had a great time getting to tour Safeco field and see all the action behind the scenes. It wasn't nearly as cold (yea), but there were hordes more people (grrrr). The kids had a blast running the bases, kickin' it in the dugout, and simply playing together. Then we got in line for the kids to catch popflys. They each got a mitt and off they went. It was awesome! Logan was thrilled and knew just what to do. So, after they each got to catch 3 or 4 balls, they turned in their mitts and we were off. As we were headed out, our local news station asked if they could interview the boys. WHAT!?!!? Of course you can! Anyway, Logan (being a bit of a shy guy) gave his one word answers softly and that was that. I didn't even bother to ask when, if at all, his little interview would air because I really figured what were the odds. There were 17,000 people at fanfest over a two day period and they probably interviewed 100's of kids. But, lo and behold, that following Tuesday Logan had his television debut. I was SO proud of my little guy. Anyway, after we got our fill of Safeco we headed over to a local brewery for a delicious lunch where we ended up getting our own little room because we were such a big group. I'm telling ya, I'll remember this day for a long time to come. Life is gooooooooood!!!

The Cabin 1.18.10

"The Cabin" which I swear is more like a house. 3 bedroom, 2 bath, livingroom, kitchen, dining area, laundyroom...good times. :-)
Poor Norm...he had SO much fun out in the snow, but ended up cutting up his paws pretty bad because the snow was so hard, like ice, that he had to wear Logan's socks in the house. But I just couldn't not let him play outside.

Don't those rosy cheecks say it all?

This is where we had lunch one day....delicious!!!!

Mike sledding. On a side note, it was so great to get some time to hang with my brother. We don't see each other nearly enough and when we do it's usually with the whole family. And he was so fantastic helping with Logan and Norman...they couldn't ask for a better uncle. Thanks again Mike. I hope you had as much fun as we did. Same time next year??? :-)

So, in keeping with the theme we had going this summer (staycations=where you stay close to home for vacations and make the most out of the awesome area where you live on account of not having piles of money to spend), I decided to pack up Logan, Norman, and my brother and head a few hours out of town for a winter staycation. I had a long weekend due to the MLK holiday and my aunt and uncle own a beautiful "cabin" just a few hours from home. They were nice enough to let us stay there for a few days (thanks Mick and Cheryl) and since I really don't like to drive in the snow and wasn't keen on being alone with the boys in the wilderness, my brother volunteered to go with us. (Heck he even drove over. And as it turns out I totally could have done it. It was the perfect winter conditions as far as I'm concerned....plenty of snow on the ground with clear roads. But thanks anyway Mike!) Anyway, we had such a terrific time. And we picked the perfect year to go, since we saw basically only a tiny little dusting on our side of the mountains back home. We went sledding, made snow angels, had snowball fights, trekked around the area the cabin resides in and spent part of a day in a quaint little town not far from the cabin. The three days went way too fast and I'm eager to get back again. I think another trip in the summer this time is definitely called for. Life is good.

Teeth Cleaning? 1.7.10

Robin, our awesome hygienist, taking Logan for a ride up and down in the chair.
Logan doing his part to check on his own teeth.

This was about 1 second before he lost it. :-(

Robin was so great and Logan was thrilled to get his gift of dental goodies.

So today was Logan's second trip to the dentist and I'm happy to report that we are definitely making progress. On his first trip if you recall from an older post, he basically smiled for our awesome hygienist (Robin) while standing as far away from her as he could. (Not really the "check-up" I had in mind.) So, this time we got him in the chair, laying back, opening wide, looking at his teeth with the little mirror thing, and for one split second he even allowed our awesome dentist (Dr. Lupie) to get a closer look. Unfortunately, three things happened at once that really freaked him out. 1. they turned on the big scary light to shine right in his eyes (which BTY always makes me feel like I'm about to get grilled by the po-po). 2. Dr. Lupie started poking around in his mouth with a one of those scraper things that looks like you could really mame someone with. And 3. Robin (thinking she was simply looking our for Loganberry) put some sunglasses on him without giving him a heads up that they were coming his way. Well, that was it for my little guy. He was up and screaming faster than you can say floss, and there was no getting him back in that chair. The good news is that they saw enough to say they thought his teeth looked great. We go back in June. Wish us luck. ;-) Life is good with clean, healthy teeth.