Friday, July 30, 2010

Mike's a workin' fool


So starts the last day of Mike’s first week back to work. I’m up at 4am because I went to bed tooo early last night. I‘ll end up needing coffee later on today but it does give me some peace a quiet to do my blogging.

Mike was cleared by the doctor on Friday, and was back to work bright and early on Monday morning. He went to an 8am start so he which means he is in a truck all day. (He actually likes that…) The reason he took the 8am start was so he would be away from the facility where he was exposed to the chemical that injured him, for most of the day. It seemed like the safer option to take. The doctor still thinks that another exposure could be deadly, but Mike is minimizing the time he’s in the yard as much as he can. They also have special “gas masks” in case he starts to smell the chemical. He told me on Monday that he didn’t realize how much he missed driving. You can tell that he’s happy to be back to work but come Saturday, I’m sure that he will be sleeping in……

Mike’s sister Heather and family are up here staying with us tonight so that she and Brenda can take Kennedy to Wild waves for her birthday. We got to spend a little while visiting before I passed out asleep. ☺ While Jack and I won’t be attending the festivities, we send Kennedy all our love for her very exciting birthday trip. We will be picking her up on Saturday, and taking her to the Carpenter family picnic so she can visit with Mike’s side of the family. For that matter, she will be visiting my side of the family also, because on Saturday, we will be at my family reunion. 2 family reunions in 1 weekend will be fun, and tiring. The traveling will be enough to kill us. One is in Rochester just south of Olympia, and the other is in Bellingham. Talk about opposite ends….. At least the one in Bellingham isn’t in Anacortes this year. We got lost last time we went and spent 2 hours looking for it. At least we know where we are going this time. I will post pictures of all the events as soon as I get the time. I’m sure that there will be lots. My camera is goin' to get a workout this weekend!!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Zoobilee 2010



A lot of you may know that I attended my very first black tie charity event this month. It was for the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium here in Tacoma. They essentially throw a party once a year at the zoo with food and beverages (mostly alcoholic). Aside from the food and drinks, they also set up stages throughout the zoo for bands/DJs. The festivities started at 7:30pm and go until 1am. I went with a group of co-workers and had an absolutely GREAT time. I think that it was the very start of what will be a LONG tradition of attending this particular event. The girls that I went with KNOW how to party so we get along pretty well. Needless to say that most of us closed down the evening at 1am. The weather was great. Sunny in the begining and then cooled down. I was drinking and had a wrap so I didn't get cold, but some of my girlfriends did so they took off early. What was nice for the men, was that “black tie” wasn’t as black tie as one would have thought. Most of the women were in cocktail dresses but most of the men were in some form of hybrid tux/sport jacket with shorts combo. It was pretty interesting. We caught a taxi to a co-workers house and camped out there for the night. All in all it was a great night, at least what I can remember of it. I found the Jameson Whiskey tent and the night started to get fuzzy after that. I remember most parts and I’m sure my girls would have told me if I had dome anything really weird. I'm hoping that I can get Mike to go with us next year. I guess that I have a whole year to convince him…..

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

3 years and counting...

3 years ago today, Mike and I got married. 3 years. Seems like it's been longer than that. We have had plenty going on with us. Jack counts as a several..... Between my job and my illness, Mike's job and his injury, it's been a bumpy road but we've gotten here safe. Things are looking up. I'm feeling better than I have in a very long time. I have the energy that I used to have, also. Mike is doing better and will maybe be able to go back to work which he is very happy about.



I love Mike just as much as I ever have. He is becoming a wonderful father and I love him so much for that. I don't know what things will be like if he gets to go back to work. Jack will be at a loss without his Daddy around all the time. He freaks out if he's out of his sight now.



With the start of actual summer weather, we decided to break out the slip-n-slide that we bought Jack hoping that the weather would eventually get better. :) I wasn't sure for awhile if it would.... He had a great time with it. He didn't actually slide on it, although he did fall down once or twice. He just jumped over, and tried to drink the water spray. He also had fun jumping in the puddles on the slide part. We played outside until it was time to eat dinner. He wasn't happy about going inside, but he got over it as toddlers do. We made the most of the "first day of summer".





Today, Mike and I decided to celebrate our anniversary day with a trip to the beach. It seemed fitting since that is where we went on our honeymoon. That and the fact that it was supposed to be like 90 degrees. We both thought that a little ocean breeze wouldn't be a bad idea. Jack had a BLAST!! All he wanted to do was run in the water. I think that I followed him for like a mile. Daddy tried to help him buld a sand castle, but all Jack wanted to do was destroy anything that Mike built. There a toddler for you.... We all had a great time and all got a little sun burned. After Mike had all the sun he could, we went for a drive to see if any houses were for sale. Maybe one day we will be able to retire to the ocean. At least one can hope, right? Then, we went to an Irish pub in town (apprently they are popping up all over the place) and had a very nice early dinner. I tried Guiness for the very first and probably last time. They mixed it with a hard cider, so that made it tolerable. It wasn't too bad, but I don't think that it will be my new beer of choice. I guess that I'd fail as an Irishman..... We are now sitting at home unwinding from the day. I'm on the computer blogging and Mike is watching a little TV. I'm sure he'd be on Craigslist if he could be but I called the computer first!! :) Well I should go nurse my sunburn, and his for that matter. Here are a few pics to enjoy.
























Happy Anniversary my dear. Here's to many more......

Monday, July 5, 2010

4th of July weekend and Momma is ready for bed.....

Happy 4th of July to one and all!! I hope this post finds everyone well and that all of your appedages are accounted for.

We had a busy weekend that actually started on Thursday evening. My niece, Quinlan who we call Ninny (short for Quinnie) came to stay with us until Saturday night. She and Jack always have a blast together, even though Jack is still learning to share his things.... We did the usual play at home Thursday night, and most of Friday because we were waiting for the sun to come out. It never actually did, so we played in the overcast grayness until it started raining. Jack and Ninny both took 2 baths which I think made up for it all. My bathroom mat is soaked to prove it......

On Saturday though, we met Ron and his family to go clam digging. The weather still wasn't great, but at least we didn't get rained on. This was my first experience clamming and it was pretty fun. The kids played around in the water, and Mike was able to make quick work of his, Jack's, and Ninny's limit on clams. We are going to be eating lots of clams tonight for dinner!! Here are a few pics of our adventure clamming.



2 buddies off to the beach to find some clams.....



What are those girls doing?? Keep wondering kid, you'll never actually figure us out......



This was post rock assault by the 2 year old. He was so cute that I had to let him do it again so I could get the picture....



The kids had a blast looking for crabs and splashing in the water.






Yummmm, seaweed...



Once in a great while, the artsy side of Momma rears it's head.


As for the actual 4th of July well, Mike and I took Jack to the Freedom fair on Ruston way. He had a pretty good time. He behaved himself for the majority of the day. He finally wanted down after we had wondered up and down the road for the 2nd or 3rd time. He said 'Baby down...BABY DOWN!!!' and then told me 'Run, Momma. RUN!!' and he did. He is fast for being so short. Mike chased him a good 1/2 mile, and he was still going strong. One of the problems is that he doesn't watch where he is going. He ran right in front of a group of bicycle cops and made them all stop. Mike said they 'crashed', but no one was on the road when I looked so I don't think that qualifies as a crash.... I didn't get too many pics because he was just in the stroller part of the day and when he wasn't, I was maning the stroller. Then, my batteries died just after the fireworks started. There's irony for you. We stayed specificly for the fireworks an then the camera has the nerve to die. Couldn't have possibly been operator error, could it.... Here are pics of what I did get.

Sweet Jack at the end of a long day.


Light saber vs Daddy's head. Sweet but not so innocent Jack. This one is for everybody that thinks Jack is such an angel.....






Happy 4th of July!!