We had a few really nice days in February and were able to get out some hiking in our local park. The kids did great. They walked nearly a mile in total and loved picking up sticks and leaves. The weather was so beautiful that we went hiking 2 days in a row. The 2nd day we went hiking on a gravel trail and it was Gabe’s mission to pick up as many rocks as he could. We quickly determined that if we didn’t put them in the backpacks, we would never make it to the lighthouse.

Ciara is doing an awesome job working with the kids to teach them colors, letters, and words. They say a lot of words but sometimes get very frustrated when we don’t understand them. They amaze us every day with the things they say or observations they make. For example, I learned that when I’m looking through their closet to find them an outfit I say “hmmmm, what should we wear?” I now know this because they both started going through the clothes going “hmmmm.” It’s pretty funny when they pick up on things that you don’t even realize you do!

Poor Zara continues to be a klutz. As she was running back the hall chasing Gabe, she fell head first into the corner of the wall. She had a huge goose egg on her head and our wall had a huge dent and crack but like a trooper Zara was up and running in no time. Zara is one tough little girl! She won’t let a boo boo or a rough brother get her down!

The kids love going to art class and doing art at home. They are so proud to show us their art creations!

View our February 2012 photos.

Posted in Activities, Friends & Family, Gabriel and Zara, Outdoor activities 109 Comments »

We took the kids sledding for the first time in January. We found a little hill near the ski resorts (about an hour away) that was perfect for the kids to go with us or by themselves. They had a blast sledding but found walking in their snow outfits difficult.

I had a genius idea to let the kids finger paint while sitting on the floor. I didn’t really think thru the whole leg/foot thing and would have been better off with them sitting at the table! Our kids really hate being dirty and having a “mess” so I’m not sure what they thought of it. My luck ran out when Gabe got paint on his toe. He flipped out and was done painting.

We had our first big snow in the city this year. We had gone to the Aquarium for the afternoon and didn’t bother to carry our jackets inside since we parked right across the street. By the time we came out it was like a blizzard and the roads were pretty terrible. About 2 miles away from the downtown, the snow stopped and there was not a trace of the snow for the next mile or our neighborhood. While we did not get any snow the entire first day, Ciara (our nanny) had over 6 inches in her neighborhood only a few miles away. It was a strange storm! Seattle historically doesn’t do well in snow storms because they have very few plows and do not believe in salting the road (affects the salmon population). We ended up working from home the entire week because we only had one car (Z’s car doesn’t work in snow!), and he would pick Ciara up and bring her here so we could both work from home. We had a lot of fun sledding in the neighborhood with the kiddos but by the end of the 7 days, we were all pretty happy to be back to our normal routines!

Zara and Gabe are continuing to talk more and more. Our favorite word is helicopter pronounced something like keli-cop-cop, other favorites include pocket – pock pock, airplane (we live in the flight path!) – bear-plane, clementine – clem-tine. Maggie is no longer nah-nah to Zara, she’s Cat. They’re starting to have a lot of opinions about what they want to wear and do (or not do!). They love giving kisses (and blowing kisses on skype), they love it when I jump out and say BOO, and they also love the water.

We took them to this award winning pool that is essentially a large baby pool with fountains, water dripping from above and a padded floor, a deeper pool, and a pool with a lazy river. The kids had a blast. We took them to the deeper section where they had floating mats you could jump off of. Even though they were wearing life jackets they still went under when they jumped in. We thought they would be upset but they immediately said MORE Please when they came out above water. At one point Zara lost her balance and fell backwards off the mat to the other side. I quickly swam under and met her on the other side but she wasn’t bothered in the least! We’re excited that they like the water so much and are looking into swimming lessons in the spring.

View our January 2012 photos.

Posted in Gabriel and Zara, Outdoor activities 1 Comment »

Z competed in the Lake Stevens half Ironman again this year. This grueling race is 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of biking, and 13.1 miles of running. The course has many hills so it was a tough race.

View Z’s Lake Stevens Triathon photos.

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Z had a great race at the Satsop triathlon and placed 4th overall.

View Z’s Satsop Triathon photos.

Posted in Triathlon 95 Comments »

( Sorry for the “essay” but I had a lot to write about!)

 We had a great visit with my parents, my sister Patty and our friend Sue last week. Mom’s first flight ever was smooth and uneventful so we hope they’ll make the trip again soon!

We packed a lot into 5 days and saw a good portion of the state! With the exception of whales, salmon, and the space needle, we hit everything on the itinerary!

We visited the Ballard locks and the salmon ladder. We had hoped to see salmon swimming in the ladder but it’s not the right time of year and unfortunately we were not able to see any salmon. The Locks aren’t a typical tourist destination but it is one of Zvonimir and my favorite places.

We visited Pike’s Place Market where we watched the fish flying through the air, bought some amazing fruits, vegetables, and local crab for dinner. We listened to some street performers and were entertained by the colorful locals. After the market we took the Argosy lakes cruise which takes you through Lake Union out onto Lake Washington.

Later that night my cousin Bill and his family, Leslie, Jack and Cole, as well as Leslie’s father, Richard, joined us for dinner. We had a great time catching up and eating our market purchases.

We did quite a bit of driving on this trip. We put over 1000 miles on the car in 5 days! On our first road trip covered nearly 350 miles. We drove north to Stevens Pass where there is still nearly 10 ft of snow on the ground. Then we drove on to Leavenworth, which underwent a transformation in 1962 to mock a Bavarian village to revitalize its economy. Then on to Aplets and Coblets factory so Sue and Pat could buy some treats.

Returning home we traveled through the farmland of central Washington to the Columbia River Gorge, where we took a quick detour to see several petrified trees.

Patty nearly killed us as she yelled “Z STOP!” on the highway and we were forced to pull to the side of the road. I thought maybe she had been stung by a killer bee or something but as it turns out she thought she spotted a cool bird (later we learned that the bird she thought she spotted doesn’t even live in WA…). En route to Snoqualmie pass we also saw a herd of Elk covering the hillside. We returned home tired and in need of sleep before our next adventure!

We took the Bainbridge Island Ferry over to Bill & Leslie’s vacation spot on the Hood Canal. We had a great picnic on their deck and watched an eagle soar above and spotted a seal fishing in the Sound. Next we went into a temperate rain forest in the Olympic Forest.

Our final day we drove north to the Skagit County tulip festival. The tulips are a blooming a bit late this year but we were happy to see a few colorful fields. We drove across Deception Pass and down Whidbey Island on the way home and were amazed to see 15 eagles that day.

We were exceptionally lucky with the weather and enjoyed the first days of sun we’ve had in a while! The minute their flight left Seattle the weather turned and it was cloudy and raining.

View the photos from my Family’s visit.

Posted in Activities, Friends & Family, Seattle 85 Comments »