Get out and Vote!

It's rainy and cold and windy and yucky outside today. The kind of day when I want to stay inside and drink hot chocolate. But not today. Today I voted.

In Washington, voting is done by mail. We get our voters pamphlet and ballot in the mail a few weeks before the election and we can mail it back.

This bugged me when we first moved here. I like to drive to the voting location, have my name marked on the voter registration list, stand in a booth and then put my ballot in the box. The act of going somewhere to do this appeals to me. But the advantage of voting by mail is that we got pour over the voter pamphlet for as long as we want and research this or that online as well when we have a question about a candidate's stand. We make our choice without being in a hurry to mark the ballot and get back to whatever is going on in our lives.

My compromise of these two voting methods was to vote this morning in my house and then drive my ballot (and Jason's) to the drop off box. When I got there I saw many people dropping off their ballots too. It warmed my heart to see all these people coming and going; exercising their right to choose their leaders. I was one of them.

I think this moment was more poignant for me because my kids are paying attention to this election. They are eager to learn about the process. They are watching their parents. I was in second grade when Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter. This is the first election I remember. My classroom had a vote complete with ballots and booths and a winner. I voted for Ronald Reagan, but Jimmy Carter won our classroom vote. Ronald Reagan won the election. It was a big deal to vote and take part in the process. Now my kids are in that situation. They know who John McCain and Barack Obama are. We looked in our voter pamphlet and talked about other candidates and races as well (for president, congress, initiatives, etc). At home we talk about the importance of voting. Their classes talk about the election and how it's important to be sure your voice is heard. It's good to be part of this process. It's even better to know it was inspired by God. We feel fortunate to live in this wonderful country.

One day last week when Ethan got home from school he came to me immediately to talk about something he heard that day. He told me that a kid in his class told him that he would never vote for Barack Obama because "Obama believes that it is okay for a woman, if she is pregnant and doesn't want to be, to go to a doctor and the doctor will put poison inside her to kill the baby and then the baby dies and gets sucked out and she doesn't have to worry about it anymore. Isn't that crazy?" His intent was to tell me this outlandish thing that couldn't possibly be true because it is just unbelievable. I looked him in the eye and said, "That is true. It's called abortion and Barack Obama does support it." He was shocked beyond words. His whole body kind of slumped and after a few minutes he said, "I bet that makes Heavenly Father really sad."

Yes, it makes Heavenly Father really sad.

I believe he had a life changing moment. His perspective has changed. The world isn't as nice a place as he thought. Growing up can be a bummer.

Please vote, if you haven't already.

Kate is eight!

Kate is great!
On Tuesday last, she turned eight.
Nearly nine pounds was her birth weight.
October 21st is her birth date.
For her special day she could not wait.
Just two years ago we moved to Washington State.
Riding her bike increases her heart rate.
She has a cousin whose name is Tate.
With her dad she likes going on dates.
Her silly giggle always invigorates.
Her hair is blonde and straight.
She’s easy to appreciate.
She’s impossible to duplicate.
We love you Kate!

November 5, 2000

On the day of her blessing

A random Sunday morning in 2003, when she still liked sponge rollers.

October 2005 in Salt Lake City

Eight Great Things about Kate. . .
1. Kate loves cheese pizza.
2. Kate's favorite toys are Littlest Pet Shops, but she also loves her dolls- Emily and Bemily.
3. Kate is a huge help with Elijah. She always wants to hold him, help him, get him up, change his diaper, put him in his high chair, get him out. . . It's a wonder I ever had a baby without her help.
4. Kate loves pretty dresses. . . but ONLY on Sunday.
5. Kate loves to draw and color and ride her bike.
6. Kate loves to go shopping with me and bring a notebook along where she keeps the list and marks everything off as we buy it.
7. Kate's favorite color today is "rainbow. I love all the colors."
8. Kate giggles and giggles and giggles and giggles. And giggles.

I Don't Like

I am in love with BNL's kids CD, Snacktime. The kids like it more than me. In truth, I am a little bit sick of it but EVERY time we get in the car it must be on with the kids singing to it. One of the songs is called, I Don't Like. We simply cannot get through this song without commentary from the peanut gallery. Not only that, it's the same commentary EVERY time. Like it's been rehearsed. I suppose it has, but not really on purpose.

I can eat pork 'til the cows come come
And cheese like it's going out of style
(Kate, "Me too, I LOVE cheese." Ethan, "I HATE cheese.")
I like just about every type of vegetable
(All three of them, "Oh yea, I'm with him, I love vegetables!")
I like raisins, and nuts, and seeds, and olives,
And pickles, and fruit, and beef, and bread,
But I don't like... salmon.
(Nathanael, "I am totally with him. I like fruit and I don't like salmon." Ethan, "How can you say that? You've never even tasted it." Kate, "Well salmon is fish and I don't like fish so I don't like it." Ethan, "You've never even tasted fish!" Kate, "Yes I have." Ethan, "No you haven't" repeat this like an annoying echo including a few supporting arguments. . .

I've jumped from a plane with a parachute
Scuba'd to the ocean floor
Driven super fast in a racing car
I've bungee jumped, and zip lined too,
I've crossed rope bridges over raging rivers
But I don't like... those spinny rides.
(Kate, "Oh yea, I love spinny rides!" Ethan, "I am so with him, I hate spinny rides." Nathanael goes into a long explanation of which spinny rides he likes- did you know there are varying degrees?)

I can fly my very own aeroplane
And I've been to the top of mountains
I've been to the top of the CN Tower
I can work on a ladder, I can climb a tree
I can look out the window of a really tall building
But if I stand close to the edge of a railing, or up on a roof or something I realize I don't like... heights so much.
(Ethan, "I agree. I don't like heights." Nathanael, "Me too, I don't like heightsomuch." "Nathanael it's heights. . . . .so. . . . .much, three words." Nathanael, "Well I still don't like heightsomuch."

sigh.

This is the best "snacktime" picture I could find. This is Kate in July 2004 (3+ years old)

Hokey Pokey

Saturday I was telling Nathanael (for the 100th time) to please stay on task and get the dishwasher emptied. The poor kid HATES this chore and it can take him forever. He asked if he could have some tunes to listen to while he did this job. He loves music and wanted his "rhyming CD". Then he said, "But mom, when the Hokey Pokey comes on I always want to dance to that, so can I stop for that?" Of course the dishes can wait for the Hokey Pokey! He was so happy to get permission to break from the horror of dishwasher emptying so he could rock out.

Women's Celebration

This weekend we went to Boise for the Women's Celebration. The 5K is the "nations largest 5K for women." Side note: I did spy a man or two this year.

For me this weekend is about celebrating friendship. The first year I did it was 2006 and we had just moved to Kennewick. I was so lonely for my friends. We had such a fun weekend and I ran my fastest 5K ever. So of course after that I wanted to come back every year!

Friday night I hooked up with the girls at the Cheesecake Factory- YUM. Tierra and I shared the Luau salad and let me say it was DIVINE. I hung out with my pals until midnight. Jason texted me a few times after eleven and I thought I could be 16 agian and he could be my mom. . ."where the heck are you???" and "You know you have a race to run tomorrow. . ." Oh yea, the race. That's why we're here. Thanks Heather for driving me home.

I was awake half of the second half of the night (did you get that- the second half when I needed to sleep I was mostly awake- it was a bummer). At 6:30 am I needed to get up but I was dead tired and couldn't figure out why the sky was still SO dark. Maybe I really had more time to sleep. . . no, just a lovely thunderstorm and 50 degree weather to awaken to. We got drenched waiting for the bus. We got drenched walking to the start line. We got drenched waiting at the start line for the race to start. About 5 minutes before the race started I was wringing lots of water out of my pullover. My toes were swimming in my shoes at the starting line. We also had spells of thunder and lightning to keep things interesting. The rain let up nicely for the run and then started up again at the finish line. It was great, great fun (and memorable with the rain). I can't wait to do it again next year. Thanks ladies for a great weekend!

Here we come. . .Notice the street lights (to the right) are on. It's after 9:00 am!

Roxanne, Trish, Heather, Debbie, Lani, Roxanne's aunt (help me Roxanne!), Tierra, Heather, me, and Kate. Kate didn't run but she wants to. Maybe next year.

Jason and the kids were troopers. Eli apparently loved the rain and enjoyed having it running down his face. I forgot Nathanael's jacket (yes, that puts me out of the running for mother of the year, and I was so close!) so he ran around with this sunflower blanket that lives in the back of the van for occassions just like this.

First Day of School

In honor of the first day of school I put a new ABC song in my tunes. I only just discovered it this week and I am LOVING it.


The first day of school was an exciting day indeed. The kids were excited and little bit nervous of course. I think they were most excited to wear their new shoes since I would have almost made them go barefoot rather than start wearing out the school shoes before school even started. I got tired of being asked if they could please just wear the new shoes. No (said with a smile of course). I know I can be a little weird about it. Kate got her hair cut on Monday night and insisted on bangs. These are her first ever bangs. We had a hard time keeping them out of her face for the picture. She says, "They are always in my face!" but secretly I know she likes them because she likes to hide behind them and pretend to be Violet (from The Incredibles). She's a funny girl!

I feel relieved to be locked into a schedule after an often crazy, sometimes lazy summer. A little bit of structure is very soothing to me. But I am a little sad that now we won't just up and leave on another adventure for a long while.

Nathanael didn't really start school this past Tuesday. Here in the great state of WA we are all about smooth transitions and helping everyone adjust and deal properly with the emotions they have. So to help our sweet children enter kindergarten without life-long damage to their still developing psyches we have what I fondly call a transition week. On Tuesday and Wednesday the kindergarten teachers held small conferences with four or five children and their parents lasting 30-45 minutes. The teacher gave us needed info and the kids did a few activities. Nathanael's conference was Tuesday. Then on Thursday and Friday only half of the class attends to allow the kids to settle into their new environment with a smaller group. Nathanael's day was Thursday. The parents are invited for a sweet story at the beginning and then it's time to say goodbye. After the story Nathanael was very matter of fact, "Well Mom, bye, see ya." No tears, not even a backward glance. However there were several kids having complete break downs and sobbing up a storm, poor things. Maybe those parents are nicer to their kids than I am to mine. All of our kids have been super excited for kindergarten. So Nathanael was bored silly Wednesday and Friday and was irritated that he wasn't riding the bus and going to school like Ethan and Kate. But Tuesday is just around the corner and he can't wait. Shhh, me either. I am looking forward to some quiet stillness in the mornings when I can have some one on one time with Eli.

Coeur D'Alene, Idaho

Jason travels a lot. Some of the time it's horrible. A lot of the time I just deal with it without thinking about it because it's my life and I am not going to sit around having a pity party (but if I need one, I won't hesitate to invite some friends). But some of the time we get to enjoy the perks and I really love those times! Jason had a meeting in Coeur d'Alene the week before summer officially ended for us and we were able to tag along. It was great fun, although there were a few glitches. . .#1 A four hour detour home to get the Silverwood tickets that we left home (yes paying the gass to drive home was cheaper than just buying new tickets), and #2 We tried to eat at Red Robin and it was a nightmare but we got a $50 gift card out of it.

We stayed at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. It is really, really nice. When the kids and I walked in (Jason was already working away) I felt like we had signs that said "hick" or "beware, backward country folk coming through!" taped to our foreheads. But when I checked there was nothing so I guess we were safe. I was constantly telling the kids to please stop fighting over who gets to push the elevator button and compose themselves. They couldn't figure out what my problem was. Looking back there was no problem- just me being paranoid that we would bother other guests.

Here is the hotel's description of our room (we took a few pictures but they were too dark; besides, the marketers make it sound so glam).

"Premier Mountain View: This signature room offers your choice of one or two beds, a large sunken living area with floor to ceiling picture windows that open onto a private balcony with mountain views. Our signature bed features a pillow-top mattress, luxurious fine linens and duvets with down pillows. Enjoy an oversized separate bath from dressing area complete with beautiful granite dual vanity sinks, European shower and soaking tub. Room Amenities include cotton robes, luxury toiletries, hair dryers, iron and board, in-room safe, 32" flat screen TVs, in-room movies, Clock/Radio, newspaper, wireless internet access and complimentary coffee & tea."

The kids thought it was so DUMB that there were Pringles and gummy bears in our room and we couldn't eat them (the Pringles cost $3.95 and the bears cost $6.95 from the self serve mini bar). Too bad they were born into a family who won't spend that kind of money on snacks, especially when I could buy them a block down the road for 75% less!

Our room had 50/50 down/feather pillows on the beds. In the hotel info binder there was a pillow page with the extension for the 'pillow conceirge' and a list of 10 different types of pillows you could request if the standard gives you a headache. Wow. . . a pillow conceirge. Going there I sort of felt like I was raised in a closet. No offense Mom and Dad, of course I wasn't, but I just never considered the possibility that 'pillow concerige' would be a job description. Go figure. Stupid hick.

For those of you who are green through and through--environment lovers like ourselves--you will surely appreciate how eco friendly this place is. The shampoo and conditioner smell delicious, of course they were all natural, processed safely without harming any animals or polluting the air or water. Plus the soap had a giant hole in the middle. The explanation on the box is: "This vegetable-based, eco-friendly soap has been specially designed to reduce waste left behind from the unused center of traditional bars. The carton is made from natural recycled paper and printed with soy based products. Cruelty free--contains no animal fat or byproducts." Whew, well that's a relief isn't it? Sadly, I was enjoying the smell of the shampoo and conditioner so much (very soothing) and trying to do my part as to not waste any of the hollowed out soap that I took a really, really long shower and in the end I am afraid I wasted an awful lot of water. I just can't win. . .

On to the fun. We got to take a boat ride on the lake with Jason's colleagues. The kids were wonderful and it was so fun. Our captain was kind enough to let the kids drive a little bit which they loved and he told us about all the famous people who own really cool houses on the lake (John Elway for one).

We swam in the most awesome indoor pool I have ever seen in a hotel. No pictures of course because I am lame, but there was a kids' wading pool, a pool with a lane for lap swim but big enough playing and two hot tubs. We walked and/or rode bikes along the lake and played at the park.

If only the weather had cooperated better. . . it was cold, cloudy and rainy most of the time. We only had brief periods of sunshine, but we made the most of our time anyway.

After the meetings we went to Silverwood which is a theme park kind of like Lagoon but much smaller and lacking in many areas from my fond memories of Lagoon. It was cold and rainy so we couldn't play at the water park. The rain came and went and then came again followed by marble sized hail (the picture doesn't do it justice), then thunder and lightning which essentially closed the park down for a good 45 minutes. Most people left after that. Our kids sort of freaked out. Kate and Nathanael wanted to go home. Ethan WOULD NOT ride any coasters after that. My best chance to get on the coasters went out the window with that hail storm.

But we found some rides that could put smiles on everyone's faces and enjoyed ourselves in spite of the weather.

On the way out we consoled our weary, wet selves with some hot funnel cake that was delicious! The kids are already talking about earning free tickets again (reading program through our school) so we can go next summer. We won't forget the tickets this time. . .