Halloween

A Halloween first tonight.  All 3 kids had plans with friends so Karri and I were, as she called us, 'Halloween widows'.  I had some work to do, so Karri called a friend and went out for a glass of wine (or 2).  Exciting night for me.  Only 4 knocks at the door.

Here are pics...

The Caped Crusader

... with the Kitty

Best Halloween decoration ever... a live (and large) spider and his web (tough to see) right next to our front door.

The 'Take'... after sorting and trading.

Going to Disneyland

Matthew and Victoria's school takes 3 1/2 days off for parent-teacher conferences every Fall.  It's awfully enticing to use that time for an off-peak family vacation - and we often do.  This year, Karri's parents offered to take Matthew and Victoria to Disneyland.

Today was a half day and we were lucky enough to get the first 2 conference slots shortly after school let out.  An hour later, Karri had them at the airport, ready to head off to Orange County airport where 'Mimi' (Donna) and 'Pop-Pop' (Bill) would be waiting to pick them up.

Ready to board!

We've let the kids make 'unaccompanied' trips like this from an early age - mostly to visit Karri's parents in San Diego. It started when Thomas and Matthew went to San Diego at ages 7 and 5 (I think) and has continued with a trip almost every year.  This is the first year Thomas has not gone (due to high school) - a coming-of-age moment in itself that I think he takes pride in.

We think its a great experience for everyone.  The kids get to have an adventure and be independent.  They get to spend quality time with their grandparents without us around - which both the kids and Karri's parents enjoy.  And Karri and I get some time together... err, with Thomas... which will be a nice twist this year. Seriously.

Back to Disney...

The kids arrived in Orange County safe-and-sound.  Karri's parents had already checked in at the hotel, so they went straight to Disneyland from the airport.  Donna had recently learned that there was a Halloween party at the park tonight - with special activities and the park open late.  So the kids both took costumes.  They were so excited.

Donna just sent us a picture.

Cat Girl and Batman

Don't let that caped-crusader scowl fool you.  Donna says they are having a ball!

Changing Weather

I have several mental 'markers' that I use to note the changing of the seasons.  In the Fall, they include: the day I have to close the vents on our skylights (to keep the warm air in and the cold air out), the day I have to re-set our thermostats, and the weekend day that I start wearing long pants instead of shorts. All 3 of those happened this past Sunday.  The cold weather arrived with gusto.

We had such amazing weather this summer that I have no room to complain.  But I sure could have used a few more weeks of sunny and warm.

Date Night

Karri and I got a rare treat Saturday night.  Victoria had an evening birthday party to go to (and rides to- and from) and the boys were home - planning to watch a movie.  So at 5:30 we decided we'd try to use a couple gift cards we'd received for Purple - a hip downtown wine bar and restaurant.

I called at 5:45 to see about getting a table.  Earliest table for 2 was at 10:15pm.  "Do you have bar seating?"  "Yes, you are welcome to come try your luck."  So off we went.  As I parked the car, Karri went in to try to snag a couple seats at the bar.  By the time I got there (just a couple minutes later), the hostess was seating her at a nice table for two.  Karri had asked if they had any cancellations and, as fate would have it, the hostess had just gotten off the phone with someone cancelling their reservation. Destiny.  Good thing too.  It was packed (theater and symphony crowd) and we would have had a long wait for a couple seats at the bar.

We had a delicious meal.  We shared a curried lamb empanada and split a goat cheese and roasted pepper salad.  Karri had risotto off the special sheet and I had a delicious piece of halibut.  All this accompanied by a great bottle of wine that the sommelier recommended - an Oregon Pinot Noir (Montinore 2010 Estate Reserve).  Neither of us is really a foodie or a wine connoisseur, but we enjoy a good meal and a nice glass of wine... and each other's company.  All made for a great evening.

Thrill of Victory. Agony of Defeat.

I mentioned there were 2 soccer games on Saturday.  Victoria's team is really starting to hit their stride.  They are playing as confidently and aggressively as I've ever seen.  They got another win on Saturday in a great team effort.

Victoria moving the ball up-field.

Raising a cheer to their opponents after the game - with Coach Karri and Coach Patrick

Matthew's team has fallen on a tough stretch.  They played a fast and talented team to a scoreless tie in the 1st  half, then ran out of gas in the 2nd half and ended up losing 2-0.

Matthew taking the kick after an off-side call.

What started as a sunny, warm day turned into a cold, windy and overcast day.  We were freezing by the end of Matthew's game... happy to hustle home, eat some chili and watch a little college football.

Karri decided to try to get some yard work done and I went out to get the leaves off the driveway before the rains came.  I wasn't out there for 10 minutes when the clouds opened up and it started pouring - first rain, then hail.  I took it as a sign from God that I should go back in and watch some more football.

Saturday Morning Walk

Karri and I took Jack for a walk on a chilly, crisp and windy fall Saturday morning.  Lincoln Park is full of color right now but it feels like it won't last much longer. Despite the cold and wind, it was a great walk.  There were some clouds overhead, but sunshine peeking through to the west over the Olympics... suggesting that it might actually be a nice day.

A bench in a leaf-covered, quiet spot in the park.

Jack, as usual, had a ball.

Karri was cold and wind-blown... and not too excited about having her picture taken. But I couldn't resist.

2 soccer games in the afternoon.  I'll post about those later.

Snow!

No... not in Seattle.  But looks like last night's wind and rain storm left a dusting on the Olympics.  Love this picture from the West Seattle Blog this morning.  Does a little more justice to the view from West Seattle shores than my Android phone.

(photo by West Seattle Blog contributing photojournalist Nick Adams)

Reminds me of my mom's old metal 'sifter' that she used to spread powdered sugar.

Weekend Update

Wow.  Been a full weekend.  Here's a quick run-down...

The Seattle Prep freshmen won their game on Saturday - a decisive 39-0 victory over Nathan Hale.  Thomas saw the most playing time he's had all season.  Here are the boys breaking huddle after their pre-game cheer:

(We took several more pictures with our good camera, but Karri has it with her on the Father-Daughter trip... so this is the best I've got.)

Matthew's soccer team got shut out in a tough game in which they had no subs and one of his teammates got hurt, so they played 10 on 11 for a good portion of the game.  Bummer.

Victoria's soccer team (coached by Karri) had their best performance of the season and won 9-0 (more pics on the other camera)!

Today (Sunday) was the championship meet for CYO Cross Country.  Both Matthew and Victoria ran in a steady downpour.

That's Victoria in the orange shirt (on the left) shortly after the start of the 5th grade girls race.

And Matthew's head is just barely visible over the left shoulder of #2273 (in blue) at the start of the 7th grade boys race.  The course starts with an immediate downhill that can be treacherous on a dry day.  Fortunately, I didn't see anyone fall today.

Here they are with Pop-Pop after the meet.

Karri and her dad left straight from the meet for their getaway to Suncadia.  Got a message from Karri that they arrived safe and sound late this afternoon.  I'm sure they are already having a great time.  Hopefully the weather cooperates and they can do some hiking/exploring outside.

Early Start. Rainy Day.

It's a fall Saturday which, in our house, means soccer and football games.

We were up at 7 in order to get the boys fed and out the door.  Matthew is odd man out today.  His game is at 9 in Maple Valley - about 40 minutes away.  Due to conflicts with Thomas and Victoria's games, he was catching a ride to/from the game with Coach Dave and I had to drop him at Dave's at 7:45am. Thomas had to be at school at 8:15 for his 10am game.  Victoria had the opportunity to sleep in but, as is her habit on weekends, was wide awake at 7 (if it were a school day, I'd be nagging her to get up).

Matthew missed out on the family fun last night.  He had a junior high dance at one of the neighboring schools.  I picked him and 2 buddies up when the dance ended at 10.  They require parents to go into the gym to claim kids.  It was loud, hot and sweaty in there - all signs of pre-teen fun.  The boys said they had a good time... very few details about the 'dancing' part, other than "yah... we danced".  I believe there were girls involved.

The local Catholic schools take turns hosting these dances and they sound like good fun for the kids.  There's a legend that the chaperons have been known to say "leave room for Jesus!" when a couple dances too close.  Not sure if that really happens (or if my boys have ever been the target of such a statement), but it's a nice addition to the lore of Catholic education.

I usually get an hour or so to myself between dropping Thomas off at school and the start of his game at 10 (too far to drive back home).  In nice weather, I try to get a walk in.  Today, it's overcast with intermittent showers, so I brought my laptop and am enjoying breakfast at Louisa's on Eastlake while writing this post and clearing out some work emails.  Pretty tasty egg sandwich!

Of course, I need to get over the "it's raining - stay inside" mentality. Seattleites don't typically let the rain get in the way of outdoor activities - and neither do I.  But it feels nice to hunker down with a cup of coffee on a gloomy day - especially after our long stretch of nice weather. I'll go for a walk next week...

Pop-Pop Makes a Stop

Karri's dad (aka Pop-Pop) arrived safe-and-sound this afternoon.  He got to join Karri while picking up Matthew and Victoria from school and then Thomas from football practice.  While waiting for Thomas to be done, Karri gave him a quick tour of Seattle Prep.  Sounds like he was impressed.

We've had a great evening.  Victoria wanted to play a game, so we settled on Tripoli - a fun card/board game that combines poker, rummy and hearts.  Pop-Pop had never played before, but that didn't stop him from winning the first hand and jumping out to a big lead in chips (look at that pile)!

We took a break to enjoy a delicious salmon dinner with broccoli, rice and a Caesar salad. Yum.  But the highlight was sharing stories about Pop-Pop's grandpa who worked on a WPA project at the base of the Grand Canyon during the Great Depression - helping build Phantom Ranch.

(A picture of a picture - that's the crew that built Phantom Ranch.  Pretty awesome.)

It was one of those magical moments where US history intersected with family history (and horses... the root of all the best Hendrix/Gillette family stories!). Thomas did a great job sharing what he's learned about the Depression, FDR and the New Deal.  Pop-Pop and Karri tied in the family connection.  And Pop-Pop added a great personal touch with the story of taking his loyal and worthy horse, Clyde, to the base of the Canyon.

I think we need to plan a family trip to Phantom Ranch!

The Streak is Dead... Long Live the Streak!

It had to come to an end at some point...

Woke this morning to damp ground and a light drizzle.  Not enough to actually call it 'rain' yet, but we're supposed to get that later today and through this weekend.  The Seattle Post-Intelligencer put it well:

All is right with the universe. By 5:52 a.m. Friday, it's was raining in Seattle again. For the first time in 82 days, Seattle will get more than the bare minimum of rain to qualify as a rainy day as a cold front sweeps through the region.

It was one heck of a good run while it lasted.  But I have to say I'm ready for a little rain.  And so is our yard.

The biggest downside of all this is that Karri's dad arrives today from San Diego.  I'm certain he's wondered more than once why we choose to live in Seattle weather (coming from San Diego - who could blame him).  It would have been nice if he could have experienced that beautiful stretch of sunny, warm weather.

Speaking of Karri's dad... He'll be spending a couple days with us - taking in kid activities - before he and Karri head out Sunday for their annual Father-Daughter Getaway.  This is a tradition that started with a ski trip when Karri was in college at UCLA.  They haven't missed a year since.  Awesome.

This trip will be a little more sedentary than the first.  They're heading to Suncadia Lodge, a couple hours east of Seattle in the Cascade Mountains.  If the weather permits (supposed to be wet, windy and cold up there), they will get in a hike or two.  Otherwise, I suspect they will just enjoy the comfy environs of the inside of the lodge.  Either way, a well-deserved break.

Here's some proof that it actually did rain this morning, in case there's any doubt.

Rain on the leaves of our shrubs:

And rain on the back window of my car.  That's Jack inside.  He loves riding along when I take Matthew and Victoria to school.

Sunset Walk

Lot's of nature posts and pictures recently.  Might give the impression that that's all I do with myself.  I  wish...

It was a crazy work day today.  I felt like I was going non-stop all day.  And still have a bunch more to do tonight.  At 6:15, I decided I needed to get some fresh air and stretch my legs.  Jack was more than happy to accompany me on a walk/run.

There were noticeably more people out tonight than usual - I suspect in hopes of seeing a repeat of last night's Orca show. It was a great night to be out - clear skies, colorful sunset, cool temperature.

Here's a shot of the Olympic Mountains, just before sunset - take from up on the bluff.  The sun was well to the left of this view.

A few minutes later.

Fisherman on the beach.

Can't Believe I Missed This!

Northern Lights from West Seattle. Wow.

Whales!

We got a rare Pacific Northwest treat today...

It was my turn to pick up Thomas and his buddy Erik from football practice (no, that's not the treat).  While I was waiting for them, I pulled out my phone to check my RSS feeds.  Our amazing local news source, the West Seattle Blog (aka WSB), had recently posted reports that a pod of Orca whales was heading slowly toward West Seattle.  It was a beautiful night and I thought 'wouldn't it be nice to be walking in Lincoln Park right now', but the boys hadn't emerged from the locker room yet and we still had a 30+ minute drive home in rush hour traffic.  So, I figured, no whales for me tonight.

The boys came out a few minutes later and traffic wasn't too bad, so we made good time.  We dropped Erik off and, since it was such a nice night, I decided to take the scenic loop along the water around Alki Point. As we were coming down Beach Drive on the final stretch before Lincoln Park, we noticed a larger-than-normal number of people walking toward the shore and watching the sun set over the Olympics. As we got close to Lincoln Park, I made the connection that maybe all these people were coming to see whales (duh).  So I pulled over and Thomas and I walked down to the water at Lowman Beach - just north of Lincoln Park and about half a mile from our house.  Sure enough, within a minute we saw Orcas surfacing about a hundred yards offshore.  Very cool!

I took my phone out and snapped a few pictures.  My zoom wasn't quite strong enough, but you might be able to make out a black dot near the middle of the frame.  That's an Orca dorsal fin. (And no, I did not mistake that duck in the lower right for an Orca.)

There are some amazing photos on West Seattle Blog's post after the event.

Thomas had his iPhone with him and took advantage of the panorama feature to get some great shots.  No whales, but definitely captures the moment... and another beautiful sunset.

(click to zoom and get the full effect)

What a fun experience to share with Thomas.

I mentioned whale sightings are a rare treat - well my 'clean living' must be paying off.  We probably hear about (thanks to WSB) 4-8 whale sightings near West Seattle in a year - many of which are brief or too far off shore to see without binoculars   The last (I think) reported sighting was this past Spring on a chilly, overcast and rainy day.  Karri and I happened to be walking Jack in Lincoln Park that day and arrived at the beach moments before a pod of Orcas appeared about 200 yards offshore.  We and the whales were both heading south, and as we approached the point near Colman Pool, the whales were within 50 yards of shore - close enough that  you could hear them blow as they surfaced! It was spellbinding.  Because of the weather, there weren't many people out - maybe a handful along a quarter-mile stretch of beach.  We felt like they were putting on a show just for us.

To put it all in perspective... I've lived in Seattle 23 years (minus 1 year spent in Caracas, Venezuela - all the rest in West Seattle) and can count on one hand the number of times I've seen Orcas off the shores of West Seattle.

Homecoming

Tonight was Homecoming at Seattle Prep.  No, that's not 'Bill Nye the Science Guy' - that's Thomas with his date, Riley.

He spent 20 minutes trying to tie that bow tie.  Finally got it right with help from a step-by-step video he found on YouTube (and a minor assist from dad).  Looks pretty dapper, if you ask me.

As we are learning about Prep, events like this are a great excuse for parents to get together too.  Tonight, the parents of one of Thomas' football buddies offered to host a dinner for several of the kids before the dance, and invited the parents to come too.  It was a great time.

I don't want to be a 'helicopter parent' and I have to say I was a little concerned about intruding on the kids tonight.  But I think it was fun for all - adults and kids too.  Once everyone arrived, there was a paparazzi-like photo session in the back yard. Then the kids sat down to what looked like an amazing dinner (that several parents helped prepare and serve) while the adults mingled in the kitchen and outside.  After dinner, a few parents volunteered to take the kids over to the dance while most of rest of the parents stayed around to socialize.

I've been impressed by Thomas' expanding circle of high school friends.  They seem like good kids - friendly, outgoing, intelligent, fun.

I think back to some of my great memories from high school and am excited for Thomas as he creates his own.

Our 'Back Yard'

We are blessed to live so close to Lincoln Park - a 135 acre, waterfront park with trails, athletic fields, playgrounds and more.  It's less than 50 yards from our front door - but we don't take advantage of it nearly as much as we should.

Karri and I try to walk Jack there most days.  Sometimes it's just one of us with the dog, but it's especially nice when we can both sneak away.  This is frequently the only time we have alone together the entire day. It's amazing how a 20-minute walk through the park can help ease the stresses of the day.

We've developed a standard loop, starting out walking north along the bluff above the water, then heading down the stairs that wind their way to the water, then following the beautiful waterfront path - looking out over Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains - to the southern end of the park, before heading up the hill and back to the house.  I think its a little over 2 miles altogether.

Here's a shot I took yesterday (with my phone) of the sun setting over the Olympics.  This time of year, the sun is setting much further south on the horizon than it was mid-summer - and much earlier too!  This was taken at 6:38pm.  In late June, the sun doesn't set until 9:15 or so.  You can see how clear the sky is and and how calm the Sound is... although the water is usually pretty calm year-round.  About a minute later, that small wisp of clouds made it look more like a forest fire in the Olympics than a sunset.

And here's a shot of Karri with Jack taken today (again with my phone).  We were up on the bluff, just above the stairs we take down to the beach.  As I mentioned in my last post, the weather has been amazing.  It's definitely cooling off, but I love a clear, crisp fall day.  So does Karri.  And so does Jack!

Unbelievable

Would anyone ever guess that this is a Seattle forecast?  Our weather has been amazing.  Best stretch I can remember in the 23 years I've lived here.

Fun Weekend!

Took me a while to get this posted...

We had a great time with the Sage in town.  Highlights included a great round of golf at West Seattle Golf Course, Tribal Council around the firepit, a few great meals (salmon & halibut on the bbq, crab cakes, roasted veggies... mmmm!), sight-seeing, and a day of watching kids sporting activities (football & soccer games - Sage was a trooper, as always).  Weather was perfect and everybody had fun.

Only regret is that it all went too quickly.

Here are a few pics...

Tim & Sage getting ready to tee off on #17 with Elliott Bay and Seattle in the background.

19th hole.  Manny's of course.

Tribal Council on Friday night - Sage presiding.

Double-fisted watching the 2nd half of the Boilermakers victory over Marshall.

The newest addition to the Seattle skyline - the Seattle Great Wheel. Kids enjoyed a ride Sunday after a day of downtown sightseeing, including a Water Taxi ride, the Aquarium and, of course, Pike Place Market.  Great day!