Family Visit!

Within weeks of telling our family that we were moving to the Bay area, my brother Ken and his wife Diane decided to bid on (and, subsequently, 'won') a weekend trip to San Francisco at their church auction. They decided to stretch it into a longer vacation. And soon after, we convinced my Dad to join them. We've been looking forward to this since November!

Their trip has finally begun. Ken, Di and Dad arrived at SFO this afternoon for a 9-day visit. We're very excited to have them all here.

In accordance with Lange tradition, the visit officially started with Happy Hour. That was followed by a delicious chicken curry dinner that Karri prepared. So good.

Christening our new dinner table!

Ken and Diane have a great travel plan including Alcatraz, Sonoma, Yosemite, and a weekend downtown. Dad is content to relax at the house with the rest of us.

It's going to be fun. More updates soon!

Where to Begin?

It's been over 13 months since my last post. So much has happened in that time - I've really struggled to decide how and where to start.

My last post was to wish my mom a happy 92nd birthday. Unfortunately, she didn't make it to see her 93rd. Mom passed on March 21st of this year. We miss her dearly but feel so blessed that she lived such a long and happy life.

I think that's enough for now. I'll be back soon with lot's of updates. Promise.

Back again; Happy Birthday Mom!

Wow - that was a long hiatus. I've mentioned how travel always throws me off my routine. Well a 2-week trip in late-June/early-July turned into a 4 week break from blogging. Hopefully I'm back for a while. I miss it.

Credit my mother for getting me back on track. She didn't tell me to blog... or even suggest it. But she turned 92 (or 29, backwards, as Thomas said) today and I just couldn't let that pass without a mention here.

At home during our visit for the Lange Open a few weeks ago

We got to spend some time with Mom (and the rest of the family) during our trip to Cleveland for the 27th Annual Lange Open golf outing and family reunion (a topic for my next post).

There aren't many things that make my mom happier than having her entire family together. Mom had a brief stay in the hospital a few days before Lange Open weekend. I think the anticipation of having all her kids and grand-kids home was enough to inspire her to get better and get home to enjoy all the festivities.

Here are a few photos - some of which I've posted here before...

My grandparents, Mom and Aunt Betty

High school at Shore High

At Oberlin College, with her Sailor

Holy Cross Church in Euclid, OH

With her brood, in front of the old house on Eastover

With grandkids on her 90th birthday

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Gorgeous Night Caps A Fine Day

Colorful night sky from Alki Beach in West Seattle

We had a full, fun day yesterday.

It all started relatively early. Our nephew, Tim, was running in the Rock-and-Roll Marathon. I had planned to go cheer him on by myself, but Karri and the kids decided to come along and turn it into a sightseeing adventure for our nephew Jeffrey (visiting from Ohio), and to show our support for cousin Tim. We were out of the house shortly after 8 - all of us except Thomas, who had an early afternoon basketball game (and wanted to sleep in a bit).

We were fortunate to catch Tim a few different places along the course. We cheered him near the 8 mile mark, then again as he passed the same point going the opposite direction at mile 11.

There were bands setup all along the course (Rock-and-Roll Marathon, right?!). This blues group was just getting started while we waited at mile 11. They were great. Not sure the neighbors liked it at 9:00 on a Saturday morning though!

Go Tim, Go!

Tim (on the left) running with friend and co-worker, Chris.

One of the many amazing views along the course. That's Mt. Rainier in the distance, from the shores of Lake Washington, near Seward Park.

Tim's personal cheering section!

After he passed us, we hopped in the car, headed downtown and stopped at Planet Java Diner for a late breakfast.

Putting away a short stack while cousin Tim is out pounding pavement!

From breakfast, we headed to the 23 mile marker, along 2nd Avenue in downtown, to catch Tim one last time before the finish.

Home stretch

Then we hustled to the finish area and caught him as he came out the chute after finishing.

Still had the strength to work up a smile! He was wiped out.

The race finished at the Seattle Center - home to many of our summertime festivals - near the Space Needle. There was lot's going on - bands, street performers, giveaways, etc., as well as the thousands of runners and their supporters.

Seattle Center fountain

Obligatory Space Needle photo!

After retrieving Tim's stuff, we gave him a ride home, then dropped Karri, Matthew and Victoria at home. Jeffrey and I immediately headed to Bellevue to catch Thomas' basketball game - the first game of the summer league his AAU team plays in. Traffic was horrible (due to marathon road closures) and it took us over an hour to get there (normally 25 minutes), so we got there 5 minutes into the second half. Glad we went though. We won by 2 in a game that went right down to the wire. T played well while we were there, including forcing a key turnover with the other team threatening to score with 5 seconds to go. (Sorry - too exciting, no pics!)

After a little down-time at home, Thomas went to go see a movie with his buddy Ross while the rest of us headed to Tim and Eang's for pizza and to meet the newest addition to their family - George, a cockapoo puppy that Eang had just picked up from Eastern Washington earlier in the day. He's pretty darn cute. And not lacking for attention...

Tiny George

Happy Victoria!

As might be expected, Tim was exhausted. We left before 8pm, stopped home to grab Jack, longboards & rollerblades, and headed down to Alki Beach in West Seattle to enjoy the sunset and get some evening exercise. So glad we did. The kids boarded/bladed along the waterfront path while Karri, Jack and I walked/jogged (and occasionally sprinted), trying to keep up. We stopped along a grassy stretch to watch the sunset...

Final seconds of sunlight.

Taking a break to watch the sunset.

Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound

It was a perfect cap to a very fun day!

Annual End-of-School Camping Trip

9 years ago, when Thomas was in 1st grade, 5 families at our school - each with a 1st grader - decided to go on a camping trip the first weekend after school ended. The moms all coordinated a trip to Grayland Beach State Park on the Pacific ocean, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Seattle. We had such a great time that we decided to do it again. The next year, I think we had 8 families. Last year - the 8th annual - we had over 25 families. This year was a little smaller - probably closer to 20 families, but a great time, as always.

Dads and kids, with the 'Happy Fathers Day' banner that the kids made on the 2008 trip!

If you spend 3 consecutive days on the Washington coast in June, you're pretty much guaranteed to experience some inclement weather - rain, wind, cold. Most of our trips have involved battles against the elements (not that they've deterred us from having fun). This year was (as my kids would say) epic, as we had sun and warmth, and NO RAIN, for the entire weekend. It was beautiful and made this special, community-building weekend all the more fun.

We're not talking rustic camping. Grayland is car-camping at its finest, with paved cul-de-sacs and each site with potable water, a firepit, a picnic table, and a couple electrical outlets. And every site is just a short walk (over sand dunes) to the great expanse of a Pacific coast beach. The kids have a ball wearing themselves out on bikes, scooters, skateboards, roller blades, etc., riding through the park and around the neighboring cul-de-sacs, or skimboarding, wave-jumping, sand-castle-building, etc., on the beach.

Matthew giving Jeffrey longboarding tips!

Victoria learning to ride a 2-wheeler on the 2008 trip!

The Lange Family campsite, with Jack keeping watch. Karri and I slept in the 2-person tent we used on our backpacking trip in South America in 1997!

Karri and Thomas proving they can still fit in the kiddie camp chairs we used on the first trip in 2004!

The trip usually falls on Fathers Day weekend and the dads are usually granted a 'hall pass' to head into the fishing town of Westport, at the mouth of Grays Harbor, or Tokeland to the South, on Saturday or Sunday to watch the US Open and enjoy a couple bloody mary's. We usually come back with coolers full of live Dungeness crab that we buy straight off the boat and cook up as part of a community potluck meal. We got shut out on crab this year (our go-to fisherman didn't get back to port until after 7pm), but still had plenty of food for all.

Victoria with friend Elena - holding live crab on their way to the cooking pot - 2012 trip! 

Enjoying this year's potluck

After the potluck, we headed to the beach for a sunset bonfire that the older kids had prepared that afternoon.

Victoria getting a piggy-back from cousin Jeffrey at the bonfire!

Jeffrey, Victoria, Matthew and Jack enjoying the bonfire!

Sun setting over the Pacific

Happy couple!

On the beach at sunset! So great to have Jeffrey with us. His sister Jennifer joined us on this trip 5 years ago!

We love this trip for so many reasons. It signals the start of our summer. It reminds us what a beautiful part of the country we live in. It gives us time to slow down a bit and spend quality time with each other. And it reminds us how blessed we are to have so many wonderful friends in our West Seattle community!

What a Night!

Our nephew, Jeffrey, arrived Monday night from Cleveland. He just finished his freshman year at Ohio State and is visiting us for a couple weeks. We are all very excited to have him here!

Jeffrey spent the afternoon sightseeing with Thomas - who finished finals at 11am today and is done with school for the year. We ended up forming a last-minute plan for the evening that turned out to be great fun...

The US Men's soccer team was hosting Panama tonight in a World Cup qualifying match at Century Link Field in downtown Seattle. I had been invited a few days ago to go with a couple friends. As the day progressed, Karri and I thought Jeffrey and our kids might enjoy the game too. Long story short - we were able to find some last-minute tickets and I took the kids with me.

After some light rain earlier in the day, we had a beautiful night. Decided to take the water taxi from West Seattle to downtown. We just barely caught the 5:30 boat.

Happy cousins - heading to the game

Our seats were on opposite sides of the stadium - very close to the action. The kids were about 10 rows up. I was in the front row!

The kids seats were on the right side of this photo - about 10 rows up.

Moments before the 2nd US goal

A raucous crowd - 7th largest in US World Cup Qualifier history!

It was an exciting game. The US dominated most of the action and came out with a 2-0 win! The fans were awesome - most on their feet from start to finish. The crazies in the above photo sang songs/chants the entire game... seriously!

We reunited after the game and hustled back to Pier 50 to catch the water taxi. Once again - running to just barely catch the boat!

Showing off our (free giveaway) scarves on the ride home. A gorgeous night!

It was great listening to the kids rave about how much fun they had! Hopefully not a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The Jig is Up

Matthew and my bonding weekend is coming to a close. No better way to cap it than with a greasy spoon breakfast...

Sitting down to eat

We had some leftover home fries from our Greek feast last night. I diced them, browned them, then scrambled them with eggs, sausage, ham and cheese. Matthew loves breakfast like this. Me too.

Karri and Victoria just pulled in the drive - just as we were cleaning up the last of the breakfast dishes. It's like Christmas here as they are showing off and passing out some of the purchases from the Nike outlet store. Not only were things heavily discounted (most were 50+% off), there's no sales tax in Oregon. We should be stocked up on sports gear/attire for a while (hopefully)!

Mathew just got invited by a friend to go to the Mariners' game today. Victoria's got a soccer game at 1. Thomas should be home soon after (they are playing their last game as I type - hope they are doing well).

Memorial Weekend Starts with Impromptu Date Night

It feels like we've been especially busy lately so, heading into the long weekend, we made a decision to try to have some quality family time together. Then Matthew got invited to go spend the weekend at the lakefront cabin of one of his classmates - to which Karri and I agreed (Matthew is very excited and will, no doubt, have a ball). They plan to leave this morning (Saturday), so we had tentatively planned for a family dinner on Friday night... until Victoria, who had spent the afternoon at a friend's house, got invited to stay for a cookout with a few of her other friends' families. Shortly thereafter, Thomas called to see if he could have dinner at a friend's house and hang out with his buddies before his 7:30pm basketball practice. Then Matthew got invited to go to the pool with a few of his classmates... You get the idea.

All this to say that Karri and I ended up having a nice (though brief), impromptu Date Night dinner at home. She had planned a delicious meal for the family of steaks, baked potatoes and salad - good, simple, delicious, and something we don't do very often. I mixed up a couple martinis, we dimmed the lights and lit a few candles... great stuff.

Table for 5... 4... 3... 2!

Of course our solitude didn't last long. Matthew called mid-meal to ask for a ride home. Shortly after I brought him home and we had quickly finished our dinner, Victoria called for a ride. While Karri went to pick her up and I cleaned up the kitchen, Thomas arrived home from practice. Karri stayed to have a glass of wine with our friends and the boys and I were in bed by 10:30. Karri and Victoria were home minutes later.

The modern 'Family Night' I suppose.

We send Matthew off in an hour. Karri and Victoria are making a batch of cookies for them to take. I'm intent on getting some yard work done today before the forecast rains arrive this afternoon. Thomas is playing in a basketball tournament this weekend and has 2 games tonight. No rest for the weary. Regardless, we are looking forward to a fun, long weekend - whether together or not!

Happy Mother's Day!

Nothing says 'Happy Mother's Day' like breakfast in bed! (notice 1 plate - 4 forks!)

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mom's in our lives! We had a great weekend celebrating Karri and all she does for us. Here's a quick run-down.

Saturday was beautiful (sunny and mid-80's) - and as hectic as anticipated. Matthew's lacrosse team took their lumps against a very good (and big!) Bainbridge Island team, 15-5.

Matthew (#12) waiting for the face-off

Victoria passed the time at lacrosse by making mom a crown of wildflowers!

From lacrosse it was straight to the track meet.

Victoria making the final turn in the 400

Happy to be done with that race!

Matthew on his way to 5th place in the 7th grade boys 400

After the meet, we hustled over to Arbor Height Swim & Tennis Club for the (end of the) Opening Day potluck. Matthew and Victoria swam for a bit while Karri and I caught up with some of our many great friends there over a couple of beers. We are excited to have the pool open. The kids love it.

Sunday morning the kids and I served Karri breakfast in bed (have photos - forbidden from posting). Afterward, Karri and I took Jack for a great walk through Lincoln Park.

Happy dog with 'mom' on Mother's Day!

We got home just as the predicted clouds and (light) rain arrived. So Karri decided it would be fun to go see a movie together. She and the kids agreed on '42' - the Jackie Robinson movie. So we hustled downtown for the 1pm show. It's a very good movie. I hear it hasn't gotten great reviews, but we really enjoyed it. An amazing story.

We all went to church together at 5pm, then back home. Karri and the kids went to the courts down the street to play some tennis while I got dinner ready (and called my mom to wish her a Happy Mothers Day). I have to say dinner turned out pretty well - halibut filet, asparagus and a delicious loaf of bread - all prepared on the grill. One of our favorite meals. Then fresh strawberries and angel food cake for dessert... mmm.

After dinner, we watched one of our family movies from 2001 when Thomas was 3, Matthew was 1 (turning 2), and Karri was pregnant with Victoria. We were all laughing hysterically at the antics of Thomas & Matthew and their fascination with superheroes, construction equipment, sports, etc. Good stuff. And a great way to cap off Mothers Day Weekend.

I can't end without recognizing my own mother on Mother's Day!

The whole family (from last summer)! 

Mom with all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren at her 90th birthday last July!

It's amazing to me how Mom kept our house running with 6 kids - all the meals she cooked, lunches she packed, laundry she washed, school & sports events she attended, etc. I'm certain it was exhausting and stressful, but she never let it show (at least not to me). Mom is kind-hearted and selfless. We like to kid her about some of her most endearing qualities... saying "sure - we'll make a salad" when a last-minute dinner guest showed up at the door, staying up half the night waiting for one of the kids to get home, or getting weepy sending each of us off to college (or later to new homes out-of-state).

Thanks for all you did (and do) Mom. I love you very much! Happy Mothers Day!