Quick Update

I've struggled to find time to post. Thought I'd give a quick update for those keeping track at home...

Karri and my Mexico adventure ended much too soon! We had a fantastic time with plenty of rest and relaxation. We need to find a way to do that more often. Until we do, I guess the pictures will have to suffice...

Ahhhh!

We jumped right back into the fray upon our return. We got back Thursday night, both of us worked on Friday and then we had a full weekend of activities. Fortunately, Donna/Mimi was able to stay with us for a few extra days. She and Karri got some mother-daughter time Friday night over dinner at Phoenecia - a wonderful restaurant on Alki Beach here in West Seattle. Donna had an early flight out Saturday morning (the same flight Karri and I had taken a week earlier... 6:50am departure!) to San Diego, where Bill/Pop-Pop joined her and they boarded a plane for their own turn at R&R in Puerto Vallarta!

We are so fortunate that Donna was willing and able to come up and stay with the kids. They all had a ball, as usual. 

The rest of the weekend was filled with kid activities: lacrosse practice, volleyball games, basketball practice, ski bus to Crystal (for Thomas), etc. I wasn't very good about taking pictures, but snagged a couple with my phone during Matthew and Victoria's volleyball games.

Middle blocker

Ready for action!

Matthew had his first ever lacrosse game... an intrasquad scrimmage. He really enjoyed it and, I must say, did pretty well considering he's played the game less than 2 months. His coaches appreciated his effort and recognized him after the game for his attitude and hustle - presenting him with a sticker to add to his helmet. Pretty cool.

Saturday night, Karri and I went to a team outing with some of her co-workers. We went to see Cirque de Soleil's 'Amaluna' - a live performance under a 'big top' tent in Redmond (10 minutes east of Seattle), then to a delicious dinner at Koral in Bellevue. Neither of us had been to a Cirque de Soleil performance. We both enjoyed it very much, though both agreed it's not high on our list of things to do again.

We've had chilly, but Spring-like weather in Seattle and have even seen the sun a bit. Monday evening, Karri and I took Jack for a walk through Lincoln Park and got to enjoy a nice sunset.

Snow-capped Olympic Mountains in the distance.

Beautiful sunset!

Happy dog!

That gets me caught up again. Hopefully I'll get back into the habit of posting more frequently!

Christmas Week 2012 in Pictures - Part 1

I'm back.

I made a conscious effort to steer clear of my laptop for the week and am proud to say I did a pretty good job of it. Aside from the fact that I needed a break from work, email, and all my many online diversions, I really wanted to focus on spending quality time with the family. Mission accomplished.

I'm glad to be back to blogging. Too much has happened since my last post to recount it all, so I picked out a handful of pictures and will use them to tell (some of) the story of the week. It's probably going to take me a couple of posts to get caught up.

Karri's parents, Donna (aka 'Mimi') & Bill (aka 'Pop-Pop'), arrived Tuesday from San Diego. They jumped right into family activities - Karri took them straight to Thomas' basketball game at O'Dea - Prep's biggest rival. Exciting game and Prep came out on top. Wednesday was a blur for me as I had a huge proposal to finish up and send off on Thursday morning. Once that was done, I was finally ready to settle into holiday mode...

Thursday night Thomas had another game which we all went to, then went out to dinner at an upscale pizza restaurant in trendy Capital Hill - Via Tribunali. Things were a little shaky at the start - they squeezed 7 of us into a booth for 4, maybe 6, and the music was a little too loud for easy conversation - but we ended up having a fantastic time. Our waitress was amazing - attentive, friendly, and fun.  And the food was delicious.  Here's Karri with her parents:

Dinner at Via Tribunali

We headed home for dessert and a nightcap and everyone was off to bed early.

Mimi & Thomas saying goodnight

Karri's parents kept the kids occupied on Friday so Karri and I could get out and do some shopping & run some errands. We rarely get time together like this and really had fun. It helped that we had a good idea of what we were after so shopping was quick, efficient and not stressful - just the way I like it.

Friday night we headed to our friends' Jana & Roy's house for our annual 'white elephant' gift exchange and dinner, which is always a great time. After a delicious prime rib dinner, we all gathered for the gift exchange. We had 24 people (I think) and so 24 gifts to be opened, 'stolen' and/or bartered with. There were some very funny gifts (including the 'Yodeling Pickle' that I came home with) and everyone - adults and kids - really enjoyed themselves.

The white elephant gift exchange

Saturday morning, Karri and I got out for a walk with Jack - something we hadn't done (together) in a couple of weeks. It was overcast (what else is new) but great to get some fresh air and enjoy the water and views.

Waterfront trail at Lincoln Park

Saturday afternoon was spent decorating cookies - a fun tradition that we all participated in at various times throughout the day.

Some of the many beautiful cookies

We also started a Christmas puzzle that was a fun diversion for the rest of the week.

Edges done!

Sunday, we all headed downtown to ride the Seattle Great Wheel ferris wheel on the waterfront (no camera = no pictures) which was very fun. Donna & Bill stayed downtown for some shopping and dinner together, while Karri, the kids and I headed to a holiday open house at our friends' (Mark & Denise) beautiful waterfront home in West Seattle.

I think that's enough for one post. Plus all of our Christmas day pictures are on our 'good' camera and I haven't uploaded those yet, so I think I'll call it a night and pick-up here next time.

Holiday Spirit

Another busy - and fun - weekend. We kicked it off Friday with our annual trip downtown for a picture with Santa and some holiday shopping, followed by dinner at the Icon Grill.

First stop... The Bon Marche for a visit with Santa...

Ho Ho Ho

The trendy place to see Santa in downtown Seattle is at Nordstrom. They setup 'Santa's Workshop' right at the corner of one of the busier intersections of the shopping district (Westlake Center) and people line up for hours to get their picture taken with him. About 4 years ago, we figured out that The Bon Marche - a block away - has a great Santa, friendly staff, and NO LINE. We've been going there ever since! Karri and I are just thankful that the kids - especially the boys - are still game to get their picture taken with Santa.

After Santa, we split up so the siblings can shop for each other (and for their parents!). The kids really love this part... and so do we. I'll take one and Karri will take the other two. We'll shop for a while, regroup, switch kids, and shop some more. It's always fun and especially nice to see the kids sincerely try to find something that their siblings will like.  Victoria and I had an especially good time. We stopped to snap a quick picture in front of a massive Christmas tree.

Shopper Girl!

After shopping, we walk a couple blocks north to enjoy a holiday dinner at the Icon Grill. We stumbled onto this place 5 or 6 years ago after the kids had a holiday piano recital downtown. We've been back every year since. The restaurant is normally home to some great artwork - paintings, lots of blown glass, and a variety of interesting artifacts. They double-down for the holidays and fill the place with trees, ornaments, lights, presents, figurines and more. They have a pianist playing holiday songs on a baby grand piano. And a great holiday menu, including the Grinch's own 'Roast Beast' (which Matthew enjoyed immensely this year).

Love their mama!

The kids love the whole experience, but their favorite part is the holiday desserts. The boys always split the Hot Fudge Sunday - a mountain of vanilla bean ice cream served in an edible cookie 'bowl' with an edible cone filled with hot fudge, accompanied by choice of toppings (e.g. crushed Oreos, M&M's, whipped cream, etc.).

"You gonna eat all that?!"

Victoria loves the 'Build Your Own' Holiday Cookie Plate - a large plate of sugar cookies and gingerbread men served with colored frosting and a variety of toppings for decorating.  We always come home with a box full of beautiful holiday cookies.

(Yes - the tree behind her is decorated with neckties!)

Karri and I enjoy the whole experience. It's fun to be able to take the kids out to a 'nice' restaurant once in a while - especially to a place that's brimming with holiday cheer. It really puts us in the holiday spirit (the pre-dinner martini's may contribute to that too).

The rest of the weekend flew by. Saturday Victoria had a basketball game (lost a close one) and Thomas had practice. In the evening, Thomas went to an 'ugly sweater' party at a school buddy's house while Karri and I went to a Holiday party here in West Seattle.  We spent most of the day Sunday getting holiday preparations done around the house (and I had a bunch of work to do). Matthew had a game in the afternoon (also lost a close one). And then poof... the weekend was over.

It's going to be a hectic week. Karri's parents arrive Tuesday night for a week. Matthew and Victoria get out of school on Wednesday. Thomas - not til Friday. Thomas also has 3 basketball games this week. Yikes.

Birthday Girl

Karri's birthday was on Wednesday.  She worked from home for a bit in the morning, then took the rest of the day off.  We sent her off to get a massage while the kids and I scrambled to clean the house in preparation for Thanksgiving.  She and the kids did some baking - including a birthday pie (long story... friends bringing pie for Thanksgiving, kids wanted to make pumpkin pie, needed a birthday dessert... you get the idea). Later in the afternoon, she opened her presents and then we watched a few home movies from when the kids were little.  We don't do that very often, but always enjoy it when we do.  The kids really get a kick out of seeing miniature versions of themselves mugging for the camera.

After the movies, we took her out for dinner at bangbar - a relatively new Thai restaurant in West Seattle - and had a great meal.  Here's the birthday girl with her brood:

After dinner

All-in-all, a very fun day.  I think she enjoyed herself.

Happy birthday to my lovely wife!

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.