Sunny Adventures in Seattle

What a sunny March we've had in Seattle. Sure, there's been a little rain here and there. But, we've been taking advantage of the sun and enjoying this beautiful place we call home. What have we been up to? Glad you asked.

Here are a few photos of our recent adventures.

Fun at Carkeek, Sounders games, gymnastics, Lil' Kickers soccer, weekend with Teddy, and sailing with Grandma & Grandpa J!

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer (Oi! Oi! Oi!)

We braved the fall, rainy weather on Saturday to attend the last regular season Sounders match against LA Galaxy. They won 2-0, ending the season with a bang and winning the Supporters Shield (i.e. they ended the regular season with the best MLS record... kind of a big deal). Oliver was a trooper, and Isaac was a great big brother helper. Here we are at our first Sounders match as a family of four, followed by photos of Isaac at his first indoor soccer practice.

Oliver was super happy snuggled up against Dad. He only woke up once to eat and fall back asleep.

Mom and Isaac

Mom and Ollie

Isaac and Dad -- Isaac is always such a trooper!

Isaac - ready for Lil' Kickers!

Back in the PNW (and Snapshots of the Journey)

We're baaaaack.

Back in the Pacific Northwest!

After two great years in Park City, Utah we were pulled back to Seattle with a fantastic job offer for Eric, and lots of family and friends saying "yes, come back". Of course, the decision was more difficult and complicated than that... but not by much. The hard part, of course, was saying goodbye all the fantastic people and the unparalleled lifestyle perks of living in Park City. But the decision to move back to Seattle felt right. And now, after a month of planning for the move, physically moving, Eric starting a new job, and getting Isaac settled into a new routine and new preschool, we're feeling at home again back in Seattle. We moved back in to the same house, and I am working the same Park City job remotely. There's so much to write about, and yet I'll let the photos do the talking.

Snapshots of the last few weeks in Park City, packing, and saying goodbyes ("see ya laters"). One of the hardest goodbyes was to Isaac's beloved preschool teacher, Ms. Terri.

Snapshots of the last few weekends in Park City. Enjoying the weekend festivals and Park Silly markets.

Snapshots of arriving in the PNW. Isaac and I stayed with my parents for a few days while Eric arrived with the moving truck.

Snapshots of life back in Seattle which includes seeing lots of good friends.

And of course... Snapshots of the Sounders! Isaac was so excited to go again, and was a trooper in the (literally) 90 minutes of pouring down rain.

Overall, the move went smooth. Just a few hiccups and character-building days that are part of every move. Isaac seems to be thriving at his new preschool (after about a week of, well, let's just say "adjusting").

Halloween

Halloween 2011 in a snapshot:

Park City Main Street: Trick or Treating & the famous Doggy Halloween Parade.
Such fun people & dog watching!
We were zombies and Lodi wore wings.
I was going to make a more involved costume for Isaac, but then we found out the Sounders were playing in Salt Lake City for the MLS playoffs on Saturday, so we ditched our other Halloween weekend plans and cheered the Sounders on instead!

Here we are cheering them on in Salt Lake City with a crew of other Seattle Sounders fans on Saturday, and  Isaac and Eric cheering them on from home on Wednesday, when they returned to Seattle for leg 2 of the series.  We're still mourning their series loss.

"Happy Halloween!"

Weekend Adventures

The weekend in review: Thursday night Sounders game (won!), dog-sitting Sangie (Tony & Amanda's dog), home brewing a double IPA Saturday (I didn't take any photos of Kelly, Chris, Myrna and Lisa who were over to help brew!), and another Sounders game on Sunday (won again!)... and enjoying a bit of sunshine here and there...

More Sounders (& 33 year-old shoes)

We're not sure how many Sounders games Isaac has been to... but were guessing he's been to at least 15 by now? Here's a couple photos from the match last night against Dallas.  Despite our loud singing and cheering, Sounders lost 0-1.  But as usual, Isaac did great and we were happy that it stayed fairly dry for the whole match.

On the way to the match.
Check out Isaac's shoes; 
they were Eric's when he was a tot and now they fit Isaac. 
And, they're perfect Sounders colors too!

Not as enthusiastic as his parents, but a total trooper!

 

Super-Trooper



Visit with Grandma M & OG

Isaac had a blast with Grandma M (Debi) and "OG": Other Grandma (Mary) last Saturday!

Debi and Isaac at Ray's Boathouse, Saturday for lunch

Snuggles

Pasta!! (one of his favorite foods)

Giggles

Mary (O.G.: other grandma) & Lodi

They babysat while we went to the Seattle Sounders FC vs. Sporting Kansas City match (Sounders won 1-0 in the last minute or two of the game!).  Phew!

singing loud, singing proud!

When nothing seems to go as planned...

We had one of those weekends when nothing seems to go as planned:

Case #1: Eric's Dad was supposed to visit Saturday night as his first stop on his Harley road trip. He was going to watch Isaac while we went to the Sounders game Saturday night. But due to a weird string of events leading to a motorcycle breakdown, he postponed his visit. We were very happy that he was safe, but totally bummed out that he wasn't going to visit.  Thankfully, my parents were very flexible and came over to babysit in a pinch.  They went to dinner at Barking Dog and played at Carkeek Park.  It looks like they had a blast!

Case #2:  On Saturday it went from a beautiful, sunny, warm spring day to a torrential downpour in the evening. I promise I'm not exaggerating.  We left for the Sounders game in t-shirts and lightweight sweaters, jazzed about the highly anticipated Sounders vs Portland Timbers match. We were not at all prepared for the rain that came later, and for the first time ever we left the game early because we were soaked. We felt like poor fans, but it was ridiculously wet! Apparently we weren't the only ones who didn't check the weather report; Qwest Field was completely sold out of ponchos. Once again, my parents came to the rescue and were rock stars for coming to pick us up.

From a sunny afternoon at El Chupacabra, to the Sounders "March to the Match" (right before it got nasty out)

Lessons learned: Be flexible; family rocks; be prepared... and most importantly just go with the flow and laugh when you want to cry!

Weekend Happenings

Isaac's introduction to the yard.  Overall, a success. Except when Lodi took his stick.

A fun afternoon Sounders game on Saturday. Sounders FC defeated Chicago Fire 2-1. We needed this win!

Spent a few hours in the yard... "after" pictures

Explora-Saurus-Rex (he gained a lot of confidence walking on the bumpy ground and every once in a while he put a leaf in the yard-waste bin)

We dog-sat Tony & Amanda's dog Sangie this weekend. Lodi is a happy & tired boy tonight.

Dinner at Snoose Junction with neighbors Grace, Phil & daughter Irene (6 months old)

Weekend Review

Highlights of last weekend:

Grandma & Grandpa "J" babysat Isaac Friday afternoon - here's Grandma & Isaac at the library

Friday night = Sounders game! (1-1 Draw versus Houston Dynamo)

Just hanging out at home. Isaac had a mild fever & a case of the grumps on Saturday and Sunday.  He's feeling better today.

And lastly, what's a weekend without a little housework?

And so it begins....

The Sounders 2011 Season has begun!  The season opened with the Sounders vs. LA Galaxy match last night in rainy, stormy Seattle (unfortunately, Sounders lost 0-1).  But we bundled up in our rain gear and enjoyed an evening of singing, cheering and seeing good friends.

On the way to the match

At McCoy's restaurant before the match

He watched the whole game like this -- such a trooper

We're looking forward to another year as season ticket holders--- GO SOUNDERS!

High Chair

Isaac now sits in a high chair!

Excited to sit at the table with the family

Eric & I had lamb and quinoa.  Isaac got sweet potatoes for the first time (he loved them!)

"Hello"

Sitting tall at Barking Dog Restaurant (where we watched the Sounders game on Saturday night--- they won 2-1 vs. Kansas City and clinched a playoff spot!!!)

Isaac at Pete's Eggnest restaurant.  Such a big boy!

And, speaking of Sounders... here's a great photo from last week.  I cant remember which day... we've been to 3 Sounders games in the last week!

6 Months!

Isaac is six months old today!  We took the first picture of him (above), but we didn't know if we had a "the shot." So, later in the morning, and an outfit change later, we set him up for another try.  Well, Mr. move-a-saurus-rex showed us:

"hmmmm..... paper"

"I wonder what this tastes like?"

"nom nom nom"

Sign recovered! Sort of.... He seems quite pleased with himself.

Something better to chew on....

 Then we were off to the Sounders game (they won 3-2 vs. Toronto).

Go Sounders!

Isaac has his 6-month check-up next week, so we'll post the official 6-month stats then.

And, we've started a new picassa album for October, with lots more of Isaac, and a couple of the rest of us.