Ballgame August 31

The Mariners, without Ichiro, without Beltre, without Branyan, without Griffey, a pretty pathetic lineup. Everyone in the Angels lineup was outhitting anyone in the Mariner batting order. Not surprising, then, that the score was 10-0, with the M's managing 3 hits. The high water mark was inning #1, when they loaded the bases on 2 walks and a single, but then didn't score. The grandkids, however, were oblivious and seemed to have a great time!

Fourth of July 2009

We had a great celebration at Becky's place on Whidbey Island. I seriously have no idea how many people were there for burgers and dogs in the afternoon, there seemed like hundreds, it was at least 50. Mike just kept on grilling. People brought salads and deserts and we just ate and ate. It was great.

In the evening, when the sun sank, we had a fireworks display that went on for about 2 hours-no exaggeration. Ben is quite the pyro. Mike worked hard at it, but he still needs some style pointers--like don't put your face over the explosives while you're lighting them. Here's a few pics, that don't really do justice to the whole thing.

The only downer was that Zack was not feeling well and Becky was worried (as was I) that his pneumonia was returning. He sounded and acted just like he had when we were at Great Wolf.

Father's Day 2009

I had a great Father's Day. Went up to Whidbey Island and spent the weekend with Becky and her family. On Saturday we took a trip to Coupeville, just north of them, and took a walking tour of the tiny downtown. We walked out on the dock and saw a seal, and just took in the scenery. We went home for a dinner of bleu-cheese burgers and ice cream.

Sunday, Becky made a great breakfast with blueberry waffles and a blueberry smoothie. We spent the morning playing together. Then Mike and Becky put out a great lunch of grilled pork skewers with veggies and a tangy sauce. Mike made good use of his Father's Day gift, a new gas grill, very fancy and modern! I got some good books to read, and I'm looking forward to that. The day was topped off by the traditional strawberry-rhubarb pie, always a great way to end a day.

The only difficult part of the weekend was the struggle of their new puppy, Luna, who had been spayed and tore out her stitches and then her staples. Becky had to make 2 emergency runs to Mount Vernon to get the dog treated. She seems to be doing better now, but that's been a challenge for them. They have to keep the dog pretty drugged up to keep her quiet as she needs to be.

6 by 6

OK, I don't completely understand this stuff, but here it is, a picture from Lukas' birthday party.

A Day in Three Parts

Part 1-Soccer

I drove up to Whidbey Island today to spend some time with Becky's family, but the main reason I came up TODAY was see one of Lukas' soccer games. So I arrived on time and we drove out to the school yard where the soccer game was to be played. And the other team never arrived. There was some confusion about the schedule and they weren't coming. So, no soccer game. I hadn't expected the World Cup, but this was a bit of a disappointment. For me. The kids, 5 year olds, they didn't really notice, except one boy who was upset because he didn't get his treat.

Part 2-Filipino Food

Becky had told me that there was a new filipino restaurant in Oak Harbor, so we went there. The place is called Tura Tura Island, and the food was great. The waitresses were wearing T-shirts that said "Got Lumpia?" and that was enough for me. We started with lumpia, and then had pancit, bbq chicken, chicken adobo and lechon pork. All very good. There was Halo-Halo on the menu for dessert, but we were all too full!

Part 3-The Beach

Then we went to the beach. It was a beautiful day, mild temperatures, sunny, days that don't happen in May in Washington. The kids found water to play in and Emelia kinda tried to make a sand castle. Lukas got very wet. Zack was just pleased with himself for no clear reason. It was nice and warm and fun. No Boracay, but pretty good!

Post-Christmas Christmas with Becky

On the Saturday after Christmas, I went up to Whidbey Island and spent a day with Becky and Mike, and Lukas, Emelia and Zack. They were having a great Christmas, and had just gotten back from seeing the Wizard of Oz at the Seattle Children's Theater. We had a great time together, and the kids didn't seem half holiday-ed out. Well, with the one gift, maybe Zack was a bit past his prime, but it was late and he'd been sleeping in the car for quite a while.

I love to watch Becky and Mike interact with their kids. They're such great parents, with patience I certainly never had, and those are such great kids.

Becky's big smile is for their gift--two tickets to see Swan Lake at the Pacific Northwest Ballet in April. That's a long time to wait for Christmas, but Becky is a real ballet fan and she hasn't been to the new McCaw Hall in Seattle, and Swan Lake is such a classic, it just seemed right.

Mariners ALERT!

It appears that Lukas has been paying attention this year, and wishes to offer a critique of the season.

I think he makes a good point.

Lukas at the Ball Game

What a day! Lukas, along with Becky and Mike and Grandpa, took in a late season game at Safeco Field. The Mariners, from time to time, have a peanut-free seating area and we took advantage of that to go out to the ballpark on a perfect late Summer evening. Well, let's call it potentially perfect, the Mariners-after a very nice series against NY-reverted to their usual form today, which ruined that aspect of the outing. But, the game started out with all of us getting free Ichiro tee shirts! Before the end, Lukas told Becky he was having a great time. He endured a pretzel (not shown), blue cotton candy and a foot long hot dog and left the game happy, if on somewhat of a sugar high.

Tourists in Our Home Town, Part Three

To finish our day, we went to the Seattle Aquarium. They just finished remodeling it earlier this year and it's spectacular. The kids love it. Lukas has announced that he plans to be a Marine Biologist--and a Paleontologist--"you can do that," he says. He's a very serious student of animals. Emelia loves the whole thing too, but I think she likes the water and getting wet. My favorite animals are the River Otters and the weather was so hot that they were just quietly laying beside their stream and doing nothing. I can't say I blame them. By then, I was dragging some too.

Lukas and Emelia both loved the tide pools. They're at the right height so the kids can play in them and touch the animals. Emelia loved playing with the pretend octopus and riding the Orca. Meanwhile, Lukas was listening to a docent explain what whales ate and how. Zack liked seeing the fish in the big tank.

It was an unusually hot day for Seattle. I was glad when we came to a stand that sold Hawaiian Ice across from the Aquarium, we needed that.

We took the monorail back to the Seattle Center. By then we were all tired and Lukas pulled up to a bench and would just go no further. "My legs hurt," he said. Becky tried to convince him to go on, it was only a little ways--and that was true, but grandpa sat down next to Lukas and said "my legs hurt too." We waited a while before we walked the rest of the way to the car. Lukas really was a trouper through the whole thing.

Tourists in Our Home Town, Part Two

After we finished our duck tour and had lunch, we boarded the monorail to go downtown. Only a few blocks, but easy and quick and cheap, and the kids enjoyed riding on the train.

We arrived at Westlake and walked the few blocks to the market. The market is always a little different each time you see it, depending on the season, the weather, the time of day and the day of the week. On a wonderful midsummer day like today, it was packed with people. My first stop was for my favorite snack, a barbecue pork humbow from the Chinese bakery. The sweet pork filling is just amazing, wonderful, an experience of taste and smell and feel and just always a joy.

We wandered the stalls and the kids loved seeing the fish market and the veggies. I enjoyed the flowers, but didn't buy any, since I usually don't keep flowers at home. I looked through the craft stalls and was disappointed in the quality and quantity of the jewelry. Usually there's a lot of good stuff, but it seems that since I was intent on finding something for Julie, the pickings were slim. I finally found a bracelet I liked. We agreed on a price and I was surprised to find that this vendor took only cash and I was short. I said I'd be back. I don't think he expected me to take so long--I didn't get back there until we finished at the aquarium (see Part Three).

When I got to the jewelry stall again, I'm not sure if he remembered me (he looked very old). I reminded him of the price we'd agreed on ($25) and I gave him $40. His wife (she looked older than he--maybe 110) gave me back $5. I said I'd given them $40, and she reluctantly and sloooooooowwwwwllllyyyy gave me another $5. I again reminded her that I'd given her $40 and she needed to give me $15 back, and she got a bit hostile about it. The family (there was a young man too) bickered a bit that I did not understand and finally she parted with a final $5, with the total time for the transaction running around 3-4 minutes. Very unpleasant. I hope Julie likes the bracelet.

As we left the market, there was a man there with his pet python. Lukas and Emelia were immediately drawn to him. Me, not so much. But they oohed and aahed over the reptile and really enjoyed petting him. We returned to the monorail and to our parking spot at the Center. We were all exhausted. Emelia and Zackary were asleep by the time we got to Westlake. Lukas, who was a real trouper, was complaining that his legs hurt. I was dragging pretty bad and Becky was trying to force a smile once in a while, but she was hurting some too. Mike was doing better, but even he was sweating profusely and seemed tired.

Tourists in Our Home Town, Part One

Today, I spent the day as a tourist in Seattle, where I've lived for the last 27 years. Becky and Mike and their 3 kids came with me and we had a great time seeing the things only the tourists see.

First, we did a "duck tour," we rode a WWII vintage amphibious vehicle around Seattle and then into Lake Union. We saw a lot of the city and even I found out some things I hadn't known (Seattle was the first place to have a mechanical gasoline pump!). The grandkids, especially Lukas, were very impressed that the same bus they were riding on the roads could go into the water! I didn't get a great picture of Emelia and Lukas on the water, but they did enjoy it. The duck boat driver had a great store of old jokes and appropriate musical interludes (The Beatles while driving by The Edgewater, where the Fab Four stayed in Seattle in the 60's, for example). This was a great way to start our day in Seattle. After the ducks, we went to the Seattle Center House and had lunch. No pictures, but you've seen kids eating hot dogs before!

Carrie's Wedding

Becky's good, long-time friend Carrie got married today, and Lukas and Emelia were part of the ceremony.

Lukas was dressed in a suit and vest and he was the ring bearer. Lukas has done this often enough that he has his own ring-carrying pillow. He may be ready to go pro. He looks so dapper and smooth, almost like he is posing in the suit.

Emelia was a flower girl. She has wanted to wear this dress since the first time she saw it. Becky has had to hide it. She loved wearing the crown, at least for a while. By the end of the reception, she was tired of it, and enjoyed putting it on Lukas, or one of Becky's friends, or even grandpa. Sadly, there are no pictures, as far as I know, of me with the cute flower crown.