A visit from friends!

We've had the sincere pleasure of enjoying 50 degree weather in January. Knowing our closest friends and family are dealing with sub-zero temp for weeks at a time and if it's not freezing cold, then it's snowing, does make us feel bad. (Really) The past few weekends have been especially enjoyable- not having to wear a coat in the winter is really strange.

We enjoyed an even greater pleasure with a recent visit from Sejal, Ann & Deven Shah. They were the official "first guests" in our new home (which we are loving, for the record). In fact, I'm pretty certain they (or at least Sejal) has been our "first" guest in each of our homes. That's what happens when you've been friends with someone for 15 years. I've known Sejal longer than Mike, if you can believe that.

Greyson & Deven had a great time together. It's amazing how little 'watching' you have to do as a parent when there's another child in the house (yes, we're working on it!). The two of them literally entertained each other for 3 days straight. They especially loved putting on football helmets. (Note: Deven's father is a huge Bears fan so the Packer helmet is especially satisfying)

The highlight of the weekend, by far, was bathtime for the boys on Saturday night. If anyone out there is a fan of America's Funniest Home Videos and Caddyshack, press play!

We're moving...again!

I can't believe I'm even writing the words, much less packing boxes, hauling art work and otherwise spending my free time looking for places to put little odds and ends like bouncy balls, Greyson's art projects, errant coffee cups and old picture frames I can't seem to part with.

We're moving for the 3rd time in 3 years. Can I put it on record and say that I miss my old house (our very first house, the one we bought in 2000 for less $$ than the price of a little plot of land in Seattle- have I mentioned how expensive it is out here?) We finished the basement, put in hard wood floors and built a huge deck. We made a profit! (gasp)

Here is our 2nd home- the one we left in order to come to Seattle to experience something new. It's beautiful, yes. We loved it, yes. We miss it, yes. But, I didn't get as attached to it because we only lived there for 2 years and when we sold it, we said good riddance since the market was tanking and we got lucky. We did not, however, make a profit (gasp)

The house we moved into upon moving to the great Northwest was dated and needed a paint

job but it was quite beautiful inside and the view of Lake Washington, downtown Seattle, the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier was unbeatable. This photo doesn't do it justice. Unfortunately, the owner didn't do a great job with the remodel and we got to experience not one, not two, but three instances of water seeping into the lower level. The 3rd time was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. Thank God we rented.

So, here is house #4. The market hasn't bottomed out yet so we're renting which means another move may be in our future (gasp) We're going to enjoy it while we're here. You know you're in Seattle when...an espresso machine is built into the cabinets.

Kitchen



We have plenty of room for guests, so come and see us!

Happy New Year!

We just wrapped up a nice long Christmas break and are offically back into the swing of things. I'm not the New Year's resolution type. I set my goals as I need to and then measure my successes and failures accordingly (it's usually a failure to ever get started). This year, however, I decided to write 3 things down:

1. De-clutter
2. Find new doctors for our family (that's every doctor you can think of- pediatrician, pediatric dentist, regular dentist, OB/GYN, GP etc)
3. Try the pilates class at the gym I've never been to

I'm pleased to report that I've gotten a start on #1 and #2. Let's ignore #3 for the time being, shall we?

We want to say a big, official, THANK YOU to our family and friends for hosting us (and our 5 suitcases, 3 carry on bags and a myriad of other crap) throughout our vacation. We flew into Minneapolis on 12/22, spent the night in a hotel in Menomonie, WI due to weather, arrived in Stevens Point on the 23rd, spent a fun and relaxing Christmas Eve with my family, hopped in the car and drove to Tasmania (that's Minocqua-speak for "1000+ acres of secluded beauty") for an extended Christmas with Mike's family and then got back in the car and drove to Chanhassen, MN to spend NYE week with our good friends, the Johnsons. We flew back to Seattle on the 2nd and enjoyed a quiet weekend at home (the "big melt" left water in our basement for the 2nd time- that's a story for another day).

Greyson with his cousin, Alayna (5)

A nice glass of Cab waiting for us at "the lodge" on Christmas Day (thanks Lee!)

Greyson at "the lodge" with his counsins, Jake (10) and Bria (7)

We played in the snow like kids- it was awesome!

Nana & Papa, Greyson is being video taped relentlessly on my new Flip. I'll be sharing video soon. Uncle Nate, Grey is asking for the 'suplex' so you need to fly to Seattle before our backs break. Grandma Janet, the bugs were the biggest hit.

The tree is down, the stockings packed and Giggles returned to the North Pole until Thanksgiving 2009. Greyson wants him to come back tomorrow. Perhaps he'll find comfort in the wonderful Christmas gifts he got to open, but not play with, on Christmas Eve and Day. They're in a UPS truck somewhere between Central WI and Western WA. Happy New Year!