Monday, April 30, 2012

i can't let april just slip by like that...

we *squirrels* have been busy... you too? 
thought so.

so busy that i am going to dump a bunch of pictures all at once and pretend like i am collecting memories like my little 'ol header says.

we have been enjoying where we live by foot and by bike:::


 this is known as formation one, by the way.
for safety sake: tony, then nadia, then aidan, then me.
that means i get to have reoccurring mini heart failures when nadia weaves
or aidan hits giant potholes (or stands up!)









we have been learning so much about ourselves, our children, our parenting, our insecurities, our priorities and our success through america's greatest pass time:::





and we have been neglecting things:::
like root-touch ups & laundry & blogs.
meh.
 

*squirrels*, really? 
i'm not sure why, but i often think of my family as a little dray of squirrels.  maybe it is because we are constantly surrounded by nuts.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

and sometimes you have to take it to the skies







in the roughly 142 times we have been to seattle and of the 764 times the persistant bachart children have asked, we have been to the spaceneedle exactly one time.  it was well worth the bazillion dollars spent to ride an elevator & park, eat the best meal at the melting pot, and the chinsy souviners to sing and dance loudly on a street corner while tony had a, how shall i say this,  a moment of solitude of relief in a perfectly out of place porta potty.  poor tony. how can you not love a guy to pieces who doesn't get mad when you and your children are acting a fool while he is in a rare form of agony?  love him.

Monday, April 16, 2012

sometimes you just need to hit the road

and so that is what we did.
someone asked me why we took off like that...i said, "my family needed some spoiling."

so, that's my story, folks.  we needed some bachart-time.  just the four of us.  it meant missing out on some terrific stuff.  it meant riding in the car for nine hours in two days.  it meant spending a decent chunk of vacation change. it meant arranging and rearranging stuff on the calendar.

but...

it was awesome. 



we headed west for our adventure, taking the scenic route through white pass.  i drove, so we made record time with minimal car sickness.  tony had much to say about my driving, like "would you please not follow that semi so closely as we slalom through this snow tunnel" and "there are these white signs with numbers on them that tell you what speed to drive". 

mmm hmm... tony's disclaimer: he is older and wiser and more responsible and that is why he takes driving so seriously...now.  i am sure it is wisdome and responsibility.  that and this. . . tee hee hee.  

but i digress... we landed ourselves in grand mound, wa at the great wolf lodge.  this not-so-little gem has a ton of family fun packed into one very large building.  while there is loads to do, it was the waterpark we were after--- in all of it's climate controlled glory.
 we put many, many miles on those water slides in the mere 27 hours we spent there.  we also ate a pound of fudge between the four of us.  a pound people, a pound!  rocky road, s'mores, peanut butter cup and maple bacon fudge at that.  and this was after we ate ice cream for dinner, one of our favorite vacation traditions. 
even with the sweet-sweets and the slippery fun, my favorite part of the experience was waiting in line for the water slides.  in these lines (which are not terribly long even though it was the weekend of spring break for many area schools), were little pockets of time.  there was the excitement and even apprehension of going down the five story slides.  there was the nervousness of peering over the edge of the railing.  there was the reading and trying to remember all of the little factoids that are posted along the way.  and then there was the stuff that you just don't have time for in regular life.  like rearranging each others eyebrows to all point down or be brushed up just so.  and the part where you all stand in the exact same pose to see if the lifeguard notices.  and the part where you get to hear about each others futures, their wishes, their dreams.  not too deep, but just deep enough to keep it fun and light.  

waiting in those lines with just the chance and the quiet to be the four of us; that is when i got the spoiling returned. 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

nothing to celebrate

except i freaking love my family...


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

why i love airplanes...

they bring my sister home
for a quick visit for my dad's birthday...
and an impromptu lesson in how make up can help you stand out in a crowd...

and return her home safely to her boys
all in a weekend. 

Monday, April 2, 2012

my dad

my dad had a big birthday on saturday.

 he is a laid back, easy going kinda guy of few, albeit poignant, words.  he is also quite reserved.  i like those qualities, but they do make it difficult to celebrate him in any kind of big, public way.  there was a pin that inspired us (my brother, sister and i) to reach out to his friends and families, collect some memories, and put them in a book. 

it kind of snowballed from there because then people wanted to know when we were celebrating and we ended up having a small supposed-to-be-surprise party.  all of the covert action and endless phone calls, emails and fb messages were completely worth it.  we learned some interesting stories about our dad, and the book turned out to be a treasure for all of us. 



happy birthday dad. 
i love you.