All about Boeing...

My sister and brother work for Boeing. Josh works in Renton in the IT department, and my sister (I don't put her name in my blog at her request) works as a purchasing agent in Everett. The building in Everett, where they build the 747, 767, 777, and now the 787 airplanes is the largest building in the world by volume. ALL of Disneyland could fit inside. My sister loves to go out to the factory and see where they build planes up close and personal.

Connecting this building with another building across the street is a Boeing-constructed overpass where they drive the planes back and forth to the paint booth. However, they only do it at night, because the wings stretching out cause the traffic beneath to panic. I would love to see that!This is a picture (from Wikipedia) of the new 787, which they call the "Dreamliner." It's constructed of "composite materials" which means carbon fiber, for you bike people out there, and is supposed to be more fuel-efficient. There is another plane called the "Dreamlifter" which was built just to bring this plane's fuselage and wings to Everett for final assembly. We saw the Dreamlifter the other night in Everett. It's huge and I still can't imagine that a whole other plane could fit inside!

Ellie's Actual Birthday

On Ellie's day, we drove to Seattle to stay with my sister. We met her at her house and unloaded the car, then drove up to Everett to a children's museum called "Imagine!" The kids enjoyed the big play area outside on the roof, which included a dinosaur excavation area, large chess set, huge playground, and outdoor musical intruments. The inside space was divided into different open rooms with themes: trains, farm, cabin/outdoor lake, water area, kids' theater, bank, airplane (since everything in the area is sponsored by Boeing), and story/treehouse. It took about two hours to do everything, and the kids were entertained the entire time. I thought it was very well done.

For dinner, we went to Red Robin so Ellie could have her free birthday meal, and her sundae. She's been waiting all year for that sundae! They also got to meet Red Robin, but Seth was shy.After dinner, we took them down the road from my sister's house to a beach right on the Puget Sound. They enjoyed looking for seashell treasures, and I enjoyed the sunset. It was beautiful.

Ellie is 5!

Our family celebrates 4 of our 5 birthdays in a span of six weeks, from July to September. We eat a lot of cake at this time of year! For Ellie's birthday, in keeping with our new tradition of family parties, we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. Now the pizza was BAD, but the kids didn't care, and we had a good time. Ellie opened her presents, which included a much-anticipated Webkinz from her aunt, and an mp3 player from her grandma. Ellie is my music-lover, and I have already had to charge that thing almost daily!

I love Ellie's sweet, loving personality. She is a fighter, though, and we have gone head-to-head since the day she was born! But look at those dimples and blue eyes...how can I not love that kid?


Happy Birthday, sweet Ellie! We love you, and we are so glad to have you be part of our family!

I Ran Away From Home

On Thursday I came to Seattle to visit my sister for a few days. I'm having so much fun not living my own life that I've decided to stay a few more days. We're doing fun things with the kids, shopping, and encouraging each other to eat well and exercise. It's hard when we're together! I'll post pictures of our adventures when I get home, which may be next week!

No else cares, but...

This morning I ran five miles for the first time in MONTHS. Since before our trip in March, I think. And I felt great! My feet didn't hurt, which is why I haven't been running very much. Maybe things are improving.

Why I Ride...

This morning Tiffany and I stopped in at Krispy Kreme on our bike ride! The "Hot Now" sign was too hard to resist. What was just an average bike ride turned into something fun that we'll never forget. (I'm not saying how many donuts we ate!)

John the Handyman

John is amazing. He truly can fix anything. With a little preparation and research, he fixed our broken garage door this week. Last time we had a spring break, we did what everyone does and called out a repair guy, because it's supposed be dangerous. This time we didn't feel like shelling out over $500, so John got on the internet and found out it's a pretty simple job. We ordered the parts online. With the right tools (a metal rod that fits the springs, purchased at Home Depot for a couple of dollars), he was able to fix it in about an hour. That's what you get when you marry a guy that grew up on a farm!

Nature Hike at Battle Ground Lake

Tiffany and I decided to take the kids on an outing today....I don't know why we do it, it's just too stressful sometimes to get them ready and then drive anywhere. But we did, and I haven't been to Battle Ground Lake in years, so I thought maybe the kids would enjoy the little hike around it and then lunch in the park. It's a great place to explore nature, with trees and lots of great undergrowth. Some of the trees have fallen and are in various stages of decay, which the kids found interesting. Parts of the path are rocky and bumpy because of the tree roots, which was a little more difficult for Seth and Natalie to negotiate. We had a few falls, but still a great time. And they were hungry for lunch and really enjoyed the playground. I will be sad when my kids outgrow playgrounds!

Homeschooling

I am really excited about homeschooling this next year. I've been ordering books, planning our daily schedule, and trying to figure out the best way to help my kids develop (or renew) their love of learning. Some of the books we will be reading and studying together are: Aesop's Fables, 50 Famous Stories Retold, James Herriott's Treasury for Children, a couple of biographies of famous people, and Handbook of Nature Study. I also plan to help Hannah with her writing skills and get Ellie reading. Hannah also wants piano lessons, so we'll fit that in, too. Both girls will be taking ballet lessons. I'm wondering if we even have time for River Homelink this year!

I Am A Birthday Scrooge

With Hannah's 7th birthday approaching, accompanied by requests for a big party and lots of presents in an ever-changing list, I decided to change our approach to birthdays. "We are family-party people," I said. And then I allowed her to choose one family outing. Hannah opted for Glow Golf at the mall, which we did the night before her birthday. The kids actually enjoyed it, and we had a nice time together. For her birthday, we invited the Youngs for birthday cake and presents, and then Emily was invited to stay for a "late-over." The girls ate treats, watched a movie in their fort, played Webkinz, and enjoyed the evening together. Hannah had a great time, and I didn't have to entertain eight or more girls, decorate, plan activities or prepare goody bags. Sorry to those of you who think friend parties are really important, but this is SO much easier!

The Joy of Competition...

Last year, I did two duathlons and didn't enjoy either one very much, so I decided not to "compete" at all this year. (I put the compete in quotes because I truly am NO competition to anyone out there!) My girls, however, really enjoyed the kids' race and wanted to do it again. I felt dumb taking them out for that and not "competing" myself, so I found a way to do it AND enjoy it. I roped a friend into racing as a team! It was WAY more fun, I wasn't flat out exhausted, and the stress level was minimal. Sarah agreed to run the two 5Ks and I rode the bike leg in between. I got to do the part I love, eat breakfast, not worry about throwing up, and end on a happy note. IT WAS FABULOUS! And frankly, Sarah is a much faster runner than I, so our times were respectable. Go, Pink Ladies! Thanks, Sarah! I truly hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Sarah at the starting horn

Me with my bike leaving the transition area

Sarah waiting in the transition area

The tag (we had to touch hands) and then Sarah's off and running for the last 5K

I ran the last stratch with Sarah and we crossed the finish line together

The Kids' Splash-Pedal-Dash was after our race. They were all so excited, and cute with their swim caps. It was difficult to chase them around and get pictures, but here are just a few.

Ellie, Hannah, Ryan, Emily and Spencer waiting for the start

Hannah running in the water. She knew what she was doing this year, and ran it hard.

Ellie and Spencer, a little confused about the whole process.

Now she's getting into it!

Crossing the finish line

My girls love their medals!

We are all winners!