bubblies & blowers

We are at the end of 2012 and ready to move into the new year. Since this year was full of lots of changes I wanted to summarize it before my mind goes blank.

2012 highlights...

- trip to the big island for a week and a half and having to stay at the airport the evening before due
  to snow and barely making it out.
- after many years of discussing moving we finally made the leap and purchased a house in Bothell     and sold our house after closing on the new one. Talk about stressful but we LOVE the new digs
- going to disneyland with friends and seeing the new cars land
- going out on the parents boat on Lopez island.
- Ethan starting kindergarten.
- adopting two kitties from the Seattle humane society.
- traveling to florida for a week.
- celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary
- Jeff launched a game. (Buy it)
- family trip to the great wolf lodge.

2012 lowlight...

- both cats getting kidney disease.
- losing our two cats within three months of each other to kidney disease while moving/selling house.
- Jeff getting his tonsils out. Bad for him, good for me.

We can't wait to see what is in store for us in 2013 but hope that it is a great one.

Happy New Year!!!

go seahawks and score a goal...

We are moving quickly through the month of December and almost to Christmas. Yikes! I still have so much to do to get ready for the holiday but thought I would take a moment for a quick update. 

We signed Ethan up for lil kicker's at Arena Sports in Redmond and last weekend he had his first class. About twenty minutes in he took a tumble with another little girl and got a lovely black eye. Any other kid this would be a shock but not for Ethan. Luckily after a little hesitation and wanting to quit soccer for five minutes he was able to get back out there and score a goal. He even asked to go back to soccer the next day so way to go Ethan for being a good sport and sticking to it!

We also attended our first 2012 Seattle Seahawks game. Well it was a first for Ethan and I, of course Jeff had been to them all. After settling into our seats with our french fries and hot dogs we watched a great game and everyone left happy. Well at least if you were a Seahawks fan you left happy. 

We also have a house guest visiting us during the month of December. His name is "Johnson" (Ethan picked out the name) who has been sent by Santa to watch Ethan's every move and report back to the big man every night at the north pole. Johnson has been having fun getting into trouble at our house and Ethan is trying very hard to make sure that Johnson reports back that he has been a good boy. 


 

christmas time is here...

Thanksgiving has passed and left our bellies full. We had dinner at home this year along with my parents and Jeff got to watch football all day so everyone was happy. 

Right after Thanksgiving we visited the tree farm out in Woodinville and thankfully found our tree after only five minutes of searching. The rain was coming down and no one wanted to stand out in it for too long but we found a great one and thankfully it fit all of our ornaments. We also took the train in Snoqualmie with our friends the Porter's to go and visit Santa. Ethan made sure to let him know that he wanted a climbing Spider Man and Ninjago lego's. 

 

i'll take a butter beer please...

Jeff and I recently returned from a trip to the sunny land of Florida. This was our annual trip that we get to be adults for a brief period without having to ask for the kids menu and enjoying dinner and food outside of Red Robin.

We were fortunate enough to be able to go to Orlando aka land of theme parks and had told Ethan that we were going to "Florida". Thankfully he was not able to put the two together that we were going to the home of Mickey Mouse.

Since we had just gone to Disneyland in October we purposely chose to visit the parks that Ethan would not be able to go to or would have limited rides available, that way we felt less guilty about not bringing him. Some of our stops were Sea world, and Universal Studios, specifically the Harry Potter world. Thank goodness my coworker had warned me to take motion sickness medicine before venturing the park. I think I would have died on the castle ride without it. I have never experienced a ride like this in my life but thankfully with the help of medicine I was able to enjoy it. Some of my cohorts were not so lucky but I highly recommend you go on it at least once while there. Plus, the butter beer is the bomb. I actually ended up liking the non frozen version and had to have a least two.

happy halloween...

 

 

From our family to yours we hope you all had a safe halloween. Don't worry, we have your back (except lazy batman).

busy bee...

Sorry for the long delay between blog posts but we have been quite busy the past few weeks enjoying what was left of the summer weather. Jeff and I are getting ready to head out next week for some fun in the sun but I will leave you with this past weekends iPhone photos. We went to the pumpkin patch (I'll write a post on that later), the dog park, and made homemade chili. Yum!

 

please step out of the ride to your left...

Jeff, Ethan, and I just returned from a week long trip to the happiest place on earth, aka Disneyland with our friends Kristin, Cary, Daisy, Cassiel, and Sagan. It was a pretty happy place, especially for Ethan, but unfortunately we went during the hottest week of all summer for LA. Thankfully we stayed at one of the hotels at the park so we were able to take breaks during the 108 degree weather to head back to the pool and cool off before hitting the rides again.

We had taken Ethan to Disneyland when he was a little over three and he enjoyed it but going there at age five was so much more fun. We definitely have an adrenaline junkie for a son since all he wanted to do was ride the "Tower of Terror". I believe that he rode it at least eight times or so during our trip. It was also my favorite time of year to go since the park was decorated for Halloween. 

sail away with me...

Ethan and I have just returned from a trip out to the San Juan Islands this past weekend with my parents. We arrived in Anacortes on Friday afternoon and took their small boat over to Lopez Island where we stayed for the next couple of days. 

We took their little boat out to make a trip over to Roche Harbor to play at the beach and ice cream, and to Friday Harbor to pick up kids clothes since some one forgot to bring extra clothes for Ethan. Whoops! (Just an FYI, they do not sell kids closes at Roche unless you are looking for sweatshirts.)

We even got to have crab two days in a row which was a complete treat. It was hard to come home but we missed Jeff who had to work while we were away. 

 

summer pickin's...

Blackberry season is in full bloom and since we live a little out in what we like to call the country now we took our wagon and headed down the street to pick some for pie making. 

oh, la, la...

Recently I helped my friend Stacey celebrate her 29th birthday by going to dinner at the Pink Door. If you have never been it is located in one of the alley ways at Pike Place Market and it is a treat for both the senses and the tummy. 

We went on a Monday evening and at around 8 they have a performer who swings on a round ring and does some amazing acrobat work. Plus, they have great food, especially if you like Italian Food. 

 Happy birthday Stacey! May you have many more 29th birthdays.

welcome home...

This past weekend the Seattle Humane Society was having their catapalooza event to help promote the adoption of kitties since they have a large number of them in the shelters. We had talked about adopting two kitties once our other cats had moved on since we knew that we could provide a loving family and that we would miss having cats around. 

We drove to the shelter just to look and of course we were unable to leave without taking a few home with us. I would like you to meet our newest family members Zoey (the fuzzy kitty) and Olive (the short haired crazy one). They are two sisters who have adapted to living at the Kalles house perfectly and even have become friends with Bindi. 

 

gypsy rose kalles

Gypsy, you were a fighter and an ornery kitty but we loved you just the same. I got you in college for my twentieth birthday at the Moscow Mall pet store. I named you after the Fleetwood Mac song "Gypsy". You were a present from Cris (hence the middle name). You lived in several apartments while I went to school and even survived a night outside in the cold Pullman weather even though you were technically an indoor cat. You lived a long and happy seventeen years and were a total fighter during the last year since you began having kidney failure. I am sure that Ophelia is waiting for you on the other side and you are giving her a "hiss" hello. We will miss you greatly. 

Gypsy Rose Kalles

August 2nd, 1995 - August 9th, 2012 

happy 5th birthday to you...

August 4th we celebrated Ethan turning the big 5. Boy have the years passed by in a flash and Ethan is turning into such a cute boy. We are so lucky to have him and had to celebrate his birthday in style.  We started out the morning opening presents and heading to McD's for breakfast and fun on the play land. 

summer and cousins...

Ethan and I just returned from a visit with his cousins and aunt up in Anacortes. They were visiting from Colorado so we had a chance to all meet up and hang out for the weekend. Even though the weather was not as cooperative as it could have been we still had a great time. The kids got to fish and hang out at the beach while the parents got to chill and drink wine. We also made a big bonfire and roasted marshmallows for some smores.

I wish they lived a little closer since they had such a great time hanging out. We will definitely have to make a trip out to Colorado to visit them as well.

happy, happy, birthday...

We celebrated Jeff's birthday over the weekend with cake and wine, two of his favorite things. We headed out to the Woodinville wine country with our friends the Strand's while grandma babysat Ethan. 

We tasted lots of great wine and had a great time chatting and checking out the wineries. 

red, white, and blue...

Yesterday we celebrated the fourth of July in our new town of Bothell. The city puts on a pretty big parade and we lasted about halfway through it before Ethan was ready to head home. The weather turned out perfect and we even walked down the street to the fireworks stand and purchased some sparklers and smoke bombs. 

 

imagination...

This last weekend Jeff had to put in some hours at work. We had been doing quite a bit of house stuff so I thought it was time for Ethan and I to just hang out and enjoy the weekend. Now that we are closer to Alderwood Mall, we headed down to browse and go to lunch at Claim Jumper.

Then it was off to the Imagine Museum in Everett. We had a great time exploring the museum and they had quite a bit of new exhibits since the last time we were there. Ethan loves driving the bus and especially loved using all of my spare change to charge me bus fare to Hawaii and Disneyland. He also got a kick out of having me sit in the barber's chair and giving me a shave even though he told me that ladies do not have beards so we were just pretending. The sun actually made a brief appearance so we were able to play on the rooftop playground. Since we live a lot closer I see us spending more time there.

start of summer...

We are all moved into our new house and loving it. Ethan is starting to really like the new house. It took a couple of days for him to settle in but now he has told us on repeated occasions that never wants to leave so that is a good sign. He has been especially liking our new soaking tub and the neighborhood playground.

We also enrolled him in swim lessons in Kirkland for the summer. This was a great idea until we moved but he has really been enjoying them and loves bobbing his head underwater. 

welcome home...

We finally made the big leap into a new house. Jeff and I have been thinking about this for a very long time and finally made the move. We had been growing out of our old house for quite some time and thought it would be a great time to make the leap. 

We set out with the help of our friend Jeff in search of a new home. We looked at several houses but none of them seemed to have what we were looking for. We finally found one in the city of Bothell. 

We are still in the process of unpacking boxes and getting our old house ready to sell but we couldn't be happier. 

Once things are settled down I will be sure to post photo's of the inside but I can already see us hanging out on the porch drinking some vino!

Also, wanted to call out a special thanks to Jeff Strand for tracking this down and working with us, and our parents for coming down and painting and helping unpack. 

ski to sea...

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Jeff was busy getting the garage cleaned and instead of us getting in the way, Ethan and I headed up to Bellingham to attend the ski to sea festival. The main motivation for the trip for Ethan was to eat ice cream and play drums at Grandpa's house. Both were accomplished and the weather also cooperated so it was a great day.

 

bow ties and balls...

It is the start of Memorial Day weekend and what better way to celebrate than going to Ethan's friend Lucy's 2nd birthday party at Anderson Park. It was a beautiful and sunny day to just relax and hang out with friends. Throw in a homemade bow tie and a bunch of bouncing balls and you have yourself a party.

ophelia elvis kalles

Jeff picked you up at Meow on Mercer Island thirteen years ago and the whole way home you meowed until Jeff put his fingers in the crate. You gave the best cuddles and purrs out of any cat we have had and you were full of energy when you played with your nemesis Elvis Ophelia.You were a huge part of our family and will be greatly missed.

Ophelia Elvis Kalles - February 10th, 1999 to May 24th, 2012.

happy mother's day!

I had an absolutely wonderful mother's day spent with my son, my husband, and my mom. It started out with getting a wonderful handmade picture frame from Ethan along with a mom and son statue, and a diamond bracelet from my hubby. Then we headed in the car to go out to breakfast at one of my favorites, The Original Pancake House, and we beat the morning rush just in time.

After breakfast my mom came over and we headed to Pike Place Market to enjoy the sunny Seattle day. It was hopping down there and the market was full of people. (Just an FYI to any tourists reading, flower prices double on mother's day and valentine's day.) My mom even got to see the famous gum wall and left her mark on it. 

We had lunch at the Pike Brewing Co. and then it was down to the waterfront to ride the old carousel and play some air hockey. 

I hope that everyone had a nice and relaxing mother's day like I did. :)

take me out to the ball game...

We made it to another Mariner's home opener. I believe this is the 14th year we have been going to the Mariner's home opener and Ethan has been going since he was born. He was actually watching the game this year and of course eating all of the candy, fries, and grandpa's popcorn that he could get his hands on. 

And yes, Ethan is indeed wearing noise cancelling headphones. Anyone who has a young child I highly suggest buying a pair of these. They have been awesome!!!

 

sipping the day away in sonoma...

About a month ago I traveled down to Sonoma, California. It was for both business and pleasure and lucky for me, the weather was absolutely perfect. (It was terrible in Seattle by the way.) On my days off I was able to go out and explore the vineyards and also eat at a few great restaurants as well. My motto, when in wine country, eat and drink merrily. 

 (I could get used to this view.)

(Enjoying the wine at twomey cellars)

(Visiting the barrels at arista winery)

(Fantastic dinner at Corks Restaurant)

 

 (Another great dinner at El Coqui in Santa Rosa.)

(Kicked back and relaxed at the Russian River Brewery.)