Mother's Day 2011

Today we had planned on taking Eli to the Museum of Flight, however mid drive, we decided to go to the Mariners game instead.  We ventured to the Light Rail (really, THIS was the highlight for Eli.  He loves the light rail) and on into downtown.

The game was really uneventful, but we had a great time!

Eli was excited to see the Mariner Moose.

The whole family.
Jess, (the Moose), Eli, me, and Titus.

Eli was dying to have cotton candy.  Yes.  He ate the whole thing. 

Well, most of it.  He shared a few gracious bites with me too.

The Game Wasn't Cancelled!

I don't know about anyone else, but I am tired of the cold and rain.  This is ridiculous.  It is May and we've had two days so far that I would consider to be anything close to spring weather.  We'll either not have a summer this year or it will be cold and gross, then BAM!  It will be hot and sunny with no middle ground.

Don't ask me twice.  I'll take that hot and sunny any time.  Yes sir.  Sign me up.  I'm ready.

Eli had an early t-ball game scheduled for this morning at 9:45.  We really thought it would be rained out, as it had been raining all morning.  Well, things cleared up and they let the kids play.  Of course, part way through the rain started again, but what the heck, they only play 3 innings.

Eli was actually the last batter of the game.  He is getting really good at setting his feet, eying the ball and nailing it on the first or second try.  This was his first swing and he klobbered it hard!

After making it to first base early in the game.  You can tell because it isn't raining at the point.  

An Amazing Class

On Saturday, Dusti and went to the most amazing photography class.  It was put on by Val Westover, a photographer who offers classes titled "Capturing True Emotion."  First, Val is an amazing photographer and his prints have been published around the world in various magazines.  We met at the Museum of Flight, which I thought was an interesting venue, but it worked out quite well.  We didn't focus on the planes at all, but more on how to make amazing pictures.  Really, it came down to how do you make your camera work for you, not you working for your camera.  We learned about how to really set yourself up for good pictures by focusing on
1. ISO
2. Aperture
3. Shutter Speed
4. Metering
5. Compose and Shoot

Up until now I have always used one of the preset settings on my camera, although not the basic "green box." I've used portrait, AV(you are only in control of aperture), and TV (you are only in control of shutter speed). Now, I think I could go in primarily MANUAL MODE!!  WOO HOO!!!!!!

Below are a couple pictures from at the class and then today.  They might not be the best composed picture, but the coloring is by far better than what I have seen in a while!

A random railing.  I just thought it turned out neat.

We were working on focusing.  

Dusti and I "shooting" each other.

Such a fun day with a fun neighbor!

We had just gotten ready and an '87 was taking off!

The statue outside the museum.

Little Miss D.

Eli was playing with his Play-doh today.  It was clearly, very interesting!

Focus.  Detail.  Attention.

Gorgeous Days Call For...

Playing outside!  So that's what we did.

Yesterday Big Jack came over to play with Eli before we went to t-ball.  They decided it would be fun to play in Eli's sandbox, however, over the course of this past winter, water managed to get in it, so instead of a sandbox, we have a lake.  A lake that also includes a nice sandy bottom.  Bring us to this afternoon.  Boys will be boys.  There are girly-girls...we know what they are, well, Eli is a boy-boy!  He had the best time playing in his own personal lake today, seriously, who wouldn't.

Playing with the "lake."  Yes, it is seriously gross...new sand will be in soon!

HAHA  Oliver looks like he was pouting in the corner.
What a nut.

VERY interested in seeing how the toy works.

Getting more sand...

I found this shirt and HAD to buy it for Eli.

This is definitely the case at our house.

Daddy got home and they were checking out the lower area.

I love my boys!

...can you believe I actually posted two posts today?!?  It's a miracle...

It's T-ball Time Again!

Oh my goodness!  What a difference a year makes in the life of a child and t-ball.  Eli is having so much fun and loving the sport this year.  He totally gets it this year.  From batting to fielding to running the bases, you name it!  Of course he still has his "I'm only four and have a 5 minute attention span" moments, but what kid isn't?  It's so much fun!  Here he is at his first game of the year!

Our little batter after nailing the ball.  Jess has been working with him at home at hitting.  When he really thinks about it and takes his time, he can hit it pretty hard and pretty far. 

Scott helping the kids at second base.  Eli was ready to head on over to third!

Waiting for that ball to come to him.  This was his own doing!  No one told him to squat down with his glove ready.  What a little stud.

Closer to the end of the game.  This was that short attention span moment.  I guess every baseball player needs to rest sometime.  Some choose the sideline, Eli chooses the field. To each their own.

Having fun at the game!  (Notice his bruise is almost gone!  YAY!)

Of course we have the three musketeers: Jack, Eli, and Eric.  Best friends!

What a Day!

What a day today was.

It started with our annual MSP proctor training.  If you've ever been through this, you know just how exciting and wonderful it is to sit through 45 minutes of.  HAHA  Actually, it's just repetitive seeing as though we've had the same training year after year, the only difference is this is the second year it's been called the MSP instead of the WASL.

Then my new student arrived.  After having several *challenges* join my room, I was hoping this one would be different. (not that my others are not fun, they are.  I have a very nice group of kids, they just bring their own challenges on a daily basis.)  Wow!  She is such a delightful young lady, came in with a smile, and was eager to join our group.

Now bring us to this afternoon.  I was just transitioning my afternoon group from math to looking at continental drift and Pangaea.  My new student came in and I asked her how I could help her.  She said she had a private matter, so I asked her to come over to me and tell me what was going on.  When she came over, she whispered in my ear, "Gertrude (clearly an alias) is in the bathroom and she needs your help."  "Uh-oh," I thought, thinking someone had just moved into womanhood. I quickly popped next door, asked a co-teacher to watch my kids and I hurried to the bathroom to check on Gertrude, of course by this time it was pouring and we're in the portables....

I get to the restroom and called out her name, "Gertrude, are you ok?"
A sheepish little voice responded, "ummmm, no."
I asked her what was going on.  I had to contain myself from laughing so she could hear me.  It went something like this, "Well...I can't pull my pants up!  I am wearing skinny jeans and they got wet at recess.  Now they're stuck."  All I could picture was the Friends where Ross was wearing the leather pants and couldn't get them pulled up and was trying everything from lotion to baby powder.

I ended up having to call the nurse to bring her a pair of pants to wear for the rest of the day.  Poor thing.



Yet another reason why people shouldn't wear skinny jeans! Rainy Days!

Adventures in Winkeyland

I have been MIA lately.  It seems like everything has been going in fast-forward lately, not leaving time to do anything on the side.  Then throw in this horrible cold I've had and I've been asleep shortly after Eli every night, which is when I really do any of my blog posting.

We went to Spokane a few weeks ago to celebrate Jess's Grandmother's 90th birthday.  While we were there, we also celebrated Jess's 31st birthday.  There were celebrations all over that weekend.  We finally got to see Cam, our nephew, play at a basketball tournament, and saw friends and family from the east side of the state.  Here is a little glimpse into our extended weekend.

Four Fabulous Cousins:

Eli, Kendra, Brooklynn, Cameron

Go Cam, Go!

Eli and Brookie

Us at Grandma's birthday celebration

The kiddos.  Boy do they love each other.

Brothers and their kids.  

Ryan, Brookie, Jess, Eli

Us.  

Brandon and Lindsay's little one: JayJay!