Never Forget

It's hard to believe that yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on our country.

I will never forget walking out of the shower on that Tuesday morning to news that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, and then another. And still two more at the Pentagon and at a random field in Pennsylvania. I will never forget the confusion that followed, not knowing what it was all about. I will never forget Davey D, the DJ of the local radio station, say that it was Armageddon. I will never forget that for the first time in my life I believed it myself.

I will never forget being glued to the television for days on end. I will never forget the devastation, the loss of life. I will never forget the stories, the heroes ~ policemen, firemen, ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I will never forget the members of congress ~ both houses ~ standing outside the US Capitol singing "God Bless America." I will never forget the sense of unity that ensued the days and weeks following. We put our differences aside and joined hands with the world.

"On that terrible day, the nation became a neighborhood, all Americans became New Yorkers."

Governor George Pataki

Ten years later, we live in a different world. A world shaped by the events of that day. It's evident at airports, sporting events, and by the number of flag-covered caskets carrying a brave solider who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our safety and our freedom. To them and their families, Thank You!

Ten years later, I still get goosebumps on my skin, a lump in my throat, and tears in my eyes when I hear the National Anthem.

I Love the United States of America; may God continue to bless our great country; and may we never forget.

One of Two

Two out-of-town visits

Two sets of cousins played with

Two week-long summer camps

Two camping trips

Two milestone-birthday celebrations

That's what summer vacation was all about!

Today, however, it was back to business.

It's the first day of second gradeI somehow get the feeling that these yearly photo sessions are getting old

That's unfortunate.

For him, since he has ten years until he's a senior.

But time flies.

It doesn't seem like two years have passed since the bus fiasco I wrote about here.



This morning he got on without incidence. When we got there I heard him say,

"Yay, it's the first day of school!"


Yes, it is, my man...have a great year!



Never one to be left out, M got in on the fun herself.

Just When...

Just When

I got serious about turning our backyard into a respectable place to hang out

The sun decided to make an appearance after almost 9 months of being MIA

My steno machine was about to see the light of day in almost three years

I decided to pull out a paint brush and add some color to our house

Olympia got a Trader Joe's, an REI, and a Chipotle, and Target a makeover,

That's when the Government decided to do some restructuring ~ some restructuring that carries with it a big possibility that we won't be here past 2013.

When we arrived almost four years ago, we had no expectations that we'd retire here, but more and more we throw it around, and to say that I've given up all hope to move back to California would be a flat out lie. But we always thought we'd have a choice; we figured the decision would be ours to make.

Things are still at their very preliminary stages and changing daily. I know that we'll be fine no matter what happens and where we end up.

And while the employees at the Department of Agriculture may be hanging onto every word the suits in DC have to say. I"ll be keeping my sights closer to home - in this Washington, the "other" Washington; namely, Olympia. Because I can guarantee that if and when ground breaks for a Nordstrom at our mall, the moving trucks won't be far behind the construction ones.

All Right Already!

I've been fighting a battle with myself about this post. It's like having an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. The angel is saying, "Don't do it!" The devil is saying, "You must!"

When I started this blog a couple of years ago, my intent wasn't to document every aspect of our lives. I wanted to highlight the spectacular, of course, but more than that, I wanted to open my eyes and my ears to the mundane sights and sounds ~ the smiles, the tears, the laughter, and cries ~ and highlight the ones that for one reason or another stood out. I wasn't interested in chronological events where I sat down on a regular basis to record library outings and zoo trips. Yes, I know that's mundane, especially since we have a membership to the zoo, but there's a method to my madness.

Or so I thought. For some reason not known to me, I feel the need to document the eleven weeks since my last post. That's the devil talking. And I listened.

All right already, here goes:

J and I finished up Faith Formation at the start of May; attended Muffins for Moms at the school; went to dim sum and Ikea for Mother's Day. We got bad news from Sacramento when we found out Mark has colon cancer. The school carnival was a fun and wet success mid-month. J's class had a Crazy Hair Day:



Memorial Day Weekend started out with a mommy/son date to watch Kung Fu Panda 2, followed by a day in Sammamish to celebrate PK's birthday, and ended with Hansen Day at the Mariner's game. M, Daddy, and I visited the Westside Co-op Preschool at the end of the month.

Also in May, J ran the kids' run at the Capital City Marathon. It was only a mile, but he ran his booty off:

And speaking of running, he was only one of nine kids in the whole school who ran the equivalent of a marathon during Track Stars.

And he kept running into June on the soccer field playing on a team coached by his future 3rd grade teacher:

They won no games, but they didn't whine or complain. They had a great time together, and that in itself made it a winning season.

By the time this picture was taken at the beach, I had signed M up for preschool at the Olympia Center. She'll start in September if I can get her potty trained. Yikes!

The school year wound down with numerous field trips: to the zoo (really???), Burfort Park, and sightseeing downtown.

Father's Day weekend was busy! Donuts for Dads, N's 4th birthday party at a very soggy golf course, lunch on Sunday to celebrate the papis AND D's 40th Birthday!

We celebrated on the actual day as well:

And I sighed relief because the scrapbook I had driven myself crazy putting together for the occasion was finally done!

If you hadn't noticed the addition to the family, that's N. We brought him home with us on Father's Day and the kids had a ton of cousin fun:

After a couple of days of hiking, playing, and celebrating his birthday, I took him home and M went along for two days with just the clothes on her back and a Pull Up in her hand.

We went to Kindergym for what I believe was the last time. We're going to miss Teacher Cindy:

The last day of school was the 24th:

And so was the opening of Cars 2. Daddy, J, and I all went to dinner and were the first ones in line for the 7pm showing.

Mary brought Joy at VBS:

We picnicked in the house on a rainy day:

The VBS crew sang at church; the grandparents came to lunch; and a couple of days later, after an "all American" meal at Din Tai Fung, the cousins got to hang out again on the 4th of July:

We had an awesome neighborhood fireworks show later that evening where the snakes were a big hit:

We went to the $1 movies the next day and J tagged along with Rob and Robbie to the aquarium in Seattle. He started track and field, and we left to Sacramento on the 6th:

We hadn't even been there 24 hours when, what do you know, we went to the zoo! Ugh...this is like a bad recurring dream :)

Daddy arrived on Saturday morning to join the madness.

The quinceanera was beautiful. I visited with my tias,

my cousins,

and a bunch of folks I hadn't seen in years. D got drunk, the kids ran around. A good time was had by all. I heart my familia ♥

Raging waters; dinner with the godmothers; snow cones on 10th Street; visiting some of my old stomping grounds;

a day of swimming with my girls and their brood; mourning a loved one; returning to the place where I got married;

trips to Target; eating at the taqueria, Jimboys, Paesanos, In & Out; staying out until 3:30 in the morning at the baile; fun at Funderland

when not having fun with their cousins

and loving Abuelita,

that's what CA was all about.

We returned on the 17th to gray skies and rain.

Today was our first chill day of summer vacation. We pretty much did nothing but laundry ~ oh, and upload the pictures you see on this here post. It took about two hours. I forgot some; some were the wrong ones. Whatever.

In other news: The US team lost the World Cup Championship to Japan yesterday. Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her baby girl. The last space shuttle launch was last week. Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony split; William and Kate visited CA.

And the devil is victorious....what an absolutely boring post. I surely hope this doesn't become a trend of mine!

About Fairy Tales

Like billions around the world, I woke up yesterday morning excited to watch the modern-day fairy tale that had unfolded a couple of hours before ~The handsome prince, his long-time girlfriend, and the opportunity to watch as an ordinary girl was transformed into a princess before my eyes.

Before heading out for the day, I asked M if she wanted to watch the princess on TV. I had her at princess. Or maybe TV. Either way, she was almost as excited as I was. However, the clock struck midnight on the very excitement as soon as she realized that the "Picess" wasn't of the Disney variety.

My little princess had a field trip to attend at TOP Foods, so shopping bags in hand, I drove her and and her Lady in Waiting on a search for their favorite things.

No shoe department? No problem! Who needs a glass slipper when there's a wall full of glass-like bins filled with candy?

In typical-princess fashion (or maybe just like her mommy), she tried in vain to act like she knew what she was doing in the kitchen. All while her audience looked on from the the big screen above.

After that stressful experience, she walked out into the garden. She planted a seed that with a little tender loving care will become a pumpkin come Fall.

And then it was time to head back to the palace. Because all princesses need their beauty sleep.


In 1981, I watched the parents of today's prince as they wed in a similar fashion across the pond. Back then, I was a 15-year-old girl; a very naive 15-year-old girl who in some ways still believed in fairy tales. I've learned a lot in the thirty years since. I know that more often than not, Prince Charming ~ no matter what form "he" takes ~ isn't going to come knocking on the door to sweep you off your feet. I know that you gotta get those feet wet, your hands dirty, and your heart broken along the way. Most importantly, I know that when you fall, you gotta be able to get up ~ get up, dust off, and go off in the direction you were heading.

Any sensible adult will tell you that our time at TOP this morning was not fit for a queen. It was commoner fodder at best. But I overheard those little girls say to each other over and over, "That was fun." I know that time will eventually fade Ms sense of wonder and amazement, but today, you can't tell her nothing.

She's a Princess. She's beautiful. She can do anything!

That girl has confidence like nobody's business.


My hope is that she carries that confidence with her throughout her life; that just as she planted her seed today, we too can plant one in her as a constant reminder that although her pumpkin is more likely to turn into a jack-o-lantern than a carriage, her dreams can turn into reality, not with the wave of a wand, but with the ability to wave negativity and self doubt away.

I want her to know that fairy tales come in different shapes and sizes.

I want her to know that we all make our own.

I want her to know that I ~ 30 years after the other royal wedding ~ still believe in them.

I want her to know that they do come true.

(On a side note: By evening, her skepticism of the "picess" faded and she couldn't get enough.)