Month: September 2012

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The Big One Zero!

Ten years old! Ten! Crikey! Ten years ago minus 3 days we’d planned to have fish and chips for dinner on the Friday night. As it turned out we spent the weekend at Northampton hospital, watched the Canadian grand prix on the Sunday evening and then on the Monday Harry arrived, although he almost dragged it out to the 1st of October. Ten years later here we are in America celebrating his birthday.

Harry was clearly very excited about his birthday because he couldn’t sleep the night before. In fact he was suffering so with not sleeping that he got Tracy and I up twice before midnight, crying because he couldn’t sleep. Dear oh dear. Eventually he got to sleep and then before we knew it, at 7:05am Harry and Toby were standing in our bedroom all expectantly!

Tracy and I got about 3 minutes to wake up, sing happy birthday and then it was time for presents – Harry wasn’t in the mood for hanging about! First up was the playroom to see why they had both been locked out all of yesterday. This was a joint birthday present and was a new foosball table.

That was pretty exciting for them both but then Harry wanted more! Time to go downstairs and I’m not sure who was more excited Harry or Toby!

The presents and cards were demolished in next to no time even though the present opening was mixed with eating birthday cake for breakfast. Despite being on a diet of some sorts I decided to indulge in some cake too – it was lovely but incredibly sickly. So much so that I could only manage two pieces across the day (at the time of typing this anyway!).

With presents opened it was time to start enjoying some of them – namely the xbox games. Off they went for a while until the Seahawks game kicked off on the TV. They watched that for all of 2 minutes before they put their Seahawks shirts on and disappeared out the garden to play their own version of the game.

After that, it was time for a quick bite to eat for lunch and then we were off to the zoo – Cougar Mountain zoo. It was a lovely hot afternoon – just like last time we went to the zoo – but this time we actually got to see some cougars. In addition to that, the parrots still said hello, which was nice, and the view was still lovely. It’s only a small little zoo but it is very nice and it’s always (both times!) absolutely blooming boiling!

With the zoo sorted it was on to Issaquah for a birthday dinner at the Chinese. Once we were absolutely stuffed with food it was back home to play soccer in the garden and then some more time on the xbox and the foosball table.

Despite being pretty tired Harry managed to avoid having the typical birthday mood, although the same cannot be said for Toby. Toby has had quite a moody day all in all and he finally admitted this was because he didn’t like Harry being the center of attention! But he seems to be over this now – it’s amazing what a bath can do!

So there we go. Ten years ago, out popped Harry and today we celebrated in America. Where will be be celebrating in another 10 years time?

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Dragons & Gunners

A year has gone by and we’re back to Toby playing Friday night soccer up at Issaquah Highlands. This year Toby is part of a team called the Dragons. He had missed the first game of the season the previous week because we had been in the San Juans but this week he was there and raring to go!

For his first game it was Dragons vs. Cougars. First up was the skills session and Toby obviously did enough to impress his coach and was in the starting 3 for kick-off! About half an hour later the Dragons had beaten the Cougars 4-0 and Toby had bagged himself a couple of debut goals. He got his goals reasonably early on and at the end his coach told us that he’d told Toby, firstly to only shoot with his left foot and then not to shoot at all. Apparently the Dragons had made the opposition cry last week and the coach clearly hadn’t wanted a repeat of that – although I think it is developmental for the kids and should be actively encouraged!

Next week the Dragons are playing the Grasshoppers and Toby will be playing against his friend Jake – that should be fun!

Before the game …

Two goals and a 4-0 win later …

So that was the Dragons setting the soccer tempo for the weekend, could the Gunners follow suit on Sunday? This year is a tough year for Harry. He has gone up to the A team and then in addition to that the A team are playing in the under 11 league and if that wasn’t enough, they are in the Gold bracket of the under 11’s. Soccer doesn’t get much tougher than this!

This week the Gunners were away to old rivals Cascade FC. They are based over past Sammamish so off we went on Sunday afternoon ready to see if the Gunners could get their first league win of the season.

Very early on the Gunners went 1-0 down but we remained confident and rightly so. Soon after coming on as a substitute Harry changed the game! He got the team passing, which soon led to an equalizer and then he received the ball out wide on the right, ran at the goal and belted a screamer past the Cascade keeper.

It stayed 2-1 to the Gunners at half-time and then midway through the second half they went 3-1 up but then the same thing happened as has a few times this season. As they are playing against bigger, stronger boys they seem to tire at the end of the game and with less than 5 minutes left Gunners went from 3-1 up to finishing with a 3-3 draw. Slightly disappointing in the end but at least they have got their first point of the season after losing their first couple of games.

Never mind Gunners – that win will come – hopefully in a couple of weeks against Emerald City in Seattle.

Go Dragons! Go Gunners!

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Woody Woodpecker

17012 SE 40th Ct is under attack! From this feathered chap:

He might look like a nice little woodpecker but on Friday night he was tapping away on the wall by the lounge trying to get in. Next stop was the window in the boys bedroom. Saturday morning it was the window in the ensuite – he’s definitely persistent – but so far the walls have remained strong!

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Mount Eerie

After catching the ferry back from the San Juans to Anacortes I decided to take everyone on a magical mystery tour. I’d always wanted to go up Mount Eerie to see what is meant to be an amazing view across the San Juan Islands. I’m not sure anyone else was quite as interested in me though. Roger doesn’t like heights and we were pretty high. Tracy doesn’t like winding roads with steep edges and there were a few of them. But I like taking photos of views and luckily for me there were plenty of those, although I must be honest, that as good as the views were I could have done with a tree tops being chopped! The views were pretty awesome but they could have been absolutely gobsmackingly good with a little bit of chainsaw action!

So here we go, pretty good but could have been better!

Next time we happen to be up this way we will have to go up there again and see if someone has trimmed the tree tops!

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Turkey Vultures

I keep wanting to call them Turkey Burgers but they’re vultures not burgers! Maybe I’ve just been in America too long!

Having blocked the road to see what these big fat birds were it was time to snap some pictures. I think we saw these up on Grouse Mountain when we saw the wild bird show on our first visit to Vancouver but I’m not 100% sure.

There were at least a dozen of these things bashing about in the trees, making a right old racket. They were also pretty ugly things but nonetheless I found the whole thing very exciting. So without further ado, here are the vulture pictures to go with the osprey, eagle and hummingbirds. I think I could turn into a twitcher!

Gobble, gobble, gobble!

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San Juan Island Tour

We arrived in Friday Harbor from different directions at different times. Paula and Roger got the ferry across from Sidney, Vancouver Island, and after a couple of hours sitting in the car park, we all arrived on a ferry from Anacortes. We both arrived late Friday evening so the fun didn’t begin until Saturday morning.

After coffee and muffins at a local Friday Harbor coffee shop we set off on our island tour. We were going to take the same route as we took with Grandad but with a few minor tweaks. The first change to the tour was that we went down to Cattle Point, which is a bit further beyond the American Camp – from the pig wars.

There was a lovely beach down at Cattle Point and it was well worth the mountain goat climbing to get down to it. I could have happily spent the day there listening to the seals barking in the sea – I never realized how noisy they were – hunting wildlife in the rock pools and paddling in the chilly but crystal clear water. All with the beautiful Mount Baker in the background.

After spending some time on the beach we started working our way back towards the American Camp, with only a minor stop to take a few pictures:

Next stop was American Camp which was slightly more appealing in the sunshine compared to last time we were here. While walking back through the camp to the car park I got quite excited because I thought I saw two eagles sitting in a tree. As it turns out they were crows. Very big crows – so an easy mistake to make!

I did get a picture of an eagles nest by the car park though. It was deserted in 2009 but it’s still in pretty good shape:

After leaving the camp we headed towards Lime Kiln Point – the best onshore whale watching place in the world. I may have exaggerated that slightly but I was confident of seeing whales. Before we even got there though there was Turkey vulture excitement to deal with. As we drove along one of the island roads we came across some big old birds sitting in the road. As we slowed we saw many more, a good dozen or more, flooping about in the trees. Without any consideration of the traffic on the road (luckily there wasn’t any) I stopped the car and we went to investigate. There were loads of these things squawking and flying around in the trees. After snapping a few pictures I looked for the reason why they were all here and found it by the side of the road. In the ditch was a great lump of meat. I’m not sure what – there was no fur or feathers – but based on the size I would suspect it was a deer. I almost took a photo but I figured that may be slightly tasteless and decided against it!

Once I had got over the excitement of that – and it took a while – we continued on to Lime Kiln Park. Although it was a lovely sunny spot there was nothing. Last year with Grandad we got to see a seal but this year there was nothing except seaweed and kayaks, which is ok, but it’s not exactly a whale!

Once we had accepted that it wasn’t a whale day it was back in the car and off to Roche Harbor. A quick spot of lunch was followed by a walk around the marina lusting after the lovely boats:

Next stop was English Camp which is so much better than American camp, with formal gardens and everything!

Once Harry and Toby had marched around the parade ground a few times and decided where the pig got shot it was up the hill to the car and home to the hotel in Friday Harbor.

A spot of shopping followed before a swim in the pool and then a lovely dinner. What an exciting day it had been. We really should go to the San Juans more often – they are absolutely beautiful and the weather always seems to be good when we go!

 

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Beach Cruiser

Up until my birthday I was the only one in the house without a bike – poor me! But not anymore! I am now the proud owner (and part builder) of a Huffy Cranbrook cruiser bike.

It arrived in a box in a few different pieces and after an hour or so and a few dizzy blonde moments the bike was fully assembled:

Although I am very pleased with my handy work I must admit I was somewhat reluctant to get on it! I’m sure I have tightened all the bolts correctly but you never know – the instructions weren’t exactly comprehensive!! Anyway, in the end I decided to take the plunge and take it for a spin round the flatish part at the top of our close.

Unfortunately I didn’t get the turning circle quite right and before I knew it I was picking up speed and heading down the road at a rate of knots! The cruiser’s don’t have traditional brakes – you have to pedal backwards to slow it. Having not tried this before I was somewhat hesitant about how quickly to pedal backwards although the hesitancy went quite quickly as I gained speed and the junction got closer!

Fortunately the impending disaster was averted and I slowed the bike and turned back up the hill to home. At that moment I realized that pedaling up a hill is not one of the most pleasurable things in life! I think I shall stick to flat areas for the near future!

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Orange Top

Technically it is a gold top but it looks more orange to us!

This year, to celebrate it’s 50th anniversary, the top of the space needle was painted gold (or orange) which is the color it was when originally built. After a morning at Chittenden Locks and lunch at Rays, we took the usual trip up to Kerry Park on Queen Anne’s Hill to admire the houses – I’d really like a house up there – and then to take in one of the best views of Seattle.

I think this is our first time to the park since the needle changed color – although I may be wrong about that – so here it is in all it’s glory:

Lovely Space Needle! And which color will it go next? They have just finished a competition to decide what it will look like next – can’t wait to see!

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When Crows Attack

On our latest trip to Chittenden Locks we got lucky with a range of wildlife. Firstly there was a seal swimming around feeding on the salmon that were trying to make their way up the ladder. With the volume of fish that were about in the water I think the seal had a very good lunch.

I reckonat least one got away though because his defense against being eaten was to spend as much time as possible leaping out of the water. I tried very hard to get a picture but the salmon was far too quick.

We then went down and checked out the side view of the salmon ladders. We weren’t expecting to see any as I thought they passed through across mid-late August but we were in for a surprise. There were lots and they were big old things to! The best picture came from the phone on this one and can be seen here – ugly salmon!

Then on the way back across the locks I got the opportunity to add to the eagle photo collection! I’m not sure what this particular bird is – some investigation is required – but he was very noisy and the crows did not want them around:

So there we go. One of the more action/animal packed visits to the locks. It was all so exciting we had to go to Rays for lunch to calm down!

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Caught Being …

… good! It’s not very often someone gets “caught being good” but today Toby was! Apparently this relates to a rewards scheme introduced into his class by his teacher. There is a chart on the wall at school and depending on how good (or bad) they are they move up and down the chart. They all start in the green section but today Toby moved up to blue as he was caught being good.

And “what did he do?” I hear you ask. Well, in his own words he “did as I was told on a laptop”. Very impressive I’m sure you will agree – and only a couple of others got one. Yesterday one of his friends, Lucy, went to the orange section – this was not good and meant a lot of tears at home time!

Keep it up Toby!

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School Bus

Having started school without so much as a tear, independent Toby was very quickly moving onto the next stage of independence – the school bus! Here are a few pics from his first day on the bus and coming home again. Fortunately he seems to have got the hang of it so far. He’s only left his jacket on the bus once and luckily Harry saw it and grabbed it as he got off the bus!

And in other good news, the lunchbox which Toby lost on his second day at school has now turned up again! Happy school days!

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Birthday Boy

It’s birthday month in Bellevue and today it was Toby’s. Yesterday at 7:30am Tracy went into his room and told him to get up only to be told in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want to! Today at 6:40am there was lots of chatter in their bedroom – he seemed much more inclined to get up today!

With me leaving the house for work at 7:30am Toby had a present opening deadline to hit and he set about it with gusto! He ploughed through the presents and cards filling the room with soccer kits, gloves, balls, baseball clothes, a new Wii, games, films, a new goal and many more things besides.

After a few phone and skype calls it was off to school for a morning filled with birthday wishes over the school tannoy, popcorn, birthday songs and an all round good time. Once school was finished it was time for the party at 321 bounce – which is basically a warehouse full of bouncy castles, slides and assault courses.

There was also a bouncy boxing ring with giant gloves which proved popular – including with Tracy and I!

The giants slides were also a big hit with young and old:

And then before we knew it the hour and a quarter was up and the bouncing games were over. Lucky for me because I was hot, sweaty and knackered!

It was then into the room to fill 15 excitable kids with pizza, pretzels, crisps and sodas! The perfect recipe for fun filled evenings!

With the pizzas demolished it was time for Toby’s cake which he chose himself:

With cake added to the concoction in their tummies and the singing complete it was off to the present room where it all got very loud as all the guests gave Toby his present:

httpv://youtu.be/PYXg24CazD0

And with that it was all over and back home. Once home they boys enjoyed their new goal from Aunty A and Uncle Jack:

After about 20 minutes of soccer a Toby “it’s my birthday and I can have a mood if I want” moment ended the game in slightly unsavory circumstances! But we were expecting it! Pretty much every birthday and Christmas ends this way – the excitement is clearly too much for them to cope with.

Roll on 18 more sleeps until number 1 sons birthday!