Anyway, go Yankees!

We are really the worst about going out on the weekends.  We keep saying we are going to only go out once to save money and eat better but inevitably come Friday we are ready for a treat.  Then Saturday just feels like a night you should go out, so we succumb and it is fun.  The boys are always so great when we go out to dinner it is hard not to want to go.

We have been good about working out though so hopefully that will offset it a bit.  I joined LA Fitness, yes I am a sell out to the big chain, because they have great childcare.  I can drop them off any time for one monthly fee.  Plus they love it.  I have been working out about 5 times a week, bring the boys about 3 times a week.  I feel much better since I started about a month ago.  Chuck has also been getting up early in the morning to go to the gym or go running.

Boys update:  Colin was really into playing baseball over the weekend.  He has a great swing.  We were in the backyard yesterday using 4 real softballs and a wiffle ball.  He would connect with the softballs but they wouldn’t go far, however when I pitched him a wiffle ball and he hit it, it would fly.  He almost knocked me over and did knock my glasses off one time.  Holden also has a great stance but has a little more trouble hitting the ball, but he sure is cute when he tries.

Holden has been trying to speak a lot more now and is getting better I think.  He uses tone and inflection all the time.  He is starting to get really mad at me when I don’t understand him.  He is so cute when you aren’t watching because he plays with his little animals and makes them talk to each other.  I found him in his room the other day with his puppy who was tucked in with a blanket and pillow and Holden was reading him a story.  Adorable.

Both Colin and Holden love to tell jokes at dinner.  Virtually all of them knock-knock jokes and none of them make any sense.  Especially Holdens – but he laughs so hard afterwords it his hilarious.  I took a video of it:

Telling Jokes

BTW..Holden tried to crawl out of his crib for the first time and also decided (for the first time) he wasn’t going to take a nap today.  It figures because just yesterday we said how easy he was to put down for his nap…always happens that way.

We were all very excited about the election on Tuesday. Chuck voted absentee but I took both Colin and Holden to vote with me. A risky move but they were little angels. I got my ballot, went over to the booth and both of them sat under the booth in their matching blue coats eating fruit leathers while I voted. They sat quietly for the whole 10 minutes it took me to vote (so many props and charter amendments, etc). They had found my extra Obama stickers so the both had them all over them. I didn’t get a picture of them sitting under there which I really regret now.

We had had a little election night party with the Dotens which was fun, albeit a little hard to hear the TV with all the boys running around. The boys stayed up until 8 when they announced Obama would be our new president. I am sure all of you who are Obama supporters felt the same way we did, elated, proud, excited, relieved. I am sure I will probably get made fun of for saying this but I even cried a bit. For the first time in a long time I feel very proud of the United States and even though things aren’t so great I am much more optimistic about the future.

The next day every one at Colin’s school was in such a good mood. As you can imagine most people at his school and around Seattle in general are Democrats. I think literally only saw 1 or 2 McCain signs during the entire campagin.

Alright, enough of my political talk…I have to run to the dentist. I have a Halloween post almost done, so I will put that up tomorrow complete with pictures.

My 5 or 6 days of making Colin write (for about 15 minutes each day) paid off and today he wrote the whole alphabet, well first he wrote “Holden” and then the alphabet. He got a few things mixed up but did a good job – a bit sloppy at the end, but I will let that slide. The best thing is that he is enjoying it, which helps. He was being so cute while he was sitting on my lap, talking to himself “Hum…what’s next, F … wait, wait…no E first. One line down, then over.”

I also asked him to write zoo – without telling him how to spell it – see the bottom:

The other night he asked for some crayons and paper so he could write in his room before bed. He produced the following:

Which I thought was great until I went into his room and saw that he had been “practicing” all over his walls. The crayons have been removed from his room for the time being.

Sunday we went to the Microsoft company picnic. It was crazy. I cannot even explain how much was going on there, food, games, about 40 bouncy tent things, pony rides, hay rides, beer gardens, bands, casino, rock climbing, etc and it was all free. It was held on a farm about a half hour east of Seattle, right under Mt. Si. Beautiful, really fun and huge – Chuck didn’t even see one person he recognized all day. We spend over 5 hours there and as a bonus Colin was wearing underwear and was accident free all day!

Here are some pics:

Mount Si in the background:

Ice cream boy:

Ice cream boy #2:

The crazy motorcross expo:

After months of rain, this is what we live here for – summer sunshine. We have been out and about enjoying the weather. Just went down to the block for a little happy hour with some of our neighbors, including one of Colin’s preschool friends. The boys had a great time running around, while we had a couple beers and ordered some pizza.

We don’t have any plans for the weekend other than being outside to enjoy the weather and of course there are always house projects to be finished. We are almost completely done with the sandbox, patio and planters, although I am now questioning my logic on having a huge sandbox so close to the house – it is like living at the beach. More sand ends up on the patio, grass and in the house than anywhere else.

Tidbits: