Did I shave my legs for this?

OK, so I hear the water running in the bathroom and that's never a good sign. I enter, begrudgingly, and find Anna at the sink, also never a good sign. She is washing a Webkinz, which I have told them a million (no exaggeration) times to not get wet but somehow, always, there is at least one wet Webkinz in our house.

So, we squeeze out the Webkinz and I, yet again, reprimand about getting the Webkinz wet. Then I notice the razor as she is telling me that her leg hurts. I ask her if she has used the razor and she tells me "yes, to get the peanut butter off my leg". Oh my goodness. When I asked the question, I thought the answer would be yes. I just didn't think it would involve peanut butter.

Obviously, there is still peanut butter on the right leg and on the left you can barely see where she sheared off a little skin in her first attempt at proper leg hygiene (on the fatty - like there's fat - part of the calf). Frankly, she did a better job at her first attempt at shaving than I did. I remember a huge piece of skin coming off my shin bone. Remember that, Mumsey? Ick, I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

When you opened this update up, "Did I Shave My Legs For This" should have been playing. Wendy, you can see her blog here figured out how to put music on hers and I'm trying to but haven't perfected it yet. You'll know when I do!

Enchanted

I am truly enchanted with Enchanted the newest Disney movie out on DVD (and Blue-Ray for all you techies out there). I did not go see it in the movie theatre but I wish I had. It is a fairy tale for all ages.

It is animated in the beginning and then goes to real-life (well, as real-life as movies are). Madeline got the DVD for her 1/2 birthday party last weekend and we had TiVO'd it but now they can watch it in the living room, although except for the sleepover this past weekend, that hasn't happened. We all watch it in our room and enjoy every minute of it. Anna really likes it and calls it "chanta". This is my favorite scene. If you plan to watch the movie, I apologize for letting you see this already, but it so sweet.

I was afraid I wouldn't be able to put it on here or find it anywhere but, my goodness, YouTube has EVERYTHING! Thanks YouTube!

Oh, and, Nancy, the lady that Robert (Dr. McDreamy) introduces (she has black hair and dances with Edward, Giselle's prince) played Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) in Wicked on Broadway. Just a little FYI for you.


It just takes you back to when you first danced with your "true love" and that mushy feeling in your stomach. I love movies like that.

Owwies

Anna got a big ol' knot on her head tonight. She was walking in Mr. Ricky's yard and tripped and hit her head on his cement bench. Massive knot ensued. You can't tell from this picture how big it was but it was huge! She actually didn't cry as much as I would have if it had happened to me but if we ask, she says it hurts and did NOT want the ice pack on it. I'm sure she would have gotten a stitch or two if we had taken her to the ER but I think she'll appreciate that scar later in life. Blood wasn't profusely flowing so I think she'll be alright.

Blue Jay Festival

Saturday must have been "Blue Jays Learn To Fly Day". We had Abby and Katelyn spend the night with us on Friday and Saturday morning they found a baby Blue Jay that had fallen out of it's nest, almost ready to fly. They wanted to take care of it and had it in the aquarium that sits outside for such occasions. They even wanted to get it some bird seed (even though I told them they still eat worms regurgitated from their parents). They weren't willing to do the worm thing so bird seed it was. I let them walk up to Save-A-Lot with Andrea to see if they or Dollar Tree had any but, alas, no birdseed.

While they were gone, I went outside and parental looking Blue Jays were out there swooping, carrying on like they were looking for their baby so I brought the aquarium out to the front yard so they could find their baby. The cats also found it...

This is the baby, up close. I think it's very pretty.
We finally left it on the ground so the parents could find it and actually, we thought we had seen it fly up to our neighbors roof so we thought all was well until...That same neighbor, Mrs. Ruth called and said there was a baby bird in her backyard, and asked if the kids would like to take care of it. So, now we have the bird back. We gave it water and it looked as if it might have fended off an attacker or two. It died about 10 minutes later. After a proper burial in the backyard, the girls were off onto the next project.

Then...Madeline comes running to me saying "Mom, Mr. Ricky's back yard is infested with Blue Jays and there's a baby bird out of it's nest and Rosie got it!". Oh yeah. That's always good news. So, we couldn't find Rosie which probably meant he brought it in the house. I went into my room and this is what I saw...

That bird was not happy to be in the clutches of Rosie (imagine that!). So, being careful not to get my smell on it (not thinking my smell was all over that bed), I picked it up with a plastic bag and brought it outside and let it go. It eventually hopped across the street and I have no idea where it is today. In my world, the parents found it and taught it to fly and all is well with the world. I love my world, sometimes.

This video is of Anna talking to Blue Jay #1 of the day. Too cute not to share.

Update

I could't resist putting this picture of Anna on here. Sadie took it yesterday while they were playing "Queen and princess have a picnic". They dressed up in their finery and had a picnic in the front yard. I thought this was a precious picture.

On to the update... This is the nuclear wasteland that was our oven. Notice how even the light is covered with soot. It has what looks like cobwebs and everything. Totally nasty. While I was at the store yesterday, I bought some Easy-Off (makes oven cleaning easier - tell me you didn't sing that!) and planned to spray it in there last night and let it do it's job while we slept (you'd think I wouldn't do that but...

I had a PTO "workshop" last night and while I was gone, my sweet husband sprayed down the oven. When I got home, he let me watch Josh Hamilton (of the Texas Rangers) absolutely SMASH the home-run derby record by hitting 28 home runs (the previous record was 24) while he sponged out the oven. I would see Josh hit another home-run and run in and tell Conrad "you wouldn't believe how far that one went!".

I will tell you he had already watched the home-run derby but told me that he didn't remember what happened, leading me to believe that our Josh didn't fare well. When I was watching, I thought surely he remembered this but updated him frequently anyway. I finally figured out that he wanted me to be surprised. What a sweetie. However, he Tivo'd it for me and Josh took so long with his turn that I didn't even get to see the second round so I went to bed not knowing if Josh had won or not. I saw that it came on again at 2am so I Tivo'd it and first thing this morning, I turned it on and what it recorded was the recap, not the actual derby. So I finally gave in and just listened to the guys on ESPN sing our Joshy's praises. Go Josh Hamilton! What a lovely come-back story. If you don't know it, just google his name and I'm sure you'll read all about it. By the way, he did not win the derby, he tired himself out in round one.

Back to the oven...This is what it looked like after Conrad cleaned it. Notice the heating element is broken into pieces. That's why the bottom is not clean, Conrad figured no point in cleaning it if we can't use it. So, now I have to figure out if we can get an element for this dinosaur of an oven. If not, I think a whole kitchen remodel is in order. Yeah right!

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. It's a true tale. A tale of horror, heroics and hedonism (OK, there's no hedonism but what alliteration!)

It all started on Friday night. We went to Billy's funeral Mass and then to Dana's (Conrad's first born sister). Conrad had already decided to spend the night out there and that was fine with me. However, he was in charge of bringing the brisket for the next day's get-together. So, when I came home I put the already-smoked-all-day brisket in the oven at 225 to cook all night.

Now, I know from experience that when you put the already-smoked-all-day brisket in the oven that it can have consequences. One, you'll end up with a lovely smoked brisket and all will be well or two, the brisket can leak juices all over the bottom of the oven and a fire is a distinct possibility. So, here I am at 2 a.m. with the briskets in the oven, children finally asleep in the living room (a bonus for them since Daddy was away) and me lying in bed figuring out my "in-case-of-brisket-juices-catching-on-fire-plan-of-escape". Once I had the plan solid in my head, I was able to fall asleep. And, in case you were wondering, the plan was to fling open the patio door and fling the children out said door while calling 911. Big plan, huh? It was enough for me.

Well, lo and behold, Saturday morning comes and we're all safe and sound and the house smells like yummy, delicious brisket that I can't wait to dig into. No fires. Whew!

Now, I notice when I take the briskets out that there is alot of run-off in the bottom of the oven so I tell Conrad on the way home from Dana's on Saturday that I want to do the "self-cleaning" option on the oven because we need the oven for Sunday because we're supposed to be having a fish-fry with Lisa and Phillip and I want make corn casserole so the oven needs to be clean. Not because I believe so much in a clean oven but because of the aforementioned fire possibility.

So, we get home very late. My children are hyped up for some reason and it takes forever for them to go to sleep (except Anna, who fell asleep on the drive home). So, Anna's in her room, Madeline's in the living room and Sadie's in her room because she just wouldn't go to sleep and I banished her to her room - oh the horror!

Finally, I feel like I can lay down then I remember the oven. So, I figure out the self-cleaning option and I crawl back in bed. It's about 2 a.m. About an hour later, I wake up and I can smell the self-cleaning thing and it's awful. For some reason I get up to check on it and notice that there is smoke EVERYWHERE. I have now breathed the very definition of acrid. It was stinky, smelly smoke. At this point I'm not too worried but it only took about 30 seconds for me to figure out that this was not a good situation. I think I wasn't too worried because the smoke alarm never went off. If figure if it's not enough smoke for that , then we must be OK. Wrong! I go open the front door, open the kitchen window, and turn on the exhaust fan on the stove. I woke up Conrad and told him the house was full of smoke from the oven. He gets up and starts doing something. I'm not sure why Anna was up but she was and I sent her outside (yes, by herself - what a great mom) then woke up Madeline and Sadie and told them to get outside. Everyone's outside except Conrad.

I go back in to find him and truly realize the depth of the situation. I can't go from the front door to the sliding glass door without feeling the effects of the smoke and, in fact, threw up outside the sliding glass door from the effects.

So, I went back to where the children were, not breathing in the air. It was then I realized all I had on was a tank top and underwear.

Now, I didn't think we would be calling 911 but at the same time, I don't really want my neighbors to see me in this dreadful get-up. So, one last time, back in I go to find some shorts. Successfully clothed, I go back outside.

Finally, we're all in one place. All the doors to the house are open, the oven and A/C turned off and so now it's just a waiting game. So we decide to sleep in the van. Can I just tell you that that was a good decision in theory. I don't think anyone but Madeline slept. Sadie moved and made noise the whole time, Anna may have drifted off after awhile, she was on my lap so I could tell she wasn't asleep. Conrad and I were not comfortable enough and I was just plain worried and feeling less than intelligent for the predicament we were in. Luckily, there was a nice breeze out and we had all the windows open so it wasn't too terribly hot.

Finally, about 5 a.m. Conrad went to check the house and he sounded the all clear and Madeline went immediately to the couch and fell asleep, Sadie and Anna went in Sadie's room and Sadie was reading books to her and Conrad and I feel exhaustedly into bed and promptly went to sleep. Much needed sleep.

So, my internet friends and family, that is my tale. I don't have a moral of the story for you just a caution. Don't decide to sleep in your van. It's not very comfortable. OK, it's really to check your smoke alarm. We will be checking ours today to find out why it didn't sound off.

Cool video

Someone sent this to me in an e-mail and I thought y'all might like it. I thought it was very appropriate for our family right now. Enjoy.

Billy's obituary

William Wangler
Wangler, William Cecil Marshall (Billy) 52 of Grand Prairie, departed this life on 7/1/08. Billy was an avid reader, wrote poetry, & enjoyed math. He served in the US Air Force, an Honor Graduate in Aircraft Maintenance, & was recognized for superior academic achievement. He was honorably discharged as Staff Sargeant, & received among others, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. He graduated cum laud from The University of Dallas. He is survived by a huge family. Billy is dearly loved. Rosary Service: Friday July 11, 5pm followed by Mass. Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.400 N. E. 17th St, Grand Prairie, TX. Published in the Dallas Morning News on 7/10/2008.



This was Billy's obituary in the paper today. Thought I'd post it here. Sorry, the picture didn't come through.

If you would like to see the obituary online, here's the link: http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000113080531X

First, I would like to say "thank you" for all your prayers and thoughts during this difficult time for the whole Wangler family.

The last post was a picture of Conrad's brother Billy who took his life on July 1. I cannot imagine the depths of dispair he must have been feeling to do such a drastic thing but we are all feeling the pain of not knowing how much dispair he was in. Not being able to do anything about it, even if we had known. I do know this, we have seen the love of our families (Wanglers and in-laws), that that love and prayer will get us through this and the Wanglers are all about helping each other heal. May God bless that endeavor. And, again, thank you for your prayers and concern.

Now, for something that will hopefully help you smile. As you know, life goes on. And when you have 3 young girls, it will go on with music, dance and theatre. The girls put on a show last night. They danced to several songs, sang to one or two (not loud enough to pick up on the video or you would see that) and then ended with their "secret" handshake. I actually got video of all three handshakes that they have. Enjoy.

There are no words

In loving memory

William Cecil Marshall Wangler

1955-2008

Stuff we did today

Let's see, we'll start with last night (again, I apologize for not being able to start at the top but you know, Pamela's persnickity computer and all...) We watched "There Will Be Blood" and "Dan in Real Life". Both good movies for very different reasons. And, if you ever want to expound on the meaning of "There Will Be Blood" you'll have two very eager beavers ready to listen. Frankly, I thought Daniel Day-Lewis did a better job than the guy in No Country for Old Men but, I am not, as of yet, an Oscar committee member so his Oscar will have to stand. The "Dan" movie was good and I highly recommend it.

Then, this morning, we got up...OK, really it was early afternoon because we stayed up late into the night watching movies and expounding on them and trying to figure out if what we were seeing on the balcony was someone embraced in a very long smooch or a reflection of some inanimate object below. Turns out, it was an inanimate object but man, it was fun trying to figure that out.

OK, yeah, we got up at some point and Pamela needed some scrapbooking supplies. OH, wait, that was me, I needed something (one thing) from the scrapbooking store and so we went. Then we hit the dollar store and bought about $400 worth of supplies for about $40. Pamela is actually going to make a scrapbook about her trip to Ireland and her friends there so most of that stuff is for her, but I get her leftovers! WooHoo!

We also hit an outlet mall which actually has a Croc store! They're about $10 cheaper than at a regular store (mostly card shops for some reason) where you buy them. I still can't get a pair but it sure was fun looking at all the different ones they have. We went to a bunch of other stores, too. My sister and I are the only ones I know who like to go shopping even when we don't have any money. But, we find it fun just looking.

Then, we almost got hit by the Titanic...
According to all the available propaganda, this is the actual to-scale ship used in the movie "Titanic". It's kinda cool to see.
We flat cracked this house up! OK, it's actually a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. Very cool to look at.
Pamela and me in the foyer of the main building of our condo.

Oh, the first picture was of a sign for a restaurant called "Sadie's".

And, by way of "housecleaning": Yes, I traveled with sewing machine. It's part of my emergency kit. You never know....OK, really, I'm going to try sewing paper together (this is Lisa's sister--and I just want to let you know that my sister is nuts). My friend Jessica did it and it was really cute so I'm going to try my hand at it.

And, no, we didn't go into the fudge shop (yet).

Any other burning questions?

This is my vacation blog. Because I cannot work my sister's laptop, you'll just have to deal with my typing starting where it did.

OK, the above photo is my sister Pamela gracefully showing you the Arkansas sign. Woohoo! We made it to Arkansas!

When we hit Little Rock, well, actually Conway, we met our cousin Taylor and his son, Aaron, for lunch at El Chico's and then had to hit Starbucks since, apparently, Taylor is addicted, I mean very in to Starbucks. He even has a card (envision a gift card) with his order on it. He even knows every one there by name, and they him. In fact, one of them took a picture of all of us, but, you won't see it on here because, although I haven't seen it, I can't imagine it is doing me any justice and since it's my blog...

We were seeing lovely vistas out the windows but by the time I would get my camera turned on it would be gone. I tried taking one just holding my camera (tightly) out the window and this is the result. Not too bad, but really, a road?
Admit it, if you went through a town called "Toad Suck" you'd take a picture, too. Really and truly, that was the name of the town.
Missouri! We couldn't take a picture by the sign because we would have fallen off into the raven. Yeah, I know it's ravine but it's a family joke.
Finally, after being in the car since 6:30 a.m. we finally arrived at Holiday Hills where we were staying. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I was glad to get out of the car, only to get in again to go to Wal-Mart for provisions.
While driving through town, Pamela says, "Look, dead people on top of that building!". I, of course, had to take a picture. Not the best one, but it gives the same effect.
Pictures of our place. This is the living room. Obviously, I have already started scrapbooking.
OH yes, I plan on using this big ol' bathtub, soon!
Another view of the living room. Obviously, Pamela has started working, too. The coffee table looks like a sleigh!

Oh, yeah, we played scrabble last night. Now, you might be thinking "Lisa, are you crazy? Your sister is getting her Doctorate in English!". Worry not, my dear internet friends, I trounced her like she was an ESL student.

(She cheated! She is evil and she cast some sort of wicked spell, took advantage of my tiredness, and otherwise cheated, cheated, cheated! Yea, I had the best words, but somehow HERS always got on the triple word squares. I called my mother and aunt to inform them that they had raised a wicked, wicked, wicked cheating child. EVIL, I tell you, EVIL!!!!) lovingly written by my sister, Pamela. She hijacked my blog!

It's a really nice place and we're happy to be here. It's very quiet (in our unit). Happy, happy, joy, joy.

An odd post

What is this? Heck, I don't know. But, I was sitting outside making sure the kids don't kill themselves and the neighbor kids in the new little pool we got for these hot summer days when I looked over and saw this hanging in the tree. I can't remember where the alien came from, I think a goodie bag from a birthday party. Ethan's I think (like y'all know Ethan). Anywho...it fascinated me so I took a pic with the phone and here it is for all of you to see.

You never know what you'll see at my house.

I will be gone for the next week. Notice I said "I" not "we". I, me, just moi, get to go to Branson, MO with my sister for a week of rest and relaxation. I have a friend who casually mentioned she had a timeshare that she wouldn't be able to use this year, "would anyone like to use it?". Oh, did my mouth open quick? So, it's gone from our little family going (too expensive with all the extra attractions up there) to trying to get the females in the family to go to just Wendy, Pamela and I and now it's just down to Pamela and I.

Wendy's husband is being sent to Afghanistan July 22. Please pray for him, for her, and for the kids. That's going to be almost a full school year that he'll be gone and Austin (their son) will be starting middle school this year. Just keep him in your prayers. "Dear God, place angels all around James while he is in Afghanistan. Let him be wrapped in your arms of safety. Be with Wendy and the kids during his absence. Let his time away seem short and give Wendy patience and forebearance to withstand all that will come her way during this time. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen." I'm sorry, did I pray that out loud? Well, allrighty then. Now, we'll just trust that God will do his job.

OK, that brings up another subject in the same realm. Pretty deep so strap on your boots...

Let's say your beloved one is out late and you pray to God for his/her safety. Is it showing no faith when you pray it over and over? I mean, really, He heard you the first time. Do you think that saying it again and again is going to help? I tend to be a repeat pray-er. Almost a mantra. "God be with him, keep him safe" over and over. Then one day, I thought, "my goodness, leave the Man alone! Do you not think he heard you the first time? He's tuned you out by now just like you do your kids when they say 'mama, mama, mama' a thousand times". So, now, I say "God be with him, keep him safe - sometimes I pray for no policemen to be around if he's speeding- and I trust you to do that and I will not worry about it anymore". Sometimes that's enough and sometimes it's not. Enough for me. I'm sure it's plenty for Him. Does any of this make sense?

That's my deep thought for the day. Please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me with your thoughts. I'd really like to hear them.

And, please pray for safety for my sister and me on our journey. For us not to end up killing each other. After all, we haven't spent more than a few hours with each other since, heck, I don't know when. A few years, anyway. I love her and she loves me but sometimes....well, you can figure out the rest, especially if you have sibilings. And remember to keep James and Wendy and the kids in your prayers. I'm all for a mantra on that one.

How not to paint

The girls have been bugging us to paint the little house out back for several days now and Conrad has been successfully putting them off. Until today.



Somehow they got him to get the paint down and, while I wasn't there, I am guessing he told them they could paint. Well, later on, I can hear squeals of laughter and I'm thinking that that can't be good and so I look out the window and here is what I see...

I could not believe the amount of destruction in such a short period of time. Nor, did I know we had two of "the kids" over "helping" paint. I called their mother and apologized in advance for what her children would come home looking like.

Eight things...

OK, I got tagged by Elaine at MissElaine-eous life to do a meme. Still don't know how to pronounce it but here goes.

It's called Eight things:

Eight things I have a passion for:

1. Family
2. Friends
3. Travel (rekindled by my trip with Mumsey and my upcoming trip with the "girls" in the family)
4. Blogging
5. Helping others
6. Sweets
7. Eating out (don't get to do it nearly often enough - probably why God doesn't let me win the lottery - that and I usually don't play)
8. Scrapbooking

Eight things I want to do before I die:

1. Go on a cruise
2. Go to Europe (with my husband) and actually take my children
3. Have a clean house for more than a day
4. Go see all the movies nominated for "Best Picture" for the Oscars
5. Have clothes that fit each occassion
6. Do a family reunion at a place that does all the work so we can all just enjoy each other
7. Have season passes to all the fun things that are around here
8. Have a job to pay for all the things listed above

Eight things I say alot:

1. Clean up the ___________ (you fill in the blank)
2. What did you do?
3. I don't know where your binkie is
4. What do you want for dinners this week? (usually this is a weekly request before I go to the grocery store)
5. Hello (answering the phone)
6. Where did this mess come from?
7. Who took/moved/used__________(you fill in the blank, there are numerous answers)
8. Yes, I'll help you

Eight books/magazines I have read lately:

1. Predator (Patricia Cornwell) read it while in WA
2. People Magazine (read it on the plane to WA)

Well, I'll have to cheat on that one, don't get alot of chances to sit down and read

Eight movies I've seen eight (or more) times

1. A Knights Tale
2. Princess Bride
3. Napoleon Dynamite
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
5. Shawshank Redemption
6. Every Disney movie ever made
7. The Sixth Sense (never gets old)
8. Grease

Eight people I am tagging to do this meme:

1. Jennifer (hey, VBS buddy, it's your turn!) view her blog here
2. Wendy view her blog here

Well, I'll have to cheat on this one, too, as I don't know that many people who blog. Oh well.

Hope you enjoyed the little insight into my psyche!

We know you have a choice when flying...

So, sit back, relax and enjoy our trip to Washington State. It all began 18+ years ago, when I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy (after much pain and suffering, but I won't get into that) and now, here it is, 18 years later and that same baby boy, whom I named Aaron, is graduating high school. I am so proud.

So, the actual trip began Thursday afternoon. We boarded an Alaskan Airlines flight to Seattle/Tacoma and after renting our car with GPS - thank heavens for Karen (that's the GPS's voice's name) she got us EVERYWHERE we needed to go. First, she took us to the hotel and on the way, we saw this mountain. It looks like it's floating out there in the distance. I'm pretty sure it's Mt. Rainer but I could be SO wrong about that. I don't think I ever got a definitive answer to that one. But, I'm not so sure I asked, either.
Our hotel was nice and large. I say large because we were at the farthest room from the front desk and after going to Aaron's house and playing dominoes until after 10 (midnight our time) my card key didn't work to get into the corridor where our room was. Mom was already asleep. So, I walked up to the front desk. They "fixed" my card key and back to the room I went. Same thing, still didn't work. Back up to the front desk. This time they sent a man with me to make sure it would work. He went as far as the first card key door and it worked there. Back to the room. Same thing, still didn't work. Back up to the front desk I went. Very unhappy. I told them "either send him all the way with me or I'm sleeping in here". So, back to the room we went and it did work and he made sure it worked in the room, too. Very nice man.

Just as an aside to that story...when I checked out, the girl at the front desk asked how our stay went and I told her "everything was fine except I had to walk from my room to the front desk 3 times on Thursday night because my card key wouldn't work". She said "really?" (not really caring at all). Then she handed me my receipt and said "was everything OK during your stay?" Disbelieving what I heard, I said "Yes, except I had to walk to the front desk 3 times on Thursday night because my card key wouldn't work". She looked at me (probably because I said it very emphatically) and said "oh, I already asked you that, didn't I?" OH. MY. GOODNESS. Listening skills, people!

OK, back to fun things.

On Friday, Mom, Aaron, Jon, Anne, Walt (Aaron's grandparents on his dad's side) and I went to Seattle and went to Pike Ave. market and the Space Needle. What a cool place that downtown Seattle is. On the way, we saw Safeco field (where the Seattle Mariners play) and the place where the Seattle Seahawks play (I don't know the name of that one).

A far off picture of Safeco Field.
One of the things I wanted to do while in Seattle was see the first Starbucks. See where this whole thing started. This is what we thought was the original Starbucks. More on that in a bit.
We ate lunch on the pier at Ivar's. I had shrimp and chips, Jon and Aaron had clam chowder in sourdough bowls and I don't remember what everyone else had. But, there were seagulls!
These are the seagulls that don't fly up, they just wait for the food to drop down to them.
Aaron, feeding a seagull. There is a sign on this pier that says "do not be afraid to overfeed the seagulls".
That seagull has in it's mouth one of the croutons that Aaron was feeding them. The seagull didn't care for it, he dropped it after I took this picture.

Here I am having a seagull eat out of my hand.
Outside the Pike Ave. marketplace. What a totally cool place.
My boys and I went to find the original Starbucks, the grandparents stayed back and rested on a bench.
Here it is - the original Starbucks. So, we went to the other Starbucks thinking that it was the original. I wanted to use my giftcard (thanks Guadagnolo family!) at the original so we ordered at the other Starbucks and when we were checking out, I said "this is the original one, right?" The guy said "no". I told him to cancel my order that I wanted a hot chocolate from the original Starbucks. He asked if I was serious and while part of me was, I said "no". But, he did give us directions to the original one and I'm glad we already had our Starbucks fix because the line out this door was long.

Then we went to the Space Needle. Mom and Aaron went up, Jon and I stayed down, figuring the cost would be wasted on us since neither of us would probably venture out from the center of the building to see the view.

We did send the camera up with them, however. Here is the view from the Needle.

This looks like it is a bunch of trash or something but, it's actually the EMP or Experience Music Project. It is a totally cool building and this is what it looks like from atop the Needle.

Then, Friday night, we went back to Aaron's and had tacos and then rode a 4-wheeler or quad as they called it. This picture is of me my first solo time on the quad. Christina is giving me instructions. Christina is one of Aaron's neighbors. Or should I say Aaron's coolest neighbor. She was not just a hoot but also a holler. She kept us in stitches and probably was a very good neutralizer in what could be a very acidic situation. I mean, Jon (my ex) did have his ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law plus his parents around alot this weekend. And eventually, both ex-wives and his parents and my mom so it could have gotten out of hand but laughter and good humors got us all through. Thanks, Christina, for helping out!

There I go! What fun that was!

Now to the reason why we were there...GRADUATION!!!

I wanted to get video of Aaron coming in to "Pomp and Circumstance" and this is what happened instead...

How funny is that? They told us his robe was short and it was.

A girl sang the National Anthem (found out later that was Aaron's prom date). Then after some speakers and the choir, this group performed. After thinking about it more, I thought that it takes some guts for senior guys to get up and sing in front of all their peers so I decided to put it on here. I thought they did a pretty good job.

Then they called Aaron's name and he went up on stage to receive his diploma. While this video depicts that, it also shows the girl who gets her diploma before him almost fall down the stairs. Just watch.

Then pictures after graduation. A ritual.

All us happy people. Mom, Jon, Aaron, and me.
Then, back to Aaron's for spaghetti lunch and cake. Oops, concentrating a little too hard on making sure the writing was legible. Lisa made sure Aaron had all his favorites: Spaghetti, not chocolate cake and Cyndi's pasta salad (yummy). She was a delightful hostess and a delightful person. I really enjoyed meeting her.
Aaron, with all the women in his life. From left to right: Cyndi (Aaron's ex-step-mom - I don't know how else to put it), me, Mom, Aaron, Anne (Aaron's grandmother on Jon's side), Lisa (Jon's girlfriend). Just for the record, ex-step mom shouldn't be put there, Cyndi is still in Aaron's life and always will be.

Aaron and the Grandmas.
Jon, Aaron and Lisa
Christina, Aaron, Kelsey (Lisa's daughter) and Cameron (Lisa's son).
Jon took me for a ride on his motorcycle (got the need for speed while I was up there, I guess) and Aaron had to fasten my helmet for me. I see what the future holds. He also had to zip my zipper on my jacket because I already had my gloves on.
My new friend, Christina and me.

It really was a fun trip. Ooops, I forgot to put the picture of Lake Tahoe from above on here. Oh well. I'll put it on here tomorrow.

We had alot of fun playing dominoes and card games, riding the quad and seeing the sights. What a great place Washington is. Nice weather (I don't think it ever got to 70 degrees while we were there and it didn't rain) and beautiful scenery. I love seeing mountains everywhere. If you want to get away from the heat of Texas, I can heartily suggest the Seattle area or anywhere in Washington for that matter.

Thank you, Jon and Lisa, for being a great host and hostess. You really went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and a part of the festivities. And, thank you for helping Aaron become the wonderful young man he is.