Anker James!

Anker is here! Born July 26th at 2:46pm weighing 8lbs 6 ozs and 21 inches long! When its not after midnight, I'll do a proper post with pics, stories, etc. All the photos are still on various cameras so I'm working to wrangle them together.

Also, Kaylee and the kids are in Missoula right now visiting Kira and family so I escaped to do this...

Video of some glisading below. It was very safe, I promise.

More Catchup: May/June

Too much to say, so lets just do a picture story book. Very good.

Spring means baseball and baseball means the Mariners. And the mariners, mean losing. BUT NOT ON THIS NIGHT! Kaylee's oldest sister and her husband graciously treated us to a Mariners game complete with burgers, garlic fries and lemonades. Oh, and the Mariners won.

 One time, the sun came out and the entire city sprinted for downtown. We beat most of them, and got americanos and chocolate/raspberry croissant at Pike Place Market. Did I mention that it was sunny.

 Oh, here we are.

 Panoramic shot from the market overlooking the viaduct and the coast. Wonderful. Click on this pic, its really neat.

 Pregnancy shot, why not?

 Memorial Day...guess what? RAIN! So we went hiking anyway. Kaylee crushed, destroyed, demolished, trounced this hike. (This is a compliment.) We snuck away down I-90 up into the mountains east of North Bend and summited the MIGHT Mount Washington!

 And then, Kaylee's birthday arrived and I made homemade spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, etc. The 90 minute professional massage came later in the week.

 Nothing is funner than FunFetti!

 Then one night we had a dinner party with friends (Jenna Cederberg from Missoula, BAM!) and didn't know what to do. So we called around and found ourselves in Georgetown at an outdoor Marching Band music festival. I'll say that again. We found ourselves in Georgetown at an outdoor Marching Band music festival. Need further explanation? There was 15-20 marching bands cruising around, blaring at top volume, battling for the rights to the street and creating improtu dance parties. It was really astounding. The Seattle Seahawks brought their marching band, as did the Sounders, Garfield High School and other various roaming bands of vagrants. The grand finale was an indoor show by EE!!! The lead musician wore a viking outfit and played trombone. It was stellar.

 Now to a completely different chapter...our urban deck garden is progressing nicely. I am now supremely confident that the $150+ I spent on this project plus thousands of gallons of water I haul from the sink will surely pay itself off with a bumper crop this summer. I am estimating at least 14 carrots! and 4 radishes! and 6-8 snap peas! and maybe even a garlic clove! Send me your tired, weary, and hungry, for they will find rest and sustenance here.

 We had the pleasure of spending the weekend with our dear friends Stefin and Carrie who now live in New Orleans!

 And their son Aeli! We visited WWU in Bellinghman and gave Stefin, Aeli and Kaylee a tour. Aeli is the man.

 This past weekend, we visited Harstene Island and stayed at a friends cabin. Map here. This afforded us the opportunity to hunt for starfish,

 oysters,

 and dig clams!!!

 We dug up a 100+ clams and then steamed them in roasted shallots, garlic, fresh herbs and white wine. Brilliant.

 Kaylee found a tiny, tiny crab.

 Before the weekend was over, we enjoyed some delicious burgers.

 Very, very big burgers.

 And in case you forgot, this lil guy will be joining us in July. Yah!!!!!!!

 In closing, we are thrilled to be here and can't wait to meet our son. Also, I quit my job and am going on the road with this band. Currently, I am a backup for the robot mouth-piano player. I'm sure the benefits, 401k, etc will be great.

Catchup

I apologize for the extended hiatus. Here is a quick recap of everything.

Important things of note:

• Kaylee turned 27 in May.
• Mother's Day was nice and Kaylee enjoyed her 90 minute massage.
• Father's Day was nice and I enjoyed my Eddy Out and Rolos.
• Kaylee is currently with Addy in Missoula after not seeing her for 4 weeks.
• Addy is returning home July 1st.
• We became members at our church.
• The church women threw Kaylee her 2nd baby shower.
• Kaylee is now at 35 weeks + 1 day which puts us less than 2 weeks from go-time.
• Lebron and the Heat are 1 win away from winning the finals and the Celtics lost the Eastern Conference Finals. Sorry Jim. (Congrats on the retirement, btw.)

That's really all you need to know.

Ok. Goodbye.

But no, seriously, I will post the rest in a few minutes.

Wallace Falls State Park and Motorcycles

Two weeks ago, we ventured East out on HWY 2 to see some wilderness and smell some fresh air. It was our first pure mountain outdoor experience and we shared it with about 385 other Washingtonians. Three hundred and eight five! Approximately. It was the first Saturday afternoon on the first spring weekend on the first pleasant weekend of the year. So, no surprise.

We departed for the falls after spending 15 minutes looking for parking (I love searching for parking) with Addy in the backpack and Kaylee by my side. Addy BARELY fits the backpack and pregnant woman do not have the same balance as Olympic gymnasts on the balance beam, so needless to say it was a good workout for me. The hike climbed steadily up river and we followed a winding single-track with endless ups, downs and bridges. All in all, we ascended over 1,000 ft over 2.7 miles and arrived safely at the top of the falls.

 We quickly scuttled down with Addy leading the way (during her only backpack respite). The descent went pretty quickly despite the fact that we had to negotiate the trail with hundreds of high school students also descending. Just as we were about to finish, Kaylee suggested that we engage in some light and leisurely trail running on a flat, wide trail that led back to the car. Pretty normal for a pregnant woman at 29 weeks and a guy carrying a 4 yr old, right? As we began, we passed an older couple and stirred up some fire within the gentleman. As we passed him, his demeanor quickly changed from calm to agitated, and he gave us a deathly scowl. He promptly shifted his gait into high gear and began SPRINTING down the trail while giving us a "catch me if you can" look. We continued at our leisurely 5 mph pace and watched as the humorous situation unfolded. After a quarter mile or so, he stopped to catch his breathe and then awoke again to our soft, slow footsteps. With a quick glance and a furious step, he resumed his torrid pace and never looked back as he neared the parking lot. Upon finishing, he quickly disappeared and the race was over. Within a few minutes, however, his companion approached and the gentleman resurfaced. She asked expectantly, "Did you win"? He responded, YES!, with a stern and forceful nod.

Random old gentleman 1, pregnant wife of mine 0.

And now the pics...

At the middle falls overlook

At the top

Addy took this picture and SPECIFICALLY requested that we have serious faces

Wallace Falls @ 265 ft tall

The girls and the map

Addy considers a future as a motorcycle racer with our friend Brandee

Life Update 4.12.12

Addy traveled back to Missoula with Nana and Papa so Kaylee and I spent the week doing whatever parents do when they don't have kids. These activities include, sleeping in, watching movies, going on walks, drinking champagne/lemonade, and wandering around new towns with absolutely no agenda whatever.

While Addy was gone, we spent Easter with some new friends at a new church (Mars Hill). Afterwards, we enjoyed a sunny day down at Lake Washington and cruised along the Burke-Gilman/Sammamish River Trail on foot/bike.

We also meet with our midwife at Swedish Hospital this week and really enjoyed the visit and the women at the clinic. The visit went extremely well and we felt very comfortable with all the women we met.

On Wednesday Addy, Jordyn, and the sun, arrived and we were so excited! The big race is less than 3 days away and we are loving our time with Jordyn. The girls spent the day (today) in Freemont shopping at consignment stores and Jordyn snapped some amazing pics of Kaylee and Addy.

Enjoy.

Easter Eggs with Nana and Papa

Soccer time...now that the sun came out.

Pregnancy Photo Shoot with Jordyn in Freemont

Kaylee and I rode bikes onto the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry and spent the day meandering around town.