Rattlesnake Ledge and a cross-section of Washington demographics

So Rattlesnake ledge is pretty awesome. A great hike for anyone who lives remotely close to Seattle. It only takes a morning and the view at the top or the bottom is very rewarding. Having been prematurely warned that Seattle is going to have another really bad winter, we are trying to take advantage of every last sunny day. And this one was gorgeous! This is rattlesnake lake (I think). I did not see a single rattlesnake the whole time. So I have no idea where the name comes from.

Anna and I assumed the usual position-- she went into powersave mode and I became a happy backpacker.

Anna is unusually good pointing. In her recent 15 month check up the doctor asked if she communicates by pointing....

Is the sky blue

Am I a natural brunette

Do babies go through a lot of diapers

Are graham crackers the manna of the baby gods!

The answer is yes!

Will Richard and I EVER let Anna wander around on the top of the mountain without a harness, safety net, and parachute....probably not until she is 20! She is probably thinking "ooh, water, I want to touch it..."

The area around the lake was covered with rocks. Anna loves to look at, and pick up, rocks. So she wanted to look at each one...individually...and put it in her mouth...to make sure it was rock.

This is the face she makes when we don't let her look at each rock...individually...and put them in her mouth.

Richard and I are horrible at guessing ages. Most of the time when we see young people hiking we play the "high school or not in high school" game. But here is just an excerpt from some of the conversations we overheard at the top.

*proposed tax on soda in the upcoming Washington elections (which I happen to agree with) *social security taxes

*a friend definitely should not have worn a white dress to their homecoming dance. It was so fancy that it looked like a wedding dress

* avocados are gross if they are too ripe...

*avocados are also really gross if they are not ripe enough

*did you know avocados last longer if they are kept in the fridge

*grapes are also really gross if they are too ripe

So, lots of fun!

Smrat like me

Today I kept thinking of a story about my sister Katie...

In her box of doodads and memorabilia from her childhood, exists a short paper she must have written for a first or second grade class. It goes:

"I am smrat!
And my mom is smrat,
and my dad is smrat,
and all my brothers and sisters
are smrat like me."

And I think the reason why I kept thinking of this particular piece of kid prose, is that I still feel like that...

I am forever trying to convince everyone-- myself, my husband, my family and friends, that I really am intelligent. That even though there are many moms out there that become moms by default...and there are some that are teenagers, and some that are negligent, and some that use their kids as pawns to get more government welfare...
that I still CHOSE this. I chose Anna. And the work I have chosen to do wouldn't garner more than minimum wage in most of the world.
And even though I have forgotten much of what I learned in school, and the times I get a jeopardy question right are few and far between and mostly in the areas of pop culture, and the most academic thing I do most days is read to my daughter and figure out a strategic grocery shopping route...
I still have a doctorate degree...darn it! And I demand respect! Because I... AM... SMRAT!

The other half of the proverb

The way to a man's heart might be through his stomach, but it is certainly the way to this woman's heart as well!
I knew I was getting a tall man when I married Richard...I knew I was getting an intelligent one. I knew I was getting one that had at times been mistaken for Bill Clinton in the southern regions of Argentina.....
but I did not know I was also getting a chef in the bargain.

I use cookbooks and websites and television channells....
Richard uses his imagination and creativity and ingenuity

I follow directions....
Richard follows his stomach

I make casseroles....
Richard makes art! (you could hang his meals up in the MOMA-- but not the Louvre-- too modern)

What you are looking at is salmon in a chipotle tomato ragout with potatoes two ways (mashed potatoes and crispy potato skins) and asparagus.

There is a reason why every one of our dates includes food of some sort. Beyond shared religious beliefs and life perspective, a shared LOVE and PASSION for food was probably the most important thing I could find in a spouse.

A trip to the fire station

So I am a part of probably the world's coolest mommies' groups ever (I took a straw poll, and we totally came out on top-- edging out the Kardashians and Teen Moms). We took a trip to the fire station and my inner child was tickled pink. It made me want to be a fireman (fireperson, firewoman?) because they are so awesome...and helpful....and they LOOK like fireman and they give stickers and stuff.

Was it a surprise that the adults were asking most of the questions? And I am not embarrassed to admit that when all the kids had taken their turn sitting in the cab of the firetruck, that I snuck in as well!

Here are a few pics taken with my cell phone, and one from my friend Monica (voted coolest art historian mom in the same straw poll).

This just gives you a nice scale for the large awesomeness of the firetruck. I highly recommend the firestation tour for FHE's, date night, and any time you want to indulge your inner child!

Invest in....

Richard gets the Wall Street Journal, and so occasionally I read the "weekend" section, or the "health" section. And occasionally, I come across absurd advertisements like this one.

A picture of a woman wearing what I can only assume are very expensive clothes and the tagline "Invest in Luxury"

I was so entertained that I texted the picture to Richard with the message "I figured out what we can invest in. The Wall Street Journal helped me out!"

Richard wrote back "pornography? the resolution on my phone isn't very good, but that is what it looks like." When I told him what the picture and tagline were, he responded "If luxury is an investment, America's balance sheet is thriving!"

Personally, I can think a few better taglines for the advertisement:

"A blouse...for the woman who has a thousand blouses..."

"Because you never know when there will be another French Revolution"

"The Real Housewives of Donald Trump-- A new series"

Can you think of some good taglines?

Proof that Anna is not the center of our world.

Just kidding. She totally is. As much as we are trying to help her have a balanced sense of perspective, we can't help it. Why take pictures of anything else when you have something as cute as that around. So we take any opportunity to take, and have pictures taken of, Anna. We had our friend Ruth take some pictures of her just after her first birthday. She doesn't pose well, so all photos have to be taken covertly, using some of her "friends" (aka, her favorite toy of the moment) to distract her.

Mother Theresa, eat your heart out! There has never been a more innocent or pure face. Unfortunately, as she becomes more conniving and mischievous, that face makes a perfect cover for her true intentions-- getting as many graham crackers and goldfish as she can.
I don't know what she is looking at, but she has a singleness of mind and focus that would make Gandhi jealous.

the days of helping her walk are now in the past. Now I long for those days of limited mobility. Of course, Richard is convinced that in the future one of us will invent time travel. He still looks for himself to come and visit himself. But it may just well be Anna who take the quantum leap.
this was the friend of the moment, which also happened to be one of Richard's toys when he was little. Just a plastic man without arms or legs-- a peg man. She had to have him in sight the whole time. The best toys are often the most simple.
But the bestest toys are the books. We get most of our books from Goodwill these days. Not only are they only .79, but Anna can tare them apart if she wants (and she always wants). Anything with moving parts is fair game to pried, ripped, torn, bent, or eaten off. Someday she will take care of her books, but until then-- we let her go wild. The book pictured above is no longer with us... in one piece.

Anna usually does not allow me to put anything in her hair. She has a sixth sense about it. Even if I trick her and stick the barrette in when she is not looking, she takes it out a few minutes later. But as her hair grows increasingly unruly and hangs in her face, I have started threatening her that I will cut her hair unless she lets me clip it back.
The monkey walk.
If only life could be this exciting for everyone! Anna gets this excited around ducks, dogs, playgrounds, birds, bananas, candy corn/raisinettes/cookies, and Baby signing time.

oh, and when her parents make a fool of themselves trying to make her laugh (a new talent).

Lasts and Firsts and Random thoughts

There has been a lot of recent activity in our little family. If I were a consistent Face-booker, or any kind of Tweeter, I would have had hundreds of updates on what I was doing, and all 5 of you would have eagerly followed!

1) I nursed Anna for the last time this last Thursday. I tried to memorize it-- that feeling of closeness and the noises she makes and the way her hand reaches up and plays with my hair while her eyes close. A year ago, when Anna was underweight, and I struggled so much with nursing her, it seemed impossible that we would ever come this far. My own personal little miracle. And then I shut the door to that chapter of my life and reclaimed my body as my own-- at least for a little while!

2) I have been feeling for a little while that I want to be a part of something beyond just motherhood. This is not to say that there is not plenty to keep my busy just with Anna, but I also know that God gave me desires and skills apart from child raising. The quandary has always been how to balance my commitment to my family with my desires to contribute in some way to societal functioning. And I am unwilling to accept the answer that "my contribution will be through my children" because what if my mom said that about me. At some point, I have to be accountable for the time I have and the gifts that I have been given. So I have started training to volunteer with the Eastside Legal Assistance Program. This way I can volunteer as my schedule allows and still keep up my legal skills.

3) I know nothing about the law. I realized this after my first evening shadowing a real attorney. I may technically be licensed to practice the law here in Washington, but I feel about as competent as a lobster. Family law differs so much from state to state that the few days I spent studying family law in preparation for taking the bar prepared me merely for that-- taking and passing the bar. I realized that I need to become a law student again if I ever want to feel confident in my ability to ever represent a client or advise someone intelligently on a proper course of action.

4) My favorite ritual of the day is eating breakfast with Anna. I pour myself a large bowl of frosted mini-wheats, and I pour Anna a smaller bowl of frosted mini-wheats. She gets the whole milk. I get the 1 percent. I bring our bowls into the family room, get a few napkins, a bib, set Anna on my lap and we eat. Mom gets a bite, and then Anna gets a bite. It can get a bit messy (especially when I started teaching Anna how to drink the left over milk from her bowl) but I love it. I always knew she would be a cold cereal junkie, just like her mother!

5) A recent lesson on dishonesty sparked a discussion between my husband and I about the age old practice of bringing outside candy into a movie theater. 9 times out of 10 I bring candy with me. I guess my logic is that I have paid for the right to see the movie and what happens to be in my purse at the time I enter the theater is my business. Richard contends that the signs saying "no outside food or drink" are a form of contract and that theaters have the right to refuse us business if we fail to comply with their policies. My knowledge of contract law is that there must be consideration which is bargained for to make a binding contract. I give up valuable consideration (aka money) for the right to see a movie. But there is nothing on the movie ticket which states that I cannot bring outside food or drink into the theater-- therefore, I did not bargain for that exclusivity. Is a sign on the doorway to the theater enough to bind me into a policy which I did not pay for nor do I agree with?
Essentially, I like bringing candy into movies, and I really, REALLY don't want to think that I am violating eternal laws here.

6) All of the Halloween candy is gone. No, not the candy the supermarkets are stocked with (it is all still there in abundance), but the candy I bought to fill our glass canisters at home. Rolos, raisinettes, chocolate covered peanuts, caramels, and candy corn....all gone. Only took about a week! And we haven't had a single trick or treater yet. * sigh*

7) I get to be a princess for Halloween! In a semi twist of fate, I found a brilliant frog costume for Anna at the local Goodwill. Naturally, I thought of "The princess and the frog." So now my mom is shipping my pepto bismal pink prom gown up here to seattle so I can be a princess and Richard can be my villain. Last week I spent a half hour in a dollar store comparing cheap plastic crowns to see which one would be the most "princessy." I chose the larger tiara with more plastic jewels. Go big or go home.

More thoughts later!

Cruisin' to California

Is it possible to be vacationed out? Can you go overboard vacationing (not literally...we were on boat you know)? Richard gets 5 weeks of vacation a year, and since he can't use them for about 6 months of that, we ended up traveling for the better part of 4 months this summer. After going to Canada, Utah, the Olympic penninsula, and the Oregon coast this summer, we finally finished our stretch of vacations with an appropriate Grand Finale vacation. We took a one way cruise to San Diego where we spent some time with my brother and his family.

Anna's first train ride (the cruise left from Vancouver Canada). She loved looking out the window. It was like having the t.v. on all the time, tuned in to her favorite channell.

buffets are definitely the way to go when you have kids. Anna thought the carpet needed redecorating, so she dropped as much food as she could on it. After realizing that we paid a service charge each day of the cruise, we no longer felt bad about the entire box of granola that Anna dumped on the floor during the chocolate quiz event (I didn't even win that one).

But at least once a day we had a sit down dinner. We even dressed up Anna. She held up pretty well, but only with help from an ipod, books, snacks, stuffed animals, crayons, and an oceanside view.

thats my handsome husband. Ooh la la!

We entertained Anna during dinner, and she entertained everyone on board!

it was just a three day cruise. Pretty much the perfect amount of time. Richard and I took turns going out at night to enjoy some of the entertainment options. One of the best parts was just seeing the stars at night as the ship cruised quietly through the water....actually, it made me think of Titanic a lot. That would have been really cold!

In San Diego we got to spend time with my brother and the wonderful women in his life! This cutie is Sophia.

This was Anna's handsdown favorite toy. She and it were inseparable.....in fact, she still writes it letters.

I loved playing with my two beautiful nieces.

Watch out for these two! Someday they will run the world and I will merely be their assistant who gets them donuts in the morning.

My own lovely little lady!

The girls!

for some reason, this picture reminds me of that merecat show on Animal Planet. Sophia just popped up her head, looking for the next fun thing to do.

this is my manly brother Joe....holding his doll. He can't go anywhere without her. I think it is so sad when a grown up has such an attachment to an inanimate object....when they can't go to bed without it, or travel without it, and when they leave on an lds mission, they have to take it with them....

Anna learned how to walk in San Diego! We are so proud of our walking girl!

My lovely sister in law Julia!

This is Ambassador Natasha. Always on the go-- this was probably the slowest part of her day.

Enjoy the videos of Anna. The second one is just a ten second clip of one her first walking stretches. The first video is longer, but you will see both her monkey walk and her real walk. Only watch the last 45 seconds though. The first minute is just poor filming on my part!

And the day came...

and the day came...when the most logical place to look for my missing phone...was the toilet!

luckily, it had only been there for a few seconds. Call it a premonition when I watched Anna walk off with it.

and yes, I washed my hands after!

Things I have learned in the past few days:

1) If you try to flex your big toe as hard as you can for more than a few seconds, expect it to be sore for a few days after. I don't know what I was thinking-- but I just kept trying to flex my toe, harder and harder, and more harder. I could have hitchhiked with that thing. And then I think I sprained it, because the next day I couldn't walk on it. WHich made me walk super pronated, with kind of a limp.

2) If you are trying to make caramel apples-- you know, the big kind with all the oodles of toppings....
DO NOT drizzle the chocolate on before you have put on the other toppings. In my over-eagerness to create the world's best caramel apple, I drizzled the chocolate on right after dipping the apple in caramel. When I put the nuts, toffee, and oreos on top of the chocolate, the weight of the toppings just pulled all the chocolate (and everything on it), off of the caramel. It was like a big caramel slip n slide. When the apple set, it looked like a regular caramel apple sitting in a big pile of chunky mud.
NEXT time, I would press in the chunky toppings into the caramel so they were good and embedded, let it set for a while, and THEN drizzle on the chocolate.

I still ate the apple, and it was still pretty awesome...

3) the reason why I could never be a vampire, is that you can't taste food. What is the benefit of immortality, wealth, and a perfect body, if you can't eat all the wonderful food in the world. Nope, give me my imperfect, mortal body, and buffalo chicken pizza any day over deer blood and a new Porsche. Bella, you made the wrong decision!