BiRThdAy ShoUToUt to ThE B.I.L.

Big Birthday Wishes from this Boise Family to the Bro-In-Law.
May this year be happier than most.
And congratulatory statements regarding the new work duties too!

Something Old is New Again

Today my old job became my new job.
Since mid 1999 (with a few months off here and there) I've worked as a contractor at a large software company. Today I started working at that same software company as a Full Time Employee. In most ways the actual work part of my job changes very little.
I'm pretty excited about the new gig... the work is intellectually challenging, the benefits are unrivaled, the co-workers are swell, and there is a keg-a-rator just steps from my desk!

Happy Birthday Wife

I enjoy getting creative with birthday cakes. I loved making E's castle and I was really happy with the way that Raggedy Ann turned out this year.
On Chris' birthday I get to do nothing. Chris is all about the Costco cake. For Chris it's all about the frosting. At least the Costco cake tastes good.

Per tradition, we had cake for breakfast. Late in the morning we all went to the theater to see Ratatouille. BigE liked it most of it but my baby girl got bored about half way through. After the movie we headed over to Pronto Pup for a fancy lunch. In the evening we went over to Grammy and Pop's house for dinner and more cake.
Happy Birthday Wife. I love you!

And Today Makes One

One year ago today we left our home of many years in Seattle and moved to Boise.

We bought the house I grew up in from my parents when they move a few miles West.

The neighborhood is nice and the neighbors are fantastic. We like to be near Grammy and Pops and closer to Gram and Papa. There are things I miss about Seattle but overall I'm very happy to be back in Boise.

Camping At Bull Trout Lake

This weekend we hit the hills for a short camping trip at Bull Trout Lake.

We hadn't camped with both kids before so we made this trip short. We had our tent up by about five Saturday evening and we were packed up by noon Sunday.

After getting settled in Big E and I headed over to the lake with our fishing poles. We got skunked but we had fun.
Due to the high fire danger campfires are not allowed right now so tin foil dinners were, unfortunately, off the menu. Instead we grilled up hamburgers and hot dogs and heated baked beans. I can't complain about not smelling like a campfire.
After dinner we went for a walk and then headed back to the camp stove for some s'mores.
We were in the tent ready to sleep by ten. Then kids were asleep within minutes but Chris and I were awake on and off all night listening to an infant cry in a nearby campsite.
We woke up with the sun on Sunday but stayed in the tent waiting for the temperature to come up from about 33 degrees.

We tried our luck again with the fishing lines first thing Sunday morning but came up empty again. Chris had packed up plenty of bacon, eggs and potatoes so we didn't go hungry without the fishies.
Everybody had enough fun that we're willing to go again.

A Big Birthday Shout Out

To the SIL.
Happy Big One Sam!

Windy City

Chris and I spent a fun-filled weekend in Chicago. She had business there making it a great opportunity for the two of us to take a vacation. We left the kids at home in the able hands of Grammy & Pops and aunts Kathy & Carol.

Chris had meetings on Friday so I spent the entire day down at the Museum of Science and Industry.
It's a nerd's paradise but it'd be great with the kids too.
I was most impressed by the German U-505 Submarine displayed there.


Friday evening we enjoyed some deep-dish pie at Pizzaria Due. Yum! While I usually prefer the thinner New York style pizza, I must say this stuff was delicious.

We started Saturday morning by riding the 'L' around the loop three times on an architectural tour. In the afternoon we caught a matinee of Wicked, a very entertianing musical telling the untold story of the witches of Oz. After the show we walked over to the Sears Tower where we rode the elevator 1,353 feet above the city for a fantastic view of Chicago (and beyond).

First Harvest

The weather here's been a bit on the warm side lately (an understatement)... perfect for ripening up the garden. Today we had our first harvest: broccoli, zucchini and one beet.

We ate the broccoli with dinner and Ethan said it was the best broccoli he'd ever tasted.

Another Birthday Shout Out

Happy Birthday to the older brother today! No matter how old I get he'll always be older... and wiser.

A Birthday Shout Out

Happy Birthday, Sister!!!

My Baby Turns Two

We woke up Thursday morning and celebrated in family tradition by having birthday cake for breakfast.


My Princess loved blowing the candles out and had me re-light them several times.


This evening we had some family over for a party where all the kids asked for a piece of cake with hair.

the Man

On Father's Day the kids surprised me by sporting very cute matching t-shirts:

I had a great Father's Day thanks to my wonderful wife and kids!

and the livin' is easy

Summer arrived with a high of 96 degrees.
We picnicked in the park and cooled off with popsicles as we celebrated the arrival of our first Boise summer. Back at home we ate warm ripe raspberries right off the bush. We wrapped up the evening by weeding the garden... a necessary evil.
I'm amazed at the size of our tomato and potato plants. We should have ripe cherry tomatoes by next week. Few things warm the heart like home-grown tomatoes!

New Member of the Family

Over the weekend we had a new arrival at our home. Gram and Papa brought up a new black kitten from a neighboring farm.

I'd told Ethan that we had a black cat named Blackie when I was growing up so when he saw that this new kitty was jet-black he wanted to name her Blackie too.
She's adapted well to her new house and the kids love playing with her.

Every Kid Does It at Some Point

I was trimming up Ethan's hair and I turned my back for just a minute. He grabbed the scissors and tried to help out a bit. Here is the result:


It's not a big deal. We can just go back to this hair style:


It's all OK just so long as he doesn't cut her hair:

Spanish Immersion

Last week Ethan finished up a year of Spanish Immersion pre-school at Puentes. On the last day they put on a program for the parents:

Then they whacked a pinata:

You should have seen the look on Ethan's face when he got swung at that pinata. He was determined to get at the goodies!
Ethan really enjoyed this school and it was amazing to see him learning Spanish.

A Mother's Day Bouquet

I know it was several weeks ago but here's the fun pot of flowers that the kids made for Grammy on Mother's Day:

What they Don't tell you

Here is is...

... the playset we picked up in five big boxes (plus a slide) from Costco. What they don't tell you is how long it will take to put the whole mess together. This probably took me 40 hours. Power tools (mostly an impact driver) helped.

Happy 4th BigE

On Friday BigE turned 4.
We celebrated with a traditional birthday cake breakfast. He is currently a Knight (when he's not a Pirate) so he had a crown cake for breakfast:



Saturday we had some friends and family over for a party. Continuing the Royal Theme, he had a castle cake for the party: