Connor Clan

Best Friends

2012-01-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

Best Friends. We all have that special person in our lives who we consider our best friend. They are there for us through the good times and the bad. We can call then up when we are having a bad day and they always know the right thing to say. They make us smile!

Best Friends also come in unlikely combinations. Yet the friends find a way to make things work for their special relationship.

Olivia has a special friend that has been in her class for the last 3 years. During school they are inseparable. They walk around the school arm in arm. If her best friend had not been in her class this year I am sure that there would have been tears.

Caedan also has a best friend. They met last year while skiing and instantly had a special bond. Even during the summer months when we were not skiing Caedan talked about his best friend. Then November rolled around, the snow was falling in the mountains, we were back on the ski slopes and Caedan was back with his best friend.

This is Caedan and his best friend Mitchell. Yes, Michell is an adult. Mitchell works at Steven' Pass as a ticket validator. When you are little and a really good skier you get noticed. When you go through the lift lines the lift operators notice you and give you high fives and cheer for you. Last year Mitchell started giving Caedan high fives every time that we saw him. Now, whenever Mitchell sees Caedan he will go out of his way to talk to him. Caedan has decided that Mitchell is his best friend. Yesterday while skiing we once again saw Mitchell.

When Mitchell was done working yesterday he could have gone home or spent some time with his buddies. But instead he asked Caedan if he wanted to ski with him and they set up a time to meet. They rode the chair lift together (special perks when you are riding with a lift operator - you get through the line faster) and Michell followed Caedan down his favorite runs. Mitchell showed Caedan some of the jumps on the runs that he likes to go off. This lasted for four runs until Caedan needed to go into the lodge to warm up.

So far the only downfall of Mitchell is that he is a snowboarder but we are willing to over look that fact in this case.

Just another day in Paradise

2012-01-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

With all of this snow falling around us the Connor family is in heaven.

When it started falling on Saturday we were outside in the yard playing in the inch that was on the ground.

Before we could play there were chores that had to be done. The snow needed to be removed from the sidewalk so that it would be safe for visitors.

The patio and stairs also needed shoveling.

All that snow was then piled up at the bottom of the slide.

If you look closely Olivia is sliding on a snow shovel.

On Sunday we left the snow at home behind for a day of skiing in the mountains.

The day started out clear and beautiful with 7 inches of fresh snow on the ground.

We took a few runs through the terrain park.

Even Uncle Nic got in on some of the action.

Olivia, Uncle Nic and Auntie Sarah.

With more snow on the ground we enjoyed another day of playing in the snow today at our house. We currently have a 3.5 inch base in our yard.

The kids enjoyed sledding in our yard for hours today.

Don't tell my boss but I am secretly hoping for a snow day tomorrow. I love spending the day playing in the snow and warming up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate.

Back in the Park

2012-01-03T22:06:00.000-08:00

Two days into the new year and the Connor family was back on the slopes. Having already skied eight times this season Caedan convinced us that it was time to try out the terrain park. So we headed up the top of the terrain park to watch the safety movie that everyone must watch before entering the park. Caedan watched the 12 minute movie and when it was over I asked him was he learned. His response 'I don't remember.' So as responsible parents, we figured that he was ready and we set off for the jumps.

Olivia catching air.

The take off was good but the landing was a little ruff. Even after crashing he was ready to keep going. After his biggest jump, and biggest crash, he got up saying "Awesome!"

Olivia enjoying herself.

This one he landed.

Even Robert had fun.

Caedan sporting his new terrain park pass for the season.

As the photographer for the day I was not able to get any pictures of myself on the jumps. But I am sure that if there was a picture it would have looked something like this:

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

I was looking back at past Halloween pictures and I thought that it might be fun to show the kids dressed up in their costumes over the years.

Olivia's first Halloween as a pumpkin.

Caedan's first Halloween as a pumpkin.

Olivia's as a cow for her second Halloween.

For his second Halloween Caedan was a cow. Are you sensing a pattern here?

For her third Halloween we have the very scary leopard.

I bet that you will never guess what Caedan was for his third Halloween!

Paging Doctor Connor.

Last year we had a ballerina and a very well timed soccer fan. We spent Halloween at the Sounders' Game were they had trick or treating for the kids.

Of course we had a princess in there but amazingly that costume was never handed down from Olivia to Caedan. And now the reason that all of you read this post. To find out what costumes we have this year.

Olivia is an Orcas Island Cheerleader proudly cheering for her fathers alma mater and Caedan is a 'worker' as he likes to call himself.

Now I can't wait for the kids to go to bed so that we can ~~sneak~~ sample their candy to make sure that it is safe.

Potential costumes for next year - a pilgrim and a pirate. Maybe I can find them on sale now. Of course if I bought something now they would of course change there minds before next Halloween.

Humpy Fishing

2011-09-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we headed up to Orcas Island to go fishing. We spent two successful days out on the boat. I call it a success when no kids fall overboard! We had a beautiful weekend and the weather was perfect!

Heading out to fish.

Caedan learning to drive.

Caedan reeling in a his first salmon.

Guy talk about boats and motors.

Caedan's favorite part about the whole weekend was bashing the fish on the head with the little bat. He was the fish knocker. He came home with fish blood on his clothes and shoes.

Olivia practicing her driving skills.

Caedan helping reel in another fish.

Olivia practicing reeling in a fish.

Olivia reeling in her first salmon!

The family photo with our catches. Clearly I am enjoying sticking my fingers in the gills of a fish. I could actually feel the teeth of my fish.

4th of July

2011-07-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the 4th of July we decided to avoid the traffic and parking issues by riding our bikes down to Bothell to watch the Grand Parade. Keep in mind that I said ride our bike down because that means we also have to ride back up to get home. At more than 1:45 minutes, this was the longest parade that I think I have ever attended. My favorite participant was probably the rubber chicken society. I am not even sure what this group does but they did walk down the street with rubber chickens.

Caedan was very excited to score his very own mail truck from the mailman in the parade.

This is the 'loot' that we scored after that very hot 1:45 minutes at the parade. I am wondering if it would be bad to save this for Halloween!

After the parade we head to Home Depot for this big purchase. When you are on your bike you can only buy small things. After Home Depot we head home which means that we had to ride back up our hill! 18.5 miles later and we were back home to enjoy the sun.

The kids cooled off in the sprinkler.

We ended the evening with a fireworks show and late bedtimes for the kids.

Small Fry Race

2011-04-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This post contains lots of bragging about my kids!

Last Saturday at Stevens Pass the Stevens Pass Alpine Club had a race that was open to all kids. It was an official USSA ski race and drew skiers from Crystal, Mission Ridge, Mt. Spokane, Loup Loup and of course both Stevens Pass race teams. We thought the kids would have fun participating in the race so we signed them up. It is important to mention that neither kid has ever raced before. The closest they have been to a race course is seeing the race team training on the run under the Hogsback chair. We did watch some ski racing during the Olympics last year but that would be about all of their racing exposure. My only hope was that they would finish the race and not crash. Caedan raced in the 6 and under category. Olivia competed in the 7-8 year old category. Both races consisted of two runs.

This video pretty much sums up the race.

(If you have speakers you should turn on your sound.)

Some important things about the race that I am sure you will want to know:

Caedan finished 5th out of 10 boys.
He was the youngest racer of the day.
At the end of his second run he asked if he could go again!
The 4 place finisher was twice his age and all of the skiers ahead of him were 5 or 6 years old.
The only other 3 year old in the race took almost three times as long to finish.
His second run was 4.5 seconds faster than his first.
Olivia finished 6th out of 16 girls.
She was the top finishing 7 year old and top finisher not on a race team.
She beat 8 girls who race for teams from three different mountains.
Olivia has a competitive side that I had not seen before.
Olivia's second run was the 4th fastest and more than 4 seconds faster than her first run.
No other top finisher improved by more than half a second.

Bread

2011-02-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

A wise person enlightened me a few weeks ago by introducing me to this great bread making technique.

Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com

In the past 3 weeks I have made 5 loaves of bread and another one is waiting to be baked. The smell of fresh baked bread filling the house is wonderful and the bread tastes delicious. We have not purchased bread from the store since discovering this recipe.

Resting before baking...
This loaf is now sitting on the counter waiting for us to enjoy!

This Danish Dough Whisk is on my must have list. It is not on my list just because it looks cool!

For Kim

2011-02-01T18:44:00.000-08:00

This picture reminds me of something.

Do you know what it is??

Heather Lake

2011-01-29T20:48:00.000-08:00

Things to do on a rainy Saturday:
1. Read a good book.
2. Sit on the couch and watch a good movie with a cup of cocoa.
3. Go for a hike in the pouring rain.

Can you guess which one we decided to do?

Don't the kids look thrilled?

We did make it to the lake and by then we were pretty wet. We walked through several streams along the trail. By the time we made it back to the car we were all very thankful for the dry clothes that were waiting for us!

Snow Days

2010-12-20T19:11:00.001-08:00

When the snow falls you know where you will find the Connors, where the snow is falling.

We started our season in the snow with a trip to Snoqualmie pass with some friends for a day of sledding.

Caedan gets a push down the hill.

Don't worry Robert is down at the bottom to stop Caedan from going over the edge.

Three girls can fit on one sled.

But, they will need a bit of help to get going.

They posed for the picture, but Caedan wouldn't sled with anyone. He is a solo sledder.

At the end of every run Caedan said 'That was fun.'

On Sunday we headed up to Stevens Pass for a day of skiing.

After lunch Caedan progressed from the Daisy Chair (bunny hill) to the Hogsback chair.

Olivia want to be a ski instructor.

It is hard to spray snow in a snowplow, but Olivia makes it work.

Who's holding the rope?

Don't worry, it's superfluous now.

Exhusted after a day on the slopes!

3

2010-10-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

Caedan turned 3 on 10-1-10. We celebated hs birthday on Saturday with a full day of activites.

We started the day with a friendly game of soccer.

We ended the game with our shirts over our head.

Yes that is my son with his shirt over his head during the game.

There were some toys.

And of course some new clothes.

We had some cake....

and then it was gone!

We said goodbye to 2 and all of the things that go along with the 2's. We had some terrible 2's but really they were not that bad. We went through the "Why?" stage and we are all glad that is over. We went through the "No!" stage but it was short lived. And now we are ready to tackle all that goes along with the 3's.

Tour de Whidbey

2010-09-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we headed over to Whidbey Island to participate in the Tour de Whidbey bike ride. Last year we did the 40 mile loop while towing the kids. This year we decided to tackle the 60 miles loop. Olivia had a soccer game so she stayed behind with some friends for the day. I was very sad that she was not able to join us and that I was not going to have anyone to tow.

Caedan enjoyed the snacks at the break stops.

The third break area had a fantastic view where Caedan enjoyed more snacks.
Caedan said that this was his rock and he wanted us to take it home. He even asked Robert to try and pick it up. Sadly, there was not enough room in the trailer or else I am sure that Robert would have gladly carried this rock for the remaining 22 miles!At the end of the 60 miles we enjoyed a nice chili lunch and Caedan made some new friends. It didn't take long before he had chased all of the ducks back into the pond. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride on Whidbey. Who knows which route we will choose next year. The only longer route left is the century...

Saturdays

2010-09-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

It is almost fall which means that it is soccer season. The City of Kirkland started a tot league so we signed Caedan up for soccer this year. He is so excited to have his own team and uniform. Unfortunately, most of his games conflict with Olivia's games so we have to split up for the games.

Caedan is the youngest kid on his team. He is playing on a 3-4 year old team and the season will be half over before he turns 3. That didn't stop him from scoring his team's only two goals last Saturday. Happily for Caedan and the Sea Turtles, they don't stop play for handballs in his league.

Wall of defense!

Caedan showing off his right foot.

Olivia jumped from U6 to U8 this year and the pace of play has dramatically increased.

Olivia taking possession and starting out on a counter attack.

So if you are looking for us on a Saturday morning for the next several weeks you will find us at a soccer field cheering on the Sea Turtles and the Red Wings.

Mountain Climbing

2010-09-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend a rainy Sunday than to go for a hike. We headed up to Snoqualmie Pass so that Caedan could climb his first mountain. For his first summit we decided on Mt. Catherine.

Mt. Catherine is 1.5 miles to the summit

and the elevation gain is 1300 feet.

We finally made it to the top for lunch.

Someone was very tired on the way down. He slept all the way to the car.

Soccer Season

2010-08-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today was the beginning of the soccer season for Olivia. She played in her first jamboree and her team played three games in a row. At least they were only 10 minute halves.

Olivia scores her first goal.

Sometimes you have to find ways to entertain yourself.

7th Birthday - a little late!

2010-08-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Olivia turned 7 on 8-9-10.

We celebrated with a tea party at a Tea Room with 5 of her friends.

The girls had scones and petit fours.

Olivia and her friends at the tea party.

After the tea party we headed home for a BBQ with the family.
There were presents.

She got new skis and bindings. It is never to early to prepare for the ski season.

We had cupcakes.

For Olivia's present from us we got her ears pierced. She has wanted to get them pierced for the last year so we decided to let her get them done. We had both ears done at the same time and she did not even flinch which surprised both of us.

Happy 7th Birthday Olivia

2010-08-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

Remember this post when I said that my goal was to sit in the Diamond Club?

http://connorclanblog.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html

You know the Diamond Club located right behind home plate?

On Wednesday I was lucky enough to get tickets and a parking pass to the game. Everything is included in the Diamond club. There is an all you can eat dinner buffett, dessert bar and stadium snacks.

This is the view from the second row of the Diamond Club.

We were so close to the players!

Robert enjoying the Signature Dessert of the Diamond Club.

If given the tickets again I would definitely go to another game.

How do you improve on seats in the Diamond club?

Mariners dugout, here I come!

Road Trip

2010-07-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time a family decided that it would be fun to take a road trip for a week. So they loaded their gear into the car and attached the bikes to the back and headed off for a week of camping in Oregon.

They slept in a tent.

They spent some time in Hood River watching the kite boarders and wind surfers.

One of them learend how to eat cherries without eating the pits (well most of the time without eating the pits).

After an exhasting bike ride there was a nap.

They cooked their dinner over the campfire.

They played a very intense round of glow in the dark mini golf.

Golf is a little difficult for some players.

Two of them were able to ride in the bumper cars.

They cheered on riders in a leg of a bike race.

The Cascade Cycling Classic is a six day bike ride centered around Bend, Oregon.

The walked around the top of Lava Butte.

The children happily possed for all of the pictures that their parents wanted to take.

They went hiking in the lava tubes.

While the outside temperature was in the high 90's the temperature in the cave was a cool 42 degrees.

They made new friends.

On the last day of their trip they spent 9.5 hours driving to get home. Possibly they did not choose the fastest route home.

When they finally made it home and unpacked their bags they were left with a huge pile of laundry as a reminder of all of the fun that they had over the past week.
They were also very happy to sleep in their own beds again. They are now thinking of taking a camping trip to Yellowstone next year.

The end.

STP

2010-07-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

15 hours 23 minutes and 204 miles later Robert finished the Seattle to Portland bike ride in one day!!

A fan trying so hard to wait patiently at the finish line.

Robert crosses the finish line.

Relaxing!

Dinner.

Just in case anyone was wondering it took the rest of us 4.5 hours to make it to Portland by car and we only stopped one time for 15 minutes.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

2010-07-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

A new version of an old favorite.

Father's Day on Orcas Island

2010-06-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we headed up to Orcas to celebrate Father's Day.

We went for a 4 mile hike around Mountain lake. Caedan did some walking and some riding.

On Sunday we built a campfire and cooked some hot dogs for lunch.

Not wanting to waste a perfectly good campfire we followed up the hot dogs with some S'mores.

Caedan has the chocolate ready for his S'more.

Olivia could hardly wait until it was finally time for roasting marshmallows.

Terrace Club

2010-05-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday I was lucky enough to score some tickets to the Terrace Club at the Mariners Game. These seats are almost as cool as the suite we sat in a few weeks ago. The tickets also came with a parking pass which is even better. After you park you walk across the sky bridge and you are on the Terrace club level. In the Terrace club they have a menu and they come around and take your order and then deliver the food to your seat. We usually do not buy food at the stadium so this was a big treat for the kids. The secret to the food is sitting next to the person who gave you the tickets and they pay for your food courtesy of their company!

We had a nice view of the field.

Picture by Olivia.

The view from my seat.

Robert went hiking and so the kids and I went to the game without him. The kids sat still for the first 2 innings just looking around at everything. Usually they do not sit still unless they are eating.

Unfortunately, the Mariners did not win. I know that this is coming as a big surprise to most of you. To help get myself through the rest of the season I have given myself a challenge. I have now sat in a suite and the Terrace Club. The only place that would be better to sit is in the Diamond club. These are the seats right behind home plate.

Anyone out there who can help me score these tickets?

2025 First Round Draft Pick

2010-04-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

Caedan is only two but he can already hit a pitched ball. Is it too early to start contacting scouts?

Warming Up

Watch out for the camera!

Working on taking it to the opposite field.

Suite Seats

2010-04-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

On Monday we went to the Mariners versus Orioles game. I was lucky enough to acquire some very nice seats in the All-Star Club suite. I have always wanted to sit in a suite so I was so excited when I got the tickets. The tickets came with special parking passes that allowed you to park in suite parking. A quick walk across the skybridge and we were on the suite level and there were no lines in which to wait! The All-Star Club has an all-inclusive dinner buffet and dessert bar.

Hey Nic, this was the view from our seats. Wish you had been there with us!

The view from our seats.

Our outdoor balcony seats.

Griffey at bat with one out and the bases loaded. He hit a nice single through the hole at second.

Mariners win 8-2!!

12 runs

2010-02-28T21:06:00.001-08:00

We made it more than a week without a visit to the emergency room so we decided to test our luck and we headed up to the snow to ski 'in the mountain' as Caedan would say. It was a beautiful day at the pass. With so much sun we decided to buy Caedan a pair of goggles to protect his eyes. Caedan loves his new pair of goggles. Ceadan was an awesome skier today. He has also become a little cocky. He was jumping around while skiing. He skied 12 runs and by the end he could hardly stand up.

We ski down with a rope tied to Caedan to make sure that he goes slowly and is under control. The problem with this is that you end up snowplowing down the entire run. After doing this 4 times my legs were tired. I don't know how Robert did this 8 times today.

Olivia has also become a very good skier. She loves to ski over the jumps and she is very fast. My favorite when skiing with Olivia is when she skis past me and yells 'I will meet you at the slow sign'. What is she saying about my skiing ability?

This is Caedan about 5 minutes after we left the parking lot.

While we were eating dinner once back home he put his ski boots and helmet on and asked to go skiing. I think that he might like skiing just a little bit!

Mid Winter Break

2010-02-24T21:01:00.000-08:00

Last week Olivia had the whole week off from school for mid winter break so we decided to head to Leavenworth for some fun in the snow. This seemed like a good idea back in December when we made our plans and rented a house. Who knew that the snow would be gone by February and we would be enjoying sunny days in mid February. We did have a great time relaxing and playing in Leavenworth with Grandma and Grandpa.

This is how we started our trip.

What a cute skiing family!

Caedan rode the chair lift!

Waiting very patiently.

Messy hair and all I really like this picture of Olivia.

We managed to sneak in on the last day of sleigh rides.

Olivia loved the sleigh ride and she even got to pet the horses.

And this is how we ended our trip.

Caedan managed to dislocate his elbow for the second time in less than two weeks. We headed to the ER in Leavenworth were we expected them to easily put it back in place like the first time. The Physician's Assistant and the ER doctor were not able to reduce his elbow. So instead of skiing on our last day we headed home which was a long drive with an unhappy 2 year old. We took him to our pediatrician and she also did not have any luck so she sent us to the ER at Children's Hospital. The ER doctor there was the 4th person to attempt but she did not have any luck either. She called the orthopedic doctors in and between the two of them the elbow was finally popped back into place. So after 6 attempts, 2 visits to different emergency rooms and one to the pediatrician everything is finally back were it belongs. Caedan had to wear a club, I mean splint, on his arm for a couple of days but it didn't really slow him down. It took us 11 hours from the time we left our rental house until we finally got home! Tomorrow we begin physical therapy so that this hopefully does not hapen again.

First Turns

2010-02-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

Normally, when we head up to the mountain to ski Caedan is left behind with a babysitter. He watches us pack our bags and load our skis into the car. He stays and we go. It is a little sad to leave him behind as we head off to have fun for the day. Caedan has wanted to ski so desperately that he stomps around in ski boots that are too big for him and even drags his skis up from the basement to ski around the house. So we decided that is was time to take him 'to the mountain' as he says. Last Sunday we packed up the car and this time we took Caedan with us. To be honest I was a little worried that we would drive all of the way to the pass and once we got out on the snow Caedan wouldn't think that it was so much fun. Well was I ever wrong. Caedan loved skiing. Robert carried him up the hill at least 30 times and Caedan could not get enough of skiing. He was turning and even snowplowing by the end of the day.

His ski boots are still a little big so he has trouble walking. He is a full year younger than Olivia when she started skiing in the same boots. Yes that is a biking helmet that he is wearing. Grandma and Grandpa if you read this Caedan would like a ski helmet for his birthday! Now if we can only get some more snow in the mountain we would be able to take Caedan back for more.

Pingu

2010-01-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

This month Olivia's class is learning about the polar regions. This week the focus has been on Penguins. Today was Olivia's turn to bring home Pingu for the night. Pingu is visiting the class from Antarctic. We had to make sure that he had a fun night and that we kept him away from the family pets. Apparently family pets have been know to attack little Pingu. Having him for the night is a very big responsibility.

Meet Pingu the penguin.

He had dinner with us. I hope that Penguins like Shrimp.

He did homework with us. Even when we have visitors we still have to finish our homework. Penguins are not very good at holding pencils so Pingu was only able to consult on the answers.

He had dessert with. Pingu is a bit messy.

He found a nice cuddly place to sleep when it was time for bed. Having a visitor is very exhausting.

We hope that Pingu enjoys his time with us!

Haircut

2010-01-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

Someone got a real haircut today (not one done by his parents). We decided that if you can put ponytails in his hair it is time for a haircut!

Christmas Recap 2009

2009-12-30T22:14:00.000-08:00

We had our usual and busy Christmas celebration. We visited Great Grandma and all of the Grandparents over a span of five days.

Great Grandma with her Great Grandkids.

Olivia asked Santa for a picture of Rudolph. Amazingly, Rudolph not only left a picture of himself but he also left gifts for the kids.

A set of horses from Grandma.

Santa left Caedan a remote control Fire Truck.

Olivia really wanted a horse for Christmas. Instead she got several horse things. Caedan gave her this horse snow globe. This was Olivia's favorite gift. She carried it around all day and even slept with it next to her. She said that this was her most special present.

New pajamas for Caedan.

Everyone loved Caedan's new train table.

I am pretty sure that this was one of Caedan's favorite gifts - flashing fire truck shoes. What could be better?

A new mountain bike for Olivia from Grandma and Grandpa.

If you are really good Santa fills your stocking at home and then again when you go to Orcas to celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa.
Stockings are not just for Santa to fill up with gifts.

Heading home after celebrating Christmas on Orcas.

Sadly, this is what happens when your little brother finds your snow globe. There were many tears shed after this accident. We tried to reattach the legs with superglue but the horse still did not survive this horrible accident.

Guess what Caedan is buying with his Christmas money? Anyone know where we can get a snow globe with a horse in it that plays music?

2009-12-21T21:09:00.000-08:00

We are officially ready for Christmas at our house. The shopping is done and most of the baking is complete. Just one batch of cookies are left to make for Santa's visit and then we are ready.

The Christmas lights are up on the house.

The Christmas cards have been addressed and mailed.

The Christmas tree is decorated and the presents are wrapped. So far all of the ornaments are safe from little fingers.

We had a visit with Santa where we gave him the Christmas lists. Hopefully Santa will come through with that picture of Rudolph. Santa if you are reading this PLEASE do not get Olivia a horse. Even thought it is on her Christmas list we really do not have room for one.

Just in case the Christmas list that we gave to Santa did not make it to the North Pole we also had a visit with Mrs. Claus were she was taking down requests to pass along to Santa.

The kids have 'happily' sat in the front of the tree for the annual pictures.

For some reason this present has not stayed wrapped. After wrapping it three times I have conceded defeat.

Bring on the chaos of the holidays. The Connors are ready.

The Christmas Card...

2009-12-07T21:47:00.000-08:00

that wasn't.

Everyone wants the perfect picture for their Christmas cards. Everyone in coordinating outfits sitting in a perfect pose and all with the perfect smile. The card that when some one opens it you know they will gush about cute everyone looks. So far we have taken 116 pictures on four different occasions and three different locations and we still do not have a Christmas card photo. We have visited Santa, gone to the park and posed in front of the Christmas tree. Caedan has fallen while running from the pictures and cut his hands and gotten a large bump on his forehead. Olivia got the giggles and she couldn't stop laughing. We decided that getting four people to look good in a picture was too difficult and so we tried to get just the kids. I am now thinking that maybe a picture of Robert and I just might be the ticket. Besides what people really want to see are the parents and not the kids, right?

Caedan was not impressed by Santa.

Caedan come back...

"The sun is TOOOOOO bright!"

This ended with a handful of Olivia's hair in Caedan's hands.

And so tomorrow we will try again because I also want people to gush at how cute my kids are when they open our Christmas card.

Happy

2009-11-25T22:26:00.001-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

from my Turkeys
to yours!!

Trick or Treat

2009-11-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

Olivia is a big fan of Halloween. Not only does she get to dress up but she also gets tons of candy. Caedan on the other hand really did not understand all of the excitement. Olivia was really into decorating this year. She wanted scary decorations but not to scary. Bats and skeletons fall into the to scary category. So we had to make our pumpkins scary instead.
At first I was convinced that this was the only thing that Caedan was going to wear. He does make a cute spider.

It took several tries to actually get Caedan into his costume. He was not a fan of the costume until he realized that people were going to give him candy for wearing the costume. He did enjoy yelling Trick or treat.

Of course Olivia was Cinderella this year. I know that you are all surprised by this choice! At one point she wanted to be a unicorn and a hot dog but once it was time to actually get something the princess won.

I was finally able to get a picture of the two kids together although it did take some bribes, I mean incentives!

First Hair Cut

2009-10-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

Last week Caedan finally had his first haircut. Now I know what you are already thinking. He is 2 how can this be his first haircut? But for some reason I just could not cut those cute little curls from the back of his head. I recently noticed that his hair had grown below his shirt collar so I decided that it was time to finally give him a haircut. One of us held his head while the other did the cutting and the whole time Ceadan was saying no hair cut, no hair cut.

Before

After

2

2009-10-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today my baby turned 2! In many ways it seems like we have had him forever. But it also seems like he was just born yesterday. Maybe that is because we are so tired. Caedan has developed his own personality and his smile is so cute that it can brighten your day in an instant. There are so many things that I love about this stage. As he has learned to talk we are always amazed by the things that he says.

Some of my favorites include:
Hold you – this means that he would like to be picked up.
Open it – means turn it on
What doing?
Oh tay mommy
Taedan
Go to time out – apparently he hears this a lot at our house. Last night he sent me to time out and then the dog.

One of his favorite people is his sister. He simply cannot get enough of ‘ia’ as he calls her. When he is upset there are times that only Olivia can calm him down and get him to stop crying. He loves to play with her and follow her around. As they get older I am sure that things will change between the two of them but right now I am enjoying their bond.

Caedan loves football, baseball and soccer. He will hold a ball and say ready and then throw it at you even if you are not looking. So if you hear ‘ready’ you better be ready to catch a ball because it is coming your way.

Avion (French for airplane), buses, trucks, bikes, firetrucks – Caedan loves them all. When driving in the car he will point out every one that he sees.

He has a very tender side. If Olivia is crying Caedan will run to her, put his arms around her and give her a hug. I love when I pick him up and he puts his arms around my neck and then put his head on my shoulder. I don't think I will ever get enough of that.

Cadean loves fleece blankets. They have to be a certain size and he has to have one with him when he is sleeping. If we leave the house we have to make sure to take one with us.

Of course there are a few things that I am ready to leave behind.
I am ready to leave the sleepless nights behind. We have struggled for months to get a good night's sleep. If he doesn’t wake up early in the morning then he wakes up during the night. He often won't go to sleep until 9 or 10pm and then he is up around 6am. This just doesn’t seem like enough sleep for someone his age and I know that it is not enough sleep for me!

I am more than ready to be done with diapers! Caedan on the other hand has no interest in using the toilet. He says he wants to, but so far the bag of M&M’s has remained unopened. I know that you are not suppose to rush toilet training but oh how I would love to be done changing diapers and done carrying around extra diapers when we leave the house. On the other hand I have no idea how to toilet train a boy. With Olivia we would sit her on the toilet and paint her toe nails and finger nails. And of course she would have to sit there until the polish dried. I wonder what color of polish would look good on Caedan.

The first one

2009-09-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

This morning while getting ready I heard Olivia yell "It came out." Of course I instantly think that Caedan had gotten into something (Sorry Caedan). Olivia came running into the kitchen holding her first tooth; it had finally fallen out. While she was eating her waffle it just popped out. With all of the excitement she was almost late to school.

We brushed her tooth so that it would be clean and shiny for the tooth fairy. She was convinced that the tooth fairy only takes clean teeth. So now her tooth is safely in the pillow waiting for the tooth fairy to come tonight.

Lightening

2009-09-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

On Thursday Olivia had her first soccer practice. She is on the lightening team which consists of 6 girls. This is Olivia's first time playing soccer. When I say that it is her first time playing I mean that she has never even kicked a soccer ball. So like any good parents we talked to her on the way to practice in the car about the basics. You know things like not touching the ball with your hands and how to score a goal.

Listening intently to what the coach has to say.

A really cute soccer fan.

After the 30 minute practice there was a game. Nothing like jumping right in and practicing everything that you have just learned! Games consist of 2 ten minutes halves followed by snacks which I believe was the most exciting part for the kids.

Ready to start the game.

What do we do now?

The final play of the game.

The game ended in a 2-2 tie. In the car Olivia said that ending in a tie is actually a good thing. That way everyone goes home happy!

Evergreen State Fair

2009-09-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we meet up with the Perry Family at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe. This was the first time that we have taken Olivia to the fair. Lets just say that she loved it. She went on several rides and we finally had to drag her home at 10:00pm.

So how do you spend your time at the fair when you are too small to go on any of the rides? You get to watch your sister go on several rides as she is laughing and having a great time. Caedan was completely happy sitting in the stroller watching Olivia and waving at her each time that she would go by us. Hopefully next time he will be big enough to go on some of the rides!

Road Trip

2009-08-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

Last week we packed up the car and headed out on a 6 day road trip. Our first stop was Port Townsend. We camped for two nights at Fort Worden State Park. We spent our time riding our bikes, playing at the beach and exploring the town. This is our palace!

Kite flying at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend.

Caedan was a little unsure about the whole tent thing but he eventually got used to it. In fact, we all slept better in the tent than we did on night three when we stayed in a motel.

Fort Worden State Park

We then headed down to Manzanita, Oregon for some more fun in the sand.

Playing in the sand is very exhausting.

Manzanita, Oregon

After a night in Manzanita we headed to Fort Stevens State Park for two more nights of camping.

Fort Stevens State Park - Battery Russell

Fort Stevens State Park - Ship wreak

"One more step back Caedan. The picture is almost perfect."

Ballard Locks

2009-08-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

Today Robert and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. To celebrate we decided to take a bike ride to the Ballard Locks with the kids. In case you are wondering it was 43 miles round trip from our house to the Locks. Olivia loved watching the boats and learning about the locks. Caedan just wanted to sit on Olivia's bike! We did have some excitement on our trip. For some reason while we were riding through the University of Washington campus we came upon a group of guys also riding their bikes. For some reason that we were not able to figure out they were naked. They rode all the way to Fremont!

Photo by Olivia.

My new favorite thing...

2009-08-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

is girls night out!!!

Last night the girls met up for pedicures and dinner.

And what do the girls talk about during girls night out you ask?

Well of course we talk about the husbands, the kids and work and a few other topics that will not be mentioned here!!

As my kids are crawling all over me and screaming for me to do things I can't help but wonder when the next girls night out will be.

6

2009-08-09T22:46:00.000-07:00

Happy 6th Birthday Olivia!!!

Today was Olivia's 6th birthday. It is hard to believe that she is already 6 and in a few short weeks she will be starting 1st grade.

Today we celebrated with a party at our house. We woke up to rain but by the beginning of the party the sun was out. Thankfully the sun came out because Olivia had her heart set on a water themed party.

This is our swimming pool cake.
We had water gun fights and water balloon fights. By the end of the party it was the kids against Robert. Here is a picture of the kids hiding from Robert waiting to attack!

Sunday, a few days late

2009-07-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we went to the Mariners game.

While at the stadium we visited the Moose,

we visited the face painting station,

we chilled in our seats and watched the game,
we spent some time in the cool zone,

(Thank you Mariners for putting these at the stadium)

and Olivia ran around the bases after the game.

Traditions

2009-07-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

Every family has traditions that are passed down from one generation to the next. You know those great items that you are going to get when Aunt Betty dies. In the Connor Family we have a trophy and this is no ordinary trophy. Our trophy was handcrafted in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for a lot of money I am sure. The trophy was first awarded about 10 years ago at the first running of the Connor 500. It has changed hands over time but I am proud to say that our leg of the Connor Family has been able to keep the trophy for the last few runnings of the Connor 500 with both Darlene and Robert earning victories in recent events. You may have even noticed it being proudly displayed in our home. Today our ownership of the trophy was successfully defended. Robert, his brothers and his dad participated in the race today and once again Robert emerged as the winner. I am so proud. Sorry no pictures of this race.

We are a very competitive bunch and of course Robert and I would love to keep such a prized trophy in our family for years to come. I mean who wouldn't be proud to display such a fine piece in their home. We are thinking of having a display case built so that we can display the trophy in a more deserving fashion. We started training the first of the next generation of great Connor champions in the hope that one day she can follow in her parents' footsteps.

Olivia loved her first time in a go-Kart. She was all smiles when her turn driving was over.

"Fast Princess"

Olivia Rides!

2009-07-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Teaching your kid to ride a bike can be a very challenging task. Let's just say that teaching Olivia to ride a bike took us a lot longer than we anticipated. We even considered paying for her to take a class that guaranteed to teach kids to ride. At times were were sure that Caedan would learn to ride before Olivia. She can ski down a double black diamond run and go 25 miles a hour on skis but for some reason riding a bike was really scary. Once, she even threw her bike to the ground and proclaimed "I am never getting on that bike again!" At times she was frustrated and we were definitely frustrated. But, last night was the night that we have all been waiting for.

At the end of the night Olivia said: "I was freaked out when I started and then I said this is fun."

This is not the actual video that I wanted to post. Blogger and I fought all night last night and most of today and I finally gave in. Blogger you win this time!

Stage 7

2009-07-10T21:50:00.001-07:00

The difference between the Tour de France and a Connor Bike Ride:

1. Stage 7 of the Tour de France was 134.4 miles today. The Connor Bike Ride was 17.3 miles. Yes the .3 is very important!

2. The winner of stage 7, Brice Feillu, rode for 6 hours. The Connor bike ride was 1 hour and 30 minutes.

3. The Tour riders started in Barcelona

and rode through the Pyrenees.
The Connor Bike Ride went to:

(We needed a $.60 washer)

and

(Pit stop for a Blackberry milkshake)

4. When a tour rider has a bike malfunction a support car magically shows up with a new bike. When my bike chain fell off we had to stop and fix it ourselves.

5. Stage 7 ended with a climb of 2474 vertical feet. The Connor bike ride ended with a climb of 490 vertical feet to the top of our hill.

6. Several thousand people cheer the riders on at the finish line. The riders in the Connor ride were greeted by a happy dog.

Sadly there was no presentation with a yellow jersey at the end of the Connor Bike Ride!

Friday

2009-07-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today we headed out on a bike ride to University Village. Of course, we picked another hot day for a ride. We found a nice fountain in which to cool off. Our ride was 28 miles long. The last two miles up the hill to our house were the two longest miles of the day.

Bike riding is very exhausting! You will notice that Caedan's helmet is at his feet. We stopped at a bike store and he wore that helmet all over the store and he was so excited. So we decided to buy him a helmet. Once we got home and got ready to go on our ride Caedan would have nothing to do with the helmet.

When we got home from our ride we decided to get the pool out to cool off the kids. This is the first time that the pool has been out this year so we had to clean it out a bit before we could fill it with water

At our house everyone must do some work before it is time to play.

Lefty

2009-06-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

It turns out that Caedan picked up quite a bit during all of the t-ball practices and games that he attended this spring. He knows how to hold a bat and stand in the ready position. He knows how to put a mitt on and hold it out to catch a ball and he knows how to throw the ball. But the most exciting part for us is that he is doing all of this as a lefty! This is very exciting for his lefty parents. One of his favorite words right now is biesball. He now runs around holding his new bat, ball and mitt saying 'my biesball'.

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for the new bat and ball. Now Caedan just needs someone to build him a tee that is his size!!

Shhh...don't tell mom.

2009-06-18T20:13:00.001-07:00

Caedan was alone for a few mintues while I was changing. The funny thing is I can't tell you the last time that I wore lipstick!

End of the Season

2009-06-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today was our last t-ball game of the season. We had a fun season and the kids all learned a lot. They all improved a tremendous amount over the season! It will be nice to have some free time again. We had games every Saturday for the last 10 weeks and practice every Wednesday and Friday. What will we do with all of this free time now? We will of course be back as coaches next
year and hopfully we will get some of our players back as well!

Take me out to the ball game..

2009-06-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Little League day at Safeco field.

Before the game there was a little league parade. This basically meant that you were able to go down on the field and walk around the warning track.

Family photo down on the field!

We had great seats behind home plate. We just happened to be in the very last row in the 300 level. We did have a great view of the sound and Caedan loved watching the boats.

Nap time happened to fall during the game. As you can see that wasn't a problem for Caedan. He can still sleep just about anywhere.

After the game kids were invited down to the field to run the bases. I think that this might have been Olivia's favorite part of the day. By the end of the day we spent 6 hours at Safeco field!

Vashon Island

2009-06-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today Robert and I both took the day off from work. We dropped Olivia off at school, Caedan at daycare and headed to Vashon Island to do some bike riding. When you get off the ferry you can chose what the Seattle PI called the Hill of Death or the Hill of Near Death. We of course decided to take the less traveled path and we headed up the Hill of Death. After climbing up the hill we rode into the town of Vashon. We then headed out of town in search of the Port Robinson Lighthouse. After several hills we found the lighthouse and enjoyed some time on the beach before heading back to town.

We popped into a few shops and then headed back to the ferry in time to get home and pick up the kids. We biked 27 miles today! We only wished that we had picked a day that wasn't so hot!

The second child

2009-05-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

Oh the second child. You know the one with the incomplete baby book. You have hundreds of pictures of the first baby and a few of the second baby. You can remember the first smile and the first time baby number one rolled over and everything is documented perfectly in the baby book. But for baby number two you can hardly remember if you put clean clothes on them today. Another unfortunate problem for the second child is that everything they get is a hand-me-down. This can be extremely problematic for the little brother who has an older sister.

Here is Caedan in Olivia's old pink winter boats. Can you see the look of embarrassment on his face.
Here is Caedan on his new hand-me-down bike. Oh yes that is a purple bike with flowers and streamers complete with the Strawberry Shortcake helmet.How much do you think therapy is going to cost us?

Favorite

2009-05-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

These are my favorite pictures from the weekend.

T-Ball on Saturday

I love the kid in the back of the picture who is facing away from the game and playing in the dirt!

Sunday evening we went for a walk and Caedan sat with his hands behind his head the entire time.

Sleep

2009-05-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Caedan,

Lately sleep seems to be the biggest problem that we are having. According to information that I was reading on the Internet a toddler between 1 and 2 years old should get 10-13 hours of sleep. On average you are falling short of this. Some things that you should keep in mind as you are sleeping:

* 5:45am it just too early for your parents to get up.
* Just because the sun is up does not mean that we should get up.
* It is ok to sleep in on the weekend. We would be happy if you slept until 8:00am on a weekend.

* It is really not necessary for you to wake up before the alarm on a work morning.

Keeping you up later does not seem to help. The tin foil over your window to make your room darker really did not seem to help. We have been using the noise machine for a few months now and we have tried it on all of the settings. We could do without the bags under our eyes. Your parents really function better on a good nights sleep. We are running out of ideas to help you sleep better. So please, we beg you, tonight lets start down the path of good sleeping.

Love,

Mom and Dad

P.S. Please tell us that you are not teasing us with the night light like you did the first few nights with the noise machine!

Sticky rice

2009-04-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

really is sticky!

Pond Skimming

2009-04-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of skiing at Steven's Pass. To celebrate the season they have pond skimming. People dress up in silly costumes and try to ski across a pond of very cold water.

Do you recognize this skier??

Unfortunately we ran out of time and I was not able to do pond skimming! For most people the fun ended today but for die hard skiers like us you will find us in the backcounty. You probably will not see Robert in the grass skirt again anytime soon!!

Weekend

2009-04-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

This is how we spent our weekend:

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

We had Easter baskets and several egg hunts!

To facebook or not to facebook…

2009-04-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

That is the question.

So I have been a facebook holdout. I think that I am probably one of 5 people left who have not yet joined facebook. I just can’t image why people would want to know what I am doing all day long.

Status: Darlene is eating breakfast.
Status: Darlene is leaving for work.
Status: Darlene is at work
Status: Darlene is doing laundry.

I have on several occasions almost signed up for facebook. When Kim updates her facebook status but only part of her status shows on her blog it drives it crazy. I really want to know the rest of the sentence. In fact a few times I almost called her to find out the rest of her status. Maybe I am already obsessed with facebook. Should I join facebook just so I will be able to know Kim’s full status update? Will I become so obsessed with facebook that my kids will become neglected and end up eating cereal for every meal and wearing the same outfits for days? If I sign up will anyone want to become my friend?

So what am I missing? Should I sign up for facebook??

What I should have done today

2009-04-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Friday we woke up to snow and today we were treated to a warm and sunny day.

Today I should have spent the day doing laundy, doing dishes, changing the sheets on all the beds and our lawn really needs to be mowed.

But instead we spent our day playing outside. We took a walk to the park and played!

P.S. My posts always look better when I preview them. What happens when I hit publish post?

Catching Air

2009-03-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday was another great ski day for the Connor family. Here are some pictures of Olivia and Robert catching air in the terrain park. Sorry no pictures of me going off jumps but someone has to be the photographer.

My favorite part of skiing with a 5 year old - when I catch up to Olivia and Robert who are waiting for me at the bottom of a black diamond run Olivia shouts 'Good job mommy, you made it.'

1st Base

2009-03-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

When you are standing on 1st base it is always a good idea to be ready to run to 2nd. Just in case you need some pictures so that you have an idea of what the ready position might look like I have included a few.

This is Olivia in her uniform ready to play in her first game last Saturday. As we expected the game was very entertaining and a lot of fun.

If you are looking for the Connor Family you will find them on the baseball field for the next several weeks!!

Up next - 2nd base and why it is important to clean the base off when you get there.

Mariners

2009-03-06T19:41:00.000-08:00

Meet the Rookies on the Mariners T-Ball Team.

Meet the Manager of the Mariners T-Ball Team.

Meet the clean up hitter for the Mariners T-Ball Team. She is also the early front runner for MVP.

Meet the Bat boy for the Mariners T-Ball Team.

Today was our first T-ball practice and wow do we have team full of talent. We did not expect to actually be in charge of the team. When we signed Olivia up to play Robert volunteered to be a coach. It turns out that if no one volunteers then you get a promotion to manager.

Olivia, Olivia, Olivia

2009-03-03T21:37:00.000-08:00

There have been so many posts lately about Olivia that I decided it was time to devote an entire post to Caedan . Caedan is now 17 months old and he is growing up so fast. So here is what Caedan is up to:

1. His vocabulary is increasing every day and he has a lot to say. His current list of words include yah, no (his favorite word), daddy, mommy, thank you (he says this when he gives you something), what is that, nana (banana), night night, here, here you go, there you go, and merci. Yes he is bilingual. He is learning French at his daycare and he can understand a lot of what they say to him.

If you listen closely Caedan is saying thank you and there you go.

2. He is pure boy and yes there is defiantly a difference between boys and girls. He loves to bang on everything, take everything off the shelves and knock everything down. If you build a tower with blocks he will knock it down. If you put all the books on his book shelf he will knock them down. And yet I still put the books back on the shelf every night. When will I give up?
3. He loves to throw things down the stairs.
4. He loves to cuddle.
5. He loves his big sister.
6. He smiles all the time.
7. He is a lover of bread and bagels.
8. He does not like to sleep in. Lately he has been waking up around 6:30am which does not make his parents very happy.
9. He must eat as soon as he wakes up.
10. He loves fleece blankets. He rubs them on his face when going to sleep.
11. If you laugh Caedan will laugh along with you.
12. He has been going up the stairs for a while now and he can now also go down. I was excited to watch him do it for what I thought was the first time the other night but then Olivia informed me that ‘He did that the other day’.
13. He no longer likes his car seat. He will scream and stiffen his body making it nearly impossible to buckle him in.
14. He loves Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (even when I sing it!!) and singing this song will usually calm him down.
15. He has a funny sound that he makes when he sees a dog or a cat. The same sound is used for both animals.
16. He does not like to color. He does like to eat crayons.
17. He loves to throw things into the bath tub when Olivia is taking a bath. So far the remotes, wireless mouse, and an old cell phone have gone for a swim. Luckily they all still work.
18. He loves to unroll the toilet paper.

Weekend Lessons

2009-02-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

Lesson number 1 - Cleaning House

a. No matter how many times you vacuum the floors will never be clean.

b. It does not do any good to wash the inside of the window unless you are planning on washing them on the outside as well.

c. When people are coming over it is ok to grab a box and put everything that you find on the table, counters, and floor into the box. You then must hide the box where no one will find it but hopefully you will remember where you put the box when you are looking for the things that you put in the box.

Lesson number 2 - Parties
On Saturday Olivia and I hosted a baby shower for our friend Kim who is having a baby boy in April. This was my first time hosting a party for someone.

My favorite thing about the picture is the look on Kim's face as she tries to figure out the toy!

a. When hosting a party you will make enough food to feed twice the number of guest. You will then be eating leftover quiche for days.

b. When your five year old puts the blue sprinkles on the top of the cupcakes expect to find blue sprinkles everywhere and expect to find them for days.

Lesson number 3 - The Children's Museum at Factoria
a. This is a very noisy place.

B. The kids will love it.

c. It will even make the 5 year olds tired!!!

Lesson number 4 - Parenting

a. I would not make a good single parent

b. It is ok to put yourself in timeout.

HURRY HOME ROBERT!!

Robert left Friday morning for a trip to Colorado. I am counting down the days, hours and minutes until he returns from his fun trip. I think that it should be my turn next for a fun trip!!

Happy Half Birthday Olivia

2009-02-09T21:01:00.001-08:00

Today was Olivia's half birthday celebration at school. If you have a summer birthday then you get to celebrate your half birthday at school.

When it is your birthday you get to bring treats for the whole class. Before treats your classmates give you birthday wishes. Here are a few of my favorite wishes that the kids had for Olivia today.

* I wish you lots of friends.

* I wish that you become a princess.

* I wish that you are happy.

* I wish that you become a queen.

* I wish that you have 10 kids and lots of orphans.

* I wish that you are rich.

* I wish that you are a good mom.

* I wish that you get a water bed.

* I wish that you get a water bed with a slide.

The only disappointment for the day was that you do not get presents for your half birthday!

Top Phlight

2009-02-03T15:51:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we spent the day and Steven's Pass skiing.

While we were there all 3 of us went through some very intense training to become Top Phlight certified. Once you become certified you are free to ride the terrain park anytime you want (OK well we really only had to watch a 5 minute movie and then sign the waver form but it was a very intense movie!).

Olivia loves skiing over the jumps. She did surprise herself when she caught air over one the jumps. If only she had landed - it could have been so cool. The only problem that I have with the terrain park besides the jumps is the lift that you have to ride. It is so slow and I get so cold on the ride up.

I have given up trying to keep up with Olivia. She has already passed my abilities in skiing.

Pajamas

2009-01-29T11:19:00.000-08:00

Today was pajama day at Olivia's school. Can you imagine the excitement? Who else will wear their pajamas. Will the teacher be wearing her frog or monkey pajamas?

Could anything be easier than rolling out of bed and heading out the door? Today we did not have to argue about what Olivia was going to wear or how long it takes her to get dressed. I just might consider putting her to bed every night in the clothes that I want her to wear the next day!

Great Grandma and Resolutions

2009-01-09T14:41:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had a late Christmas celebration with Great Grandma.

Great Grandma is 94!! I think that this says great things about the genes in my family
Now that we are finally done with all of our Christmas celebrations we can focus in on all of those New Years resolutions.

1. Get organized at home (including the basement)

2. Finish up some of the items on our to-do list at home. (I think that a good goal is to finish up and cross off at least half of the items)

3. Spend more time with our friends!!

4. Be on time (this does not include work). I make this resolution every year. Maybe next year I should move it up to the top of the list because I know that it will still be on the list!

I try to make resolutions for Robert also but he refuses to work on the ones that I make for him!

What are you resolutions for the new year?

Highlights of Christmas

2008-12-31T11:05:00.000-08:00

So much has happened over the past week so I am just going to post the hightlights. We have celebrated Christmas with the opening of presents, visits from Santa, lots of good food and way to many desserts.

This is my attempt to get a Christmas picture of the kids before we opened presents.

The only thing that Olivia told Santa she wanted for Christmas this year was the Cinderella Princess doll. Imagine her excitment when she got all 7 princess dolls!

This is my favorite thing that Caedan got for Christmas. Doesn't he look cool in his fireman coat and boots (with room to grow) that he got from his Uncle and Auntie!

Is there a better way to spend Christmas day??

Happy New Year to everyone!!

Paradise

2008-12-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

Today we went skiing and sledding on the hills by our house. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Olivia had fun racing Robert down the hill!

Caedan is not a huge fan of the snow yet.

Luckily it is still snowing at our house!

We are hoping for another fun day in the snow tomorrow.

FINALLY.....

2008-12-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

it snowed!!!

(Yes Ganik is pulling Olivia down the hill.)

Santa

2008-12-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

The Tree is up...

Last Sunday we went with the Johnson and Perry families to get our Christmas tree. We picked out a lovely tree that was not to tall. When we got it home and brought it into our house we realized that we had picked out the bushiest tree in the lot. Hopefully next year someone will remind us of this tree and stop us! It is so large that it is a little difficult to get past the tree when you come in the front door!

We have pictures with Santa...

We then headed off to visit Santa. Caedan was a little unsure about Santa but at least there were not any tears this year!

We decided that it would be a good idea to get all of the kids in a picture with Santa. Thank goodness Santa is very patient and has candy canes!!Olivia then promised Santa that we would make him chocolate chip cookies. So now I am going to have to make chocolate chip cookies on Christmas Eve just for Santa!

Most of our shopping is done. We even have some presents wrapped and under our tree. We are still working on the perfect family Christmas picture so that we can do our Christmas Cards. Hopefully we will get them out before Christmas. We have made several attempts and we are still trying.

Now we just need snow and lots of it!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T21:59:00.000-08:00

Just a few of the things that I am thankful for...

My family,

sleeping children,

and pumpkin pie made from scratch!!

This year Ganik is thankful for Caedan and all of the food that he drops!

Before Olivia went to bed tonight I asked her what she is thankful for and she told me fairies and butterflies.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

My New Favorite Thing

2008-11-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

I LOVE THIS HUMIDIFIER!!!

You might look at this picture and wonder how a humidifier could be so wonderful but it is because of this wonderful machine that we have gotten three nights of wonderful sleep. That's right Caedan has slept through the night, in his crib, for the last three nights. When he was three months old he first slept through the night and it gave us such high hopes. Let me also clarify that sleeping through the night to us is at least 8 hours of continuous sleep. Since that first time it has only happened a handful of times. He usually wakes up 3 or 4 times a night. He is very easy to get to sleep when we put him down the first time but keeping him from waking up at night has always been a challenge. The old humidifier was several years old and not working well so on Sunday I purchased this wonderful new one. Let’s just say that it has been worth every penny of the $29.99 that I spent on it. In fact this just might be the gift that we give to all new parents.

Lets just hope that I have not jinxed us tonight!!

Nap Time

2008-11-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

I could really use a nap right now.

Hello is anyone paying attention to me??
I think that they forgot about me! I guess that I will just have to make myself comfortable!

Election Results

2008-11-04T21:06:00.001-08:00

If only 5 year olds ran the county...

As Barak Obama was announced as the winner of the presidential race Olivia pumped her fist in the air and shouted 'Yes'.

I asked her why she thought Barak would make a good president and she told me " because he has the best name."

If only all decisions were this easy to make!

A Fairy and a Cow

2008-10-31T07:53:00.001-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Next year Olivia wants to be a Unicorn. Any ideas where I can get a Unicorn costume? Maybe she will change her mind during the year!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere

2008-10-25T22:03:00.001-07:00

We have visited the pumpkin patches and we now have pumpkins.
Here are some pictures of our favorite pumpkins!

Ok lets go and pick out some pumpkins.

Follow me!

Off to pick out more pumpkins.

Pumpkins are heavy!

How about this one?

These?

Are they looking?

How about now?
Fun at the pumpkin patch = The Pumpkin Sling Shot!

Fun at the corn maze.

I said - Fun at the corn maze.

You would think that after all of our visits to the pumpkin patch that we would have a perfect family photo - WRONG. It turns out that it is very difficult to get four people to take a good picture! Maybe next year!

Walking

2008-10-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

On Monday Caedan started walking and he is pretty proud of his new accomplishment!

Last week we took Caedan to the doctor for his 1 year check up. He is still a little on the small side. He is only in the 25th percentile for weight. It is going to be a little hard to fatten him up. The few times that he has had sweets he gets sick. He definitely does not have his father's sweet tooth yet!

A Blue Ribbon

2008-10-08T14:00:00.001-07:00

Monthly Good Citizenship Award
This certificate is presented to the following student for modeling respectful and responsible behavior, while striving to improve the welfare of others.

For:
Manners: Ways of being polite and thoughtful towards others.

I am predicting many more awards in our future. Clearly Olivia is destined for greatness. She is the first award winner in her class for the school year. I am thinking that the Nobel Peace Prize is not out of reach!!

On Monday we welcomed a new cousin into our family.

Olivia and Noah

Happy Birthday Caedan

2008-10-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

October 1st was Caedan's 1st Birthday. We celebrated with a party on Saturday.

Every party needs a cake!

(Dirt cake complete with worms and rocks!)

Caedan really enjoyed his first cake!!

Every party needs presents!

And every party needs a friend willing to push you on your new toy!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY CAEDAN!!

Barack Obama, Revolutionary

2008-09-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

A conversation we had in our car on the way to the Mariners Game last night.

Olivia: “Do you know how many strips are on the American Flag?”

Mom: “13”

Olivia: “Do you know how many stars are on the flag?”

Mom: “How many?

Olivia: “55." Ok, she isn't perfect. Yet.

Olivia: "Do you know who made the flag?”

Dad: “Who”

Olivia: “Betsy Ross. George Washington asked her to make the flag. Her husband died. We wanted freedom from the King of England. They were fighting to see who could have the United States. Somebody died in the war and he was very, very sad when he died. Barack Obama fought in the war. "

Updates from the Connor House

2008-09-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

1. Teeth, Teeth, Teeth

We have been waiting for weeks for those eye teeth to finally break through and we are almost there!! Hopefully great sleep is in our future. Today tooth number 7 made its appearance!!

All of this waiting for teeth and we should have been looking in Olivia's mouth. While brushing her teeth recently we discovered that she now has her 6 year molars on the bottom.2. Homework

Olivia had her first homework assignment. Yes even in kindergarten they have homework. She had to answer 5 questions.

Color of Eyes: Green
Color of Hair: Red
Age/Birthday: 5 August
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite Food: Swedish Pancakes

3. Pizza

Pizza is good!! Wouldn't you agree? Next stop, the bath tub.

4. Good Bye Dial Up

Ok I can admit it. Dial up is all that we have ever had. So we could not send attachments and forget sending anyone a picture. Opening 2 websites at the same time was nearly impossible. Some websites were to big to even open. Did I mention that it was free? We have finally made the move to DSL and now as I sit on my couch writing my first post from home I am asking myself "How did I ever get along without DSL?" There is no turning back now!

Kindergarten - Day 3

2008-09-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

Something very bad that happened today!
By Olivia

At the end of the day today Ms. Hink lined almost everyone up to go home except for Jordana and I. When she lines us up she calls our name to get in line but she did not call our names. Then she started to walk away with the rest of the class and Jordana and I were not in line. We didn't know what to do. I was a little scared and cried a little but then I decided to come up with a plan. I thought it up and then I told Jordana that we should go and find an adult to help us. We got our backpacks and pushed in our chairs even though no one else in the class did and we left the class. We found Mr. Miller and told him what had happened to us. And that was the only story that I have today.

So the moral of the story is that your kids really do listen to you when you tell them to find an adult and that they will help you. All the time that you take to prepare them in case something happens can really pay off and they are in fact listening to you even when it seems like they might not be! Olivia was so excited to have a story to tell us. She must have told us 10 times last night.

And now for your viewing enjoyment:

The pledge of Allegiance

The First Day

2008-09-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

In just 5 short years Olivia has grown from this tiny little baby into a kindergartner!

Tuesday was the first day of Kindergarten for Olivia. We had a nice turkey dinner on Monday night. Olivia picked this dinner after discovering that you can have turkey dinner on days other than Thanksgiving. We picked out her clothes the night before and packed her lunch. Tuesday morning she got up early and even dressed herself before coming upstairs. Olivia is not a morning person so this is very unlike her. Finally it was time to head to school. As we walked down the sidewalk she shouted "I am so excited".

The kids lined up outside the classroom and the parents were invited to stay for the first 45 minutes and then they had to leave. She is the youngest kid in her class and I was a little worried about her but she had a great first day.

The highlights of the first day of kindergarten included a tour of the music room and the library. All of the boys got to go in the girls bathroom and check it out and the girls got to go into the boys bathroom to check it out. Apparently the boys bathroom already stinks! She was very excited to discover that "at lunch time they even let you have chocolate milk". We did have a talk last night about how chocolate milk is a treat and that you can't have it everyday.

After spending 45 minutes in the classroom yesterday with 22 kids I have to say THANK YOU to everyone out there who is a teacher. I know that there is absolutely no way that I could spend a day in the room with all of those kids doing what you do!

Almost a blue ribbon

2008-09-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Ganik won a green ribbon at the Evergreen State Fair on Sunday. He spent the day with our neighbor competing in the showmanship category. Apparently Ganik was very well behaved.

WE ARE SO PROUD OF GANIK!!

The green ribbon is a merit award so we are guessing that all participants must win a green ribbon at the end of the day. Sadly we were not there to watch Ganik win his ribbon. Maybe next year we will be sitting in the stands cheering him on to a blue ribbon!

MYTHBUSTERS

2008-08-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

Diet Coke and Mentos - It turns out that it really does work.

I think that Olivia summed it up best when she said "That was it?"

Canada

2008-08-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

We spent 6 relaxing days in Ucluelet and Tofino on Vancouver Island. We did not have an itinerary for our trip other than to have some fun.

The highlights of our trip included:

1. The beach

Olivia loved the beach and we had to drag her away when it was time to go.

Caedan was not a fan of the water. He did on the other hand love eating sand.

2. Bears

Yes we did see a bear. We saw one right in town and they visited the campground at night. (This is not a good picture.)

3. Hiking

Well they call them hikes in Canada but they were more like short walks. We went on a couple of 1km hikes.

4. Starfish

Olivia really wanted to see starfish and she was so happy when we found several of them. She was even brave enough to touch one.

5. Anniversary

Spending our 11th anniversary together as a family and watching our kids play and have a good time.

6. Clean dog

Ganik spent our time away at doggie camp (aka the kennel). I splurged and paid to have someone else give him a bath. When we bath him at home we have to tie him in the bath tub and it still takes 2 people to bath him. Picking him up and having him clean was totally worth it. I do not think that he has ever been this clean in his life. Not only does he look and feel clean but he is

also cute with the little bow that they put on him!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2008-08-12T13:50:00.001-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday Olivia!!

Saturday was Olivia's birthday. This was a big day for Olivia. She had been planning this party for several weeks and we had to make a paper chain to count down the days. And then finally we cut the last chain and her big day was here.

For some reason she had to have a number 5 candle for her cake and it needed to be pink. I searched high and low for the pink number five candle but had no luck. I found every color but pink. So she finally decided that it just needed to be a 5. So on Friday I went to Everything Party and they were out of the number 5 candle. Same story at Target. Was everyone turning 5 this weekend? But I finally found the number 5 candle. Her butterfly cake turned out pretty well. We were up until 1:00am finishing the cake. (Note to self - next year pay to have someone else make the cake.)

We ended the day at the Mariners Game and of course a trip to the Mariners game is not complete without a visit with the Moose. For the first time in our history of attending Mariners games we actually left early. Ok, well early was 11:15pm after 10 innings of play and the game was still not over. But with a 10 month old asleep, a 5 year old whining to go home, and an alarm clock going off at 6:30am the next morning we decided to throw in the towel. It turns out that the Mariners also threw in the towel the next inning.

Up next for my 5 year old - Kindergarten.

TOES and FINGERS

2008-08-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

On Monday we had girls day with Grandma at the Pedicure Lounge in Bellevue and I highly recommend this place = http://thepedicurelounge.com/. We all had our toes done and Olivia also had her fingers done.

Olivia was the youngest client that they have had. When they where done the girls working even took pictures of Olivia. Of course Olivia loved all of the attention!

This is a great treat for your toes and great fun to do as a group. So if anyone wants to go let me know. I am always ready for some pampering!

Getting Around

2008-07-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Caedan started crawling a few weeks ago. Well actually it is more of a one legged crawl but it seems to be working for him. Over the last few weeks he has also started pulling up which means that we really should start that baby proofing thing!

Whidbey Island

2008-07-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

1 Cabin + 8 Adults + 6 Kids + 4 Dogs = 1 Weekend of fun

We spent 5 days on Whidbey Island hanging out with old friends and making new ones, relaxing, playing and eating. Here are the highlights from the trip.

Olivia and Thomas on the tire swing. This did not end very well for Olivia. It turns out that spinning several times does not agree with her stomach!! Why didn't we learn this lesson after her birthday when the same thing happened on the tire swing?

Kyla at the beach. Yummy sand!

Fort Ebby State Park

We rode our bikes to the park and spent some time exploring.

Olivia and Thomas

Robert and Caedan

Caedan at the beach.

ET - aka Cameron

Now we must return to the real world filled with work, laundry, and projects around the house. At least we had 5 days of fun!

Technology

2008-07-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I am surprised and mostly confused by technology. Like today I was actually able to upload this video and make it work. Robert is probably surprised that I was able to do it without asking him any questions.

And then there are times when I am completely confused. For example it has taken me 3 days to log into this blog. I try to log in and it say that my email doesn't exist or that my password doesn't match my email account. I try several times throughout the day and still no luck. And then this morning, using the same log in and password, it lets me log in. Can someone please tell me why this happens? Is it happening to others as well?

So this is video of Robert skiing at Mt. Baker on Sunday. Yes that is a pond that he is skiing on!

Having an audience always helps!

4th of July Weekend

2008-07-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

This year we had the Perry family over for a Barbecue. We spent the afternoon playing in the yard and on the swing set.

Kyla on the swing.

Caedan in his swing.

Even big kids love to swing!

And then it was time for fireworks. The city of Kenmore bans fireworks but we didn't let that stop us from having fun. We were at times worried that someone would call the cops but luckily that didn't happen.

We had a great time with our sparklers, pop-its, worms and smoke bombs. I know you are thinking that we are really out of control. Robert and Jedd invented a new game which we are calling smoke bomb baseball. One person lights a smoke bomb and then pitches it to a batter. The goals is to hit the smoke bomb over your house without having it land in your neighbors yard. If you are taking pictures you should watch out for flying smoke bombs!! You never know when one will hit you in the camera - just ask Kim!

On Sunday we headed out for a bike ride. We rode down our hill to the Burke-Gilman trail and rode towards Redmond.

On the way home we stopped at Bothell Landing for a break before we rode back up our hill. Our total ride for the day was 20 miles but it was those last few miles up, up, up the hill that made me question why I thought the ride was a good idea in the first place. If only I could figure out a way to install a little motor on the back of Caedan's trailer!

One bite for the Geese and one bite for Olivia!!

A self-portrait

Olivia loves to take pictures with our camera and she has now discovered that she can even take her own picture.

And Caedan finally got not one, but two more teeth this weekend! He now has two teeth on the top to complement those bottom teeth! Today he had his nine month check up. He is a little behind in the weight department so they want us to try and fatten him up. He is only in the 10-20% for his weight so we need to feed him higher calorie foods. Maybe cake and ice cream for dinner! He had two more shots and a heel prick to check his iron level. Caedan is defiantly not a fan of shots.

The Family Sherpa

2008-06-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day Robert decided that he wanted to go backcountry skiing with the family. Keep in mind that he does this all of the time, including the day before, and I have never tried it. But being Father's Day and all we decided to let him have the day that he wanted. A few years ago Robert bought me backcountry skis with the hope that I would at least try backcountry skiing. So we packed up the kids and the car and headed up to Steven's Pass. Oh did I mention that he agreed to carry all the gear and the kids to try and entice me to go? So with Caedan in the Baby Bjorn, a full backpack on his back and pulling Olivia on a sled we headed up Skyline.

The daddy chair lift.

As you can imagine pulling the sled was the hardest part for Robert. Olivia did end up walking and to our amazement she walked half the time.

After a nice lunch at the top it was time to ski back to the car.

And yes Robert did ski down with Caedan in the Baby Bjorn.

Caedan was not such a fan of the skiing down part.

In the end I had to admit that it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be and that I would be willing to do it again. Oh what have I gotten myself into?

How to put your 8 month old to sleep

2008-06-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

1. Put your baby on your knee while sitting on the couch.
2. Bounce your knee up and down.
3. Bounce for approximately 5 minutes.

This of course does not mean that your baby is going to sleep the entire night. I have heard rumors that this occurs but it seems like it just might be a myth.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Robert hid Caedan from Olivia while they were playing Hide and Seek. Caedan had to find something to do while he waited for Olivia to find him.

It Finally Happened

2008-05-27T09:56:00.001-07:00

It took months of drooling and chewing on everything that he could get into his mouth. There were sleepless nights and painfull days that were saved by the magic of Tylenol. But it is there hidden behind that smile. You can't see it but Caedan FINALLY got his first tooth. His second one is not far behind!

Relaxing with Dad.