Kyler's Invention

About a month ago we were driving with Kyler when he shared his new intent on becoming an inventor. We asked him what he wanted to invent. He told us a "Surf Fly". It's a surfboard or skateboard that flies. So Kipp asked Kyler, "What's the hardest thing about your invention?". Kyler gave a big sigh, "Oh yeah, The magic."

New Adventure

I have been wanting to go cross country skiing as a family this winter. Finding a weekend where everyone is well, nothing else is already planned, no parties, and good weather has been difficult! We finally got a day and went yesterday. We went to Stevens Pass Nordic center. We got there early and signed up for a first time skiers class. The weather was looking pretty good, with sun out and fairly warm temps (Pineapple Express for the Northwest this weekend). We had a good instructor who spent about an hour giving us all the basics. It's pretty simple! The kids seemed to do pretty well. I went once in college, and Kipp went with friends at Whistler a few years ago and took a lesson, but that was it. The lesson was good, and we felt ready to go. The instructor mentioned that there were benches all along the main trail, which was the beginner trail. So we headed out. Just as we were starting, Ilea felt a drop of rain. Sure enough, in about 5 minutes it was raining pretty good. We headed very slowly up an easy hill. The kids did OK, but not very fast. It wasn't hard skiing, just shuffle and gliding along. By the time we reached the first bench, Kyler was starting to get frustrated and tired. Kipp and I didn't sit down because of the rain, but the kids did. We ate our lunch as our paper bags disintegrated in the rain. We packed up again. The kids had heavy coats, but not waterproof, and none of our backpacks were. We decided to keep going a little more. After maybe 10-15 min, Kyler gave up and started crying. He was just tired and frustrated. The up part is slower and not as fun. I loved it and Ilea was having fun too. The adults were able to glide a little more than the kids. They shuffled more than gliding. So Kipp agreed to take Kyler back and Ilea and I continued on for a little more. Someone from the lodge said that there was a small hill coming up and so we went up and turned around to come back. Down was fun! Just slide down. There were lots of flatter places so you couldn't get too out of control. The kids need a little work on balance. Kyler had a great time coming down, and later that night said he LOVED skiing! Ilea and I really did have fun, and Kipp enjoyed it also. I think we'll try it some more, and the kids will get better and better.

No way!

Kyler and Ilea were talking about playing Star Wars when we got home. They were discussing costumes and other details, when Ilea said in a very indignant voice, "Kyler, Darth Vader does NOT wear a baby jaguar costume!".

Mini Vacation

We had some water damage to our hardwood floors, and our insurance helped to cover the costs of repair. For the week that the floors were being refinished, we had to be out of the house. We chose to do it the week that the kids were out of school, and we went and stayed in a hotel in Bellevue, the Silver Cloud. It was a nice place.

Kipp went to work Monday, while the kids and I finished packing and taking the cat to a friends. Boy, did Anastasia hate that! She was fine once we got to the other house, she just hates riding in the carrier. The kids and I didn't do much, but met Kipp for lunch and went to the hotel. The first night we went to Spaghetti Factory in Seattle for dinner. Service was unusually slow that night, and they finally admitted they had lost our order.

Tues, Wed, & Thr Kipp took off of work. Tues we went to Vashon Island, which we've never done. We rode the ferry over, which the kids loved. The weather was a mix of clear/cloudy/rain. Not a bad day. We explored the island and looked for a few letterboxes. We found 1 and couldn't find the other. But we did get to see the lighthouse on the island. It was a good day. On the way home, we went into Seattle and went to the Conservatory. We'd never really been there either. It was supposed to close at 4pm, and we got there at 4:07, but the doors were still open. It had amazing plants inside, and we all enjoyed them. Huge orchids and a large variety of plants. Then we found another letterbox on the grounds outside. We went to dinner at a fanatastic place that had Crepes. Dinner was great, someplace we wouldn't normally go to.

Wed we did a lot of letterboxing up north, in areas we don't usually get to. Our hotel had a fantastic breakfast which we enjoyed every day. Cereal, fruit, homemade waffles, pastries, french toast, drinks, bagels. We had homemade waffles every day. We headed up north after that to Bothell. We found 2 boxes in a park, and the kids played a little. We went to lunch in the downtown area at Alexa's Cafe. It was OK. Kids got breakfast and Kipp and I enjoyed our lunches. Then we went to more parks in Bothell, Juanita, and ended up in Kirkland. We found quite a few boxes, and had fun at lots of new parks. Kipp was not feeling that well (Kyler and I had been very sick the week before), and so we went back to rest at the hotel. We could walk to Bellevue Square, so we headed over for dinner at one place that turned out to be gone. We ended up at the Cheesecake Factory. It was great, as usual, and walked back to the hotel.

Thr we went to explore something new - a brand new Sculpture Park that we had glimpsed from the Spaghetti Factory. Turns out it opened on Jan 21, and was 9 acres of big sculptures. So we went to Seattle to walk around. It was interesting. The kids were more impressed that we were. They also had a hot house kind of room with a huge log in it, showing natural habitation from the forest of nurse logs. It was pretty good. We got lunch somewhere and came back to Bellevue. In the afternoon we went to see a movie, Bridge to Terribithia. It was pretty good. Scared Kyler a little, but he mostly liked it. We went to dinner at Azteca that night.

Fri Kipp had to go back to work. After breakfast we checked out. It was a great week. When we got home our floors looked fantastic. I was really pleased with the work. We had no problems with the contractor, and now have brand new floors. All in all, it was a super mini-vacation!

Kyler's 6

Once again, it was a wild day. On Wed, the day before Kyler's birthday, we discovered that he will need glasses. He beat Ilea by a year. She also had her eyes checked, and her perscription has changed significantly. Poor thing - those glasses were hardly working! She went from 20/75 in one eye to 20/250, and 20/50 in the other to 20/325! So her glasses are getting new lenses. Kyler picked out a nice pair, and I think he'll look great.

On Thr, his birthday, it snowed! For the last 2 days we've had lots of snow showers. About an inch or so stuck Thr morning, but it melted later in the day. He took cupcakes to his class, had gymnastics, and went to bible study with us. Finally, at the end of the day he got to open his presents. We had wanted to wait for dad. He got a lot of cool things, including a new nintendo game and a roboreptile - a robotic creature with a lot of features. He's very cool, and can sense things around him. Unfortunately it was late, so he couldn't play much. But it was a very good day.