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Saturday, January 30, 2010

28/365

Thursday, January 28:
Am I crazy? Maybe a little. I'm adding to my exercise routine. Diet alone doesn't seem to do anything for me. I have finished 12/20 of my 30 day challenge on the Wii Active. I'm enjoying the routines. Although, I'm working on the easy sets and my workouts are 15 minutes long. But, we all need to start somewhere. On Tuesdays, I've added some jogging and walking for a mile. My goal is to jog 1 mile straight before I add more mileage.

To make things more interesting, I've found someone to be willing to be a glutton for punishment with me. My sister-in-law, J, and I have signed up for Hot Yoga. The special is 10 session (within 1 month) for $10. Tonight we had our first Hot Hatha Yoga class. At first, it was wonderful to be in a warm (105 degree) room. The exercises were easy enough, but as your heartrate increases, the heat intensifies. The last 10 minutes were excrutiating. A lot of moving back and forth from your back to front to perform different poses. It felt wonderful to get outside and breathe the cold air. 
I am proud to say, we finished the class with limited breaks and I drank 100 ounces of water throughout the day. I feel sore in some places and am willing to go back for another class. Sunday will be a 75-90 minute torture session of Hot Power Yoga.
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27/365

Wednesday, January 27: This is what happens when your 5 year old gets ahold of your camera and walks about the house taking photos. I am always surprised and impressed at the interesting photos that I find when I look through my images.

26/365

track.jpg

Tuesday, January 26: We are in the middle of our normal day to day affairs. Week in, week out without to much change. To shake things up, I'm taking on a little extra exercise. Mr. C is participating in a free soccer clinic on Tuesdays. It's 90 minutes long and very chilly out. There is a jogging track at this facility that I have decided to take advantage of. Last week, I ran the straight aways and walked the corners. I thought I would die, but I survived and am invigorated to move forward. Tonight I pushed myself a little further. Miss M joined me on the track and together we jog/walked 1 mile (4 laps). I can walk no problem, but the jogging is going to take some time to get used to. It feels great to be moving my body and pushing it into better shape.

25/365

Monday - Jan 25th; we are enjoying a wonderful January with very few cold days and we haven't seen any snow yet.

I recently entered a contest on a friends blogsite and, surprisingly, I won!! I arrived home from California and found my box of goodies. I received 2 rachel ray pans and 3 spoon/spatulas. They are blue. I am looking forward to using them for the first time and for many more meals afterwards.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Happiness is...

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I'm going to go a little out there with this post. I'm always thinking about my daily photo and spending much more time playing with the kids and working on me. I'm also thinking about where I want to travel this year. Of course I want to go everywhere, but the budget will only allow for a small amount. So, my "little out there" come courtesy of a wonderful blogger Mom out there at Whooo's That Girl. I love to follow her blog and daily adventures. She sent this wonderful little chainmail award ;) to me about being happy. The point is to have 10 more friends copy and paste, but I only have 3 (on here) and 1 just cancelled her blog (so sad!). But I love to tell you all about me and learn all about you, so here goes:




Happiness is....

Showers: I love the 10 minutes of steaming hot heat that warms my body and prepares me to face the day. It's quiet in there, I can think and relax the tension from my shoulders and head.

Kids: Oh they drive me crazy, but I know this phase will pass all too quickly. I already see how quiet my older two are becoming and realize the independent younger two will follow them quickly. I'm sure I will soon be hoping they emerge from their rooms.

PTSA: A weird thing that makes me so happy. I've been on the PTSA Board for the past two years as secretary. Being part of something, outside of the home, helps me get through the long, dark winter. I get to talk to adults and help the kids. I volunteer for way too many committees, but it makes me happy.

my MacBook Pro: I am addicted to this computer. I love to read your blogs (does that make the blogs my happiness?). I can update my photos and keep in contact with my family. I'm surprised anyone uses the phone anymore. Someday (it will be strange), I can see conversations to be limited to personal contact only and all other conversations will be via texts and emails.

my iPhone: This is honestly the best phone ever!! It's like a mini computer in my pocket. The only drawback is that I check and play with my apps while my book sits in my purse, waiting to be read.

Books: They take me to a different place. They allow my mind to wander. They inspire me and make me so happy. I get overwhelmed with all the daily noise of our household and my books allow me to retreat for an hour or two.

the Sun: "Mr. Sun, sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me."

We have moved our art desk under the south facing window and I LOVE when the sun breaks through the never ending winter clouds and lights up my face and warms my fingers. I smile, raise up my face and dream of warmer days.

my digital SLR: I capture soooo many moments and memories in our lives. I'm trying to cut back and enjoy the moment more, but I love to get that perfect little photo of my kiddos that they enjoy looking at and remembering the wonderful day we had.

Wandering: I love to wander. Whether it's walking or driving. Sometimes, we just get in the car...and go. No destination in mind. We'll try a side street. We'll try an off the road town. Occasionally, we'll pull out the map and see where we've been and try and go a little further. The kids get some time to talk to each other and Marc & I get some time to talk without the household distractions.

Wow...#10. I'm amazed at how many things make me happy. My final thought for today will be Family...I am lucky that my family lives nearby (at least some of them). If we are up for an adventure, my brother and his family is willing to follow along. Although I worry that it will be a terrible adventure and he won't like it, they seem game to follow us. My family makes an effort to keep in touch. And if we don't, I know when I see them again, it will be like we saw each other yesterday. The conversations are easy, free flowing and the love is felt all around. Like a happy pink glow!


With that, I want you to think about 10 things that make you happy. You can comment below and list out 10 things. Or 1 really big thing. You don't have to explain. Just list it! I'm smiling now because I'm reminded of the happy things in my life and I have my new bloggy friend, Lissa, to thank. THANK YOU!!


  

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Did you miss me?

I'm still getting the hang of this and realizing I should upload my photos from my iPhone for each day and then go back in and edit. Instead, you get this long, but sweet update of my photos and my trip.

My Dad is getting married (Mar 20th) to a wonderful woman we call Betts. My Mom died 5-1/2 years ago. Betts is wonderful and a perfect match for my Dad. So, with this marriage, there is a merging of 2 homes. My Dad is moving into her house and clearing out his. He has already moved once since my Mom died. Most of the old house was cleaned out, condensed and repackaged into his new, smaller house. Now, he is repacking, condensing and downsizing his holdings to move into Betts house. The reason I ramble is coming. My Mom painted these large paintings when she was younger that my Dad has hanging on his walls. One goes to my brother, Scott and the other goes in my house. They are large and I can never fit them in my car while I am visiting with the kids. So, I took the seats out of the minivan and drove to California to get them. I could of had him ship them, but then I wouldn't have been able to take my mini vacation and spend time with my family.


My short adventure began Friday morning. I left Seattle at 9am, I arrived in Redding at 6:30pm. Yes, it takes 9-1/2 hours (without kids) for me to drive 600 miles. I made a stop in Kalama for coffee, food, gas and bathroom. I didn't stop again until 1/2 way through Oregon (the longest state in the US when you are driving).



My biggest worry was driving over the highest pass with snow bearing down on the region. My goal is to get over the pass before dark when the road starts to freeze. I barely made it, but it was a great time to go over with some beautiful white mountain views.




22/365
Of my favorite sights along I-5, these are my favorite. The Siskiyou pass means I've made it through the worst of the snow areas without needing to put on chains. The "Welcome to California" sign means I'm almost there and I've made it through the longest state. (I realize it's not the longest, but it's 308 miles long. At 60mph, it should only take 5 hours. I've never made it out in under 5-1/2 and usually it takes 7hrs. I swear there is a time warp somewhere in the state).


Finally, this picture....this picture...is home. I know I am home when I see Mt. Shasta. This beautiful mountain was my compass for 18 years. I knew which way was North when I spotted. I knew I was near my hometown and my safe place while in college. I know it's where I can relax and pretend life has stopped. I am home and I am on vacation!! My camera on my phone doesn't do it justice, but I smile everytime I see this mountain.



So, I made it to my Dad's house and it is empty. It's pretty strange, but he's only lived here 2 years, so I didn't attach my sentimentality to it. We went to dinner Friday night and everyone arrived at Betts house, at the same time. Betts worked a dinner for membership for Turtle Bay (great place to visit in Redding), my brother, Bryan and my sister-in-law, Robin arrived from Sacramento and my Dad and I pulled up to the house at the same time. 

23/365


Saturday was moving day. I'm very proud to say, I didn't take everything I could from his house. Marc was a little worried. I placed 2 bookshelves in the van (can never have enough bookshelves), my Moms paintings and 2 boxes of books, photo albums, food blender and a few knick knacks. Some of the stuff is going to my brothers, Scott's, house. My van looked rather empty. But, it's enough. I realize a home is made of memories, a house is full of stuff. We loaded up our cars and went back to Betts house. 

This is where the vacation fun started. I unboxed the Wii Fit Plus and showed my Dad how to play. My Dad, my brother, Bryan and I took turns playing the different games. We had tears in our eyes creating each others characters for the Wii (only because we were exaggerating any body part we could). We had dinner and searched for cruises to go on this year. Of course, there are a million other little things that happen, but for your eyes, I am trying to limit the length.

Sunday morning Betts made breakfast (again). It was delicious and I was not looking forward to the drive home. I finally dragged myself to the car and headed for the freeway. I was hoping to avoid the freezing temperatures and snow on the way home. The benefit of driving North is that the worst of the mountains and weather is at the beginning of the trip, instead of the end. I made it over Shasta Lake and it started to snow. Not a lot of snow, but enough to make me nervous. I stuck it out and after the town of Weed, CA, the snow stopped. 


Before Weed, there was 2 feet of snow on the sides of the freeway, after Weed, there was nothing. No snow at all. It was REALLY windy though. Sitting in my car at the rest stop, I could feel the wind moving my car and bouncing it. Walking at the rest stop was just as strange. It was almost difficult to walk into the wind because it was blowing so hard.


I made it out of Weed and up the mountains to Siskiyou Summit. The snow was barely falling, but the clouds were thick. The trucks were stopping at the top, but I kept pushing on. Once over the summit, the clouds cleared, the road was freshly covered in gravel and I made it down the summit without speeding or slipping. 



The rest of my drive was fairly uneventful. I had to stop a few extra times. My back and legs were not happy to be driving again for so long. This was a good test as to whether or not a can push myself to drive the kids cross country in a week. I'm thinking we might need 2 weeks so that we can have a day of driving, followed by a day of play. To pass the time in the car alone, I listened to music and then movies. I brought some of my favorite movies to put in the DVD player. They were movies I've seen enough times that I can picture them so that I can listen to the dialogue and not watch the movie. Luckily, the DVD player is installed behind my head or I would have been tempted to look. Movies like "Mamma Mia and Under the Tuscun Sun" are fine to listen to. "Sliding Doors", not so much. There is too much going on that I wanted to peek and see where the movie was. I realized that movies have a lot of music over scenes that are great to watch, but very hard to visualize. It did make the time go much quicker though.

24/365


My travel time ended up being 10-1/2 hours. I got home at 9:30pm. The kids were happy to see me and I was happy to see them. I missed my bed and family. I love taking a mini vacation though to remind me how wonderful ALL my family is.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

20 & 21/365

20/365

My workout log. It's 8:30 at night and I haven't done my workout yet. So, I head downstairs and turn on the Wii to complete day 9 of my 30 day challenge on Wii Active. I love this program (except the leg strap will not stay where it is supposed to). I can't tell if I'm really into working out, finally, or if the OCD in me has kicked in and I HAVE to finish the 20 workouts before the 30 days. I am pumped to someday see changes. I've resolved to only weigh in once a month. Not seeing the scale move is discouraging. But getting into this habit of exercise is encouraging.

At the end of the 30 day challenge, I'll start over with the "medium" settings. This month is "easy". I need to start somewhere! Tuesday night during the kids soccer clinic, I took it upon myself to go on a walk (it was my Wii Active rest day). I jogged to the front of the high school and found the track. I decided to try my hand at jogging. Man do I have a LONG ways to go. I was sucking air at the end of the straightaway. I walked the corner and then ran the other straightaway. Training for a 5K will be much longer than I thought. I can walk the 5K, no problem, but it will be awhile before I'm jogging it and jogging it in good time. The front of my shins STILL hurt. But, I'm on the path and come summer, maybe, the bathing suit will reemerge from it's hiding place in the closet.

21/365

I was going to make this picture one from tonight of our first "Third Thursdays" Moms night out, but I will have one for tomorrow. Today, the sun is shining. If you know anything about Washington, you know that it is overcast A LOT. The weathermen have multiple ways of saying rain.
1. chance of rain
2. mostly sunny
3. partly cloudy
4. rain at times
5. sun early, rain later
6. spotty showers
7. you get the picture (it cracks me up)
But January, has been kind to us. I'm sitting at my desk in front of a south facing window, pouring blood, paying bills and the sun made it's way across the trees into a perfectly open spot and right into my face and the house. It feels wonderful. I just had to share it with you. 

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

19/365


Yes. It's true. I have finally finished my Christmas cards. Once Christmas passed, these went on the back burner. But, I sat down and said these are important. Mostly because I made the effort to get all of us into the studio to get our yearly pictures taken and ordered enough wallets for everyone to enjoy our perfectly coifed smiling faces. So, Wednesday, January 20th, I will lick these envelopes closed (yuck), add a forever stamp (pricy) and put these beautiful hand written notes of love in the mailbox.

Next year, we will do our family portrait (as is the tradition I started) and order only 5 X 7's for our wall and make candid photo cards for our friends and family.

Monday, January 18, 2010

18/365

Here is Miss R and Mr N with our hamster. This is as close as any of us has gotten to "Zippy". We are all a little skittish with such a small animal that runs so fast. Any time his nails touch the kids, they drop the ball. I can't imagine if they held him for real. Marc and Miss M have both tried to reach into the cage and touch him and he (Zippy) has nipped at them. We are hoping that by holding him in the ball, he will get used to our smell and eventually we will be able to hold him.

For now, he runs ALL NIGHT is his wheel and we put him out twice a day in his ball to run around the house for 20-30 minutes.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

17/365


A shopping photo of me. These are rare!! I went shopping with my sister in law today (she's going to Vegas) and I found these jeans. I rarely find jeans that are 1. long enough, 2. hit the right place on the waist, 3. feel wonderful. I put these jeans on and was in love. Now, I just need to convince myself that the perfect jean is worth the $90. I hate spending $50 on jeans, but you know...I wear them practically everyday. Did I mention I Love Them. And the tank with the built in necklace was just a fun new piece for summer (wishful thinking that it will be here soon).

Saturday, January 16, 2010

16/355


Tonight, we went out for dinner and then bowling for Jamies (my sister in laws) birthday. We had a great time with friends! The best part, I beat Marc at bowling. He may be injured, but I will take whatever advantage I can. Final score, Heather - 82, Marc - 75. Pretty sad bowling numbers, but I WON!! We all had a great time dancing to the music, bowling in the black lights and drinking some beers. 

I will give Marc the credit he is due and tell you that he bowled 3 strikes (a turkey) in the second game, but we ran out of time to finish the whole game. I have to give a great big THANK YOU to my sister in law, Becky, for watching our 4 kids so that we could enjoy this fun night out.


Update to my bowling prowness: We had Mom's night out on Thurs, Jan 21st...Bowling and Beer. We had great conversations, lots of laughs, drank some beer and did some bowling. I'm not sure if it was the slippery floors, the slick ball or the fact that I said I was such a terrible bowler...but I not only won the first game, I actually threw a few strikes and BROKE 100. Not sure I've ever done that before. I look forward to many, many more Moms Night Out!!





Friday, January 15, 2010

15/365

 
Say hello to our little friend. The kids will have a meeting in the morning to name it. Yes, I don't know if it's a boy or girl. A friend of Mr. C is having baby #4 and they needed to get rid of their hamster. The kids have been begging for a pet for YEARS!! And what's better than free. I'm sure we will be upgrading the cage at some point. And getting it a bigger ball to run around in. For now, he's on my table and we are looking for his permanent spot in the house.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

14/365


Science fair kickoff was today at the elementary school. We arranged to have "Mad Science" come in and give an hour long assembly to get the kids excited for the upcoming Science Fair. The presenter is very enthusiastic and explains the difference between magic and science. My favorite experiment he does (besides playing with dry ice), is getting a hard boiled egg inside a flask. He heats up the air molecules inside, places the egg on top, the air molecules cool quickly and the warmer air outside pushes the egg inside. It's great!!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

13/365

This is my homage to never having to find someone with jumper cables to jump start the minivan again!! A bought a new battery a week ago and my loving husband did his manly thing tonight and installed it.

I didn't realize the battery was dying until we went to the car one morning and it made a terrible sound, but didn't start. We turned off the interior lights and waited 5 minutes. Then it started up. Whew!! A week later, same thing. I let the kids sit in the car to watch the end of a movie and I barely got it started to get Miss R to school. Third time (you think I would have learned), a kid left an interior light on...all night...after waiting an hour, I still couldn't get it started. I called a friend to jumpstart the car. Now I'm panicing, but I'm not the brightest crayon in the box. 

I think I've charged the battery up by driving a lot over the next few days and leave the kids to watch a movie in the car while I get Miss M from her friends house (car was parked in the driveway). When I got in, the movie was still playing, but the car wouldn't start. My friend had jumper cables and I was at Costco the next morning to buy a new battery. Turns out they don't install it and I drive around with the new battery in my car for a week. 

Today, I did everything I could. I parked the car. I turned off the engine and pulled the key. I turned off all the interior lights. The kids and I sat at the pond to eat lunch. When I tried to start the car, it wouldn't. Again!! I left the headlights on. The sun came out and I forgot they were on. After swearing a bit and jumping around and berating my poor husband, I took his advice and called our roadside assistance. I found a plug at the preschool to charge up my almost dead cellphone and waited. Luckily, it was only 5 minutes and I was back on the road.

Good ending to the story, I worked out...twice...with my Wii Active to burn off some frustration. And, my darling husband installed the new battery. Hopefully, that was all that was really wrong with it. I'm looking for a piece of wood, now, to knock on.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Cama State Beach

Sunday we went for one of our "wanderings" as I will call them now. We usually have a general idea of where we are going, but half the fun is the journey and then the destination. This day, my brother calls and says, "let's go to that beach on Camano Island." So, we're off. It's about an hour North of us. We see the turnoff to Camano State Beach and a sign for Cama State Beach in 1/2 a mile. So, we go off course and go to Cama State Beach instead.

It is property converted from private ownership to state ownership 2 years ago. They have small cabins, deluxe cabins and 2 bungalows that can be rented any time of year. The great part is they are only $35 in the off season. It's a great little getaway spot. They have horseshoes, TONS of shells on the rocky beach and a few swings for the kids. In the summer, there is a wooden boat house that you can rent boats from to paddle out into Puget Sound.

Our little offbeat path led us to a new find and a great day walking the "beach" with the kids. We went around the corner to eat lunch on the beach at Camano State Beach to finish up our afternoon and then wandered back home.








12/365

I finally got contacts again!! Don't get me wrong, I like my glasses (even though I need to get them refitted) and I love my prescription sunglasses even more, but I LOVE being able to wear contacts. Especially the "night and day" brand. I can see when I wake up in the middle of the night. These one's are "violet". It's hard to tell though over my blue eyes, but I like the color. It's fun to change my eye color and my hair color.

Monday, January 11, 2010

11/365

Why feet? Well, Marc was running with Mackenzie and heard a "pop"...turns out he had a large bone spur that he broke while running. He was brave enough to go for a walk with us Sunday despite the pain. And the socks? We had a months worth sitting in a basket. Marc was kind enough to fold them all while watching TV.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

10/365


My photo was taken at Cama Beach. My husband has become a true PNW (pacific northwesterner) by wearing shorts and boots in January just because it's 50 degrees.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

9/365

This is my photo that represents the next 8 Saturdays. My oldest two, Miss M and Mr C are playing basketball in 2 different leagues. Pro: They are learning to be aggressive and quick. Con: Their next 6 games overlap in playing times by 15 minutes. We will be driving 2 cars to each of the games so that we can watch them both play!

Friday, January 8, 2010

8/365



I forgot to take my intended photo today. But this is an important item for me. A note has been passed around facebook to put the color bra you are wearing as your status for the day. For one, it confuses the men. For two, and more importantly: we are spreading hope and awareness for cancer, specifically breast cancer. Finding a cure is very near and dear to me.

My Mom died from Inflammatory Breast Cancer 5-1/2 years ago at the age of 54. Unlike regular breast cancer, IBC spreads very quickly and forms sheets of cancer cells. It is a rare form that few women know about, but all women should be aware of. The symptoms mimic mastitis. If I can educate even a few women in my life, I feel I am doing my share of saving a mother, sister, aunt, grandma, or daughter.

http://www.ibcresearch.org/ for more information.

1-7 of 365 photos

I think I'm all set up and ready to post my 365 photos. I will catch up with this first week of January and try my best to do it daily. Not only for myself, but for my friends and family. It's a lot harder to find that 1 photo everyday to share. So much happens in the day in the life of a Mom and busy family.


Here is my first week:

1/365 ( Fri, Jan 1st). Here's me...sitting at home. Ready to take on the new year. Happy 2010!!









           

2/365 (Sat, Jan 2nd). We visited the Everett Children's Museum for the afternoon with our family. We had to renew our annual pass and for $20 more we were able to get 7 family members in for free. It was a great deal and a lot of fun. 

Marc enjoys digging for dinosaur bones (with the kids of course).


3/365 (Sun, Jan 3rd). We are working on having family dinners to discuss our upcoming weeks. Here's our first Sunday dinner with homemade pizza. Marc used my new mixer that I got for Christmas. (uses: Marc - 3; Heather - 0).

4/365 (Mon, Jan 4th). Laundry day. Does your laundry day look like this? I need a wide angle lens to get the full scope, but I had these piles of clothes (4 days worth) to fold. First we dump it all on the floor then sort it (the kids each get a pile, our shirts, towels, our pants, kitchen towels). It's much more manageable this way. I am very happy that I have released control of putting it all away!

6/365 (Wed, Jan 6th). Miss R, my little artist. She has spent the last 3 days making paintings. We hung a few on the pantry door and I scan a couple to add to her scrapbook. She is really into flowers and rainbows and telling me that her painting means I love you!

7/365 (Thurs, Jan 7th). Miss M had 3 teeth removed on Wednesday. 2 on the top and 1 on the bottom. Next Wednesday she will have the matching 3 on the left side removed also. We are borrowing room in her mouth to let her adult teeth come in a little straighter. We go back to the orthodontist in May.

I will post my Friday picture later tonight. Thank you for being Friday (I think). It means the kids are home for the weekend and I'm still getting settled back in to them being at school all week.


Cheers!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

5/365

The mill creek library is my sanctuary. I was able to read 54 books last year because of the library. I discovered new books that I loved and some I didn't even finish. Buying them all would have been more than my Starbucks spending. The kids love going to the library too. They love to go and and ask me if it's time to "pay". On occasion we find a new book for Mackenzie and Cameron to read too. Today I got 4 new books. I love putting books on hold, but I hate when they all arrive at the same time. I'm not sure I'll finish all these in 3 weeks.


Sunday, January 3, 2010

Testing mobile upload

365 days, 365 photos

It's a new year. 2010. We have been busy as usual. This past year, we traveled to Redding, CA several times. In March, June and August. While in California during our August trip, we took the kids to Burney Falls, the Subway caves, Humboldt National Redwood Forest, and into Fremont for ribs at Emil Villa's. We took a few local trips including visiting Forks, WA twice to stay at the Oceanside Resort in La Push (great cabins on the beach). We went to the Olympic Rain Forest and then made a side detour on the way home to the Makah Nation and the NorthWest most point at Cape Flattery. We went camping for the first time at Lake Easton and stayed in a cabin at Hyak (near Snoqualmie Pass).

I realized we take our kids many places as well as visit many local sights and parks. I've decided to challenge myself by posting a photo for every day of 2010. Highlighting both the mundane and extraordianary things that we do. We are busy making travel plans for the upcoming year. My cousin lives on the other side of the country and we will see them before they move again. 

The current plan is to meet somewhere in the middle. I prefer to meet them somewhere warm. After a NorthWest winter, I want to see and feel the warmth of the sun. My current plan includes driving to California for my Dads wedding in March, then heading over to Santa Cruz. We will show the kids the California coast, a few sights in Los Angeles, a trip over to the Grand Canyon and a few days in Albuquerque (where we will meet up with my cousin and his family). We will then take 3 days to drive back home to Seattle. We are planning on taking 2 weeks. My other big trip will only be realized if my cousin isn't moving until end of summer. I would like to drive the kids cross country. Taking 1 week each way and spending 5-7 days with the family.

Our other possible plans include camping on the Oregon coast and a few trips over to Eastern Washington. We've lived here almost 7 years and have never been to the other half of this state. Maybe we'll be so global as to finally get our passports and head up to Canada. It takes as long to get to Calgary as it does to get to Redding. Here's to plenty of travels in 2010 and many photos.