PTA Convention

Hello all - it's me! Your super woman neighbor, friend, family member, volunteer, payroll inputer, garter making, company running blogger.

I have taken on too much - but I love it (mostly). 

Last weekend, I attended (kid free for 3 days, 2 nights) the Washington State PTA Convention. Yes, I am that nerdy volunteer. Why do I do it? For my kids. Not for the hours cutting out shapes or asking people to join PTA, but because I believe in our kids and our education system is broken. Without parents acting as a child's advocate, the legislature will continue to cut from education and put ridiculous measures in place to test a child and teacher.

I think I'll soapbox another time. I wanted to express my unbiased, unpaid opinion of the PTA Convention.

WONDERFUL! I can't wait for the survey's to come out. The 100th anniversary of Convention was held at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, WA. Beautiful hotel, amazing service, perfect location. Koral (the attached bar) has a great happy hour starting at 9 and wonderful staff. I was able to mingle with volunteers from every corner of the state, sit in on some great (and some boring) classes. I was in attendance when Gov Jay Inslee gave his speech about education funding.

Overall, a wonderful weekend.

May 2 - Skyline

Skyline

Day 2 - May Photo a Day Challenge: Skyline

My family took an overnight drive to Yakima, WA for part of our Spring Break. While there we decided to drive down to Maryhill to see a World War II memorial that is a replica of Stonehenge in England. While driving down Hwy 97 we stopped at this scenic outlook. Mr C had just learned about Washington landmarks in class (they had to make a cookie map replica of the state and use candy for landmarks) and we were happy to see Mt. Adams for the first time. I was even more happy that this shot of Mt Adams had an old house and trees in the foreground. I love taking photos of old homes and trees. I can sit back and let my imagination run wild about who lived there, how did they live and why is it abandoned now. My second favorite types of Skylines is anything with the sun!

 Bonus photo: sunset in Oregon

58/365

Sunday, February 28:

It started out as a decent PNW day. The sun was shining and it wasn't freezing cold (a blessing in these parts). I called my brother and his family to see if they wanted to play at a new park with us. He said Yes and we were on our way.

We went to Saint Edward State Park. It's in the Kenmore, WA area right on Lake Washington. There is a fabulous wooden playground with loads of things for the kids to climb on and run around in. There is a paved trail that would be perfect for bike riding (we never remember to bring bikes). And there are some hiking trails to meander on that lead down to the waterfront.

After consulting the map and not thinking too much about the level, we all (11 of us - 4 adults, 7 kids (4 of which are 4 years old)) headed down the "difficult" path that is .40 miles long. It was easy enough to walk down, there was no way in hell I was walking back up that thing without having a heart attack. Anyway, it's narrow and the left side is steep and the kids did a wonderful job "trying" to stay to the right and away from the heart pounding edges. We made it down without a single fall!! Woo Hoo!! Now it was time to try and keep them out of the water while they played at the edge. For one, it's cold. For two, they would whine all the way back up the path with their wet, soggy shoes and socks. For three, they are young and we are dumb.

Actually, they managed to stay dry and loved throwing rocks into the water. We watched a float plane come across the lake and land just out of sight. We waited for the sun to break back out, but it never did. I guess this is good because the .62 mile hike up the moderate trail was very sweat inducing. The kids whined the last little bit and asked to be carried. No freaking way! I told them they could stay there and look for bears, but I was heading to the top and there was no stopping to whine. As we neared the top, my brother Scott, got the fun idea to toss rocks and sticks into the woods on either side of us. The kids were constantly in a state of "what was that?" I asked, "was it a snipe?" "No!" "It was a bear!" That was the consensus of the youngest kids (the 5 that are 4 and 5 years old). They had fun looking into the woods and trying to spot something and were very ecstatic to realize we were at the top of the hike and back on the Seminary building.

Great fun was had by all. And the kids who were "so tired" "I'm dying" where full of energy to run back out on the playground to play some more. It's a very fun place to go spend some time on an early afternoon.

 

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. 

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.

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.