The Running Woman

Today was the Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon, and Meh braved both an early morning wakeup and the increasing rain to run the half with friend L from start to finish, in an impressive 2 hours 37 minutes -- congrats and hooray!

The boys and I met her afterwards at the always fun Seattle Children's Museum, where they have a fun new Lego exhibit (translation: tables and tables with lots of Lego and Duplo for the boys to play with), in addition to what I think was a new 'restaurant', 'grocery store' (the upscale Metropolitan Market no less), and the continuing favorite buses, fire trucks, and cars. We met friends A and K with sons E and R -- though by 'met', it was more an occasional wave as the kids tore through the various activities at the museum. Z was literally jumping out windows.

Yesterday Meh had to get into town to pick up her bib and chip for the race, so we decided to make a family outing of it and give the boys an opportunity to enjoy our sometimes underutilized public transportation options. We took the bus into the city (they really enjoyed and continued to talk about the "blue bus!"), and down into the fancy newly retrofitted underground tunnel at Westlake. Several equally fun elevators later, we were registering Meh for her race and picking up a few goodies (Z's favorite: a green cowbell) before the crowds got too hectic for the stroller. We then walked around downtown (where Z got drawn in by a large multi-track train storefront window display) and grabbed lunch while O somehow managed to have an epic nap through the whole visit. Another walk past the trains, and we were back down at the tunnel station, getting to enjoy wave after wave of passing light link rail trains while waiting for our bus home to arrive.

A turkey is a funny bird

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a nice gathering of twenty, including an impressive (perhaps mildly insane?) 7 kids under the age of 5. But they all did great, playing very nicely either together or scattered throughout the house, and we all had an enjoyable feast. Z learned a cute Thanksgiving song in school that ends with wild gobbling, and he recited it several times, with much giggling.
Meh of course did some epic cooking (I contributed the staple challah), as did all of our guests -- papa even came over yesterday to both contribute his culinary expertise and to help keep an eye on the ever curious Owen, who participated in the food prep work from his own play kitchen. It all turned out fantastic, and we were glad to be able to share the day with so many friends and family!

DIY

Grandma has been having a great visit with O and Z! O was very excited to meet her at the airport, pointing out all of the planes (and counting them: "1, 2, 9, 10, 11!") as we approached. There was a nice weekend featuring all of the kids' usual activities: playing with trains, cars, and O's newfound fascination with cooking (just in time for Thanksgiving!). And all three of the grandparents and Meh came to cheer on my orchestra's fall concert -- it was so wonderful having them all attend, and the whole audience was very supportive.

For the rest of the weekend, grandma got to come watch swim lessons (both boys were talking about and waving at her during their swims), and in addition to some wild playtime at the local mall, we got to have lunch here (O was ferociously chomping on the crusty bread, while Z was clearly ready for a nap and kept snuggling into the poor woman sitting a little further down the bench). It's been a very fun visit, and O in particular has been increasingly vocal about 'gamma' and the activities/toys he wants to share with her.

Speaking of increasingly vocal, also in the news (and the title of this post), O is starting to assert his independence to us. When I offer to help him with a jacket zipper, putting on shoes, or opening a "red cheese", he'll often say "do it yourself! do it yourself!" Sometimes this is followed by a very cute plea for "help.... plee-ayz!", but almost as often he manages all alone. And so it begins!

Challah for breakfast

Our roadtrip to Texas continued with the drive from Houston to Fort Worth. Unfortunately, stopping in the very fun Austin wasn't really an option -- the mapping software indicated it would nearly double our journey. Speaking of mapping software, I think the most challenging part of Texas might be all of the frontage roads for freeways - half of our directions ended up placing us on streets that apparently aren't really even streets. Anyway, so we travelled along the fairly non-descript I-45, making stops at scenic gas stations, sub shops, but also at a brand-spankin' new rest stop that featured, among other things, a giant sheet metal buffalo (O was entranced) and an excellent playground (both Z and O were excited to stretch their legs). I was amused to note that the playground's springy ground cover was actually a giant red, white, and blue Lone Star -- are they really that prevalent that some playground company manufactures them en masse, or was this custom for the rest stop?
Anyway, we arrived in Fort Worth (more specifically Benbook) after dark but did get to have a tasty pizza dinner with M and K (N was already asleep) before landing at our new hotel. Again, luck was with us: the room faced a gas station/truck stop with at least 4 big rigs parked outside for Z to enjoy in the morning. We then headed over to the S family, where Meh and the boys got to meet N for the very first time! She was initially shy, but warmed up to us pretty quickly. We all had a shared breakfast of challah french toast expertly prepared by M; friend C who we had been visiting previously on this trip in Houston had used my recipe and made an extra loaf for us to bring up to Fort Worth -- thanks C!
Then it was onward to the day's activities: a craft fair for the ladies (Meh had a great time and even discovered a new favorite jewelry artist), and a nice Fort Worth park for the dads and kids. O proceeded to sleep through the entire event, while Z swung and swung (he even started to get the hang of pumping his legs to go "faster!") and N alternated between slides, swinging, rocking, and climbing.
After tasty exclusive lunches out (Meh and K ate Texan barbecue, while the dads and kids had yummy Mexican), we all regrouped for a relaxing afternoon in the wonderfully warm (though I suppose M and K might argue cool when compared to the 100+ degree summers?) weather, taking a long stroll around the neighborhood with the kids, playing, reading books (Z was quite pleased to discover a prisitine copy of his favorite), and in general just chilaxing -- it was so nice to just stay put. Oh, and Owen and N went shopping around the house.
The last day of our trip started with Meh and K doing an extended run (Meh is prepping for the Seattle Half Marathon in a few weeks!) followed another lovely M and K produced breakfast. Then we headed to M's school for the grand tour; the large fountain was a big hit, as was a large grass field in which to run wild. Zachary and Owen were both calling the TCU horned frog statue a "dinosaur". Indeed.
After wrapping up our tour, we had a lovely group stop for ice cream before heading back to the airport. It was so great to catch up with M, K, and N (their own recollections here), and we hope to see them again very soon! All too soon we were saying goodbye to the "black car", wandering the many terminals, riding the airport train, eating lunch, and at long last catching our flight back -- both boys were still light on the sleep, but enjoyed watching "looootttts of big airplanes!", and Z even celebrated the flight by watching Curious George's airport adventure episode. An exhausting couple of days, but it was so so good to catch up with friends and family, and have a little Texas-sized adventure!

Houston, we have no problem

Back on the road as a family! The fares couldn't be beat and Z had a day off school, so we flew to Texas this past week to visit friends and family in Houston and Fort Worth. For the first time in a long time, our trip featured (gasp) no laptop. This was partially to try to keep our luggage size down a bit, but mostly because, who are we kidding, would we have any time to practically use a computer on the trip? But anyway, these next few entries will be blogged from home sweet home, where we arrived last night after a very good but jet lag-inducing (and somewhat sleep deprived) trip. Overall the boys did amazingly well with all of the transitions, travel, new places, and (for them) late nights.

As with many trips, this one featured nearly every mode of transportation by land even in the first few hours: the very familiar "blue car" (our car, graciously shuttled by papa), escalators and elevators through the airport terminal (both boys got to push the call buttons in turn), the airport's satellite train thing, and of course the airplane itself. Somehow this time around we managed to consolidate our luggage to a single checked bag -- I was pretty impressed, until I recognized what this made our carry-ons look like. (Not pictured: Z's own suitcase, this time functionally packed with the boys' clothes rather than toys.) Still, the gate-checked stroller made for a pretty good luggage cart.

Of course first we played at SeaTac's excellent play area to get some energy out, and then had to look at lots and lots of "biiig airplanes!" before they boarded us. On the plane, the boys were very happy; we opted for the window+middle seat configuration in two sequential rows, and both boys had great views of baggage carts, other planes, the takeoff, and Mount Rainier.

Z conked out about an hour in for a nice nap, though O continued to be squirmy and talkative through most of the flight.

This was Meh's first trip to Texas -- and one of her first experiences was us trucking the boys and collected luggage out to the rental car shuttle, where the driver helpfully offered to bring the "buggy" (stroller) up front. One more exciting-for-kids ride later, and we were picking up the "black car" and heading to visit friend C. It was great to catch up with her for dinner, and the boys had fun playing on her "soft couch". In fact, they spent much of the rest of the week (and have continued since we got home) talking about how much "I had fun with C".

The hotel turned out to be fabulous, featuring a suite with a separate living room that allowed Z to quietly play for a bit without disturbing O on our second night, with a very convenient breakfast spot downstairs, and even a heated pool (not hot enough for the boys though, who didn't last long) and hot tub. And the biggest unexpected score was that our room happend to face a busy highway (fairly well soundproofed), which gave Zachary and Owen alike hours of entertainment pointing out passing trucks, cement mixers, car carriers, and the like.

Our first full day started off, after said hotel breakfast involving as many Rice Krispies on the floor as consumed, with a trip to Houston's excellent Children's Museum. We've seen some in the past with "towns" the kids can play make believe in, but this one really outdoes itself. It's got its own currency -- and a bank (unsurprisingly, Chase is a sponsor) complete with little debit cards that the kids can take around to various stations (Z of course fell in love with the combination police station/forensics unit/ambulance) to either collect a paycheck or spend on utilities and the like. I think much of it is lost on even the older kids, but still, the clear advertising for loans is something I think all banks could take to heart. The museum also featured plenty of science projects (the boys both liked the science fictiony, electric arcing Jacob's ladder), a shiny red car with cutaway door gears, exhibits of little houses from around the world around showing their Chrismahanukwanzakah observances, an outdoor water exhibit, and a steam locomotive in the lobby.

Though the boys were starting to get a bit weary, we hit one of Houston's kosher meat restaurants for a tasty lunch before heading back to the hotel for a nap. The restaurant owner (also a dad) came out and entertained the boys for a bit, and even helped me rescue a tiny Lego piece that would have otherwise gone missing on our way out.

After resting up for a while, we drove up to meet the boys' Uncle J, who's living north of Houston, for dinner. Meh suggested wanting to go somewhere 'fun and Texan', and I stumbled onto this eclectic option. It definitely didn't disappoint with random wood panelling, a carriage parked in the middle of the place, and an entire wedding party having their rehearsal as O and I scooted around them to hit the salad bar. Meh reported that there was a stuffed armadillo that O apparently pointed to and said "dinosaur!". It was great to catch up with Uncle J, even if only for dinner, and we hope we get to see him again soon!

Friday morning, after breakfast with C one more time, we were off on our cross-state drive to visit friends M, K, and N in Fort Worth -- more on that half of our trip in our next post!

Boys (2), Man

Meh is on a long-deserved and anticipated vacation with friends down on the Oregon coast, in Goonies territory no less -- apparently with the famous ocean rock formations visible from the house where they're staying. We've only chatted once, but it sounds like she's having a fabulous time! In the meantime the boys and I have been having a fun and busy guys' weekend; Mima and Papa have been exceptionally supportive as well, meeting up with us yesterday for lunch and hanging out, and today they watched one boy while I'd take the other one to his swimming lessons. When O asks where mommy is, I've tried to explain that she's in Oregon, and he's now very cutely started saying "mommy in Oh-reh-gun".
The primary challenge has been sleep; nobody's been sleeping well (and that's relative to our usual somewhat poor sleep schedule even when we're all home). Friday night we all ended up crashing in Z's bed when first O and then Z woke up and couldn't sleep. Last night Z slept through but O was up repeatedly, including both 2 am PDT and 2 am PST -- yup, that Daylight Saving Time change that everyone describes as giving us "an extra hour of sleep" was more about an extra hour for O to be awake -- and an hour earlier for the boys to be up this morning, ugh! But beyond sleep, we've been having a great time running errands, hanging out, and getting to play with mima and papa.

This coming Wednesday features our family's first flight featuring four separate airplane seats (hooray for non-crazy fares!), deep into the heart of Texas. We're looking forward to visiting with friends C (Houston), the boys' Uncle J (outside of Houston), and then M, K, and their daughter N (Fort Worth). On that topic, M's birthday was this past week, and when I mentioned that to Meh, the boys overheard and started singing; I caught the encore performance on camera: