It's hard to believe the year is drawing to a close. If the year had a theme, it would be status quo. Same city (we love you, Seattle!), same house (cracker box-style, kitchen too small), same pets (Gabby our needy golden retriever and Tony our extremely needy orange tabby), same cars (thank you Ford Motor Co. and reliable old Volvo), same jobs (Jake: keeper of editorial content at KIRO-TV; Jen: Geocaching HQ's legal dept). When Jen is in one of her restless moods, it all feels a bit static, but the truth is we rarely stayed still long enough to get unhappy or bored…
Unlike in years past, we left Alaska right after Christmas and started off 2013 in Roatan, Honduras. Warm water, white sand, fireworks and monkey-la-la's (google the drink's ingredients, seriously)--it was a great way to ring in 2013. With ice cream as an enticement, we actually managed to convince Willow to try snorkeling for about 30 secs. After returning from Honduras, we enjoyed a trip to Oregon's wine country and realized that we don't get down there near enough. Then, we headed to DC for Jake's Grandma's Sophie's 95th birthday blow out and a wonderful visit with family. In February, we had a visit from Grandma Bonnie, which included a fun day hike on Whidbey Island and the discovery of the area's best dog beach. Later that month, we took a drive through the Olympic National Forest and got our first look at snow since our visit to Alaska over Christmas. It was our Golden Retriever pup Gabby's first experience with snow ever. She liked it so much that a few weeks later while Grandpa Elliott was visiting, we headed up to Snoqualmie Pass after a big snowstorm. Gabby and Willow were in heaven. March was all about beach time. In early March, we managed to sneak in a trip to Monterey to play on the beach and at the aquarium and then thanks to a conference for Jake's work, we spent Jen's birthday in Florida with her aunts Mimi and Laura and got in a visit with Jake's cousin Marsha. For Passover and Easter weekend, we had Jen's parents in town. Jen cooked her first Passover Seder followed up by Easter egg decorating. It was such a mild winter in the Pacific Northwest, we ended up de-winterizing our sailboat in early March. Over Pass-ter or East-over weekend, we took Jen's parents to Spencer Spit on Lopez for a surprisingly warm day of playing on the beach. We proceeded to spend most weekends on the boat well into summer with a couple of long weekend trips up to one of our favorite destinations: Canada's Gulf Islands. Over the 4th of July weekend, Jen and Willow headed up to Alaska and Willow got to march in the Independence Day Parade with her cousins Jacob and Andrew. She also got to help set off fireworks with a little help from her Uncle Joe--thankfully she came back with all 10 fingers intact! When we got back from Alaska, we decided to have some adventures on land and did a great weekend trip along the beautiful North Cascades Highway. In August, we finally took in a Seattle Sounders game to see what all the hoopla was about (Seattle is soccer crazy). The crowd was a lot of fun but a little too scarf crazy for our tastes. The following month we headed to Rehoboth Beach, DE where Grandma Bonnie rented a terrific house next to the beach with a screened in porch perfect for sipping a beer and catching up with family (Joe, Joanne, Jasmine and Judy and Elliott joined us in Rehoboth). Willow loved the boardwalk and the arcade games. We even rented a four person bicycle and pedaled up and down the boardwalk. Once was about all we in the front (Jake & me), and doing all the work, could handle.
Willow turned 4 in October, which as she likes to tell us, immediately catapulted her to the ranks of "big girl". Although she likes to think of herself as a big girl, for us, this was really the year that she that she changed from being a toddler to being a little girl. It's hard to believe how fast our baby is growing up. She loves stories, demanding a Peagle the Seagull story at least three times a day. She switched to Our Beginnings daycare/preschool in Fremont near Jen's work early in the year after our nanny Miss Betty announced she was starting a school of her own. It turned out to be a good decision. The hours were much better, the food is nutritious and the school is trying really hard to live the Reggio Emilia teaching philosophy. Although, Willow seemed to make the transition seamlessly, I think it has been hard for her to form the sort of friendships she had with some of the girls from her first daycare (Alice and Eva). Willow did gymnastics, soccer, swimming and ballet at various times this year--all on Friday. She really seemed to take to swimming this year but then sort of lost interest toward the end of the summer. Sustaining her interest is difficult for more than a few months. She is getting bigger and bigger, and sometimes doesn't realize her own strength. But, she still loves being picked up ("uppy") and often wants to be cheek to cheek, making it difficult for the person carrying her to see where they are going.
Our newly minted "big girl" shared a birthday party with three friends from her class who all had birthdays within one day of each other. Jen put on her baker's hat and created a massive cake complete with three princesses and a castle. The girls celebrated (a week before her actual birthday due to scheduling issues with the other parents) with their classmates at Little Gym, the site of one of Willow's gymnastics classes. Not long after the birthday celebration, we headed out for a 7 day sailing charter in Belize with Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Elliott. To celebrate Willow's actual birthday, Jen carried cupcakes all the way to Belize; they melted about two seconds after being exposed to the humid tropical climate. Despite some wild weather, we had a wonderful time watching Willow fearlessly take to snorkeling. Despite a rather traumatic jellyfish sting, she jumped right back into the water the next day. We came back to Seattle just in time for Halloween. Willow dressed as a witch (but not the scary kind). In early November, we headed down to LA for the Breeder's Cup with Jen's family and a visit with Jake's cousin Jane her husband Jordan and their daughter Sydney. Thanksgiv-makuh, we spent we with Grandpa Elliott here in Seattle, enjoying our traditional cranberries 3-ways and an excellent turkey on the grill. In December, we enjoyed a trip down to Santa Barbara to visit Jen's college roommate and her family. The trip included a children's Christmas party where Santa arrived via helicopter, making reindeer seem much less interesting! Breaking with tradition, we are heading off to Loreto, Mexico for Christmas and New Year's with Jen's parents and Uncle Joe. Instead of egg nog, we'll raise a margarita to welcome the new year. All the best to you and yours in 2014--happy holidays!
Willow turned 4 in October, which as she likes to tell us, immediately catapulted her to the ranks of "big girl". Although she likes to think of herself as a big girl, for us, this was really the year that she that she changed from being a toddler to being a little girl. It's hard to believe how fast our baby is growing up. She loves stories, demanding a Peagle the Seagull story at least three times a day. She switched to Our Beginnings daycare/preschool in Fremont near Jen's work early in the year after our nanny Miss Betty announced she was starting a school of her own. It turned out to be a good decision. The hours were much better, the food is nutritious and the school is trying really hard to live the Reggio Emilia teaching philosophy. Although, Willow seemed to make the transition seamlessly, I think it has been hard for her to form the sort of friendships she had with some of the girls from her first daycare (Alice and Eva). Willow did gymnastics, soccer, swimming and ballet at various times this year--all on Friday. She really seemed to take to swimming this year but then sort of lost interest toward the end of the summer. Sustaining her interest is difficult for more than a few months. She is getting bigger and bigger, and sometimes doesn't realize her own strength. But, she still loves being picked up ("uppy") and often wants to be cheek to cheek, making it difficult for the person carrying her to see where they are going.
Our newly minted "big girl" shared a birthday party with three friends from her class who all had birthdays within one day of each other. Jen put on her baker's hat and created a massive cake complete with three princesses and a castle. The girls celebrated (a week before her actual birthday due to scheduling issues with the other parents) with their classmates at Little Gym, the site of one of Willow's gymnastics classes. Not long after the birthday celebration, we headed out for a 7 day sailing charter in Belize with Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Elliott. To celebrate Willow's actual birthday, Jen carried cupcakes all the way to Belize; they melted about two seconds after being exposed to the humid tropical climate. Despite some wild weather, we had a wonderful time watching Willow fearlessly take to snorkeling. Despite a rather traumatic jellyfish sting, she jumped right back into the water the next day. We came back to Seattle just in time for Halloween. Willow dressed as a witch (but not the scary kind). In early November, we headed down to LA for the Breeder's Cup with Jen's family and a visit with Jake's cousin Jane her husband Jordan and their daughter Sydney. Thanksgiv-makuh, we spent we with Grandpa Elliott here in Seattle, enjoying our traditional cranberries 3-ways and an excellent turkey on the grill. In December, we enjoyed a trip down to Santa Barbara to visit Jen's college roommate and her family. The trip included a children's Christmas party where Santa arrived via helicopter, making reindeer seem much less interesting! Breaking with tradition, we are heading off to Loreto, Mexico for Christmas and New Year's with Jen's parents and Uncle Joe. Instead of egg nog, we'll raise a margarita to welcome the new year. All the best to you and yours in 2014--happy holidays!
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