windthefrog

reunion!!

OK, I am rededicating myself to posting. There will be a lot of catching up but for now, photos of our super fun reunion BBQ last weekend in Pleasanton! The last time we all got together, Brynne and Nick were newborns and Brianna and Evan weren't born yet. That is waaaay too long to not see each other! Since Lynn and Jose and crew were down from Oregon the time was right for a get together. We had a blast at Dan and Cyndi's amazing pool and enjoyed catching up. Here are a few photos from the day:

Isn't the backyard amazing? Do you think they'll mind if I move in?

Theresa, Lynn and Cyndi trying to stay cool. I of course am not in any photos because I was always behind the camera!

The men, trying to stay cool. Except for Jose, who was slaving over a hot BBQ to bring us a wonderful lunch.

I was so thrilled to get a shot of all the kids. It wasn't until a minute ago that I realized, where is Andy?? This must be a constant question when you have more kids than two. They are quick little suckers and it's hard to keep track of them all! So, I bring you a shot of almost all of the kids:

You can see the grownups trying to stay cool all huddled under this umbrella. Note Jose's expression: this is the face of a dad trying to make sure his youngest doesn't drown. He takes his job seriously.

I love this shot.

Such a cutie : )

I can't get over how grown up these girls are!

I remember Rich and I taking care of KC one night when she was a newborn so Brian and Theresa could go out. And now she is this beautiful young woman. I used to always hate it when my parents' friends would go on and on about how grown up I had gotten, but it just has to be done. : )

Mr. Handsome!!!

In happier times before Brynne's near back-breaking dive into the innertube...

This shot is on here because there's a sliver of Andy in it. I have to prove he was there!

I love the hairdos!

I wish you could hear the screaming when Rich would spin them around on the innertube. Look at those open mouths!

What a fantastic day. We absolutely can NOT let 8 years pass by again without us all getting together!

beachin' it

Erik arranged for us to stay in Coronado for a few days and hit the beach. Since this is the rainy season, rates are reasonable and crowds are small. It turned out that for our whole visit we had the BEST weather! Kind of like every time we used to visit in Seattle and the weather would be awesome. And as for people, there were none. We were the only people on the beach, the only people at the pool, Coronado was our town while we were there. : )

Erik got us all up on surfboards!

The beach was so relaxing. The girls collected shells and made beautiful sandcastles and the boys only came out of the water to eat. I tested my theory on whether Corona tastes better in a hammock. Answer: yes.

There are tons and tons more beach and pool photos in the whole Panama album. You can see them all here.

when in Panama...

At first, Garrett wasn't super thrilled about trying new things or embracing local cuisine. While Jenny and I were at the little local "mini-super" grocery store (not our mojito giving store), we spied a package of lychees and we hatched a plan to convince Garrett that this was our dinner. We clued Liam into the plan and Jenny called the kids to the table. The look on Garrett's face as Jenny gaily announced that the Pickled Panamanian Sea Urchins were served was priceless!

You could feel Garrett's relief when the joke was up - but after that, all the kids tried - and liked - the lychee fruit inside.

random things about Panama

There's no new money to learn, or exchange rates to worry about. They don't even print their own paper money here; they still use American dollars. And then I'm not sure why they bother to mint any coins as they look suspiciously like quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. They're worth the same and are interchangeable with American coins.

We spent a lot of time dashing into the Rey, the supermarket down the street, for an item or two. And who could blame us - they have Barcardi people in the booze aisle making full sized mojito samples! I’m pretty sure if I lived there I'd have a drinking shopping problem. : )

All the houses are super brightly colored. There is no sea of beige houses like where we live, that’s for sure. They pick a color and go for it! These aren't the best examples, but I forgot to take some photos earlier.

We were all laughing at the billboard advertising. MeringCarson should open a satellite office. The boys especially loved the Huggies denim look diapers. I meant to look for them at the Rey, but the mojitos just have gone to my head and i forgot! Mia and Raigan will have to do without now. : )

Critters. There are a lot of critters in Panama. Luckily, we left before the cockroaches invaded casa Ward.These large ratlike creatures called nekes (i don't know how to spell it and couldn't find it online) wander around in their backyard. We also spotted milipedes, geckos, turtles, creepy spiders, and iguanas in the wild. The rest of the wild critters we had to see in the zoo. : )

Wounaan Indian Village

Jenny arranged for us to go visit the Wounaan Indian tribe with some of her friends. Amazing! I was hoping the kids would get to have some sort of cultural experience while we were in Panama, and this was it. We drove about 30 minutes to Gamboa, where after tense negotiations to let us in the place, we were met by some of the men and two boats. They loaded us up on the boats and we set off for their village. Upon setting off, the boats have to get through a lot of thick plants that are growing on top of the water. They have these beautiful purple flowers on them, which apparently the turtles like to eat. There are also a lot of bugs in these plants, so when the boats started going through, we were pelted by bugs. Crazy! Here’s one that landed on Garrett’s pants:

Doesn’t this place look unreal? I felt like we were on Survivor – though luckily we didn’t have to eat anything weird or make any alliances to stay on the island.

The village was amazing. They have gotten running water to the village in recent years and have a dirt soccer pitch Rich was impressed with. It was so good to show the kids that the way we live is not the way everyone lives.

The kids in the village were so cute and I was tempted to take home this little guy. What a charmer:

First we went on a hike through the jungle. This was the only time on the whole trip when I was truly HOT. Before we left for Panama, Brynne managed to get about 50 mosquito bites on her arms and face in her own room one night, poor thing, so I was a little worried about her in the jungle. I forced us to wear long sleeves and pants since the bugs love us - so of course we were roasting. But we learned about so many cool trees and plants and how the people use them for medicines. I was obsessed with the leafcutter ants. Why are regular ants boring, but ants doing this job somehow very cool? I don't know.

The kids also got to weave baskets with some help from the experts. These baskets the kids made aren't like the baskets that the Wounaan make for their livelihood, which are AMAZING - they are woven so tightly that they are watertight. There was one basket woven with butterflies on it that I am still thinking about. The woman had been working on it for months; it was truly a work of art. I wish I had thought to take a photo of it.

Anwyay, after the basket making we watched them do their traditional dances which then they showed the kids how to do.

Later that evening, we were asking the kids what their favorite part of the day had been. Both Zoe and Brynne said making baskets. Garrett and Liam both said finally being home and getting to play Gameboy. If there were an Olympic sport called Synchronized Freakout, the team of Jenny Ward and Christie Spencer would have taken the gold. At the exact same moment we both lost our minds and the Gameboys were revoked for the rest of the trip. Are you KIDDING me?? We give you this amazing day and the best part is having your face in that dumb game again? I don't think so.

panama - part 1

Ever since we visited Erik and Jenny in Seattle, we knew we wanted to find a way to see them in Panama. Little did we know the chance would come so soon! We were so lucky to be given the opportunity to go by Dad and Charlene, who gave us airline tickets. From the moment the plan was hatched, Jenny began her plan of action – getting her new house ready to hold us all, and coming up with activities to do.

The departure day arrived in a flurry of packing, cleaning, finishing work and suddenly it was time to leave. We had to leave at 2a.m. to get to San Francisco Airport in time for our 6 a.m. flight, so I just stayed up getting ready until 2. The kids were awesome travelers the whole 18-hour journey. Total troopers. In fact, I think we could have left Brynne in Houston on these moving sidewalks and she would have thought the journey a success. And Garrett found an outlet at our gate so he and his Gameboy were pretty happy, too.

The next day, Erik was at work and the kids were at school so Jenny took us to the Miraflores Locks which are right across from where the kids go to school. We went up to the observation deck and…nothing! There was not a ship to be found as far as the eye could see. Considering that there is a 2-month waiting list to go through the locks and they are open 24/7, this was a little odd.


It was hilarious that every other time we drove past the locks, you could see that giant container ships were in there, mocking us. Darn it! Oh well – we got a more rare sight. : )  The kids loved the museum – especially the simulator where they could steer a ship through the locks.

live from salt lake city

I feel ever so Cathy or Ali blogging from the airport! Since I have about 6 hours to kill in this lovely place I paid the 8 bucks for a wireless connection. Now I feel obilgated to do something with it beyond read other peoples' blogs. I wish you could see me, typing away on the floor behind a lovely potted ficus tree in this weird connector hallway, away from all the noise of the gates. Shoes are off, headphones are on, I had my apple and my wheat thins and life is good : )  Just to prove it, I just looked like a mega dork and took a picture of new home away from home, but realized that my camera cord is packed in my suitcase. I'll post it later.

Why am I in the Salt Lake City airport? Because it turns out that it's a lot easier to get into Billings, Montana than out of it. I flew out to see Jaymee and go to her baby shower. When I priced flights it was about $500 - yikes - but then Jaymee's friend said she was able to get me a buddy pass if I few standby. Deal! And it was great, on the way to Billings - the way back, not so much. Mom and I got up at the butt crack of dawn to catch the 6:30 flight this morning to find that it was oversold. As was the 8:00 flight. : (  Dereck was nice enough to pick us back up and take us home for a few hours where we could nap and stock up on snacks before trying again for the 1:00 flight. That one was much better and we made it to SLC no problem. Mom got right on her connecting flight, but I was not so lucky. The perky gate agent told me I'll have no trouble getting on the 9pm flight though! Uh... thanks, I guess... The kicker? I have to turn around and catch a flight to San Diego tomorrow morning at 6am. Good times.

But speaking of good times, the trip to Montana was great. I hadn't seen Jaymee in almost a year and a half - an eternity for us! It was great to see her house, meet her neighbors, see where she works, etc. Now I'll have a clear mental picture when I'm talking to her.

I'll post more about the trip later - with pictures - but right now my butt is numb and I have to attempt to get up. : )