A Reminder of Times Long Past

There are certain things about being two-years-old that I don't remember, mostly because it's been nearly 27 years since I was a "terrible two". It's amazing how quickly a child changes as they change from a toddler to a full-fledged "big kid", as Maddie likes to call herself. Lately, Bradon has been a big reminder of just how fast those changes come about.

It seems like the boy has gone from just learning to walk to jabber-jawed big boy over the last two weeks. It started when we informed him that he and Maddie would be attending their first Mariners game. Bradon was already a big fan of Ichiro Suzuki and Adrian Beltre due to some well-placed posters that he sees first thing every morning. Now that he was going to see them in the flesh, he was pretty excited. He displayed his excitement by informing every stranger on the street that he'd be seeing "Ichiro and Beltre!" at the game. It really helped him out of his shell.

Another change that has come about is Bradon's knack for using longer sentences. It's not longer one word phrases, but near paragraph-long orations on what he did while I was at work. It's really interesting to hear what he has to say these days.

We love how he's changing. He's a little more of a handful, as his inquisitive nature has also bloomed some, but they're welcome changes. I'm anxious to see what else is waiting in the wings.

Wiggly Worms, Catch with Ichiro, and Needed Family Time

Here are some pictures of what's been happening with us over the past few weeks. Enjoy.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun








Like Father, Like Son








We're a Mariner Family








Rally Time!












Serious Fans








Look What Grandpa Taught Us!
















Can I Eat It?








Lunch on the Shore








Learning From Grandpa








This is How You Catch A Whopper












An Unwanted House Guest








Rufus the Ravager








Or Not

The Gentle Rocking of a John Deere

Another gap between posts, so another update and hollow promise of keeping this thing a little more up-to-date. I mean well, I really do, but things tend to get a little hectic around here and this tends to not be a top priority. Luckily for us, we were able to see and talk to some of you recently, so not all contact has been lost.

It was good to have Charlie and Debbie up recently. They came up to see to see us and then watch Madison in a dance recital, but there was a glitch in the recital plan. We ended up at Bonaparte Lake, where Charlie decided to school me on how to pull rainbow trout from the water. Score was 4-1 in favor of the senior circuit (heh heh). Everyone went, and we had a nice lunch consisting of Subways on the shore of the lake.

A few days after Charlie and Debbie left, Sarah and I took the kids to Seattle for their first Mariners game. Surprisingly, both Mads and Brado sat through the whole thing. Bradon even pretended he was playing catch with Ichiro, and would yell every time he would come out into right field. Needless to say, we all had a good time, especially since the M's won. Mads and I cheered when Franklin Gutierrez' grounder was booted by the Diamondbacks' shortstop, bringing in the game-winning run.

After the game, we all drove down to Tacoma to see Jared, Erin, the girls, and Charlie and Debbie. It was a short visit, as they were all getting ready to travel back to Utah for a few weeks while Jared is at the academy for his job. It was good to see them all.

Now we're back home, and things are back to normal, which means a hectic pace. Today, Bradon, Maddie and I mowed the front field. Bradon fell asleep during his turn.

I'll try to post some pictures soon, as I'm sure you're all anxious to see instead of read. It was good to see and talk to you all. Come back next week, ok? Same bat time, same bat channel.