Anniversary

Eleven years ago Trey and I got married.

It was a super stormy day in West Bloomfield, Michigan...I stayed in a hotel the night before with some girl friends and woke up to no electricity and in a state of panic. Trey had his boys-only party the night before and came to pick me up with one of his good friends. We made our way, rather nervously, to Mike and Rebecca's house where we were to have the ceremony...outside...after a big storm.
My parents brought the cake with them as one of their friends made it for us...they had to drive 2 hours to get to the ceremony and were stuck in some fierce traffic...needless to say, the cake didn't look so good when we unloaded it from the truck of the car...I did, however, hear that it tasted just fine.
We did things a little different and had the reception before the wedding. All our close friends and family members joined us at a great restaurant where I believe they all ate rather good food...I have no memories of the food as I was preoccupied with getting married (and hiding the fact that we were 3 months pregnant). The only folks who knew about our early surprise were the pastor and his wife, who also happened to be my Aunt and Uncle.
It's amazing how you can be so ready for that day and yet have no idea what you're really, actually getting yourselves into. We started this marriage in Ann Arbor, Michigan then, after August was 12 months old, we packed up our meager belongings and our little boy and moved across country to Seattle, Washington. We found a great apartment on the ground floor of a cool brick building and began our life in the NW. That apartment served us well for 7 years, we sent August to kindergarten and brought Hazel home to that building. We could walk to the zoo, several coffee shops and our friends house from that building but it was time to move again, so we found a house in a wonderful neighborhood and can now walk the kids to school everyday.
Trey and I have so much to be thankful for...two great children, a nice house, these stinking dogs and we still love each other!
We can't forget friends and family, like you dear Reader...we are so thankful for you.

And if you were one of the very few folks who can count yourselves among our limited witnesses to our ceremony...we love you and are so lucky to have you in our lives.
Thanks for being a part of our 11 year journey together...let's have a big party when we make it to our 15th anniversary, k?

The Kids

I recorded this a few weeks ago but have been having problems uploading so I'm trying vimeo (thanks Tania...totally copied you!):
End of Year Project with August:

August from Jennifer Many on Vimeo.

Magic Trick by Hazel:

Hazel from Jennifer Many on Vimeo.

Summer Trips

Well, with the warm weather these last few days, who can blame me for thinking about all that we'll be doing over the summer?
I'm poking around the internet lately to find some fun outdoor activities for when Amy, Zane and Audrey come to town...found this NW Trek thing...anybody know anything about it? It looks like it could be a pretty cool day trip, right?
Anybody have other ideas? We'll probably head out to the Edmonds beach, you know, the one by the ferry dock...that way we'll be able to see the new Bazan baby AND play in the sand and water all in one trip!
We've lived in Seattle for almost 10 years now and I feel like we haven't done much exploring! Help a girl out!!

Sasquatch 2009

This was our view behind the main stage. There was this big hill we climbed to get to the two other stages but the great thing was that it was totally behind the scenes...we didn't have to be in the mass crowd with all those sweaty bodies...yuck!
We stayed at Cave B Inn in one of their Cliff houses. It's one of my favorite places to stay...in fact, I wouldn't really go to Sasquatch if we weren't staying at the winery. It's just so nice to be able to head back to a cool shower in the middle of the day.
Grapes on the vine and a side view of other Cliff houses.
The pool that we never went it...I'm hoping that we take the kids with us next year and spend many hours between seeing bands and swimming in this pool.
Chatting in the backyard of Adam and Lynn's Cliff house. They hosted a really great brunch on Sunday morning...
Yeah! Sunshine on my shoulders....makes me happy!!
On stage for....oh, I don't remember...maybe Fleet Foxes?
The Billions crew at a photo shoot.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Well shoot! I had these great plans where I'd post a video everyday this week but the darn blogger thing just isn't working right and I can't get it to load the freaking things...I've tried for two nights people! It's just not working!!
Wait! I just uploaded them to YouTube and I think I can embed them here:


Tuesday really did nothing for us. School, laundry, crummy weather with the promise of warmer temps to come...



Today I had to hang around the house all day because we were supposed to get a couch delivered from IKEA for the downstairs room. I waited and waited and waited and then got a call about a half hour to the cut off time telling me that they were running an hour late. I couldn't wait past that time because August had an Ultimate Frisbee game so poor Trey had to leave work early to make sure we actually got the darn couch. Now we've never bought a couch from IKEA and I guess we thought that it would come assembled...ummm, nope! This freaking couch is in pieces on the ground. And, yup, that sound you hear coming from the downstairs room? Yup, that's Trey. Yup, he's using words that would make your ears bleed. Good Times!

Monday

There are times when things seem to be going along rather smoothly. During these times I have to pause and really notice them.
This afternoon the kids finished up their homework without much fussing...which is a rare thing round these parts. Once they were finished I suddenly realized that all was quiet still. I remember a time when quiet kids meant that they were getting into trouble, but these days, it's a wonderful sign. Silence means that they are both involved in something that is holding their interest:

SUNday

What a great day...weather wise anyway...August has officially entered into a very mouthy/attitude/gross phase. Every word that comes out of his mouth is loaded with some sort of mean spirited oozing substance that cuts to the bone.
Trey and I are trying to avoid confrontation with this new version of our son but it's hard to do this when every conversation leads to a fight.
He looks happy in this picture, right? But then his team lost...again...and BAM! Spawn of Satan.

But the weather was good. 72 degrees...that's perfect in my book.
Did some weeding while Trey took the dogs to the dog park. August had the backyard neighbor over to play wii while Hazel went to the other neighbors house to watch them while they put a chicken coop together. She's over the moon about little baby chicken being right over the fence.
And look! My first Lily of the Valley!!

Super Sunny Saturday

Didn't do much today.
Took the dogs to the dog park where Hazel and August complained that it was too hot...to which I quickly told them to zip it!
No games to attend, no practices to rush off to...just a nice relaxing Saturday.

We had a PTA event to attend in the evening and had a new kid sitter come by for the night. She brought her twin sister with her so the kids got some good one on one time with college girls.
Trey and I bought an evening out with some other school parents so we headed out for a little schmoozing. And then we went down to Crapital Hill and met up with some friends.

It was a good night.

Fabulous Friday

I wore a bright orange dress on Friday.
Hazel picked it out for me saying that I wore too much black and why couldn't I "just wear some color sometime?" So we looked in my closet and sure enough...loads of black and very few colors. The next time I went shopping I brought Hazel with me and told her that she could pick a dress. She picked a bright orange dress.
The weather was beautiful on Friday so I thought I'd go for it and put it on after my workout...
It's actually hard to know if it was a hit because the folks at school were probably just shocked to see color on me, but while I was distributing DVDs from the play I was bombarded with compliments. The dress was from the gap and unfortunately a piece of it fell off by the end of the day but I think I can fix it. Hazel was so proud of me for wearing such a vibrant dress though.

Hazel had a Daisy meeting right after school that ended at 5pm. August had Ultimate Frisbee around that time so I played taxi driver and dropped August off at a team mates house and then rushed over to pick up Hazel and then off again to drop her off at a Nanny Night back at the school. Then rushed over to Magnuson to catch the last part of August's game only to rush him back to the school for Nanny Night before meeting up with Trey to grab a bite to eat.
We ended up going to this little neighborhood hole in the wall called La Casa De Mojito. It's a Latin American restaurant with really good mojitos.

It was a pretty good Friday night.

Sun Break Thursday

When we first moved to the Great Northwest I was told of days like this...days where it starts out rainy and cold but then, about half way through, the sky clears up and the sun pours down. On days like this, I was told, people left work early and just went outside to soak in the sun.
I remember working at the JCC when this would happen. The little 2 year olds would wake up from their naps and see that the sun had made an appearance and they would leap from their nap mats and head towards the back door. I'm not making this up...it really happens.

I worked at the kids school this morning. Just did a half day. I was scheduled to work in Hazel's classroom and was very excited to be there as many of the kids I taught last year ended up in her class. Upon arrival this morning I was greeted with some family emergencies and a room swap. Not really a big deal for me and I didn't think it would be a problem for Hazel...until she quietly asked me why I wasn't going to be her teacher today. I explained that there were too many teachers out and that they needed to put me in another room. She was quiet for a minute, until I heard her sobbing. She said (between huge tears), "I'm just so disappointed!"
Poor Hazel.
I checked in on her before I left and she was having a perfectly fine day.

August had his monthly ortho appointment this morning. Trey was able to take him as I often find that I mistakenly take a job when August is supposed to be in the office.
I told August that we could have burgers tonight...he's been craving them for the last few days. We picked them up from Whole Foods and turned the grill on...they were delish!

The sun is still shining down on us:
And I'm loving it!

Rain, Rain, go away Wednesday

Well, it's raining today.

Hazel had a quick dentist appointment this morning where she had to have that nasty stuff painted on her back teeth...yuck! The visit was so quick that the kids made it to school on time, which is nice.
August is having a friend over after school today. He's on the same Ultimate Frisbee team and we've been carpooling to and from the practices.
Trey called from work today to ask if I wanted to go see Flight of the Concords...ummmm, yep! So I began the pleading and begging for a sitter that often occurs whenever I want to go out without the kids. We have a great gal who comes out on Thursday nights on a regular basis so I'm not really complaining...I'm just saying...it's times like these, when I really wanna do something without much planning that I really hate. After many texts and phone calls I was able to nail a sitter down! So I'll be dropping the poor boys off for practice in the rain, dropping Hazel back off at the house with the sitter and booking it downtown for the show. It's gonna be fun!

Partly Sunny Tuesday

Yup...the sun broke through again today if you can believe it!
Trey and I met up at noon to see Star Trek finally...liked it a lot.
Picked the dogs up after leaving them in their kennel all day.
Picked the kids up after leaving them at school all day.
Went to the dog park.
And that was our day.

Last night we had salmon with new potatoes and mushrooms. I looked over the recipe (from Cooking Light) and thought that August would probably be able to make this meal with me...so we set to work. He washed the potatoes and mushrooms and cut them all in half. He tossed them in olive oil and put them on the pan to roast for 20 minutes. He helped de-bone the salmon and get it ready to roast. It was pretty good. And I liked having him in the kitchen, I think he's really turning a corner in life where he has confidence and really wants to help.

Tonight Hazel and I made a salad (also from Cooking Light...thanks grandma Klier!). Now many of you know that my kids aren't very adventurous when it comes to trying new things...and salad really isn't a dinner item that they enjoy eating. This is a salad they will eat.
Hazel rinsed the lettuce and spinach. She mixed the red wine vinegar with the sugar and salt and pepper and olive oil, and then I cut the strawberries and chicken. The salad also calls for blue cheese (but I opted for goat cheese) and cashews. Yum!

Sunny Monday

The sun came out today...I think God heard me when I sighed this morning at the thought of another cloudy, rainy, cold day. It started out pretty gloomy but ended up nice and sunny and just what my spirit needed.
The kids and I just could not stand the idea of going home after school so we ran a few errands and then went to Dahl Field for a bit of tree climbing and monkey barring.

Hootenanny 2009

I'm officially done!

I took on some big jobs at the kids school this year...I produced the play, which was a big, BIG job...and I put on the Hootenanny for the 3rd year running.
The Hootenanny can pretty much run itself as it's really just a glorified talent show. OV has some kinda talent, let me tell you...we had a little boy sing "Dancing Queen" this year....it was enough to bring you to tears...also had a family sing "If I had a Million Dollars" a quick witted "Who's on First" skit and some tap dancing, also had some unicycling and a family who did a Hula-hoop performance...it was great.
The Many Family Singers performed a song made famous by the Flaming Lips called "Yoshimi":

My Day with Hazel part 2

This is how much I love this little girl.
After the Aquarium we went to the movies. It stormed all night and
continued to rain on and off all morning so it was the perfect day for
a movie...
She's a happy girl today!

My Day with Hazel

Hazel went to the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor this morning. She was
very brave so we took the day off and went to the Seattle Aquarium.
She touched all kinds of sea life and got to see Olive Oyl the octopus
get fed.

Bazan Baby Shower

Baby shower pictures are up at my MyGallery. Enjoy!

Thanks for making it a great shower...

Too Much Time On Line

Man! You can find anything on the internet...Trey came home with this A-MAZING website full of all these old, out of print Christian albums. I've unfortunately spent waay too much time clicking on each record from my past. I'll be honest: I downloaded the Evie Christmas album and it brought a tear to my eye.

Go ahead...click around...
http://flipsidemn.blogspot.com/