Although her actual birthday was yesterday, it was today that we celebrated Elise turning 4. Like last year, we hosted her party at home, but instead of going with a bouncy house, we hosted a “Mermaid party”, per Elise’s request. My Mom arrived from Las Vegas yesterday to spend a long weekend with us, and we haven’t seen her since the family reunion last year, so it’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a while.
Before Elise decided on having a Mermaid party, the original plan was to have a “Dragons love tacos” party, in honor of our favorite book series. Obviously that meant we would be making tacos to eat, but then Elise changed her mind regarding the party’s theme. Rather than coming up with a Mermaid-themed menu, I opted to stick it out with the tacos. But don’t worry because Jessica did an excellent job putting up all kinds of Mermaid decorations. There were paper-mache jellyfish and octopus, mermaid-painted rocks for guests to take, a swimming pool, shell table, and Mermaid pictures drawn by the girls. It all came together quite nicely.
Rather than order a cake from the store, Jessica found someone to make us a custom Mermaid cake, and it ended up being not only beautiful, but delicious too. Cutting and serving it turned out to be a bit more challenging than I was expecting (because it was 3 layers and quite tall), but luckily I had Kristy and Dana there to back me up. I actually got momentarily “fired” from cake cutting, but it was only my first slice, so I think I deserve a little leeway there.
It was nice and warm outside, so the kids all enjoyed splashing around in our inflatable pool. On the food end, we had three meat options for tacos (ground turkey, shredded chicken, and beef carne asada), homemade guacamole, rice, beans, chips, salsa, and all the toppings, but I think it’s safe to say that Jessica’s “Cookie Monster dip” was the star of the show.
As far as guests, in addition to my Mom we had Jim, Brenda, and Kristy, the O’Hair’s, the Palmers, our next-door neighbors the Schreiber’s, Greg and his two kids, and Dana’s whole family, which was such a nice surprise. I knew we’d see Dana but wasn’t sure beyond that, so to see Anna, Kallan, and Brad too was great. Leon was taking pictures so hopefully we’ll get to see those soon.
The party was great, and most importantly, the birthday girl had a great time. She’s grown up a lot in the last year and I can’t believe she’s already 4. Getting to see her, Ava, and Enzo, having so much fun with all their friends and family is what it’s all about.
Beyond that things have been going great for us. Most importantly, Jessica has recovered so well from her neck surgery. She wore the neck brace for 3 weeks after surgery, and is now doing physical therapy. Everything is looking perfect, so that’s been a huge relief.
The kids are enjoying their summer and have been keeping busy. The girls had a great time on their road trip with Grandma and Grandpa Martin, and Jessica and I got some nice quality time with Enzo while they were away.
Ava is doing hockey now on Sundays directly before I play, so I’ve been taking her, then Jessica and the kids come pick her up while I stay for my game. Tomorrow, however, all of us (including Nana) are going to hockey so Nana can see her skate in person. So far her hockey classes have been only about skating, but soon I’m going to get her a little stick so we can start going to stick & puck sessions together (which are like public skates for hockey players) to practice.
My Mom will be staying with us until Wednesday, so I’m taking Monday and Tuesday off work. The plan is to stay busy doing fun stuff each day, and the forecast looks beautiful, so we should be in good shape. I think we’re going to the zoo Monday or Tuesday, and I’ll be doing homemade pizza one night, just like we did for Enzo’s birthday party back in January.
We’ve got some good stuff to look forward to as well. Next Saturday we’re going to Jim & Brenda’s to go swimming with them, Kristy, and Madi. Then the following weekend Jessica and I will be spending my birthday at the Wine Country Blues Festival at Chateau St. Michelle in Woodinville.
It’s actually pretty funny how this turned out. There’s several classic blues artists performing, including John Mayall and Charlie Musselwhite, but the headliner is Buddy Guy, whom we were supposed to see last year with Jeff Beck at the Zoo Summer concert series. For some reason he never showed up to perform for that show, and so has remained on my concert bucket list. He’s in his 70’s, so who knows how much longer he’ll be touring. Strangely enough, we share the same birthday, so he’ll be headlining this festival on his birthday, and I’ll be there enjoying it, on my birthday. Should be a great show. Now here’s where it gets really funny – I was talking to my sister Dana about this today during Elise’s party, and it turns out that her, Brad, and Kallan are also going to that show, so we’ll get to hang out with them there. I’m assuming this will be a great birthday.
Further out, in August, we’ve got a weekend at the O’Hair’s cabin on Hood’s Head Island to look forward to, as well as a Kings Of Leon concert at the Gorge that Jessica and I will be attending. So yeah, all is well.
I’m sure there will be better photos to share once I get Leon’s pics, but here’s a few recent ones for now, as well as a video of everyone singing Elise “Happy Birthday”. To our birthday girl, we love you to the moon and hope you had a great 4th birthday. Enjoy the pics.
I’ve been meaning to write a post for a couple weeks now, but things have been a little out of the ordinary in our world lately, and the old blog often ends up on the back burner. Two weeks ago Jessica ended up having neck surgery to correct a “massive herniation” at the C6-C7 discs in the base of her neck. The pressure on her spine was pinching the nerve that runs down your left arm, into your thumb and first two fingers. They ended up fusing the discs and relieving the pressure on the spine, which provided instant relief to all the pain she had been experiencing. Everything went perfectly well so now it’s just about recovery.
It seems like something of this nature should require a night in the hospital, but they’ve got it down to such a science that it was actually just day surgery, and she was able to come home about 4 hours later. Since then she’s been wearing a neck brace and will continue to do so for another 8 or 9 days. She wears it 24 hours a day, minus the occasional 5 minute break, or shower.
So far everything seems to be going well for her recovery, and we’re right on track. She’ll have to do physical therapy, but not until she’s been cleared of the neck brace, so that’s the main upcoming milestone right now. It’s tough not being able to lift the kids, or look side-to-side, but she’s been a champ about everything and is doing well. I think the kids deserve a lot of credit too in how they’ve adjusted to her in recovery. The girls especially have gone out of their way to be helpful to Mommy, and both seem to revel in accomplishment after doing something Mommy asks of them.
Beyond the obvious with Jessica’s surgery, we’ve had, and continue to have, a lot going on. The week before Jessica’s surgery we were visited by Grandpa Rick and Grandma Chris for nearly a week. It was great getting to spend time with them, and of course we ate well throughout the visit. Rick made us a great steak dinner one night at home, then the following night I made homemade pizza, just like we did for Enzo’s birthday party. We had Butch and Carol over to visit that night and it was great getting caught up with them. The following night I did my best to make a nice seafood dinner and was really happy with how everything turned out.
Since it was Memorial Day weekend, we all ended up going to something called “Tankfest”, which was this huge military exhibit filled with tanks, planes, helicopters, guns, etc. There were all kinds of people dressed up in military uniforms from various eras and countries. They were even acting out battle scenes. At times it felt like you were walking through a time warp. They would even fire the tanks (with blanks of course), and the shock of the sound of that huge gun going off was a bit scary.
The following day, after Rick and Chris had left, we spent the day at Kristy’s doing a Memorial Day BBQ. A few months ago Kristy purchased a Groupon for herself, Jessica, and I to go racing at an outdoor go kart track. It’s a full-sized track (one lap is one mile) and the go karts are quite powerful, capable of hitting 55 mph. So, we basically dropped the kids off with Jim, Brenda, and Madi, then all headed out to the racetrack. Jessica hadn’t had surgery yet at this point, but was in no shape to be out racing, so Kristy brought a friend along to fill in. At least Jess was still there cheering us on and taking photos. I’ve never raced at this speed before, but it ended up being a blast and I definitely want to do it again.
After that we all went back to Kristy’s house for food, lots of badminton, and hanging out in the nice weather. Oh, and fixing the screen door that Ava ran into and broke. Jim and I made a trip to Lowe’s, and like 3 trips to his garage, which is only a few minutes away, working on fitting the door with higher quality rollers. It was a bit of a production, but also a bit of fun. I’m afraid to find out how it’s currently doing, but I guess I’ll hear when we see them tomorrow.
Today we spent the day with our friends the Palmers, and celebrated their son Miles’ 4th birthday. This was our second time hanging out at their new place, which is up in the farm country of Sedro Woolley. They’re renovating the house and doing a lot of work on the property, so it’s cool to see all the progress they’re making. They had a huge bouncy house (literally twice as big as the one we had last year for Elise’s party) and a bunch of food, so we all just hung out all day while the kids bounced, played, and fought over various random toys that all became important as soon as someone showed an interest in them. It was a great day, and Leon had his camera out, so I can’t wait to see the photos. Strangely enough, the photos included with this post were all taken by Leon on our last visit to their place, which was on Easter Sunday.
Tomorrow is Father’s Day, so it would only be fitting the we attend the Father’s Day Car Show in Burien with Jim, Brenda, and Kristy. This has become a new tradition over the past few years, and I always look forward to it. The weather is supposed to be good, and the turnout of cars is always impressive, so I’m sure it will be fun. Then later in the afternoon, Ava will be having her first hockey lesson. It’s the kids version of the Learn to play Hockey series at the Everett Community Ice Rink. I’m doing the adult program, and now Ava is starting in Level 1 of the kids program. She’s super excited and I think it will be a nice Father’s Day treat for me to see her start on that day. Then I have my class directly after hers, so it’s going to be a busy day.
Oh, and I almost forgot, we’ve also got Amy and Tom arriving in their R.V. tomorrow night. They’re driving up here from Colorado to take the girls on a week-long road trip, which will include stops at various parks, before reaching their final destination of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This means that it will just be Jessica, Enzo, and myself for a week. The timing actually works out well though because I’ll be on call at work this week, meaning I’ll be working more than normal. Knowing that Jessica only has to take care of Enzo while I’m gone will be a relief. I think they’re actually going to come visit me for lunch at work one day. More importantly, I’m glad things will be easier on Jessica, that she and Enzo will get a lot of quality time, and that the girls will be having so much fun with their Grandma and Grandpa.
Earlier this week, Ava and Elise finished the year at preschool. In Ava’s case, she finished preschool all together and is super excited to start Kindergarten in September. Elise will do another full year of preschool, then most likely start Kindergarten in September, 2018. I say “most likely” because her summer birthday kinda forces us to make the decision on which year she gets started. I can directly relate to this because I have a July birthday, and consequently was always one of the younger kids in my class. Although arguments can be made both ways, ultimately I think Elise is pretty advanced for her age, and from a scholastic standpoint she’ll be ready to start Kindergarten a year after Ava. We just have to make sure she’s emotionally ready as well, but I think having another full year of preschool will take care of that. Hopefully we can get Enzo started with preschool midway through the year, right around his 3rd birthday.
Speaking of birthdays, it’s almost Elise’s! We’re only a few weeks away from her turning 4. Her birthday falls on a Friday this year, so we’ll be holding a party the following day at the house. We’re still working out the details, but as always I’m looking forward to doing the food. Not sure what we’re doing for the 4th of July this year, but it’s safe to say there will be a big fireworks show in our neighborhood (as there always is), so chances are we’ll be enjoying that.
I guess that’s about it for now. As always we’ve got a lot going on, a lot to look forward to, and a lot to be thankful for. Looking forward to writing soon about Jessica’s continued recovery. As previously mentioned, here are some photos from Easter Sunday at the Palmer’s house. Can’t wait to see the new photos Leon took today. They always capture the kids so well. Enjoy!
Apologies for not writing sooner. I’m not trying to make any excuses but I’ve been so busy lately, and whatever free time I do have has been dedicated to music and hockey. Sometimes it’s tough to find a few hours to dedicate to writing, but we’ve had so many good things going on lately that a post felt long overdue.
First and foremost, last Friday we celebrated Jessica’s birthday! Since it fell on a Friday I decided to use a vacation day and make a long weekend out of it. In usual Pellegrini fashion, we celebrated in the form of eating well all weekend. Friday morning Elise and I took Ava to school, then after dropping her off, we went to a nearby French bakery and came home with all kinds of treats: croissant, chocolate eclairs, and the best key lime tart I’ve ever had. We made sure to save some for Ava to enjoy after school so she wouldn’t miss out.
While Ava was in school we decided to get our errands done, so we ran to the store to get Enzo some underwear. Basically, our little dude is already potty training and it’s time to start trying out wearing undies, but more on that in a bit. Then we ran to Costco to get some beautiful big Alaskan King Crab legs for the weekend. After picking Ava up from school we all went to the hockey store and got her a pink hockey helmet. The reason for this, as well as the title of this post, is that Ava is now doing her skating lessons on hockey skates, rather than figure skates.
For those that don’t know, it’s a lot harder to skate on hockey skates than it is on figure skates. The blade on a hockey skate is shorter, and both ends of the blade curve upward, plus there’s no toe pick. It was recommended to us that if she’s going to wear hockey skates, she should also wear a hockey helmet with a full face mask. Apparently some kids have a tendency to fall face-first on hockey skates, so we took their advice and got her the helmet of her choice. Turns out Ava hasn’t had that issue, but it’s still good to have her fully protected. The first time she wore it she wasn’t all that into it, but then yesterday she wore it again and had no issues at all. She was running around the rink before her lesson asking other kids what they want to be when they grow up, then would say, “When I grow up I’m going to be a hockey player!”
She’s still switching back to figure skates for the open skate session after class, but we actually have an agreement that next week she’s going to stay in hockey skates for the open session. There’s been a bit of a regression in her skating due to the switch, but that’s to be expected, and it’s good for her. Yesterday was her third class in hockey skates and she’s already doing so much better. It didn’t take long for her to get right back to the front of the pack. She’s already jumping in them, doing swizzles, touching her toes, etc. As long as she’s having fun I’m happy, and I can’t wait to get her out for one of the upcoming junior hockey sessions.
Anyway, back to Jessica’s birthday weekend. Friday night we had a babysitter over so Jessica and I could go out for a bit. We took an Uber to downtown Snohomish and bounced around to a few different places for happy hour. We had a rare bit of sunshine that evening, so it was nice to get out for a walk by the river. We didn’t really have a full dinner, but instead chose to have small bites at various places, and it worked out well. The babysitter had plans that night, so we were home by 7:30, but it was still nice to get away for a bit.
Saturday all five of us went to Ava’s skating lesson, then afterwards we went on a hike in an area called Meadowdale, which is on the northern end of Lynnwood. It was labeled as an easy hike that was kid friendly, but turned out to be pretty vertical. Basically you descended through the woods for a mile, then at the end was private beach access. It wasn’t the greatest weather, but was decent enough to hang out collecting shells and throwing rocks.
Unfortunately we hadn’t been there long before Elise started showing signs of an allergic reaction. She was getting welts all over her face, so we had to assume it was due to the shells she was collecting on the beach. We were pretty concerned, so we didn’t stay at the beach very long. By the time we made it back up through the woods the welts were gone, so there was no question that the reaction was based on something from the beach. Then, just a couple days ago, Jessica and the kids met up with friends at a different beach, but Elise had a similar reaction, only worse. This time the welts covered her face, hands, and arms. Obviously they couldn’t stay, so Jessica ran to a pharmacy to get some Benadryl. Luckily she responded well to that and the welts quickly went away. She called our nurse hotline to verify the treatment, but now there is no question that Elise is allergic to something at the beach. It’s so strange too because we just spent a weekend at the beach in September and there was no problem, but these kinds of things can pop up quickly. We need to get her in for an allergy test as soon as possible, and avoid beaches between now and then.
On the way home from our hike we stopped by Central Market (our favorite grocery store) so I could get more stuff for Jessica’s birthday dinner. As usual, I went a bit overboard and ended up getting so much stuff that we had enough for meals on Saturday and Sunday. I got two dozen fresh local oysters to shuck, a beautiful prime New York steak, French wine, and a fresh-baked French baguette. The plan was to have everything on Saturday night, but again, it was too much, so we ended up having the oysters and NY steak that night, then saving the crab legs for a big Sunday lunch.
Sunday morning we sent Mom out for some personal time while the kids and I hung out around the house. Once she returned we all had a nice big crab lunch. Not surprisingly, the kids love crab just about as much as we do, so it was nice to get everyone around the table together eating the same thing. That night I had hockey and ended up scoring another goal, so that was pretty exciting. Overall it was a nice long weekend for me, but more importantly, a great birthday weekend for Jessica.
So back to Enzo for a minute – he’s basically potty training himself. Although we’ve had some accidents, he has been very proactive in telling us when he needs to use the potty. This is the earliest age for any of our kids so it’s been a nice surprise. He gets so proud of himself when he uses the potty and I don’t think it will be long before we’re all the way there.
The girls are also having some breakthroughs of their own: they’re both doing great learning the alphabet. We’ve been focusing heavily on this lately because Ava starts kindergarten in September and we need to make sure she knows every letter without hesitation. As usual, when Ava focuses on something, Elise isn’t far behind, so they’re both doing excellent. The progress they’ve both made over the past few weeks is incredible. Elise gets so excited too because she’ll see letters somewhere and yell out “That’s my E!”
On my end, I’ve been getting together with my friend Sam from work every weekend for the past couple months to play music. He comes from a musical family (his oldest brother is a professional musician in New York) and plays a variety of instruments, but in our context he plays bass while I play guitar. The two of us share have shared an office since November and have developed a good friendship since then. We listen to music all day when we’re coding and talk about music constantly. He has all kinds of great stories, but my favorite is about his brother playing in a Rod Stewart cover band called Fraud Stewart. Apparently the singer was so obsessed with Rod Stewart that he even had plastic surgery to make his face look more like Rod Stewart!
I never really wrote about it, but the band I had going last year with Greg and Kallan fizzled out in the summer due to other priorities in both of their lives. Obviously I understood completely, but was bummed not to be getting together regularly to play with people. I kept playing and practicing pretty much daily, because that’s what I do, then eventually asked Sam if he’d like to get something going. He jumped at the offer, so we started working on various blues and classic rock covers by artists like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Cream, ZZ Top, Black Sabbath, Rush, and David Bowie.
Although we had been doing these practice sessions at my house, last week we took it to the next level be going to an actual rehearsal studio where you can be loud, sing into a P.A. system, etc. I’ve been driving to work each day doing vocal lessons in the car, and now that I’ve been doing that for a couple months, I’m seeing significant improvement. The obvious next step for us is to get a drummer, which is usually a challenge, but luckily we work with an amazing drummer named Chris who Sam has known for several years because they went to the same coding school.
Before getting into coding, the only job Chris ever had was playing the drums. He’s a teacher, and lived for several years in Nashville making a living playing with various big-name artists. He’s been on tours, done fly-dates, and played all over the place. Eventually he decided to get into coding so that he and his wife could have something a little more stable than music, but still plays constantly with various bands and artists around Seattle. Although we never really expected to get him, it kinda just came up organically one day, so I asked him if he’d like to play with Sam and I, and to our amazement, he said yes. Tomorrow night we’ve got another practice at the studio and Chris has agreed to join us. Obviously we’re pretty excited.
No disrespect to anyone I’ve ever played music with, but this is the most experienced group I’ve ever been a part of. Although it could be argued that as the only guitarist and vocalist in the group, I have the most difficult role to fill, but my outlook is that I really have to step my game up in order to be at their level, hence the constant practicing on my end. It’s funny because I’m doing all these singing lessons every day in the car, and I’m sure people have looked over and seen me singing my heart out and thought I was crazy, but I don’t care. It would be a waste not to utilize that time, and again, I’m definitely seeing improvement. At least I have tinted windows.
Before I go I want to mention the excellent Easter Sunday we had a few weeks ago. We ended up joining our friends the Palmers at their new house/farm up north in Sedro Woolley. They’ve got like 5 acres and a beautiful farm house that they’re doing all kinds of projects on. They have three chickens and plans for more animals coming soon.
We spent the day doing an Easter egg hunt, flying kites, riding the ‘tractor’, and eating an excellent meal. Leon is such a good cook so we enjoyed homemade ribs that he slow cooked for over 24 hours, scalloped potatoes, corn on the cob, and various other sides and salads. We ended up hanging out for about 4 hours before calling it a day. Definitely a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and there was no hockey for me that day so it was perfect.
Jodi, who is a therapist, said something that day that has really stuck with me. She was talking about some of her clients who do different types of creative things, but deal with issues of not feeling like their craft is validated. For example, there was an artist who said they weren’t really an artist because their work wasn’t being shown in any galleries. She had to explain to them that you are that thing because that’s what naturally what comes out of you. It doesn’t matter where you’re doing it, or who is seeing/experiencing it. Immediately I placed that connection to myself with music because I had similar feelings last summer when the band I started ended up falling apart. Whether I’m regularly playing with others or not, I’m still doing it constantly because it feels right to me, and that’s the only ‘validation’ I need. I thought that was a great lesson that I look forward to passing down to our kids when the time is right.
Next Sunday is Mother’s day, and for the first time in a few years, Jessica won’t be working. We don’t have specific plans but having her home will be nice. I’m sure I’ll be making a nice big brunch, then we’ll go with the flow and do whatever Mom wants. We also have a visit from Grandpa Rick and Grandma Chris coming in a couple weeks. They’ll be here the week leading up to Memorial Day, so I’m taking Friday off and making it into a four-day weekend. I don’t know exactly what we have planned for their visit but I’m sure it will be fun. After they leave on Sunday, we’re getting together with Kristy for some Go-Kart racing at a local race track.
Plenty of good stuff to look forward to. Here’s some recent photos and videos.
Beautiful Elise showing a rock she found
Ava testing out her goggles at breakfast
He loves pushing that stroller
He’s not real big on pants these days
Rockin’ the new Thomas The Train underwear
On our hike down to the beach
Trying out the new hockey helmet. They both loved the pink one.
As I write this, we’re just taking off from our fun and exciting long weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina. With the exception of Florida (which doesn’t really count anyway), neither Jessica or myself has ever been to the Southeast. As expected, we had a great time visiting (and making new) friends, exploring the city, and eating all the southern food we could get our hands on.
There were plenty of things I was expecting about Raleigh that turned out to be true: the friendly people, warm sunny weather, old country southern charm, beautiful old houses, and delicious Carolina BBQ. However there were also a few pleasant surprises: there’s more of a tech influence there than I was expecting, and there’s plenty of modern architecture, so you have this interesting mix of old world and new world coming together. It’s also much greener than I was expecting. As a kid who grew up in Washington state, I felt right at home with all the greenery, and loved the big beautiful oak trees.
I was also surprised at all the brick construction we saw. It seems like everything there is made out of brick: churches, houses, office buildings, even the fast food restaurants all have brick exteriors. Turns out they have a ton of red clay and make more bricks there than anywhere, so it makes sense, but it still stood out to us right from the start.
Since our last trip of this nature was to Austin, Texas (way back in November, 2015) we couldn’t help but compare the two cities. There’s actually more in common than you might expect. Both cities are state capitals (although the North Carolina capital building pales in comparison to its Texas counterpart). Both cities are warmer, cleaner, friendlier, and less crowded than Seattle. You actually don’t realize how crowded, dirty, and unfriendly Seattle is until visiting a place like Raleigh or Austin. Jessica and I would be walking around at night going “Where is everybody?”. It just felt so empty at times, but in a nice way. The only major difference between Austin and Raleigh is that where Austin has all this cool music culture with guitar statues on the streets, plus all the kitschy little shops and cool shopping districts like SoCo, Raleigh just has lots of (old and new) brick churches, reminders of the civil war (like statues for the Women of the Confederacy), and funny old signs about so-and-so who was born in a kitchen three quarters of a mile northeast of here.
Our trip actually got off to a slightly rocky start because we were supposed to leave Seattle at 8:15am, but were delayed because our captain was coming in late on another flight. So we get onboard, we’re waiting patiently, then the flight attendant gets on the microphone at 8:45 and tells us that the good news is that our captain has arrived, however the bad news was that we had a cracked toilet seat in one of the bathrooms and we needed a maintenance person to come on board to fix it. Obviously we were all thrilled to hear this news, and I threatened under my breath to Jessica that there would be another cracked toilet seat if we didn’t get going pretty soon, but there was nothing we could do. Finally, by 9:15, the seat was repaired and we were good to go.
It’s nice having a non-stop flight, but at 5.5 hours, it’s a pretty long one. Jessica has been doing better with her neck and arm issues, but being cooped up in the same seat for so long started taking its toll on her several hours into the flight. I was fighting a chest cold when we left Seattle (and still am for that matter), so getting off the plane in Raleigh was nice.
For a minute I had entertained the thought of trying to catch a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game since they were playing at home the night we arrived and it was their second to last home game of the season, but there just wouldn’t have been enough time to get checked into the hotel, then turn around and Uber it back to the arena. Instead, I found a sports bar within walking distance of our hotel, so after getting checked in we hit the streets and eventually settled down to watch the game.
I quickly realized that the sports bar atmosphere wasn’t exactly what we were looking for, and the game wasn’t all that exciting, so we decided to just have a couple appetizers and then head somewhere else for dinner. I’m glad we went there though because I got to experience my first staple of southern food culture: fried green tomatoes.
In addition to some Carolina BBQ, one thing I was hoping for on the trip was a good southern seafood meal. Randomly, there was this classic old seafood house directly across the street from the sports bar called 42nd Street Oyster House. We loved the look of the place, and the parking lot was packed, so we decided to go in.
Stepping in was a bit of a time warp. The smell of fresh seafood hits you in the face, and the old wooden floors, big exhibition kitchen, and oyster bar filled with young guys wearing metal gloves shucking huge buckets of oysters, was all perfect. Jessica actually hit it on the head when she said the place reminded her of a southeast seafood version of a famous pair of restaurants in the Seattle area called 13 Coins. Obviously you’d only get the reference if you’d eaten at the 13 Coins, but I thought her comparison was dead on the money.
We ended up sitting at the oyster bar enjoying homemade seafood bisque, fresh snow crab, various fresh local oysters (a variety from Virginia called Mobjacks were our favorite), and probably the best (and biggest) oyster shooters either of us has ever had. Although it was a long first day because of the flight, the experience at 42nd Street was easily one of the highlights of the trip, and possibly my favorite meal, although there was plenty of competition throughout our stay. I also just loved how we accidentally stumbled upon the place. It really felt like it was meant to be.
Since we hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before our trip, we decided to close the blinds, draw the curtains, and take advantage of the fact that the kids weren’t with us, by sleeping in as late as possible that first morning. We slept so long I remember waking up and thinking “Oh my gosh we’re sleeping the whole first day away”, but I’d look over at Jessica who was sound asleep and say “Whatever, I’m going back to bed”. By the time we actually did wake up I was shocked to look at my phone and see it was only 9:30am. I thought for sure it was past noon, and plus our bodies were still on Seattle time, but nope, just 9:30. Just goes to show you what being a parent does to your sleep schedule. I was laughing because the night before I remember telling Jessica I couldn’t sleep past 10:00am even if you payed me, regardless of the time change. I was half joking when I said it but I guess I was right…
Other than the food-related stuff and catching part of the hockey game, the only other thing I wanted to do on this trip was go to a guitar store. This has become a tradition for me when we visit a new city, so I did my homework and found Harry’s Guitar Store, which has been around for thirty years and has become a bit of an institution in the Raleigh music scene. I even went so far as to research their inventory so I’d know which guitars and amps I wanted to check out when I was there.
Obviously I knew I wasn’t going to buy a guitar or amplifier on the trip, but when you research these things as much as I do, just getting the opportunity to play certain ones is a big treat. So for the better part of an hour on late Friday morning, I just hung out there jamming. The owner of the store (Harry I presume, although he didn’t say) was really cool and told me to check out anything I wanted. I felt kinda bad because Jessica was just hanging out there on the couch reading while I nerded out on all this new gear, but then I kinda realized that the whole reason they had a couch in the middle of a guitar store was that Jessica wasn’t the first (or last) wife/girlfriend to get drug in there. Hey, at least they were prepared. I tried to buy a t-shirt before we left but they didn’t have my size, so I bought a new leather guitar strap instead. I figured it was the least I could do since I’d been playing such expensive stuff, but again the guys working there were awesome. The owner sent me home with multiple Harry’s guitar picks, bumper stickers, and various brochures about some of the guitars I’d just played. Overall it was just a great experience and the southern hospitality, even in a setting like this, still rang through.
After leaving Harry’s we were both starving, so we caught an Uber over to a district recommended by Laurel called Glenwood South, which confusingly, is north of downtown. We also followed Laurel’s recommendation by sitting down to lunch at the Raleigh Beer Garden. This place was a trip. They have nearly 400 beers on tap! There are so many beer choices that they have them separated into different rooms based on where the beer comes from. For us it was a no-brainer to sit in the room that served local beers, so that’s what we did. They have these long picnic tables to sit at, but it wasn’t busy yet, so we had an entire one to ourselves. After some local beers, pizza Bianca, and grilled Italian sausage with peppers on a pretzel bun, we were ready for a nap (because why not, right?). We walked back through the city to our hotel and got some rest. We knew we were in for a big night, although it turned out to be a bit bigger than expected.
Besides getting to celebrate Mark & Laurel, and getting to enjoy some killer southern food, the other thing that really excited us about this trip was that our good friends Solana and Josh were also coming along (Solana and Laurel have been friends for a long time). For those of you who regularly read this blog, this is the same Solana and Josh whose cabin we visited on Hood’s Head Island with the kids over Labor Day weekend. Doing just about anything with them is going to be fun, so we knew we were in for a good time.
The plan was that for everyone to attend Laurel and Mark’s happy hour from 4:00-6:00 on Friday at this cool bar called Raleigh Times, then do dinner and the reception the next night at a Lebanese restaurant called Sitti. We got there right at 4:00 and Solana & Josh had just arrived, so we settled in and started mingling. There was a beautiful rooftop patio, appetizers, and an open bar for everyone to enjoy.
By 5:15 I was just finishing my second drink, so basically I was pacing myself. These days if I’m out for a night on the town there’s only one thing I’ll drink – straight whiskey. Not because I’m trying to be a badass, but because I can’t do all the sugary sweet mixers that come in most cocktails, and drinking beer or wine all night will just fill me up and give me a headache. So I just drink some form of whiskey (Canadian, Irish, Scotch, or bourbon) neat, or perhaps with one ice cube.
So again, it’s 5:15 and I’ve had two whiskeys since 4:00. I’m doing good, feeling good, having a nice time, and then trouble strikes, but it strikes in the rarest of forms – Laurel telling us we need to start drinking more because the party will be over in 45 minutes and they were still several hundred dollars short of their minimum. From my restaurant days I knew that a party like this comes with a contract, and the most important part of that contract (from the restaurant’s perspective) is the minimum, meaning this is the minimum amount you will spend, and if you don’t reach it, we’ll just charge you for nothing in order to reach it.
My immediate thought when hearing of this ‘minimum’ conundrum was that I’d go in there and pick out the most expensive whiskey they have. With visions of Pappy Van Winkle in my head, I belly up to the bar, only to find out that their most expensive whiskey is Woodford Reserve. “How much is that?” I ask. $10. So I’m thinking to myself “Seriously, $10 is your most expensive whiskey, this is insane”. “What about Scotch?” I ask next. “Well we have MaCallan 12, but that’s only $12.” “Okay I guess I’m having that” I respond. “Want to make it a double?” she asks. “Why not.”
Fast forward to 6:00 and I’m just wrapping up my second double (which were really triples). Combine that with the two ‘singles’ I’d had earlier (which were really doubles), and you can start to see the kind of night we were in for. Luckily I wasn’t the only one drinking more than usual; Jessica was doing her best to keep up, and Josh and Solana can keep up with anybody, so we were all getting on the happy train together. It’s a good thing too because the rest of the party was pretty timid. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but it was a bunch of old people sipping on Chardonnay. In my mind, they needed us to liven things up a bit, so we did our part.
Soon enough the happy hour ended, but we were just getting started. There was a street fair with a band setting up outside, the weather was beautiful, and we were feeling good. So we went to this really cool place called Isaac Hunter’s Tavern. It was still pretty early for east coast standards (everything starts later on the east coast) but they had a band setting up, so we settled in. Fast forward a drink or two later and I’m dancing with a lesbian to a poor cover of “Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News. Luckily Josh was also drawn in by the 80’s synthesizers and chanting of “Don’t need no credit card to ride on this train”, but then quickly pulled me over to the dart board where Jessica was singing and dancing, and Solana was making friends with some friendly/creepy old dude at the bar.
We played darts for a while, but then decided it was time to find a new watering hole. I love how getting food never even crossed our minds. I don’t know exactly what time it was because things were getting quite hazy for me at this point, but it was barely dark, so probably around 8:00. We ended up at an Irish bar, but for some reason we didn’t really like the vibe there so we only stuck around for one drink, or in my case, one more whiskey.
After that we hit the streets and I came up with the great idea of doing some drunken parkour (look it up). As I write this I’m actually still a bit sore from some of my failed parkour stunts, but I certainly gave the rest of the group a few things to laugh about. Parkour Michael only makes his appearance about every five years, so it’s a special occasion when he arrives. I liken it to a bald eagle sighting.
After falling on my ass a few times, we ended up at a place called Whiskey Kitchen. This place was poppin – in fact I think it was the busiest place we visited throughout the trip. The whiskey selection was almost too big though and I was afraid I’d get asked to leave if I asked too many questions, so I just ordered whatever was on the tip of my tongue. I honestly don’t even remember what is was, but at that point it hardly mattered.
We ended up sitting outside by the fire just laughing, people watching, telling stories, and having fun. I think we were there for a while but I’m not totally sure. I was in rare form and had little remaining perception of time. Luckily that would be my last drink of the night because I certainly didn’t need anymore.
I don’t remember whose idea it was, but on our way back to the hotel we all decided to do the obvious thing after a heavy night at the bars – go swimming! Our hotel had a pool and hot tub open until midnight so we decided to split ways for a bit to freshen up, then meet at the hotel pool. By the time we arrived at the pool it was 11:00 and I remember being shocked at how many kids were down there so late at night. I did a couple laps, but as weirded out as I was about the kids in the pool, the kids (and their Moms) seemed to be equally weirded out by me, or at least that was how I perceived it. I quickly recanted and retired to the hot tub to sit with Jessica.
To finish off our crazy night, Jessica and I were taking the elevator (which was pretty full) back up to our room. I’m standing there all wet in my trunks with a towel around my shoulders, and there’s this prim and proper older woman next to us. She was friendly enough , but then the door opens on her floor and all I see is this young pink-haired 20ish year old girl twerking (look it up) with her ass literally right in our faces. I’m thinking to myself “No way, is this really happening!?” But the poor old woman didn’t know what to do. She kind of gasped and scurried past down the hall. Then the twerking girl and her two friends get on the elevator, and with the cutest English accent she’s says “Do you think she liked that?” I was laughing too hard to respond, so Jessica says “She might not have liked it, but she needed it. She definitely needed it.” What an epic night.
Then came Saturday morning and I had the kind of headache that other headaches tell folk stories about. I mean this was a legendary headache. Luckily I had woken up in the early morning and somehow asked Jessica for 4 Aleve. I remember thinking to myself that it felt like someone had poisoned me, only to then grimly realize that yes, I had been poisoned, but not by someone else. Actually yes it was by someone else, it was Laurel and her stupid minimum!
So I popped the Aleve and passed out for a few more hours. By the time I woke up I was still pretty shaky, but it was nothing a multivitamin, walk in the sun, and plate of Carolina BBQ couldn’t fix. We met Solana and Josh downstairs and headed off for the BBQ restaurant everyone told us to visit – The Pit. Once again the weather was beautiful and this time they were setting up a Lebanese street fair right outside our hotel.
According to Google, The Pit was only an 8 minute walk away, but based on the night the four of us had just had, it took us twice as long to get there. I’m partly surprised we even made it there at all. We ended up sitting outside and getting down on hush puppies, fried mac n cheese, deviled eggs, wings, and sweet tea. And that was just the first course. Typical hangover fare to be sure. For entrees Jessica got a fried chicken sandwich, while I went to town on the BBQ combo platter: Carolina pulled pork, Southern Fried Chicken and choice of sides (cole slaw, and more mac n cheese in my case). When we sat down they placed two kinds of sauces on our table. One was a traditional sweet/smoky/spicy BBQ sauce, and the other was a tangy Eastern N.C. sauce with a vinegar base. They were both good but the tangy one was easily my favorite. Pouring that stuff all over the pulled pork was unbelievably good, and let’s just say that I now understand when people talk about Carolina BBQ being their favorite. I’d have it again in a heartbeat.
After lunch we walked around for a bit, then headed back to the hotel to take in the Lebanese street fair. There were all kinds of performances going on, and again, the weather was perfect, so we were all happy to just sit outside, people watch, and bask in the glory of a sunny day. Eventually, since we knew we were in for another long night, we figured a nap was in order, so everyone retired upstairs for some shut eye.
A few hours later everyone was dressed and ready for the big night, so we met Josh and Solana in the hotel lobby. Since the restaurant they were holding the reception in was just across the street from Raleigh Times, where we’d been the previous night for happy hour, we figured we should stop in there for a drink. We hadn’t been in there 10 seconds before one of the bartenders who’d been serving our party the night before saw us and yelled “Hey guys, welcome back!”
The reception was held in a beautiful courtyard at Sitti. Once again there was an open bar, but this time I was having none of this ‘help us meet our minimum’ business. I’d be drinking at my own pace, thank you very much. There was also a nice covered area for dinner, so after an hour of reception time with drinks and appetizers in the courtyard, we all headed in for dinner.
Since Laurel and Mark have done a lot of traveling, they had this cool idea to name each table after a city that bears some significance for them. I was a bit surprised we weren’t at the Seattle table, but ultimately we were seated with Solana and Josh, as well as another couple whom we absolutely loved named Sammy and David, at the Torino table. There was significance in this because Jessica and Laurel met during their Semester at Sea in Torino, Italy.
We were actually given instructions by the bride, as well as both of her parents, to be the fun table at the party. Plenty of other tables were filled with very buttoned up formal east coasters who wouldn’t even consider loosening their tie at the end of the night. So we sort of took it upon ourselves to be a bit livelier than the rest. After all, that’s what we were told, and who would disobey the bride at her own wedding reception?
Several people got up and said some very nice words about Mark, Laurel, and their respective families. After that we enjoyed the best wedding food I’ve ever had. This was my first time enjoying Lebanese food and it was absolutely delicious! If you really get a chance to try Lebanese food, I’d highly recommend doing so. It’s funny because I’d never had any exposure to the Lebanese culture before this trip (and to be clear neither Mark, Laurel, or anyone else there was of Lebanese descent), but between the street fair earlier that day, and dinner that night, it just kept coming up. Totally random, but in a most delightful way.
Anyway, back to the food. They had this stuff called Garlic Whip that pretty much changed my life. In fact, I distinctly remember Jessica saying at dinner “Garlic whip, where have you been my whole life?” It was basically the consistency of whip cream, but slightly lighter and fluffier, with this amazing roasted garlic flavor. I was putting it on the goat cheese stuffed roasted peppers, on the beef, on the chicken, on the veggies. I’d put that shit on my waffles if you’d let me. I seriously need to learn how to make that stuff. Truly amazing.
After dinner it was back out to the dance floor, and remember, we were expected to be the life of the party, but luckily we had a secret weapon – Josh O’Hair. If physical comedy was a degree, Josh would have a doctorate. If it was a profession, he’d be one of the best. Watching him dance and sing is something hilariously special that everyone deserves to experience at least once in their lifetime. He pretty much had us all in tears throughout the evening. The closest person I can compare it to is Will Ferrell but even that’s not doing it justice.
Like myself, Josh is a former bartender who got out of the night life. He now works as a liquor rep for Patron tequila, and not surprisingly, he’s one of their top salespeople. He’s just got this infectious personality so it makes perfect sense that he’d be so good at sales. Because of his allegiance to Patron, that’s basically what he drank all night. Because of his non-stop moves on the dance floor, it wasn’t until we were leaving the party that drinking nearly an entire bottle of Patron started catching up with him.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’d certainly had my fair share of Bulleit bourbon that night as well, but I was nowhere near the level I’d reached the night before. Or, in other words, Parkour Michael was in deep hibernation (with an ungodly headache). So whereas I had felt like the one who was most out of control the previous night (and truthfully was), Josh was feeling that same way this night. Still there was only one logical thing to do after leaving the party – go to the bar of course. And there was only one logical bar to go to – the Raleigh Times.
We got over there, ordered a drink, but Josh couldn’t drink it. He sat there apologizing to me for how drunk he was. I told him not to be ridiculous and that he was fine, but it quickly became apparent that hanging out in a bar was in no one’s best interest. So I came up with the perfect idea to set Josh straight – swimming! No I’m just kidding. Not swimming, a gourmet hotdog. There was this awesome hotdog restaurant out on Fayetteville street and I knew a big ol’ hotdog with all kinds of regretful toppings was just what the doctor ordered.
So we went in, tripped out on their crazy menu for a minute, then ordered while the girls waited outside. I don’t remember what Josh got, but I had the Southern dog, complete with fried okra, cheese, and Carolina chili. We sat outside with the girls eating our hot dogs, and as expected, Josh totally started coming back to life. It’s like he was invigorated by carbs and pork casing. Unfortunately the totality of the (two) night’s consumption came to a head with Solana and she needed to call it an evening.
We totally understood and weren’t upset at all that they were leaving for the night, but at the same time we were feeling fine and completely in control, so we decided to stay out for a bit. Obviously we don get out like this often, so we felt like we had to take advantage. Jessica’s sweet tooth started creeping up on her, so while I stayed outside to finish my southern dog, she went back in for a milkshake. She came outside laughing and when I asked what was so funny, she said that while she was waiting for her shake, some guy came up to the counter asking the employees where he could get some weed. I can’t say I blame the guy because if I was out of town and looking for weed, the guy at the hotdog counter would probably be the first person I’d ask as well, but his response was perfect – “I don’t know man, my weed comes from Tacoma.” It’s such a strange, random, funny little world we live in sometimes…
We walked around for a bit looking for a place to have a night cap, but it seemed like every bar we passed was really crazy inside. That may have worked for us the previous night, but we simply weren’t on that level by this point. Eventually we found a quiet little spot where we could relax and talk. We got into such a good conversation that we got back to the hotel room and sat there talking about life, family, the kids, work, and future plans, until 3:00am! Normally we would never be able to do something like this because the kids are always up by 7:00, but I guess that’s what vacation is for.
So remember that little chest cold I was fighting when we left Seattle? Well, after three nights out in a row, one of which that included an appearance by Parkour Michael, let’s just say that by Sunday morning that little cold wasn’t gone. In fact, get ready for a shocker, it was worse! On top of that, because she had to talk over a loud DJ all night, Jessica completely lost her voice. Like literally her voice was at 10-15% capacity. She simply couldn’t talk, but the wedding party was doing a big brunch downstairs at our hotel and we felt like we had to make an appearance.
So we got as presentable as possible, put on a happy face, and went down to join everyone. We got there near the end of brunch (shocking) but enjoyed everyone’s company, as well as a substantial breakfast. Carolina omelette with pulled pork and jalapeños in my case. After brunch the weather was simply too nice not to experience, so we walked around for about an hour. After that we hit a wall and felt like retiring to the room was our only option. So we hit up a convenience store, stocked up on water and cold meds, and sort of stumbled back to the hotel.
The rest of the day was spent laying in bed coughing, laughing about the craziness of the last couple nights, and watching the final round of The Masters. In all seriousness, we hardly ever get out like this (even our trip to Austin a year and a half ago was much more tame), so I hope no one reading these stories is concerned, but we mutually agreed on one thing – we still got it! Might take us a week to recover, but we can still roll with the punches when we need to.
One thing I haven’t mentioned so far was that we were missing the kids badly the whole time. Jessica put it perfectly when she said, “You look forward to the trip for so long, and you’re so excited to get away, but then when you’re gone you can’t stop missing the kids and think about them constantly.” It’s so true. I can’t tell you how many times we saw something and said “Look! Ava/Elise/Enzo would love that! Take a picture.”
Since we were in all day on Sunday, it was a perfect time to call Grandma and check in. Unfortunately when we did, we found out that everyone had been sick the whole time and they hadn’t even left the house. Poor Ava had a fever and didn’t get out of bed for two days! Anyone who knows our energetic little Ava knows that she must have been really under the weather to stay in bed like that. Elise and Enzo weren’t quite that bad, but nowhere near 100%, so they just stayed in, watched movies, and let Grandma take care of them.
Sunday evening we had plans with Brad and Jeff – Jessica’s old friends from Iowa. They all used to work together in a restaurant in Cedar Rapids and have stayed friends ever since. I met them on my first trip to Iowa, which was 8 or 9 years ago, but haven’t seen them since. They moved to North Carolina for Brad’s job, got married, and plan on staying there forever. They really love it and I can’t say I blame them.
In all honesty I didn’t really want to go out because I was sick, exhausted from the previous three nights, and wanted to watch the end of the Masters, but there was no way we could cancel on them. That wouldn’t be cool, and who knows if we’ll ever be back. So we met them in our hotel lobby and started with a drink. I knew I’d be drinking as little as possible that night so sipping on a light beer seemed to make sense. I was able to draw them out and only have two all night, but still fall back on it in case anyone wanted me to have something more, like a shot of Grand Marnier, which was totally out of the question.
We called an Uber and headed out to dinner at a place called Cowfish. I’ve never seen anything like this but it turned out to be a lot of fun. It’s part burger restaurant, and part sushi restaurant. They even have some dishes that combine the two genres, something they call “Burgushi”. The atmosphere is really fun, and when you go to the bathroom there’s a track playing that translates southern sayings into Japanese. The only one I remember was “He’s as country as cornbread.”
By the time we finished dinner Jessica and I were absolutely spent, but luckily they both had to work early in the morning, so we decided to call it an early night. I’d been keeping my eye on the Masters during dinner, and when we got back to the room, it was still on. We ended up seeing the 18th hole, and the playoff hole that ultimately gave Sergio Garcia is first win in a major after 73 straight defeats. We were both pulling for him and were happy to see it turn out that way.
A good night’s sleep was exactly what the doctor ordered that night so we called it an early night and ended up sleeping over 11 hours. Not sure when that will happen again but it won’t be soon. For our final day in Raleigh, Jessica and I had lunch at a really cool little pizza place called La Stella Pizzeria. We’re both pretty tough critics when it comes to pizza, yet we both agreed that this pizza was excellent. Jess even went so far as to say “this is the best pizza I’ve had this year” before quickly biting her tongue after Enzo’s birthday party came to mind.
After that Laurel came and picked us up, then we all went to a park to lay in the grass, soak up a little more sun, and talk about the weekend. Mark and Laurel are actually moving back to Seattle next week, so this weekend was basically their ‘last hoorah’ in Raleigh. They bought a beautiful new home in West Seattle that we’re looking forward to seeing, and can’t wait to start seeing them regularly.
Now that the trip is over we’re just excited to get home to our babies. As we said on this trip, there probably won’t be many more getaways like this for Mommy and Daddy because the kids are getting closer and closer to being able to enjoy, appreciate, and remember their own vacations. Personally I’m pushing for a family trip to Hawaii in the next couple years but I’m sure there’s a Disney trip in our future as well. We’ll see how things play out.
If you’ve made it this far into the post, I congratulate you. It’s taken me nearly the entire flight home to write it. I know I’m never short on words, but even for my standards this has been a long one. Hopefully the stories from this weekend bring you just a small fraction of the joy we experienced on this epic getaway. This has definitely been one for the ages and I sincerely thank Laurel and Mark for having us, Solana and a Josh for being our partners in crime, and of course, Jessica for being the love of my life and the best travel partner a guy could ever ask for. Watch out for those open bars…
Starting the trip off right at 42nd Street Oyster House
Enjoying myself at Harry’s Guitar Shop
Holding it together at the Whiskey Kitchen
Striking a pose with Josh
Jessica’s Fried Chicken Sandwich at The Pit
Solana, Laurel, and Jessica looking beautiful at the reception
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for us lately. Both girls have had cases of pinkeye and tonsillitis to fight through, plus Ava has had a bad rash all over her torso that she’s still taking steroids for. We seem to be on the tail end of everything, but there’s still medicine to be taken. Then there’s Mr. Enzo, who has recently discovered how to flush the toilet. Obviously it’s so much more fun to flush the toilet with something in there and watch it disappear, so over the past two nights he has blocked up two of our three toilets; one with a toy train, and the other with his fox binky, which is a pacifier sewed to a little stuffed fox.
Last night I tried to fix the downstairs toilet by removing it from the floor and digging around for an obstruction, but not only was I unsuccessful, I also caused a minor flood in the bathroom. By the time I got all the water cleaned up I was so pissed that I decided I didn’t care what the cost was, I would be calling a plumber regardless. So I worked from home today, called a plumber first thing in the morning, and waited for the bad news.
Needless to say it cost us a pretty penny to get both toilets fixed. He tried using a snake to clear them, but that didn’t work, so removing them from the floor was the only option, meaning they needed to be re-sealed and seated. Whatever, it’s not a big deal, and I’m certainly not trying to make it about the money, it’s just annoying. I’ve found that with home ownership there are two types of expenses: those that add value to the house and can be considered an investment, and those that get (pardon the pun) flushed down the toilet. Obviously this one was the latter.
At least we have one positive takeaway from this ordeal: we’re using it as a catalyst for Enzo to be done with pacifiers. When he asks for his binky we say “Sorry buddy but you flushed it down the toilet. It’s gone now. But that’s okay because you’re a big boy now and big boys don’t need binky’s.” I’m sure it will be a bit of a rough transition, but it’s time. In the meantime we need to keep a close eye on him and make sure he’s staying out of the bathroom, until of course we’re ready for our next big transition – diapers.
In other news, we had a great time hosting Madi for a sleepover recently. She and Kristy met me and the girls at the ice skating rink to watch one of Ava’s lessons. Afterwards we all skated for about an hour. It was Madi’s first time, and Kristy’s first time since she was a kid. They both did awesome and had a lot of fun, so I hope we get to do it again. Elise actually got out on the ice that day as well, and although it’s not quite as natural for her as it is for Ava, I was still really proud of her for trying. She ended up doing two laps around the rink before retiring to the stands to run up and down the bleachers.
Later on we all had lunch, then relaxed for an afternoon movie. That night we went out for pizza, then watched another movie about young figure skaters. The next morning I made a big breakfast, then Kristy met up with us a the pool where we enjoyed water slides, floating in the lazy river, and playing in the water jungle. It was a great visit and we hope to have her again soon.
Jessica has been making good progress on her neck from going to physical therapy and seems to be getting a bit better each day. Hopefully it keeps up too considering our trip to Raleigh is only a week away. She hasn’t let it phase her much at all though and keeps just as busy as ever. She’s back in the gym, swimming, running, and keeping up with the kids all the time, which is probably the most exercise of all.
Monday will be our 7th wedding anniversary so the timing of our trip works out perfect in terms of celebrating. Considering that Jessica was hospitalized for an appendectomy on our 6th anniversary, it’s more than safe to say this year will be a lot more fun. I’m more than ready for a long weekend, good weather, fun with friends, and some good southern food!
The only bummer about our trip is that I’m going to miss the final week of my beginners hockey league. Not a big deal though because I’ve already signed up for the next session, starting later in April. I scored my first goal in our game on Sunday, which was a thrill. I got out on a fast break with the puck, and my first instinct was to pass to one of my teammates, but when I looked around, I saw that they were about two strides behind me, and so were the defenders. So then I totally had that ‘Oh shit’ moment where I realized that everyone is watching me, and I better not screw this up. Honestly I didn’t even care if I scored, I just wanted to put a shot on goal and make the goalie do something to stop it, rather than shoot wide of the goal or over the top. I took a couple more strides, pulled it back, and shot as hard as I could. It probably wasn’t very impressive looking from the stands, but it felt damn good to see it sneak by the goalie’s skates and into the back corner of the net.
It ended up being the only goal scored by our team, and I totally did that celebration move you see on TV where I glided on one knee and pumped my fist a few times. I won’t normally do stuff like that, as I generally prefer when athletes act like they’ve been there before, but the truth was I hadn’t been there before, so it felt worthy of a celebration. More importantly, I love getting out there and playing and I’m committed to getting better, so I’m glad to have found this new hobby. I’ve got one more game this Sunday, then I’ll be looking forward to getting started with the next session.
Ava is continuing to impress me with her ice skating. This past weekend they were working on two foot glides, then lifting a foot and doing a one foot glide. After her lesson I was working with her during the public skate on these things, and out of nowhere she says “Hey Dad, can you do this?” and she starts hopping on one foot! I’m like, “Actually I don’t think I can do that.” I tried, and almost bit it big time. Eventually I got it, but it took several tries. It was no big deal for Ava, and mind you, this isn’t something they taught her in class. She just started doing it on her own! I knew she could hop on two feet because we frequently jump over the lines while skating, but doing a one foot hop never even crossed my mind. No biggie for Ava though.
Obviously if she wants to get really good it’s going to take a lot of practice, but there’s no question that she has natural talent to work with. I think most people assume that because she’s a girl, she’s going to get into figure skating, and she certainly might, but right now she talks about playing hockey more than anything. Obviously a big part of that is due to my recent involvement in it, but she seems pretty excited to play and talks about it frequently. It doesn’t matter to us as long as she’s having fun. The other important thing is that we don’t push Elise into anything just because Ava is doing it. I just look forward to her finding something she enjoys just as much as Ava enjoys skating.
Guess that’s about it for now. I’m sure there will be plenty to talk about after we return from Raleigh. Bye for now.
I just wanted to write a quick post about how proud I am of Ava regarding her first ice skating lesson on Saturday, as well as the exciting weekend we have to look forward to in the next few days. Before I get into that, a quick update on Jessica and the neck issues she’s been having. It’s been 6 weeks now, and although she’s been trying a number of different treatments, including massage, yoga, and acupuncture, she’s still been in consistent pain. Yesterday she went to her first physical therapy appointment, which was prescribed by a doctor, and the results were the best thing she has experienced yet, so we really feel like we’re finally on the right track with all this. She’s got a variety of exercises to work on daily, and several more therapy appointments already scheduled, but her therapist knows exactly what and where the issue is and how to treat it. Hopefully we’ve found light at the end of the tunnel. Can’t wait for her to be back to her normal self; these past 6 weeks have been really hard on her.
Regarding Ava, last Saturday was her first skating lesson. She was supposed to be in the level 1 class (Snowplow Sam 1) but when she stepped out on the ice and skated for a few seconds, the teacher immediately moved her over to the level 2 class. I watched her throughout the class, and I don’t mean to brag, but she was easily one of the best skaters in that class as well! Some of it is natural talent, but I couldn’t help but take a little pride in how well she was doing because we’ve been skating a lot lately, and I’ve been teaching her some of the same things I’ve been learning in hockey. To her credit, she’s been picking it up very easily and getting better each time out.
She ended up having a blast in her class and wanted to stick around for the public skating session afterwards. I went out to skate with her, but she had already made a friend from her class, so she skated with that little girl for quite a while. Once her friend had to go she came over and skated with me for a bit longer. We had such a good time and she was already talking about wanting to get started with her next lesson. Not surprisingly, Elise is getting more and more interested in joining us, so hopefully it won’t be long before she does.
I actually organized a team ice skating lunch at work next Tuesday and a bunch of us are going. Although one of our girls will be in school at that time, there’s a chance that Jessica and the other 2 kiddos will join us. Should be a lot of fun, and a nice team building exercise for all of my co-workers, especially the new ones.
This weekend we’ve got a lot to look forward to. Friday night Jessica and I are going out with another couple for dinner and live music. Then on Saturday morning, Kristy and Madi will meet us at the ice skating rink at the end of Ava’s class. Madi will be staying the night with us that night, so we’re going to skate for a while, then head home for a movie. This weekend will be our first since finishing our diet, so we’re all going out for dinner that night with Madi.
Sunday morning we’re all going swimming, and this will actually be our third Sunday in a row doing so. Turns out there are 2 indoor water complexes within 20 minutes of our house, and both are very modern/family friendly. They’ve got pools, toddler play areas, lazy rivers, slides, and one even has an area for surfing. We know Madi loves to swim, so that should be a fun way to finish her overnight visit. Kristy will meet us there Sunday afternoon, then we’ll go our separate ways after. We’ll be home in plenty of time for me to get ready for Sunday afternoon hockey.
In the slightly longer-term, we’re only about 3 weeks away from our trip to Raleigh, so that’s going to be a lot of fun. I’ve already found a guitar store that I need to check out while we’re there, but other than that, I’m looking forward to going with the flow, and eating like a king. Laurel and Mark have already given us a recommendation for a nice barbecue restaurant to check out while we’re there, so I think we’re in good shape. Lots of cool stuff coming up for us, so I’m sure I’ll be writing again soon.
Apologies for not writing in the past month, but in all honesty there hasn’t been a whole lot going on in our world. Basically things have been pretty quiet for us since Enzo’s birthday, but I wasn’t about to go an entire calendar month without writing a post… that would be a first. The short story is that everyone is doing well and keeping busy with the same old stuff, but I’ll do my best to go into a little more detail.
Ava and Elise are both staying busy with pre-school. I love coming home from work on their school days and seeing what they’ve made, as they are both always very excited to show me. They’re continuing to attend swimming lessons on Monday nights and are (slowly) getting more comfortable in the water. Our plan is to keep them in swimming lessons until there is no hesitation from either of them in terms of getting in the pool. They certainly don’t need to go as far as getting onto a swim team, but it’s important to Jessica and me that they have no fear of the water.
A week from Saturday Ava begins her ice skating lessons, and she is very excited to get started. As expected, her enthusiasm is rubbing off on Elise, so now Elise is asking to come with us when we go skating. I’m planning on taking both girls this Saturday and I’m going to setup Elise with elbow pads, knee pads, helmet, thick gloves, a balance bar, etc. I know she’s scared of falling on the ice so hopefully the extra protection will help to alleviate those fears. Ava actually took a pretty decent spill during our last session the previous weekend, but she’s a tough cookie. Even though she was shook up and needed to call it a day, the very next day she was asking to get back out there. She has seen several young girls who are hockey players and she’s been asking if she can play on a team. She actually seems more interested at this point in hockey than figure skating, which I think is awesome. We’re all for it, but she has to get comfortable with skating first. Getting into these lessons next weekend will be the best first step, and hopefully Elise won’t be far behind.
Enzo seems to have entered the terrible two’s right on schedule. He’s still the sweetest little boy ever, but over the past few weeks we’ve noticed that he’s a little more irritable, and a little more likely to throw a tantrum when he doesn’t get what he wants. It’s certainly no big deal though, and as a parent I find it interesting to compare how each of the kids deals with these growing pains in their own way. As the old saying goes, “this ain’t our first rodeo.”
These days he loves building things with legos, driving trains, cars, and trucks around the house, and watching any animated show related to trains, ie Thomas, Chuggington, etc. Enzo also recently got his first haircut and did really well. I stressed to the woman cutting his hair that we did not want short hair, we just wanted to get it out of his eyes and layer it a bit. Her response to me was classic – “Honey, I’m from the 70’s, so that will be no problem. I gotcha covered.” She recommended me pulling up a cartoon on my phone to keep him occupied while she went to work, so I started an episode of Thomas The Train on YouTube and it worked like a charm.
Since we knew we were going to have some down time after Enzo’s birthday, Jessica and I decided to do our annual health month a bit early this year. Normally we wait for June, but the time felt right to start in February. One thing that’s different this year is we’re doing 6 weeks instead of a month. Having done this multiple times in the past, the transition this year has been easier than ever. Basically, at this point our bodies are used to this, so it’s been no big deal. Last night was the halfway point, so we decided to have one cheat meal. After hockey I picked up a pizza and breadsticks, then came home to watch the Oscars. As expected, dinner was delicious, but considering that this was the first complex carbohydrate I’ve consumed in 3 weeks, it did a bit of a number on my stomach. Nothing major, but noticeable, so it was nice to get back to “normal” today. I’m not expecting any more cheat meals until our 6 weeks are up, but at the same time have no regrets about last night. Gotta treat yourself every once in awhile, even if you’re not going to feel so great afterwards.
About the only negative thing in our world lately has been Jessica’s constant back/shoulder pain. It’s been going on for several weeks now and our best guess is that she has a pinched nerve. I hate seeing her in regular pain and was glad she went to see my sister yesterday for some treatment. Dana definitely made a difference, but this isn’t something that’s going to heal overnight. It’s going to take more treatment and some conscious decisions to pay close attention to her posture at all times. I think we’re on the right track now, but we need to stay on top of it and keep making regular progress.
Things have been really busy for me at work lately, but that’s nothing new. Considering my team’s recent rapid growth, I’ve found myself in a new leadership position and am really enjoying it. Nothing official in terms of title, but certainly there has been a change in stature. I’ve also been finding myself doing a lot of interviews lately for prospective new development candidates, and am enjoying that new role.
I’m still playing guitar as much as ever, and have fallen absolutely in love with ice hockey. Each week my skills are improving, especially in skating, but there’s still so much to work on. Every Sunday I get so excited to play, and when I’m out there I never want to come off the ice. In fact I intentionally play on the team with fewer players so there will be less substitutions. I’m still having to think a lot when I’m out there – thinking about my skating, thinking about where I’m supposed to be on the ice based on the position I’m playing and the current location of the puck, but I’m getting better. Like anything else, if you’re consciously thinking about what you’re doing, chances are you’re not doing all that well, but there’s improvement. I can’t wait to get to the point where I don’t have to think so much and can just get out there and let it happen. They just announced the next session, which starts two weeks after this one ends, so I’ll definitely be doing that. Jessica recently brought the kids to watch me play and Ava just loved it. She was yelling and cheering for me the whole time, which was awesome. Elise, on the other hand, was more interested in playing games on her tablet, and Enzo couldn’t be contained unless the zamboni was out on the ice, at which point his concentration could not be deterred.
I guess that’s about it for now. We’re really looking forward to our getaway for Laurel and Mark’s wedding reception this April in Raleigh, North Carolina. Obviously our diet will be done well before then, so I’m looking forward to eating my heart out and experiencing some more regional barbeque. Austin really introduced me to good barbeque last year, so I’m curious to see how North Carolina stacks up. Here are some recent pics of the kids.
Ava getting some quality time with her tablet
Elise loves the tire swing
Enzo breaking it down at his birthday party
The insatiable sweet tooth
Ezy rider (or is it Weezy rider?)
#EatWithEnzo
Ava loves playing in the snow
Elise trying out her new goggles in the pool
Be my Valentine?
Love this shot from when we started singing Happy Birthday to Enzo
Yesterday our sweet little boy turned two years old! Considering that his favorite thing to do is eat, it only seemed fitting that we would host a food-based party at home. Several weeks ago Jessica and I decided on doing a pizza party, and by all accounts, it was a huge success. We were joined by Grandma and Grandpa Martin, Auntie Dana, my Godfather Pete, Uncle Butch & Aunt Carol, and our friends the Palmers, the Schreibers, the O’Hair’s, and the Hancocks. It was a full house and everyone had a great time.
As we tend to do when hosting a party at home, Jessica took care of the decorations while I focused on the food. There were pizza-themed decorations everywhere, and even a little pizza oven made out of cardboard by Jessica and Enzo that all the kids loved playing with. I had been practicing making pizzas from scratch over the previous couple weeks and ended up making 14 pizzas throughout the evening. I was happy with how they turned out but the ultimate praise came from our guests. A couple people told me they were the best pizzas they’ve ever had, which was quite flattering to hear, but what I got the biggest kick out of was when a few other people said “Wow these pizzas are really good. Where did you buy the crust?” As you might imagine, I would do no such thing, and took great pride in telling them that everything, including the crust, was homemade.
There were 3 different pizzas on the menu: Enzo’s Special (pepperoni & black olive), Pellegrini Primo (Italian sausage & mushroom), and Margherita (tomatoes, basil, garlic, & rosemary sea salt). Jessica made a cute little menu and put it up on the fridge. As it turned out, we didn’t need to make 14 pizzas, so as the party was winding down, I asked several people what their favorite type of pizza was and ended up sending them home with an entire pizza of their own. Even after everyone was gone I still had 3 pizzas to make, so I did, and just threw everything in the fridge. Looks like we’ll be eating those leftovers for a few days to come.
Although the food was good, there was no question that the combination of people we had together was the highlight of the event. It was just a great ambiance with tons of good conversation and laughter. In the background we listened to the ‘Enzo birth’ playlist from 2 years ago, while the kids played in the front room and most of the adults gathered around the kitchen table to talk, drink wine, and be merry. I was working in the kitchen the whole time but was almost always joined by someone who came over to hang out with me. I got to spend a lot of quality time with my sister Dana, who proclaimed herself my pizza apprentice. It was just a great evening that we’ll never forget. Big thanks to everyone who came to celebrate Enzo with us!
In addition to Enzo’s special day we’ve all been doing really well. Grandma and Grandpa got here Wednesday to stay with us for a week. They’ve been doing fun stuff with the kids everyday like going to museums, looking at planes, going out for tacos, etc. Friday night Jessica and I got out for a little date night (our first in 4 months) and ended up going to an Everett Silvertips hockey game, followed by dinner at Azul. Although we lost, the game was still a lot of fun, and dinner was great, but honestly it wouldn’t have mattered what we did; Jessica and I always have fun when going out so it was nice to get some private time together.
Due to my new involvement in ice hockey, we’ve made several family trips to the ice arena lately to do some skating. Turns out Ava really enjoys ice skating, so we’ve taken her 5 times over the past two weeks. Not surprisingly, she’s been getting better each time we go, so on March 1st she and Mom will begin their seven-week ‘Learn To Skate’ class together. When Ava sees the little girls taking figure skating lessons she gets really excited, so we may look at something like that down the road. The other night we were watching figure skating on TV and Ava said to me “Daddy I want to skate on TV.” Oh boy. We’ll just take it one step at a time and see how things turn out. We also saw a girl’s hockey team as we were getting off the ice one day, so maybe there’s a chance we can get her interested in that.
Speaking of hockey, last Sunday was my first session, and although it was my first time playing on ice (rather than concrete), I had an absolute blast and I think it’s safe to say I’m hooked. I have my second session tonight and I can’t wait to get out there. The only issue for me last week was that although I had purchased a lot of gear beforehand, it turned out that I was literally the only person on the ice not wearing hockey pants (which are padded), or shoulder pads. I couldn’t believe it because this is a beginner’s course, but everyone else was totally geared up. As you might imagine, it can be intimidating coming up on a full grown man on ice when they’re fully padded, and you’re not. I fell on my butt pretty hard once, then even harder on my hip a few minutes later, and was sore for several days, but it’s okay. Enzo and I went to the hockey store the very next night and I purchased hockey pants, shoulder pads, and two jerseys, so tonight I’ll be good to go.
We play on the community ice at the Xfinity Arena in Everett, so right upstairs is where the Silvertips play. There was a game going on last Sunday (as there will be again today), so people hanging out in the bar for the game can look down into our rink and watch us play. This means that I (and several others) was doing ice skating drills for the first time in my life, with an audience. Not surprising that I fell a couple times. The format for the class is to spend the first half hour doing drills, then the second half hour playing a scrimmage. One thing I couldn’t believe was how tired and sweaty I got from our game. You play in shifts so you’re only out there for a few minutes at a time, but believe me when I say it’s very tiring.
After the game the camaraderie in the locker room is great. All the guys are super cool and we’re just back there laughing and telling stories about things that happened during the game. There’s one guy on the team who, not only had he never played a game of hockey before, he’d never even skated before, so props to him for getting out there. As I’ve mentioned before, getting into hockey is a bit of a commitment, so to go out and buy all the gear without having ever even stepped on the ice is pretty impressive. Hopefully it won’t be too long before Jessica and the kids can come out to see me play.
We tried exposing Elise and Enzo to ice skating but it doesn’t seem like they’re ready for it yet, which is totally fine. Elise got so far as stepping out onto the ice, but she wasn’t comfortable and was worried about falling, so she decided not to stay out there. We took her a second time but she just wasn’t having it, and we’re not going to push it. Enzo did his best but his legs were slipping around so much he reminded me of a baby Bambi. We’ll definitely try exposing him to it again in the future, but it’s going to take some time before he’s ready. Some rinks have a session called ‘Walk the Ice’ where people can go out there in shoes and just walk around, so that may be a good way to expose Elise and Enzo in the future.
Poor Elise has a big scab on her nose and upper lip from a rug burn she got when falling off the couch the other day. We tried to lighten the mood by telling her she looks a bit like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, but you can tell she feels bad about it. Poor thing, I hate seeing her like this, but I’m sure it will heal soon. It reminds me of a huge scab I had on my face from an accident on the slide in pre-school. Other than that she’s doing good though, and gets so excited to go to school every Tuesday and Thursday.
Ava is now going to school the same days as Elise, plus Fridays, which is good because it won’t be long before she starts Kindergarten in September. Every time we drive by Penny Creek Elementary she says “Daddy that’s going to be my new school!” I love her excitement but taking her there for the first time will probably put a big lump in my throat.
The next couple months will probably be pretty quiet for us, but we’ve got our trip to Raleigh, North Carolina to look forward to in April. Although we’re going for our friend’s wedding reception, it will be the same week as our anniversary, so that should be fun. Considering we spent our 6th anniversary in the hospital getting Jessica’s appendix removed, it’s probably safe to say that number 7 will be a bit more fun.
Thank you again to everyone who made Enzo’s second birthday such a memorable one. The people, the presents, the conversations, everything was just excellent and we appreciate it all so much. We’ve only got a few photos to share for now, but luckily my good friend Leon was there taking tons of pictures, so it won’t be long before we have those to share.
Happy 2nd birthday Enzo! I love you so much buddy!
After an excellent winter break, our family is back to normal and settling into a groove for the new year. Actually it’s a new normal, because we have several fun and exciting new things going on, but more on those in a few. First I want to take a minute to extend my sincerest gratitude to Grandpa Rick and Grandma Chris for everything they did to have us out for Christmas. This was easily one of the best Christmas holidays I’ve ever had, and of my 3 trips to Iowa, it’s probably fair to say that this was my favorite one. I certainly had a great time on the other 2 trips as well, but there was something special about this one that I’ll never forget. Looking back at everything Rick and Chris went out of their way to do in order to ensure we had a great trip, it just blows me away. I know they did it all out of love, and would be happy to do it all over again, but I just want them to know how much I personally appreciate it.
Although Jessica did a great job of describing our trip, there’s one part that I want to focus on a bit more: the food. One thing you know for sure is that when you’re staying at Rick and Chris’ house, you’re going to eat like a king, and this trip was certainly no exception. It’s nearly impossible for me to pick my favorite meal of the trip because we ate so well the entire time, but if I had to pick a top 3, it would be:
Beef tenderloin at the Rudd family Christmas dinner
Lobster, Crab, and Corn chowder on Christmas Eve
Deep Dish Midwest Pizza (we had several during the trip and they were all excellent)
Honorable mention goes to the grilled Iowa pork chops Rick made on our second night there, and the ham we had at the Rudd family Christmas dinner. I’m definitely going to have my work cut out for me when Rick comes out for a visit this Spring, but rest assured, I’m already planning a menu 🙂
When we got home on Thursday night, I still had a four day weekend ahead of me before returning to Microsoft on Tuesday. Unfortunately we didn’t notice it until Saturday morning, but our furnace wasn’t working, and surprisingly enough, it was colder here in Washington than where we were in Iowa. By the time we noticed that the heat wasn’t working correctly (the house wouldn’t warm up past about 64 degrees), everyone was closed for the holiday weekend. Not surprisingly, it was freezing that weekend and we actually got more snow. By the time Sunday came around the five of us were staying bundled up with winter coats and hats all day, even though we were inside our home!
I called Rick and he guided me through a bunch of troubleshooting steps to diagnose our furnace, but unfortunately we were unable to get it fixed. First thing Monday morning I got on the phone looking for someone to come out and have a look. The first couple places I called were closed for the holiday, but luckily I got through with a company called CM Heating, and they were able to get someone out that day. The guy that came over was extremely friendly, professional, and even nice enough to let me shadow him throughout the process so I could learn more about how to troubleshoot the furnace. Turns out we had a drainage issue; the condensation that builds up when the furnace is running has to get drained out of the system, but a blockage had built up in our drainage pipe, so the water was backing all the way up to the water sensor. This explained why the furnace would fire up, run for 20 seconds, then shut down. Basically as soon as some condensation would form and try to drain out, it would hit the blockage, trigger the sensor, and the whole system would shut down. Luckily the repair was very inexpensive and I learned a lot about how a home furnace system actually works. As a first-time homeowner, there are plenty of lessons like this to learn, but I find this stuff pretty interesting. I’m just glad it wasn’t something major that would require a whole new furnace.
As far as the family goes, we’re all doing really well. The girls were excited to get back to school last week and see all their friends. In addition to their normal Tuesday Thursday schedule, Ava is now attending school on Fridays as well. This will be a nice way to ramp her up for Kindergarten, which begins in September.
Starting tomorrow night, Elise and Ava will be going to swimming lessons every Monday. I’m really excited about this because I want the kids to be comfortable in the water from a young age. My initial impressions based on experiences we’ve already had at swimming pools is that Elise is a bit more comfortable in the water than Ava, but hopefully that will even out very soon. I loved taking swimming lessons as a kid, so I hope they do too. If they get really into it maybe we’ll consider getting them into some type of swim team, but only time will tell. Regardless, I just want them to have fun, and develop good solid swimming skills so they’ll never feel uncomfortable in the water.
Our little man Enzo is doing great as well. I can’t believe how advanced his vocabulary is becoming! When I see him around other kids his age it really stands out. While other kids are grunting and saying single words here and there, Enzo is dropping entire sentences. Granted, not everyone can understand everything he says, but Jessica and I can, and it’s impressive. Just the other night he noticed a new calendar on the fridge, pointed at it, and said “I don’t know what month it is.” Jessica and I were like, wow, did he really just say that? Plus, it was super perceptive of him to notice that the calendar has changed due to the new year. Impressive indeed. The other thing he’s been doing really well is throwing balls. He just has a natural throwing motion and throws things harder and faster than you would expect. He always seems to throw with his right hand, so it’s likely that he’s right-handed. Although I wouldn’t force anything on him, he may have some natural athletic talent, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.
Jessica worked a very long shift on New Year’s Eve while I stayed home with the kids. I felt a little guilty for not being there with her, because I had an offer to work, but finding a babysitter that night is much easier said than done. As a testament to her constant hard work and professionalism, Jessica received an impressive (implied) job offer to become the private dining coordinator of El Gaucho Seattle. This would be the perfect job for her, and we definitely considered it, but unfortunately the timing isn’t right. If the kids were in school it would be totally different, but for her to be able to take it now would mean major changes for the kids. We’d have to hire a full-time nanny, and the kids lives would be turned upside down, so we decided not to pursue it. Hopefully another opportunity like this will come up when the time is right. Knowing her, and how good of a job she does, I’m quite confident that it will.
Today Jessica re-joined at 24 Hour Fitness. She was going a lot last year with her friend Solana, and all the kids loved going there to play together, but after Solana quit Jessica decided to take a break. Lately she’s been feeling like she needs some physical activity to balance out her creative hobby of painting rocks, so she’s back to the gym, and I’m very proud of her. Hopefully she will enjoy going to all the various classes and will have something new to look forward to on a regular basis.
Speaking of new physical activities, I too have been feeling lately like I need a physical hobby to balance out my creative hobby of playing guitar. I used to have that with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when we lived in San Diego, but I was never able to find a school I liked in Washington, and subsequently gave it up. Well, after a bunch of encouragement from a friend at work, I’ve decided to join an adult beginner’s ice hockey league. I know it sounds a little crazy but I used to love playing street hockey as a kid and I think it will be a lot of fun. Fortunately I work for an awesome company that is so dedicated to employee health and fitness that they give us an annual fitness allowance to spend on stuff like this. Hockey is one of those sports that isn’t exactly easy to get into unless you grew up playing it, mainly because it requires a bunch of gear, and a membership in a league. If you don’t know for sure that you want to play, you’re probably not going to head out and buy all the gear, then pay to get into a league, but Microsoft basically alleviates those concerns for me, so I’m just excited to get out there. I went out this week and purchased all my gear, so now I can’t wait for my first session, which is 2 weeks from today. For now I’m just going for an hour on Sunday afternoons, then after this first session ends we’ll see where we’re at in terms of getting into an intermediate league.
On a side note, based on all the political stuff I wrote around the time of the election, I just want to say that since then I’ve had several very positive conversations with my Uncle Jim and my Father-in-law Rick, and based on those conversations I feel like I have a better understanding of the complete picture. I’m not saying my perspective has changed, because I still feel strongly about the environment and gun safety, but I now have a better understanding of where a lot of Trump’s supporters were coming from. Being back in Iowa and seeing all the factories, I can see how someone would feel if they were struggling to put food on the table because they had been laid off from the only job they had ever known, and the factory moved overseas. There’s no question that if I were in that situation, my priority would be on providing for my family before it would be on protecting the environment, so I get where they’re coming from. That said, I can’t help but take some pride in the fact that I’ve been able to put my family in a position where they will never have those types of worries, but I certainly understand and empathize with those who do.
One of the things I’ve struggled with, however, is separating the message from the messenger. The fact is that I don’t like or respect Donald Trump, so I tend to focus on his negative attributes, of which I feel there are many, rather than look for the positives in his statements. I’m also unhappy with his cabinet picks, and honestly I’m very concerned about our country’s future, but I would never direct any of that dissatisfaction towards his supporters, especially now. The outcome of the election has caused me to reflect on a moment I had with Rick on my first trip to Iowa, which was for Christmas, 2009. At that time, Obama had just been elected, and his election came up during our conversation one night. I remember Rick saying “He’s not my first choice to be our president, but regardless he will be our president, so I will support him.” I remember being really impressed with that type of level-headedness, and it has stuck with me ever since. Well, now is my chance to apply that same mindset because although I’m not a fan of the man, I am a fan of our country, and I only want the best for it.
For the near-term I’ve decided to take a break from politics and focus on things that are nearer and dearer to my heart: my family, my career, and my hobbies. Jessica and I have also incorporated some new environmentally-friendly practices into our everyday lives that we’re happy about, so that’s not going to change. What is going to change for me though, is the daily articles, podcasts, social media posts, etc. I’m just not feeling it right now, mainly because it does nothing but upset me, and I don’t like spending a disproportionate amount of time feeling upset. There’s simply too much good stuff going on in our lives right now to focus on anything else. 2017 expects to be an exciting year for us, and with all the fun new stuff we’ve got going on, I think it’s safe to say we’re off to a good start. Happy New Year!
Tomorrow is the last day of the year and I for one am not sorry to say goodbye to 2016. It’s been a crazy year end for us filled with another trip to the ER for Michael, and a hit and run on our Acura. Thankfully, our trip to Iowa was a huge success but I’ll get to that later.
I’ve worked more in the month of December than I have any other month this year, by far. One of my last shifts at El Gaucho Bellevue turned out to be a really expensive shift to pick up. I had a really nice evening at work and was very happy to be leaving the restaurant at a reasonable hour, I was even hoping that I’d be home in time to see Michael before he headed to bed. Unfortunately, when I got to the car I noticed that it had a huge blue scratch on the front driver side. My stomach sank, I instantly felt horrible. Although it wasn’t my fault, I knew that it would make Michael upset and I hated to come home and drop bad news in his lap after barely seeing him for the past 2 days. Sometimes people suck, what do you do? We’ve already gotten an estimate to repair the damage and plan to get it done ASAP but it still makes me mad just thinking about it. The money I made that night doesn’t even cover half of what it will cost to fix the damage.
A few days later Michael came down with a nasty stomach bug. He took a few days off work and rested as much as possible but about 3 days into it he just couldn’t take it anymore and took himself to the ER in the middle of the night to get checked out. Thankfully they were able to give him some meds to help with the nausea and after another few days of rest he was feeling better. We did end up having to cancel our dinner party which was a bummer but we’re planning to host something in January to make up for it. It put a little bit of a damper on Laurel’s visit but we made the most of it and spent most of her visit at home which allowed us to have some good ole quality time together. Laurel and I had originally planned to get away together for a night out and maybe a bit of Christmas shopping but it didn’t happen and actually the weekend at home was just what I needed. We baked cookies with the girls, did a little shopping with the kids, had a movie night, took her rock hunting, and just enjoyed being together. I am so excited that she and her husband, Mark, are planning to move back to Seattle in the spring, there are sure to be many more weekends together in the coming year.
The day before our trip to Iowa we were visited by Santa. Michael was home from work for the day so we took the opportunity to celebrate and open presents from both my mom and Michael’s mom, as well as all the gifts we bought for the kids. It was of course a huge hit. It really doesn’t matter what the gift is, the kids get excited just to open up presents. Big or small, they appreciate them all and loved every minute of it. This year, Elise asked Santa for a helicopter, Ava asked for a purple giraffe (her favorite animal) with brown spots and Enzo wanted a fire truck. Santa came through and with the help of Amazon, he was able to deliver on each request. The rest of the day was spent preparing for our 8 day trip to Iowa. Generally I would already have all of our things packed and ready to go but because of our recent visitor and the fact that I have been working a lot, I didn’t pack a single item until the day before we left. That night at bedtime we dressed the kids in the clothes that they would need to wear the next day and got to bed as early as possible in preparation of our 4:30 am departure.
Aside from nearly missing our connecting flight in Denver due to a delayed take off in Seattle, it was a pretty easy trip. We did have to run from gate B42 to Gate B87 in 5 minutes but we managed and the flight was a breeze. We were all hangry (angry and hungry) when we arrived but Grandpa greeted us with nuggets and chicken sandwiches from Chik-fil-a so it didn’t take us long to bounce back from a long day of travel.
The week we spent in Iowa was all I wanted and more. The first day in town I was able to sneak away for almost 5 hours while Michael and my Dad took the kids sledding. My girlfriend, Liz, was in town from Dallas visiting family and drove an hour and a half to Cedar Rapids just to see me. I haven’t seen her since she visited San Diego the summer after Ava was born so there was no shortage of things to catch up on. It was such a wonderful afternoon. We stopped by the mall for a little last minute shopping and then had a nice long lunch at the restaurant we both worked at back in 2001. It’s true what they say that a good friendship is one that doesn’t fade with time. We could have stayed at lunch all day and just talked and talked. I got a little choked up when it was finally time to say goodbye but I know that we’ll see each other again when the timing is right. Meanwhile the kids had a great time playing in the snow with Dad and Grandpa. Actually, Ava had a good time playing in the snow. Elise took a spill her first time sledding down the hill and decided to take a nap in the car while Ava took advantage of what would be the only time they were able to play in the snow during our week long stay. That night we drove around the west side of town looking at Christmas lights. Driving around in search of lights has become a tradition for us and one of my favorites. It is no exaggeration when I say that we saw two houses that were by far my favorite christmas light displays ever. Its too bad that by this point all of the kids were sound asleep. One was a house that was totally decked out in lights and it was programmed to sing along with one of the local radio stations. We happened to drive up to the display and tune in just as they were playing a portion of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It’s by far my favorite holiday movie and one that my Dad and I used to watch together every year so it made seeing that house just at that moment all the more special. We were even greeted by the owner of the house who was outside handing out candy canes to all the cars driving up to see his house. This kind of thing only happens in Iowa, I swear. We chatted with him for a few minutes and he suggested we drive up around the corner to one of his neighbors houses to see another incredible display. We were not disappointed! The next house was covered in lights on all 4 sides including a tree in the front yard like I had never seen before. It was at least 30 feet tall and nearly every branch was wrapped in white lights. It honestly took your breath away at first sight. I have no idea how it was done but it was nothing short of spectacular.
The next day, Michael and I took the kids to an indoor play space and ran around for a few hours while Dad stayed home to prepare for the Rudd Christmas party that night. After playing games and running around for a few hours we headed over to my grandparents condo to see them for the first time. All of the kids loved seeing their condo, which is filled to the brim with breakables and all kinds of interesting things. The girls favorite part was sifting through my Grandma’s seashell collection and Enzo was instantly drawn to a wooden train that I remember playing with as a kid. It’s like a trip down memory lane walking into their condo for me. Looking around at all the artwork and knick knacks, each of which remind me of a certain time in my childhood. It was a nice visit and gave the kids a chance to get some one on one time with both my grandparents and Aunt Betsy. We weren’t able to stay long because we had a party that evening but it was nice to get some time in no matter how short.
That night was the annual Rudd Christmas party and of course it was a lot of fun. My Dad totally outdid himself making a delicious ham and beef tenderloin dinner and all the adults enjoyed a hilarious gift exchange. The weather turned nasty really quick that evening but thankfully it didn’t stop almost everyone from making it. It’s no surprise that we spent the entire evening crowded around the kitchen island laughing at each other and enjoying a few drinks. I am so thankful for the opportunity to see everyone, the kids had a blast climbing on Uncle Tracy and dragging any willing adult around the house. Michael and I had a great time listening to everyone tell stories about the year and generally poking fun at one another. After all the guests left we didn’t stop for the night. Michael, Dad, Chris and I stayed up until nearly 1:00 am sitting around the table talking. Words can not describe what nights like this mean to me. Quality time like that with my family is something that can’t be duplicated. Although my Dad and I talk on the phone weekly, nothing can replace a nice long conversation in person.
We were all pretty tired the next day so we laid low for the most part only getting out of the house to walk around the neighborhood for a bit. That night my Dad made us all my favorite Christmas Eve dinner, lobster corn chowder, and we were joined by Joel and Melanie who had recently returned from a 3 week trip to Malaysia. As is tradition in our family, the kids each get to open a present on Christmas Eve night. We bent to their pleas and allowed them to open more than one each but mostly because we wanted them to have a few things to occupy them for the evening so that the adults could get a little more time together without interruption. The meal did not disappoint, my Dad added crab for the first time and it was amazing. I remember having this on Christmas Eve years ago and it was better than I remembered. There was a lot to hear about regarding Joel and Melanie’s trip. None of us have ever been to that part of the world so it was fascinating to hear about their adventures. It was another late night spent around the kitchen table talking and one that I won’t soon forget. After they left we set out the remaining gifts from Santa, hung the stocking and headed off to bed in anticipation of an early morning.
Ava was the first one up on Christmas morning, which is no surprise since she is usually the first person to wake up. She came into our bedroom and said “Did Santa come last night? Can we open up presents?” By this time we were all up and headed upstairs to get grandma and grandpa up for the day. The kids started with the stockings and Elise was so cute, as she emptied out each item she yelled out with excitement “I got a candy! I got a car! I got socks!” It was adorable. The kids didn’t waste any time opening gifts, there was no waiting to see who got what, or taking turns. It was more like, “Which one says my name?” and then they would rip the paper off and move on to the next. There were a few times that we didn’t even know whose gift is was until it was opened. After all the boxes were unwrapped it looked like a bomb had gone off in the living room. We sat around and opened up each toy and piled a huge mound of cardboard into garbage bags. All of the adults were exhausted by this time and for the rest of the morning we just laid around and enjoyed the sound of the kids playing together. We were joined by all of Chris’s family that afternoon for an early dinner and another gift exchange. It was a great opportunity to get to know Chris’s family a bit better. Since I have lived so far away for all of my Dad and Chris’s relationship I have never really gotten the chance to spend time with her family. It was fun sitting around listening to their stories just like we had done with my own family. Once again my Dad totally outdid himself with all the food. He made what was probably the best turkey I have ever had. Wow was it good, so extremely juicy and slightly crispy on the outside, yum! After dinner I was definitely feeling like I was in a food coma and so was Michael because he fell asleep while sitting in the living room with everyone while they were doing their family gift exchange. Christmas was probably the only night we got to bed at a decent hour and skipped our nightly talk around the dinner table.
The next day we headed over to my grandparents condo for another Christmas party. My Aunt Betsy was thoughtful enough to coordinate a get together for us so that we could see all of my Mom’s family. We booked out the community room in the basement of their building and had everyone over for lunch. My grandma brought down her huge assortment of beads and Betsy and MaryJo set up a lunch buffet for us all. We sat around and talked and made beaded necklaces. The girls were both so incredibly proud of their creations and have worn them almost everyday since. I enjoyed sitting with my cousin Carissa and getting to know her a bit more while also making a necklace of my own, with a 3 picture locket on it. Although I don’t wear jewelry much this one is something that I will treasure. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy carefully selecting the perfect beads to make it, but I also had a great time sitting with Carissa while I beaded it. Michael enjoyed an afternoon of sitting with my uncles and grandpa, telling them mostly about the wonders that is Microsoft but also getting to know more about them as well. We get so little time with my family, and he has only been to Cedar Rapids 3 times now so every minute that we are there is special. By the end of the day we were pretty exhausted so we spent a nice relaxing night in at my Dad’s and ordered pizza. Michael and the kids went to bed early and my Dad and I stayed up late together watching a movie.
The next morning we packed up the van and headed out on a little road trip to Dubuque. My friend, Jodi and her family were also home for the holidays and since they were only 90 minutes away we wanted to take advantage of being so close to each other and spend the afternoon together. My went to her parents house for lunch and stayed to play for a few hours. She has two girls both close in age to Ava and Elise, last time we were in town they stayed the night at my Dads house and the kids really hit it off. This time was no different. Our kids made themselves at home as if they had visited there 100 times before and Jodi and I separated ourselves from the men a bit and were able to catch up on all sorts of things. I wish I had more time with Jodi, or that I had more friends like Jodi because it felt so great to be there with her. It was almost a bit therapeutic for me to spend time with her, she has such a calming, loving personality. I was completely bummed when I realized it was time to go. Time flew by while we were there and before I knew it, it was time to get back on the road.
The next day was our last day in town so we wanted to make it a full one. We got up and got ready and headed out to see my grandparents and Betsy one last time. It wasn’t a long visit but it was another opportunity for all of us to get in one more visit and for them to see the kids one more time. We hung out in their living room and played with the kids and Betsy totally had Enzo mesmerized with Nursery Rhymes. Humpty Dumpty to be exact. He has never heard the rhyme before and thought she was hysterical each time she repeated it to him. I was extremely grateful for this when on our last flight home he became horribly aggravated, I tried all sorts of things to calm him down and after about 10 minutes of no stop screaming I was able to keep him completely quiet by saying the Humpty Dumpty rhyme to him over and over. It worked like a charm. I was of course sad to say goodbye to them when it was time to go but we had plans to meet my Dad and Chris for lunch and then we were all headed to the Kids Museum in Iowa City for the afternoon. Leaving their house and not knowing when I will see any of the 3 of them again made me choke up. I did my best to see them as much as possible while we were in town but it doesn’t make things any easier. Seeing my Aunt and grandparents play with each of my children fills my heart with so much joy. The hardest part of living away from home is the time that you miss out on with your family. My kids will never know what it’s like to spend a sick day, home from school with one of their Aunts or grandparents. They’ll never get to go out on a random weekday movie date with their cousins, they won’t know what it’s like to have Christmas traditions with extended family every year. These are the things that fill my mind when I’m home visiting. These are the reasons Michael and I did our best to fill our 8 days in Iowa with family.
The rest of the afternoon was tons of fun, we had lunch at one of the coolest places in Cedar Rapids, The Black Sheep. Then we headed to Iowa City to the children’s museum. We all had a great time at the museum, it was definitely a good choice. Both kids and adults found an activity that caught their attention. I even noticed my Dad and Michael off together making and flying paper airplanes. The museum puts all of the kids attractions that we usually frequent to shame. We burned up nearly 3 hours of time in the blink of an eye. The highlight for all of us was easily the flight room. It was room filled with flight simulators, a giant slide, a fake, nearly full sized hot air balloon, several mini ride in planes, a network of air tubes that you could watch balls buzz around it and more. On our way out of the mall, grandma took the girls into Claire’s. They had been totally obsessed with jewelry since making their own beaded necklaces so she wanted to get them a few things to play with. It was the first time they have been taken into a store and told they could pick out whatever they wanted. I didn’t go in with them because I wanted it to be a special thing just with grandma. It was so adorable when they proudly showed us all of the treasure they had picked out for themselves. Its no surprise that since coming home these are the toys that they have clutched onto the most. What a special moment for them, no doubt. That night was a little bitter sweet, we were definitely all looking forward to being home, but we were not looking forward to leaving grandpa and grandma behind. I think Enzo has had the hardest time leaving grandpa behind. The two of them formed a bond on this trip unlike one I have yet seen with my kids. The has asked about grandpa almost hourly since leaving. Its both heartwarming and heart breaking at the same time. The joy that I get from seeing my baby boy and my Dad bond in unbelievable, the sadness that I feel knowing that we won’t be together again for several months is devastating.
2016 was not my favorite year by any means, but Christmas 2016 is one that I will never forget. I have only visited Iowa 4 times in 13 years. Two of those visits took place in 2016. This past week was everything that I wanted and more. My Dad and Chris worked their butts off in preparation for our stay. They opened up their home to mass chaos and did it happily. They hardly let us lift a finger for 8 days and when we did help they thanked us repeatedly. They hosted multiple gathering so that we would have quality time with all of our multiple family members. They provided us with an awesome “Pellegrini Suite” to stay in and made sure that we wanted for nothing. They didn’t bat an eye when one of the kids spilled or broke something and they never stopped being incredible hosts. All 5 of us had an awesome trip and we are so thankful that we were able to fill every minute of our trip with family. I love you both so very much, thank you for having us, we miss you already!
Playing at the park with Grandpa
Lunch at Biaggi’s with Liz
Daddy and Ava sledding at the YMCA
What a tree!
Staying warm with Enzo
Opening presents with Grandma
The girls posing in front of our beautiful tree
Who wants to race?
Lounging with Uncle Joel
Christmas morning
Our silly girls
Love you Dad
Elise getting ready to open her coloring book and crayons