Hi friends and family! It is important that you take the time to bookmark this page, add it to your favorites or otherwise memorize the address "www.TeamFein.blogspot.com" because I will soon make some changes to the blog. After reviewing how users find this website, it seems we get a lot of traffic from google search as well as other random search engines with people from different parts of the world. While that might excite some authors, it rather freaks me out a bit since this is really a family blog with photos of my kids and my loved ones... I'd rather not give random people access to the blog.
Instead of password protecting the blog, I think I will set it so search engines cannot find the website. This means if you already have the address you can still read the blog. But if you try to just google "team fein" google will not be able to find the blog.
Questions? Let Raina or Michael know, otherwise bookmark this page ASAP! Thanks =)
Friday, August 31, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Whale Watching Expedition
Earlier in the spring, I had purchased a deal for the three of us to go on a whale watching trip in the San Juan islands however long story short, we were unable to get it scheduled until mid August, but by that time I was far to pregnant to risk putting myself on the boat. That and I might actually get mistaken for a whale. Luckily grandmama was available to take my place so the three of them adventured out one Wednesday morning to the Bellingham area to get on a boat.
I should mention that the one other time Michael and I tried one of these tours was circa 2000 as a birthday gift to me. When Michael talked to the people on the phone they said that April was the start of the season but yes, they had seen whales already. The upshot was that it was really cold, we saw zero whales but did see some porpoises, seals and other wildlife. After 12 years we were hoping for a better experience.
Upon arrival, the boat captain said he would take them on a one hour trip near Vancouver Island to watch a pod of orcas whales for twenty minutes before continuing the one hour trip back. This did not sound too exciting however no other whales had been seen in the vicinity. A few minutes later the two boat captains got a call and began high five-ing each other and suddenly became seriously enthusiastic; evidently a transient pod of Orcas whales was offshore nearby Orcas Island hunting seals. Sighting a transient pod rarely occurs and even rarer is sighting them off of Orcas Island (in comparison there are several resident pods that are always in the area this time of year and they exclusively eat salmon, not seals). Grandmama, dad and Harrison were in for a real treat.
Once near the whales, they were able to observe them for about two hours, extending the originally planned time of the tour. They saw the whales hunt and kill seals and dad had a nice discussion with Harrison regarding eating habits and the food chain! Actually Harrison and I had recently discussed the need for humans and animals to eat other animals so the idea wasn't totally foreign to him but he was still learning to accept the concept. In any case, the report back to me was that the experience was exceptional and that if they went again they would probably be disappointed because it would be difficult to top this experience. Unfortunetly for safety the boats keep distance and the cameras they brought didn't have big enough lenses to get any good shots of the whales for you to see here.
Woe is me, poor mom didn't get to see any of it! There was no way I was going to put myself on a boat at 35 weeks pregnant and already experiencing contractions. Instead I had a pedicure and finished up some projects around the house and otherwise rested.
I should mention that the one other time Michael and I tried one of these tours was circa 2000 as a birthday gift to me. When Michael talked to the people on the phone they said that April was the start of the season but yes, they had seen whales already. The upshot was that it was really cold, we saw zero whales but did see some porpoises, seals and other wildlife. After 12 years we were hoping for a better experience.
Upon arrival, the boat captain said he would take them on a one hour trip near Vancouver Island to watch a pod of orcas whales for twenty minutes before continuing the one hour trip back. This did not sound too exciting however no other whales had been seen in the vicinity. A few minutes later the two boat captains got a call and began high five-ing each other and suddenly became seriously enthusiastic; evidently a transient pod of Orcas whales was offshore nearby Orcas Island hunting seals. Sighting a transient pod rarely occurs and even rarer is sighting them off of Orcas Island (in comparison there are several resident pods that are always in the area this time of year and they exclusively eat salmon, not seals). Grandmama, dad and Harrison were in for a real treat.
Once near the whales, they were able to observe them for about two hours, extending the originally planned time of the tour. They saw the whales hunt and kill seals and dad had a nice discussion with Harrison regarding eating habits and the food chain! Actually Harrison and I had recently discussed the need for humans and animals to eat other animals so the idea wasn't totally foreign to him but he was still learning to accept the concept. In any case, the report back to me was that the experience was exceptional and that if they went again they would probably be disappointed because it would be difficult to top this experience. Unfortunetly for safety the boats keep distance and the cameras they brought didn't have big enough lenses to get any good shots of the whales for you to see here.
Woe is me, poor mom didn't get to see any of it! There was no way I was going to put myself on a boat at 35 weeks pregnant and already experiencing contractions. Instead I had a pedicure and finished up some projects around the house and otherwise rested.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Even More Summer Fun
I unintentionally may have caused our son to become obsessed with weather. During the winter, he would ask to go outside to the park and I would usually point to the window and say, "not today buddy, it's really cold and very rainy" which I would repeat almost daily for something like five months straight. Once the end of spring came into view he would get really excited by giving me a weather report in relation to his play time aspirations: "mommy it's sunny, we can go outside and blow bubbles and play at the park! Ok?! C'mon let's go!"
Northwest Washington in August is almost always sunny and warm and the summer of 2012 has not let us down, we haven't had measurable rain in a month and we've had a few days over 90 degrees. Taking advantage of the great weather, Harrison and dad have had some action packed weekends (while mom mostly stays home shut up in the house with the curtains drawn and fan on to keep her pregnant body cool!).
The last weekend of July they went on the annual Dads and Kids camping trip, this year extending their stay to two night and two and half days. Although dad "forgot he had a camera" in the bag, Harrison was able to report to me the following:
Northwest Washington in August is almost always sunny and warm and the summer of 2012 has not let us down, we haven't had measurable rain in a month and we've had a few days over 90 degrees. Taking advantage of the great weather, Harrison and dad have had some action packed weekends (while mom mostly stays home shut up in the house with the curtains drawn and fan on to keep her pregnant body cool!).
The last weekend of July they went on the annual Dads and Kids camping trip, this year extending their stay to two night and two and half days. Although dad "forgot he had a camera" in the bag, Harrison was able to report to me the following:
- He ate LOTS of marshmallows and s'mores. How many? 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 11!!!
- The potty was very stinky
- He played with lots of friends
- He borrowed and slept on Zaidy's extra bed (our air mattress unexpectedly had a hole in it)
- It was really cold at night
Dad agrees that his report is pretty true. They swam in the lake each day, Harrison played with four or five other friends his age and ate roasted marshmallows in some form each night. He went to bed late, after ten each night since the sun is up almost until then, dressed in his warmest jammies, zipped into his sleeping bad and covered with a big, thick blanket. In the morning he would wake up, complain he was cold and climb into dad's bed to snuggle up and get warm.
On the second night, dad put him to sleep and then sat by the campfire for another 90 minutes. It was pretty late so he decided to go to bed although he wasn't yet terribly tired. Walking up to the tent he heard a noise that sounded like teeth chattering and upon opening the door found Harrison completely out of his sleeping bag and blanket, huddled in the fetal position, teeth chattering and shivering with cold! Dad asked him if he was cold and he muttered with closed eyes, "uh-huh" and dad zipped and tucked him in again and the exhausted little dude immediately fell into a deep sleep.
When the returned home, they had been gone so long I had really missed them and was happy to get a big, filthy hug from him. And then I immediately threw him into the bath tub and started washing everything they had taken with them! Harrison always has a good time, although he really wanted me to come with them. Next year buddy, next year we can talk about it. As soon as they walked through the door though, I could see that he and his dad had really bonded and he spent the next couple weeks turning more to dad than usual. Now we are back to business as usual and nearly everything is "mommy, mommy, mommy!" again.
The next weekend dad took Harrison, along with friends Aaron and Lilah, to see the Blue Angels air show for Seafair weekend. If you ask Harrison about it, instead of telling you he will fly his hand around like an jet, make loud jet noises followed by an almost unintelligible slur of words describing how the jets were really loud and buzzed the crowd just a few hundred feet above their heads to which Harrison screamed in fright and ran to dad and sat huddled in his lap. Dad admits he was even taken by surprise by that fly over. It was about 90* that day so they got there early and found a spot near the shoreline so the kids could play in the beach. Harrison will also tell you about his Spongebob Popsicle they got from the ice cream truck; these are the important moments kids really remember!
Later that week, Krissi and Gain joined mom and Harrison for a trip back to Remlinger Farms, yes the same farm we visited with Argenta a few weeks earlier. The weather had cooled and the boys had a great time riding the train, cars, canoe and especially the ferris wheel, a big step for Gavin who is just shy of two years old!
After play time and lunch, Harrison said he had enough energy to pick some blueberries before heading home so we stopped at the field and picked about 2.5 pounds worth. Dad worked late that evening so I made blueberry pancakes to which he declared they were the best pancakes I had ever made! If I instilled a weather obsession into my son, I also instilled a love of picking berries with me. His stamina doesn't quite match mine but his enthusiasm is there, we both can't wait for the blackberries around the corner to be ripe and he recalls picking them with me last year (jams, baked goods, over ice cream - oh my!)
Lastly I finally brought the good camera to soccer class although I realized I need the big lens next time. In any case, here are some clearer photos of one of his favorite weekly activities. In the second photo they are playing a kicking game where they pretended there was a buffalo stomping through their garden, this is why he has his fingers up like horns.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Winston Fein, Super Star
A coworker recently asked Michael where we board Winston when we leave town and we love to tell people we send him to Bone-a-fide Dog Ranch because they have taken great care of him over the past five years. He pulled up the website and noted it had recently been overhauled and to his surprise, there is a photo of Winston on the home page! Since we don't allow him to run much anymore due to the double hind leg ACL surgeries he is not in any videos showing the dogs running and playing but we are proud parents nonetheless!
Monday, August 6, 2012
It's gonna be a good day when...
Often I can tell if a day will be good or bad depending on how Harrison acts the first 30 minutes of the day.
For example, the other day he came in sweetly but five minutes later he was whining and kicking his feet about something and the whole day "went to pot" (as grandpa would say), filled with timeouts, screaming, yelling and tears. That day we went to Target and I had agreed to buy some small Batman items to take home for him to earn through helping with laundry. Unfortunetly he made some bad choices and I told him that I would not buy them and he immediately started whining, then screaming and laying on the floor inside Target so I dragged him out front, sat on a bench and let him wail on the ground until we could talk about things. I took a little video, which does not at all do justice to the scale of the tantrum, but it's fun nonetheless.
Luckily this morning things were on the other extreme, in fact we had the best day in terms of his behavior that we have had in awhile. When he wakes up in the morning, he has a nightlight that turns from a moon into the sun at 7:30am which tells him it is time to get out of bed. This used to work wonderfully until he got to be a smart 3 year old and would come in and try to wake us up anyway. So this morning he comes in around 6:45am and dad asks him if the sun is up and since the answer was no, he needed to go back to bed. He told us he needed to go potty so I told him to go ahead and then go back into his room.
Michael and I fell back asleep and we woke up maybe 15 minutes later when I popped out of bed to use the loo myself, when I immediately noticed that his moon nightlight was plugged into the wall opposite my bed. The two of us looked at it, smiled, then Michael rolled back to sleep while I stepped into the bathroom. When I came out and walked back to my side of the bed, I saw (which I had evidently failed to notice exiting the bed) that Harrison had set up his pillow, laid a blanket on the ground like a sheet then laid another blanket over that to make a bed. There were also a couple of books on the ground. I woke Michael so he could witness this act of extreme cuteness, we smiled and then Harrison came in with a suitcase full of books in tow! We asked him what he was doing and he said he wanted to go night night next to us.
The rest of the day was marvelous, he had a great attitude, didn't need any time outs, completely bathed himself without any help from me at all, played and shared with multiple friends, took his nap, was awesome at swimming and was overall sweet and nice, telling me many times how much he loves me. Why can't every day be like today?!
To cap the day off, dad was on the deck watering the flowers when he found a frog which he and Harrison caught in our special animal catching jar we keep handy. After adding some water, a leaf and stick, we spent some time checking it out then dad and Harrison released him into the park across the street.
For example, the other day he came in sweetly but five minutes later he was whining and kicking his feet about something and the whole day "went to pot" (as grandpa would say), filled with timeouts, screaming, yelling and tears. That day we went to Target and I had agreed to buy some small Batman items to take home for him to earn through helping with laundry. Unfortunetly he made some bad choices and I told him that I would not buy them and he immediately started whining, then screaming and laying on the floor inside Target so I dragged him out front, sat on a bench and let him wail on the ground until we could talk about things. I took a little video, which does not at all do justice to the scale of the tantrum, but it's fun nonetheless.
Luckily this morning things were on the other extreme, in fact we had the best day in terms of his behavior that we have had in awhile. When he wakes up in the morning, he has a nightlight that turns from a moon into the sun at 7:30am which tells him it is time to get out of bed. This used to work wonderfully until he got to be a smart 3 year old and would come in and try to wake us up anyway. So this morning he comes in around 6:45am and dad asks him if the sun is up and since the answer was no, he needed to go back to bed. He told us he needed to go potty so I told him to go ahead and then go back into his room.
Michael and I fell back asleep and we woke up maybe 15 minutes later when I popped out of bed to use the loo myself, when I immediately noticed that his moon nightlight was plugged into the wall opposite my bed. The two of us looked at it, smiled, then Michael rolled back to sleep while I stepped into the bathroom. When I came out and walked back to my side of the bed, I saw (which I had evidently failed to notice exiting the bed) that Harrison had set up his pillow, laid a blanket on the ground like a sheet then laid another blanket over that to make a bed. There were also a couple of books on the ground. I woke Michael so he could witness this act of extreme cuteness, we smiled and then Harrison came in with a suitcase full of books in tow! We asked him what he was doing and he said he wanted to go night night next to us.
The rest of the day was marvelous, he had a great attitude, didn't need any time outs, completely bathed himself without any help from me at all, played and shared with multiple friends, took his nap, was awesome at swimming and was overall sweet and nice, telling me many times how much he loves me. Why can't every day be like today?!
To cap the day off, dad was on the deck watering the flowers when he found a frog which he and Harrison caught in our special animal catching jar we keep handy. After adding some water, a leaf and stick, we spent some time checking it out then dad and Harrison released him into the park across the street.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Papa, Jon Jon & Argenta Visit!
It has been a busy 6 weeks at our house with visitors coming and going. The day after PoPo, Grand Hart and Auntie Chyna left, Great Papa Hugh stayed with us for five days while Grandmama took some time to herself. At this point in my pregnancy, 89 year old Papa and I move at about the same pace and he is such a gentleman and so concerned for my well being that if I let him he would be taking care of me! I don't have any photos as we didn't do anything overly interesting, mostly Papa just tagged along to soccer practice, Little Gym, etc.
One afternoon Papa, Harrison, Winston and I walked to the park around the corner from our house with a picnic lunch in tow (Harrison is currently enamored of picnics, he asks for them a few times a week). There is a crosswalk to the park across a well travelled two lane street and Papa commented that all the drivers were so considerate to stop for us as soon as we approached the corner to cross. I responded that yes, the drivers in this area are usually very considerate but what I was really thinking was what a sight we must be... who is going to hit a very pregnant woman walking a dog with a presumably unpredictable three year old on a bike escorted by an elderly man utilizing a walker to cross the street? It almost sounds like the beginning to a joke: an old man, pregnant woman, toddler and a dog are crossing the road...
The day after Papa left Uncle Jon Jon visited with cousin Argenta for five days filled with toddler fun. Argenta is eleven months younger than Harrison and mimic everything he says and does with a giggle and a smile on her face. Jon says she doesn't play the same way with any other friends at home; these two seem to have some sort of bond that cemented during their last visit at Harrison's third birthday or perhaps at Thanksgiving 2011. Jon and I are of course delighted our children love each other so much, but I think we are also happy because we grew up with cousins just around the corner from us and it is nice to see that these two can have a similar bond even though they see each other only a couple times a year.
Sunday morning 7/22 everyone except me walked 1.25 miles to Cougar Park which recently acquired an awesome zip line and is one of Harrison's favorite places (side note: we have indoctrinated him so well that when I first took him there and told him the name of the park, he said he didn't want to go there because he was a [University of Washington] Husky [our rivals are the Cougars]... that kid makes us sing him the fight song at every bed and nap time!). Love these photos (PoPo, thanks for the fun t-shirts! HaAa!):
On Wednesday I took the kids by myself to Remlinger Farms to pick raspberries, see some animals and enjoy the amusement park style rides. After some initial tears from Argenta begging for her daddy and Harrison holding her hand and trying to console her, I finally convinced her to try picking a raspberry and eating it and from then on out we had a great time. Between me and the kids picking (and eating the loot) we came home with about two pounds of berries.
The both loved the steam powered choo choo train (again they wouldn't let me take pictures) as well as the canoe ride, Ferris wheel and carousel. Most of the rides look antique but Fire Fighter Zaidy used to inspect these rides annually so I know they are definitely safe.
After lunch I was beat (it was an 80 degree day) but the kids caught sight of pony rides and I was glad to indulge them this last bit of fun. Afterwards the kids smiled ear to ear and they both remembered the name of their ponies; Harrison rode Kale and Argenta rode Coconut.
No visit from Uncle Jon Jon is complete without some unbridled fun. Check out the "spin machine" action!
One afternoon Papa, Harrison, Winston and I walked to the park around the corner from our house with a picnic lunch in tow (Harrison is currently enamored of picnics, he asks for them a few times a week). There is a crosswalk to the park across a well travelled two lane street and Papa commented that all the drivers were so considerate to stop for us as soon as we approached the corner to cross. I responded that yes, the drivers in this area are usually very considerate but what I was really thinking was what a sight we must be... who is going to hit a very pregnant woman walking a dog with a presumably unpredictable three year old on a bike escorted by an elderly man utilizing a walker to cross the street? It almost sounds like the beginning to a joke: an old man, pregnant woman, toddler and a dog are crossing the road...
The day after Papa left Uncle Jon Jon visited with cousin Argenta for five days filled with toddler fun. Argenta is eleven months younger than Harrison and mimic everything he says and does with a giggle and a smile on her face. Jon says she doesn't play the same way with any other friends at home; these two seem to have some sort of bond that cemented during their last visit at Harrison's third birthday or perhaps at Thanksgiving 2011. Jon and I are of course delighted our children love each other so much, but I think we are also happy because we grew up with cousins just around the corner from us and it is nice to see that these two can have a similar bond even though they see each other only a couple times a year.
Sunday morning 7/22 everyone except me walked 1.25 miles to Cougar Park which recently acquired an awesome zip line and is one of Harrison's favorite places (side note: we have indoctrinated him so well that when I first took him there and told him the name of the park, he said he didn't want to go there because he was a [University of Washington] Husky [our rivals are the Cougars]... that kid makes us sing him the fight song at every bed and nap time!). Love these photos (PoPo, thanks for the fun t-shirts! HaAa!):
On Wednesday I took the kids by myself to Remlinger Farms to pick raspberries, see some animals and enjoy the amusement park style rides. After some initial tears from Argenta begging for her daddy and Harrison holding her hand and trying to console her, I finally convinced her to try picking a raspberry and eating it and from then on out we had a great time. Between me and the kids picking (and eating the loot) we came home with about two pounds of berries.
Upon entering the main part of the farm, the kids immediately ran to every painted cut out picture they could find, although they would not let me take pictures of them except this one I bootlegged before she could protest.
The both loved the steam powered choo choo train (again they wouldn't let me take pictures) as well as the canoe ride, Ferris wheel and carousel. Most of the rides look antique but Fire Fighter Zaidy used to inspect these rides annually so I know they are definitely safe.
After lunch I was beat (it was an 80 degree day) but the kids caught sight of pony rides and I was glad to indulge them this last bit of fun. Afterwards the kids smiled ear to ear and they both remembered the name of their ponies; Harrison rode Kale and Argenta rode Coconut.
No visit from Uncle Jon Jon is complete without some unbridled fun. Check out the "spin machine" action!
I almost forgot, we needed to make a costume for Argenta to wear to school the day after she left here and she elected to look like an octopus. I found inspiration here and this is how it turned out.
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