Memorial Day

We had the warmest Memorial Day Seattle has seen in twenty years.  It was so perfect.  Too bad I was in the worst mood ever!  I mostly blame my raging hormones.  And Randy.  But I apologized the next day so all is well and let's just say that pregnancy isn't easy for anybody, including husbands!
I made plans to go to Alki Beach in West Seattle because Randy's never been there and the boys and I love it so Randy reluctantly agreed {he hates Seattle but I told him West Seattle is not the same, and it isn't}.  But first, Randy wanted to take Marcus and Ethan on an early morning hike.  I wanted to go hiking too but was also happy to play the part of the fat, slow, pregnant wife and stayed home with the little boys so the hikers could be speedy.  Unfortunately they arrived home 2 hours later than they said they would which shouldn't have surprised me but I was still so mad!  By the time we loaded up all the paddle boards and boys, we were a few hours behind schedule {the schedule I had in my mind that I had failed to communicate to Randy}.  I tried to be happy that we were still going on an adventure but I knew the beach would be crowded and it was. 

First we stopped at the rocky beach where the low tide made for some great finds in the tide pools.  Ethan found all kinds of stuff - starfish, sea cucumbers, crabs, and shell fish.  People kept following him around so they could see what he'd discover next.  Marcus and Randy were under-whelmed by the tide pools so they took off on the paddle boards and set out for the sandy beach area on the other side of the little peninsula where I said we'd meet up.

 Ethan discovered a whole family of starfish deep under some rocks

 A disgusting sea cucumber

Marcus and Randy out exploring the open sea.  I was hoping we'd see some whales but maybe next time.

When we'd seen enough sea creatures the little boys and I hopped back in the van to meet up with Marcus and Randy and this is when things got bad.  People were everywhere and cars were everywhere.  It took me forever to finally find an illegal spot to park in just so Randy and Marcus could load their boards back on the van.  Marcus was grumpy the entire time because all he wanted to do was go back to Pine Lake to hang out with his friends {like he did the day before so he got no sympathy from me} and I was angry that our fun day was ruined because we didn't beat the crowds thus confirming to Randy that Alki Beach was totally overrated, and the younger boys were crying because we left before we could eat at their favorite hamburger joint like I had promised them. I was even angrier that they were crying about it like spoiled children so even if we could've found a place to park within a 2-mile radius, I wouldn't have taken them to lunch.  So we went back home.
After I calmed down by taking Ethan paddle boarding on Pine Lake while Randy took a nap and Marcus reunited with his friends, I realized the day could still be salvaged.  I made a quick trip to the grocery store for a few items and raced home to throw together a delicious but quick barbecue dinner, complete with root beer floats, the boys' favorite.  Everyone's bad moods quickly melted away {the power of good food and bacon cheeseburgers is real} and we enjoyed the rest of the evening playing in the yard.

 The boys enjoying their root beer floats

The boys playing ping pong while we cooked burgers.  I love our backyard!

Memorable Memorial Day

We had a great weekend until we didn't.
I'll skip over the good stuff {like my amazing 11-mile run through the woods as pictured above} and get to the bad.  Marcus was mountain biking with his friend at a nearby bike park when he crashed.  He went off a jump that had a gap in the middle but unfortunately he didn't know there was a gap in the middle and he crashed down in between the ramps, flying over his handle bars and skidding across the ground on his face.  He scraped skin off his knees, shoulders, wrists, knuckles, and his face.  His face took most of the fall.   He bit his lip as he skidded to a stop and has rows of bite marks going across his tongue.  His teeth are all in tact but hurt like he just got his braces tightened so he's hardly eating anything.  The worst part is he has a mild concussion which means he can't run in the track finals this week which is a bummer because he had to qualify to do that, and he can't play in his lacrosse tournament which he also had to try out for.  Plus, his face is nasty and oozing gunk so going to school is not happening for a few days.  Oh, and because of the craziness of life I never posted about his recent knee injury that put him on crutches for a week, and a knee brace right up until he crashed on his bike, causing him to miss a previous track meet and more lacrosse games.  Marcus doesn't do well with sitting on the sidelines but it looks like it's how he'll be ending this sports season.

Took this shot before I started cleaning him up.  He actually looks worse now with all the swelling and oozing wounds but I can't post such a gory picture on the internet.  Just know it's bad!

Pre-Scar Face

Ironically after he left to go biking I was thinking how great life was, especially to be living where we are living.  Ethan was swimming at the lake with his friend, Marcus was biking {and falling} through beautiful forest, and I was biking home from the store with Landon and Parker after our traditional sushi/donuts snack. It was a beautiful day, sunny with temps in the 70's, and the smell of fresh pine needles making me feel like I was in the mountains.  I seriously thought to myself, this is the life!  Little did I know I'd spend the next hour scrubbing dirt and rocks out of my son's face while he screamed!  Those unexpected curve balls life throws sure are fun...
But we had a great Memorial Day barbecue hosted by our friends who live on the lake.  Everyone had a great time swimming, except for Marcus of course!

Ethan paddling Parker out to the trampoline so he wouldn't get wet.  What a spoiled boy!

I love that my Japanese baby loves to eat sushi and that our sushi/donut tradition is still going strong.  We started this back in 2010

Forget the sushi, he only wanted his brother's soda

Randy spent his Memorial Day car shopping.  It was successful!

Memorial Day and a Trip to the ER

It was going to be a great Memorial Day BBQ because we weren't the ones hosting this shindig.  After spending all weekend working in the yard {6 yards of mulch spreading fun}, cleaning the house, and sitting through Marcus's first swim meet, we were excited to eat good food with good friends.  Little did I know I'd have to go to the ER minutes before the big BBQ.  I was making the most delicious salad ever and stabbed my finger with the knife when I was trying to remove a stubborn avocado pit.  I ran outside to Randy for help but he was covered head to toe in dirt so he was useless, plus we don't have a suture kit at home so he couldn't stitch me up anyway.  I wrapped up my hand in paper towels, kicked the boys' friends out the door, and shouted instructions to Randy as I ran to the car with hopes the ER visit wouldn't take too long because I really wanted to eat my salad!  I had been craving it all day. 
The ER was packed.  Luckily packed full of idiots, errrr, I mean non-emergency people who were quickly sent home.   After a couple of stitches I was on my way and I thoroughly enjoyed the one hour of solitude as I relaxed on a hospital bed.   The peace and quiet totally made up for my throbbing finger.  I made it back in time to eat the soggy remains of my yummy salad but at least my finger was totally numb so when Parker grabbed it and ripped off the bandage I didn't feel a thing. Happy Memorial Day, everybody!  It still doesn't feel like summer yet but since we're still going strong with school that's OK with me.

Marcus's first swim meet.  He was soooo nervous!

Randy slaved away for two days to distribute this mulch throughout our flower beds and used every bit of it

Smore's with square marshmallows.  A great idea!

Randy actually enjoys making smore's.

Seconds away from hitting his brother and being put in time out

In time out.  Oh, the drama.

A very intense game of volley ball