Sportin the Converse

I want to say that wearing my Converse shoes takes me back to a time when life was a little simpler, that they make me feel like a kid again, but in all actuality, the lack of arch support hurts my shins and calves. I can't wait to get home and take them off. Aren't they cute though?

Happy Birthday, Kaeli!!!

To My Beloved Daughter Kaeli,

Today is your 9^th birthday. I can’t believe how the time has flown! Let me tell you a little bit about who I see you as at 9 years old. You have matured so much in this past year alone. You have started developing complex ideas about the world around you and the questions you come up with sometimes are making Google and I best friends. You are always thinking, always pondering and I love this about you. You love to learn. Don’t ever change this about yourself. This world has more knowledge than anyone could ever soak up but it is fun to try!

You excel at everything you do. Your school work is no exception. You love to try new things all the time (with the exception of food). You love to read and Goosebump chapter books are your favorite right now. You especially love to read to Chloe. I love hearing you read to her.

You have the most compassionate, caring, and considerate heart I have ever encountered. I will never forget when you can home, telling me about your day and how you chose to stay inside on your recess that day to play board games with a special needs student in your class because she could not go out to recess while it was raining due to the medical equipment she had to use. “I didn’t want her to feel left out.” Is what you told me. *tear*. You are always putting others needs in front of yours and you considers other peoples feeling before making a decision. You will go out of your way to make someone feel special.  You are the first to notice when someone is sad and you try to make it right. I am so proud of you. My heart swells when I think of you and I tear up like a big baby.

You are an exceptional sister to Chloe. Yes, of course you both have your moments of siblingrey, but you are very good about comforting her when she is sad and protecting her when you feel others are doing her an injustice. You help her when she is unable to help herself. She looks up to you and you set a great example for her.

I enjoy your corky sense of humor and love your very contagious laugh. You love to be active whether it’s playing outside, riding your bike, hiking, going to the park, kayaking, doing track and field etc. I love your imagination and how you still use it on a regular basis. Don’t lose your imagination. This world is very real and we all need some fantasy in our lives.

Most of all, I love your love for Jesus. He will be there for you when this world fails you. He will be your Father, brother, best friend, and your protector. Trust in Him always!

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “ Lamentations 3: 22-23

You are a wonderful daughter and I am so proud of you. I love you so very much my sweet girl. Happy Birthday!!

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord the fruit of the womb a reward.” Psalms 127:3

Ode to Chloe

Today is your 7^th birthday and I can hardly believe how fast these years have gone. I wanted to share some words of how special you are to me and this world. One of my favorite things about you is that you are hilarious without even knowing it. You have an uncanny ability to make anyone laugh just by being yourself. I never know what is going to come out of that mouth of yours. Another thing that I love about you is that you tell things how they are. Mix that with a side of sassiness and you get 100% unadulterated Chloe at all times. I envy this part of you. I have always been too timid to say exactly what I think. That quality will get you far in life and sometimes in trouble but that comes with the territory. Be true to yourself.

I have never met a person like you and figuring you out has been very challenging at times but this makes me love you more every day. You force me to think outside the box and be a better mother. I am always learning from you. Your love for music and singing warms my heart. Music can be so powerful and I hope it is something you will always enjoy. Your artistic ability already stands out immensely. When you came up to me the other day with a cartoon character that you had drawn from a cartoon you were watching on tv, I was floored. It looked just like the character and you drew it while the character was moving on the screen.

On top of being a great daughter you are also a wonderful sister. You often times will give up something you want just to make kaeli happy. You are so kind and thoughtful. You look up to Kaeli and I hope the bond that you both share right now lasts a life time. There is something so special about a sister’s love.

I love who you are and who you are becoming. You add a sparkle to my life that could never be provided by another soul. I am so proud of you and I am blessed to call you my daughter.

The Mungaven’s and a Goldman

This year has been pretty action packed for our little family. We were blessed to go on a variety of trips this year. James and I were fortunate enough to join in the celebrating of our friends, Eddy and Patricia’s, marriage down in sunny Las Vegas in April.  In July, my sister took the girls on their first trip without me to Oregon for a week. They met a new friend and had a blast down there! In June, Chelsea, her mom Jeanie, the girls and I got to run away to La Push for a girls weekend. Chelsea, Jeanie and I went to La Push almost every year since we were 8-years-old and we absolutely loved it. We were so thrilled to share the experience with the girls. Later in June, James and I slipped away to wonderful hotel in Bellingham. We enjoyed the little town and its beaches. We learned how to make soap while there. In August, James and I took the girls for their first trip out of the country to Canada. We took the Victoria Clipper up there and enjoyed a double decker bus tour, a horse drawn carriage tour, an under water aquarium and our hotels huge swimming pool. In October we drove over to eastern Washington and had a great time visiting James Uncle Dave and Aunt Bonnie. Bonnie took us horseback riding and spoiled us with her amazing cooking. Dave got the girls their very own fishing poles and took us out fishing.  And finally, in December, we got to go to beautiful Leavenworth with Chelsea for the lighting of the town and some sledding. Another yearly trip that Chelsea and I did growing up and were so excited to continue the tradition with the girls. In between all of this we also squeezed in four hiking trips, a day of kayaking, which was a first for all of us and the girls first Kids run.

James broke a sales record at work this year and also got Salesman-of-the-Month several times. Unfortunately, he did roll his jeep during an off roading trip but he has upgraded to a v8 Grand Cherokee and is now ready to break it in on the trails. We are glad he came home safe and injury free.

Kaeli is 8 and enjoying the 3^rd grade this year. She continues to excel in her academics and just about everything else that she tries. She has a deep love for animals, an also loves to read, ride her bike and just about anything else active. When the weather improves we plan on training to run a 5k together.

Chloe started the year out by losing her first tooth. Chloe is 6 and is in the 1^st grade this year and is improving her reading skills daily. She loves to draw and is very good at it. Chloe has really gotten in touch with her girly girl side this year and loves doing her hair, her nails, and is known to switch outfit various times throughout the day. That’s right; she is 6 going on 16.

As for me, I accomplished last year’s New Year’s resolution of doing a running event each month for a year. I also started school in September and after some adjustment feel very good about it and I am excited for the next quarter to start.

That only sums up half of the fun we had this year. We are so blessed with the wonderful family and friends that surround us. We are very grateful for our warm home, full tummies and our health. Cheers to 2011 and may 2012 be even better!

Seattle Love!

I love Seattle!

I never knew this about myself. I guess I've always consider Seattle to be a mocker of the parallel parking impaired, one way streets that are strategically placed so you are incapable of ever reaching your destination and a traffic nightmare.

I have been given the opportunity to work at my company's Seattle office for three weeks. I am covering for one of their admin woman who just had a baby and another admin woman who will be getting married and  honeymooning for two weeks. With them out that leaves just one administrator here and to avoid her losing her mind and just beating her head on her desk for 8 hours they asked if I could fill in. At first I had mixed emotions about it. Traffic is always rough going into and coming out of the city. I knew that parking was going to be spendy and the girls would need to go to child care after school instead of me being able to pick them up from school, adding an expense that isn't normally there. I was literally going to be paying to work. But I was ready for a change and agreed to help them out.

My first day here I drove my car and was surprised to find that traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. My excitement soon was crushed by a little parking sign reading "Early Bird Special $18". $18!! Nothing about $18 makes me feel special for being early. Whatever. I shook it off and headed in. The Seattle office is located on the 11th floor of the Seattle Tower. A life insurance company called Northern Life Insurance began building the Seattle Tower in 1919 and completed it in 1929  orignally calling it the Northern Life Tower. Guys, this building is amazing. It is so full of character and history.



The building from the outside.
They used five different colors
 of brinks starting with the dark
ones at the bottom and
 they get lighter as they go up.



The outside enterance,

 

The beautiful lobby.



 

This is my favoritepart of ther building.

This is above each elevator.

 



The hall way to the office.



All the of doors are made out of solid
wood and are hea-vy!
 Some have glass in them, some don't.
 The panel above each door swings out for ventilation..

   

Every door knob has
"NLF" on it for Northern Life Insurance,
 the people who orginally built the building.



All the windows open by
pushing them out in the center.



Each room in the building
 has a heater that is run off of steam
 which is created in a boiler room under the building.



My favorite room in the building,
the bathroom! All real marble.
Even that stall walls
are marble.





  

The locks inside the bathrom stalls.
 So much character everywhere!





 

One of the many awesome views
 from around the building.
 Just high enough for a view but
 not too high that you miss out
 on some great people watching.



 





After paying $18 and a piece of my soul to the parking lot attendant I knew that there is no way my limited budget could afford $18 a day for the next three weeks. When I got home I checkout the transit routes and times. I was excited to find that commuting by bus would actually result in a shorter commute time than driving! I was sold. Only down side, I’d have to get up a half hour earlier. Now, a half hour doesn’t sound like a lot but I already get up at 5:30 and I don’t care who you are, 5:00am is early! Anyway, I took the bus yesterday for the first time in years. Standing in line waiting for the bus felt like the first day of school all over again. I had my cash in my head ready to go so I didn’t have to fish through my pockets and be “that person” that holds up the line. Well, turns out that people don’t even use cash anymore. They have an Orca card that you load with money and swipe in front of a meter and it scans the card as you walk by. So being prepare with my cash in hand still made me the lady in the express checkout lane writing a check. Lesson learned and I am anxiosly awaiting my Orca card in the mail. Overall, riding the bus has turned out to be a pretty enjoyable experience. I have time to read my book or take a brief nap instead of being the lady in your rear view mirror pounding her fists on her stirring wheel and screaming at her windshield while stuck in traffic. Yeah, I'm that person. The bus drops me off two blocks away from the building and I love the brisk walk before starting my work day.

 AND, everything is in walking distance! Places to eat, the bank, Pike Place Market, a Starbucks literally on every single block, Westlake Center and all the shopping a girl could ask for<---(this has proven to be dangerous).

So Seattle, I apologize for calling you the butthole of the suburbs. You are infact, electric, exciting and beautiful and I heart you big time!

 















Waiting with a Side of Purple Jeep

I wrote this about a year ago. I found it on my phone while trying to occupy myself while off roading on Sunday. Coincidence, I think not.

There is something about an old man in a full body slicker that makes getting up at stupid o’clock on one of the only days I get to sleep in worth it. It’s raining today as we sit at the trail head of Evan’s Creek for our day of off roading. James wakes up early for such events, like a young child wakes up early on Christmas morning, with a bounce in his step and eyes full of excitement. By the time we pack the jeep, drive to meet the other jeeps, stop at the last gas station before civilization stops and nature begins, buy forest day passes , meet again at the trail head to air down the tires we have waited two and a half hours.

We finally get started on our first trail, miss our turn, turn around, find the start of the right trail and finally we kick it into four wheel drive. Then we stop again. James tells me one of the rigs in the front of the group is “Open, open with bald tires” and can’t make it up the trail, holding everyone else up. No, “open, open” isn’t in reference to those horrible Mervyn’s commercials we all grew to hate. It has something to do with whether you are “locked” or “open”. I will spare you the details and sum it up as “locked” is good, “open” is bad in the world of off roading.

So, now I have been awake since 6:00. I am currently missing the fifth Seahawks game of the season. I have yet been able to watch a single game this season. Today would have been my first opportunity to do so. Why do I do all of this you may ask? I do it because of the excited smile the boyfriend makes as he looks at me like a two year old receiving his first gold star for peeing in the potty and says “Did you see  my jeep did what his couldn’t, babe?” While I am thinking, “With as much money as you put into this thing it should be able to cook and clean for me” but instead I nod and smile and say “Yes, babe. You’re purple jeep is amazing.”

A Tribute To Kaeli

To My Favorite First Born Child,

I wanted to take a moment to tell you how special you are to me upon the celebration of your 8^Th birthday. You are the light of my world. Ever since the very first day you decided to bless the world with your big smile you have brighten people’s day. Your highly contagious laugh can melt any bad day away.

Your determination to succeed at every new thing you take on amazes me every day. You never give up and you are great at everything you do.

One of my favorite things about you is your kind spirit. You are the first person to notice when someone is sad and you take the time to talk to them or give them a sympathetic hug to make them feel better. You are so compassionate and gentle.

I love your eagerness to try new things (minus food, but we are working on that).

You are an amazing sister. Your patience with Chloe is so appreciated by her. You are her hero and she looks up to you so much. I love the way you sit with her and help her with her reading. She will remember those times all her life.

Your passion for life is so contagious. I love your endless energy and your love of the outdoors. I love your playfulness and your sense of humor.

You are so special to so many people in this world.  You are a wonderful daughter and sister. I am so proud of who you are and look forward to what this next year will bring. I love you more than words could ever explain. Happy 8^Th Birthday my beautiful little girl.