Back to the Time Machine

Eric was feeling left out from my time-travel adventures, so he hijacked the Time Machine and had some escapades of his own. Here is the evidence:

1952

He sang in a Doo Wop group during this year.

1960
Hello Mr. Pencil-Pusher!

1968

My personal favorite. He looks very professional here.
It reminds me of some of our old pictures of my dad. Ha ha

1974

Eric tried his hand in Hollywood this year.
He was fairly successful as a TV stunt-man.

1978
Still in California, now a surfer dude. Pretty impressive golden locks, there!

1988

This is probably a little too accurate as to what is currently sitting in his high school yearbook. They like to refer to this hairstyle as all business in front, and a party in the back!

Time Machine

I recently discovered this really amazing Time Machine which has allowed me to travel to different times over the last century. As proof, here are pictures of me in each period:1952
The year both my parents were born.

1960
Wow, amazing how much I looked like my mom back then! Same glasses and everything!

1964
I think this hairstyle is coming back. I know I've seen it on lots of girls around here!




1976
This was taken the year after I was officially born.

1984

Before I had felt like I really missed out by not being in high school in the 80's. So glad to see the fashion statements making a comeback, but I won't miss the huge hair!!

Our Adventures on Mt Baker

Last week we made a trip up to Mt. Baker with my parents and brother Mike. We rented a house together in a private resort. It was a huge three story, complete with a magnificent kitchen and surround-sound entertainment system. The only thing it was lacking was an air conditioner, which was unfortunate considering we were in the middle of a record-breaking heat-wave. Luckily, the resort also featured a community swimming pool. We pretty much lived in it during the most sweltering parts of the 100+ degree days! The kids had a blast!

A view of beautiful Mt Baker.

Eric and my dad took Heidi and Ethan on a few hikes in the morning when the temperature was a more manageable 80 degrees.


"The hills are alive....."

King of the Mountain

They built these towers on top of the mountain.

Even in 100 degrees, there is snow to be found! The kids really liked cooling off in this little cave.

Goofing off on the statue by the new ski lifts.

On Friday morning we all went on a hike together. The road to the top was quite windy, with a lot of hair-pin turns. Both the kids got car sick. Heidi threw up once and Ethan did twice. It was a fun drive.

My dad and Mike, with Baker in the background. Mike and Eric took turns carrying Elise up the hill.

Two kids in tote.

Family picture with Mt Shuksan in the background. It's such a gorgeous mountain!

At the top there was a beautiful pool of water. We rested a bit and let the girls stretch their legs.

My mom and dad, in one of the most beautiful places on earth! What a view!

Mike, Dad, and Mom

Ethan peering through a rock tower.

After our hike we had a picnic. A few birds decided they wanted to share in the morsels! The kids found they could hold a piece of meat or cheese in their hand, and the birds would take it from them.

Of course, they had to take it one step further. Each one had a piece of cheese balanced on their heads. Ethan was the chosen one this time!

Saturday morning my dad took me to see Nooksak Falls and take some pictures. They were beautiful! Here are a few of my favorite shots I got.

Overall we had a really wonderful time together, despite the inconvenient heat! We got to see some amazing sites, but best of all, spend some relaxing time just being together as a family.

Killing Time at the Eye Doctor's

Heidi broke her glasses on Sunday, so today we made a trip to the eye doctor. She wants to try out contacts, so we got that all lined up. Then we had to check out the frames for her back-up pair.

----------

We were in kind of a time crunch, so I made her select the frames she wanted pretty quickly. We then sat down and waited for the technician to come do measurements.

----------

We waited....and waited....and waited....

----------

After seeing five or six other customers come and go, getting their needs met, all after we had sat down, I was getting a little irritable and impatient.

----------

These are the results of waiting for thirty-odd minutes, in the life of Ethan (courtesy of Heidi's camera-phone):

The kids thought he looked like Grandpa with these. (Sorry Grandpa!)

This time he's a Nerd.

They just couldn't stop laughing with this pair.



Then he discovered the stack of masks set aside for those fighting a cough....



The remainder of the time was spent with Ethan playing with the display mirror, reflecting light from the windows into all the other mirrors and blinding us all. The guy that helped us after this was really nice, but I'm sure they were all glad to get us out the door!

Two Moms Livin' it Up in Seattle

I just got back from spending two days in Seattle.



"Two days in Seattle?" you might say. "Don't you, like, live there already?"



My friend Janelle and I needed to go to a dental conference these last two days to meet some of our continuing education requirements. The conference was downtown at the Seattle Convention Center. We go every year. It's always such a hassle to get down there (for us non-commuters) so early for two days in a row. This year we thought it would be fun to stay the night in a hotel close to the conference, so we split a room that we got a killer deal on from Priceline. (I told you before, I am sold!)



As far as conferences go, this one was fair. Some of the speakers were pretty good, but most were just average. We got to sit through twelve hours of learning what makes up the ultimate doctor-patient exam, how to create a caries (cavity) risk assessment on our patients, as well as several other equally enthralling topics. I am sure you are intrigued and want to hear more....



The fun part was that we were smack in the middle of downtown Seattle. Now, I hardly ever go downtown unless it is for a very specific purpose which entails driving straight there, and then driving straight back. I never just wander around. Because of this, I haven't before experienced the fantastic selection of shops and shopping malls that exist in an easily walkable area of space. The two of us -- hard-working, frazzled moms -- ran around like giddy school-girls anticipating Christmas, completely reveling in the shopping experience without crying and nagging children! We looked in all sorts of places, gushing over adorable displays and rolling our eyes at some of the insane price tags. (Now, who in their right mind would pay $180 for a necktie?!)



And then there was the food. We really enjoyed eating at all sorts of places, like the Cheesecake Factory, and a fancy Mexican restaurant in one of the malls. (I know, that all sounds like an oxymoron, but trust me, it was great!)



A bonus to staying at a hotel was that we were able to take the hotel shuttle to and from the Conference Center, so we didn't need to find parking while we were there. The hotel we stayed at was across the street from Safeco Field, so it was a little too far to walk. It was great to be picked up and dropped off wherever we needed to go. One of our shuttle trips was an experience to remember. It was almost 9:00 pm. We were on our way to the hotel for the night, when the driver got a call for a pick-up. He stopped in front of The Met, a really nice restaurant that Eric and I had dinner at several years ago. The food was amazing. They are famous for their steaks. I swear, mine was so tender I could cut it with a fork! The unfortunate part is what you see on the bill after you've eaten. The check for just the two of us was over $100! Great place, but pretty spendy!



Anyway, we stopped to pick up a party of guests from this really nice restaurant. We had a pretty good inkling of what was coming when we saw them stagger across the street towards the van. They were spittin' drunk. Five guys, of varying ages and level of intoxication, tried to chat us up as the van started on our journey back to the hotel. "Where are you from? You staying in the same hotel? What room are you in? Are you pregnant?" It is worth mentioning at this point that Janelle is currently eight months pregnant. Unfortunately, that question was immediately followed up with, "You wanna come party with us?" They then proceeded to ply the driver with questions about what bar they should go to next, since they were apparantly kicked out of the fancy restaurant before they were ready to call it a night. He found one that seemed suitable to them and let them off, but not without the guys trying to persuade us again to join them. We were all relieved when they finally got out.



Janelle, the driver, and I then got to laugh about this crazy group of men on our way back to the hotel. We concluded from listening to their conversation that they were part of some sort of bachelor party. They mentioned how their dad had left early, since they had gotten into an argument. (Gee, I wonder what that one was about....) Well, when we got in the elevator to go up to our room, I noticed Janelle looking strangely at the man that rode in the elevator with us. He went into a room just a few doors down from ours. Once we shut the door she burst out laughing because she thought for sure the man was the father the other guys had referred to! What were the odds of that? We were on the seventh floor, for heaven's sake! It's a big hotel! I double locked the door and hoped we wouldn't hear too much commotion when the boys finally got back! We did hear them at about midnight, but it was hushed up pretty quickly. They were probably all passed out!



Today we didn't have any more crazy adventures, thank goodness. Probably the craziest part was just trying to leave the area around the hotel. It was swamped with people since there was a Mariners game tonight. I was glad to get away from it all. Although trips and adventures can be full of fun and crazy memories, sometimes my favorite part is how I feel to be back home again.

Remember My Name

I have a problem with names. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to keep an orderly compartment for them in my overly-cluttered brain.



I'm not sure how this problem started. I actually used to be very good with names, back in high school. I prided myself in being able to remember just about any name that was introduced to me. Well, that department has long since filed for bankruptcy. And I don't think there will be a bail-out any time soon!



I typically see about eight patients a day, so I see a fair number of names come and go in my chair. As I look at the schedule in the morning, I see a lot of names I recognize, but I just can't seem to put the name and face together. To my mortification, the girls at work are able to talk about the upcoming patients with ease. "Oh, Tom's coming in! Great! I'll have to ask him how his fishing trip went!" Or "I really need to get that pickling recipe from Sheila today!" All from looking at the schedule. I feel so stupid. Why can't I do that? Sure, I know them when I see them.....I remember full conversations, as well as treatment plans under way, but can I for the life of me remember their name?!



My work is across the street from a Safeway, and I am continually running into my patients there during my lunch break. They usually look at me with a I-think-I-know-you-but-I-can't-figure-out-from-where kind of look. I attribute this to the fact that I am not walking around in a white lab-coat, gloves, mask, and protective eye-wear. It makes me a little harder to recognize. But of course, I can't even greet them with a "Hello Jan!" because I can't remember their name. I must resort to the "Hiiiiii! How aaaare you?!"



Since I am such a ditz in the name department, I am always impressed when someone remembers my name. It makes me feel honored, as a matter of fact. I am generally a sit-on-the-side-lines-hope-no-one-notices-me type of person. So when someone goes out of their way to remember who I am, I am flattered.



The other day when I was bringing a patient back to my chair she called me by my name. I immediately felt great, and it made the entire appointment a positive experience. After she left, I told my boss Kristine, that that was my favorite part of my job -- getting to know the patients and feeling like I have made a difference in their lives. I mentioned that my previous patient had even remembered my name. Kristine then pointed to the bright, shiny name tag pinned to my chest and said with a smile, "Well, it couldn't have been due to that!"



Duh.

Fun Day

Today was such a gorgeous day! Eric took his dad on a chartered fishing trip this afternoon. They couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather! Although they did catch several fish, they were too small to keep, so the men returned empty-handed. However, Brady mentioned it was still a successful trip considering he didn't get sick!! I'm sure it was also a great memory for the two of them to share.

While the men were out fishing, the rest of us made a trip to Mukilteo Beach and enjoyed the water and sunshine.

Erica was timid at first, but was soon splashing around in the water, no fears. She got soaked! She especially loved to eat the wet rocks, sucking on the salt water. A few times she tried out the seaweed as well. Heidi said she must be a sushi girl, because she seemed to like it!



Jen and Brayden
Brayden wasn't quite as sure of the water. He had fun, but I think the waves frightened him a little. He loved to throw rocks in the water and watch the seagulls.

Since Erica started walking last week, she thought she was expert enough to manage in the water on slippery rocks. What a pro! Elise enjoyed splashing in it as well.

Grandma and Grandpa with their Girls

Jen, Brayden, and Brady

I am so glad that Eric's family was able to come and stay with us this week! It has been a lot of fun to spend time with them. I hope they had fun, despite the cramped quarters! We made lots of memories, and that is always what counts the most!!

The Cursed Computer

So, for those of you who may not have previously guessed, I have a serious addiction to my computer. Ah, the internet, how I love to roam....


It is pretty much the first thing I turn on in the morning, and the last thing I turn off at night. There have been many a night with Eric heading up to bed and me saying,"I just need to check my messages...." I simply must know the instant a new email comes into my box, or what my friends are saying on Facebook, or who updated their blog, or what the sale at Barnes & Noble is, or aimlessly wander the golden halls of Amazon. I tell you, it is getting ridiculous.


So what do you suppose would be the worst possible thing to happen for an internet junky like myself?


Total System Failure.


That's right, my beloved friend has contracted a serious disease of unknown origins. I am devastated!


Now I am reduced to getting my fix through stolen moments on the office computer, or suffering through the inconsistent connection of our miserable laptop.


Luckily I have a do-it-yourself type of husband, who has been able to call on computer expert friends. Of course, he also can't resist giving me a jab about "if I wasn't online all the time,"or that I "probably got it from my Iranian friend," who the day before the crash, left a bizarre, multi-lingual comment on my blog.


Yes, yes, I know he's right. But does that mean I will stop?


What do you think?