2012 Christmas Tree Hunt

Off Tinkham Road, Snoqualmie Pass

Tiger Lily playing in the snow

Beth bringing back our tree..

Christmas Activities

Cookie making and Wildlights at the Woodland Park Zoo!

Riding the Carousel at Woodland Park Zoo with Mama

Visiting the Miniature Train and Village at Seattle Center

Another visit to the Zoo with the Toft Family!

Feeding Birds at the Willawong Station

Carousel Ride with Rosie, Jason, Tiger Lily and Merrick

Thanksgiving in Eugene

Pie!

Halloween!

We didn't go Trick-or-Treating because it just seems crazy to give candy to anyone under two, but Tiger Lily did have a costume that she wore at daycare on Monday. She's a garden gnome! Click the picture for a short slide show. Enjoy!

Tiger Mountain Hike

Very arduous and fun annual hike up Tiger Mountain near Issaquah. Unfortunately Beth was feeling under the weather so just Merrick and Tiger Lily went this time. Wow! What a difference a Mom makes! Getting that pack off and on and carrying the baby and all the stuff without one is really tough! We won't do that again! Click here to see all 13 pictures at once or the picture below for a slideshow.

October Visit from Meema and Grandad

We had a wonderful visit and from Cecilia and Trobe at the end of October.  We went to a pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween, went to music class, visited parks and ate a ton of seafood! Thank you both so much, and come again soon! Click here to see all 24 at once or the picture to see a slide show.

Kelsey Creek Farm Fall Festival with the Tofts

Rabbit!

Bouncy horse!

Leavenworth Marathon

This weekend we went to the east side of the Cascades so Merrick could run in the Leavenworth Marathon.  His goal is to run at least one a year for as long as he can.

This particular one had a uncertain start - he forgot his running shoes and only realized it at the motel in Cashmere 8:30 pm the night before the marathon.  He jumped in the car and got to a sporting goods store 15 minutes before it closed and bought the least painful pair (there wasn't a great selection), and ran the whole 26.2 miles the following day with no more than the usual scars.

Beth and Tiger Lily toured Wenatchee while Merrick was running and still had time to cheer him on at Leavenworth riverfront park and meet him at the finish line (he's not very fast ;)  ).

On the way home we stopped at Smallwood's Orchard outside Leavenworth which has just about every healthy outdoor diversion you could possibly imagine for a little kid.  A fantastic petting zoo, teepees, tractor rides, pumpkin cannon, orchard prop maze and on and on. We also picked up a box of fantastic apples and pears there. A perfect fall day.

On the west side of Tumwater Canyon we took a side road to look for Blue Elderberries.  Beth picked a bagful and made Elderberry syrup when we got home. Yum! Click here to see all 28 at once or the picture for a slide show.

Armbrust Family Reunion - Seattle

We had the great pleasure of seeing George, Louisa and Mike all at the same time here in Seattle.  Great times were had at Discovery Park, the Aquarium and visiting Louisa's friend who have recently moved to Seattle, Clare and Steve! Click here to see all 68 pictures at once or the picture below to see a slide show.

Mount Rainier Backpacking Trip with the Toft Family

Our 2nd annual backpacking trip to Sunrise Camp at Mount Rainier with the Toft family to celebrate Beth's birthday. Considerably more of a challenge then last year.  Tiger Lily and Rosie were of course a year older and significantly heavier.  Last year we got to the campsite in one trip - this time took two.  And Jodie, rock star that she is, did the whole thing 9+ months pregnant this year! Wow! We had a super fun time as we always do with the Tofts. Click here to see all 35 pictures at once or click the picture for a slideshow.

RSVP A 200+ Mile Bike Ride!

Beth and Merrick went on the Cascade Bicycle Club's annual Ride Seattle to Vancouver and Party ride with their friends Andy and Milo.  It's a 2 day ride; Seattle to Bellingham the first day, then Bellingham to Vancouver the second. Great weather and company.  And we love Vancouver! Granny Janny and Papa came up from Eugene to watch Tiger Lily and they had fun too.  Milo came in first on the second day of the ride!  He's a monster, that one. Click here to see 15 photos all at once or the picture below for a slide show.

Hike on the Pacific Crest Trail and Hunt for Tiger Lilies

This year we went looking for Tiger Lily's namesake on the Pacific Crest Trail at Snoqualmie Pass. It was our first time on this part of the trail.  Very beautiful and not nearly as busy as we expected. We'll be coming back here for sure! Click here to see them all at once or the picture below for a slide show.

August visit fro Meema!

Beth's mother Cecilia visited in August. The weather was beautiful and Tiger Lily was was able to give her a grand tour of all Seattle has to offer in the summer.  We look forward to seeing Cecilia and Trobe again in October!  All pictures at once here, or click the picture for a slideshow.

Olympic National Park Bike Ride - "Ride the Hurricane"

Merrick went to Port Angeles on August 4th to ride in an annual event up the road to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park on the 5th.  The weather was beautiful and the wildflowers were in full bloom.  The ride is almost entirely uphill to the top which was slow an sweaty but quite enjoyable. The ride downhill was fast! Click here to see them all at once or on the picture for a slide show.

4th of July Vacation

Oh boy did we have a great family vacation this July! On July 3rd we drove down to Eugene (our odometer turned over on the way!) and had a great spaghetti dinner prepared by Merrick's Uncle Dennis at Tiger Lily's Great-Grandma Harsch's house.  This was in preparation for the Butte to Butte, Eugene's annual 10k, 5k run or 4.5 mile walk.

The following day, July 4th, the 3 of us woke up early and walked 4.5 mile event with Tiger Lily's cousin Hannah, Merrick's cousins Becky and Heather (their husbands, Sonam and Carl ran the 10k), Heather and Carl's children Evie and Nate and Merrick's uncle Dennis.  The weather was perfect and it was a great opportunity to catch up.  We're looking forward to more family joining next year!

Later that day we went to Merrick's Uncle Marc, Aunt Pat, Shannon and Mike Burgess' wonderful country estate in Junction City for a fantastic BBQ!  We were treated to Mike and Matthew's freshly caught BBQ'd Columbia River sturgeon.  Wow! The kids got to play in the pool, run around in the sunshine and catch frogs. Thanks for the hospitality Burgess'!

After that Hannah and the 3 of us, Merrick's parents and sister Ginny headed to the Oregon coast.  Merrick's parents and Ginny stayed at a hotel in Florence and we stayed in a really nice yurt on the Siltcoos river for the nights of the 4th and 5th. Merrick and Hannah caught the Florence fireworks display that night. We had planned to paddle from our yurt to the ocean (about 3 miles) but as you can see in the photos the portage around the dam was super sketchy and we decided that though we might get down we probably wouldn't get back up!  So, we paddled back upstream to the lake and then opted for a beach hike in the afternoon. The next morning Merrick, Hannah, and Beth did a longer hike along the Siltcoos River, through the dunes and out to the beach. We saw a family of five otters, a giant water beetle, a tree frog, and lots of seals lounging on a sand bank in the surf! The weather couldn't have been nicer. It was our birthday present to Hannah who turned 13 July 9th! Happy Birthday Hannah!

On the 6th we said goodbye to the family and headed back towards Seattle taking the scenic route along the Oregon coast.  We tent camped one night at Cape Lookout state park and had enough time to explore the surrounding area.   Absolutely beautiful!

The Drive to Eugene, July 3rd. 

13 pictures. Click the photo for a slideshow, here to see them all at once.

Tiger Lily chasing ducks at Lake Sacajawea park, Longview WA

Butte to Butte, July 4th.

14 pictures. Click the photo for a slideshow, here to see them all at once.

Burgess BBQ, July 4th

13 pictures. Click the photo below for a slideshow, here to see them all at once.

Florence and the Siltcoos River, Oregon Coast July 4th-6th

Click the photo for a 64 photo slideshow or here for all of them at once.

Cape Lookout, Cape Meares and the trip back to Seattle
July 6th & 7th

Click the photo for a 25 photo slideshow or here to see them all at once.

Granny Janny Visits

Granny Janny Richmond came to visit and helped watch Tiger Lily while Beth stayed overnight in Sequim for work.  The weather was great, and we all had a very fun time!  Papa Richmond and cousin Hannah drove up on Friday and spent the night, and then Granny Papa and Hannah headed home on Saturday.  It was great seeing everyone!  We'll see you in Eugene in another week!

Click the picture for a 35 picture slideshow, or here to see them all at once.

Memorial Day Weekend at the Beach

We spent the Memorial Day weekend "camping" at Manitou Lodge on the Olympic Peninsula.  "Camping" because our campsite was already set up for us, with tent, bedding, camp furniture and covered picnic table!

Given our packed car, I don't know how we could have done it otherwise!  The lodge is less than 4 miles from the beach.

It was Tiger Lily's first visit to the open ocean and she loved it.

Click the picture below for a 48 picture slideshow or click here to see them all at once.

Tiger Lily going crazy in the crazy wind on the ferry to Bainbridge Island

Beth carrying Tiger Lily on Rialto Beach

Seward Park, Day Before Easter

Wow! What an incredibly beautiful day in Seattle!  Clear in all directions and all mountains in snow!  We went to Seward Park on Lake Washington to take some pictures of Tiger Lily in the Easter dress Granny Janny and Papa Richmond got her, and to take her on her first bike ride!

Click the picture for a 30!!! picture slide show (sorry, they're just so cute!) or here to see them all at once.

Tiger Lily's First Bike Ride (Mom at the wheel). Click the picture for a much more reasonable 5 picture slide show.

Wheeeeee!!!!

Dad gives it a whirl...

Trip to Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park

The family went to Port Angeles on the north side of the Olympic peninsula two weekends ago.  The weather was overcast and cool, but very little rain fell on us.  We explored a short piece of the Olympic Discovery trail, went for a snowshoe at Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park and visited the de-construction of the Elwha dam.  Merrick's friend and co-worker Brian joined us for snowshoeing and visiting the dam.

Click the picture below for a 32 picture slide show here too see them all at once. Highlights below...

A Trip to Colorado

Beth and Tiger Lily left Merrick to some uninterrupted electrical work and took off to Colorado for a week in February. It was TL's first time on a plane and though there was some squirminess there was no screaming and it was generally much better than I had worried it might be. We went to stay at Meema's first and ventured out to the Denver Children's Museum to their Center for the Young Child.  Carpeted slopes, big stuffed animals and LOTS of babies!  We had a great time.We also went to the fabulous pool at the Golden Community Center where Trobe may have gotten a few pictures but the rest of us were too busy getting wet wet wet! 


Click on the first photo below for a slide show of all the photos from the trip.  I'll go through the videos one by one.






Here we are at the Denver Children's Museum.






Meema and Tiger Lily play the Korean chime bowls with mixed results.


Playing the piano with Meema!




We took an overnight trip up to visit my friend Naomi in Fort Collins. Here's Tiger Lily playing the xylophone and Naomi's youngest, Vivian, working on her farm animals.



At the Denver Zoo with Grandpa.  Tiger Lily really liked the monkeys.  Funny little furry people!






At Grandpa's house we played with the new train set, blew at the ceiling fan, and giggled helplessly at Grandpa's silliness!







And lastly we got out in the snow a bit for a swing!



A wonderful trip. We miss you!

Training the Golden Cats!

Here is Tai Chi going through his lessons...




and here is Dido...


and finally we have two clever cats together...

Weekend in Leavenworth

We spent last weekend with 3 other families in Leavenworth. The weather was gorgeous and the company outstanding! Tiger Lily had 6 new playmates and learned a lot. Merrick and Beth learned "Euchre" (sort of). We were reminded just how special the area is and how fortunate we are to live so close to it. I predict more family trips there in the future!

Click the picture for a 23 picture slide show, or here to seem them all at once.

Tiger Lily and Dad sledding for the first time

Tiger Lily climbing stairs for the first time!

Tiger Lily and Mom at Gustav's Restaurant

Tiger Lily's 1st Birthday in Eugene

The family went to Eugene on the weekend of January 28th to celebrate Tiger Lily's first birthday with Merrick's side of the family.  We had a great time and Tiger Lily was introduced to frosting for the first time! She likes it.

Click the picture for a 26 picture slide show or here to see them all of them at once.

Teaching the dog AND baby bad manners all at once! Tiger Lily and Inca get along great!

Tiger Lily devouring her birthday cupcake, Take 1

Tiger Lily devouring her birthday cupcake, Take 2

Tiger Lily Walks, Pushing a Chair in Front as She Goes!

Watching all the other kids at the birthday party must have inspired TL. She started pushing a dining room chair around walking behind it the day after the party! Totally her idea.

Tiger Lily's First Birthday Seattle Party

It was great! Thanks to everyone that could brave the weather! Click photo for 25 picture slideshow or here to see all pictures at once. More videos to follow...

 

Tiger Lily's First Birthday!

One year ago yesterday Tiger Lily came pouncing on the scene.  What a wild year it has been.  And how proud we are of our big, healthy, fearless girl. Here she is opening a birthday present from Meema and Grandad!




After a pancake breakfast and presents (and a nap!) we headed off for the Seattle Aquarium. Tiger Lily was very excited about the fish and the surf tank was the best.  The aquarium also had a brand new (2 days old) sea otter baby who was exceptionally cute being held tightly by its momma.

Look out for that cephalopod!


"Hey guys, there are fish in here!!"





After the aquarium we walked to the Miner's Landing pier (where the first gold from the Alaska Goldrush reached Seattle) and TL and Merrick took a ride on the carousel.




Video from the carousel ride. That thing moves fast!

Then home for stew with cornmeal muffins. A great first birthday. And a party next Saturday to look forward to!

Snoqualmie Pass Snowshoe and Snowslide, January 7, 2012

Mom and Dad finally realized that being stuck in a car seat for 1+ hours followed by being stuck in a carrier on someone's back for 3 hours and back in a car seat again probably wasn't as fun for Tiger Lily as it was for them.  So for this snow trip we took Tiger Lily out of the pack so she could have some fun in the snow too.

We are at the Snoqualmie Pass Mountaineers Campus for the "Winter Trails Day" snowshoe event.

New Years Eve (Day) 2012

The family packed up the jalopy and headed to the hills for the 3rd and final snowshoe trip for 2011.  The weather was perfect the snow nice and fluffy off the trail and nicely packed on the trail.  We went to the Nordic Center at Stevens Pass.  We'll be returning in 2012! Click the picture below for a 6 picture slide show.