Team Merrill Lynch - Relay 09

Relay For Life '09

This weekend was the 25th Anniversary of Relay For Life, which started right here in Tacoma, by one man. Now 25 years later it is the largest fundraising event for the American Cancer Society held in over 5000 locations and in 19 different countries.
This year Team Merrill Lynch was affected by all the changes that have taken place over the past year and the down turn in the economy. There were still over 40 employees and family members that showed up to walk the track over the 24 hour period. The team raised over $12,000, which is nothing to sneeze at, but doesn't even compare to the funds we've been able to raise in the past.
Kaitlyn and Mackenna were both on the team this year, raising funds and taking their turn on the track. Their goal was to stay until about 3:00 in the morning. However, after the week of finals and the last day of school taking their toll, by 11:30 last night they were ready to head home. Can't say I was too sad by that news. I was tired myself and happy to go home to my bed!

The Graduate

Thursday night Rose graduated from West Seattle High School. The ceremony was at the Seattle Center at Memorial Stadium.

Her grandparents flew in from Chicago so they could attend the graduation of their very first grandchild.

After graduation the whole family +2 (Rose's boyfriend Shea and Kaitlyn's friend Charlie) went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in Tukwila.

Rose hasn't solidified her plans for next fall. She's thinking of taking some time off and working for awhile and possibly attending Gene Juarez beauty school next January.

Memorial Day 2009

We took Kaitlyn and her friends Ambra and Mackenna boating today on Lake Washington.
We anchored in Andrews Bay (off Seward Park) and the girls were brave enough to go in the water....at least for a few minutes. Kaitlyn and Mackenna were out of the water in a nano-second, but Ambra was able to take it for at least 3 or 4 minutes. I will admit, it is still really chilly this time of year!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today would have been my Dad's 80th Birthday.

I miss you Daddy! I know that your birthday in heaven was much better today than any birthday here on earth!

Only in the Big City!

So as I'm sitting waiting for the bus on 2nd Avenue in downtown Seattle this afternoon, I look up and see the police officer on horseback. He was riding down the street right next to the cars.
Now seriously.....what the heck is he and his trusty horse going to do if they see someone make an illegal left hand turn or go through a red light?
I get that they want to have a police presence in downtown to detur crime, but please! Keep the pretty ponies down on the waterfront or in the pike place market, not on the busy traffic streets during the evening commute!

What a weekend!

It is a weekend like this past one that reminds you why we live in Seattle. When the sun is out there is no place like it anywhere! What an incredible weekend for mid-May. It was sunny and 75 both Saturday and Sunday - perfect boating weather!
Although Tim had the boat out on Opening Weekend, this was my first venture out in 2009. Saturday we spent the day floating around Lake Washington and Lake Union. We stopped at Ivars in Shilshole Bay and had a picnic on the swimstep of the boat.
Sunday we were back out again. This time with my friend Aimee and her friend Patty who was visiting from California. We picked them up in Lake Union and boated out toward the Locks. We stopped, gauwked and took photos of the crabbing boats made famous by the Deadliest Catch TV show. Its pretty amazing to see them up close and realize they aren't that big for the beating they take in the rough AK waters during filming. You couldn't pay me enough, but I digress. Anyway, after heading back into Lake Union we floated through the Mountlake Cut and into Lake Washington where we checked out Uncle Bill (Gates) house and then toured the southern part of the lake until heading back in about 6:00 p.m. to Parkshore Marina, where our boat is now stored. Tim is getting closer and closer to having it moored on the water. Right now its in the dry storage at the marina, which is a lot closer to water than the horse barn that it was stored in all winter in Spanaway. If we only made more money and could afford all the things we want....isn't that just life?!

Mother's Day 2009

My Mother's Day celebrating took place on Saturday instead of Sunday. My Mom is in Indiana visiting my sister so for the first year in a very long time, we did not have NY Steak cooked on the grill out back. Kaitlyn had to work on Sunday, so we scheduled our Mother's Day dinner for Saturday night after she got off work.

Saturday morning Tim was out running errands and came home about 10:30 with Starbucks coffee for me and a dozen light pink roses (pictured). What a sweetie! The roses were beautiful and smelled terrific. Since one of my favorite foods is mexican, we went to Azteca for dinner. All of us got different versions of fajitas. Kaitlyn and I had yummy margaritas (of course, one of them was alcohol-free) and what a shocker - Tim drank beer! After dinner we went to the mall. Kaitlyn had a gift card and bought some cute shirts at American Eagle. Afterwards we headed home and hung out.

Sunday, Tim and I went to the Little Creek in Shelton for a few hours. No big winning was happening so we had lunch and then came home. Kaitlyn was working on a "project" when we got home but was keeping it secret. About 8:30 she came into my room to present me with her project. She had created a MOM & ME photo montage. It was so sweet. There is one tiny photo of the day she was born. When I looked at it, I commented that it wasn't a very good photo of me. Her response was, "come on Mom, you just had a baby, its fine. Besides it is our FIRST photo together". How freaking sweet is she! Below is a camera phone photo of her gift to me.

More JSB Photos

Kaitlyn got home about 12:30 on Saturday. She stayed up texting will her friends until after 1:30 when she finally went to bed. She was up at 9:00 and at work by 10:00 (barely!). When we took down her hair on Saturday night, there were 41 bobby pins in it. It was a rats nest that took a very tender loving mommy hand to brush out! She had a ball at JSB!

Junior Senior Banquet

This is Kaityn's school's version of the Prom. She went with Charlie, the same date she had for Homecoming the last 2 years. Since there is technically no dancing at Christian schools they have a banquet instead of a prom. However, tonight Kaitlyn and a group of her friends were all going out to dinner BEFORE the banquet. This group of 12 consisted of 11 girls and 1 boy. Kaitlyn was the only girl with a "date". Charlie was a very brave boy to go out with 11 teenage girls. I'm sure it didn't hurt his ego any either! I heard there was dancing at the JSB tonight, but not sure what that really means. Kaitlyn sent me a text message telling me that she and Charlie danced to the song that "tells you what to do". I highly doubt it was the hokey-pokey, but one never really knows. I can't wait until she gets home to find out the whole story. Her curfew is midnight, but tonight she gets some add'l time before she has to be home. The big bummer is that she has to be at work at 10:00 tomorrow morning, so I don't expect to see her stroll in at 2 a.m., but you never know.

Bailey has a bad back!

My poor little baby has degenerative disc disease! He wasn't able to walk today and just whimpered and whined. An emergency trip to the vet discovered his back issues. The little guy has a birth defect and has an extra vertabrae. That, combined with being overweight (a common problem in our house with the exception of skinny Kaitlyn), his disc issues caused all sorts of problems. After x-rays, a shot, and 2 different prescriptions, the bill totaled $320. Yikes!
He is now on a strict diet to lose some weight, and has to be confined for the next 30 days. No running, no jumping, no stairs. He's going to have to be carried out to go potty. This will be so fun! At least the weather is getting better so hopefully we won't be carrying him out in the rain! If we don't take care of it and keep him confined, he could go paralyzed and heaven forbid, be put down. That is not an option!!! So he'll be treated like a little baby and carried around and his food intake will be kept to a minimum (he only gets 395 calories a day). Hopefully this will work and he'll get better and stay that way for a long long time. I'm expecting my 15 year life span for my sweet Bailey Boo!

Missing Dad

This photo dates WAY BACK. That's my sister and me hiding behind our Dad at Niagra Falls in the 70s.
I was just thinking about him this weekend and found this old photo and decided to try out the scanner again.
I sure wish I could hang out with him again! I miss him every day, but the pain is getting more bearable, which I guess is how time heals. Obviously, I will never forget him, but the remembering isn't as painful, which is a good thing!

Spring Break - Victoria

Kaitlyn in front of the Parliment Building Gram & Kaitlyn in front of the Empress Hotel
Mom & Kaitlyn at Craigdarroch Castle (we climbed all 87 stairs to the top!)
Kaitlyn doing cartwheels on the lawn in front of the Empress Hotel. Classy!

High Tea at the Empress Hotel (pricey, bad food, but worth it anyway just for the experience!) The tea itself was mighty tasty!

My Mom, Kaitlyn and I spent 4 days in beautiful Victoria last week for Spring Break. We took the Victoria Clipper and stayed at the Hotel Grand Pacific. Our activities included the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour, Tea at the Empress, the Museum, and Tour to Buchart Gardens. Of course, there was shopping involved! Kaitlyn got a new sweatshirt, new jacket, and new shoes, plus she created a beautiful bracelet when we visited Bead World. It was a very relaxing vacation that was just what was needed to relieve the self induced stress of work and school.

My Seattle Office

My name and title were added to my office window this week. That's progress. Someone told me that it looked "pretty permanent" but unfortunately, it takes about 30 seconds with a straight edge to scratch it right off. The longevity of my time in Seattle is still unknown and frustrating as all get out, but for now, at least I look like I belong and am one of the "official" management team.

The other photo is the view out my window. I am on the top floor

of the Financial building on 4th & Seneca. My office faces the water, but the darn Washington Mutual Tower is directly behind me. If you look to the left or right of the WaMu tower, you can see water. This view is looking to the left. If you look closely you can see the ferry. Of course, the window is BEHIND me, so since I don't have eyes in the back of my head, I very rarely get to look out the window.

Katie & Her Friends

Ambra, Amy, Mackenna, Kaitlyn