A Month's Worth

Hello Friends,

TK here. This morning I took my grandma and mom to the airport after their week-long visit to see Brad, Jessica, Mike, and me. After I got home and while I was sitting down on the couch with Mike looking at all the pictures we took during Mom and Grandma's visit, I thought about which pictures would be best suited for our blog. Then I realized, oh shit, I have a lot to catch y'all up on before I even begin to blog about my family visiting. So, here's what's been keeping us busy and what has delayed all communications with you fine folks...

Work

I've been working lots, and last month I got to sub on the day of a field trip. At a local elementary school, the students were traveling to a nearby creek for their annual salmon release. The kids bring tiny little baby salmon that they've raised at school and release them into the wild. Though they got excited about it, the thrill has worn off for them a bit, as I was with a group of fifth grade students who, after five annual releases have become seasoned veterans at the trade of releasing fish. I, however, never having experienced such an event, was highly amused and enthused. Crazy, Ms. K!

A Surprise Visitor

A few weeks ago, Mike and I were sitting at home on a Saturday night (I know- shocking, right?) when we received a phone call. We're screeners and waited for a voicemail rather than answering. It turned out to be Colin, an old friend from EC. We hadn't heard from Colin since he left for the navy just over a year ago. When he left EC it was to go to Florida. As it turns out, he's now stationed in Oak Harbor, WA, an hourish drive from Bellingham. Needing a break from his life in the navy, Colin decided on that Saturday to see what B'ham was all about. When he arrived, he called a mutual friend of ours, Kelli, to chat and tell her he was out exploring for the weekend. When he mentioned where he was, Kelli asked if he was going to call us. Now, seeing as we hadn't talked to Colin for over a year, he had forgotten which city in Washington we were living in. When Kelli mentioned us, he asked her for our number and gave us a ring.

After listening to his voicemail, we immediately called Colin back and met up with him shortly after to show him nightlife in Bellingham. It was spontaneous and super fun. We took Colin to our favorite bars in town and even scouted out some new ones we'd never been to. We ended up lasting until sometime around three a.m.- a record since we've moved out here, I'm sure.

Colin crashed in the guest closet, and we all ate scratch pancakes before getting some fresh air on the boardwalk the next morning. The bad news (for us, not him) is that Colin will be heading to Hawaii in just a few weeks. We sure hope he makes it back to B'ham before he heads south.

Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, lives in Seattle. Though I haven't yet read his recent hot-seller, I've heard high praise for it, and Mike's read some of his other work. Mike and I were also both very impressed by his interview on "The Colbert Report" last fall in which he actually made Stephen Colbert break character. So, when we heard he'd be speaking as part of a local community project, we weren't about to miss out on the opportunity to hear and see him live. He's a phenomenal story-teller, and his comedy is like clockwork, as it is based entirely in realism and a refreshing angle of honesty. I definitely plan to read some of his work this year, and y'all should too.

Mike's Birthday

That's right; Mike's twenty-six now. He got some nice treats to show for it: birthday cards from his biggest fans, a basketball, an air pump for his basketball, some moolah, subscriptions to two magazines, and a hand-stitched sleeping bag liner with dart boards on it. If any of those things came from you, allow me (apparently as Mike's secretary at the moment) to issue a public "thanks" on his behalf.

The Year's First Swim

Just the other weekend, we took the dogs to the beach for their first swim of the season. Of course, they loved it. They didn't love the baths they needed afterwards quite as much, but you gotta give a little to get a little. We played ball for quite a while before getting on to some treasure hunting.

An Even Match

For those of you who've been following our dart stats, you know Mike has never been able to beat me solely because he can't throw bullseyes. Well, ladies and gentlemen... I'm in trouble, the man learned how to hit the middle. It's okay though; we're a pretty even match now, as I also got better at aiming for the actual numbers, not only bullseyes. Unfortunately for my pride, however, Mike did slaughter me the other week.

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Okay. There. I've caught you up. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog on Mom and Grandma's visit. And, Carly's coming at the end of the month. That little spark plug is bound to give us some good material for blogging.