Rainier Vista Neighborhood House

Kacie and I recently volunteered for an after school tutoring program in South Seattle. It has been a lot of fun. We go every Tuesday evening from 5:30 to 7:00. The program is setup by an organization called Horn of Africa Services (HOAS). We meet at a little community center called the Rainer Vista Neighborhood House. Most of the kids there are from East African families. Kacie and I work with three girls from Ethiopia. Their names are Sabontu (6th grade), Halima (4th grade), and Duretti (3rd grade). They are all cousins. They are all very bright. We help them through their homework and then outside to play a little neighborhood hoops.



Kacie in front of Neighborhood House with Halima and Duretti




4th Grade Halima is full of personality




3rd Grade Duretti enjoys testing out my glasses





6th Grade Sabontu is all business




The three amigas take a short study break





After tutoring we always make time for a little hoops outside. The girls really get after it on the neighborhood courts. The games actually get a little wild with all the neighborhood boys mixing in as well. They won't let us leave, however, without playing a little basketball.

Happy Mothers Day - From Jamie

Happy Mother's Day Keri!

Warren B Celebrates Birthday #1

Today (May 7th) marks a big day in the life of Warren B. He celebrates his first full year on planet earth. That would be birthday #1. The look on his face with bottle in hand tell it all. It's obvious he has been exploding with anticipation. He can't wait for the presents! Following family custom, Keri had the early morning birthday table all ready to roll. Warren finally awoke at 8 am with a little anxious nudging from Trey. Trey had already been painfully staring at the table for a good hour. He was thinking this was all very unfair. In the end, he assisted in opening the gifts and everybody was happy. We will break out the cake and candles this evening when Kacie is back from school!


What's all the fuss about?



I wonder what's inside?



Trey volunteers to open gifts!



Trey does a little drum roll for Warren's big event


Later in the evening we did eventually break out the birthday cake. Keri had baked up her chocolate birthday special. The lone celebratory candle was carefully placed right in the middle. Warren's hands immediately dove right into the cake. Within a few minutes we had a chocolate mess. Warren kept grabbing at the single flame. Fortunately he was protected by the chocolate frosting plastered all over his hands. Trey was also helpful on the extinguishing end with his friendly huffs and puffs.


My Birthday Cake!



The Big Birthday Smile!



The Chocolate Mess



My Birthday Friends



Flashback to the beast on his birthday #1

70 degrees in Seattle

After three weeks of rain it seemed like a miracle to finally see sunshine in Seattle. Better yet, our oldest daughter Jamie, is back at home. She is in between semesters at school. She reminds us that she is the real sunshine in Seattle. Everything was looking good. Unfortunately for Trey and his handsome face this would not be a pretty day. Here is a picture early friday morning of Trey looking good with the sun blazing through our back windows.

With the sunshine and Jamie at home we decided to take a little walk to the park. Jamie situated Warren in the stroller, Kacie hopped on her bike, and Trey zoomed out on his favorite trike.

Trey pumping as fast as he can to keep stride with big sister Kacie.


Trey resting by the side of the road waiting for Jamie and Warren.


As we came to the end of our street, we arrived at Trey's favorite hill. He loves to kick up his feet and fly away. He always makes us a little nervous. This time he gave us good reason. Jamie and Kacie had gone ahead to wait for him at the bottom. They were making sure the runway was clear. Problem is -- they became part of the run way. Trey crashed right into one of their bikes. The handle bar of the bike hit him right on the cheek bone. It was not a pretty sight. His cheek split open and we all ended up racing back to the house. Our walk to the park would wait for another day.

Within minutes we were all in the car headed to ER. We arrived at Evergreen Hospital and Trey showed his true colors. He was nothing less than a champion. He never winced once through all the doctors and nurses. They cleaned out his wound, took a cat scan, numbed up his cheek, and glued the cut shut. Yes, they used glue! Everyone was relieved there was no damage to his eye. Trey looks like he went a few rounds with Mike Tyson but he still won't slow down. As we were leaving the hospital, Jamie had him smiling and saying, "I'm Back in Action". As soon as we got back home he wanted back on the trike. He is on mandatory rest for the next couple of days. We are all hoping he heals up without a major scar. Everyone loves his face!



Trey taking a nap later that afternoon


Trey back in action with his big smile

Trey with Warren and his bloodshot eye

Cottage Lake Park

Everything in life has become a more challenging with two little ones running around. That includes finding time to work out. Last week I broke down and bought a jogging stroller at Costco. All week long now I have been jogging to Cottage Lake park with Trey and sometimes Warren. When Warren comes along, Trey likes to ride along side in his little tricycle.

Warren is in the stroller while Trey is blazing ahead on his trike!


Trey is an absolute maniac on wheels. Our street ends in a serious hill and he goes down that thing 100 mph. He lifts up his legs and pushes them out sideways and goes full steam ahead. His trike starts shaking from side to side and its only a matter of time before he bites it. When we get to the main road out front (Woodinville / Duvall), I always make Trey get back in the stroller. Its a short jog to the park and he is back out doing his thing again.

Trey flying down the hill that enters Cottage Lake Park!

Of course, Trey always eats up the playground once we get there.

And of course we always bring a couple of basketballs and work on our hoop games.


Here is T-Bone once we are at the park relaxing a little on the swings

Here is Warren chillin on the swings as well.


And here they are swinging together.

Disneyland 2008

We spent mid winter break of 2008 in Anaheim, California. We being Scott, Keri, Kacie, Trey, and Warren. Kacie suggested the trip late one evening and two days later we were booked and ready to go. We left Saturday afternoon, February 16th, and returned Thursday evening, February 21st. It had been 10 years since our last visit to Anaheim. Kacie was just a few years old. Trey and Warren were not even part of the story yet.

We stayed at the Residence Inn just 1/2 mile from Disneyland. We were in room 2021. The accomodations were perfect for the five of us. We had private entry, a little kitchen, a heated pool, basketball court, buffet breakfast, and walking distance to the theme parks.



Trey enjoying an early buffet breakfast before heading out for some fun. His facial expressions always set the tone for the day.


On Sunday, our first full day there, we went to church with the Anaheim 3rd ward. Trey went to the nursery and Keri and Kacie to the primary. I chilled with Warren in the lobby. Later we all reunited for sacrament meeting. The chapel was less than 3 miles from Disneyland. Some people there called it the Disneyland ward.



Monday through Thursday we spent almost all our time in the pool or at one of the parks. Trey's preferred place was the pool. Everyday as we would awake and before we would retire at night Trey would look at me with a hopeful smile and say, "Trey swimmin?". Each visit to the pool would consist of me catching Trey around 50 times as he jumped in from the side. Each jump was often accompanied by a little dance and some hilarious grins. He is full of personality.



Warren's favorite ride of the trip was King Triton's Carousel. It was located in the California Adventure Park. Unfortunately, the carousel in Disneyland was shut down for repair. Trey and Warren must have ridden this carousel 15 times within the span of an hour. Each time we would finish, Trey would quickly chime "Do again, dad?".



Trey's favorite ride was Autotopia in Disneyland. Since Warren was with us we were able to do the baby swap thing and Trey could ride multiple times in a row. Nevertheless when our time was done he was telling me off in his three year old way. He would have stayed there all day if he could.



Trey was fortunate to measure in at 40 inches which is the required height limit for most of the rides. He was able to ride splash mountain, thunder mountain railroad, and Soarin over California. He managed all of them pretty well. He would hug Kacie a little close and close his eyes during the most exciting parts but he was a champion considering he just turned three.



Kacie was miss congenial the entire trip always trying to please Trey and Warren. We had to force her to enjoy some of the thrills of the parks. She did end up testing about every exciting ride from the Matterhorn of Disney to the Tower of Terror in California Adventure. She really needed one of her close cousins to be there to enjoy the action together.



Kacie was also the great built in baby sitter. She often managed the stroller, held a wrestless or sleeping Warren, and constantly entertained Trey. Here she is on the Disney train taking care of business with the dynamic duo.



Trey loved to stop at every disney store and stand to test out their products. He still doesn't understand the tradeoff between money and product so it made each stop difficult. Here he is in action fashioning his favorite Mickey hat and braids. To make things more interesting he throws in his favorite funny face.



The weather was nice but not perfect. The first two days we were filled with sun and just over 70 degrees. The last two days were a little rainy and in the low 60's. Here is Kacie showing some positive mental attitude to some early morning rain. It was a wet morning but things turned around nicely for a great afternoon.