Spiders

When Cooper and I left for school this morning we noticed that it was a bit of a foggy day. In Seattle that means a pretty heavy dew. Because of the beads of dew, you could see all the spider webs. There were probably 10 or more of them in the evergreen bushes in front of our house, which you can kind of see here. They were so cool I had to go back in the house and get the camera to take pictures. Now we are NOT ones to get scared of spiders so naturally we were quite fascinated with all the webs and their shapes and intricacies. I find it interesting to observe the interesting shapes and patterns. They are just amazing. The weather was perfect for viewing them. We walked a few blocks farther and saw tons of webs all over the bushes everywhere. Then we saw a great big one, with a huge spider on it that I just had to get a picture of him. He was HUGE! But he was also beautiful, just sitting there waiting for something edible to come along. SO I had to snap a picture of him too. (Click on both of them to enlarge them to really appreciate how many webs there were on the shrubs and how big the Big Daddy was!)
It was such a cool morning to be out and about and it really made me think about how beautiful the earth is that God made for us. I was thankful for Cooper's excitement, enthusiasm and exuberance about the whole thing. There are so many beautiful things that we pass by every day without even considering. It also reminded me what I love about living in Seattle. Yes, it rains a fair amount here, and when it is not raining it is often gray. But...it is vibrantly green much of the year, the climate is generally mild (not too hot, not too cold). Tall mountains to remind me of Idaho but lots of water everywhere. Yes, there are spiders but there aren't any snakes and flies are almost non-existent. So today I am grateful for spiders and all the amazing things that are on this beautiful earth!

Spencer is a Teenager!

Yes my tall, skinny redhead is now a teenager! Spencer turned 13 on September 11. We went out for pizza on his actual birthday but saved the majority of his party for Saturday when the Chandler clan could be there. He was very excited to get two things on his list (he always has one prepared for every gift-giving occasion). He got and i-Pod and a gift certificate for Hollister, which he is out spending with Tucker as I type.
I am always so amazed at how different all my boys are from the other, with their own unique personalities and likes and dislikes. Spencer is my little chef. He loves to make desserts. He is especially good at chocolate chip cookies. He is very good a reading and following recipes so he will always eat well. (Unlike Tucker who may be living off Top Ramen). He is very artistic and has a great eye for color, details, shapes, sizes, etc. He is funny, a good student and has a great ear for music. Lest he seems to be nearing perfection, he also has a temper which has a very short fuse. When he gets in a snit, he has been known to shut himself in his room for a couple hours. Moody doesn't do justice to his moods swings at times. He is now several inches taller than me and within an inch or so if being taller than Tucker. He is probably about 4-5 inches taller than Tucker was at age 13. Perhaps he got the tall Chandler gene. Time will tell. He is a super kid and we are blessed to have him in our family.

1st Day & Wedded Bliss

Today was the 1st day of school for Seattle Public Schools. That means even more now than it did before since they are my employer. The last two weeks I have been working a little extra time to get ready for the big day. Well truth be told, I have been working alot of extra time. Will be looking forward to things getting a little calmer. We did make it through the 1st day though--both me and the boys. I always take a picture of the boys on the 1st day of school and the last day. So here is the one for this year. (I also took one of each boy alone.) I always like to compare the growth from year to year. I guess this one won't be all that helpful since Spencer is crouching. He is actually taller than me and was laughing yesterday about how short I was.

Today was also a banner day for Dennis and I. It was our 20th Anniversary! Yup that's right. We have been married for 20 years!! Scary. Even more scary, that's what we looked like on the big day 20 years ago. The kids find it hilarous that Dennis had hair. They think their dad looks really funny. I guess that would seem weird since they have only known him sans most of his hair. It seems pretty weird to think about being married 20 years, but then I kind of seems like we have always been married.

I guess the fact that we have Junior in high school and have 20 years means that we are officially old. Well at least that's what our kids think. Funny, other than a few extra pounds and a little less flexibility, I don't feel that different than I did 20 years ago.