Then and...Well Just Then

I thought about doing another then and now but since I am the one who takes most of the photos and I am not inclined to do a self-portrait (ala Spencer) there aren't any current photos of me. The mandatory school yearbook photo that is taken at work doesn't count either. Although last year's wasn't too bad really. I dug this up because the ASB leader at school requested a middle school picture from the staff for some contest she is planning for the kids. I'm not positive that this is really a middle school picture because I can't remember which grade I was actually in when this picture was taken. Could be anywhere from 4th to 6th. The only other choice I had was an 8th grade photo and that is a face that is best not revisited. So this is the one I turned in. I guess you can see now where Tucker gets the flippy ends on his long hair. Kind of makes me wonder how he would look with a cute little white barrette in his hair. It also really shows how much Spencer really does look like me. Cooper too. I'm not sure I remember much about being that age. Perhaps when I am old and slipping into dementia it will all come back to me.

Spencer Turns 12!

I don't know what you would call these. Blackmail? Payback?? Today is an auspicious day. Yes, we all know what it means nationally, but more importantly to us, it is Spencer's birthday. These pictures are evidence of what he did this summer when I was at work. My camera was just lying there (in it's case) begging some young, pre-teen to take self-portraits. I guess things get a little dull when mom is not around. There were actually about 6-8 pictures--even after I told him to stop taking pictures of himself. What did Spencer want for his birthday?? He has spent many hours contemplating this very issue, crafting and re-crafting birthday lists which he places on the refrigerator for all to see. He has been dying to have a cell phone. For what reason we are not clear. Chances of that happening are...well, use whatever trite saying that comes to mind about never. (Hence the re-crafting.) He loves movies so there is always a variety of those on his list as well as gift cards. Top of the list though (with cell phone out) was a digital camera which is what we got him. Future as a photographer? As long as he leaves these pictures out of any portfolio maybe he has a future. Some amazing things about him in recent months:

• His voice sounds like he is getting a cold--no confusing him with me on the phone any more
• His feet are nearly as big as his dad's (he's wearing Tucker's soccer shoes from this past spring)
• He is growing what Cooper likes to call "armpit beards"
• He is within about an inch of being taller than me
• He is the tallest boy on his soccer team

In other words he's growing up!

Then & Now

Since everyone else was doing these before and after photos, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon. I do have some before and after photos of my kitchen but that is not what I am sharing (although it is pretty amazing actually). This is a more personal before and after or actually then and now. I have had a tradition of taking a picture of the boys on the first day of school since Tucker started kindergarten (got the idea out of some magazine). And so I have a pictorial chronology of how they have grown and changed. We also take picture with their teacher on the last day of school--although that is only through elementary school. I think you can figure out which are the befores and which are the afters. Scary how much they change and how fast it happens. Tucker is just three short years away from being gone. I just won't think about that right now. I'll do my Scarlett O'Hara impression and think about it tomorrow. And yes, that is the same rug lying in front of the door in all the then & now pictures as Spencer so brilliantly pointed out. I have always meant to get something different but have just never gotten around to it. Just not a priority. If you have my name for Christmas there's an easy gift! Cooper is too close to his first day of school for there to be much of a difference. Although I swear he must weigh at least 20 pounds more than he did in kindergarten. That boy is going to eat us out of house and home as the saying goes. So here is a picture of him in front of his favorite vehicle--the mini Cooper naturally--complete with "The Italian Job " wheels. (Not our car, it's friend's).

Camano Cupcake

A few weekends ago the boys & I spent two days at our friend's cabin on Camano Island. This is the view from the deck of the "cupcake cabin". The cabin is octagonal and kind of looks like a cupcake. We had glorious time and the weather was absolutely lovely. The highlight of the two days was "killer croquet". The boys would set up these elaborate and impossible croquet courses and compete against each other and our friends Neil & Steph. They would make up rules like if your ball went in the sand or fell down the stairs you had to go back to the start. The wickets(?) were set right in front of said sand and stairs. Needless to say there were some really long games. Fun was had by all. That's Neil in the boat with Cooper. I rode in that rowboat with Neil last summer and it was pretty tippy. I tried not to think about that as Neil rowed Cooper parallel to the shore. Neil also helped Tucker with the Algebra correspondence course we signed Tucker up for this summer. He's a great guy--Neil (well, and Tucker too). Yes, it is true that Tucker's parents are unbelievably cruel and made their son study math over the summer. Obviously the strain of it all was too much for Tucker as you can see in the picture. He actually slept like that for probably 45 minutes. Perhaps he will be motivated by this summer's experience to actually do better in math this year so he won't have to repeat it again next summer?? Only time will tell.

Long Hot Days of Summer

Except in Seattle that is. This past weekend was the annual Chandler pilgrimage to Twin Harbors State Park on the Olympic Peninsula where where camp next to the beach. It's August so one would expect cool nights and hot days. Wrong! The trip there was marked by periods of light rain followed by heavy rain followed by no rain followed by light rain...It just kept changing about every 10 miles down the road. When we got there at 1pm it appeared that things were clearing up. Luckily it did and that evening the kids (all 9 Chandler grandkids plus 3 additional teenagers) were able to enjoy the surf--as the sun set. Yes, it's true, our children were out enjoying the ocean around 8:30 in the evening. Now if you had ever experienced the Washington coast you might think to yourself "How could they stand the near icy cold water?" Believe it or not it was the warmest water I have ever felt in the 15 years we have been going there. Global warming? you say. Well, maybe. I think it was the fact that the current/wind appeared to coming from a southerly direction (El Nino perhaps) rather than the Northerly (Arctic) direction it usually does. The kids enjoyed trying out skim boards (Cooper's pix), digging in the sand and jumping in the surf. It's a good thing too since the next day started out wet (well rainy). It sort of cleared around noon but it was windy at the beach and most of the grown-ups spent the time huddled in chairs with David's big truck blocking some of the wind. Shortly after they left the beach around 3 or 4 that day it started to rain and it basically never stopped! It either sprinkled or outright rained the whole night! It was the rainiest weekend we have ever spent there. However, it is only the 2nd time in about 15 years of going there that we have ever been rained on. The nice thing was that it wasn't cold. We have been there when it was colder (without the rain). Regardless, it was a fun time for all.

Whitewater & Such

This is our little group just before we set out for a little whitewater adventure on the Salmon River. Dennis' friend Bill was our guide and has been navigating the river for many years. The girl next to me is his daughter Laura. Cooper is not in the picture because he didn't want to try it this year--even though we said he could. It was hot, hot, hot that day (102 in the shade). When the wind blew upriver it was not refreshing it was more like turning on a blow dryer. The best way to cool down is jump in when the water was mellow. I am not channeling Cap'n Jack in the photo but discovered that my wet shirt felt very refreshing on my head. Periodically I would wet it again and rewrap which really helped keep me cool. It was a very mellow trip down the river. Bill avoided most of the major rapids since he hadn't fully recovered from breaking his shoulder last year. In some of the major rapids we didn't even get splashed! That was the culminating adventure of our "outdoor" week. It started in Mackay where we visited my family, played some golf with my brother and then headed for Wildhorse which is more in the middle of nowhere than Mackay is. It is somewhere between Mackay and Sun Valley, down several dirt roads at the end of which is a campground. It is a lovely campground right by a creek. When the mosquitos are under control it's quite lovely. Luckily we got the best campsite with the fewest mosquitos! We all had good time hanging out with family, floating on the river and relaxing (see pix of Spencer & cousin Leah). There was a little beaver pond on the river that I jumped in three times. Keep in mind that is "pond" is filled with freshly melted snow (that's how far up in the mountains we were). The first time I jumped in I came up gasping for air and thrashed my way to the shore (I'm not much of a swimmer and when you trying to get your breath back it's even harder). After I caught my breath I guess I thought it was so enjoyable that I had to do it again. Tucker jumped in with me the 2nd and 3rd time--we were trying to get some action shots with the camera. Unfortunately we only ever caught the splash at the end. It was too cold and rainy the next day to try again. I heard after we left that my sister Karen also had an adventure in the "pool" however, hers was not as pleasant as mine. From Wildhorse we headed to Riggins where the raft picture was taken. When we weren't rafting we were hanging out in the pool trying to stay cool. It was a great vacation as always!

Every Boy Needs a Dog

As much as he would want one (and he does) unfortunately it's not going to happen. However, there are opportunities out there for dog loving boys. He was in dog heaven this weekend when we went for dinner at the condo of our Relief Society President, Ann Romish and her husband. They have two dogs (one in Cooper's arms, the other quite similar) and their son who is deaf/blind came over with his golden retriever service dog who was a real beauty and very friendly. Cooper was in dog heaven. They live on the 9th floor in a high rise in the U-District (as in UW for those not familiar with Seattle) with a fabulous view of Lake Union and the Seattle skyline. They are fabulous people! There was also a heated pool which despite the windy, chilly evening was also enjoyed by the boys as you can see from the photo of Spencer.

Last week Spencer finished his last day of elementary school (sigh). He is moving on to middle school next year. The last week of school was pretty much one big party. The picture with the girls is from the 2nd to the last day when they had a field trip where they went to the Space Needle (which gave me a headache--I guess I'm getting old) and they "rode the Duck" which again if you are from Seattle needs no explanation but if not, it's a big silver boat looking thing on wheels with a canopy over it that tours around Seattle on land and water. It was a rather fun day. The girls are just three of the six that are his friends. He's quite the ladies man.