Garreth's Birthday

For Garreth's "29th" birthday on Saturday, we got out of dodge and headed down to Seattle for the day.  We went to a very cool place at the Seattle Center called EMP - Experience Music Project.  I'm not going to lie to you, it would have been even more fun without these two whiners,

but we really had a good time.

The guitar tornado, ground floor.

Guitar tornado, second floor.

Garreth and Liam next to some famous guitars -  the coolest being the one Kurt Cobain played in the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video.  (it's the one on the right)

Three boys and a Jimi Hendrix jumpsuit.

Our favorite part was creating our own band and performing on a stage with actual instruments, and the curtains opening to a huge video screen of screaming fans.  After a rousing performance of "Purple Haze," we got to go outside and watch our performance.  Very impressive.  We could have bought a DVD or band poster, but we went with taking a picture of the screen instead of actually buying one.  

Presenting our band, Septic Monkey, in all its glory:

And here are the tickets to our show.  We think $60 might be just a little high for a band of our caliber and the crowd might actually feel slightly ripped off.

THANK YOU, SEATTLE!  GOOD NIGHT!

There were tons of places to play on real instruments and experiment with effects.  

Cheesy smiles like this one were actually very rare from Evan that day, so I'm glad I documented it:

In the same building and included in the price of our tickets was the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, so we took a few minutes to channel our inner-complete-dorks.  (It was hard after feeling so cool and hip in our first rock n' roll performance.)

The robot display.

(These pictures are really bad since I couldn't use my flash.)

Liam's outline and a Storm Trooper.

ET.

After we left, Garreth broke years of tradition by not choosing a Japanese steakhouse for his birthday dinner.  After finding out that we do indeed have Claim Jumpers in Washington, the choice was easy.  And a big birthday steak it was.

We had to wait a VERY long time to get in and the kids were restless and hungry, so Garreth entertained them with a "Quick, how many fingers am I holding up?" game.  His "magician face" cracked me up enough to take a picture.

It was a really fun day spent with our favorite little people in the whole world.

Happy birthday, Garreth!  I love you!

Christmas Break

We had a great Christmas break, as evidenced by my genuine sadness about the kids going back to school today.  I really could have used another week with them home.  Here are some random pics of the last few weeks.

This handsome guy got some cool new specs.  (Sorry about your unfortunate optical genetics, buddy.  Between me and your dad, you didn't really have a chance.)  He's so dashingly handsome, I think he pulls them off very nicely.

We headed down to the beach to try out Liam and Sam's new slingshots.  

We began a massive organization and de-junking of the house project.  Unfortunately, with five kids around, for me to get a closet looking like this:

the rest of the room usually ends up  looking like this:

We got some new games for Christmas and we let Grace and Liam stay up late with us a few nights to play them.  Can I just say how great it is to have kids that are old enough to play games that are actually fun for adults, too?  I would rather shoot myself in the foot than play Chutes and Ladders.  

Birch Bay Polar Bear Swim

After watching the annual Polar Bear Swim last year, Garreth was inspired.  After having done it in both Finland and Alaska, how bad could it be?  He just needed a companion, and after I told him to get lost, he turned to his number one fan Liam, who eagerly agreed.  

There were hundreds of people there - more people than last year, but the costumes weren't as great.  Garreth's short shorts and lovely Irish legs pretty much stole the show.

Here's Liam after the plunge, and still smiling.  What a fun kid.

No, we didn't decide to just go ahead and baptize Liam while we were at it.  Garreth wanted Liam to go back in for a photo, and Liam very wisely told him "no way."  So Garreth carried him back out, all in the name of a photo op.

Crazy, crazy boys.

New Years Eve

Here are those darling Ratchford/Saenz children all decked out for their very first New Years Eve party.

And what a party it was!  Kid paradise, I tell you.  Dancing, running around, acting crazy, yummy food, noise makers, total anarchy, balloons full of confetti - all the ingredients for a kid-rockin' New Years Eve.  

Evan's pre-cupcake face.

Declan and his buddy Corbin.

Me, Evan, and Evan's belly.

Liam and Irlyn.

And then the dance competition began. 

Sam wowed the crowd with his mad break-dancing skills.

Wait, isn't this guy too old for the competition? (And is he constipated?)

Grace shows off her "Egyptian moves."

There goes the old guy again.  What's up with his "dancing face?"

Luckily for the parents, we got to watch the NY ball fall at 9:00 and pretend it was midnight.  (Love that Pacific time zone sometimes.)  

Then it was outside for as many fireworks as the rainy night would allow. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!