Saturday, June 18, 2011

Florida Spring Break

Work has gotten busy again and posting has suffered. One of the things I like best about this blog is that it serves as a historical record for the family and some of the various happenings and events that make our live so fun, interesting, and at times challenging.

So here is a post about our Spring Break Trip to Florida in April. Yes, Spring Break in Florida is a quintessentially American cliche, but this year we really really needed some sun. Fortunately, Amy has cousins with a condo in St Petersburg, we happened to have some free tickets on Southwest, the boys were both out of school for the same week, so off we went. And it was more fun than I could have imagined!

The boys went to Florida with their Grandma last June, and they had a great time. However (and I'm embarrassed to admit how proud this makes me) they were less interested in the theme parks than in the incredible biodiversity they experienced. Liam, in particular, was far more interested in Armadillos than Mickey, so this year, we didn't mention the theme parks and the boys didn't ask.

We spent the majority of our time at the beach, in the water, or on the water. The Tampa Bay area has some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen--powdery white sand, completely devoid of rocks, that extends for miles in all directions. The Gulf of Mexico is comfortably warm and has exactly the kind of luminescent aqua-marine color that I've daydreamed about during many a soaking wet winter bicycle commute. The marine animals and shore birds are completely different than what we're accustomed to on the west coast, which really helped to make us feel that we were in a new and (relatively speaking) exotic place. And the shells are abundant and beautiful! Lochlan really enjoyed shelling along the beach.

We did take one trip inland to look for Alligators, and boy did we find them! The airboat ride at Myakka River state park was top-notch--we saw dozens of alligators, some of them quite close, along with bald eagles, anhingas, and numerous species of reptile that I could not identify.

In addition to the airboat, we traveled on a pontoon to get to Caladesi Island, a large-ish power boat to get to Egmont Key, and we rented a Flying Scot to do a little sailing in Clearwater Bay. The flat water and steady breeze were a real treat.

Perhaps our best evening of wildlife viewing took place right across the street from the condo along the nature trail at Bay Pines. We saw Roseate Spoonbills, Yellow-Crowned Night Herons, a Little Blue Heron, Ospreys, dolphins, and--an Armadillo! Amy and I were starting to get worried that we'd never find one of these supposedly ubiquitous mammals, but thank goodness, there he was right near the trail. We got a really good luck, and Liam was ecstatic.

If the circumstances ever align so fortuitously again, I would definitely go back to southwest Florida. (Click on the thumbnails to embiggen the photos)

Beach boys! at Madeira Beach.




The treasures found during a productive afternoon of shelling on Caladesi Island.




Waiting for the boat after a fun day on Caladesi Island.




Liam with a hermit crab he found while snorkeling at Egmont Key.




Sailing on Clearwater Bay.




Liam walking the beach on Egmont Key.




Amy and the boys heading for the beach on Caladesi.




Lochlan playing in the sand, Clearwater Beach.




Amy and the boys enjoying a beautiful sunset at Bay Pines.




Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin surfing the boat's wake on the way to Egmont Key.




American Alligator, Myakka River State Park.




Arrmadillo!




Tree frog.




Green anole.




Paddle crab.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Stevenson Grandparents Visit

My folks came out for a visit during my Mom's spring break (this is her last year of teaching). The weather was not awesome, but we still managed to have a fantastic time. We took in the Moisture Festival at Hale's Palladium (which was hilarious), watched some of Liam's baseball practice, belatedly celebrated my and Amy's birthdays, toured a retired Navy destroyer in Bremerton, and had several delicious meals out on the town. There was also a lot of game playing, wrestling, and catching up. All in all, a delightful visit.



Grandpa and Lochlan wrestling in the living room.




Getting acquainted with Liam's chameleon.




Group shot with the boys!




Checking out Bremerton (I had a project interview in Port Orchard earlier in the day, and the family met me afterward)





On board the USS Turner Joy




A rare shot of Amy and me, just the two of us!




Grandma and Liam, drilling into a geode




The grandparents were very popular at story time.

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

More Bike Parking

PCC added on street bike parking recently, right near the front doors. Hopefully we will see more of this around the city.


Patiently Waiting for Sailing Weather

Yesterday I rode out to Sail Sandpoint to check on the boat. It was a great ride and the boat is just as I left her--waiting patiently.


Thursday, January 06, 2011

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Solstice, Christmas, New Years

We had a great holiday season this year. Fantastic time tubing with the boys up at Snoqualmie Pass, fairly easy travels to Phoenix for Xmas on the Solstice, lots of time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and old friends. The weather in Phoenix was superb--lots of 70+ degree weather with full sun. Amy and I got in a couple of runs in the desert, Bro and I went for a long mountain bike ride, and we had a fantastic hike to some ancient petroglyphs in the Superstition Mountains.

Santa was good to the boys, but our gifts to the boys posed somewhat of a challenge. Liam had told us for months prior that the only thing he wanted for Christmas was a chameleon (he's been interested in them for about two years). We did loads of research, checked out books from the library, visited pet stores, etc., and explained that chameleons are hard to keep healthy and require a lot of attention and upkeep. He said he'd be OK with that, so we required that he care for all 7 of our chickens for a month and we would consider it.

Well, he took great care of the chickens, including mucking out the henhouse and nest box, so we got him a Jackson's chameleon. He was, to put it mildly, ecstatic.

Lochlan continues to be fascinated by Batman and superheroes in general, Santa gave him a Batman costume, Batarang, and grappling hook. He had also asked Santa for a Leatherman *without* a knife (I suspect because when he initially asked for one we explained that a four-year-old should not have a knife, therefore he should not have a Leatherman), and then told us later "Santa can make anything!" Mercifully, after some searching, we found a Leatherman without a knife. He sleeps with it under his pillow.

We returned to Seattle after 11 hours on airplanes and in airports (snow delays everywhere) and hosted a super enjoyable 'Brazilian New Years' party. Our kids cannot stay awake until midnight local time, so for years we've celebrated at 7:00 pm with the folks in Rio. Amy put Lochlan to bed and did not get out of bed...until Sunday afternoon, still sick as a dog.

As it turns out, both boys have strep throat and Impetigo, so I have been covering all domestic duties, nursing three sick family members, and trying to work. NOT FUN!! But I am thankful that I am still (knock wood) healthy and at least have the ability to care for my family. It would truly suck if I was sick too!

On balance, it was a great holiday, and once everyone is healthy again, it will be a great January. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!