THE GREATEST SUMMER EVER!

Weather never hotter than 80 degrees...enough rain to keep things green...no traffic...working within 20 minutes of home...kids learning to swim...sledding on Mt. Baker on the 4th of July...work keeping us busy but not driving us insane...This is why we live way up here in the Northwest Corner of the Universe (I don't think Alaska can be the Northwest Corner of the Universe if they have to PAY people to live there, do you?)

Camping with the Girl Scouts at Baker Lake

Yup. Those are the kid's fellow (is that the right word, considering the female persuasion of the group...) Girl Scouts during there overnight camping trip to Horseshoe Cove on Baker Lake. The lake is located about 20 miles south of the southern flank of Mt. Baker, and the kids (and adults that chaperoned, including Lise and Geoff) had a ball!

It was only an overnighter, after all, but Catalina and Harleigh's first taste of camping. There were s'mores, hot dogs, swimming in the lake. There was also a lot of rain: we woke up very early (around here, sunrise is about 4:30 AM this time of the year, so we were all up at 6 AM) to a light sprinkle, which grew and grew into quite a downpour.

Needless to say, we were out of there by 10 AM. Luckily, home was only an hour away. And so was the IHOP!

OK. So it's an old picture. Like, 2003-old. But tell me you didn't want to see this.

This is where Geoff works....So there.

http://news.bellinghamherald.com/stories/20050418/LocalState/240494.shtml

I saw the book. Talk about much ado about nothing. It looks like what you thought about rural areas is true: people have WAY too much time on their hands.

One thing's for sure....I guess the FBI no longer has better things to do than squeeze librarians for their records.

C is now for Cauliflower.....Craaaaaap.

Read reports today that Sesame Workshop announced that Cookie Monster, long beloved blue-haired consumer of your favorite bakery treat, will be scaling back his habit. As the obesity level of American Youth reaches record levels, the Sesame Workshop has decided that its depiction of fuzzy puppets jamming snickerdoodles down their simulated pie-holes must be one of the main causes. Sadly, this will result yet another change to Sesame Street, which over the years has morphed into a poor imitation of more successful, less stimulating childrens' programming.

Perhaps this is only Stage One in a series of changes meant to promote health foods. Stage Two could include the actual changing of Cookie Monster's name to something more attuned to the concerns (or, what should be concerns) of American Parents...something like Fuzzy the FishEater. Or perhaps Cauliflower Monster. Wait, we wouldn't want to scare the kids...make that Cauliflower Guy-With-Lots-Of-Blue-Hair-Who's-Really-Not-Scary-Really-He's-Not.

Listen, I'm all for getting kids' faces out of the nearest sack of Lay's Potato Chips as quickly as possible. But for heaven's sake, if Sesame Workshop doesn't stop soon, the slippery slope will lead to parents turning off the show. Oh, wait....they have been doing that already...

A Stop at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Yes, it's raining now. And YES, it's pretty cold. But does that stop us?

We made a short stop this past weekend down south in Mt. Vernon, home of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Some insane percentage of the tulips sold in this country are grown right here, along with daffodils and other bulby plants. We stopped at one farm and stomped around in the mud. Needless to say, a good time!

Catalina getting up-close and personal.

RUN, I say!!! RUUUUUUUN!

Harleigh took this one. She said "SQUAT, daddy, SQUAT!" I hope she meant for Dad to get into the picture.

Ever wonder where those tulips come from? Probably here!

Awfully good natured for having just lost their boots in 8 inches of mud!

Victoria BC for President's Day Weekend

What better way to pay tribute to the birthdays of perhaps our country's two most crucial presidents than to RUN SCREAMING TO CANADA! That's what the Fitzpatricks did to take advantage of the three-day weekend. Following below are some pictures from our journey, which was completely pain free! The weather was AWESOME! (and has been for about a month straight. All our usual weather is camping out in So.Cal. Better start moving up here now, folks, before all the other Californians get here and take all the cheap land!)

First stop: the Victoria Bug Zoo. A little two-room museum that you cannot help but spend at least three hours in! HUGE bugs! GIANT tarantulae! RHINOCEROS beetles! MATING, MATING, MATING!!! Here's Harleigh after an exhaustive (but fruitless) search for the Queen of a huge leaf-cutter ant colony (behind her).

Lise and Geoff and some Leaf Bugs (photo courtesy of Almost Seven-Year-Old Enterprises, Ltd.)

Catalina admiring a praying mantis up close.

My gorgeous ladies in the Inner Harbour (the BC Parliament bldg. in the background)

Just after this photo, Catalina yelled "Let's see what this baby can do!"

Was that ANOTHER bald eagle?

Homeward bound on the BC Ferries...Some really tight squeezes for some really big ships!

Contest Answer: AND THE WINNER IS.....

Well, the winner is NOBODY.

The answer to our little romantic Valentine's Day Contest: Harleigh was a bit miffed when she made these two drawings. The one on the left : "Mom, but she's dead." Note the little "x"-shaped eyes? The picture on the right: "Mom's head with my fingers wrapped around it."

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! (and boy, are we in trouble....)

Contest Answer: The envelope, please.....

Alright. Since no one was really that close....no prize shall be awarded by this judge. I'll throw the trophy up in the air and let the 4 responders jostle for it.

The long awaited answer: Harleigh was in a bit of a snit when she drew these. The picture on the left, and I quote: "Mom, but she's dead." Note the "x" shaped eyes. The picture on the right according to Harleigh, is Mom again, with Harleigh's fingers wrapped around her head and neck.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!! (And, boy are we in trouble.)

LAST CHANCE on the Contest!

I'll post the answer tomorrow: What has Harleigh given to Mom?

HINT: This is Harleigh we're talking about, people.....

A "GUESS THE DRAWING" CONTEST!

OK, everyone who looks....have a look at the pictures below. Harleigh presented them to Lise today during a rainy day art session. I think it would be fun if everyone guessed at Harleigh's explanation of what the drawings represent. Closest guess (respond in the Comments!) gets an extra-large sack-o-lovin (read: nothing) from all of us! HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

We'll give you the answer after a couple of days. Guess away!

Harleigh's pre-Valentine's Day Gift for mom.Explanation Above!

From Harleigh's B'Day, Part II, in Seattle at Gramma and Granddad's Jan 29th (Thanks to Louis and his PE!)

A fairly entertaining first day....

Had my first day with the Whatcom County Library System (henceforth and forever foreward in this log to be known as WCLS) today, and saw what a three-person tech staff can do if they are organized enough. Wow, I'm very impressed with the techie-layout stuff and details I won't go into here. Nice to see that some places are actually working towards making life easier rather than harder for their employees!

Anyway, will spend the week learning the techie-equivalent of the "lay-of-the-land", and visiting all the sites (there are 8 plus the one I work in, which is the Administrative center) as well. Already have a few ideas of what needs to be done.

AND, even better....when I leave I go to the building immediately north of ours, and pick up the kids! Logistical heaven, I must say. I could get used to this.

Anyone have any overdue book fines they need taken care of?

News on the Employment Front....

It's official, Geoff's got a new job! His 1 1/2 hour commute each way is history as of Monday Feb 7!

He'll be working in the IT department of the Whatcom County Library System. It's got 9 office-branches and one mobile one, so there will be plenty to keep him busy as far as network administration tasks go. And, a big plus is that the office is right next door to the kids' school! Lucky, no? He'll be cramping the kids' style in no time!

Yeehaw! Happy days for the Fitz's...unhappy days for Europe Express (his former place of biz).

"The Horror..."

What I neglected to post previously about our Tube Time visit was that it was the establishment's 10th Anniversary. Radio Remotes, cake, prizes, etc. About 1000 kids, parents, hangers-on.

Lise entered herself AND both kids into the prize drawing. Lo and behold, she received many a message on her office business phone line about haering Catalina's name announced on the radio several times, in reference to a "prize" she had won. Said prize is a free SLUMBER PARTY at said establishment. Yes, you read that right. Catalina and several thousand of her closest friends will be spending a sleeping-bagged night of splendor, wriggling through PVC piping, and wading through freshly-sprayed-with-Lysol ball pits. Sounds delectable.

Happy Birthday, Harleigh!

Today we celebrated Harleigh's birthday along with a few of her friends at a place (get this...) called "Tube Time". Everyone was sweaty and tired afterwards, because as you probably knew from the name of the place, it's a giant indoor habitrail. There was Lise's home-made cake (a princess's castle, by birthday-girl request), and a load of pizza and lemonade for all. Our little (gasp) five-year old!

I'm glad the kids have such a good time at the place. But I always wonder, whether I'm at a McDonald's playland or at Tube Time, whether there has ever been a need for a giant Q-Tip, or perhaps a pipe cleaner the size of a Buick. I'd imagine there are times when a kid simply won't come out of there. We had one of the kids, when a parent was ready to go, hear the evil words "C'Mon, let's go! I'm leaving with or without you!". That kid sprinted directly back towards the big purple ladder and off he went. Luckily, the parent had made the "last call" about 30 minutes before she was really ready to go, so no harm done. But, still, it made me think. Maybe there's a market for giant Tube Time Plungers.

The Gang of Four, courtesy of Haggismold

Ooooh, so much booky goodness (Alphabet Soup's insides)!!!!

Janet's new second home....

In case you didn't know....

Our good friend Janet C., along with going to Law School, has also opened her own new-and-used children's bookstore call ALPHABET SOUP (1406 N 45th in Wallingford in Seattle). The place rules, according to Catalina and Harleigh. They both want to know when the REAL giraffe is being delivered to replace the fake-rocking version in Auntie Janet's store...

Anyway, you really should go in and take a gander....The place is really great, and they even have some really rare ones you might remember reading as a kid, and have missed because they're out of print...

CONGRATS JANET!!!

See, I told you you'd rather look at them!

Welcome!

Well, at last a place for you to keep in touch with what the Fitz Family is up to! Well, sort of. In a sense....
I mean, really, what you all want is a place to come to see pictures about our kids. The adult members of the clan understand that.

So really, what we should say to welcome you is something that both of our kids have been known to say oft times during their more bored times of the day: "OK, let's get down to business!"

Anyway, the picture above is the kids' latest...you may see a picture of Lise and Geoff. At some point. If you ask nicely. Otherwise we'll just go with the presumption that you would rather see the kids.