Driving with Conor

No, not driving a car.... driving golf balls, silly readers!!

Earlier this month, Conor and I pulled a few golf clubs out of our bags and headed to the driving range near out house to get some practice and dust off the proverbial cobwebs.

Neither of us had picked up a golf club in a couple of months (longer for me than Conor, I think), so there was a bit of remembering that needed to happen. That said, we had a great time and wound up sharing three buckets of balls. (Yes, we were a bit sore the next day.... thank you for asking!)

Each time we head to the driving range, we leave saying how we'll need to go more often because it is such fun and a great way to spend time together. We also need to sign up for some more lessons - it was pretty obvious that some nuances have been forgotten or a bit rusty.

Rustiness aside, it was still a great outing and we both hit a few really nice drives. (We also both completely whiffed it numerous times and didn't even make contact with the ball ... hence, we need more lessons. Ha!!!)

As a closing thought, I'd like to mention (so I can remember down the road when I re-read this post) that to decorate the driving range for autumn, the driving range added three scarecrows as decor near the 100-125 flags. I hit (completely by accident ... and usually on a bounce) two of the three scarecrows. (My apologies to the scarecrows!) If I'd hit them on purpose, I'd be impressed. Considering I hit them on accident, I'm just entertained! :)

Woodland Park Zoo Visit with the Minniches

We have family friends who we don't get to see very often. Actually, we have A LOT of family friends we don't get to see as often as we'd like because life is too stinking busy for most of us!! 

One of those families is the Minnich family. We've known each other since I was pregnant with Conor and it has been a treat to have our families grow up together. It seems that no matter how much time passes between visits, it is very easy to just pick up where we left off ... even for the kids.

Once Elaine and I realized both of our families had the same day available (GASP!!!), we booked it and wrote it in pen (YES, PEN!!) on our calendars. (OK, to be honest... I put wrote it in dry erase pen because that's the kind of calendar we use, but it was still written in pen.) 

We did the full zoo circuit!! As promised, the kids got to ride the carousel (definitely a special treat for them.... I'm too cheap frugal to pay for that very often) and had a marvelous time. Meanwhile, Elaine and I stood on the sidelines talking about how middle age is taking its toll on our various joints and eyesight!! HA!!! (Just you wait, kids ... one day, you too might experience vertigo because of riding on that darned carousel!!!) 

After the not-dizzy kids exited the ride, they and their creaking-jointed mothers wandered to the Northern Trail section of the zoo. That's where the grizzly bears, elk, gray wolves, mountain goats, etc. live. The kids played in the "wolf den" (Yes, all four of them did squish in there!) and (impressively) all got out without assistance from the fire department or any other rescue teams. (Elaine and I  ... and our old joints ... would not have had the same outcome.) One of the grizzly bears was ever so kind and even smiled when I took its picture (sure, it probably had a muscle twitch in its lip, but I am choosing to say it smiled. IT SMILED, I tell ya!)

Conor and Grace in the wolf den

"CHEEEEEEESE!"

 

Silly kids with elk in the background

 

The moms

One of the best parts of the zoo is the Willawong Station, where people can feed the various birds that flit and fly around. They are all beautifully colored and most aren't overly shy. No, they didn't smile like the grizzly bear did, but he kids sure did when the birds landed on their arms and started to peck at the feed sticks!!

"Hey, Mom! Look what I found!"

Sheer joy

 

Her pre-teen height helped her reach the birds that were less interested in the flight to her

Conor feeding his green feathered friend

We also made sure to stop by the meerkats, komodo dragon, flamingos, emus, wallabys, zebras, tapirs, rhinos (having a little down time in their indoor bath), ostriches, penguins, and more. We covered A LOT of ground during our visit. (My joints are still in recovery mode thanks to me not wearing my running shoes ... fashionable boots have NO place at the zoo!)

"Hey. Whatcha doing?"

The kiddos riding the komodo dragon statue

Conor the lion conquerer

The one thing we didn't do was re-create the photo of Annika and Ethan at the zoo when they were just on either side of 3 and walked around holding hands in their little kid rain coats. Next time for sure!!! 

When they were so wee

A special thanks to Elaine, Ethan, and Grace for taking the time to drive over to Seattle and spend time with the crazy ol' Olson crew!!! 

Trout Fishing with Bestefar

Last weekend, Eric's folks were kind enough to (once again) open their doors to our crew for the weekend. The reason for this particular trip was so Eric's dad (aka Bestefar) could take the kids fishing on a lake near their house. He even bought little row boat for the occasion. (Someone needs to get ready to polish his "Grandfather of the Year - 2017" award!!)

Conor posing on the Tilacum

Ferry selfie

Due to Annika's crazy schedule on Saturday (she had 3 places to be at the same time that morning... HELLO!), Conor and I went up to the island early morning while Eric and Annika went to Microsoft for a robotics event her team attended; later, they took a Lyft car to Mukilteo, walked on the next ferry, and Eric's dad picked them up at the Whidbey ferry terminal. Nice!

While Eric and Annika were in Redmond, Eric's dad took Conor out on the lake to try their hands (rods?) at catching trout. We've gone fishing (for salmon) in the Sound for the past few years in Bestefar's outboard boat, but have yet to actually catch any salmon. I was nervous about how successful the kids would be fishing for trout .... boy, was I a fool!! Conor caught two trout and had a few more that got away. Bestefar and Conor had a blast out on the water together; I think they were on the lake for about 2 hours when a speedboat put an end to their fishing excursion.

Conor sporting his fishing rod

The dogs kept putting their ball in the boat so Conor could throw it for them

Bestefar and Conor ... all ready to go!

Rowing, rowing, just keep rowing

Fish on!!

Conor and his trout buddies

Almost as soon as the guys were back at the house, were their haul in the pan and quickly becoming lunch for us! Much to Bestefar's shock, Conor most liked trout with a little mustard to dip it in. (The rest of us opted for plain!) Bestemor quickly pointed out that with our kids now knowing how to catch trout, I'd better learn how to prepare it.... so true!!! (I've been researching trout recipes ever since.)

Between fishing outings, Bestefar went into town for more fishing lures and to pick up Eric and Annika at the ferry. While he was shopping for lures, Eric's dad very sweetly looked for a lure he thought Annika would like... he found a pink one with glitter on it. Shazam!!

By early afternoon, our robotics duo had arrived and it was Annika's turn to go out on the boat. She had barely dropped her bag in the house before she and Bestefar were lakeward bound! Again, I feared she wouldn't catch anything (those elusive salmon have scarred me, apparently) and knowing Conor caught two fish earlier in the day, I was even more nervous. Again, FOOL!! Annika wound up catching three trout!! (The lesson? Never doubt Norwegians determined to catch fish while using a glittery lure!) Annika and Bestefar spent a good three hours on the lake and she would have stayed longer had it been earlier in the day AND had Bestefar not spent the better part of five hours rowing around the lake! (I'm fairly certain his arms felt like wet noodle by the time he was done!)

What a fun (and trout)-filled day!!

The rest of the weekend was filled with playing card and dice games (I'm still working on my Hearts strategy, but seem to be improving with practice and help from Eric and his mom), reading, knitting (Bestemor and me! I was very focused on getting the socks I've been knitting done before my upcoming carpal tunnel release surgery!), and watching the UW football game (Go Dawgs!).

We are incredibly glad the kids had this opportunity to go fishing this weekend! What cherished memories they are creating ... and they're bringing home food. BONUS!!!

Reaching New Heights

Last week, the kids were off from school due to parent/teacher conferences and Thanksgiving. They had a great time relaxing and recharging their batteries a bit.

Eric and I took turns being home with the kids during the first three days of their break. (We were off Thursday and Friday, so that was easy!) Eric opted to take Monday off instead of working from home (what I did Tuesday and Wednesday), so he and the kids loaded up on fun stuff. Annika had been asking to go rock climbing for a few weeks and Monday seemed like a great opportunity for that to become a reality.

Eric loaded up the kids and headed down to the Stone Gardens climbing wall in Ballard. The kids donned their climbing shoes and hit the wall with gusto. Conor was content to stick closer to the lower and middle portions while working on his confidence, footing, and grips. Annika, on the other hand, had no qualms about scaling the wall and even making it to an overhang area. Both kids did a great job and, per the periodic texts and photos I received from Eric, had a fun time. Annika is now gung ho on rock climbing and wants to take lessons. Conor says he wants to take lessons, too, but we aren't as sold on his enthusiasm quite yet.

After they kids finished up at the climbing wall, everyone piled back into the car, stopped at Dick's for lunch, and then headed home for some R&R. When I got home from work, it was such fun to hear them regale me with stories of their day and their rock climbing experience.

I love that the kids got to have a special date with Eric. Too often, I hear about fathers who aren't involved in their kids' lives (for a variety of reasons), and I feel so blessed to have a husband who is also an active father. He wants to be part of their lives.... and there is nowhere else the kids would rather have him!