Ahh! Seattle

Either I have good timing or the whole bad weather legend is just a ploy to keep all the Texans and California folk from moving there. It seems like every time I show up the weather is darn near pleasant. Everyone spoke of horrible power outages, flooding, downed trees, blistering cold breezes and suffocating snow, with the whole, you should have seen it last week story. They spoke of the depression that usually haunts those who haven't seen the sun in weeks, when I saw it everyday I was there, despite spending most of each day inside a indoor track facility.
All of that expository information to say that I did have a great time. The city was neat and broke up the monotony of my morning run with a early visit to the Pike St. Fish Market, down by the Pier, and around the Space Needle. Driving in Seattle is another story and I could go without doing that again any time soon. Our athletes ran well which goes a long way in calling a trip a success but I also got to meet up with my Aunt Tindy, Aunt Candy, and my cousins Dillon and Kelly. They took me out on the town for a good dose of seafood prior to returning to Central (landlocked) Texas. Kelly introduced me to some folks I probably never will forget (see photo), and I got a quick lesson in fishing boat vernacular at Fishermen's Terminal (above), and saw the memorial to those lost at sea, which sadly included a cousin of my mothers who was Captain of the Amber Dawn, before it sank during a storm at sea in Alaska.

Ted has his own bar bar stool at the Highliner Pub

Kelly's Belly w26.5

***Maternity Fashion Update***

This shot, taken by famed fashion photographer Jennifer Taylor, captures the warm glow of a proud mother in this classical, soft, and flattering pink blouse. The brightly colored pastel highlights the rose in her cheeks hinting at the child that will soon be the apple of her eye. Available Spring 2007

Heidi Likes Hikes

When it is cold out, Heidi stays inside more. She would be fine outside, but we're softies. When she gets out she has a limited amount of time to expend all her extra energy.
Here is what it looks like in real time.

Heidi needs to get out more Scene 1

I promise this is normal speed.

Jon and Heidi in the Texas Winter

From the nearly 10 years that I have lived here, this is my conclusion about Texas winter weather: it is cold and messy! There is no pretty snow- just ice, sleet, and mud (that ends up all over throughout the house). Despite this reality, Jon and Heidi enjoyed a nice outing yesterday morning in the land across from our house. The mud will remain in the house until I am certain that their next outing will be less wet!

Kelly's Belly w25.5

Whoa Mama!

Kelly is doing great, last check-up went well, with no real complaints except for the reoccurring cold that she can't take anything good to get over. I am pretty sure that our child will have a healthy immune system when he enters the world. If immune function can be passed on, and I am pretty sure that I have read that it is, he should have it made. Kelly has probably been exposed at school to more germs and more versions of the common cold than anyone and my time hanging out around pools, teams, eating things off the ground, among other things should set him up fairly well. Then again, we shall see.

Kelly's Belly w24.5

How about those stripes!

Heidi Ho!

Well I guess we have Mara to thank for this picture as she bought the ridiculous "Frontier Ears". Heidi kept looking like the pig tails were sneaking up on her so she kept trying to eat them. That is why my hand is in the picture. Heidi didn't really volunteer to wear it around or anything. Admittedly it is hilarious and I wish she would. I think she looks pretty good as a blonde, what do you think?

Call it what you want . . . Kelly has lost her mind

Perhaps you may recall a few days prior when I made a scientifically based comment about Kelly's brain function. I believe I wrote something to the effect of it being somewhat depressed due to some strange side effect of pregnancy. I suggested a hypothesis about the neurons migrating south to set up shop in the brain of our baby boy. There is also a chance that they are just there because it is the new and exciting place to be, or perhaps the hormones are masking her ability to pick up on normal thought processes . Who knows? Prior to today, however, I had only anecdotal evidence supporting my theories.

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleges, scientifically educated peers, I give you Exhibit A.
Upon returning home from work I noticed that the house had an unusually strong lemony fresh scent. Though it is not unusual for Kelly to do some impromptu dusting, it is strange for her to start on a weeknight after a day at school. The nesting instinct has displayed itself strongly in Kelly as of late so I assumed she had found something that just had to be dusted. However, I could not find any freshly dusted items. That is until I found the ironing board, where sat a lovely can of lemon fresh furniture polish. I inquired as to what she had been ironing and she said just a bunch of clothes and the new bedskirt for the bed (maybe they were dusty? HA). She had no idea why I was laughing until I pointed out the can that she had used for her ironing.
****NOTE****
The can of furniture polish looks nothing like the can of starch
nor is it lemony fresh, so don't cut her too much slack, unless due to pregnancy.

The only hope is that congruent to my correct hypothesis, the mass exodus of nueral processes, as evidenced by Kelly's ridiculous behavior, to our babies brain will lead to a very smart baby. The basis of that theory of course being that if they aren't working in Kelly's head hopefully they are working somewhere. On the contrary if my theory is incorrect and our child has nothing but genetics to rely on it makes me a little nerveous.

As I believe this does further substantiate my hypothesis. I may move on to other strange phenomenon related to pregnancy such as the lack of vestibulocochlear awareness displayed by many pregnant women. Kelly has been running into things for no reason, and I think it goes beyond her change in size and center of gravity. Feel free comment, theorize, support or even discount my hypothesis as I believe that Kelly is not alone in this experience. If nothing else, Kelly will know that she isn't the only one doing silly things, losing her balance, and knocking over things for no obvious reason, other than the previously posted pictures of her very round belly.

Addison is a cute kid

Went to see, Tricia and Jeff in Granbury on New Years day. We had a good time taking it easy. We had a nice relaxing time and enjoyed their company.

We went on a walk, and Addie got to go down the slide.
Which she enjoyed immensely until we had to leave.

Kate the dog is fun too, except she kept eating all of the pecans we were collecting. As you might notice she looks a little like Heidi. She is a German wire haired pointer (note the beard) of very noble bloodlines and is in training to be a realy hunting dog.
She will be a very good hunter someday,
until then she is rascally like Heidi.
Only with longer hair and a goatee.

Kelly's Belly w23.5

Kelly has continued to progress in her pregnancy and has already begun to countdown the weeks of school. Not that she gets to miss school for anything relaxing, but the break does come at a pretty good time of year. It will also carry over right into the summer. This works out pretty well. She also has a very proficient and capable student teacher who has been in her classroom all year who will be able to substitute for Kelly in her absence. This will give Kelly a great deal of peace of mind.
Some of you may still be saying that she doesn't look that pregnant.
To you I will say this: (with some very carefully chosen words, hopefully I will choose well)

• Kelly is just as cute and petite as ever, perhaps cuter
  
• this does help her hide her very round and very pregnant belly.
• questionable points?
• possibility of Kelly being any cuter and
  
• if cuter is an actual word in itself?
• The pictures I have of Kelly that really show off her belly she won't let me put on the Internet, but I guess I understand. She is always so virtuous. It is a good practice to quell any picture exposing a bare belly or anything else not usually seen in public. Matter of fact I should probably be helping her not posting them myself.
  

Thanks for checking in, sorry I was a little late with this post.