This Joy’s Life

I know you can’t beleive it, but here are some new pictures of Clara.  She and Jack are “playing” soccer now on Thursday mornings.  It’s pretty darn cute.  See for yourself:

Another holiday video for your enjoyment. This is Clara and Jack doing their best “Chubby Checker” to a VERY ’70s version of Jingle Bells a couple days before Christmas:

Have I mentioned I’m not really a fan of the snow? Which is a shame because I used to love it as a kid, especially since we rarely saw any in Georgia. But, as an adult, you realize snow = lots of work; Lot’s of wet clothes to be washed, floors to be mopped up, effort to layer everything on, shoveling to get yourself and the cars out of the driveway, etc. Ba-Humbug to Snow!

Still, it does make everything, even garbage cans on the curb, look prettier. Here’s the ice sculpture the Snow made for me with my hanging flower pot out on the front porch:

And our new split rail fence took on a real photographic quality blanketed in snow:

I took those as Chad, Clara and I walked over to JackGwen’s house just to get out in the fresh air and for a change of pace after being couped up for so many days. Got a couple fun pictures of Jack doing his best “Shiloh Jolie-Pitt” and Chad doing his best “Jolly Ol’ Elf”:

This sounds like a really bad joke, but instead it was a very fun Halloween for Clara, Nadia and Jack who really started to get into Halloween and the concept of yelling “Trick or Treat!!” and getting candy.

There was no shortage of ladybug costumes out there this Halloween, but Clara’s was above and beyond the best for being homemade by her grandmother. Too cute. LOL!

We met Nadia and Jack at the U-Village, an open air shopping area for to start off our trick or treating adventure. Clara and Nadia really enjoyed their lollipops. And Jack couldn’t stop looking in his UPS box at all the candy he was getting!

Here is what we’ve been up to this week for those of you who simply MUST know.

A visit to Jenn’s new house and a park out in picturesque Issaquah:

A girls night out at the Purple Cafe in downtown Seattle:

A birthday party for Mason who turned 1 on Saturday:

And today we celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary (see previous post for more related to that). Sorry, no pictures from today. Got to keep you coming back for more . . .

We had a big ol’ playdate today at Lincoln Park in West Seattle with JackGwen, CarterHi-Dee and EmmersonDee. Lincoln Park is on the Puget sound and has a couple playground areas, a saltwater pool and a wading pool, which much to our chagrin, was drained today. Still, the kids had fun throwing rocks on the beach while Dee and I memorexed the moment:

Dee captured these first three images. Clearly, she is an excellent photographer.

I managed to capture this one of Carter. Clearly, he is a serious little rock thrower:

I see tales of “three touchdowns in one game” in his future, Al Bundy style:

Clara and Jack perform an upbeat duet of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis.

The Maestros from Joy Fisher on Vimeo.

When I’m holding Clara and she wants me to put her down, she says, “Uppy dow, uppy dow!”

This evening, though, we went up and down, up and down the elevator outside the P.F. Chang’s at Bell Square with JackGwen and EvanJenn while we waited for our dinner to arrive:

Sometimes, you’ve just got to do what it takes.

Well, Seattle’s weather may not be co-operating, but as everyone is in denial, calendars are filling up with summer fun and vacays. We’ve gotten to visit with two groups at the Seattle airport as they have headed home from Alaska cruises. In May, we saw Praful and Chetna (Yashan’s parents):

And today we spent an hour or so with my uncle Ross and cousins Sheryl, Mark, Hammy and Emmie:

It is nice to live so close to the airport for moments like these! I admit, seeing them makes me a bit more homesick than I already was and am looking forward to our trip home in late September; I can already picture Clara riding around on a tractor in my grandmother’s pasture.

Yes, something like that. Taken at Woodland Park Zoo yesterday morning. Yesterday. When it was supposed to be sunny and nice but was chilly at 52 instead. Granted by the afternoon the temperature had increased by 10 degrees. That’s something, I suppose.

At the Zoo, Clara got the opportunity to pet the goats, which she really enjoyed:

As well as see the flamingos and came home with a stuffed souvenir of her own:

The day before, we went to the Luna Park Cafe, a 50′s style diner, and Clara, Jack and Evan enjoyed a ride in the batmobile:

That afternoon, Clara and I played in the backyard while Evan and Jack enjoyed themselves at a nearby park. I love Evan in his wife-beater. He’s gonna be the tough guy (but in a good way), I can already tell.

And Jack, like Clara, loves him some slide!

Jenn talks more about their adventures at the park on her blog.

Summa, summa, summa-time!!!