Reese and Finn’s First T-Ball Game

Today Reese and Finn played their first-ever t-ball game. Their team: the Metropolitan Market Mets. The site: View Ridge Playfield. Their coach: Steve Kelley, dad of Reese’s classmates Carson & Quin (as well as Tanner and Olivia). Their biggest fan: me.

My favorite Mets!

The game lasted two innings. No score kept — for that, I think I’m glad. The other team had a few players who had to have been walking when Finn was born.

Reese (standing on first base) had her first-ever base hit in the first inning.

Their next game is on Saturday. Can’t wait.

Reese played pitcher in the first inning.

Read Full Post »

Reese Loses Her First Tooth

Lost in the hulabaloo of Thanksgiving was a pretty significant back story. About an hour before everyone arrived, Reese lost her first tooth. She knocked her left front tooth out while jumping on a chair in her room.

Not the best way to lose a tooth, but what are you gonna do.

Posing for her first picture sans a front tooth.

The scene was quite bloody but she calmed down soon enough.

On Saturday she deposited her tooth fairy money ($1) into her savings account.

That night the tooth fairy left her $1, which she promptly deposited in her savings account on Saturday.

The first of many to come.

Read Full Post »

Finn’s First Trip to the ER

99.9% of the time I use this blog to memorialize the good times in the life of the family Jenkins. Every so often, however, something not so good happens that deserves to be memorialized.

Such was the case on Sunday night.

Apparently Finn was jumping on the bed and fell and his his forehead on the dresser.

Finn in his burrito suit, aka a straight jacket.

A really bad hit.

On a really hard dresser. With apparently very sharp knobs.

The resulting scene out of Friday the 13th had us rushing Finn to the emergency room at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Stitched up. Better. Stronger. Faster.

Three hours and about ten stitches to the forehead later, a patched up Finn — and his shaken up parents — were on their way home.

Read Full Post »

Hurdle Jumped!!!!

Today marked a big milestone.

For the first time, Reese stood on the side of the pool and jumped in! Into my arms, mind you, but two days ago she wouldn’t jump at all. In fact, today she refused to do any jumping except off her rear, and even then only when I held her hands.

Scared to death at first, Reese jumped into the swimming pool -- and then wouldn't stop.

Until, that is, I injected the ol’ ice cream bribe.

Before I knew it, my almost four-year old daughter was jumping for ice cream for herself. And me. And Finn. And Mommy. And Ollie. And even Sarah. (I’m pretty sure Sarah doesn’t eat ice cream, but I digress.)

No doubt there’s some chapter in Bad Parenting 101 that says never bribe your kids, especially with junk food. I skipped that chapter.

Next up: floating on her back.

Read Full Post »

St. Patrick’s Day Dash 2011

Today the fam and I joined several friends in the cold and rain for the St. Patrick’s Day Dash at Seattle Center. It was my fourth or so running of the event, the first for the rest of the Jenkins clan.

Ronnie and Finn, pre-race at Metropolitan Market.

Ditto Reese and me.

It was quite good fun.

The day began when we arose at 6 am — 5 am if you factor in the fact that we set our clocks forward the night before. We left the house in the dark and rain and made it to the race with about forty minutes to spare. Tom, Carrie, Tamir and Mo joined us, as did Mike Waldner and a few of his friends. There were probably eight thousand or so runners in the race. We went off in the purple, untimed wave. The rain came down slowly, if steadily, for virtually the entire four-mile race. I ran a pretty decent race for an out-of-shape forty-one year old if I do say so, although I must admit I underestimated the significance that slow runners/walkers can have on a run’s pace. I’m not so sure Reese had a great time getting soaked in the stroller. Finn couldn’t have cared less — he slept through the whole thing. Yours truly, on the other hand, had a complete blast.

Carrie, here with Tom and Tamir, won best costume among our crew.

Carrie and Ronnie just before our wave began.

Mike Waldner joined us with friends Tabby and Keith.

Waldner and I have done a few of these over the years.

We all met up post race for breakfast at the Blue Star Cafe in Wallingford. We weren’t the only racers there — the place was packed like I’ve never seen it, and it took us the better part of an hour to be seated. Tom and I got into the spirit of things with a few Guinnesses and bloody Mary’s respectively. We made it home at about 2 pm, at which point everyone crashed for much-needed midday naps.

Finn and Reese were a bit soaked at race's end -- not that Finn noticed.

I want Mommy.

Looking forward to next year’s rendition.

Beth (left) and her hubby Aaron joined us for a post-race breakfast at The Blue Star.

Reese should be old enough to run it by then.

Finn basking in the glory of finishing his first-ever race.

Read Full Post »

My First Ever Polar Bear Plunge

This morning I joined Mike Waldner and Joel Aro for the Polar Bear Plunge over on Alki Beach in West Seattle (video I West Seattle Herald article).

It was certainly polar.

Surveying the terrain.

The three of us joined about one hundred or so other brave souls for a sprint into the water at about 10 am. I’m guessing it was about thirty-five degrees outside and about forty-five in the water. We were all in the water for roughly a minute, which was a very long minute if I do say so. We all got dunked, too.

A few pics:

Before ...

during ...

after.

Our Seattle Team teammates Tony Secretario and Jeff Benezra joined us for moral support. Tony brought his dog, Jeff his nice leather coat, to prevent the surprise throw in.

I don't know much Joel paid for that coat, but $1 was too much.

Finn and Reese had good fun playing on the beach after breakfast.

Benezra kept his coat on lest he get thrown in.

Beatrice, Georgio and Victoria, the Moeller's friends from Rome, Italy.

The Moellers: Eli will get wet in '12.

Read Full Post »

Let There Be Light!

Tonight, after months of planning and budget-related procrastinating, we finally had fire at the Jenkins family fire pit. The Moellers joined us for dinner and we had a s’more dessert around the fire.

A few pics (the rest here):

Houston, we have fire.

Finn spent most of the night asleep on the kitchen floor but ...

he did manage to wake up for s'mores (and almost looked at the camera).

One more way to get fatter.

Father and son around the fire.

No way they're getting all three kids to look at the camera.

Max gave Reese her first-ever jewelry present.

Veronica, Eli and Alexander.

Hopefully by next year at this time I’ll be able to do a “let there be vines!” entry for that lattice work in the pics. Again, budget permitting.

Read Full Post »

Another One Off the Bucket List

Today I crossed another item off my bucket list. Although I’ve had two hole in ones, I’ve never made a legitimate eagle.

Until today.

A self portrait, seconds after my first-ever eagle.

I hit driver-wedge to the 400-yard, par 4 second hole at Superstition Springs in Mesa, Arizona. I didn’t see it go in because the green was sloping away from me, but when I got up there, low and behold, there it was in the hole. Eagle two. As Jeff Overton would say — “boom baby!”

I was two under at that point. Didn’t last. I bogeyed the next hole and made a triple on the par five seventh before settling down for a nice 77.

That this was my first minus two score on a hole is somewhat surprising to most people, including me. I play my fair share of golf (although not nearly as much as I’d like) and, according to this data, my handicap puts me in the top seven percentile of people who keep golf handicaps. Just by sheer volume of play and a bit of luck I should have had more than zero eagles to this point.

What was ironic about this shot was that I didn’t see it go in. I didn’t see either of my holes in ones go in, either. The ace I made at Sahalee was made while I wore some very bad contacts. The ace I made at Hawks Prairie was, like today’s shot, to a blind green. So to this day I’ve still never actually seen one of my long shots fall in the hole.

Up next — another hole in one.

Read Full Post »

The Kids Do Air Travel

Today the kids had their first experience travelling by air.

The occasion was not a happy one — their grandpa (Rhonda’s dad) was recently diagnosed with cancer and we wanted to get down to Arizona to see him. But they’re not old enough to understand the Big C yet (thankfully) and all things considered, the trip went quite well.

A few pics:

Putting the shoes back on after their first trip through the national drag that is airport security.

Checking out the planes.

We have liftoff.

Finn, shown here in a sleep position only a two-year old could love, slept from Salt Lake City ...

to the Chick-Fil-A in Tempe, AZ.

Read Full Post »

That Was Fast — Not!

Today, a mere thirty-plus months after we bought this house, Reese finally got herself a bed. Well, we got herself a bed, she being economically challenged and all. It’s her first one — yes, Child Protective Services, our forty-one month old child has been sharing a bed with us to date.

Anyway, a few pics:

Jumping for joy.

Finally!!!!

A pretty sweet ride to lay one's noggin at day's end.

Next up — Finn’s bed.

Read Full Post »