Sophia Cheuk Turns Four

Today the Jenkins fam headed over to the Roosevelt Whole Paycheck (aka Whole Foods Market) to celebrate Sophia Cheuk’s fourth birthday. About 20 or so families were in attendance for kids’ cookie making. A few photos:

These are going to be some tasty cookies.

Ted Naff is having more fun that he's letting on.

John Naff is none too impressed with Reese -- yet.

Thanksgiving 2009

Today the Lippmanns and then the Otterlees joined us to celebrate Thanksgiving 2009. No drama, no episodes, just great food and friends. A few pics:

Ronnie did a great job on the table.

Sophia may be Finn's biggest fan.

The family Lippmann.

There's a device I could have lived without.

Finn with his momma.

Reese and me.

Jayne, Grant and Mark Otterlee.

Reese with Grant and Auntie Jayne.

The host and hostess.

Reese, pondering the meaning of life in Ollie's daybed.

Very, very full.

Still wondering if Otter has teeth.

Halloween 2009

A few pics from Halloween 2009, Reese’s third and Finn’s second:

Reese and Finn with Virginia Ball.

Reese and me on the way over to Ardeth's Halloween party.

Halloween at the Wallingford Center.

Our fam.

Longtime friends.

Carrie, Tamir and Tom Richardson.

Reese's first-ever trick-or-treating.

Four years ago, I'da never guessed it.

Reese and Finn, checking out their loot.

Better Late Than Never: The Jenkins Family Jack-o-Lantern

Tonight Reese and I carved up the Jenkins family jack-o-lantern for 2009. We waited until the 25th to get rolling on it — I thought six days with a pumpkin was sufficient, but I’ve noticed some of the neighbors — mainly Norman — got after it earlier. Not laziness here — I’m just not a huge fan of having holiday decor out for weeks at a time — except for maybe Christmas.

A few photos:

Ready to start carving.

Ah, there's nothing like the feeling of a pumpkin's insides -- yuck.

The kids jack-o-lantern photo 2009 brought back memories ...

of my all-time favorite ever Reese pic.

Reese’s New Obsession

Reese has a new thing.

Bats.

Rubber bat in hand, bat face on the laptop. This is what dinner looks like these days.

Not baseball bats. Bats as in the things vampires turn into. Flying rats.

She first took a shine to a giant rubber bat Halloween decoration that our neighbors Steve and Barbara Koh have hanging over their front door. She insists on visiting it daily. Now she insists on looking at pictures of bats on the Internet during pre-dinner time.

Who'da thunk that bats would do this ...

I trust this is a phase and, hopefully, a short-lived one.

Now if only her terrible two’s were a phase …

Finn’s First Birthday Party

Last night we officially celebrated Finn’s first birthday. We had lots of family friends over to the house. Night went off without incident. Eli Moeller snapped some great pics with Ronnie’s camera. Among them:

Norman doing my job better than me.

Betty, Finn, Ann, Logan and Eric.

Ronnie and Veronica Moeller.

The Richardson fam.

These balloons would soon be in the sky ...

and Reese and the other kids got quite the chuckle.

A rare site -- me lifting a finger in the kitchen.

The Jenkins and Otterlee fams.

Modest appearing, this cake was quite tasty.

Gettin' ready to blow out the candle.

Finn checking out his cake.

Kimberly, Sophia and Alan Lippmann.

Tamir, Finn and Reese enjoying the cake.

A rarity at house parties -- everyone out of the kitchen.

Finn Celebrates the Big Numero Uno

Today was Finn’s first birthday. We celebrated as a family, birthday party to follow this weekend. A few pics from tonight’s four-person, two-dog, one-cat soiree:

Now whose present is this ...?

The birthday boy in his birthday hat.

Reese: Now this one looks an awful lot like a Reese toy. Finn: Uh ...

Mama mia, I'm in for a long slog ...

Don't have this chocoloate cupcake thing worked out just yet.

Closin’ Down the LBC

Last night we joined the Prices for a Clamless Clambake at Laurelhurst Beach Club. There, too, were Sam and Hwashing Heyworth, old friends of the Prices and (now) new friends of ours. We ended up closing down the place — not such a mighty feat, I admit, when it closes at 8 pm. Sam confirmed for me that Ben Roethlisberger only three one touchdown on Thursday, not three, which only reconfirms my worst fear that I’m goin’ winless this year in fantasy. (More.)

Anyway, a few pics:

Me, Finn, Ronnie and Reese.

Sam H. and Grace P.

A finnicky eater.

Hwashing and Sam Heyworth.

Reese in timeout.

Grace and Roy Price.

The Fam Hits Forks for Surfing and the Twilight Tour

Yesterday Ronnie, Jon, Danielle, Sara, Reese, Finn and I headed northwest to Forks to do the Twilight tour. We left the house at 5:02 am, caught the 5:40 ferry to Kingston, then drove three hours to the far west of the United States. We snapped a few pics along the way:

Reese and me on the Kingston ferry, 5:40 am.

The Hood Canal Bridge: no connection to Twilight.

Ronnie, Reese and me in front of Lake Crescent. (Finn was sleeping, and he wouldn't have looked at the camera in any case.)

Danielle, Ronnie, Reese and Sara at Lake Crescent.

Sisters.

Once we got there we stopped first at La Push so Jonathan and I could surf for a few hours:

Ronnie and me at First Beach, La Push.

Sister and brother.

Ronnie and Finn at First Beach.

Reese, leaving her shoes behind.

Finn and Sara.

Jon and me -- after the beating.

Very, very hungry.

La Push is where the guys in Twilight allegedly surfed. Then we went to Forks:

Sara and Danielle in front of the one thing that was actually in the movie.

We snapped a few pics in front of the “Bella truck,” but Jon thought it was strange that this was neither the color nor the model of Bella’s actual truck.

Jon in front of a red truck that sorta looks like Bella's.

Ditto.

Come to find out — Twilight wasn’t actually filmed in Forks! It turns out it was filmed in Kalama, Oregon.

Me at Dr. Cullen's alleged parking spot.

Home of the Swans? Not really.

I suppose I should have known this, but I didn’t think to research whether the Twilight tour was a sham.

Why the movie wasn’t filmed in Forks is an interesting question. According to a local we spoke with, the folks at Summit Entertainment bowed out when, two days before filming was scheduled to begin, Governor Chris Gregoire’s office demanded that the production company cough up more fees and taxes. They declined and went to Oregon. The news stories that addressed the question leave that part out. They say the fees were just too high in the first place, that Forks was just too far from anywhere, and the company decided to go to Oregon from the get go. Where the truth lies? I wouldn’t count on the government telling us.

The next Twilight is supposedly being filmed in Vancouver, BC — this after the state legislature passed a bill to attract Twilight to the Evergreen State. That Twilight’s producers would skip over the story’s actual setting state but film in the areas right around it instead (Oregon, British Columbia) suggests to me that something bad happened between the production company and state government, and that Twilight won’t be coming to Washington anytime soon.

A great family day out, no doubt, but it would have been nice to know that the Twilight tour was a sham before we ferried and drove across the state to see it. I know we’re not the only ones who fell for it — we met a gal in the hardware store who said the same thing. I’m glad I didn’t come all the way from France to see Bella’s (Kristen Stewart’s) truck. Then again, if I came all the way from France to see a one-stoplight town, it would serve me right.

Jonathan Gets a New Look

Nephew Jonathan arrived Saturday night with a new look. Compare this to

this.

We aren’t much for scaring the kids and neighbors unnecessarily, so Monday he got himself a haircut. Last night I threw some gel in, and now he looks like

this.

Rhonda and I think it’s quite the improvement. Both Jonathan and his girlfriend, who apparently calls the shots, are thanking their lucky stars that it’ll grow back. Whatever. In the meantime, it looks like

Reese caught the bad hair bug.