The Woody Times

Camp Orkila

2011-04-19T13:24:00.001-07:00

Trip to the Zoo

2011-04-19T12:58:00.001-07:00

Charlotte, Ryan, and Dad head to the Zoo for a semi chilly, super fun morning.

Back to Blogging

2011-04-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

OK, let's start the family blog again. Our kids are way too awesome not to, right? More pics and updates to come.

Little Cal Bear

2011-02-13T13:59:00.001-08:00

Charlotte is going to a cheer leader themed birthday party today. Go Bears!

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Hawaii

2010-12-15T10:32:00.000-08:00

We are loving Hawaii and wish you were here!

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Let it snow!

2010-11-22T14:24:00.000-08:00

The snow has been coming down all day here!

Yee Haw!

2010-11-05T19:33:00.001-07:00

Ryan and Dad loved the My Cowboy and me Night at his preschool. Ryan even painted Dad's mustache for the picture.

Yee haw!!!!

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Yee Haw!

2010-11-05T16:37:00.001-07:00

Ryan and Dad have a blast at the My Cowboy and Me event at his preschool!

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Halloween fun at school!

2010-10-31T14:31:00.000-07:00

Ryan and his preschool class had a fun Halloween party. Ryan is the yellow transformer. Charlotte (below) was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

High Drama

2010-10-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Charlotte won First Place in the drama category of the Fractured Film Festival

Charlotte introduced her film as one that gives a lesson at the end. So sit back, relax, and enjoy "Charlotte's Show".

Film Festival Winner

2010-10-19T13:39:00.001-07:00

Ryan Wood is honored at the first annual 3 Minute Film Festival on Mercer Island. He received first place in the Science Fiction Category.

This is his certificate

And this is his MOVIE!

Sssssssnakes!

2010-10-15T20:22:00.001-07:00

A nice reptile visit at my school. At the end I had my picture taken with a snake. It's a little slimy, but very fun!

Charlotte!!!!!

Sanfranciscans

2010-07-25T20:00:00.001-07:00

We are loving our little apartment for our weekend in San Francisco for Greg's wedding. The kids say they want to live here forever!

We have a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and are nearby a bunch of our good SF friends.

Typical fourth is sea town

2010-07-04T20:09:00.001-07:00

We braved the weather and spent a few hours at the festival in Bellevue. It was, um, something. It was too wet to do the rides, but the elephant ears were fantastic.

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Stormtroopers!

2010-05-01T12:38:00.001-07:00

We ran into a few of Ryan's friends today.

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Lazy Sunday

2010-04-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

The boys had a blast today playing jedi superheros, and then enjoying a spot of lunch in the yard together.

Sofi was loving just driving around them.

Dash and Violet

2010-04-19T17:57:00.001-07:00

Charlotte and Ryan have unfortunately joined a new family... The Incredibles!!!

Katie the SCUBA diver

2010-04-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

Diver Katie has been entertaining the kids at the aquarium for years now. Saturday was no exception.

Hi Katie!

Easter!!!

2010-04-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

Easter in our family ranks right up there with the best days of the year. Per Charlotte it's the third best holiday after Christmas and Halloween. Here's a little slide show of our awesome weekend.

Pre-K Pre-Easter Party

2010-03-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

The kids' pre-K school put on a fantastic pre-Easter party as a warm up to the big day a week later...

Cousin Connor who will join Ryan next year in pre-K made it too!

Charlotte is an old pro at this

Ryan used his patented find egg - eat chocolate - find egg method...

BUNNY HOP RACE!!!!

Well, Charlotte is at least consistent in her love of the Bunny Hop Race... Remember last year?

Whidbey Cabin Opening

2010-03-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

A beautiful March day up at the beach cabin...

Ryan's First Concert

2010-02-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

Finally getting to some great pics from DECEMBER. Oh well, we'll get them all up eventually...

This was Ryan's FIRST concert, and he was fantastic! All of the three year olds sang some classic Christmas hits at the holiday concert. Isn't he rocking that suit? I'll post the video soon too of the singing. It's amazing.

And the VIDEO!! (The quality is a little better if you click on the

link right below here go to youtube)

Ski Bunny

2010-01-13T21:39:00.000-08:00

Our little girl had her FIRST ski lesson this past weekend! Her mom watched her through binoculars from afar, and reported back to her dad via text message.

OH NO HER GLOVES ARE OFF!
She looks cold!
If she saw me I think she would start crying!

It turned out however that our little girl had a great time, and by the end of the lesson she was TURNING on her skis!

The art of making a late new year card

2010-01-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

So we didn't really get a Christmas Card together in time, and Kara finally made a great New Year card to send out. It's up to dad to get them addressed and posted... which he hasn't done yet. So if you are reading this blog, there is a good chance that you will be getting one soon!!

The key to making a good card, is of course taking a TON of pictures and hoping one turns out OK. Now, we didn't take as many pictures as we did back in 2007, but we gave it a shot:

And then picked a winner! This isn't quite the card, Kara did a better job, but HAPPY NEW YEAR ANYWAY!!!! Lots of love, The Woods. You'll be getting one in the mail one of these weeks...

Star Week!

2009-11-16T21:53:00.000-08:00

As part of the birthday honors for Charlotte, it was her "Star Week" at preschool. Part of her responsibilities as the Star student was to make a poster about herself so her class could get to know her better. Look at what a great job our girl did! Oh and she also got to bring in snacks all week for the class and donate a book to the school. What a good deal for, um, her.

Didn't she do a fabulous job??? You can click the pic above for a nice closeup to see the details. To avoid any confusion, her age is 4/5 this week, because she turns five on Wednesday so half the week she's 4, and half she's 5. Makes sense, no?

She's FIVE!

2009-11-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

Charlotte had her fifth birthday party this weekend, and had a very princelicious time. The girls got their hair and nails done at the local salon, ate cookies, and even paraded around the mall. What more could a little girl want?

From 2009 Charlotte's Birthday

The Big H

2009-10-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

The kids had a fantastic Halloween this year. The morning started with Transformer Ryan and Sleeping Beauty Charlotte meeting for a little breakfast with Petey Dah-lion and Bat Nate, among others, followed by some morning trick-or-treating at Parkshore with PapaDon. The kids then hit the park in full costume with Grandma Lee. The night ended with Transformer Ryan and Princess Leia Charlotte hitting the neighborhood for some serious goody gathering, with Grandpa Dick and Grandma Cathy, and a showing of Star Wars to cap it all off. Maybe the best Halloween ever.

(you can click here on the slide show to see an album of the pictures up close if you so desire)

Fall Time Fun

2009-10-20T22:16:00.000-07:00

To get ready for the big H, we decorated pumpkins with cousin Connor and aunt Mela. Charlotte has decided that Halloween is the second best holiday, right between Christmas and Easter.

There was also a pretty funny Dad and Kids Fall Celebration at Ryan and Charlotte's school. We ate cookies, played games, and they got to shave me. WOO HOO!

Princess Leia in the House!

2009-10-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

Charlotte gets ready for the fantastic Star Wars party at cousin Connor's house... Ryan is very amused, dresses up like Luke, and joins in the fun. But you'll have to read more about it at the woodtimes blog...

OK, I added some more pics. Here's a slideshow of the party (AWESOME TIME!):

Whidbey

2009-10-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

We headed up to the cabin for maybe the last time of the year last weekend, to spend a great day playing (and eating) at the beach.

Ryan Turns THREE!

2009-09-20T22:34:00.000-07:00

Our little guy had a wonderful birthday party with the family. He got lots of cool toys, and even shared his amazing pickup truck cake with everyone. Way to go RY!

From Ryan's Birthday

I gotta feeling

2009-09-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

In case you wanted to see a four minute video of our kids spinning in circles to a Black Eyed Peas song, here you go:

Ryan's First Day of School!

2009-09-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

I think Ryan was ready, like he'd been training his whole life. He had his bag, he was excited, and he knew how to find the truck toys right away. Mom even held it together until the head teacher asked how it went on the way out of class, and Kara cried "He's not ready!!!" Ryan though did great!

Charlotte's First Letter to Me

2009-09-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

Charlotte wrote her first letter to me... all on her own. Best letter ever, but very formal!

Swim class!

2009-09-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and Ryan are LOVING their weekly swimming classes with their awesome teacher Katie.

Let's Roll

2009-08-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

I took the kids bowling last Friday when Doni had a day off, and we had a blast. We threw some bowling balls, ate a pretzel, (one of us had a beer), and even heard their two favorite songs over the alley sound system, Blue Moon and Margaritaville... perhaps that inspired some singing later on that weekend?

Here's Charlotte throwing rocks (literally)...

And Ryan adds his own stylish Bowling Ball Dance...

The Wood Band 2009

2009-08-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

It appears that our two kids have an aptitude for music! Here they are singing the classic Jimmy Buffet song, Margaritaville. Note the genius lyrics at the end.

And another one of their favorites, Blue Moon.

Lessons

2009-07-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Dad reads Ryan the exceptionally funny book: The Bike Lesson

Shoreclub Fun

2009-07-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

It's getting hot in Seattle, so it's been great spending some time down at the lake. This past weekend, Charlotte's BFF Miriam joined us in some splashy good times.

Ryan took care of the construction needs lake side, but wasn't so sure about the big waves coming in...

And the girls took care of filling the lake with sand. Everyone had a job to do.

S'more S'mores?

2009-07-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Charlotte, Ryan, and their Whidbey Island friends enjoy and discuss the beauty of s'mores on a nice summer afternoon at the beach cabin.

Charlotte Graduates

2009-07-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

Firstly, we have been a little slow in updating our blog. Don't you fret, we will be better at keeping you all up to date on our going on's. For example, did you know that Charlotte graduated from "Pre-pre-K" this past spring? That's right, she completed her 2-day a week classes, and graduates to 5-days-a-week this fall in Pre-K. Oh, and they had an AWESOME concert for us to enjoy on graduation night. See the video below, Charlotte is in the back row, right between the "THE" and the "WHOLE". We are SO proud of her!

Didn't she do a great job??? Make sure you click on "HD" right above here (after you click "play"), to see the glory of high def.

Digging the Beach

2009-06-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

Ryan had a blast this past weekend playing in the new sandbox and roaming the tidepools on Double Island.

Best Lemonade On the Island

2009-06-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

Charlotte has been planning on making a lemonade stand for a few weeks now, and finally and flawlessly executed on her dream this past weekend on Double Island. Her secrets were low prices (5 cents a cup, fake money accepted), mint leaves, variety (both pink and yellow were available), a dress that matched her product colors, and 100% market share.

Charrrrrrrlotte!

2009-06-07T14:59:00.001-07:00

This past week Charlotte started her first of many summer camps, this one was Pirate Camp and boat loads of fun was had by all. Here is a picture of our little pirate from camp, with the pirate-made frame.

Camera lost...

2009-06-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

No great pics to share these days as we LOST OUR CAMERA. AHH!! With kids as cute as ours, this is a travesty, so we will have to fix this situation as soon as possible. Try to forgive us and carry on with your lives as best as you can.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice day doting on mommy, and playing outside in the sun.

Play Date

2009-05-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

Miram came over for a super fun play date on Saturday.

The girls had a great time swinging, doing arts and crafts, playing Dora saves the Snow Princess, and other girly type things.

Ry post nap today ...

2009-04-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ryan proves that you can suck a paci and still deliver a look that says "I am going to f*** you up!!!"

But he does have a pretty soft side too ...

TYD2W Day

2009-04-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was National Take Your Daugther To Work Day. I picked Charlotte up after school (11:30a) and brought her to Microsoft. She attended a short stand-up meeting where she moved stick-its of Mom's tasks along a work board. We then met with Mommy's boss about Fiscal Year 2010 travel budgets and then went to the cafeteria. Charlotte insisted on taking lunch back to the office because she didn't want to miss any work. Charlotte spent her day drawing on the white board, making art, and typing numbers and letters on Mom's spare laptop. She is a good little worker bee.

Preschool Easter Party!

2009-04-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and Kara went to the Pebbles Easter Party today and had a blast! Charlotte had her bunny ears and Easter dress on... she was all set.

There of course was an easter egg hunt...

... but also an EGG RACE!

Charlotte's friend Ella did NOT want her picture taken

A BUNNY HOP RACE!

GO CHARLOTTE GO!

First Swim Lesson

2009-04-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and her good buddy Riley were READY for their first swim lesson together. They had previously gone shopping to buy matching swimsuits, and, well, what else do you need?

(click to enlarge)

Poppy Time

2009-04-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

Malcolm / Poppy visited this past weekend, and per the norm, Kara put him to work on the yard and house. Thanks Mal! He also got some fun in... like setting up some fun Easter Egg coloring with his Granddaughter.

Whidbey!

2009-04-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

We all had a great time up at the beach cabin this past weekend for the traditional (and cold) cabin opening in March. We celebrated a few birthdays, ate a TON of good food, and had a great time on the windy beach. I am certain the 19 of us (Sofia, Connor, Ryan, Charlotte, Patrick, Tad, Mela, Shannon, Kara, Nate, Matt, Francie, Cathy, Dick, Jenny, DB, Nancy, John, and Michelle) broke the record for "most palella eaten" on Clinton Beach. There were no leftovers.

You can click on the sideshow to see the whole album...

Boris The Tortoise

2009-04-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

It's SPRING BREAK for Charlotte, and we are the lucky adopters of her preschool's pet, Boris, The Russian Tortoise. Boris pretty much hides all day long, except in the morning when he eats his breakfast of 4 pieces of romaine lettuce, which takes him about 2 hours.

Here is some EXCITING video of Boris, and the Wood Kids talking about him:

GO MOMMY GO!

2009-03-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

Kara, Cousin Tad, and about 5,000 other runners, ran the Mercer Island Half-Marathon last weekend. Ever since Charlotte knew that Mommy would be running by the house in her run, she has been planning how she would cheer her on.

The plan: Wear her Cal Bears Cheerleader top (covered up by her parka in the pictures) and skirt, and waive her Cal pom-poms, with two balloons attached to her back so that mommy could see her. The balloons would have to be attached to her back, because her hands would be busy with the pom-poms. Everything went according to plan.

Well done Kara!

The Colorado Woods

2009-03-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Charlotte, her BFF Miriam, Ryan and Yaya spoke with Mark, Brooke and Sarah who are in Colorado. (click on the photo to see Mark's Jazz Hands)

Cutting Room Floor

2009-03-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

I was just looking back through my Picasa files, and noticed some collages that I had thrown together over the past four months, which didn't make the blog. Well, I think they're worth another look.

Like, Matching wood kids in Mexico? What's not to like about Ryan and Grandpa here dancing in their Hawaiian shirts?

Then there was story time from Mexico too... the kids loved reading on the beach.

And some pictures from Connor's second birthday party featured some classic "Ryan devouring birthday cake" moments.

And what about the night before Christmas pictures of the kids putting milk and cookies out for Santa and his reindeer?

And here are some fun pictures of Charlotte and cousin Colin.

Welcome Home Sofia!

2009-03-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

Charlotte made a wonderful sign for Sofia today. She is VERY excited to meet her new cousin!

And just in case you don't speak or read Charlotte, I have translated for you here:

The Chair Game

2009-03-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago, Cousin Connor spent the weekend with us while his parents took a little break in the city. One of the games they invented was the "chair game". I never really caught on to the rules, but it seemed pretty fun.

Fun in Fremont

2009-03-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

Doni took the kids out to the very cool neighborhood of Fremont last week. Fremont might be the only neighborhood in the world with it's own Rocket Ship, Lenin statue, and Troll.

And here is V.I. Lenin, in all his glory, along with some goofy kids...

Our Little Snow Angel

2009-02-26T09:10:00.000-08:00

Where did all this snow come from? This morning we awoke to about 4 inches of snow in our yard, so we decided to run out and take advantage of it. Ryan pulled out his construction vehicles to get to work on the snow, while Charlotte demonstrated the ancient art of the Snow Angel...

DANCE PARTY

2009-02-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

The kids have been recently throwing "dance parties" in the family room quite often. This one we caught on video, where they even got Cousin Connor in on the action...

They've Got Style

2009-02-22T11:06:00.000-08:00

For better or worse, we usually let the kids dress themselves. Here are a few choice outfits Ryan and Charlotte tried out this past week. You gotta love their unique spirits.

Our two models:

Wood Chemists

2009-02-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

Charlotte and Ryan were digging the Kara Science class the other day...

We had volcanoes being built, colors being blended, it was awesome.

Our Lab(s).

It's a sign

2009-02-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

With a little help, Charlotte wrote her first sentence this week. I have to say that her guest that afternoon, as the subject of the sentence, LOVED it.

Old Block Party

2009-02-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we invited our neighbor friends over from the old block in Montlake.
Charlotte and her girls had a blast.

At least we know that the swing set can handle some heavy use.

The Happiest Place on Earth

2009-01-19T13:53:00.000-08:00

Right before we flew home to the snow this past December, we stopped off in L.A. to visit Nana, uncle John, and the McKinzie cousins. Oh yeah, and we swung by the BEST PLACE ON THE PLANET, if you happen to be a 4-year-old girl in love with the Disney Princesses. That's right, we spent the day at Mickey Town, Disney Land USA.

Charlotte and Ryan had one MUST HIT ride they had to go on. So...

Charlotte then tried out Dumbo, we all rode the little train... and then we got a double dose of...

...which was awesome. They had IASWAA all decorated for Christmas, seemingly just for us. And there was oddly no lines. But what about the princesses? Did Charlotte get to meet the loves of her life? OOOH yes. There were princesses...

(click on the collage to see the smiles close up)

She had lunch at Ariel's Grotto, where she met the main Mermaid herself, and a few of her friends (Mulan, Belle, Snow White and Cinderella) and then was chosen by a nice Disney Land employee to have a PRIVATE PRINCESS MEETING with Snow White and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). I really do think that it was the best day of Charlotte's life.

Here are a few more pics from the trip:

Mexico Vacation!

2009-01-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

I have finally gotten a chance to sit down and load up some pictures from our trip to Mexico last month. We really did have a great time down in Troncones, it was a perfect place to have the kids, while feeling like you were in real Mexico. Charlotte and Ryan didn't really let us RELAX a whole lot, but I think they made sure we got the most out of the vacation.

Each morning Ryan and I would wake up and get breakfast in the Casa Ki dinning area. They would set up a nice breakfast with pancakes, or toast, sometimes some type of Mexican egg dish... But Ryan would always have the same thing. Cereal, yogurt, and kiwi fruit. In fact, for 10 days I don't think any other guest got a bite of kiwi unless they were up before 7am.

Charlotte made a friend very early on, a nice girl at the casa just next door on the beach named Elizabeth. They LOVED playing together. They dressed alike, and coordinated their hair styles. They even became pen pals with two of the local Mermaids, via letters in the beach mail system. Charlotte stayed in touch with "Merme" the Mermaid for our entire trip, and she even received a going away present from her, a nice beach necklace, on our last day there.

We made sand castles, or sand race tracks, or wrote our names in the sand, or just ran on the sand, every single day.

Every day we would take a walk on the beach, Kara and Charlotte would play in the waves while Ryan was content staying on his Dad's shoulders. He was a bit nervous about the waves, so the safe distance was perfect. He loved to "splash the girls" and I would always end up with a ton of sand in my hair.

It was great having Dad, Cathy, Nancy, and DB there too. Charlotte and Ryan really had a fun time playing with them, and the "old fogies" would often take care of the kids so Kara and I could go have an adult lunch or dinner down the beach.

Ryan LOVED it when Grandpa called him BOULDER CRUSHER all week, for his affinity for CRUSHING all of the sand BOULDERS we would make for him. Ryan also nominated the Jimmy Buffet song "Volcano" as the theme of the vacation, as he requested it several hundred times, and even began singing along karaoke style with his pretend microphone whenever he heard it.

Charlotte really enjoyed the art projects Kara had planned for her each day. They painted rocks and toenails, they tie dyed, and they drew. Oh, and Charlotte also taught us all how do do preschool style "circle time" on the beach, when we read books each day as well.

On our last evening in Troncones, we had the great luck to see a marine biologist release 200-300 baby sea turtles into the wild, after having nurtured them for the first two weeks of their lives. They have seen the survival rate of the just-hatched turtles increase from 2% to 50% when keeping them safe during these critical first two weeks. The kids LOVED the baby Tortugas.

Over all, we had a WONDERFUL 10 days in Troncones, and will certainly go back. It didn't hurt seeing the snow reports from Seattle while we were there either.

Mexico es BUENO!

2008-12-14T18:17:00.000-08:00

Everything is great here in Mexico... more details to come!

Some Fall Time Pictures

2008-12-06T15:25:00.001-08:00

Our good friend and photographer Lisa Loop took some great pictures of the kids the other day... more to come, but here are few.

Ingersoll Rand

2008-11-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

Ryan has a favorite construction site just down the street...

At the site live his two favorite neighbors,"Komatsu" the backhoe, and "Ingersoll Rand" the mobile forklift crane (pictured above, center of the collage).

He was so inspired the other day, that he ate his lunch with his tractor.
Our boy does love his trucks.

More girly pictures from Charlotte's girly party

2008-11-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some more collages from Charlotte's super fun fourth birthday party...

Pin the tiara on the princess!

The party scene.

PARTY TIME!

A Princess Party

2008-11-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

(click to enlarge the collage above)
Charlotte invited her girlfriends over for a Princess Party to celebrate her FOURTH BIRTHDAY! Complete with dress up, "pin the tiara on the princess", and cupcakes, the girls had a ball. As every princess should.

For LOTS more pink pictures, click the pic below to see the complete album.

2008 November 16 Little Girl Birthday Party

Train Boy

2008-11-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

Miriam visits!

2008-11-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

Charlotte invited her girlfriend Miriam over for their first play date at the new Mercer Island house. According to Charlotte, they are best friends because they both love mermaids and know everything about princesses.

Oh, and they both love chocolate milk too.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

Ryan, A.K.A. Bob the Builder, had his wrench, boots, and hard hat all set to go.

Charlotte's "Mermaid Princess" costume was a little more complicated...
(click the collage if you want to zoom on the pics)
First she had to put on her "Love" PJ's, covered up by her "Hong Kong" PJ's, and then her Ariel costume. This was layered over with a "Princess tutu", and the whole outfit was perfected with her Mermaid boots and raincoat.

Luckily, Cousin "Superman" Connor was there to lead the way!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Lounging at the cafe

2008-10-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and Mommy enjoy a special "pain au chocolat" over the weekend. Charlotte is practicing for her trip to Paris in 8 years. In fact, all of the coins she puts in her piggy bank these days are earmarked for her first trip to Paris.

Bedtime for Wood Monkeys

2008-10-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Uncle Nate tells the matching cousins a story before bedtime

CUTE COUSINS!

WOO HOO WOODS! BED TIME!

Unpacking at the new house

2008-10-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Charlotte love helping to unpack

It's like Christmas come early unpacking toys they haven't seen in a few months.

Unpacking FUN!
(click to see the fun enlargements)

Put a little mud on the tires

2008-10-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

Ryan decided to act out his favorite song the other day at Remlinger Farms with Doni and Charlotte. He wanted to "put a little mud on the tires" of this firetruck that was there...

Charlotte also had a great, if not cleaner, time at the farm too...

Pizza Night at the Oylers

2008-10-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

While Kara and Charlotte were gallivanting in Vail, Ry and Matt stuck around and enjoyed an evening lake side, with the Wood/Oyler clan.

Grandpa was very helpful in getting Ryan's boots off so that he could walk barefoot...

THANK YOU! Those Firetruck boots were making my feet hot.

Enjoying a nice fall evening in the NW

Uncle Nate helped the barefoot boy along.

Connor joined in the fun, going barefoot, and suggesting that he and his cuz take the boat out. We said no.

There was certainly some time to play with Ryan's other best buddy, Boxer the Cat.

Oh, and the cousins caught some of the debate as well. Ryan claims Obama will win, Charlotte loves Sara Palin. We'll see who is right in a few weeks.

Barkley and her bro

2008-09-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

We have been staying at Sailor's house (Barkley's Brother, on the left in the pic below) for the past few weeks while the new house is getting ready. I think ole Barks will miss it here on Portage Bay, smimming by the houseboats...

Ryan Digging the New Backyard

2008-09-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

With Charlotte and Kara visting the Kaufman Crew in Colorado, Ryan and Dad stayed back to hold down the fort. Ryan is totally digging his new back yard. No literally, he spends most of his time in the sandbox, digging his new backyard.

Here is a slideshow of the new house. We are getting some work done before we move in (as you will see in the inside pictures) so please ignore the mess, and don't worry about taking off your shoes.

Or if you want to see the pictures standing still, click here:

Ryan and Woody Tour the New House

Ryan Turns TWO!

2008-09-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!
We had a wonderful celebration with the family, all over at the empty new house. Ryan had a blast playing with everyone, and got some very cool presents. Heck, mom even delivered on the request by Ryan to make a "Huge Volcano Cake." Very impressive.

Thanks for coming everyone!

The Amazing Volcano Cake!

Connor helps out

Sporting the tool belt and party shirt look.

The proud (and unshowered) parents

Living with Grandma

2008-09-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

While our new house is getting ready, and our old house is getting sold, we have had the great fortune to crash as Grandma Lee and Papa Mike's place for a few weeks.

Instant babysitting has been awesome

and the kids are having a blast. Here are some PLAYDOH TIME pictures!

Final Popsicle

2008-09-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and Ryan enjoy their last popsicle in front of our Seattle home... because we are moving to Mercer Island this month! (one of the reasons for the lack of blogtivity recently... been a tad busy)

YUM!

Alana Visits Seattle

2008-08-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

(you can click to enlarge)
Our good friend Alana Kendall visited us in Seattle last weekend. She dragged her parents Sarah and Dan all the way from London to play with Charlotte, Ryan, and (perhaps most importantly) Barkley! Thanks for coming Alana! We loved your stay.

Ryan and Charlotte showed Alana all the fun things to do at the Aquarium.

THREE KIDS! GOOD TIMES!

Alki Beach

2008-07-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Alki is a really fun place to spend the day. You can rent a SURREY with a Fringe on TOP. What could be better?

They even have ice cream there... in HUGE STRAWBERRY scoops.

You can DIG on the beach, which is always a good time...

... but all that digging can lead to sudden tiredness, and naps with dump trucks.

Phone pix

2008-07-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

I just downloaded my pix of the kids from my cell phone, so here are a few good ones... (you can always click on the collage to see them close up!)

Healthy Woods!

2008-07-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

The Wood Kids are all healthy again! (knock on ... well, you know). Here are some shots of our first healthy outings in a few weeks...

Charlotte and her mom got out of the house and enjoyed their first Microsoft Picnic last weekend! Well, calling it a "picnic" is a bit like calling Disnay Land a "good spot for a play date". Charlotte enjoyed the pony rides, bouncy houses, clown shows, ice cream, arts and crafts, paddle boats, and face painters. And they didn't even get a chance to check out the casinos and beer gardens...

While the ladies hit the picnic, Ryan was still a little under the weather, so we had a nice mellow day at the Zoo! He LOVED the Flamingos.

Sick Woods

2008-07-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

The Wood Family has been sick for a few weeks... blog is temporarily on hold until we come up for air.

These two unknown actors reenact Charlotte and Ryan trying on their new clothes that mommy and daddy bought for them to wear at all times when around other kids.

Charlotte's first soccer practice

2008-07-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Here is some awesome footage of our little girl at her first soccer practice.
(She's the one on the far right at the beginning of the video)

The plot line of the video goes like this:

1. Our star jumps over her soccer ball in a drill
2. She is told to then kick the ball in the goal
3. She dribbles up, passes a nice "give and go" to the instructor
4. Then note the little boy who picks up her ball and throws it in for her
5. She then retrieves the ball, and while the class waits, kicks it back in the goal as instructed. I also give her HUGE props for not using her hands the entire time.

A future star, I'm telling you.

COUSINS!

2008-07-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and Ryan had a BLAST this past weekend with their cousins Collin and Gavin who dragged their parents all the way from Denver for a visit. Here are some pictures from their awesome week together...

If you want to see the pictures standing still, and/or download them, click on the picture below...

A Fun Visit with the McKinzie Cousins

Playdate

2008-07-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and neighbor / buddy Abby had a super fun playdate the other day

They painted some real masterpieces...

... and did a little horseback riding, of course.
They even let the boys join in the fun.

Ryan and Connor weren't as fearless as the girls on "Cloudy",
(a.k.a. "Princess", a.k.a. "Dump Truck")
but they figured there was safety in numbers.

Ryan's New Robe

2008-07-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

Ryan shows off his new Truck Robe

Our little Hugh Hefner

Ryan and his buddy/cousin enjoy'n the afternoon

Charlotte's Ariel

2008-06-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

Charlotte has submitted this fantastic drawing of Ariel for the monthly Disney Princesses drawing contest. Note the red hair, purple bikini top, and green tail! How can Disney NOT accept this picture? I am contacting lawyers as we speak to address any issues with Disney Corp's selection process, if any problems arise. We'll keep you updated on how it goes.

(you can click to enlarge if you wish)

Father's Day

2008-06-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

The kids treated me well on Dad's Day this year.... Charlotte has been trying to buy me clothes for about a year now, and picked out this black shirt for me.

We then had a wonderful walk around Greenlake, but all the fun of the day got to Charlotte and she just wanted to nap on her mom. Ryan was VERY happy to watch the dogs, boats, and people go by.

"WOODY CAR!"

Yummm... Woody Car...

And they put together this awesome video for me too. Aren't they the best?

Cruis'n the Carousel

2008-06-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Charlotte shows her bro how it's done

"Yee Haw!"

Star Struck

2008-06-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Doni and Ryan take in the fun and cookies at the Montlake fair

Charlotte shows the "PEACE" sign to her mom as she patiently waits in line to get her face painted at the Montlake Fair.

The steps of getting her star... Hey, doesn't that star look familiar?

Montlake Fair June 2007 ................ Montlake Fair June 2008

Kelsey Creek Park

2008-05-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

This past Memorial day, Nate and I took the kids over to Kelsey Creek Park. Have you been there? It's a pretty pristine farm, playground, and park, totally open to the public, hidden in Bellevue. I highly reccommend checking it out, if you're into this sort of thing.

They have pigs, horses, bunnies, sheep, goats, chickens, and... and... TRACTORS.

Ryan pointed at the Tractor / Front Loader and immediately said
"LOADER! BUY IT!"

All of the kids had a great time at the playground. Of course Charlotte located a girl to see-saw with.

WEEEEEEE!

The Boys