NEW BLOG

We have moved to a new Blog site because there was a technical meltdown at this location in December '06. It looks like it's back up and running, but we'll stay with the new link ... join us at our new site, if interested at http://iokahouse.blogspot.com

Decorating for the holidays

Generally we get ALL the Christmas decorations down from the attic, and I create as much of a mess as possible as I decorate the house. This year I'm trying a slightly different approach. Calling it the "ease into the holidays" plan. Yesterday afternoon I put up a little tree (with little decorations) on the landing upstairs.

Today (maybe) we put up the outside lights.....

Happy Birthday, Ken!

We celebrated Ken's birthday tonight with 'Mickey Tacos' and some pretty wonderful cheesecake. Hailey liked grandpa's tacos, but she was REALLY interested in that dessert!

Back from vacation

We are back from a two week vacation in Mexico. Spent the first week with our friends in Mazatlan – swimming in the ocean, eating great food, visiting some not-the-normal-tourist sights, walking miles on remote and beautiful beaches. It was a very fun week with Gary and Kaaren. They are wonderful hosts and great tour guides, especially in the yellow 'UW-VW' Van!

Rumor had it that Pacifico Beer Company put on an extra shift to handle the added demand.

Then we flew to Acapulco for another delightful, but a bit more laid back, week. Acapulco city is BEAUTIFUL – very large, lots of hills and stunning views. We hired a driver for one of the days to show us the sights -- saw the cliff divers (look closely at middle pic), town’s main square, flea market, Johnny Weissmuller’s (aka Tarzan) hideway, etc, etc. We loved the city but were glad to get back to our quiet hotel about 30 minutes away.

We went from swimming in the ocean one day to shoveling snow (and ice) in the driveway 24 hours later. We even came home to a surprise snowman in the backyard!

Go, Fight, Win!!

Here is the newest member of the Huskie cheer squad. Go Huskies!

1st snow this winter

Here is Hailey having fun in the backyard during our 1st snow of the season. She loved the cold white stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hailey, Stephanie and Ken would like to wish everyone who visits this blog a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Yogi's home away from home

Whenever we take a vacation, Yogi gets to go to Ron and Tommie's home and hang with them and their 3 dogs. We'd like to think he misses us...but we not exactly sure. We know he sleeps on their bed, eats ice cream, plays with an unlimited supply of tennis balls, follows Tommie wherever she goes and hangs with Ron in his shop. I think we might miss him more than he misses us! Here he is today getting reacquainted with his buddies.
THANK YOU, RON & TOMMIE!
No postings for a while ..... it's up to Hailey and her parents to keep this Blog updated.

Crab googles

Hailey loves to wear these crab googles, she also requests that dad wear them. I think she looks a lot cuter than daddy in them.

Go Huskies!!!

A couple of photo's of Hailey in her new Husky outfit.

Grandpa, Dad and Hailey

A quick photo of Dad, Grandpa and the R.H.T.* as we passed her from our car to Ken's car.

Hailey carried that blue insulated bag all evening. Inside was a sippy cup and a couple of crackers. She couldn't be bothered to carry Pooh, so he went in Grandma's purse instead!

* Red Headed Terrorist!

Good Dog, Carl!

Carl, of the "Good Dog, Carl" children's books, and his 'mom' (illustrator/author) were at a bookstore on Bainbridge Island tonight for a new book signing. Since we had given Hailey a "Carl" book when she was little(er), we had to go meet the celebrity. Carl was very happy to play ball, pose for pictures, eat treats and generally get poked and prodded by lots of little people. His 'mom" was very happy to autograph all the books, new and old, brought to her by his adoring fans.

Play Dough Recipe

MIX:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 tbls cream of tarter
ADD:
2 cups water
1 tbls oil
Food coloring of your choice

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until thick. Knead until smooth.

AH, what one can find on the bulletin boards at a preschool!

Falling off the bed

Yogi is so big, he doesn't even fit on the extra large dog bed. Guess he's exhausted from trying to keep dry during this miserable weather.

(Note the cat on the OUTSIDE, waiting for his third feeding of the evening).

60 degrees and flooding

To say that it's "raining" here might be an understatement. Even for a Northwest native, this is unbelievable. Torrential rains, high winds, high surf, and significant flooding everywhere.

The Seahawks play tonight on national TV. I guess we'll manage to keep our weather reputation!
Photo was taken at about 8 this morning. YUCK!