My Umbrella's Busted

Reset your bookmarks...

2011-01-26T21:15:00.001-08:00

From now on we'll be posting here:

http://blackburnfam.posterous.com/

Skiing!

2011-01-09T18:15:00.000-08:00

This weekend we re-entered the world of skiing, with Camden taking ski lessons and Jason and I trying to remember how exactly you slide down this here hill. Fortunately it's pretty much like falling off a log.

CJ is a natural. After his all-day lesson, he demanded that we go up the lift, which we did five times until I declared my legs too sore to continue! Look out below!

(if you're reading this in email, you'll have to click through to see the video)

Chop Chop Christmas tree

2010-12-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

This one looks good.

Imagine how much better it'll look if we chop it down and hang balls on it.

This is how you use a saw.

Like this?

TIMBER!!!

Not a creature was stirring...

Snow!

2010-11-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

La Nina is officially here and Seattle has snow!

And FINALLY...

2010-10-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

111 pieces of candy. Now THAT's scary!

Halloween

2010-10-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

CJ had a great two days of Halloween fun at school... trick or treating at the assisted living home, decorating cookies, a costume parade, and more! Here are a few pictures.

Rumor had it the children SCREEEAMED for Jason's homemade witch's brew

(CJ is the one in the black)

CJ's teacher

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

35 days till Halloween and the monsters are getting hungry

2010-09-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

Friday night CJ and I went to his school for Mother Son Bingo Night.

We won twice, which was once more than anyone else, so clearly newcomer' luck was at play. CJ's favorite part was when he got to call out the numbers.

In other news CJ is wondering HOW MANY DAYS TILL HALLOWEEN.

Against my better judgment I let him buy the costume that he desperately desired and boy oh boy am I regretting it. CJ and Jay are convinced that it is incredibly brilliant and I hate the bloody thing. (I mean bloody in the literal AND the figurative sense)

When CJ was not wearing his bloody costume (only because I screamed ENOUGH! and put it on top of the fridge)... he decorated our porch, carved a pumpkin, and asked me 665 times Is it Halloween yet?

FYI. It's NOT. Halloween yet.

Beach!

2010-09-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took the minivan and a half-day on Friday and headed for the coast. We rented a little beach cottage where we holed up with cheese and salami and peanut m&m's.

It was supposed to rain the whole weekend but miraculously we got a mostly clear day on Saturday, so we spent the day exploring the beach and checking out the small town sandcastle contest.

It was awesome.

1st week of school

2010-09-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

Last week marked the kick-off of a new school year. CJ started at a new school this year, and had a great first week! He loves his teacher and class, although he did complain that there are more girls than boys. I assured him that he'll like that around 6th or 7th grade!

3 Stooges

2010-09-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

CJ's last summer camp was a week long affair titled "3 Stooges Comedy Camp" (how could I NOT sign him up?!)

Here's a video of the kids' performance on the last day. I know I'm his mother, but I think CJ has SKILZ!

(If you're reading this in email you'll have to click through to see the video)

1st day of baseball

2010-04-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

.. coach pitch is WAY more interesting than tee-ball! A great day, despite frigid temperatures.

Looth Tooth

2010-02-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

(You might have to click through to view the video if you're reading this in email)

Merry Christmas from Palm Springs!

2009-12-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

The most wonderful time of the year

2009-12-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays with a side of fa la la la la!

Halloween and ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-11-09T09:03:00.001-08:00

CJ and his cousin North in full costume:

It's hard to believe that Halloween is already over and it's November!

Fall has gone well but quickly. We had a great Halloween with trick-or-treating and the Clarks in town. Camden was a skeleton although he expressed disappointment that he wasn't SCARY enough. We'll try again next year. Note to self: more blood.

In other news, I've accepted a job at amazon and will be going back to work full-time on Nov 30th . At the same time, Jay is planning to cut back his hours to spend more time with CJ and pursue some painting.

Bella's new trick

2009-10-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

And then he was a first grader

2009-09-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

No clinging to mom in tearful sadness this year. On the first day of school as a FIRST grader, CJ wakes up to his own alarm clock and gets himself ready (with just a bit of prodding). When his carpool arrives he announces, "Go inside, mom," and gives me a shove for emphasis. "I don't NEED you."

I'd cry if I weren't so delighted.

sweet sweet summer

2009-08-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

This morning CJ and I rode our bikes to meet some friends at a local donut shop then back to Greenlake for a swim in the lake. This summer I have been pinching myself that we live a skip-hop-jump from the park and lake.

The weather's heating up again but I WILL NOT COMPLAIN because summer is zooooming by... every day I check my calendar and can't help but notice how the weeks are ticking by... only three weeks till school kicks up again! We have so enjoyed not having to keep a regular schedule and spending our days outside... I don't want it to end. But it will end... and so I am determined to enjoy the lazy warmth of summer while it's here.

Maureen, Steve, and Baby North have been living with us while they wait to close on their house. CJ loves having a baby in the house (and does remarkably well with him!) I like it too especially since when he cries I just stay smugly in my sweet bed. Maybe babies aren't so bad after all.

We've enjoyed a couple of wonderful camping trips... at Deception Pass and Scenic Beach.

A couple of weeks ago we enjoyed a fun adults-only weekend on Gato Verde, a 42' catamaran that we chartered with the B-burns to sail around the San Juan islands. From that trip I learned that boats are cool and also my in-laws are CUHRAZY! (but I already knew that.) Jay learned that we need to buy a boat so I'm eagerly waiting for him to start making the big bucks.

The whole familllllly

2009-06-14T11:17:00.001-07:00

Dad and baby North. I just love their expressions.

Cousins. Aren't they CUTE?!?!

The whole famdamily...

I'm sure Bella just LOVES this...

CJ turns 6!

2009-06-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

CJ turned six on Friday! His school has a very special... and drawn out... birthday celebration. Part of this involves reenacting each year of life whilst going around the table.

Here's CJ's impression of himself at 1...

And here's how he acted at 3.

I got all weepy at the children's singing of "happy birthday, happy birthday, we love youuuu".

It's moving, ok?!

Thursday night the teachers had all the kids at school for a sleepover. Yes they're crazy and that's why we love them. CJ was sooo excited and he even slept a couple of hours!

Friday he couldn't wait to open his presents...

Friday afternoon Grandpa & Nana showed up and it's a good thing because Saturday in the wee hours of the morning I woke up vomiting. Yuck.

Saturday CJ frolicked with some of his pals at the local pool while Jay took deep breaths and was reminded how helpful his wife can be. Fortunately he had Maureen and mom to help him out! I was totally bummed to miss the party.

And just like that, school is over... CJ is six... and summer has officially begun.

Disney World

2009-05-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

We've had a great run here in Orlando. The weather's been perfect in the high 80's and the theme parks have been fun... and not too crowded! We're gritting our teeth for a return home to rain...

Here are a few highlights...

CJ takes on Jedi training at Hollywood Studios, and fights Darth Vader.

(Spoiler alert: he wins)

Magic Kingdom really is magical...

CJ has had a great time in the pool

Everest is awesome! (and that's Jay in the blue shirt in the front...)

T-ball

2009-04-21T07:44:00.001-07:00

CJ played in his first tee-ball game last night. It was a beautiful evening and the kids had a blast.

CJ tells the story of his tooth

2009-04-15T09:16:00.001-07:00

Probably because I'm the mom, I think this video of CJ telling the story of getting tooth "wiggled" out is adorable! (If you're reading this in an email, you'll have to click through to see the video)

"sun"

2009-04-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

see that stuff in the background? That's BLUE SKIES. Something we haven't seen in a loooong time, and which (turns out) comes with something called "sun."

Whatever it is, I like it.