April Showers to May Downpours

Hey family,

The 4 Webbs survived the wettest winter in Seattle's recorded history.  We finally hit our limit and have joined in the crazy, homeless-looking, screaming people who appear to be talking to themselves as they walk down the street.  I discovered these are just Seattle residence who've hit their limit on rainy days.

A sunny day or two came along and we stopped the world to enjoy it.  My neighbor wasn't sure if it was manly enough to ride Kendra's mountain bike because it is a gender-neutral, red one.  I told him i'd ride Alaysha's bike a mile to the elementary school with Max in the basket if he would just go ride mountain bikes with me.  He called my bluff so here's the result.

We had a great ride past a baseball field full of spectators and players.  I smiled and waved and rang my little bell as we rode past.  People smiled and waved back after a few double-takes from people who have never seen a grown man ride a pink bike with a dog in the basket.  Max was relaxed and happy the whole time just sitting comfortably as the wind crammed all manner of smells up his nose.

"Love your neighbor" should look like something.  We are doing more than just praying for our neighbors. We are spending time with them, caring for them, sharing with them, and discovering who they are.  Our next door neighbor's daughter is a few years younger than Layla.  Layla treats her like a little sister as they play dress up, dance to music, and color outside... in the sun...  on the one sunny day we've had this year.

It's been a while since I've blogged so this is a lot of catching up.  After Easter we went to Christy and Doyle's house for a family reunion of sorts.  They get together every holiday and we get to be included in their fun.  They even had an Easter egg hunt where Easton found the money egg with $25 in it!  They had a blast finding and opening the plastic eggs filled with candies and coins.  The family fun day made the Easter holiday weekend feel more normal. 

I took the twins and Evelyn to the neighborhood park while the adults chatted.  They went on a nature hunt without my prompting.  They dug up worms and flipped over rocks looking for roly poly bugs.  They came to me with their hands full dirt and creepy crawly things.  At least they all had smiles to go along with the dirty hands.

Layla is still going strong with her weekly regimen of figure skating.  I usually take her to the private lesson and Kendra takes her to the group lesson each week.  She is working on improving her routine for the next competition, but that won't be for a few months.  I'll be joining her and about 200 other ice skaters from her arena to watch Disney on Ice in a few weeks.  i'll be wearing my skate dad shirt for that one!

Easton's latest kick is still Halo.  He and the next door neighbor are continually playing with Halo building block toys and playing the video game.  We still have the old XBox360 so he can't play the latest and greatest game, but i'm very happy that he is content playing the older games.  His earned money beyond giving and saving all goes towards Halo Lego sets.  

There is this dog, Max, who loves to cuddle with Kendra.  We talk almost every day about how awesome he is as a family dog.  Easton and Layla are keeping their end of the bargain by taking care of food, water, and the dooty duty.  This makes life with Max even better for Kendra and I.  The twins get some responsibility and Kendra gets a companion who goes with her everywhere.

Am I a good or bad parent for bribing the twins to do 30 minutes of P90X3 exercise?  I'm still undecided.  They sweat their butts off and the low impact, heart-pounding exercise is good cross-training for their other sports. 

Layla does: figure skating, hiking, mountain biking, dancing (XBOX 360 style) and climbing trees in the park.  That's a typical week for this girl.  I wanted to introduce her to the great Washington biking scene and she loved it!

The roots were way more teeth-chattering with her bouncing around behind me than when I'm by myself, but it was worth it.  we rode some of the most technical trails I've come across.  She's a warrior.

And a princes...  "Dad look at this little lady bug I found!"

No fear for this girl.  We didn't ride our bikes across the dangerous wooden tracks, but she was excited to climb and run off the end.

Easton does: Ninja gymnastics, mountain bike riding, hiking, track & field, and climbing trees in the park. Our neighbor takes Easton when they take their son to the gym where the boys get to bounce and jump around on all manner of equipment.  He loves it and we are glad for the boys to enjoy doing something more than playing video games.

Seattle has so much to offer when it comes to outdoor experiences.  I heard people talk about it before moving here, but it's hard to describe without seeing it in person.  An example of this is when  we spontaneously decided to take the 4 Webbs and Max for an outdoor hike.  Kendra spun through the options in her head and 15 minutes later we were deep in the forest exploring scenes from the set of Lord of the Rings. 

It's hard to believe, but this picture below is unfiltered.  The colors really are this vibrant and there is so much life that living things grow on living things. 

And of course there is a park so we gladly take a few minutes to play on all the equipment.

By "we", I mean all 4 Webbs.  This is a family outing so let's take advantage of the 4 person seesaw!  I had hoped for a more professional picture, but this is the best we could do with a random stranger taking the picture of us in our outside, muddy clothes.

Let me get back the "love your neighbor" idea...  My next door neighbor is really cool and their 4-pack of family members all get along swell with us.  We have them over for dinner, take them cookies, and care for their kids in our house.  I invited my neighbor to go mountain bike riding, but he hasn't been and doesn't have a bike.  This is not a problem because I'm happy to take him and let him use Kendra's bike and gear. 

I am so fulfilled by getting to ride my bike on the amazing trails of Seattle. I've been waiting for almost a year to ride because of the brutal Phoenix summer and freezing Seattle winter back-to-back.  Now it's time to get my lungs, legs, and heart back in tip-top condition.  I also took Layla out for a ride but i'll save that for the next post.

See you soon!

Grandparents in Action

On a not-so-sunny day we went to the ocean for a trip with Ouma and Oupa.  The twins love to explore for bugs and whatever else is in the water like these tiny crabs.  They learned the hard way that even the small ones have strong pinchers.  Learning how to hold one by the back is an essential skill they couldn't possibly learn in AZ so they are figuring it out now.

Miles of shoreline leads to slow walks as they attempt to turn over every rock on the edge where ocean bugs live.  Their rain / mud boots have seen so much action that we'll need to throw them out after this rainy season is over.

Easton found this trout slide and climbed all over it.  He laughed several times about how the slide ends at the butt-end of the fish.  Those jokes never get old for a nine-year-old.

All of us took a hike through the forest trails.  There were some aches and pains for us old people as a result, but the fresh air and exercise was exhilarating.  It's chilly, but if the alternative is being stuck inside, then it makes the decision a little easier to go brave the elements.  Our family hikes include exploration, laughing, and a few aches from sore muscles.

We took a day trip to Whidbey island for one of the most scenic hikes I've ever seen.  The ferry ride there is a short 15-20 minutes.  Barely enough time for the kids to roam around the decks and not even close to enough time for Oupa and Doyle to have a full conversation.

Evelyn came with us and became a good travel partner with Layla.

Evelyn fit in with Easton well also.  They get along famously, which made for a pleasant journey as we trekked 5+ miles along the shore of Ebey Trail.

I made everyone stop frequently for pictures and they obliged.  This is probably my favorite because it shows the whole crew in one picture along with a small view of the scenic ocean and sky line.

Ouma and Oupa cuddled as we paused because the wind was a little chilly.  I like Easton and Layla seeing this type of love expression because I want them to know what it looks like to be affectionate with a spouse no matter how many years of marriage are under their belt.

Kendra's back pain comes and goes, but on this day she braved the pain and hiked with us in spite of it.  Having her go with us on a 5-mile hike seems very normal already, but I will never lose the gratitude and amazement about how incredibly miraculous it is to have her be so physically stabile to do these types of activities.

I set up the camera on a timer so I could join the group in a picture of all of us.  It would be difficult even with a panorama shot to capture the horizon and height of our trail.  Easton and Layla spent most of the hike looking down at the ground for roly-poly bugs.  I kept telling them to look up at the breath-taking scene straight out of movie, but they were indifferent about it.  Maybe this is the first sign of being a native Seattle-ite...

The 4 Webbs are having adventures like we never could have imagined a year ago.  So much has changed about every detail of life.  From something as basic as where we take our dry cleaning to big things like taking a day trip to an island.

Max made the transition better than any of us.  He is truly content no matter what state he is in.  He had a particularly fun time on this trip because we let him roam free, even along the edge of a massive cliff.  two inches behind his tail is a massive slope down to certain death, but we've grown comfortable knowing Max is not an idiot.  He may look like an idiot, but he's the sweetest, smartest, most obedient dog I've own.

When we hiked down to the shoreline the kids were all about running from the waves.  They were big at all, but plenty big enough to have some suspense of racing away from the waves as they come crashing up the beach.

This picture of Kendra is the best one i've taken of her in months.  She loves the ocean more than I knew and I'm glad we are a short drive away from it.

Easton and Layla appease me sometimes by staging pictures.  They are best friends who happily walk along the beach pointing things out to each other.  They both have a passion for the Earth and life in all forms.  The science and math interests are strong for both of them even if they don't want to admit it for some reason.

The two of us walking together on the beach seems more like a fake dating profile than a reality.  I could have held her hand and walked on the sand for hours without growing tired of it.  We took another picture of us kissing, but it didn't turn out well.  We were genuinely kissing like lovers do, but for some reason that didn't come across in the picture.  this one will have to do.

Layla and Evelyn were walking and talking in the exact same manner as their grandmothers behind them.  I turned around and smiled from the humor of the scene.

We stopped at a pie place on the way home to taste the local flavors.  Easton saw a tractor under an awening and jumped up in the seat.  He's always had a love of wheels; Even ones attached to an immobile tractor.

Part of the enjoyment during our trip was having time with Easton while Layla was destracted by Evelyn.  He still calls me over to show me things like the seagulls floating as we pass by on the ferry and the splashing of the water as our boat moves through the water.  I am super excited about going on a Disney cruise as a family.  I am certain Easton will have the time of his life aboard the massive ship.  In 10 months we'll be on taking a cruise for the first time ever.  That's enough of a carrot on a stick to keep me motivated.

See you soon!

So we did

Howdy family,

I took my first vacation day in six months since I started my new job.  I had plenty of days off during the Christmas and New Year's holiday, but when Ouma and Oupa come around it's time to make good use of those days off so I can join in the adventures. 

On some occasion I can't remember why, Layla and I were left at home while Kendra and Easton were gone.  I asked what she wanted to do and she asked to play battleship... so we did.  and she beat me. I'm not sure why she chose this game instead of the dozens of other board games in the closet.  Here is what I said to her, non-verbally:

Your voice matters and I value your input
I want to spend time with you
Having fun together is important
In order for our relationship to grow we must have quality and quantity time together.

The sun poked through the clouds a few times this week.  I've been waiting on one of these days to make progress on the garage clean-out effort.  The twins found some party gear in one of the boxes and they asked me to put it on and dance.  so we did. I shamelessly silly danced and they dressed me up to match their hula skirts and leis. 

On another sunny day Kendra asked me to get the patio furniture set up on the front porch because it has been in storage since we moved here.  She decorated with a few flowers and wanted to sit on the porch, greeting neighbors as they walk by.  so we did.  We are taking the whole "love thy neighbor" thing to a whole new level.  We are introducing ourselves and finding ways to connect with the people who are literally our neighbors. 

I told Layla and Easton about our adjustment as a family to intentionally connect with neighbors.  We see others who are followers of Christ as brothers and sisters.  We see others as those who need to experience Christ's love through us.  There are only two categories of people.  Layla discovered a new friend who lives a few houses down from ours. This is the beginning of being rightly related to another follower of Christ.  Kendra and I were very excited for Layla to find a neighbor friend like this.

Easton has a dozen or so neighborhood friends.  We are having some great discussions about what it means to be a follower and Christ and what it means to say you're a Christian, as a label.  Some of the local buddies say they are Christian, but their lives don't reflect that.  It's a good time to talk through these lessons of what it means because he has real-life examples to see the actions play out.

Easton dressed up as an immigrant for a school project where they act out what it was like for some people who arrived at Ellis Island back in 1922.  He has a sport coat and a vest on, which is a first in his lifetime.  He's looking older and more grown up every day.

Ouma and Oupa are here!  We've been couting down the days for weeks and we finally get to have them in our house.  Kendra is soaking in every moment and the twins are having plenty of quality time since they are on spring break. We took a leisurely family walk through some woodsy areas and I forced our group to stop for a picture because I am often overwhelmed with gratitude for moments like this because just a few months ago when Kendra was in the hospital it was pure hope and faith to believe Kendra could go for a hike with us.  now i get to experience this.

The twins still like to wrestle and rough house with Oupa.  They get a kick out of poking him (literally and figuratively) until he grabs them and prevents their escape.  I am glad they have grandparent influence and time during these crucial years of development in their lives.

Easter is next weekend, but this past weekend all of the city-wide events took place.  Our next door neighbors invited us to go with them to the local egg hunt.  So we did.  Kendra was not excited about the crowds or the cold or the lines, but I'm glad we joined in with the fun experience for the kid's sake.  The cherry tree blossoms are eye-catching all across the Seattle area.

The twins waited semi-patiently for the coutdown to gather eggs.  It was a site to behold...  All those kids acting like freshly shaken bottles of soda just ready to explode when given the word "go".

The moment came and the eggs where all scooped up in a matter of seconds.  it was like watching a school of piranhas feast.  Layla stuck to the strategy of putting down the basket and using both hands to load it with eggs.  Easton didn't.  He laid down on a section of the field and claimed ownership of all the eggs under his body.

Everybody left with more eggs and candy than they needed.  I have no idea why Layla is throwing up gang signs.  I'm sure it was more of a celebration than a shout out to her 'hood.

There is a common theme of "so we did" because it is the response to "why not?", which is a way of living we are developing in the twins.  I want them to ask "why not?" and learn how to determine whether something is valuable, Godly, and healthy.  if the response to that question doesn't conflict with being valuable, Godly, and healthy, then the response should be "so we did".

The only difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 is what they did and didn't do.  There are many things people do out duty or ritual or historical reasons. Some are even good reasons, but I want our family to be known for our active love that is a result of God's presence instead of a manipulative or ritualistic motivation.  It's a work in progress, no pun intended.

see you soon!

Layla on Ice

Hi family!

I've been blogging intermittently from my laptop, ipad, and phone for the past six months, but I'm finally back at a desk with my comfy keyboard and big monitors.  It'll be even better when my desk is clean enough to sit my Gatorade down somewhere...  for now i'm in a paper mess until tax season is over this week.  Hooray for being an adult. 

I'm way behind on posting the adventures with the twins so let me catch up.  Layla performed in figure skating and took first place!  She's been practicing this routine for about four months.  I paid the extra $20 to get the professional pictures because my only options for taking pictures was through a dense netting or hockey puck-scarred Plexiglas.  Anyway, Layla was graceful and confident in so many amazing ways.  This picture is my favorite to showcase the gracefulness.

this is the first performance where she is doing jumps.  She had both skates off the ice at the same time and landed smoothly.

catching air is not for the faint of heart.  She has progressed through the ranks where they start by practicing the landing first before ever leaving the ice.  There is some spiritual comparison there somewhere...

Her instructor worked with her a couple of times per week and we are fortunate to find her.  Layla's form and spins improved so much in the past few months. 

I loved watching the passion exude from her sparkly smile and the way she visibly is having fun out there. 

Layla inherited the competitive gene from Kendra's side of the family.  She is a winner at heart.  I am most proud of how kind and considerate she was to the other girls.  There was only one winner in each category.  She was composed and thrilled at the same time. 

Easton dislikes going with Kendra and Layla to her lesson every Thursday afternoon, but I made a point to let him know that his sacrifice of time at home is part of what enables Layla to achieve her accomplishments.  and the road is a two-way street.  or four-way, for the whole family.  We each sacrifice in our own way to help all 4 Webbs reach our potential. 

I'll stop here and pick up my next set of pics and stories in my next post because I promised Kendra I'd be in bed before 2:00am. See you soon!

Waiting out the rain

Greetings family,

I just finished reading a book by George Barna called "revolutionary parenting". It wasn't all that revolutionary compared to what Kendra and I believe, but it provided some good insight about the common factors that lead to raising spiritual champions.  It confirmed a few of our parenting methods and gave some language to what I've been working through over the past few years.  The most shocking revelation is that the majority of parental influence stops around age 13.  That means we have about 4 years left of influential years left to shape and mold them.  ouch. 

The twins are staying up until 8:30 now as their official "lights out" time.  from 8:00 to 8:30 is reading time.  7:30 to 8:00 is bed time routine. so my nights are pretty well spoken for from the time I walk in the door until about 8:30. 

then I do my 30 minute work out video routine and get ready for the next day to do it all over again. I'm enjoying every moment knowing that i'll have plenty of time for hobbies and personal time when the marathon of parenting starts to wind down.

Easton is still very interested in Pokémon books, cards, shows, and gear.  His latest pajamas are Pokémon themed.  He's still into minecraft and Halo though too.  He's reading a book about minecraft as his bed time reading.  He doesn't like pictures much so this is a rare one of him smiling right at the camera.  I'll take what I can get here...

While we were out for dinner some evening I captured this candid shot of Layla and I conversing.  We both look goofy and I don't really care about that.  What I care about is how engaged and connected we are.  This makes me very fulfilled to see the fruits of my time and efforts bearing out results like this. 

I told Easton he is in charge of cooking dinner.  He's seen me grill before, but this time I didn't touch a thing other than the BBQ lid because he is too short to open and close it.  He cooked a great flank steak with my coaching.

The neighborhood park is swarming with kids every sunny day after school.  Here is Layla and Easton and a neighbor kid counting while the others go hide.  Layla is making sure the boys don't peak. 

it is still chilly enough in this neck of the woods for us to wear warm clothes around the house and wrap up in blankets.  Layla has this one that is shaped like a mermaid tail and Easton has one shaped like a shark. They lounge in these as we hang out in the upstairs den because it is turning into the regular evening spot for our devotions, movie times, and game nights. 

Kendra bought Easton a new shirt because he is growing out of his clothes so quickly.  Easton put this one on and told me Ouma will NOT like this one bit.  The tarantula even has a fuzzy patch on the shirt where the abdomen is.  super creepy, but he loves science and nature. 

These are a random sampling of the interactions I have with the twins, but during this rainy part of the season we aren't having many adventures.  We're saving them up for the summer time!  I've been working at my new company for 6 months and haven't taken a single day of vacation yet.  I'm letting it build up for us to have the greatest summer ever. 

See you soon!