Heartbroken

We are grieving for the premature loss of a sweet, generous, caring, troubled young man. One of Dylan’s closest friends – the boy who shared his tremendous gift of music with Dylan (and all of us) – committed suicide one month ago today. Our hearts are aching, still. Tomorrow we will attend Josh’s memorial service, where Dylan and the rest of the band he and Josh started will perform Josh’s favorite song (Purple Haze), with Dyl on vocals for the first time (a special gift for his dear friend).

Dylan has struggled with a grief that no 12-year-old should have to experience. At every turn I’m floored by his pragmatism and emotional maturity. He’s a remarkable child, though in this there is a loss of innocence for him that is impossible retrieve.

There are moments when my grief is overwhelming. From the moment I met Josh, I felt very maternal toward him. I was aware of enough of his tumultuous life to see that he carried a heavy burden, and badly wanted to help him in any way I could. I’m comforted by the knowledge that I was able to provide a stable environment for him to come to when he needed it; he took advantage of it too, hanging out at our house all the time. Still, there is such heavy sadness in knowing that, regardless of anything I or anyone else did for him, no one was able to change the sad circumstances of his life.

I still can’t believe we are preparing for his funeral.

At least he’s not hurting anymore.

Dylan will be OK.

We all will be OK.

Green Thumb

My Growing Garden

Hawthorne eloquently captures the (freakish) obsession I have with my garden - except that he doesn't include the lengthy conversations I have with my veggies (no worries, they don't talk back!):

"I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from an Old Manse

I added peas (above), strawberries and cauliflower (below) to this year's garden (among other things that I don't have pictures of)

Deadly Digitalis (aka "Foxglove")

One of several varieties of squash

Random flower pot - I love the plant hook! I found a pair of these at a garage sale a couple of years ago and paid only 50 cents!

One end of the garden. You can see at the bottom of the picture that I over-composted (there are a few rows that are "burned," I think from too much nitrogen).

The other end of the garden, home to all the tomatoes. I planted twice as many this year, so we should be able to eat our own tomatoes into January 2010 (I think I better learn how to can)!

We've decided that the current garden is not enough, so we'll start cultivating another chunk of the yard in the fall to prepare for even more planting next year! Bring on the seeds and steer poop!

I...refuse...to...complain...

...but a break from 3 days of almost 90 degree weather is awfully nice!

Zoya Does Some Ranting

We were driving back from hiking on Saturday and Dylan and Zoya were bickering in the backseat. After we settled the argument (or so I thought) everything was quiet for a bit, until Zoya handed this up to us:

Translation:

"Dylan is the F word"

"Dylan is the I word"

"Dylan is the H word"

"Dylan is the B word"

"Dylan is the S word"

"Dylan is the SH word"

I am very proud of a few of things here:

First, her handwriting is EXCELLENT!

Second, so is her spelling.

Third, for having such a potty-mouthed mother, she does NOT know what those words are - yet - so she has to resort to using initials!

(When she asks what the "b-word," or "s-word," is, we've been telling her things like, "brain, bottle, belly button," and "sandwich, snack, sunflower")

Sunshine, how I love thee

Spring is definitely upon us in the great NW, and summer weather keeps trying to sneak in from time to time too. Last weekend it was in the mid-70's and Zoya decided to set up a lemonade stand on the corner. She ended up making over $10! At 25 cents a cup, that's a lot of lemonade!

Brother helped a little too (for a small fee) :)

A few weeks ago the weather was nice enough that we were able to go on our first hiking trip of the year - we went up to the Boulder River waterfall. It was so beautiful and lush, and the smell of the spring forest was so yummy! It was about 4 miles round trip, and the fact that Zoya made it without whining gives me hope that we might be able to do some real camping this summer (you know, the kind where you hike into an alpine lake and stay for a week. Well, maybe not a week, but at least a few days)

This area is one of few remaining low elevation old-growth forests in the Cascades. Some of these trees are as old as 750 yrs!

Dylan contemplating life's mysteries at the smaller waterfall

An attempt at sibling affection

It's hard to see in the small version of this picture, but you may note that Dylan is, in fact, taller than his Dad.

This tree was so cool - its roots are wrapped around a nurse-log (stump, actually)

Here they are at the end of the trail. They NEVER cooperate with a good pose for these pictures!

Who can name this song?

Mom, neither you nor my sisters should have any trouble with this one. I couldn't resist taking the picture! And I think they're really supposed to be eagles, but the idea remains.

And the dainty fawn slowly lowered her delicate head into the placid water and went...

Grrrr...

I don't know how some of you people post so quickly and frequently...it takes me F-O-R-E-V-E-R to type these things up. And then there are the pictures to upload.........

There must be a secret.

December in Denver

A few weeks before Christmas we travelled to Denver for a long-overdue visit with Carrie and Heidi and their families. It was really fun to see my sisters and catch up, and the kids had a great time getting to know their cousins better. Dylan bonded with Max, and Zoya with Cloe, Emma and Riley. We all got a big dose of baby fix, too, with cute-as-can-be Brody – what a calm, wonderful boy! He made everyone in the family, except ME (it’s just not happening, folks. Really.), think twice about adding another wee one to ours.

Emma, Zoya & Riley, snug as bugs

Riley, Zoya (it's always the PEACE sign!) and Brody

Dylan and his best little buddy, Max

After spending a night at Carrie and Ryan’s home, we all drove up to Estes Park (which I’m told is more of a summer destination) to stay for three days. We saw our first snow here and experienced record-breaking low temperatures (I believe it was -15 F when we awoke on our last morning there). This is how a bunch of Seattleites deal with the novelty of snow and cold:

***sorry, there was supposed to be a picture here that involved some bare feet, bare legs and boxer shorts, but my pre-teen respectfully requested that he not be exposed to the world "sin ropa!" Can't say that I blame him...:)***

Because there isn’t a whole lot to do in Estes Park during the winter months, we ended up at the local YMCA compound – we went roller skating and did a bunch of crafts.

Heidi, Cloe and Emma

Dylan

Riley and Zoya

MAX! (Seriously, this sweet boy requires the "!" after his name. He's SO FUNNY!)

After Estes Park, we spent a few more days at Carrie and Ryan’s and then ventured down to Colorado Springs, where we visited the Olympic training complex, drove through the Garden of the Gods, braved the Royal Gorge Suspension bridge (highest in the world), s-l-o-w-l-y trekked the dangerous switch-back of Pike's Peak, wandered through ancient cliff dwellings, and had an unexpected run-in with a semi-famous person (I say semi- because we’d never heard of Michael Garman before, though he appears to be quite well-known in the art world). We LOVED Colorado Springs (to visit, not to live), and hope to return when it’s not bitter cold (I admit, I’m the big wimp in the family) so we can better enjoy all the outdoor adventures there.

Cliff dwellings
As far as we could go up Pike's Peak

Garden of the Gods

Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge

On the tram over Royal Gorge

With Michael Garman (one of his spectacular creations behind us)

Olympic Training Center

Olympic Training Center

When we got back to Carrie and Ryan’s home, we got to go watch Emma and Riley in their dance recital – a great time, except for the cut-throat nature of some of the parents trying to secure the seats closest to the stage! It was actually pretty funny to sit back and watch. Apparently it was a really big deal, as I think the parents outnumbered the performers 25:1. In any case, Emma and Riley were beautiful, and both executed their dance moves with absolute perfection! (I'll post pictures as soon as I can figure out how to edit the red-eye on Dyl's Mac!)

We tried to leave Denver and return home on the 20th, only to find that Seattle was all but completely shut down because of wind and snow. Our flight out was at first delayed for 5 hours, and then as we were getting ready to board, was cancelled altogether. At first they told us that it was not likely to get on another flight for AT LEAST 3-4 days (christmas, you know), and a more realistic estimation was more like 5-7 days. Just as we were getting ready to rent a car to DRIVE back to Seattle, Alaska Airlines announced that a special flight had been arranged for those of us whose flight had been cancelled, and it was to leave the following morning. By that time it was late enough that it didn’t make sense to leave and get a hotel, since we’d just have to turn around and come back in a few hours, so we bedded the kids down in a corner (along with a hundred or so strangers) to sleep, while husband and I kept vigil until morning. We caught our flight and landed in Seattle during an ever-so-brief window of opportunity (flights at sea-tac were all cancelled shortly thereafter). How great it was to be home after 17 hours in the airport and a sleepless night!

At DIA, probably around 3am or so (those are the kids sleeping on the floor).

!Muchisimas gracias!, Heidi, Carrie and Ryan, for the hospitality, company and fabulous vacation!