Dutch Sweet Dutch

I’m slowly remembering why we canceled our dial-up service. Ahhh, the joys of watching internet pages load. S L O W L Y. It’s the watching paint dry of our generation. If you’re using dial-up, that is. Could be that it just seems particularly slow after the magic of big city speed. We may have to break down and get cable. When you’re using this internet, it’s handy to have a book handy.

On that note, here’s what we’re reading. It’s of great interest to all you non-parents, I’m sure…

Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason by Alfie Kohn.
Watch Me Grow I’m Two by Maureen O’Brien
Your Two-Year-Old: Terrible or Tender by Louise Bates Ames and Frances Ilg

After a long night of eating and pooping, Stokes is exhausted. Actually, you would be too if you pooped out as much yellow mustard as Stokes just did. The pooping lasted for about half an hour. We started to worry that he’d get the hemmoroids. Just joking, but seriously, he might’ve lost about 10% of his body weight with that one. Imagine that! You could make millions in Hollywood if you could get that going in grown-ups. Oh wait, I think Olestra already did.

So we’re back in the land of the rural pace. Aside from the internet speed, it’s a pace we love. Moseying along everywhere we go. After readjusting, you really do feel like you are hauling ass on those 35 mph straight-aways.

All our snow melted. The other day it was 51 here. 51! Winter! At least the surf is up. Not that Boppa Loppa has a lot of time these days. It’s 2 on 2, and it’s a workout! Boodah’s still a wildfire, but fortunately that’s balanced by Stokely Bering’s amazing placidity. The Lummox would be proud.

Thank you to all those who helped us out so much on our big trip to Anchorage! Thanks Todd and Lauren for letting us house-sit! Thanks Grammy and Rainold and Dulcie for braving the de-icer-less Seattle airport and all the delays. Thanks Grandpa and Nana for all the cooking, Ella-sitting, house cleaning and Boodah-sitting too! Thanks Regan and Nami for all the hospitality and the Boodah-sitting while Stokes was born! Thanks Musashi and Arashi for entertaining the Boodah while he was at your house. Thanks to Alex, Kevin, and Sean for making the trek up to visit! Thanks to Peter, Natalie, and Sarah for hanging out with us at Moose’s Tooth.! And thanks to Boppa’s work for letting him work from Anchorage until Stokes came along. And thanks to Enterprise rental for the free upgrade to the sexy Dodge Ram Crew Cab! Thanks Boodah for being such a great big brother!

Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for!

And as the year winds down, we’re thankful to be back home! Soon, there will be enough snow to play in the snow. Yay! Right now, there’s about a centimeter, unless you count drifts. The good news is that the surf is up. Right Stokes?