The Great Wolf Lodge

This week, I did something that I would have never, ever done in my previous (single) life.  I spent almost 24 hours at a place called The Great Wolf Lodge (http://www.greatwolf.com/).

These don't exist in New England -- but they do elsewhere in the United States in case you are traveling with children in the near future.  I have some fairly bad associations with water parks after Water Country (I'm not quite sure why except I feel like it was kind of old and dirty).  The Great Wolf Lodge, or GWL as we can call it, is a little different.

The first thing is that the GWL is all indoors and I'm fairly sure you are required to stay there in order to use the water park.  It's located about 1.5 hours south of Seattle, in a town that has not much else as far as we could tell.  But the whole point of going to the GWL is that you don't need to leave.  It's like a mini-Disneyworld or something.

Now that I've made it sound scary and horrible, I want to say that the kids had a blast.  And since it is south of Seattle, KLC's mom was able to make the easy drive up from Portland and meet us.  Our GWL seems pretty new so there was none of that is-this-water-really-clean worry.  In fact, I have to say that KLC and I went on one water slide ourselves (you had to be 48" or taller so the twins were out of luck) that was kind of awesome.

If, however, you ever hear that KLC and I went there on our own without any children, I give you permission in advance to perform any type of intervention you see fit.

Cat + Kids+ Chickens + Dog = ?

The elements in the equation above are in order of their appearance.  (Notice KLC and I are not part of this -- we just work here.)  Zeek has been with KLC for over a dozen years, and obviously the kids are now 4 and half.  Last spring we decided to get some chickens, and then this Christmas our latest addition has been Comet.

All of the family members -- human and otherwise -- have their own personalities, and, to put it politely, needs.  Sometimes the kids and Comet need to be separated because of mutually-induced frenzied behavior.  Sometimes Zeek likes to swipe at Comet if he's getting too close or being too much of a puppy.  And right now, the chickens are getting to run around the yard themselves on this very sunny day in Seattle.  (Note: do not put a puppy outside with free-roaming chickens in the yard.)

This very full house is a far cry from my serene (and often too quiet) days in my condo in Boston.  While there are times where KLC and I both wish for a little less volume, I wouldn't change a thing.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I've recently started experimenting with working outside of the house at this coworking office about a mile away: http://www.mapleleafbranch.org/  Because for all of the chaos we like in our personal lives, it's a little stressful during a phone call or -- better yet, video conference call -- to worry about what noise or image might appear.

He's Getting Bigger ...

Yesterday, I got back from a work trip to Austin, TX.  Even though I was only gone a few days, I swear Comet looks bigger.  To document his dramatic metamorphosis, I took a couple of videos:

http://youtu.be/SYHHpb3pNEM
http://youtu.be/Q7lbdoHUqFs


OK, I might a little biased in his size transformation, but I know this little guy has grown.  I'm taking him into the vet today for his next round of vaccinations and shots, so he'll get weighed then.  Last time, he was 6.1 lbs, this time who knows ...

Cats and Dogs

There's a good reason why the stereotype exists that cats and dogs don't get along. Especially when one is a strong-willed 12-year-old cat (Zeek) and the other is a bouncy, 9-week-old puppy (Comet.)

Since we adopted Comet on Christmas Eve, Zeek, to put it mildly, hasn't been the most welcoming. Comet is a puppy who wants to play with everyone and everything -- especially when he gets in his ultra-hyper mode at least once a day and no limb, digit, and body part is off limits for chewing.  For his part, Zeek will hiss at this canine intruder, he'll swat when that doesn't work, and generally does his best to stay away from this 6 pounds of fur who seems to be wherever he goes.

I do think, however, that we are beginning to turn a corner between the two.  While it's not exactly a close friendship yet, I think Zeek is beginning to tolerate accept Comet a little more each day.  I see them walk by each other without a (bad) reaction more frequently, and Zeek seems a little more open to the puppy antics.  And, I found the pair of them in this configuration when I stepped out of my office for a few minutes this morning.

So they're not actually napping with each other, but I'll interpret this as a step in the right direction.

Christmas Comet

Sometimes it's better not to think too hard about something.  Case in point: getting a dog.  KLC and I have been talking about it for a while.  The reasons to wait were obvious.  We have two four-year-olds in the house, a very strong-willed older cat, and limited amounts of time or energy.

Still, it's been a topic that we've floated back to from time to time.  Until last Saturday (yes, Christmas Eve) when we saw that the Seattle Humane Society was open.  KLC's mom was visiting for the holiday and we decided to go.

The original intention was to get an older dog (if we got one) because they would be potty trained and also it's harder for those dogs to find a home.  We realized, however, that just about all of the older dogs has a major restriction or two, ie, couldn't be in a home with a cat or young kids.

We waffled about just going home and waiting to try to find a dog.  (It was heartening to see that the Humane Society was super busy and lots of animals were getting adopted -- so much so that there was a wait to talk to someone.)   In fact, we were about to walk out the door when our name was called.

We decided to stay and that we would be willing to think about a puppy.  Well, at this point, you know it's a done deal.  We met and fell in love with this little guy who is just a handful of fur.  For a sample of his amazing cuteness, take a look here.

His name is Comet, both after Santa's reindeer (we sing the Rudolph song 12 months a year to the kids) and the astronomical object (a nod to my profession.)  He is all puppy.  He likes to play, chew on toys/toes/fingers, eat, and sleep.  He's also just about perfect in every way.  Sometimes it pays off not to let your brain get in the way of doing something really smart.

Visitors from the East Coast

Last week, my parents arrived for their first visit to Seattle since I moved here.  With a whole area to show them, we took them on a bit of a whirlwind tour.  They got to see downtown Seattle, a quick peek at Bainbridge Island, a sample of the parks on both the fresh and salt water sides of the city, and more.  They also got a taste (sorry for the pun) of lots of our favorite eateries, and it's a good thing I can get back to the gym this week ...

In particular, we tried to plan some things to take advantage of their being here just a couple of weeks before Christmas.  One of the highlights was going out to the foothills of the Cascades to cut our own Christmas tree.  The twins were very excited to zoom around the trees, picking out ones from about 18 inches high to about 14 feet off the ground.  Luckily, the adults were in charge and I think we picked out a great one.  My parents were able to help us with the lights (including a couple of trips to Ace Hardware for some replacements) and the ornaments.  

We are all thrilled with the tree, and we are very happy that my parents were able to make it out.  It was a great pre-Christmas gift for all of us.

Misc. Fall Photos

Now that it's December, I decided it's time to post some of the miscellaneous pix of the kids that I took throughout the fall but never managed to post.

At the start of their soccer careers.  Or at least the start of their first session of indoor Lil' Kickers.

Being their own monkeys at the zoo.

Sporting their new winter hats.

And, finally performing solo feats not at all possible this time last year at one of our nearby parks.