Boston DC Trip

In April, Steve and I got to go EAST to visit Jenni! We flew in to DC and showed Dad around a bit. We ate at a 24hour Kabob Palace - it was after 11 pm and the place was booming. Enjoyed our meat & Mediterranean side dishes! On Saturday I took Steve into DC to visit the Air & Space Smithsonian - he is an airplane nut! He loved it and we made plans to return for the flight simulators. We had to get on the road to start our trek north - Ultimate destination: Boston Marathon!

We drove into NY to let Dad & Jenni's friend, Connie, see some sights. Neither had been, so we quickly scurried about to see the Financial Dist, the NY Stock Exchange, Times Square, rode the Staten Island ferry, saw the Statue of Liberty, rode the subway and much more. We settled late that night in Connecticut.

Sunday morning we went to Church and Steve spotted Glenn Beck a few rows back. That was his highlight for the day - he went and shook his hand and introduced himself. Off we go to get into Boston and get Jenni checked in for the big race! Beautiful country to drive through, nice scenery, etc. but it is dotted with toll booths - a new thing for us! Have your bills ready!


This is Jenni before the race with cousin Stacey Lake, they hungout till the start. Hopkinton to Boston 26.2 miles! Jenni headed out at a great pace, we made it to Framingham to see her at about mile 6. She was running on the right side, we had to scoot across to see her. No problem till we were ready to leave and had to change sides again - Steve & Connie had no problem running thru the middle of the race - I had a mild panic attack! We missed the train but drove to Wellesley to catch a quick glimpse of her again! Still going strong. (We were exhausted!) Next into downtown Boston - Connie and I hustled up and squished through the crowd just in time to see her in front of the Prudential building, just before the finish!

She did great! Ran it in 3 hrs 32 mins, 8.4 minute miles - 26.2 times - no stops, no crying!!
We were in total AWE! and she was still smiling!!

After a shower and a catnap for Dad, we went to feed the starving runner!
I chose the LOBSTER - when in Rome....



We looked around Boston a bit before heading back to Virginia. On Tues when we made it back to Jenni's apartment her roommates and friends were all there congratulating her on her awesome run! She's a stud muffin!


On our final day of visiting we rode the flight simulator(he tried to kill me) and went to the Supreme Court for a special tour. We got to see the conf. rooms, their law library and Dad got to shoot hoops on the HIGHEST court in the land.
The basketball court directly above the Supreme Court!

baby faces

I found the baby pictures of Andrew to compare with Kaili's picture! Does anyone see a similarity?
Sorry I don't know how to manipulate the pictures better-Jenni: help!!--- Mom- you've got it... we'll chat about aligning the pictures (I'm still working on getting that figured out as well).

(Andrew- above)

(Kaili-above)

March

Long time no blog! Jenni has encouraged me to post but I always get frustrated and give up. So, here I am trying again! We went to Utah for Kaili's blessing March 1st and Kevin, Kristen and Madi came too. It was a lot of fun to see my grandbabies - just always too short on time!

Swimmin' Skeens

We figured we better start the girls swimming early! They loved it!

Valentines in the HEART of NYC

Haha... Jenni, me, somehow earned the title as the official "tour guide" for our trip to Manhattan. Valentines day, we spent the morning with the Skeens in NJ and then all rode together with Rich, Mirit and Asher into the city. There we found a great place to enjoy some famous NY pizza... it was one of Rich's fav. places near 12th street (they use to live there). The fresh basil leaves atop the thin-crust and fresh mozzerella pizza was fantastic (even for one who is selective about her pizza- hmhm).
Rich sent us in the right direction to catch subway and we made our way toward the Staten Island Ferry. Along the way saw...

• Ground Zero
• Wall Street and the NY Stock Exchange
• Statue of GW where he was sworn is a Pres. of the United States

Then made our way to...

• the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Is. Ferry
  

Then uptown to...

• Central Park (southwest and east end) with the ice rink--- it was dark
• 5th Avenue- windows and St. Patricks
• Rockafeller Center
• Maxi's for dinner on 42nd (?)... great Valentines Dinner to end the day!
  
• Revisited part of Time Square
• Port Authority to catch the bus to NJ

**Sorry No Pictures... Maea was all over it on Saturday***

A True Presidents Day

We spent Pres. Day at George Washington's Estate, Mount Vernon, in Virginia overlooking the Potomac River!!! Washington's Bday lands on the 22, so we were a few days off being there on his official birthday, but it was a very appropriate location to celebrate the holiday!
One of Mom's highlights was the marching band. A short video clip shows part of the parade that took place in front of Washington's home. Mom will share more about it... In short, it was a very nice afternoon...

After Mount Vernon, we ran into heavy traffic going through Old Town Alexandria. Recognizing that the reason was the local parade, we stopped to find Mom another marching band... We did not see the line early enough to catch the real band, but we did get to see come colonial era costumes worn by men who apparently reenact various parts of the revolutionary war period. The video below is take just after they broke out into a mini dramatic play... didn't catch it, but you can see their costumes, which fit really well into the town with its restored homes.

Snowed In

Happy to be home in a warm home with most the kids home, minus Andrew and Rachel (in Hawaii with her family this year). We're snowed in... and yes, we are still in Bellevue... this is very unusual for the Seattle area, but we'll enjoy the white Christmas! It keeps coming down.

Remodel Update!

With the tenuous economy and our thrifty roots, we've decided to take on a huge remodeling project on ourselves!
I know it is daring...we swore we wouldn't leave it unfinished, we set a goal, a reasonable deadline, used a carefully thought out budget and we went to work!



I don't have a picture ready so I'll have to keep you all in suspense until your next visit!
Oh, I guess I forgot to say what the huge undertaking was...




our bedroom in no longer the Family Room, we moved the computer out!

some things are more difficult for us.... baby steps!

Cute Grandbaby!

We have the cutest grandbaby and we can't stand it that she lives in Boise! Steve has Kristen send a picture to his phone everyday and then he sends it to the computer so I can see it! If it gets late in the day and he hasn't got his daily dose, he calls me and asks if I've heard from her yet for the day!! We're under her spell!!!

FLYIN' UP HIGH

State Diving 2008! Maraea just wrapped up her high school diving career this weekend with a 5th place finish in the 4A Dive championships at KCAC. She has had a great run in high school, qualifying for state each year. This year Newport moved up from 3A to 4A which made the state competition a little tougher but she still did well! Now its off to consider college possibilities!

Just call me Juniper Exterminator!

An addition from the Miller Branch:

I just wanted to show off to Momma's crew something new at their casa.

While Kevin and I were there visiting last month we decided we wanted to tame the unruly junipers. I don't know what is wrong with me, but I have had an issue with those junipers for years, and when they are so overgrown it makes me particularly crazy. So, we went out to trim them and ended up convincing mom that they just needed to go. There are many more to remove, but I think we are half way there. (Back in my high school days I got obsessive one night and removed a big clump of them while mom and dad were gone.) Before taking out the whole bush we were a little concerned about leaving the house so "naked" but I think in comparison, naked is all right. And, last time I went on a rampage, mom recovered well and planted a really cute garden spot where the juniper had previously covered. [Side note, please Aunt Toni, don't start screening your calls. You are our master gardener and we all know mom is always looking for an excuse to get you to Washington.]

So, without further adieu, the Before and After Photos:

Before:

After:

In addition to that great adventure, we also had a great time in Seattle going to Pike's Place (yes, again...but Kevin hadn't been since high school). And, we pretended to go to a pumpkin patch. For the Fruit Stand, I mean Pumpkin Patch adventure, Brian and his girlfriend Sophia joined us and they brought her son, Skylar for a photo op too. We had a ton of fun taking pictures of the cute little ones.
It's always fun to be with family, even if they are just using you to get to your child. We had a great time, and everyone enjoyed loving on Madi.

Genealogy... Mom is doing it... Our Genealogy!

Mom has been so diligent at working on the family genealogy... Adding multiple names to the family tree by the week! She is so good at this and does it so quietly. If you have a minute, I would encourage you to take a look at her progress... Family Search is a great place to check it out. You'll want to register as a new user on the new Family Search website (click here). You'll need your membership number and confirmation date, which can be found on your temple recommend or with a member of your bishopric or a clerk. Jump on it, because it's pretty amazing!

Also, all males of the family, by blood or marriage... Mom would gladly take you up on helping complete temple work for some of our male family members who she has researched recently! Give her a call.

I love family history but have not done nearly enough to even begin to be able to support Mom in her incredible efforts... Maybe we can inspire each other more in this way. What an incredible heritage we have to hold to as Skeens and Behrens!

Patience

I dubb mama and papa, bri and maea official blogging mastas and mastesses for this family blog now that we are not connected at the hip as of late.
In their honor, though, I must say that PATIENCE is a virtue mom and dad teach me a lot about. In my most recent path-changing adventures, I am again learning that there is much need for greater patience and TRUST in Heavenly Father.
Remembering always that He will never support us and lead us to do one thing and then leave us high and dry in the details is so important. "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." He will not change from that which He says or does. This is why we are invited to, "Cast not away, therefore [our] confidence..." (Heb. 10). We will never realize fully what our Father has in store for us if we do not hold on with patience, heeding the enticings of the Holy Spirit, trusting and sincerely seeking and living that we can be close to the Spirit in decisions, small and large... The moment that we choose to just settle when it "doesn't feel quite right," is the moment that we compromise the greatness of the gift, or "reward," that He so badly wants to give us... Good things often just TAKE TIME... There is no formula, as far as I am aware, to the amount of time one reward takes to receive or another, and I don't think Father in Heaven doesn't see it that way... Time is often of great importance to us, but it is the experience (timeless) that is of great importance to Him and can become more important to us. He loves us so much that He not only wants to reward us with finding the right place to be, the right person(s) to be with, and the right tools to obtain, but he wants to reward us with BECOMING like Him- receiving Christlike attributes... Gaining experience, and obtaining joy that is not temporary but lasting, even eternal as we continue to seek and obtain true rewards.
So, my point is, learning PATIENCE can be very rewarding, both temporally and spiritually. Seeking this virtue can only bring us to a realization of greater joy and peace... And who doesn't need more joy and peace today?
Well... I have gone on much longer than I planned. Still learning! Press on!
I will connect this more completely to specific experiences in a later email or posting of some sort.

Sleepless in Seattle...really!

July 08 An epic adventure! Teri's cousin, Tomato, from Hawaii, came to visit for a week. Sis. Toni came from CA to join in the fun! We've never had time to chill as 'girlfriends' before - no schedule, no funeral, nothing... We did our best to show her the best of Washington! A ferry ride, Pikes Place, Ballard locks, Lincoln Square for dinner and a movie - "Mama Mia" One of her favorite outings was the trip out on the boat, we cruised to Ivar's on Lake Washington for dinner, looked at the homes on the lake then ended the evening with a beautiful sunset in the west and a big full orange moon rising in the east. As icing on the cake, we were entertained by Jenni skiing and Brian wake boarding as the moon shone behind them. A glorious evening! It was a lot of fun, Tomato (she's 60something) ran us ragged - she has more energy than any of us and wakes up cheerful, too! She grew up with our MOM so it was fun to hear Chang family stories and get to know each other better. We did a little genealogy, she is better at 'who's who' among the Aea Chang side, she knew most of them!!
A great week, we must do it again soon!

Interviews in VA

Seeking to start her first teaching job in a new place for adventure, Jenni went to Virginia, near WA D.C. for interviews. It was a great trip, and she had some great interviews and was offered math teaching positions in middle school. Choosing to take an offer south of Arlington, she will be only about 20 minutes from D.C. working with students who have not excelled in their past math classes. She is very excited for the challenges ahead and feels great about the decision. Currently she is waiting to hear back about Licensure details as Utah's teaching licenses are different from Virginia's.
While in Virginia, she stayed with a very nice family whom she got connected with through people she associates with in church in Bellevue. The family was so welcoming and she feels blessed now to have another family to be close to while she is out there away from her family.
One of the highlights of the trip was forging her way through the streets of DC to visit a few of the monuments and then making a trip to Maryland to the DC temple in Kensington. She's a little more comfortable with the different traffic patterns and culture there but still has more to learn... Hahaha.

Madison- Baby Blessing

Celebrating July 4th on the road to Boise and then with Kristen and Kevin made for a unique Independence day! The ride was very nice considering we had Joey along for the ride... Frequent stops were refreshing though it stretched out the travel time a fair amount. Nonetheless, we made it, and we were welcomed into the Brookings home by the new family of three! Madison is so darling, and we always love seeing Kristen and Kevin, thus it was well worth the drive. Sunday, Andrew and Rachel joined us in Boise and we all go to be at church with Craig and Marvel and other family to witness Madison being blessed in sacrament meeting. It was sweet. Really.
So, we proudly and joyously welcome, one more time, Madison Naomi Miller! She has two fabulous parents and a great life of experience ahead of her!
Sad to say good bye, though only temporary, to our siblings/kids and niece/granddaughter; weary to hit to road home... Dad and Mom get major props for the safe return in the wee hours of the morning!

Father's Day Delights

This morning Dad enjoyed our family's traditional "breakfast in bed," although he had already been out of bed... we were a little late in rising. After church and Sunday naps, Mom made some delicious ribs (with the help of Brian) and baked potatoes. Then came some fun with Joey outside followed by enjoying one of Dad's favorite desserts... Strawberry rhubarb pie and vanilla ice cream (pic and notes about the pie recipe below). Happy Father's Day to a super special Dad! We love you!
The pie recipe came from America's Test Kitchen cookbook. It turned out beautifully, as you can see, and we enjoyed the taste, recognizing it could be better... It could have used a little less rhubarb and more strawberries than the recipe calls for. The rhubarb we used came from our neighbor's garden (they are so nice to share with us)... I may have picked some stalks that were slightly too ripe and therefore bitter. The crust recipe was the best used yet, and it baked really well (following the directions on the recipe).

Joey...missing his mom

Joseph Carlos, "Joey," misses his mom. He's enjoyed some great walks with his sissy as well as sprints while Dad and Sissy play catch in the backyard, not to mention a deodorizing bath with his other sissy. Nevertheless, he just misses his mom. One of the highlights this week was going on an adventure walk with Dad and Sissy and then walking home from the trail, thinking that he saw mom's car over and over and over again... He even attempted to chase a few!

Moses Lake Triathalon

Pictures, Compliment's of Dad's pro-phone Photography! He saved the day!

Adventure #2... The goggles and suit, running shoes and biking spandis were packed, and miraculously (really) Dulce's derailleurs were tuned up and happy to go. After some kinks were worked through in our departure, Dad and I took off in "Bu," the Malibu, and made our way to Moses Lake (Eastern Washington). Sleep was short and sweet at the hotel as we found ourselves pulling in just before 1am. Prayers were answered as we woke to a dry and sunny Saturday morning. Blue Heron park was less than 10 minutes away, which made for a speedy arrival at the stare line, a dock on Moses Lake.
I was one of 3 non-wet-suit swimmers awaiting the race to start. The start was sweet, pulling my way to the front part of the swimming pack, soon opening up to enjoy a full stroke to get me going more fluently. Lack of water (hydration) and water that was at most 65 degrees Fahrenheit soon led to a panicking Jenni... yes, swimming was my primary sport... this was strange enough that I chose not to risk it and made my way to the shore. There I sat for a moment before I ran back to the bike start (feeling very sheepish for dropping out of the swim!), dried off, hydrated and suited up for the biking stretch after reporting that I dropped out to an official. So as to not throw of fellow racers from my heat, I awaited their departure from the water and joined in the rest of the race...
Biking went well... head winds made the downhill feel oddly tough, but it sure felt good to pass up a few, not to mention being passed up by plenty of cyclists. I did not realize how strong the wind was until it was on my side for the return. I reached a max speed of 68 mph, according to my speedometer! (Did I mention that I installed in incorrectly so it was reading about twice my actual speed?) Pulling ahead of two bikers at the tail end of the ride gave me a little extra time to sort through my transition, get my running shoes on an take off down by the river along the paved running path.
6.2 miles of running along Moses Lake made for a great race... While it was not trail running like I get at home, I got to meet an inspiring woman in her forties who is an Iron man Athlete competing in this race for training purposes. She is originally from Adelaide, Australia and currently is a practicing pediatrician in Vancouver B.C. We kept each other company and made the last stretch of the race quite enjoyable. It was women like her and many others in their 40's and 50's who assure me that I have better races ahead!
While I am not pleased with my performance and take full responsibility for not preparing properly for the swimming part, it was a great experience- one that I am grateful for! It was even better to have Dad there cheering me on a taking pics on his Blackberry phone. He was a great support despite that fact that I completely threw him off when I walked up to him unexpectedly dressed in my bike clothes rather than running out of the water in my swim suit and goggles!
More adventures ahead! Thanks again for my supportive Dad and Mom (she would have been there too had she not been tending to her new granddaughter)!!!