Hair cut pucker face

This picture cracks me up every time that I see it. When Hudson is getting his hair cut he has to close his eyes and mouth. But he doesn't just close them he puckers up his entire face to accomplish this task.

My funny boy!

Montana trip July 2008

Hello everyone. We are recovered from our trip to Montana and now I am sending some photos of our trip. We spent 10 days at our friends the Weber's and visited with the "Gang" from our Sea Galley days. There were fun times at the water park and heated games of Pictionary, in which the women ruled the men!, and lots of fun. Matt and I have a fierce rivelry going with this game. I pity those who play with us. The two pictured at the top left are Trouble with a capital T. Cameron and Chloe are two peas in a pod and can keep up with each other until the wee hours of the morning. Evan, Dylan and Hudson had so much fun getting dirty everyday and then cleaning each other up with lots of splashing in the pool.

It isn't hard to see the family resemblance here! Believe it or not this is not a posed photo. These two brothers actually were scratching like apes all by themselves! Gotta love these two! Matt and Mark.

This is Hudson and Zachary waiting patiently for the bowling ball to pop out. This was the most fun part of bowling for these two little guys. They kept an eye out for every ones balls.

Uncle Mark, Evan and Dylan are hamming it up at the water park. We all went to the water park two separate days. It was a huge park with something for every age group and it was only $5 each bucks to get in and spend the whole day! You can't beat that. Chloe and Cameron are enjoying some Dippin' Dots after Chloe successfully completed her challenge by me, two full laps in the Olympic sized pool without stopping but one time. You know me always wanting to continue with the swimming education...

On the 4th we did fireworks at the house for the kids and then we all went to the park for the town display of fireworks which is always great! Here are Cameron, Chloe and Gavin being Charlie's Angels. Where did they even hear about that show?

The kids and I took a LONG day trip up to see my mom's side of the family in Conrand and Dutton. We visited with my Aunt Marilyn and Unlce Vernon first. Aunt Marilyn went to the farm with us, which I haven't been to since before Chloe was born. It was so nice to go there and see it again, made me cry. Brought back all the memories of my grandparents and family and our trips back there for vacations. The barn didn't have quite the same pungent smell like it used to but it was so great to go in and see the kids play in it, just like I used to when I was there age. We also went to visit grandma and grandpa. Chloe and Hudson are the only grand kids named after them. So here is the namesakes with them. After Conrad we went on to Dutton to see my Aunt Judy and Uncle Bob. We had a nice time visiting with them and had some dinner. It has been since Chloe was about 8 months old since we have been to their house. Aunt Judy gave Chloe her very first hair cut on that trip. It was great to catch up on what is happening with all of my cousins and their families and see pictures. Both of their gardens are gorgeous and meticulously maintained.

On our way home from the trip we stopped in Spokane to see my Great Aunt Goof. She is such a character and so incredible! We had lunch with her and caught up on what was happening the her, Cory and Doug and Annie. She is always off on a trip here or there. She poops me out just listening to her itinerary.

Our family photo on July 4th during the fireworks display.

Green Newsletter, July 2008

DOUBLE CLICK ON THIS TO SEE IT LARGER.

There are other articles on my blog about living green and how to garden green also.Scroll down to see them.

Have an awesome summer!

Satisfaction

Obama, McCain Seek to Fix Housing Problems

Obama, McCain Seek to Fix Housing Problems Which candidate would do a better job of handling housing prices?

According to a recent AP-Yahoo News poll, 25 percent of those surveyed said Barack Obama and 17 percent thought John McCain. But nearly 30 percent said neither.

Both Obama and McCain envision the Federal Housing Administration providing new, cheaper mortgages to distressed home owners.Obama wants to create a $10 billion fund to counsel distressed home owners before they slide into foreclosure; help people sell homes they bought but could not afford; and team with state governments, community groups, and lenders to ensure loans can be modified in a timely manner to avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy.

McCain sees a more limited government role. "In some cases, lenders and borrowers alike were caught up in the speculative frenzy that has harmed the housing market," the Arizona senator said. "It is not the responsibility of the American public to spare them from the consequences of their own bad judgment.

"Although most voters think the next president will have a "great deal" or "some" influence over housing prices, there is unlikely to be a quick fix.

"The odds of that are slim to none," says Cal Jillson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University. If the next president can make people more optimistic about the future, "the slow rebuilding of confidence will help to increase home values," he contends.

Real estate market info you may find interesting

Double click on this graph to see where our current sales market is compared to 2006-07, when it peaked.

Here’s where the YOY stats stand for each of the six counties as of June 2008: King - Price: -4.3% Listings: +25.4% Sales: -27.2% MOS: 6.0

Snohomish - Price: -9.0% Listings: +8.1% Sales: -35.0% MOS: 8.0

Pierce - Price: -6.6% Listings: -4.6% Sales: -15.3% MOS: 7.4

Kitsap - Price: -12.0% Listings: +5.3% Sales: -33.1% MOS: 10.3

Thurston - Price: -7.5% Listings: -9.3% Sales: -22.0% MOS: 6.1

Island - Price: -11.8% Listings: +12.1% Sales: -37.2% MOS: 14.6

Skagit - Price: -14.5% Listings: +6.9% Sales: -44.0% MOS: 10.4

Despite the supposed strength of the “core” markets of Seattle and Bellevue in King County, so far Thurston County holds the prize for the smallest decline.

With the numbers we’ve been seeing for the last few months, it is clear that Seattle is not the red-hot market that it was a year ago. What is still not clear though is just where we are in the boom/bust cycle. Many theories have been suggested recently in the comments about how soon Seattle will turn, how extreme the turn will be, etc. I’m curious to know what kind of timeline you expect the Seattle area housing market to follow in the next 5-10 years. Here’s a (very) rough guess: 2006 In most parts of King County appreciation slows to a crawl through the end of the year. The closer to Seattle you get, the more stagnant the appreciation. Near the end of summer and into fall, inventory begins to build slightly. Realtors and newspapers proudly proclaim a "soft landing." 2007 Inventory stacks up at an increasing pace, prices are level in some areas, slightly declining in others. By the end of the year, prices in some areas are approaching 2004 levels. Realtors still in denial. 2008-2010 Prices continue to decline at slightly less than the rate they appreciated in 2001-2005. By summer of 2010, prices are at or near 2002-2003 levels for most areas and holding steady.

Of course, what will really happen depends on so many factors (interest rates, strength of the dollar, foreign investors, lending practices, etc…) that it’s impossible to really predict with any certainty, but that doesn’t stop it from being fun. So what’s your predicted timeline?

Weekend interest rates 7-13-08

Rates are lower again today; that makes 3 out of the last 4 days. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index had 56.6 reading so far for July. Oil is trading at $147 a barrel; up $4.69 from yesterday. Friday's trivia: The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

LOAN PROGRAM RATE FEE

30 Yr Fixed (Conforming) 6.250% 0.125

Conforming/Jumbo Fixed 6.375% 0.000

15 Yr Fixed (Conforming) 5.950% 0.000

Second 8.750% 0.000

Money Matters 7-7-08

Double click to view this larger.

Hudson's 4th birthday, June 28-2008

Hudson's birthday was just fun playing with friends and lots of yummy food. He had a few friends and family members to his house. The kids all played in the pool and hot tub most of the day. Lots of water balloons got filled and tossed. Some to unsuspecting people but it was fun to see the surprised faces. After the party the four of us went to our traditional spot for birthday dinners...Ixtapa. A good day for a 4 year old boy!

My birthday was wonderful

This year for my birthday Pike Place was our destination. Me, my mom, kids and mother-in-law all went down to the Pike Place and ate our way through it. We looked at all of the cool stuff and smelled the beautiful flowers and ate a bunch of good tasting food also. The kids really had fun seeing all of the different sites. It was a sunny day and was fun to down there with all of the people and scents.