Michelle and Mannie (GA)
Member Since 2009
Good Morning LL!! 
(Ahhhhhh.... elixir! Thanks Elsa), and Happy Catmint Caturday!
LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! Paw Prints Pizza is open and ready for business! They are running a Caturday Catnip special today, in honor of Catmint Caturday - lots of nip in those pies!
They have even used their signature nip cheese. 
Best order early! OOOOOOOOO! They have perfected their NY Style hot dog pies. MAJOR YUM!!!! Try one, you'll see! Just order the Mannie and Stu Special! so. well. anyways. Coffee time! 
For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and Double shot espressos, with beans from deep within the mountain slopes of Africa, AND.... for all my Mocha fans: a venti quad peppermint white chocolate mocha, with peppermint infused whip, garnished with peppermint candy chips and white chocolate shavings... It is my bean's fave, and a Caturday tradition! SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of peppermint and vanilla and chocolate and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, sprinkled with peppermint chips and a chocolate caramel drizzle.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good!
I hope everyone had a great week.
The days with the boys have been good ones! We have been very busy, that part of life has not changed. Will it ever? ;-) NOPE!! 
It has been an interesting week! We have been swimming, when we could! It is the time of year when pools close for maintenance and cleaning, so that has limited us. Been busy indoors mostly, as the weather has been rather wet, with lots of heavy rainfall, and cold, at least for Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday our warmer temps were back, with awesome sunny winter afternoons. The boys were both feeling great again 
so off we went. We have been to parks, lakes and rivers, to museums and science centers. It has been awesome to be busy again. Life is good! 
Thursday and Friday Night were our only swimming day this past week.
Our regulate pool was clsoed all week for cleaning, and Nicholas's fave FR night pool just does not have any opens swim times in the morning.... bummer! A smaller pool in Mountlake Terrace was open with times that would work for William, so he was able to swim on Thursday while Nicholas was in school. He seemed to like it ok, but it just doesn't have all the fun "toys" that his regular pool does. I had thought of taking Nicholas there on Wednesday, but knew he'd be bored after a few minutes, as there is no deep water (only a shallow beach type area) access for him, no slides, etc.... We hope to be back to our regular swimming schedule next Monday. YAY!!! Nicholas has really missed the pool! Nicholas continues to be our energizer fishie. That I think will never change, he just has so much fun with it all. He continues to LOVE the new pool we started going to a last summer, in Snohomish. I was so grateful that they are open, no closures set for them. It really is a wonderful experience, and he can do alot of the things he likes there: like the slides, the lazy river, and deep water jumping and diving. The big high in the sky tube water slide is now his favorite thing to do, and it is our main focus when we go to this pool. OMG! 
. Now that is all he wants to do when he goes there. I do have to admit: it is FUN! The guards there continue to let him do that slide on his own, something that has made him very happy. We all just love pool days, and are grateful that we have the pools and the time to be able to do this. GO NICK! GO WILLIAM! 
Nicholas still looks forward to our after swim Friday Night Burger Feast
I know I write this each week, but that is just so fun: burgers and fries, just him and me, with lots of fun stories. He was so happy to see that burger and fries combo show up, just like always. Somehow I think that is part of the magic of Friday night swims: that he gets burgers etc after his swim. :razz: He still makes a point of making sure I have packed it all, and asked when I met him in the morning. GREAT TIME! LOVE Friday nights. Last night, well every Friday night, Nicholas told me it was his favorite night of the week, that this day was the best day ever. Me too little man, me too!
and..... still no hiking for me this week! Bummer! Weather has played a huge role. We have had heavy rains, rivers are at flood stage, avalanche warnings are in all the mountains, so... I've stayed put. But the time with the boys was a great offset, and we did make it out as much as we could, so I remain content. :razz: I can during post hike season do the local trails here several times over, and make a decent distance hike out of it all. The local trails here just never disappoints. Life continues to be good. I hope once the busy-ness that comes with holidays is complete that more time will open up for more hiking on my off days.
Monday and Tuesday found me doing local hikes, when I could.... It was so WET here, the rains simply did not stop for two days.
I spent what time I could, with getting SOAKED at my usual haunt, Meadowdale, taking in what can be a great woods hike. We did get a short break on Tuesday, even a SMALL spot of sun, so off I went to explore. Tuesday morning I also met up with my son, Anthony, for breakfast. We meet every other week for some great food at a family type pancake house, and catch up on the latest happenings. Bug has a vet appointment later that day, with his Cardiologist, for his annual recheck, and echo, to make sure he is still doing great. HE IS!
Wednesday I was back with the boys.
Although we had decent temps, the fog had also returned, primarily in the mornings. So I thought we'd try a new children's museum that I had heard about, but have not yet visited: The Imagine Children's Museum, in Everett. Plans were to stay in, then outdoors for the afternoon. That museum was incredible! both boys loved it, and neither of them wanted to go home. They have the most creative interactive water play areas, a great tree-house, etc etc etc, as well an a really great outdoor playground equipment set up on the roof. LOVED the roof set up. The fog was still with us at that time, noon, but we played up there anyways. Imagine children's Museum in Everett ROCKS! Wow, that was impressive, and will now be in our regular lineup of places to go when the weather is awful. Both boys just loved the place. After much discussion, we went to Juanita Beach for the afternoon. Predictions were for sun and 55, which ended up being the case. There is a creek that runs along the edge of the park area, for all intents and purposes it is just like being out on a river. Sure it's urban, but the boys just see a river, and were so happy to be on one. They did all the tings they would do in the wilderness on a river, had the best of times. We fed the ducks, played on the beach, wow, nice time!
Thursday was a school day for Nicholas. He has been so glad to be back, after two weeks off for Winter Break. While he was in school, William went to the pool. The weather was much the same as Wednesday, with a foggy morning, and a cleared afternoon. Though Thursday the temps were a bit cooler. I have wanted to take the boys to a new park I visited a few weeks ago, Silver Lake, which is close to my house, maybe 20 minutes away. It has a beach area, similar to Juanita Beach, and also a great playground area. So... off we went! Boys had a great time. It was cold though, think it hoovered around 41 when we were there. The playground stuff is in the shade, so that was a bit chilly, though they didn't seem to mind. Beach time was fun, and warmer, as it is in the sun, and both boys played till they dropped. There was this little runoff "creek" that ran from the top of the beach to the water. They constructed and reconstructed that, built onto it, dredged it, added a bridge, and made sure it flowed to the water. We threw a ton of rocks, and waded in some, played with the ducks some too. Well William did. he had his boots on, he knew it, and made sure he got in it to wade and throw his rocks from there. I had to haul, him out a dozen times, yet he still flooded his boots. FUN stuff. So... Looks like we can add this on to the OK to go to list too. It will be a nice summertime alternative for some outdoor beach swimming. HOORAY for Silver Lake!
Friday was a day with Nicholas and William, and was our free day. We were still cool, well even cooler, 36 at 9AM, and all fogged in. We all decided just to make it an indoor type day, and venture out in the afternoon if time allowed. Nicholas wanted to go back to the Pacific Science Center. They both just love that place too. We ended up spending the day there, visited and interacted with all that they offer. They have a tropical butterfly house that really is great. That was a highlight yesterday too. We sat on the edge of a small pond there and watched all these wonderful tropical butterflies fly around his, even had a few land on us too.We never really did make an outdoor adventure after that. They have some interactive water exhibits there, so we ended up spending time with those. Our science center here is a good one, a great chance for the boys to learn tings, discover what makes things do what they do.
Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
The kitties are doing well, and are adjusting to life without Christmas, Christmas trees and shiny decorations. What will Lola do without it.... I fear for my house plants, once again. 
. Bug is doing well too. He has been quite the social kitty over the holidays, spending alot of time with whomever was over for visits, and continues to do so. He had his annual recheck with his cardo vet, to evaluate a reported heart murmur when we adopted him, on Tuesday. He did very well! It was great to hear that his murmur continues to be a soft, low level one, centered around a leaky tricuspid valve. all chambers and walls are of normal size, with normal blood flow in through the other valves. and (!!) No evidence of heart disease. YaHOO! So.... we do not have to go back for a year and a half. AWESOME! Elsa is doing well too. I have been trying a new way to feed her, as she is a grazer, and I have felt for some time that the others are eating what she is leaving to snack on later. Anytime I see her in the kitchen she gets a spoonful of food, an amount I know she will eat in one sitting. This continues to go well! Keep on truckin' Elsa! Things are looking good for out kitties. Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
Have a great Caturday everyone. Sorry this post it late today. Time this morning, and the days, have gotten away from me. At least the shopping and the laundry are done. YAY!!! I hope for some outdoor time later today if the rains Will stop.... Tonight my youngest son's band has a show in Seattle, so off I go for that.
KITTIES!! Remember: BLUE, think GREEN
For fun, and just because Mannie was on my mind this morning, here is a classic Nicholas and Mannie video. It was always my fave, as it is just so indicative of the friendship that these two shared. Nicholas was about 15 months old in the video
ETA: no clue why some of the text is a different color.... it was all the same when I previewed it.
ETA II: Yahoo! Fixed it. Thanks to Wendy who clued me in on it being akin to a link. so.... clicked on the unlink icon, and voila, no more funky text color. SWEET!
(Ahhhhhh.... elixir! Thanks Elsa), and Happy Catmint Caturday!LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! Paw Prints Pizza is open and ready for business! They are running a Caturday Catnip special today, in honor of Catmint Caturday - lots of nip in those pies!
They have even used their signature nip cheese. Best order early! OOOOOOOOO! They have perfected their NY Style hot dog pies. MAJOR YUM!!!! Try one, you'll see! Just order the Mannie and Stu Special! so. well. anyways. Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and Double shot espressos, with beans from deep within the mountain slopes of Africa, AND.... for all my Mocha fans: a venti quad peppermint white chocolate mocha, with peppermint infused whip, garnished with peppermint candy chips and white chocolate shavings... It is my bean's fave, and a Caturday tradition! SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of peppermint and vanilla and chocolate and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, sprinkled with peppermint chips and a chocolate caramel drizzle.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good! I hope everyone had a great week.
The days with the boys have been good ones! We have been very busy, that part of life has not changed. Will it ever? ;-) NOPE!! It has been an interesting week! We have been swimming, when we could! It is the time of year when pools close for maintenance and cleaning, so that has limited us. Been busy indoors mostly, as the weather has been rather wet, with lots of heavy rainfall, and cold, at least for Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday our warmer temps were back, with awesome sunny winter afternoons. The boys were both feeling great again so off we went. We have been to parks, lakes and rivers, to museums and science centers. It has been awesome to be busy again. Life is good! Thursday and Friday Night were our only swimming day this past week.
Our regulate pool was clsoed all week for cleaning, and Nicholas's fave FR night pool just does not have any opens swim times in the morning.... bummer! A smaller pool in Mountlake Terrace was open with times that would work for William, so he was able to swim on Thursday while Nicholas was in school. He seemed to like it ok, but it just doesn't have all the fun "toys" that his regular pool does. I had thought of taking Nicholas there on Wednesday, but knew he'd be bored after a few minutes, as there is no deep water (only a shallow beach type area) access for him, no slides, etc.... We hope to be back to our regular swimming schedule next Monday. YAY!!! Nicholas has really missed the pool! Nicholas continues to be our energizer fishie. That I think will never change, he just has so much fun with it all. He continues to LOVE the new pool we started going to a last summer, in Snohomish. I was so grateful that they are open, no closures set for them. It really is a wonderful experience, and he can do alot of the things he likes there: like the slides, the lazy river, and deep water jumping and diving. The big high in the sky tube water slide is now his favorite thing to do, and it is our main focus when we go to this pool. OMG! . Now that is all he wants to do when he goes there. I do have to admit: it is FUN! The guards there continue to let him do that slide on his own, something that has made him very happy. We all just love pool days, and are grateful that we have the pools and the time to be able to do this. GO NICK! GO WILLIAM! Nicholas still looks forward to our after swim Friday Night Burger Feast
I know I write this each week, but that is just so fun: burgers and fries, just him and me, with lots of fun stories. He was so happy to see that burger and fries combo show up, just like always. Somehow I think that is part of the magic of Friday night swims: that he gets burgers etc after his swim. :razz: He still makes a point of making sure I have packed it all, and asked when I met him in the morning. GREAT TIME! LOVE Friday nights. Last night, well every Friday night, Nicholas told me it was his favorite night of the week, that this day was the best day ever. Me too little man, me too! and..... still no hiking for me this week! Bummer! Weather has played a huge role. We have had heavy rains, rivers are at flood stage, avalanche warnings are in all the mountains, so... I've stayed put. But the time with the boys was a great offset, and we did make it out as much as we could, so I remain content. :razz: I can during post hike season do the local trails here several times over, and make a decent distance hike out of it all. The local trails here just never disappoints. Life continues to be good. I hope once the busy-ness that comes with holidays is complete that more time will open up for more hiking on my off days.
Monday and Tuesday found me doing local hikes, when I could.... It was so WET here, the rains simply did not stop for two days.
I spent what time I could, with getting SOAKED at my usual haunt, Meadowdale, taking in what can be a great woods hike. We did get a short break on Tuesday, even a SMALL spot of sun, so off I went to explore. Tuesday morning I also met up with my son, Anthony, for breakfast. We meet every other week for some great food at a family type pancake house, and catch up on the latest happenings. Bug has a vet appointment later that day, with his Cardiologist, for his annual recheck, and echo, to make sure he is still doing great. HE IS! Wednesday I was back with the boys.
Although we had decent temps, the fog had also returned, primarily in the mornings. So I thought we'd try a new children's museum that I had heard about, but have not yet visited: The Imagine Children's Museum, in Everett. Plans were to stay in, then outdoors for the afternoon. That museum was incredible! both boys loved it, and neither of them wanted to go home. They have the most creative interactive water play areas, a great tree-house, etc etc etc, as well an a really great outdoor playground equipment set up on the roof. LOVED the roof set up. The fog was still with us at that time, noon, but we played up there anyways. Imagine children's Museum in Everett ROCKS! Wow, that was impressive, and will now be in our regular lineup of places to go when the weather is awful. Both boys just loved the place. After much discussion, we went to Juanita Beach for the afternoon. Predictions were for sun and 55, which ended up being the case. There is a creek that runs along the edge of the park area, for all intents and purposes it is just like being out on a river. Sure it's urban, but the boys just see a river, and were so happy to be on one. They did all the tings they would do in the wilderness on a river, had the best of times. We fed the ducks, played on the beach, wow, nice time!Thursday was a school day for Nicholas. He has been so glad to be back, after two weeks off for Winter Break. While he was in school, William went to the pool. The weather was much the same as Wednesday, with a foggy morning, and a cleared afternoon. Though Thursday the temps were a bit cooler. I have wanted to take the boys to a new park I visited a few weeks ago, Silver Lake, which is close to my house, maybe 20 minutes away. It has a beach area, similar to Juanita Beach, and also a great playground area. So... off we went!
Boys had a great time. It was cold though, think it hoovered around 41 when we were there. The playground stuff is in the shade, so that was a bit chilly, though they didn't seem to mind. Beach time was fun, and warmer, as it is in the sun, and both boys played till they dropped. There was this little runoff "creek" that ran from the top of the beach to the water. They constructed and reconstructed that, built onto it, dredged it, added a bridge, and made sure it flowed to the water. We threw a ton of rocks, and waded in some, played with the ducks some too. Well William did. he had his boots on, he knew it, and made sure he got in it to wade and throw his rocks from there. I had to haul, him out a dozen times, yet he still flooded his boots. FUN stuff. So... Looks like we can add this on to the OK to go to list too. It will be a nice summertime alternative for some outdoor beach swimming. HOORAY for Silver Lake!Friday was a day with Nicholas and William, and was our free day. We were still cool, well even cooler, 36 at 9AM, and all fogged in. We all decided just to make it an indoor type day, and venture out in the afternoon if time allowed. Nicholas wanted to go back to the Pacific Science Center. They both just love that place too. We ended up spending the day there, visited and interacted with all that they offer. They have a tropical butterfly house that really is great. That was a highlight yesterday too. We sat on the edge of a small pond there and watched all these wonderful tropical butterflies fly around his, even had a few land on us too.
We never really did make an outdoor adventure after that. They have some interactive water exhibits there, so we ended up spending time with those. Our science center here is a good one, a great chance for the boys to learn tings, discover what makes things do what they do.Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
The kitties are doing well, and are adjusting to life without Christmas, Christmas trees and shiny decorations. What will Lola do without it.... I fear for my house plants, once again. . Bug is doing well too. He has been quite the social kitty over the holidays, spending alot of time with whomever was over for visits, and continues to do so. He had his annual recheck with his cardo vet, to evaluate a reported heart murmur when we adopted him, on Tuesday. He did very well! It was great to hear that his murmur continues to be a soft, low level one, centered around a leaky tricuspid valve. all chambers and walls are of normal size, with normal blood flow in through the other valves. and (!!) No evidence of heart disease. YaHOO! So.... we do not have to go back for a year and a half. AWESOME! Elsa is doing well too. I have been trying a new way to feed her, as she is a grazer, and I have felt for some time that the others are eating what she is leaving to snack on later. Anytime I see her in the kitchen she gets a spoonful of food, an amount I know she will eat in one sitting. This continues to go well! Keep on truckin' Elsa! Things are looking good for out kitties. Normalcy in MusketeerVille! Have a great Caturday everyone. Sorry this post it late today. Time this morning, and the days, have gotten away from me. At least the shopping and the laundry are done. YAY!!! I hope for some outdoor time later today if the rains Will stop.... Tonight my youngest son's band has a show in Seattle, so off I go for that.
KITTIES!! Remember: BLUE, think GREEN
For fun, and just because Mannie was on my mind this morning, here is a classic Nicholas and Mannie video. It was always my fave, as it is just so indicative of the friendship that these two shared. Nicholas was about 15 months old in the video
ETA: no clue why some of the text is a different color....
it was all the same when I previewed it. ETA II: Yahoo! Fixed it. Thanks to Wendy who clued me in on it being akin to a link. so.... clicked on the unlink icon, and voila, no more funky text color. SWEET!
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She's still up the posts and over the roofs, but liking to sit and cuddle a bit more too.