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. They are still in the Christmas spirit. All those pies look like Christmas trees!
So. 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 fav! 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.... AND (!!!) Since it is the holiday season, we have EGGNOG! Mannie's secret recipe! 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!! 

What a BUSY week! We have been swimming, duh! Been busy indoors mostly, as the weather has been rather wet, with lots of heavy rainfall. We have seen some sun, had some gorgeous sunsets, but that sun shows so late in the day that we just haven't been able to take advantage of that, and have outdoor days. Family time has taken precedence this week, but we still did manage a trip to the Science Center, Christmas festivities have been wonderful. YAY! The Christmas tree is still standing despite Lola's efforts to have it in the horizontal position again.
Every morning when I get up there are ornaments on the floor, and I know she has been busy. 
Monday and Friday Night were our swimming days this week, just a couple of days due to pool closures for Christmas. :shock: Nicholas and William both swam on Monday, and Friday nght. 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. 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.
We had a family swim night on Friday, with both mom and dad being able to go. AWESOME FUN!!! Nicholas was thrilled to have mom, dad, and grammie to go slide with him. I lost count on the number of times we went down that thing. I kept hearing "again. Again! AGAIN!!!!!!!!" There are a couple of videos in the photo album that kinda show what it was like to go down that slide. When his dad was up topside on one of the runs, he asked the guard if Nicholas could go on his own. WHOA! They let him, so off he went on his own. YIPPIE! That was so awesome for him. William has had a great week in the pool too. He also LOVES the Snohomish Pool. Well I really think he likes any pool he goes too.
HE was so focused on the toddler beach area, the geysers, and the small slide. He and his mom found the water cannons on the top of the platform. That became a new fave for him. HE had such FUN! This pool has become our new Friday pool. It is a ways away so it does add to our commuting time, but we all agree that it is very much worth the effort and time spent. He continues to make lots of new friends when he goes. it's fun to see him connect up with kids when he gets there..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! It was even more fun last night,a s William became part of the tradition. Seems he likes burgers and fries too! well, duh....
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..... no hiking for me this week! Bummer! But the time with the boys was a great offset, and we did make it out as much as we could, and had Christmas together, so I remain content. :razz: The weather has turned rainy at any rate, with lots of snow now in the mountains. I can during post hike season do the local trails here several times over, and make a decent distance hike out of it all. Meadowdale just never disappoints. Life continues to be good. I hope once the busy-ness that comes with Christmas is complete that more time will open up for more hiking on my off days.
Monday was our joint swim day with the other Grandparents. It was a very good session this time for Nicholas and William. Both boys had an awesome time. I was able, after our swim session to head to Seattle to visit y friend for coffee and a little holiday get together time. Seattle looks great, all decked out in holiday trimmings.
Tuesday was my more of "OK.... let's get this Christmas thing going and get dinner fixin's bought and organized" day. So I did. Phew ! That was exhausting, but all was set, and ready to go. WHAT A RELIEF! Of Course Lola had to help.... She loves boxes and paper and unattended food on the counter.
I was also able to spend some time for Breakfast with my son Anthony before the crazy holiday stuff too over. What a great time! We continue to go to the same restaurant, still as good as ever!
Wednesday was our free day, and both boys were feeling much better after being sick last week, good enough for an out and about.
Once again the weather was not our friend, what rains! and winds.... as an iffy weather day, rains on and off most of the day, with temps barely in the 40's, and way too cold for the boys to be on the river, especially after being sick. We miss the rivers! The rivers are also running very high too we elected to go to the Pacific Science Center. ALWAYS a favorite of the boys. It was a morning of science, and exploring the Ripley's Believe it or Not Section of eh center. That exhibit is a traveling one, and will e leaving us this week, so good that we spent some time there. The rest of the day was spent a Grannie's, for just laid back Christmas Eve time together. We had a great time just hanging out. Eventually nap time won out, both the boys were so tired after an adventurous day. Not to mention that is was Christmas Eve, and the excitement was on overload. After all Santa was coming, as was Nicholas's 4th Birthday.
ChristmasDay was spent at Grammie's. We all had such a nice time, just being a family. It isn't often that we can get all of us under one roof at one time.
There was food a-plenty, a tree with presents, and Lola to entertain us. Even Bug stayed upstairs with us. Elsa of course was nowhere to be seen, pretty normal for her when the house is on overload. Gift giving was pure bedlam
, but ever so fun. The boys loved it all, and were so grateful for all they received. Such a nice family time we had. I hope the spirit of this day remains with us for the remainder of the year.
https://plus.google.com/photos/107513738821497373212/albums/6097532095080259729?authkey=CPme94Pn5ZiNZQ
Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
The kitties are all doing well. Not too much new with them... Lola continues to rule the Christmas tree, and it is still standing. I did get another video, that can e found in teh Christmas photo album. She seems to like taking over in the middle of the night. Every morning I find a few ornaments scattered at the base of the tree. GO LOLA! Christmas day she got to show off her tree climbing skills. She SO LOVES an audience! What better opportunist for that than her fave tree.
Bug is doing well too. I had a call the other day from his cardiologist, wondering how he was doing. Seems it is time for his annual re-eval. When I adopted him it was reported by PAWS that he had a level 4 heart murmur. We tested that a few months after his adoption, and the cardio vet reviewed it as a mild level 1, no concerns. But he did want to recheck in a year, as there can be many factors that influence a cardio workup, and in his opinion it is best to recheck annually in case something should chnage, So Bug will go in for that on January 6. Elsa is still holding her own, at 18.5 years. My cute feisty old senior gal. She has slowed some, but is still doing her ting. I have changed how I feed her, as she is a grazer, and I believe, well know that Lola and Bug are eating much of the food I leave out for her. So anytime I see her in the kitchen, or up and about I give her a teaspoon of food. She will eat that in one sitting, and I feel better knowing she is getting the food allotment she needs. She has lost weight over the past couple of years, so we hope to hold her steady going forward. Keep on truckin' Elsa! 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. e are having a family birthday party for Nicholas today. Hie birthday was on Christmas day, but we thought we'd try and have a separate party for him today. it is so chaotic on Christmas that his birthday gets lost in all that is going on. So.... today we celebrate. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICHOLAS!
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN

(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. I hope everyone had a great week.
Monday and Friday Night were our swimming days this week, just a couple of days due to pool closures for Christmas. :shock: Nicholas and William both swam on Monday, and Friday nght. 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. 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!

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! It was even more fun last night,a s William became part of the tradition. Seems he likes burgers and fries too! well, duh.... and..... no hiking for me this week! Bummer! But the time with the boys was a great offset, and we did make it out as much as we could, and had Christmas together, so I remain content. :razz: The weather has turned rainy at any rate, with lots of snow now in the mountains. I can during post hike season do the local trails here several times over, and make a decent distance hike out of it all. Meadowdale just never disappoints. Life continues to be good. I hope once the busy-ness that comes with Christmas is complete that more time will open up for more hiking on my off days.
Monday was our joint swim day with the other Grandparents. It was a very good session this time for Nicholas and William. Both boys had an awesome time. I was able, after our swim session to head to Seattle to visit y friend for coffee and a little holiday get together time. Seattle looks great, all decked out in holiday trimmings.
Tuesday was my more of "OK.... let's get this Christmas thing going and get dinner fixin's bought and organized" day. So I did. Phew ! That was exhausting, but all was set, and ready to go. WHAT A RELIEF! Of Course Lola had to help.... She loves boxes and paper and unattended food on the counter.
Wednesday was our free day, and both boys were feeling much better after being sick last week, good enough for an out and about.
ChristmasDay was spent at Grammie's. We all had such a nice time, just being a family. It isn't often that we can get all of us under one roof at one time.
https://plus.google.com/photos/107513738821497373212/albums/6097532095080259729?authkey=CPme94Pn5ZiNZQ
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. e are having a family birthday party for Nicholas today. Hie birthday was on Christmas day, but we thought we'd try and have a separate party for him today. it is so chaotic on Christmas that his birthday gets lost in all that is going on. So.... today we celebrate. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICHOLAS!
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN
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too!