Jolly Greetings: Jolly Greetings A “mini bobcat” would have been displayed here instead, but the 12 steps from our sidewalk to our house got in the way
Slide2: The 2006 Prentiss State of the Household reports no less chaos or level of activity than in previous years. Olivia is so much fun now and keeps us on our toes with her antics NorCal and SoCal plane trips OHP turns 1 Paint house AHP & WDP new jobs Landscaping We are here Portland trip San Juan/ Victoria Take #1 San Juan/ Victoria Take #2
This time last year, we laid out our 2006 goals Here is our 2006 performance self-assessment 1=low, 5=exceeds: This time last year, we laid out our 2006 goals Here is our 2006 performance self-assessment 1=low, 5=exceeds 4 Baby-proof the house
Installed 24 yard perimeter corral, 36 timestaking tot locks, couple of gates. Not fully implemented but Olivia is safe and we’re keeping up by chasing after her 4 Complete master bath
Operational in April. Still missing a finish light fixture, medicine cabinet, and vanity stand. Olivia enjoys the coverage of dual showerheads 3.5 Basic landscaping
Weeds and gigantic laurels obliterated. 96 feet of fence installed
Terrain re-graded, terraces installed and many plants in
Clean-up, accessorizing, furniture needed 2/5 Passport for Olivia and go abroad
Document obtained in March
1st attempt to British Columbia failed due to Pacific Northwest big snow storm. Should hit goal on Dec 29th
Spotlight on Olivia: Spotlight on Olivia At press time: age 18 mos, 33 inches, 25.5 lbs, 13 teeth. Big for her age, the adults have built strong muscles from carrying her around!
Firsts
Walked by first birthday (June 9th), swim 5/17, up the stairs on 6/22. Now, runs and climbs on chairs and tables
Excel spreadsheet, May 26th
911 call and EMT visit: Nov 16th. Allergic reaction to cashew butter. Now a Epi-pen club-carrying member
Dressed up as a chicken for Halloween (see picture)
Polyglot of 3 languages
Signs milk, more, eat, up and down (using down for both), book, shower, shoes, help, bird, dog, change (diaper)
First English word “hi”. Nowadays “yeah”
First Chinese word “hao” (means well/good/okay)
Flying
5 roundtrips to CA and saw great grandma Millie 4 times (she’s in Santa Barbara)
Had her own first airplane ticket in September and established frequent flyer account with Alaska Airlines
Olivia visits Alcatraz 1st trip to Bay Area Olivia at Mommy & Daddy’s alma mater Olivia visits Golden Gate Bridge
More about Olivia: More about Olivia Favorites
Food: broccoli, tofu, rice, seaweed, noodles, egg, oranges, black olives (no kidding)
Tunes (any lyrics): Wheels on the Bus, Hokey Pokey, Old McDonald. This is useful for Daddy on painful SR-520 commute when he brings back Olivia from Ah-gong and Ah-ma’s home in Bellevue
Cal songs. Loves the O-L-I-V-I-A spell-out in “Sons of California” and “California Drinking Song”
Thumb, white & green blankies, milk (bottle format)
Hired milkman Blake for weekly delivery of organic whole milk
Spent a lot of time with grandparents: Jack, Sheere, Sally, Gary
Grandma’s wine collection in Lompoc, CA
Wayne and Angel: Wayne and Angel Curiously, Angel and Wayne tend to take new jobs close together
This time, on March 1st , Angel switched product management job from workers compensation to commercial auto at Safeco
Within two weeks, Wayne started at Microsoft. The easiest way to describe his work is licensing intellectual property for implementing MS technologies to MS partners
And then of course, we worked our other jobs including landscaper, plumber, painter, general contractor. Benefits not included
Angel had been eyeing a piano for a while, to get back to tickling ivory (ok, plastic) keys. Late this summer, we got an black upright with a beautiful sound. Sometimes Angel solos, Olivia improvs, or they try a four-hand. Wayne is learning to turn pages on cue Olivia’s perch
Not your ordinary yard project: Not your ordinary yard project With Olivia becoming more mobile and the interior more complete, we turned our attention to creating a useable outdoor space
We went beyond yard basics. Broke up concrete, dumped 4 tons of it plus 12 whopping cubic yards of dirt. (Wayne was dump truck driver). Then imported 12 cubic yards of crushed gravel and sand, and laid a 2 level Pennsylvania bluestone terrace (weighed 6.5 tons). Everything had to be carried up/down 12 steps in buckets. Wheelbarrow at top of stairs helped, some. Also dug 40-60 holes for new plants and installed a 68 sq feet lawn
Note to self of business opportunity… an onsite conversion process/tool doesn’t exist to transform dirt into crushed gravel
We have impeccable timing
Dug 35 linear feet of 2 feet deep trenches on the hottest day (close to 100o) with no shade. We used these for more outdoor faucets, electricity and downspout drainage
During the rainiest November on record, we needed dry surfaces to fill sand in between flagstones. Had to wait a month!
We worked hard and smart by hiring laborers. Angel moved a few token bluestones and managed the project Did you know? 1 cubic foot of stone weighs about 150 lbs. Our pieces ranged from 25 to 150 lbs
San Juan Islands/Victoria BC errr… mishap: San Juan Islands/Victoria BC errr… mishap There is no way the details will fit into one slide so see our website (www.followthatwagon.com)
Objective: first time visit to the San Juans and go abroad to visit Victoria, British Columbia
This is another example of our impeccable timing! We chose the week the Northwest was blasted with snow that brought the Puget Sound to its knees
Lesson 1: check weather the day before departure
Lesson 2: it’s ok to turn back if possible
After missing a couple of ferries, we made it to Orcas Island in the dark. With fallen trees and abandoned cars blocking the main road to town, we pushed our way to the rented cottage covered in 10 inches of snow
The cottage was lovely, except power was out and heat source was electric. In our first hour, Angel chased Olivia around in the dark while Wayne built a fire in the woodstove using wet wood and our Sunday paper
Power returned in time for hot showers but went out again in the wee hours. So we abandoned our trip and our Netflix DVD stuck inside the player and drove home. We did not press on north to Victoria
Aboard the WA state ferry
Here they are… our 2007 goals: Here they are… our 2007 goals Travel to Asia (HK, Taiwan)
Finish yard. Grow some vegetables
Remodel main bathroom
Compared to other projects, this appears to be the most clearly defined and narrowest in scope. Wish us luck.
Relax more. Stop laying pavers
Olivia will focus on playing, expanding vocab, and continue on her development trajectory
Warmest wishes for a terrific holiday and fun-filled 2007: Warmest wishes for a terrific holiday and fun-filled 2007