Sandholms in Bozeman

The Sandholm's have ended the second day of driving in Bozeman, Montana. We are all doing well -- Sully has done great, the cats have done great, and so have the grown-ups. Big night here in Bozeman - Montana State had a football game tonight, and Elton John is playing tonight. Who knew that Elton did Montana? But, he does.

We are watching a little football and then going to Famous Dave's for dinner. Good times. Last night we stayed over in "Historic Wallace, Idaho," and we embarked from the Hennessey's the night before. They let us stay at their place as they were gone to Hawaii, and it was so nice to be in a fully-equipped house after being in our packed up place the night before and before going to hotel living.

That is the news for now. The good news is that there is nothing big to report. We are trucking along really well, although it is kinda cold. There was actually a light dusting of snow in the mountains here in Montana, and there are lots of pretty fall colors as well. Not a bad view.

Think Gabe Will Be Missed?

Gabe's colleagues have gone all-out for his move to Minnesota. Last week they all went to a "good-bye" lunch, and they gave him a complete road trip gift pack, including gift cards to iTunes and McDonalds; a disposable camera; word find, Sudoku and crossword puzzle books; lottery tickets; and a pack of his favorite blue Bic pens in case they don't have them for him at his new office in Minneapolis.

On top of all of that, following is what Gabe encountered on getting into the office this morning.




It's nice to be loved. :)

Do the Puyallup!

Last weekend we took Alistair and Sully to their first fair experience at the Puyallup (pronounced pew-al-up) Fair. All four adults, two babies and all of their accompanying crap crammed into the Hennessey's Honda Pilot and made the journey to Puyallup to begin what was the mission for the day: To eat as much fried food as possible.

We did all right with that goal, stopping at about three food stands before we were even 100 yards through the fair gate. We ate Krusty Pups (corn dogs), empanadas, french fries, onion rings and hamburgers. We sadly didn't make it to the deep-fried Twinkie, Snickers and Oreo stand...that was an awful oversight on our part. But we did get some ice cream as well. The guys actually brought Tums along for the occasion, but I don't remember them actually getting used. Gluttony at its best.

The boys seemed to have a good time people watching and enjoying the warm day fresh air, and Sully got a decent nap in while we strolled through the cow and chicken barns. Here's a few photos the wee ones and parents on their outing. Most of these photos are while we are stopped to eat. Go figure.

The Fair is pretty cool.

I mean, I really LOVE the Fair!

What? We're just chilling in our strollers.

It's sunny, and I'm looking cool.

We're at the Fair! Why's he crying? Probably indigestion.

We've Sold the Ranch

Well, we've done it folks. We've sold Sandholm Ranch. At the end of the month, the Sandholm clan will be picking up stakes and moving to Minneapolis. We're tired of the Seattle traffic and killer commutes. We're looking forward to being closer to family so we can finally drive when we want to see them versus have to take several days off of work and fly. We're looking forward to season tickets to the Hawkeye football games (next year). We're looking forward to getting to live in a nicer neighborhood (hopefully). We'll miss all of our friends here in Seattle, especially seeing Sullivan grow up with all of the little buddies that are here, but we have committed to lots of visits!

This has all happened quite suddenly. In the past three weeks, I got a new job in Minneapolis, we decided to move, we put our house on the market, sold it, flew to Minneapolis to look at houses, put an offer on a house, revoked that offer after the inspection. Sullivan then got croup and we spent the wee hours of one Thursday in the emergency room while Sully got a couple of steroid shots and a breathing treatment to keep his throat from squeezing his trachea shut. Croup, while not life threatening, is quite scary. I don't like it.

I then flew to Minneapolis again to start my first week of work. I checked out and signed Sully up for a new daycare, which, although quite nice, also has quite a nice price tag and we'll likely have to resume that daycare search once we are in Minneapolis for good.

We found a place to rent in Minneapolis. The cats have gone to the vet to get their shots up-to-date and we got some tips (sort of) on how to travel 1600 miles with them. And we continue to check houses out online so we can get our Minneapolis real estate agent in gear so he can get us to these houses once we get ourselves in Minneapolis in October.

Oh, and next week Gabe has to travel to three college career fairs at Kansas State, Kansas and BYU. And later in the month he has to go to Fargo to North Dakota State University for another one. And he's also finishing up probably the toughest class he's ever taken for his MBA program thus far.

The movers come on Wednesday, September 26 to pack. They come back on September 27 to load. CJ and Cole fly out to Seattle on September 27 to drive with us all to Minneapolis to help keep the energy level up, the sense of humor high, the cars moving eastward, Sullivan happy, and Jack and Jinxie alive.

All of this activity is happening to a family whose favorite thing to do is sit on the couch and watch football and where going to the grocery store on a Saturday counts as our big outing for the day, meaning we really can't plan anything else for Saturday because our energy level is just tapped and we have to just stay home and recoup, but we might be able to do something on Sunday. But only after the Dolphins game.

In the midst of all of this nonsense, Sully has turned 9 months old, and he loves to clap, laugh and screech. He says "mama" and "dada"; however, we're not 100% sure he knows what it means. But sometimes it seems like he does. He has grown one lower tooth that we fondly refer to as "The Chomper." And he is starting to get into the crawling position, but he hasn't actually crawled yet as it seems he's still trying to figure out he has knees. Usually he just goes from a sitting position, into a sitting-and-hands-on-the-floor position, to a belly flop.

Oh, and on September 21 Gabe and I will be celebrating our 5th anniversary. Maybe we'll celebrate by going to bed early.

Sullivan & the Sea Gals

Sully and I went along to Gabe's 5K run a week and a half ago, which -- I am happy to report -- Gabe ran the entire thing! Not bad for doing just a smidge of training for it and not being a regular runner. Also, thanks also to all of you who donated for Children's Hospital! Gabe's team actually had the most donations, due largely to all of you guys. So, thanks so much.

While Sully and I waited for Gabe to finish the run, we milled around the finish line at Red Hook Brewery. A few of the Seattle Seahawks cheerleaders were there, and they thought Sully was pretty cute and came over to say hello. I asked if they would take their photo with Sully, figuring he may appreciate this picture when he is older. Based on where Sully is looking, he seemed to appreciate them just fine at 8 months old. :) And I'm sure he'll appreciate he wears a bib in every photo, too.

Sully Camps

We're getting ready for our annual (although missed last year) camping trip to Moran State Park on the San Juan Islands, our second camping outing for this summer. Our first outing was just earlier this month to Lake Easton, a nice state park only about an hour's drive from Seattle. We went out with Seth, Kelly & Alistair and Carolyn and Njord as a trial run before our bigger, 3-night camping trip this weekend.

Sully had a great time -- he enjoyed sitting on his blanket and playing with his toys, hanging out with Alistair, inhaling probably too much campfire smoke and sitting on people's laps. We did have one middle of the night screaming session, however; hopefully we'll avoid those this weekend. If not, I'll know to be better prepared and have a bottle nearby rather than having to stumble blindly to the car to make one and then bring it back. Camping is NOT the time to let him "cry it out" when his room is a vinyl-sided, not-at-all-soundproof tent. :)

Fund Gabe's Run (& Help Children's Hospital)

Gabe is going to do The 5K Covey Run this weekend with his colleagues to help raise money for Children’s Hospital. Not only is this a relevant race since we know of all the great things that Children’s Hospital does for the wee ones who need their services—for instance, Sullivan’s good friend Alistair Hennessey (above is a photo of both boys together on Mother's Day this year; Alistair is making sure Sully doesn't fall off the couch :) )—but this race is also a good motivator for Gabe to get his rear-end jogging again in preparation for this 5K.

And, yes, I said that I would do this 5K, too, but I have been much less successful in getting my rear-end going. Therefore, I am playing the supporting role of “Fundraising Organizer” and asking all of you for your support on Gabe’s behalf. Please visit http://www.10krun5kfun.com/events/event.php?eventid=2055&phase=7&charityid=13&dteamid=33 and click on “Make a Donation,” and you should be on your way to supporting Gabe and Children’s Hospital. If you are interested in giving and can’t figure it out, please let me know and I will do my best to assist.

Just Me, You & The Jumperoo

And the Jumperoo video I promised. This is a pretty tame version of how crazy Sullivan has been known to get, but when he sees the camera (let's be clear...we're still making all of Sullivan's "home videos" with our cell phone cameras, so he's really seeing our phones) he gets sort of excited about what we're doing and forgets what he was initially up to. But, this is still funny (albeit a bit grainy) nonetheless.

Sullivan Plays, Part II

The Friday night party just continues for Sullivan. He moves on from the stacking cups to getting crazy with the teething ring. This night just gets progressively more out of control. Who knew so much craziness could get under way all before 7 PM?

Sullivan Plays

Sullivan is having a great time on Friday night after "school."

Sullivan "Becoming a Big Kid" Sandholm

Sullivan has been plugging right along with his whole "growing up" process this past month, and he can now add "eating solids" and "sitting up by myself" to his list of things he can do. Here's a photo of him enjoying one of his favorite foods, the green bean. He also enjoys sweet potatoes, carrots and peas. He doesn't like peaches. Pears and prunes are sort of middle of the road -- he'll eat them, but doesn't devour them.

You may also notice that his hair has gotten curlier and crazier, and he is also one happy little guy. He is a favorite among the daycare ladies (he is almost through his first month at the YMCA daycare in Bellevue, just two blocks from my office) as he doesn't cry much, is a chronic smiler and apparently sits around with another little boy named Charlie and just talks and laughs. Social little bugger.

Sully is also really into his Jumperoo (thanks to Uncle C.J. and Uncle Cole for that gift when he was born!), and we're going to get a video taken of him jumping in that thing to share with you guys. But for now, you can take our word for it that he is HILARIOUS to watch, and just goes nuts jumping to the point where he can make you motion sick watching him. He also managed to scare a little boy at daycare with his agressive jumping. Love it.

We'll work on getting some more pictures uploaded for you all who are interested; things have just been busy as of late, or we've just been too tired to do anything other than play with Sully, work, do laundry and watch TV every now and again. Oh, and Gabe has started another class, so he's also busy doing homework. And this is our life. Woo. :)

Sullivan Rides in a Grocery Cart

Blurry but cute photo of Sully as a first-time rider in a grocery cart without his car seat. He wasn't feeling well on this trip, and I think that added to his inability to stay somewhat upright. Thanks to Grandma Judy Hennessey for the cart cover -- it was a great thing to have for this little floppy boy's first cart ride. Thanks also to my niece Katelin who helped me carry everything into the grocery store (i.e. diaper bag, cart cover and Sullivan).

Food For Thought

One of my colleagues and buddies sent a few of us a link to this really interesting "presentation"-type video about how the world around us is changing, and how--based an initial viewing of the content--it appears that the global power is gradually shifting from the U.S. to China and India, and the intellectual power seems to be shifting away from humans to computers. I have no deep thoughts on what this all means, but thought that the amassing of all of this data in one place was quite eye-opening and is worth watching if and when you have a moment. Very humbling, if I do say so myself. Click here if you would like to check it out!

I am now seriously concerned that I will not be able to help Sullivan with his elementary school-level homework at this rate. :)

Sullivan's First Trip to Iowa

Over Memorial Day weekend, Gabe, Sullivan and I made the trip to Iowa for our niece Brittney's high school graduation. This was also Sully's first trip to Iowa, and Grandma Sandholm and Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Kragt made the trip over to the Pipho-side of Iowa to see Sullivan, and - in the case of the Great-Grandparents Kragt -- get to meet him for the first time!

My brother and his family -- Stuart, Janna, Alyssa and Kent (Keith decided to stay in Arkansas...apparently the now junior in college is too cool for school to go back to Iowa :) ) -- also came up to celebrate Brittney's graduation, so Sullivan got to meet them as well, which was very cool.

We had a great time in Iowa -- it was fun to hang out with the family on the farm, drink a couple beers and just chat and take it easy. Brittney's graduation party was fun, and we ate ourselves silly on turkey and ham sandwiches and ice cream.

Following are a few photos of Sullivan's "firsts" in Iowa:

Sullivan got his first "washtub" bath with Grandma Pipho.

Sullivan sat in a high chair for the first time, and saw his first "milk in a bag" (pictured in the lower left hand corner here -- just like seeing a gazelle in the wild, I'm sure.)

And he met his first calf with Grandpa Pipho.

He got to meet Uncle Cole.

Sullivan met his Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Kragt (also pictured here with Mom, Dad and Grandma Sandholm).

Sullivan got his first four-wheeler ride with Grandpa Pipho.

Sullivan got to meet the Arkansas Piphos, including Uncle Stuart, Aunt Janna and cousins Alyssa & Kent. Apparently he really felt like escaping after meeting them or something. :)

And Sullivan got fed and to share some quality time with his cousin, Quade.

There were also lots of other people he met, including Uncle Don, Aunt Robyn, cousins Brittney, Katelin, Abby and Josiah, and he also spent lots of time with Staci, but for some reason we didn't manage to capture all of these moments, so you'll just have to believe me they happened. :)

"French" Night

On May 19, we had our annual "French Night" dinner with Seth & Kelly and Njord and Carolyn. This is a tradition we started about four years ago as a way to actually celebrate Christmas and New Year's together without worrying about gift giving or shelling out a lot of cash to go out to a fancy dinner together to celebrate. What we do instead is make our own fancy dinner -- or, rather, Seth makes us a fancy seven-course dinner, and he and Kelly do all of the shopping in preparation for it :) -- and the rest of us chip in as sous chefs and we all split the costs. We've had LOTS of yummy gourmet meals each year, and the fun part is that we have a different bottle of wine with each course.

Well, this year the meal got pushed back a few months, what with the birthing of babies and Carolyn and Njord moving and remodeling their new condo. Another typical component of this whole event is for us to go to a destination for a weekend where we rent a house to have this dinner and hang out (past locations have been the lighthouse keeper's residence at Point Deception State Park and one of the officer's residences at Fort Warden State Park, coincidentally where "Office and a Gentleman" was filmed), but with the wee ones this year, we thought it would make more sense to stay close to home, and Njord and Carolyn were excited about christening their new condo with this event. So, Njord and Carolyn hosted, and we had a great time!

Rather than going with the usual French-style meal, we went northern Italian this year, which meant five courses rather than seven. We had a tasty antipasto platter, great pork tenderloin, and really good dessert of these little cookies that were then dipped in batter and deep-fried (I forget the appropriate Italian name of them). Definitely good eats.

Oh, and Sullivan is there -- I think he is laying on the floor somewhere playing and wasn't able to make it for the photo. :)

May Days

Things have been busy around the ol' Sandholm Ranch, and it would have been a prime time to regularly update you all on what has been going on. Alas, I was too busy to keep up on it, so a quick synopsis of what has happened since the end of April:

• Gabe Was Promoted! Gabe is now a Human Resources Manager. WOO HOO! We celebrated by going to the Cheesecake Factory in downtown Seattle, where Sullivan proceeded to flirt with all of the ladies sitting around us. He made quite a few friends that afternoon.
• My first Mother's Day! It was a nice day that started with Gabe and Sullivan making me breakfast in bed. My champagne flute of ginger ale spilled all over the front of me as soon as Gabe set the tray down in bed--which was pretty funny!--but the food remained ginger ale-free, and the gesture was quite nice, nonetheless. Later in the day, Seth, Kelly and Alistair came over to hang out and head an early dinner with us. It was very fun. I'll update this post with a picture or two a little later.
• Going Back to Work. I've gotten my first week back to work under my belt, and Sullivan has his first week at daycare with Laura finished as well. Sully is adjusting, but it's taken him a bit to get used to his new routine. And, work is going fine and it's nice to be with my old teammates again! I've missed these crazies. They're good people.

I've also finally uploaded tons of pictures of Sullivan. Click here for photos of him during his 0-3 month age range. Click here for photos for his 3 month -now range. We still have more to upload, but this should give you something to look at for awhile and see how he's grown and changed!

Sully's First Shoulder Ride With Dad

And also proof that Sully really does smile every now and again. :)

Tiptoe-ing Through the Tulips

On Friday, Sully and I went with Kelly and Alistair up to the Skagit Valley to check out the Tulip Festival. However, we made it there and were told at the Tulip Festival information booth that all of the fields had been plowed under. Nice. However, there was one farm (the biggest tourist trap of them all, I'm sure) that still had some blooms, so we were able to get to see some tulips, at least! I don't think that Sully or Alistair really cared one way or another about the g.d. tulips, but it was a nice reason to get out and about for the day.

We also had lunch in the super cute little town of La Conner, Washington before we went to the tulip fields. I would definitely like to go back again! It was a really neat little town with restaurants, shops and a gallery here and there, and it is on the Puget Sound where the Skagit River runs into the Sound. If the commute wouldn't be so hellish, I might even consider living there! But, that's a big leap to make after one lunch outing. ;)

Better Damien Rice Concert Photo

Gabe took a photo with his cell phone that turned out much better than mine. You can see the stage a bit better. Just in case you were interested, and especially since the photo I took was really bad.

Out & About: Damien Rice Concert

Last night Gabe and I went to the 103.7 The Mountain Earth Day Concert at Benaroya Hall, featuring Damien Rice and opener Brett Dennen. This was a birthday gift from Gabe, and the show was awesome! There was a bit of a mix-up with our seats, though -- somehow Ticketmaster allowed seats to be sold twice (go figure -- Ticketmaster is the devil), and one of our seats also belonged to someone else. This worked out in our favor, though; Gabe and I had good seats to start with, but we ended up with GREAT seats because the house comped us with seats about 11 rows back and just a smidge to the left of the stage! The photo is of Damien Rice via my cell phone from our seats -- the picture sucks and you can't really see how great our seats are, but believe you me, they were great. :)




If you've never listened to Damien Rice or Brett Dennen, I highly recommend both of them. They are mellow, acoustic-y dudes, and as Damien Rice admitted last night, he tends to write "sad" songs. He kept introducing his songs, "Here's another sad song..." and he introduced another as, "Here is a happy song! Oh, but there is that twist at the end..." He was really great to watch and it was fun to listen to him sing and also tell his random stories. And Benaroya Hall is a great venue -- it isn't too big or super small, and we were told a couple of times by the emcees of last night's show that it is "acoustically perfect." Damien put this to the test by stepping away from the mike, unplugging his acoustic guitar from the amp and singing his song "Cannonball" solo in front of the stage for the last song of the main show. It was way cool and sounded beautiful!