The Weatherman

Check out this run that I did today that took me to Alki Point and back.

It was a doozy at 7.69 miles. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to run that distance. Steph actually drove the route when I was about 2/3s done asking if I needed a ride. I declined and gutted it out. All went well until the last couple of hundred feet of my climb - I started to get cramps in my calves. I basically looked like a duck running as I tried to avoid a painful cramp.

This will be a good twice a month run but it definitely won’t replace my current daily run. This was much too long and difficult.

For the first time in probably 3 years I picked up a new pair of running shoes.  To be fair I bought 2 sets of my last pair.  Why?  Here is that story.

Many years ago (ie back in the 90s) I would only run in Nike since we had a Nike outlet near us.  The big problem with Nike was that they were made for narrow feet.  So everytime, and I mean everytime, I ran on any type of surface I would roll on my ankle.  One time I finally sprained it which kept me off of it for a week.

So I left the Nike camp and found the New Balance 803 (all terrain shoe).  I was in love.  This shoe was amazing - by far the best thing since sliced bread.  I wore these shoes out (I know - I need to buy new running shoes long before I wear them out).  So I went out to buy another pair, but New Balance had moved on to the 804.  So I picked up a pair of 804s…NOT THE SAME!  I was very disappointed.  I even tried the 805s when they came out and again was very disappointed.  I was frustrated that so much could change to the next model.

So I moved on.  I found the ASICS Eagle Trail Running III and fell in love again.  These were very similar (at least to me) to my old 803s.  They had very good support, comfortable, and they didn’t feel too shallow.  So I bought a second pair.  I didn’t want to miss a good thing.  I’ve would alternate between the two pairs for my running which actually worked out well.

Tonight I headed to Road Runner Sports in Kent.  I tried the latest ASICs - they had two trail running pairs. They had the 2120 and the Trail Sensor.  I found the 2120 to be the best fit of the two - very light and comfortable.  I also tried on the latest Addidas - the salesperson was going to let me buy those - he could tell they didn’t fit right.  He was right - I didn’t like them.  I finally tried a pair of Brooks Adrenaline ASR 4.  And a new friendship was born…these had that good ole feelin’.  They fit my feet perfectly with no odd pressure points or strains.

I haven’t been posting my runs on the site but I’ve definitely picked things up since Nate was born.  Although, before Nate arrived I was spending much of my extra time getting things ready for Nate so I only got 2 runs in per week at about 2 to 2.5 miles with some hills.  Now I’ve been doing my 3.6+ mile run (with a 500 ft elev loss and gain) 3 to 4 times per week.  I hope to keep this going - it’s easy to do this in the summer here since it stays light late…I’m able to go running at 8:30pm like I did last night.  Just need to make sure I eat a small dinner (something I didn’t do tonight).

If these shoes work out I’ll go ahead and pick up a second pair…no use stressin over whether this same pair will be around in 6 months to a year.  I also need to find some local fun runs - I enjoyed the times I did the bay to breakers so I need to find one or two up here to finish off the summer.  I’ll let you know what I find.

One more thing - I took Zach with me to the running store.  He was either running everywhere or playing with the giant exercise ball (the kind you lay on to stretch your back) - he loved that thing.  Anyway, the salesperson commented that he would be a runner…I told him he was practicing to be Forrest Gump.

Over the last few days (maybe as early as Friday), our beloved Jake has disappeared. He is an older tabby cat that has been a member of the family for 11 years. He is only an indoor cat so I fear he might be in bad shape being gone so long. We live in upper Gatewood just south of the Myrtle Street Resevoir (think water towers). If you find him - please contact us immediately (email p a u l @ p a u l a n d s t e p h . c o m). Here is his picture:

One additional feature - he has a kink in his tail, as if someone had slammed in a door (it was that way when we got him at 8 weeks).

Update 7/26/2007:  No sign of Jake.  I checked the animal shelter hotline and they did pick up a deceased cat on the 7300 block of 35th Ave SW (right around the corner from us) that had a close description to our cat.  I have emailed the person who picked up the cat asking to check our picture to confirm if it was Jake.

Unfortunately, knowing that the few times (< 5) Jake has escaped he has returned that night - the odds are not good right now.  Thanks to all the responses and to the help of West Seattle Blog.  However, we are still keeping our hopes up that he is OK.

I wanted to throw up a few pictures of Nate hanging out on the bed.

We took a one night trip down to Camas to visit Mike, Emmy, and their kids yesterday. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive non-stop with no traffic. Realistically it is a 3 to 5 hour drive. Anyway, here is our story.

This was our first trip with lil Nate and we also took Lou (the basset hound). Yes, this is Lou’s first overnight trip - so it was pretty exciting for him. We planned it all out to leave early on Friday to avoid the southbound I-5 mess. We got on the road by 1pm and guess what…hit tons of traffic from Federal Way until Olympia. We stopped in Centralia so Nate could get some food. I took a screaming Zach into Eddie Bauer - not much fun but I did get some shirts.

We finally arrived in Camas around 5pm. I used to work with Mike at Yahoo and now he works for HP in Vancouver. Camas is a beautiful, quiet country-esque town east of Vancouver along the Columbia River. I immediately took Lou for a walk so he could relieve himself…and he did…many times. The rest of the evening was filled with drink, food and conversation…a fun time for all.

We headed out at 11:30am this morning for the drive back. Zach was starting to melt down a bit (he didn’t get a good night sleep and car naps are never worth much). Ironically, I threw him in the car early as a punishment and he quieted down…I guess that’s where he wanted to be. We stopped at mile 59 on the way back and ate some food from Beesley’s Burgers - good shakes if you are ever in the area. There was no traffic heading home but I was very tired since I stayed up until 2:30am the night before. So we stopped for latte’s in Fort Lewis. Around Seatac we had to make an emergency stop since dad had to make a run for the border (if you know what I mean).

We then headed to a BBQ in West Seattle over at Jacob’s house (Zach’s PEPS buddy). We’ve had a wet few days and the latest in the series of storms started hitting right around the time we showed up. So outdoor play occurred but things were just wetter than normal. Zach played and ate for 3 hours and he was awesome…now he is asleep - tired guy after a long 2 days. Tomorrow we are going to a 1 year old birthday party - that should be fun.

And Steph is happily reading her newest Harry Potter book.

I tried this out - pretty cool site. Here is the run I do from the highest point in Seattle to Lincoln Park (Coleman Pool) and back.

Not bad for a middle aged guy. Actually, I’ve felt good after this run and I’m definitely getting better at it. I noticed an improvement in my strength on my hike the other day.

WSB has an entry about toddler friendly coffee shops…Looks like Coffee to a Tea with Sugar is the big winner in the comments section.

We are pretty new (been here just over a year) and we’ve never heard of this place. Having a toddler and an infant - finding these locations is very important. Thanks to all of the WSB readers for the good tip.

We plan to try this out very soon.

I took off a bit of time away from the home yesterday to go on a hike up to Rattlesnake Ledge above Rattlesnake Lake in the Cascades. Not a particularly long or difficult hike, but it is very convenient. You start at Rattlesnake Lake which is a popular summer destination for swimmers, paddlers and fisherman. The trails is a moderate climb winding up the mountain to the ledge where you have view of Snoqualmie, Mount Si, and the Seattle watershed.

Here are some pictures…the last one is your daily dose of Nate.

View from ledge to Mount Si and Snoqualmie Valley.

Garter(?) snake on the ledge.  I also saw a little brown frog 2/3s of the way up the trail.  I thought this was strange since I didn’t see any water around and we were on a steep slope which isn’t known for having ponds.

Flower on the ledge.

Nate sleeping in mom’s arms on the bed…what a handsome lil guy.

What a beautiful summer so far. We’ve had over two weeks of 80+ degree weather and a little rain to freshen things up. Here are some recent photos of the boys.

Zach contemplating the sprinkler…or should he just play with the bubble wand.

Nate getting some Vitamin D.

Zach at Lincoln Park having a good ole time with Dominic.

Dominic getting ready to go down the slide.

We also took a trip to Alki during a minus tide.

Yes, we have rats…these would be of the roof rat variety.  We first noticed droppings around 1 to 2 months ago in our garage.  Then we started hearing scratching between our 1st and 2nd floors.  The droppings were small so I thought they were mice.  I setup a few mouse traps - BTW, these things are brutal on your fingers.

I did catch one rat - a small roof rat.  This kill occurred about a month ago, but I haven’t been diligent in keeping the traps set.  I finally started calling around to local pest control companies yesterday.  I called the biggies like Orkin (they just kept me on hold) and Terminix (only wanted to use poison).  I also called some local places but I ultimately settled on A Wildlife Pro.   This is a company operated by Sean Met, a trained nuisance wildlife control specialist.

I am very, very happy with my choice for this job.  Sean is very professional and I believe his technique to be the most effective.  He came to our house and inspected all possible entry points.  He found the point where the rats are getting into our garage and eventually into our house.  He installed some metal netting to block off access point and installed a one way door at the main point of entry.  He took the time to explain why he believed the location to be the main entry point and his work was very professional.  He finally setup numerous traps in our garage and attic.  BTW, as he pulled away from our house, one of the traps already caught a rat - I called him back to pick up the carcass and reset the trap.

As of this morning we tallied two more dead rats in the garage…I’m not sure what we have in the attic.  Anyway, Sean will return two more times over the next two weeks to pick up the carcasses and reset the traps.  Between that and blocking the entrances, we would have hopefully resolved our rat problem.

We had a very cool thunderstorm at 4am this morning…lot of bolts of lightning lit up our sky followed by a 10 minute downpour.  Very Exciting.  There is thunderstorm rumbling up the eastside at the moment - we can hear the thunder but it’s pretty far away.  We’ll see if it builds up in our area.

Hopefully we get some more rain out of it - that helps water the garden.

Another beautiful Gatewood sunset…

And an opossum (me thinks)? Update:  I have been informed that this is actually a mole.

It wasn’t a mice or rat…the only other option I could think of was a gopher.

Nate Update: He went to the doctors for a weight check…He is 7lbs 1/2 oz…which is 5 1/2 oz more than 2 days ago. So he is gaining a decent amount of weight and going in the right direction.

Zacher was in daycare today so that help lower the stress level a bit in our house. It’s tough watching a toddler and a new infant when it’s blazing hot. We took Nate to Elliot Bay Brewery for lunch - he slept the whole time, which was nice of him.

We have been listening to our scanner…sounds like a gang stabbing happened at Lincoln Park.  It appears they also have a suspect in custody.  This is also possibly tied to a stabbing on 16th.  Anyway, waiting to hear more details.

Anyone else know more?

Our Wednesday night PEPS group met at the wading pool at Lincoln Park tonight - what a great place after a hot day. The water was perfect and boys had a great time in the wading pool - although it’s pretty large - probably more like a wading pond. For those who don’t know, this wading pool is refilled each day and provides hours of cool enjoyment for many younsters.

That being said, why are Dominic and Zach splashing in the mud next to the pool…cuz they are boys!

Nate getting some food…

The other day we (grandma and I) took Zacher to the zoo…here are some images from that trip…

Zach pointing out the hippos.

Up close and personal with Mr Giraffe.

Zach’s favorite, the bears.

And some movies…from the 4th of July - a few hours before Steph’s water broke. And from the hospital after Nate was born.

Check out the details for the Night Out at our precinct web site. This is a great opportunity to meet your neighbors and work on preventing crime in your area. I know we’ve been hit by minor crime so I’m all for making things better.

Here is the blurb from the precinct web site:

It’s time for Night Out 2007! “Night Out” is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite our communities. It is a great chance to learn about crime prevention, while also celebrating your community and spending time with your neighbors.

While reading about this I noticed the blurb below it on our precinct web site:

Picnic at the Southwest Precinct is August 18,2007 from 1-4 pm!
All Southwest Precinct community members are invited to the 2300 SW Webster St. to enjoy a day of dancing, music, food, magic, balloons, raffles! Meet your local officers, SWAT and other specialty units and get a chance to take a precinct tour!

Sounds like good fun for the kids.

Now I wish I had air conditioning!

It is so warm I’m sitting on my porch editing this…well, it is something like 84 in our house.

Update:  The low officially hit 68 degrees at our house.  It was not fun.

We took Nate to Target and Barnes and Noble today. He slept during the whole adventure. At least Steph got a chance to get out of the house for a while.  On the way back we stopped at Radio Shack to pick up a scanner - a little entertainment for grandma.

Nate has been eating almost every 2 hours - so Steph has been busy. I’ve been giving him one bottle each night giving Steph a break for a few hours. He devours about an ounce in no time, and he generally sleeps very well afterwards.

Grandma and I took Zach to the zoo this morning. He was a perfect toddler today. He ran from exhibit to exhibit checking out the animals - I think he liked the Africa Savana and the bears the best. We had lunch at the zoo also - Paul and Grandma shared chili/cheese fries while Zach ate ketchup and mustard. Well, I got him a corn dog but instead of eating it he used the stick to each the condiments instead. At least he ate his banana.

Yep, it’s going to get hot…mid 90s for all over the next 3 days with a very slow cool down (now they are saying the cool down will not be as big as expected with another warm up next week). The scariest part is the low at night…forecast to be around 66 degrees. Ouch! Not much relief especially since most around do not have AC. Check out Defeat the Heat at WSB for some ideas on cooling off.

Today wasn’t particularly hot…only 78 but right now at 9:30pm it is in the low 70s and the breeze we had earlier has all but died off. You can definitely feel that we are on the edge of a hot one.

From the NWS:

Monday: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 80. North northeast wind between 6 and 14 mph.

Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 59. North northeast wind between 8 and 14 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 89. North wind between 9 and 13 mph.

Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 63. North northeast wind between 7 and 13 mph.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 94.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.

Sorry for the delays on the photos…it’s been a busy few days. Steph and Nate came home yesterday after less than 48 hours in the hospital. While Steph liked most of the people at the hospital and how things were done, she was done with the constant interruptions. I mean, why do they need to weight Nate at 2:15am?

You can see all photos here - BEWARE - these include gore shots. Otherwise you can see the best ones below.

Weighing in right after delivery.

In the room after delivery.

Waiting to go home!

Now for the story…It was a normal 4th of July…we got up and I mowed the lawn and we continued to get our house ready for hosting a PEPS BBQ later that afternoon.  We went to the West Seattle Children’s Parade - basically thousands of people walk a few blocks with their kids all decked out in their strollers and trikes.  The Mayor of Seattle was there since he lives in WS - so we stopped by and Zach got to shake his hand.

We spent the early afternoon relaxing and prepping for the BBQ.  I started having Margaritas at around 3pm.  Our friends started showing up around 4pm.  We hung out in the yard while the kids played in the kids’ pool.  I started the BBQ around 5pm - we were grilling up chicken and hot dogs.  This is when the excitement started.

At around 6pm Steph corners me upstairs and tells me she thinks her water broke.  I asked if it was her water or urine.  She was 99% certain this was her water breaking.  OK, so at this point I have no idea what that means (remember Zach was a planned c-section - so we haven’t gone through the normal labor procedures).  So Steph is working on calling her doctor and checking with the other women that were over for the BBQ.

Being the guy that I am, I went back to BBQing and drinking my beer.   Hey, I had dogs on the grill and 4 very hungry toddlers.  After a few minutes I checked on Steph and once again asked if she was certain this was her water.  She was certain.  So hunted down Shelly (PEPS mom who is a nurse) and asked what this meant (yeah, ignorant dad)…she looked at me and said ‘you are having a baby!’  Pretty simple message for most…but not me.  I then asked that really dumb question: ‘When?’.  And of course, her response was ‘Tonight!’.

Now it’s sinking in.  I dumped out my beer realizing I need to be sober for this event.  I handed the tongs to Mark so he could work the grill.  We sent Heidi home to get her car - since I couldn’t drive.  And Steph and I packed.  Yes, we were planning on July 17th - the planned c-section date so we hadn’t done some of those other tasks - like pack.  I gave Sasha the lowdown on cat/dog food and where to lock them up at night.  And that was it…Steph and I hopped in Heidi’s car (Steph rode shotgun if you were curious - I did try to get the front seat but she wouldn’t have any of that) and off we went…uh, oh, the gas light came on in Heidi’s car.  A quick stop at the pump and we were off again.

The rest of the story is pretty typical…get to the hospital (around 7pm) and wait…but not too long…they got the IV started, drew some blood, got us dressed in scrubs.  We entered the OR at around 9:15pm, Nate was born at 9:46pm, and Steph was in recovery by 10:15pm.

What an exciting 4th of July - one we’ll never forget.  BTW, having a baby is a very sobering experience - I know this for a fact.