The First of Our Three Leo Birthdays

And don't ask 'cause I'm not sharing my age (grins)! The cake is of my favorite place, the beach.

As the Rifle Spins...

Sam is a confirmed colorguard/winterguard nut. Not only did she go out back and practice between rehearsals, but she named her rifle Ronny. It's a guard thing, she says (laughs).

Band camp where the kids spend 5 days at Fort Flagler on the Sound starts in two weeks. It'll be a great opportunity for them to get to know their band mates. Sam's already making lots of friends between guard camp and random practices.

Hangin' with the Stiffs

Studio A at Microsoft is like a museum. Lots of cool sculptures and statues dedicated to the company's interests in the entertainment industry.

Since Chris's class started later than Wayne wanted to get to work, he had the opportunity to check out a bunch of the video game stars. Above, you'll see CJ with figures from "Tombraider", "Hitman", "Splintercell", "Kane and Lynch", and "Fallout 3", the game he and Wayne have been going nuts playing the past few weeks.

Wayne really enjoyed having the company during the commute (not to mention the ability to use the faster carpool lane), but I think CJ likes not having to get up early anymore.

And a Beautiful Sunday to You!

The Mukilteo Beach failed to disappoint again. It was a breezy, sunny day, and I kept wishing I could go out on the water like we did on my dad's pontoon boat as a kid... I think a ferry ride is in my very-near future.

Interestingly, the Lighthouse Park was crowded, but it seemed like there were enough driftwood seats to go around, and everyone had unobstructed views of the water, boats and Whidbey Island. I love the way the air smells down there--salty, and yeah, a hint of fish. Whether the fish smell was coming from the Sound of Ivar's at Mukilteo Landing restaurant remains to be seen (laughs).

SamBob Squarepants

Sam's a big SpongeBob fan, so after running a few errands, we took her to Border's bookstore for SpongeBob Day of Happiness activities. We were hoping for a life-sized SpongeBob, but got storytime and pictures to color instead. As you can see above, though, Sam was totally okay with that.

The Graduate

Chris received his diploma for completing Video Game Programming I from DigiPen, a Redmond college specializing in video game programming and game/film animation. The two-week session culminated in a finished game by each student and a crowded--and warm--graduation showcase.

Wayne and I are both proud of Chris and can't wait until next summer where level II teaches him C# programming, and level III moves to XNA programming, the languarge used for Xboxes, PC's, and Zunes.

Going Bananas

Some people in this household, ahem, SAM, take advice from fruit seriously. But hey, at least she's not playing with the food itself (laughs)!

We Live in a Top 10 Town!

Guess we did well to pick Mukilteo before even setting foot in Washington!

A Future Game Programmer is Born

Over the next two weeks, Chris will be attending a game programming class at DigiPen Institute of Technology. The accredited college has a terrific reputation and a solid track record of placing graduates in industry-related jobs. Assuming he still likes game programming when this is all over, Chris may consider this school for his degree. It may not be ivy league, but industry placement is HUGE in the game field.

I Succeeded at Embarrassing My Kids!

As Sam was reading the latest blog entry, she took issue with my Rock Band blurb. Something about me referring to myself as a hot chick looking all gangsta scared her. Can't imagine why....

Didn't Know We Had a Rock Band, Did You?

One interesting side effect when your husband works at Xbox headquarters is that the entire family tends to get sucked in to video gaming. While we each have our own set of games we like to play, our favorite family game is Rock Band/Rock Band 2. Above is a picture of Trybble and the Furballs (the name we're known by on Xbox LIVE). Wayne is Trybble, a tribute to Star Trek and his first dog, and I'm the hot chick looking all gangsta in the cat shirt (laughs). If only we all looked like that...

Anyway, this post marks my 200th in the Freezin's Greetings blog. Be on the lookout for a report from Chris's first day at game programming camp.

Happy 4th of July!

A number of things combined to give us an ultra-tame 4th of July this year. First, being new to the area, we had no idea where the best place to go watch fireworks was. Mukilteo doesn't do a display until the Lighthouse Festival in September, so staying close to home was out. Factor in the near record heat of mid-to-high 80's and staying home just made more sense, even without airconditioning.

Our big treat was a cake from Safeway. The layered sheet cake makes it so yummy. It's probably the best cake any of us have ever had.

Anyway, everyone pretty much hung out on their own until later in the evening when we ate cake and watched fireworks on TV. We saw displays from Seattle, Washington, DC, and New York. I usually snag Boston, too, but missed it this year. There was some weird music in the mix, but you can never go wrong with "The 1812 Overture" and "Stars and Stripes Forever". I still remember my days marching with UMass, playing the 1812 Overture and SINGING the words in FOUR-PART HARMONY, in RUSSIAN. So cool....

She's Baaaaaack!

Sam got back from colorguard camp on Thursday afternoon, and boy did she have a blast! She learned some really cool advanced stuff and survived spinning sabres as well as rifles. She made a boatload of friends, too. I'll have her post her own blog entry, but I wanted everyone to know she's home.

One of their activities was a hike to Deception Pass Beach. That was underneath the bridge Wayne and I walked over/took pictures of. Sam's also entralled with this tiny island just off shore. I think she'd have tried to swim there if it weren't so cold (laughs)! It's also crab season now in Puget Sound, so you see a lot of people doing that whenever you go to the beach. Oh, the top picture is the fire pit near shore at their camp site. Sounded like they had an awful lot of fun and s'mores there after a 12-hour day or workouts.