I’m sitting here at Harbor Kitchen, one of my favorite little places in Gig Harbor. I have nothing against Startbucks or Cutter’s Point but why sit in one of those more crowded places when I can have a quiet lunch with a nice view and great coffee?!?!? The kids are at a party at the new jump place (an independent version of Pump it Up! for those of you who run in grade school birthday party circles) and it gives me a few minutes to reflect on the last year.
This month marks the third anniversary of the purchase of our house here in Gig Harbor which was the beginning of our move up here. As with most things, it both seems like a long time ago and, at the same time, I can’t believe it’s been three years. We didn’t know it at the time but we sold our house on what was the edge of the cliff that the economy fell over just weeks later. At the time, Natalie was just two, still in diapers and still completely addicted to her binkie while Noah had just turned 5 and was still in pre-K. How much has changed!
Natalie is now halfway through her final year in preschool and she will start Kindergarten in the Fall of next year. She enjoys playing soccer and is now in an indoor league which started right after her outdoor league finished. She still loves to go to the park to go on the swings and her little personality just continues to crack us up on a daily basis. She truly is a character but we would be lying to you if we said that we were not worried about the teen years yet ahead of us.
Noah is growing by leaps and bounds…especially if you measure his growth in terms of his interests. Last year, it was all City Lego all the time (airplanes, fire trucks, etc.) to the exclusion of Thomas the Tank Engine which was the obsession not long before. This year, he transitioned from City Lego to Pokemon now to All Star Wars All the Time. Pokemon was a brief but hot burning fire (if you are in the market for a collection, let us know). Noah liked playing free safety on his flag football team, he is reading above grade level and is generally a great kid. We really have a great time with our Adventure Guides group also.
Wendy stepped up to be the Co-President of Natalie’s pre-school and to describe her as an “involved parent” would be an understatement of historic proportions. I still have my solo practice and I am enjoying it more than I ever thought I would. It allows me to also be very involved with the kids and the community and have, overall, a nice work-life balance.
As we look to 2011, we are already looking forward to Noah’s 8th birthday in January, a playoff appearance for the Bears, our Disney Cruise in the Spring, the beginning of my year as President of my Rotary Club (starting in July) and the end of Wendy’s year as GHCP Co-President.
We really love it here in Gig Harbor and we hope that you will look us up if you are ever in the area. We’ll be happy to meet you at Harbor Kitchen for a great cappuccino and a strawberry and white chocolate scone (which I happen to be enjoying as I write this.