Best of 2006

Tante Tia came to visit us.

Trish & Orion flew on an airplane to visit friends and family in Memphis. DeeDee came to visit us. She and Trish took a car trip along the coast.

GRUB gave us 3 raised garden beds and we grew herbs and vegetables. In the back yard, Justin cleared ivy and blackberries to create a Secret Garden with a tunnel. Our fruit trees produced plums, pears, and apples. We made several gallons of applesauce and ate it at every meal.

Orion had his birthday party at our house. We removed our dingy grey living room carpet and had wood laminate floors installed. In the process we added two yellow accent walls.

Justin got his business license and began clowning professionally. He continued work on Red Nose Brigade projects and was elected Historian/ Pencil Pusher. Orion participated in his first parades and the by-laws now include accommodations for a Junior Joey category member.

Orion’s progressed from tricycle to scooter to bicycle with training wheels. He also took swimming lessons. Orion’s vocabulary has increased considerably and includes numerous Latin phrases such as “Lumos Maximus!” and “Wingardium Leviosa”. We have continued to use sign language as well.

Trish spent part of summer working at Sol Duc hot springs in the Olympic National Forest. She also coordinated the massage practitioners who volunteered at the cancer research fund raiser Relay for Life. Trish has had 7 – 10 clients in her private practice most every week. Her office got painted with lime-based, hand-made paint.

Orion had a Dedication ceremony at the Olympia Unitarian Universalist church and was welcomed into the congregation. We welcomed a new member to our family, “Peach Tortatilla”, a peach-faced lovebird.

Justin acted in two commercials and an MTV show. He helped produce 12 more episodes of Dance O’ Dance and eventually decided to officially return as producer for the 2007 that will mark ten years on the air.

Many of our digital pictures finally got printed and framed or put in albums. Justin worked on a number of websites and appeared as a guest on his first podcast. “Uncle Luke” cobbled together several computers for us from parts he gleaned from the Evergreen dumpsters. The last incarnation included two operating systems: Windows 98 & Ubuntu (a Linux kernel). The day after we set it up Oma Barbara arrived with an early Christmas present: a new computer system running Windows XP media center 05!

Mimi Terry gave us a new washing machine with a Super Large capacity basket. We especially appreciated it because Orion made the transition from diapers to Big Boy Underwear. Yes, our biggest and bestest success of 2006 was Toilet Training!