I became an Aunty again on April 30th! Zeke Dettloff was born weighing in at 7 lbs 8oz. Carmen, Sean and baby Zeke are all happy and healthy. I just can't wait to meet the little guy in less than 2 weeks!!
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Family and Friends
My parents live in a town called Issaquah which, for a few weeks every fall, becomes slightly famous because the creek that runs through town is where as many as 10,000-20,000 adult salmon return from the pacific ocean to lay their eggs. Just so happens I was in Seattle during that special egg laying time so my mom and I stopped by the hatchery to watch the salmon for a while. Funny I lived in Issaquah for years and drove by the hatchery daily but never really took the time to stop and explore it. I guess being away for a while has given me a fresh perspective...
High tech Mama Goetsch using her iPhone to film the salmon.
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Family and Friends,
Seattle
Just returned from Seattle late Thursday night. As I was booking the trip, two and half weeks in Seattle seemed like so much time but looking back it flew by. So much so that I realized towards the end of the visit that I had hardly used my camera at all.
I miss having seasons in Singapore which makes it that much more special to go home to leaves changing colors, cute fall sweaters and boots, pumpkins and spiced cider. Downside of fall weather in Seattle is that all of the shopping is for fall and winter and although I live in the tropics I was constantly tempted to purchase the latest trendy fall fashion items. I was fully aware that these items were utterly useless to me in Singapore but the temptation was certainly there! Upside of fall weather shopping in Seattle is most of the summer stuff is on sale...
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Family and Friends,
Seattle
Mark was promoted to a Corporal in the Marines yesterday. I don't fully understand all that goes into the military ranking system but I do know that Mark has been promoted through the ranks very quickly and I am very proud of him for that.
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Family and Friends
We booked our flights for the Seattle trip long before ever knowing when Mark would return from his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Amazingly his return date was right in the middle of our time in Seattle. So I had the special privilege of flying down to 29 Palms (an hour outside of Palm Springs) with my parents to be there to welcome our Marine home.
Mark and his good friend Josh Lappin forced to pose with proud big sister.
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Family and Friends,
Seattle,
Travel Adventures
I know everyone always says the bride is beautiful but Amy was truly a stunning bride. One of my favorite memories from the wedding was watching two little girls gawking at Amy and John during the pre-wedding photos. One girl turned to her mom and breathless asked "mommy which one is the princess?" The mom quietly explained "the girl in white is the princess and the man next to her is the prince." To which the other little girl responded with a wistful sigh "I hope I get to be a princess someday..."
Graham and Lesley and Bridesmaid Sally.
The wedding which took place at the Space Needle was wonderful, Amy and John looked so happy.
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Family and Friends,
Seattle,
Travel Adventures
K and I have just returned from several weeks in Seattle which was pretty awesome. Spring in Seattle is so beautiful with flowers blooming and everything so green. Geting lucky enough to have a sunny day in Seattle is enough to give us pangs of homesickness. However, the highlight of the trip was watching Amy and John get married and having a chance to catch up with the extended Wood family.
Kingsley met his nephew Damien for the very first time which was incredibly special. However, it required a steep learning curve for Kingsley which included a crash course in Baa Baa Black Sheep and The Wheels on the Bus...
Allan and Dee
Justy and Cally
Kingsleys Uncles and Aunts came all the way from Australia to be at the wedding. It was great to spend some time chatting and catching up and as well as continuing to advance my Slippery Kate (Wood family card game similar to hearts) skills. I have the unfortunate reputation of ending up with the worst hand in Wood family history which I hope to one day redeem myself from. I'm happy to say there was no repeat of the "worst hand" this time around but I did manage to get last place during the second round. Even after 4 years as an official (+ 3 years unofficial) member of the Wood family, I obviously still have a long way to go!!
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Family and Friends,
Seattle,
Travel Adventures
On top of a full schedule of visiting friends and family I also worked quite a few days while home. I work with such a great group of people that it never really feels like "work" anyway :)
On one of my first days back then had a luck potluck in my honor with an AMAZING mexican fiesta.
At another event my friend Carolee (who came to visit me in Singapore) invited me to a Pajama Oscars party at her house which was great fun except for the minor fact that I had not seen most of the movies up for nomination. Which was just as well because I spent most of the evening chatting and catching up with friends.
Sophia, Exotic and Lynn
Lynn and Leah
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Family and Friends,
Seattle
For those of you who may not know I have a tinsy bit of a...ok...a major phobia of chairlifts. This phobia stems from a traumatic experience at 14 where I did not get off the chairlift in time and was not allowed to ride back down to the bottom but was forcibly pulled off the lift by a very cute ski patrol guy who I landed on top of and knocked the wind out of all while be heckled by the 3rd grade "powder pigs" ski school and my best friend Carmen...Anywho, after several years of intense counseling :) I recovered enough to set foot in snow again but did make a vow never to ride a chair lift. Over the years I have not been able to keep this vow but still feel the panic rising as I get close to the top of the mountain on the lift.
However on this trip I learned of a new Gondola at Crystal mountain which you ride up with your board on the outside and WALK off of. I was saved!
On our way to Crystal
Heading up the perfect-in-everyway Gondola
I wish I could report I had a perfect day racing up and down the mountain but after a few years of no boarding I was pretty rusty. Lets just say there was A LOT of falling involved and maybe a few near tears incidents but thankful none that required ski patrol assistance!
All in all it was a good but incredibly exhausting day which left me barely able to walk for a while...but gosh I did love that Gondola.
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Family and Friends,
Seattle
It's been 6 months since my last visit home and 1 year since Kingsley was last in Seattle. Needless to say we were both really excited to see friends and family, drive a car again, and just be in Seattle.
My parents picked us up at the airport and after twenty some hours of travel we were treated to an amazing homemade brunch which included:
Banana bread
Egg casserole
Grapefruit
Sticky cinnamon buns
Bacon
And many other amazingly wonderful things that I'm sure my Mom spent hours preparing.
With full stomachs post brunch Kingsley promptly fell asleep on the couch. I however had lots of energy...why? Because I am a smarter traveler than my husband. You see Kingsley slept through the first flight to Japan and then was awake the entire second flight so by the time we arrived in Seattle at 9:00am he was ready for bed. I did the exact opposite and woke up as we were landing in Seattle so felt fresh (as much as can be expected after traveling halfway around the world) and ready to face the day.
It was nice to see snow on the ground at my parents house
Since we only had 2 short weeks in Seattle we packed A LOT into them. The evening of our first day in Seattle, Carmen and Sean hosted a dinner at their house for my family and Kingsleys family. It was so nice to see everyone and to be together.
As you can see by the photos and earlier description. We ate pretty well that day! Ah its nice to be home...
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Family and Friends,
Seattle
Sometime very soon (not allowed to say the exact date) my little brother (who is not so little anymore) will be deployed to Afghanistan for 6-9 months. This is a scary time for my family as we don't know how often we will be able to communicate with him or what kind of dangers he may face while he is there. If you think of it, please keep Mark in your thoughts and prayers.
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Family and Friends
Although I loved exploring Germany, my favorite part of the trip was spending time with Amy, Sally, Shaun and Damien. I feel so fortunate to have such a wonderful family that I love spending time with.
Had a wonderful German meal at a traditional restaurant my last night in Germany. My meal was called the wedding banquet- veal with cranberries covered in a horseradish sauce. It was awesome!
Dessert?
Schnee Balls! This photo demonstrates the actual size of the pastries. Larger than teapot and xbox controller!
Labels:
Family and Friends,
Germany,
Travel Adventures
Mark was promoted to a Corporal in the Marines yesterday. I don't fully understand all that goes into the military ranking system but I do know that Mark has been promoted through the ranks very quickly and I am very proud of him for that.
As if I wasn't already proud enough...Mark received special commendation for his exemplary performance while serving his country. A special honor only one other guy received out of the entire group. 
I know everyone always says the bride is beautiful but Amy was truly a stunning bride. One of my favorite memories from the wedding was watching two little girls gawking at Amy and John during the pre-wedding photos. One girl turned to her mom and breathless asked "mommy which one is the princess?" The mom quietly explained "the girl in white is the princess and the man next to her is the prince." To which the other little girl responded with a wistful sigh "I hope I get to be a princess someday..."
Kingsley met his nephew Damien for the very first time which was incredibly special. However, it required a steep learning curve for Kingsley which included a crash course in Baa Baa Black Sheep and The Wheels on the Bus...
I wish I could report I had a perfect day racing up and down the mountain but after a few years of no boarding I was pretty rusty. Lets just say there was A LOT of falling involved and maybe a few near tears incidents but thankful none that required ski patrol assistance! 
As you can see by the photos and earlier description. We ate pretty well that day! Ah its nice to be home...
Sometime very soon (not allowed to say the exact date) my little brother (who is not so little anymore) will be deployed to Afghanistan for 6-9 months. This is a scary time for my family as we don't know how often we will be able to communicate with him or what kind of dangers he may face while he is there. If you think of it, please keep Mark in your thoughts and prayers. 
Mark with Bob Boardman a very special family friend and a Marine who passed away a week after these photos were taken.
Schnee Balls! This photo demonstrates the actual size of the pastries. Larger than teapot and xbox controller!