Pictures from the last half of 2012

Good news - the world didn't end in December, 2012 as the Mayans feared ! In fact, the last half of 2012 was filled with more exploring around the Pacific Northwest and other fun activities for the Rodgers. Click here to view our album with pictures from 2012.

Whidbey Island

With the kids getting two straight weeks off from school, we decided to head up on a mini-vacation between Christmas and New Years. We went to Whidbey Island, which is an island in the Puget Sound about 30 miles north of Seattle. You have to take a ferry to get there, but the island itself is fairly large - about 40 miles long or so.

There are several state parks on the island - we visited two of them, one with an old fort and another with a beach.

We rented a house right on the beach. It was a bit cold but we still could take walks along the beach. We also played a lot of football in the sand in front of the house.

Whidbey is also known for its seafood - we drove by Penn Cove, which is famous for its mussels. We also had some for dinner - Jack and Henry both finished off an awful lot of them.

Click here to view our album from the trip.

Rodgers Boys Go To Seahawks Game

The Seattle Seahawks were the hottest team in the NFL for much of December - over the course of three games they won 58-0, 50-17, and 42-13.

Joseph, Jack, Henry, and Dad went to the first of those games, a 58-0 blowout of the Seahawks over the Cardinals. We sat up high, close to the middle of the field. It was really loud (Seattle fans take pride in the stadium being the loudest in the NFL). The defense forced eight turnovers and Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch were the stars on offense.

The view from our seats before kickoff

Henry and Jack enjoying the game

Another Seahawk touchdown !

Getting a Christmas Tree

 We got our Christmas tree 1st of December at a big Christmas tree farm in Carnation. It was very fun tryig to pick out a Christmas Tree for our house. Daddy was sick so the people cutting down the tree in our family was, A little bit of Dad, Joseph, Jack and ME! We had fun cutting it down (See Joseph cutting down the tree below) and dad started cutting the tree then, Joseph did it, Jack did it, and I did it!

Written By Henry! 

After cutting down the tree a few days later we decorated the tree with lights and Christmas ornaments. we also had chocolate kisses. It was fun.

Written by Henry!

Weekend Trip to Bend, Oregon

We hiked up a big hill in Bend, OR. It was a hike in circles around the big hill going up. It was kinda steep. It had lots of snow. There was two ways up. We went one way up and that same way down.( Below is a picture of the trail/view at the top. In bend we  a really cool house with a Foosball table and a broken Pac-Man machine(It was old)(We rented the house).

Written by Henry 

We went to smith rock on the way back to Seattle. It is a big rock that experienced rock climbers can climb up. We just looked at the GIANT rocks there. It was a state park. 

Written by Henry 

Halloween 2012

2012-13 School Year Begins

Joseph on his first day of High School !

I go to SpiritRidge Elementary School and my Teacher is Mrs. Schuster (Shoe-stir) - by Henry

I started at Somerset Elementary on September 4th, 2012. I'm in 5th Grade and my teacher is Mr. Olson. - by Jack

Jack & Dad Catch a Crab Dinner for All

On September 2, Dad and I went crabbing! We rented a row boat on Camano Island and got a crab pot - which is a cage where you put crab bait. We rowed out a little bit into the Puget Sound and dropped the crab pot into the water. There was a big rope attached to it and a buoy on top. We waited for 45 minutes and then pulled the pot up. There were about seven crabs inside! We measured them because you can't keep crabs that are less than 6.25" inches long. We did it a few more times and wound up with four crabs for the day. Then we came home and cooked them for dinner. Yum!

Henry's Encounter With a Bear

I wasn't scared as this bear walked toward me. I didn't even flinch while the bear came closer... and closer ... and closer. I knew it wouldn't attack me ...

... because I was at the zoo and there was a big glass window between me and the bear. 

by Henry

San Francisco

In August we went to San Francisco. We watched a baseball game where the Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants. The Nationals won by 12 runs. Everyone in my family was rooting for the Nationals. I got to sit with Mom about 20 rows right behind home plate. They were really good seats! Jack and Joseph got to sit two rows from the front between home plate and the dugout! Dad sat up in a box with the Frisbies.

We also got to see San Francisco. We went to a video game museum and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge but it was really foggy. 

Crater Lake

In August we drove down to Oregon and camped overnight at Crater Lake National Park. The lake is the result of a volcanic eruption a few thousand years ago where the top of the mountain blew off, leaving a big crater. It's filled with water and is the deepest lake in the US, and is also incredibly blue and clear, because it's pure rain water, no rivers flow into the lake. 

We took a boat ride around the lake and also did some hiking. 

Kayaking in Lake Union

In August we went kayaking in Lake Union right in Seattle. There were a lot of sharks. Joseph almost got eaten by one. Just kidding. There really were a lot of seaplanes. They use the lake as a place to take off and land. Lake Union is a lake that is near downtown Seattle. We also got to sail small sailboats in a man-made pond. 

Trip to New York

After going to Washington DC, we went to New York. There, we went to a Nats-Mets game, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, went out to dinner in Little Italy, and stayed at the Webers (and swam in their pool). We took a boat around Manhattan. We also went out to Grandma Carol's house and played bocce, and took a boat along the water.

Rodgers Return to Washington DC

In July we flew to Washington D.C. While we were there we went paddleboating and went to a Nationals Game (see the pictures below). We also saw some old friends, drove by our old house, and went to Villa Bella for dinner (yum). From there we drove to New York.

Lauren Visits Us in Seattle

In July, we had a visitor from the East Coast - thanks for coming out Lauren! She stayed with us for a couple of nights before going to work in the city. The weather was gloomy but we got out and did a few things in the city, including this visit to Lake Union.

Camping in Glacier National Park

In early July (over the 4th of July) Dad, Joseph, and Henry went to Glacier National Park in Montana. It's about a ten hour drive from Seattle. Jack and Mom didn't go because Jack had a baseball tournament. 

We hiked a bit, saw some animals (goats and a bear were the highlight), and saw some great scenery.

Jack Makes Baseball All-Star Team

Jack made the 2012 Thunderbird Little League Baseball All-Star tryouts on June 16th. He was in the top 22 10 and under players in his Little League. The tryouts were two hours long. In the first tryout, Jack did fielding and hitting, followed by a scrimmage, which was 9 players on 9. On the day of the second tryout Jack did fielding ground balls at 3rd base and Shortstop. He also did outfielding in all 3 positions. They also pulled people out during fielding to do pitching, and did batting.

13 people would make the team. The coaches would call you Monday afternoon to tell you if you had made the team. There would be practice for 2 straight weeks, for two hours and then a tournament afterwards. The tournament was double elimination, so if you lost twice you would be out of it. If you managed to last to the finals you would have to win for about 7 straight days. The 10U Thunderbird Little League had not ever won a game, they were 0 - 10 in this tournament. This year that would hopefully change that.

On Monday, June 18th, Jack got the call. Nick Stay, the manager of the team, told him that he had made the team! There was even practice that night. After all of the fourteen two hour practices, game time was here. At the start of the game they had a "ceremony," when they announced our names from a box above the field and behind home plate. The names were in the batting line up order and the subs were just random after the line up. Jack thought that it was cool having them say your name.

In the first game, both teams were tied at 1 entering the third inning. In the third inning, Thunderbird rallied and scored 7 runs! Later in the game, Kirkland National got two runs, but it wasn't enough... Thunderbird won 8 - 2! The Thunderbird 10U All-Stars had finally won a game! Jack went 1 for 2 with an RBI that was the first run Bellevue Thunderbird scored. He played Left Field, and played for 4 innings!

The second game would be against Snoqualmie Valley. Bellevue Thunderbird won 8-1. Jack got to pitch the last inning. He gave up no hits striking out two of last three batters.Click Here to see him pitching to the last two batters! There were now undefeated after two wins. They would now play Eastlake.


This would be the third game for Thunderbird, coming of two great wins. Thunderbird was defeated 12-1, it was Thunderbirds' worst game by far. They were now in the losers bracket, and would have to win 5 games to win it all. Their next (hopefully not last) game would be against Mercer Island.


Mercer Island was pretty good, the only reason they were in the losers bracket was that they had played a very good team. The score at the end was 13-7, and the only reason they hadn't been beat by more is that they scored about 4 runs in the last inning. Jack pitched for 21/3, giving up only 2 runs. In the first inning he pitched, he gave up no runs. In the second inning he pitched and gave up only 1 run. In the final inning he managed to get one out but after that they hit him hard, he left with runners on second and third. We were done, it was double elimination and they had lot their two games.

Mercer Island lost there next game knocking them out, but Eastlake won it all. The Bellevue Thunderbird All-Stars' final record was 2-2, not bad considering there were a few teams finishing 0-2. Eastlake beat Bellevue East in the championships, having just coming of beating Bellevue East, sending them to the losers bracket and then they beat Mercer Island and lost to Eastlake again. Thunderbird came in about 5th place in the tournament out of 12 teams.


-Jack

Dodgers Are The Champions !!

The Dodgers, including 3B/SS/P/C Henry Rodgers, won the championship of the Bellevue Thunderbird Little League on Saturday, defeating the Giants in dramatic fashion, 11-10. Down 10-8 going into the bottom of the final inning, the Dodgers got the first two base-runners on. They then hit a base-clearing triple, followed by a walk-off single to the pitcher. After the winning run scored the bench erupted into bedlam and raced onto the field, celebrating their hard-earned victory.

Henry, the only player on the team (and likely in the league) whose last name rhymes with his team's name, got two hits in two at-bats in the victory - a single and a double. He had 1 RBI and scored once. He was on-deck when the winning run scored.

The Dodgers had cruised through the tournament undefeated; the other four teams in the league each lost twice.  Combining potent bats with strong defense, the Dodgers only trailed in the tournament for one inning - the top of the final inning before they roared back with their victory.

The players eschewed a champagne celebration in favor of juice boxes and potato chips.

Team picture after the trophy ceremony.
(Henry is in the middle of the three  kneeling players on the left;
click on the photo for a larger version)

Henry with Coach Lambro

Joseph Helps Save The Frogs

As just about everyone knows, Saturday April 28 is International Save The Frogs Day. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the local Seattle frog-saving chapter holds a 5K race at Seward Park, a beautiful park jutting into Lake Washington. Joseph ran in the race; this was his second 5K race he participated in. He finished in a little more than 27 minutes, faster than his last race. And, he was careful not to step on any frogs while running (he knew how embarassing would it have been if he had stomped a frog while running in this race!).

Here are some photos:

Joseph high-fiving a frog during the race

Joseph crossing the finish line

After the race

The Terror At Mount Rainier

Every year Henry's elementary school hosts a "Young Authors' Day." As part of the day, the students write a book which is then "published" in hardcover form. In addition, five of the books from the entire school are chosen to be made into short plays by the local middle school's drama department. This year, Henry's story was one of the books chosen and was made into a short play.

Henry's book, shown below, is titled: "The Terror At Mount Rainier". It tells the harrowing story of a park ranger at Mount Rainier National Park named Henry who saves his family from Sasquatch, who attacks their camping tents while they are sleeping. The title is not yet available on Amazon, but Dad is working on it.

Lakeside Knights in Wenatchee

In mid-April, Jack's tournament team, the Lakeside Knights, played in a baseball tournament in Wenatchee, Washington (about two-and-a-half hours east of Seattle). This was the first tournament for the group, who started practicing three months ago. There were over 100 teams in the tournament, split out into different divisions. Jack's team was in one of the 10-and-under divisions, with a total of eight teams.

Their first game was against a team who had traveled all the way from Lethbridge Canada (near Calgary - about a ten hour drive). They were a very good team and the Knights lost, 8-2. In the second game the Knights played a team from East Wenatchee and beat them 12-4. Jack got a key 2-RBI double in the second game to turn a 2-1 game into a 4-1 game. Jack played CF for more of his team's games, and also pitched one inning, giving up 4 runs.

After those two games, the eight teams get put in a standard single-elimination tournament bracket. The Knights were seeded fourth, but lost their first game to a team from Gray's Harbor, Washington, by the score of 11-6.

All in all it was a very fun weekend and it was great to come away from their first tournament with one win. They are scheduled to play in another tournament over Memorial Day weekend in Woodinville, Washington, just north of Seattle.

Here are some photos from the weekend:

Jack in Centerfield

Jack on second base after his double

The Lakeside Knights

Eastern Washington Trip | Part 2

Today, we travelled from Coulee to Wenatchee, Washington, which is in the middle part of the state. After getting a quick breakfast at our hotel, we checked out and drove to the nearby Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center. The center itself was pretty neat. It had lots of interesting facts about the dam, and tried to give a decent comparison to show its size. For example, the top rim of the dam takes up the same space as four and a half pyramids of Giza, and the outtake pipes are as wide as three school buses!

After watching a quick video about the history of the dam it was time to go. We got on the road to Lake Chelan, a popular resort location in summer. There, we had a quick lunch and threw some baseballs around at a lakeside park in the city. It was again a nice, sunny day, but not too hot, so we had a lot of fun before it was again time to move on.

This time, we were on our way to our final stop for the day, Wenatchee. As we got going, we passed through the heart of apple country. Washington grows lots of apples, through the apple trees aren’t the same as they were in Virginia. The trees are shorter and the branches have been sort of cut short, to save space and allow for more trees in a field. The towns were also very apple-themed, as we passed through one with the Apple Cup Café, the Apple Inn, and a large apple warehouse.

As we neared Wenatchee, we made one last stop in Lincoln Rock State Park. The park itself is named for a cliff that sort of looks like a profile of the sixteenth president. (The kids disagreed, however, as not only could the rock resemble anyone, but any rock could resemble a president if you look at it the right way). The park was nice by itself anyway, so we took a quick walk to the lakefront an then got going.

Upon arriving in Wenatchee, we first checked into our hotel, then drove over to Arby's for dinner. Next it was off to the hotel where the get-together for Jack's tournament was. There were over 100 teams there from all over  the northwestern,  but Jack's division only has eight.

At the meeting, the names of the teams were announced after about half an hour of just making sure people could get there and hanging out. Then, Jack stayed to watch the Mariners game with Dad and Henry, while the rest of the family went home. We wound up watching the game there, and saw the Mariners lose to the Oakland A's 4-0.

-Written by Joseph

Here's some pictures of the dam and other stuff we did today:

 The Grand Coulee Dam.

 The dam and the power plants off to the right, with the hills in the background.

 The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center.

 "Lincoln Rock" - the cliff between the trees looks something like Linocln's face from the side, though its hard to tell from this shot.

 Hills overlooking the lake at the park.

A dock stretching out into the lake with hills in the background.

That's it for today, check back tomorrow to see more about Jack's tournament and what we do in Wenatchee. If you haven't already, see below for yesterday's post.