With that said, 2009 was an awesome year for the family. Despite the economic turmoil and hard times, we were blessed and well positioned to deal with the various situations that presented themselves. Fortunately, this brought us many memorable opportunities and experiences throughout the year. It is my hope that 2009 treated you and your families well, and that 2010 will bring you personal satisfaction and internal peace. Hopefully our paths will cross in the coming year... rock-n-roll my compadres!
-Dennis Lapchis
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One such event was a most excellent roadtrip in January to visit my great buddy, Reid Warner, who has a sweet cabin over in Twisp. We planned for a weekend of adventure, snowmobiling and splitboarding in the pow buffet mountains of the closed North Cascades Highway.
RW, thanks for an incredibly memorable weekend! What a way to start the year off! Read all about it here.
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In February, the family spent a nice week in a vacation cabin up near Stevens Pass. The kids loved the hot tub, playing in the snow, and the various decorative critters hanging in the cabin... Louise was not so keen on the critters. ;)
Ben has been enjoying strapping on the board and cruisin down the slopes. I also give Abbi credit for signing up for a snowboarding lesson this year and giving it a try. Unfortunately, she was in a class with all boys, and it wasn't her favorite experience... but that helps build character in the long run.
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Great Wolf Lodge... what can I say. 84 degrees in the middle of winter, without getting on an airplane to get there?! It sounded like fun... and we actually had a good time, but it's not the greatest value. All said, we had fun, but I doubt it's a place we will be adding to our annual plans.
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As hours were cut at work, I found myself with additional time on my hands. Besides enjoying more time with the kids and increasing my participation in the domestic side of the family business, I also tackled several projects including building a corral for our chickens and a trellis for the garden.
Louise and I also helped Mark and Margaret adopt a chicken coop from Holly, across the street.
Ben has fun locking up the adults in the coop, before the move.
The plan was in place, the coop was cut in half, and we muscled it across the street.
After a mix up with a rooster, and adopting a lone new hen in our flock, Mark and Margaret are now the proud owners of some good layers. Thanks for your help guys!
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The kids and I headed to Emerald Downs for Mother's Day this year, and met up with Grandma Sherry, Grandpa Mel, Kristin and Tyler. The kids had a good time playing on all the bouncy toys, but none of the adults could pick a horse to save our lunch money. Oh well, beautiful day to watch some beautiful animals and hang out with the family.
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The 20 Acres always satisfies...
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I joined the Western Washington University Alumni Board this year. It was actually perfect timing, since I have been entertaining the idea of creating a Soccer Endowment for the university for some time. Joining the board has not only allowed me to work with and meet some great people, but also inspired me to get the endowment off the ground.
Thanks goes out to Craig Chucka, for opening this door for me.
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Another great person in my life this year was Kanell Astor... our regular lunch meetings were just what the doctor ordered. I've really enjoyed getting to know Mr. Astor on a personal level, and I look forward to continuing and further developing the relationship.
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Speaking of meeting great people, I joined Facebook this year and have to admit I've enjoyed it. I'd prefer spending time with real people in real places, as opposed to virtual people in virtual places, and I don't spend a ton of time contributing, but it has allowed me to reconnect with many old friends and find out what is happening in their worlds. It has also allowed me to create a page for the WWU Soccer Alumni, reconnect with some old soccer buddies, and invite others to join and support the endowment cause... pretty cool. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how social networking groups such as FB evolve and mature over time.
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Speaking of soccer, for the first time Louise and I started playing on the same Co-Rec team together. I polished off my dusty shoes, and embraced the exercise, socializing, and weekly date out with my marathoning butterfly. It's feels great to be participating in something fun and healthy together... I highly recommend!
And on the roller coaster of life, Louise and I keep enjoying the ups and downs of married life... the thrills, the chills, the screaming and wild heart thumping that a 16 year amusement park ride of a marriage can offer. All said, Louise and I are still rock-n-rolling!
And to celebrate out 16th wedding anniversary, we both trained for and completed the Seafair Triathlon together. Louise being the stud that she is, kicked my booty in the swim, held me off on the bike and run, and crossed the finish line with well deserved bragging rights... man do I feel old... kudos to you, butterfly!
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Louise and I had another great year of biking... I wore out several components on my bike, as well as managed to get hit by a German tourist driving through Pioneer Square... luckily no broken bones. Louise's commute is longer than mine thus she gets in a nicer workout per trip. My bike commuting has been a very therapeutic outlet... many people struggle to understand why I would prefer to bike commute than drive a car. On the other hand, Louise bikes to feel less guilty about her monstrous carbon footprint... ;)
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Alli did a good job this year conquering some fears, as she competed in the kids portion of the Seafair Triathlon.
She also joined the "Girls On The Run" club at school, ran the kids marathon and ran a couple 5Ks in one weekend... Jingle Bell 5K and the GOTR 5K... keep on running girl!
Grandma, Grandpa, Clint and all the cousins came out to cheer and support, and Louise and Tia were there to inspire and run with Alli on her first 5K!
Singing in the tunnel during the run!
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Folk Life has always been one of my favorite festivals of the year... free, home-grown, grass-roots entertainment for the masses... of course a tip/donation is always appreciated. This is one of the holidays that Louise usually is signed up to work, thus the kids and I headed down on what turned out to be a beautiful day! I was able to see the tail end of Anzanga's set... an African Marimba Band that has been playing in one form or another since I was in college... I used to play them on my radio show on KUGS 89.3FM in Bellingham back in the late '80s.
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We headed out to Grandma and Grandpa's place on Hood Canal several times this year... and as always felt the goodness that is Eagle Shore.
Abbi's B-day was good stuff...
... and for dinner, everyone got down and dirty to dig it up.
Hood Canal Gold!
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An opportunity came up to run for the Neighborhood Watch Captain on my block. I pooled all my resources, made some phone calls to folks in high places, and campaigned on a platform of beer in every cup.... and I won in a unanimous landslide! Never one to break a promise, we had one of the best block parties in history thanks to the good folks at Georgetown Brewery!
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One day, Pat O'Hagan, a good buddy of mine at work, and I decided to have some fun at one of the KJ jobsites and create a piece for the company newsletter. The following link is our creation... Thanks for being a good sport Pat... I think it turned out great!
Yogi Zen Master PO'H
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The kids have always had fun climbing the trees in the backyard. This year I decided to give them a little tree fort to play in once up in the canopy.
Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Mel came over to give it her approval, and it passed the test... although I eventually ended up adding a railing around the main platform.
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Throughout 2009 Louise spent dozens of hours volunteering in the kids' classrooms and on various fieldtrips.
One such fieldtrip was a week at IslandWood on Bainbridge, a unique 255-acre outdoor learning center with Abbi's class... it was a fantastic destination and environment.
Earlier in the year, Louise also enjoyed some time with Alli's class at Camp Sealth on Vashon... good times, but the place could use a little sprucing up.
For the most part, the kids have been thriving at Pathfinder... there are some excellent teachers there and it's been a great fit for our kids.
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In mid June, Abbi was fortunate enough to join a group of schoolmates and travel to China. It was a whirlwind two week tour, and the kids were on the go every day. From the sounds of it, there was lots of culture shock and unique interesting things to eat, see, and experience.
To see more photos from her trip click here.
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Summer 2009 will go down in history as one of the longest, warmest, driest summers in Seattle's history... I was even able to sport a tan for many months. Anyway, it was such a great season we were sorry to see it leave, but we thoroughly enjoyed it while it was here.
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Lots of pool time this year... Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Mel took the kids down to the Renton WaterPark and had a great day in the sun. Outings like this are what summer time memories are all about!
And with so many beautiful, sunny, warm days in the forecast, Tia and Clint's pool was a great destination for the five of us! The kids had lots of fun with their cousin Emelia in the pool.
And the award for the geekiest patrons at the pool goes to... 100% Certified Book Worms!
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Speaking of Tia and Clint, they brought the family a new cousin and Emelia a new sister in '09... Delaney Anne! Congratulations you guys! Another beauty... it looks like the cousins will now have another cutie to join the team and run around with in 2010!
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One Saturday, the kids and I headed over to Newport Hills to the old soccer field and I ended up playing with some old friends from grade school. Several parents and families came out, including Grandma Sherry, and it was a fun reunion. Click here for more photos.
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Speaking of the old neighborhood... it decided to go all high brow and a while ago declare itself resolved if its Renton address... which brings me to Newcastle Days. We headed over and had a nice day with Grandma Sherry, Grandpa Mel, Auntie Kristin, and Cousin Tyler.
Enjoyed spending some time in the back yard...
It was fun to see how the Lake Boren area has changed since the days of riding my bike through the trails in the woods.
Alli had fun in the Kids Zone at the fair.
Here she has fun mauling the bouncy toys... ;)
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In the summer, the family headed over to La Wis Wis for another eventful trip. Upon arrival, there was actually a forest fire on the opposite side of the river, and helicopters coming in and dropping water, which made for an interesting welcome. It all worked out, and we had a great time.
This was the year that all the kids worked and improved on their swimming, and I'll tell you, the water is kinda chilly there... as well as conquering the fear of cliff jumping... woohoo! Nice effort kids!
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A couple times this year we headed out with Uncle Keith on bike rides up at Snoqualmie Pass. One was a nice ride around the perimeter of the lake. We lucked out that day... heading up to the pass, it rained the entire way, but when we arrived on the eastern side of the pass the clouds broke up and we escaped the downpour on our ride.
Another trip Nancy joined us, and we biked in to the trail head and hiked to an awesome display of the power of nature.
The aftermath of an avalanche from the prior winter was incredible... imagine the amount of snow that had to come down that slope to flatten all those trees!
It also just happened to be a record breaking 103 degrees back in the Seattle area that day, thus the cold stream provided some nice relief and relaxation.
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One of best trips in a long time was a two week trip we took down the Oregon Coast. Not only did we have excellent weather for most of the trip, but the places we visited were interesting and very memorable.
To read all about our travels, click here.
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Another trip out to the Canal was to enjoy a yummy, all-you-can-eat Thai Dinner Doug and Kay had won at an auction.
A nice trick with a watermelon, etc.
Here we all relax, including D&K's friends Nick and Cathy, after the delicious feast and fun event.
Tumble fun with an upside down pool...
Cool snake on the badmitton court...
... and little bow and arrow practice down at the beach.
Emelia gets in on the action with a quick lesson
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This year, Dad and I had a fun project to work on, as we decided to build a zip line on the 20 acres. We researched, planned, purchased equipment, and set out to build an exciting ride that wouldn't kill us!
More of the project can be found here.
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Lapchis Bash 2009
We were hoping to have the zip line up and running for the inaugural Lapchis Bash, but we ran out of time. But it will be there for next year! Grandpa Doug and Tyler moved tons of bark and worked hard getting the 20 acres up to snuff for a summer time shindig hoedown!
A good bonfire always helps get things cleaned up... here Patrick, Jennie's nephew, helps stoke the fire...
After that he pulled out his guitar and offered up some good tunes.
After a lot of elbow grease the 20 acres was ready for action... it turned out to be a sweet party with a great mix of people in a great location.
Here Mark joins the band and performs a little solo in honor of his birthday that day.
It was a fun day, and hopefully a soon to be annual event!
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Every few years, the old Hazen Gang (Allan Wright, Craig Chucka, Dave Visse, Dennis Lapchis, Rick Wire, and Ron Gopal), meets up at some destination and spends a few days together. This year Ron treated us to a great weekend at his pad at Blue Lake... click here for more details.
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I have never fished as much as I did in 2009... and it was great to see so many fish out there... at times the water was boiling. It was also a year that we video taped Ben catching his first salmon... and he was pumped!
Click here for lots more fish tales!
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This year we saw the return of the Seattle Sounders... and what incredible memories it brought back. As a kid, I was at every home game, starting with games at Memorial Stadium and eventually moving into the Kingdome... even saw Pele play in the first Sounders event inside the Dome. Well, the excitement was back, and soccer fever took over the Seattle area.
Two of the games I attended thanks to a good friend and fellow soccer coach Jamie Foulk. Jamie and I coached our daughters together for many years, and he currently does a great job as the VP on the board of the West Seattle Soccer Club. Thanks Jamie for the great games this past season... from the great "pre-game marches to the stadium" to the scarf waving victory celebrations afterwards!
Despite my distaste of the in your face marketing of the XBOX 360, I was able to over look it and have a great time. Welcome Back Sounders!
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The first Sounders playoff game ended up coinciding with a WWU Alumni Soccer event at the George and Dragon. Thus, I was able to hang out with my old college buddies and watch some great soccer... we love the Vikings and had every intention of heading to the WWU game against SPU that night, but the Sounder energy in the pub won out... the Sounders played to a tie and the WWU Men's Soccer team scored a decisive victory over SPU 4-0!
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Grandpa Doug and Jennie purchased a fun old fashioned cider press, and we scavenged a bunch of apples and made some yummy cider on a nice warm day. It was a great idea... it's a team effort throughout the entire process... to get the fruit... find the bottles... grind up the apples... feed the fruit into the grinder... press out the juice... bottle the juice... and finally drink the juice!
For more details click here.
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We went on a great hike with Reid and Michelle Warner (who are now newlyweds... congratulations to the both of you!) and their two daughters, Megan and Emily. It was satisfying to get both families out, doing something in the great outdoors.
Some photos of the outing are here.
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Grandpa Doug and Jennie treated the kids to a Holiday Pops Extravaganza! The Seattle Symphony was joined by members of Cirque de la Symphonie. From the kid reports after the show, it was an excellent performance... Check out the following to get a taste of what it was like.
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This year we were treated to both a Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's.
Clint started off the Thanksgiving evening at Grandma and Grandpa's by whipping up a nice batch of foo-foo drinks for us all. When this man is not bringing power to the people, he is famous for mixing up some tasty libations!
Kay works her magic in the kitchen!
Then after getting well fueled up the night before, we headed up into the woods to get trees. Here Doug scouts out the perfect specimen!
And after looking after the kids during the holiday break while L & I worked, we headed over for a Christmas Eve Dinner. Here the gang poses with new personalized napkins... courtesy of Kathy Kirchoff.
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We hosted Grandma Sherry, Grandpa Mel, Auntie Kristin and Cousin Tyler for Christmas Dinner this year... sadly, I was busy trying to get the dinner prepared and don't have any pics of the evening. We toasted to the holidays, and family outings that we look forward to attending!
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Grandpa Doug and Jennie had us out to Lake Marcel for a delicious post Christmas Brunch. We played games, ate great food, and headed out to the frozen lake. Again, I would've loved to have some video of the shiny ice chunks shattering across the frozen lake in the glistening sun! It doesn't happen very often, and I didn't have my camera... next time!
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Cherish the moments... celebrate the small and beautiful things in life... a long winding road, a sleepy, peaceful waterway... a slow moving ferry across the sound... music...
Hug those you love... tell them you love them... embrace what life has to offer... you never know when it will end...
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans..." - John Lennon
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A few more miscellaneous moments to cherish...
Ben's B-day in Shmidtz Park
Downtown
Ferry Fun
Kayaking in Elliot Bay
Thumbs Up!
Bike Riding in Seattle
Seafair Parade 2009
Yummy Stuff
Louise and good friend Kathy from Cleveland
Alli Self Portrait
Lucy... alive and still kickin'
Abbi's cool plant shot
One of my favorite shots this past year... I love sky shots
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Well, the blog is too long this year... or at least I'm hitting the wall... it will probably be less involved next year. So many memorable events throughout the year, and I enjoy documenting it, but it feels like too much... 365 days of pictures, words, videos, links, etc... time will tell.
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With that said, a message for my kids... in life, do the best you can... for example, with this blog, I put in the effort that makes sense to me... it could be better, it could be worse... there's things I will miss, there's things that I will forget... but I'll give it the best effort I can. If you don't put forth any effort, you will probably have little to show in the end... I hope the Lapchis family will always put forth an effort that internally satisfies in the end... be honest, have integrity, work hard, play hard... do the best you can!
Love Papa
Until next time... Dennis Lapchis bids you farewell!
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