The Chatty Housewife

An Update

2015-07-24T14:59:00.002-07:00

I'd like to start this post by stating the obvious—that the ideals from my post titled Change didn't all come to fruition.

I know that fact should probably bother me, but I feel like how things went between then and now happened just as they were supposed to. I'm still off Facebook (haven't visited once) and it's been good. Aside from staying off Facebook, I also gave myself a break from feeling pressured to reach the communication goals I had originally set (phone, email, snail mail.) Other than Thank You notes and the occasional chatty email not much else happened. No snail mail communications were sent out. I also took an unannounced blog break even though I was all motivated back when I wrote the Change post and said I was going to post more. Things changed, a lot was happening and life got exciting, and busy and it was for the best.

In the post, I had included an excerpt from a past journal entry, which went like this:

I've come to the conclusion that there's no better way to change one's life than to just change it.

It's time to figure out what is important in life and just take a leap of faith for those things. Not only to just reach towards them, but to reach out with confidence, grab them and make them part of my life. To make them part of who I am.

I'm still working on that. What's most important in life? Faith, my Husband, my kids, my family and friendships. Those are the things that come to mind first. I have a long way to go when it comes to Faith. The Lord is so deserving of more than I give Him. At the same time he has so much grace and love for me. How incredible! When it comes to serving my husband and children—being a helpmeet and a homemaker and a mother is really all I've ever wanted to do. It makes me happy!

In February we sold our house in Birch Bay—it was so exciting! Life was a whirlwind for a couple of days during packing and cleaning. The Mr. was working a lot of overtime which meant we'd have to pack the truck and do the (uugh) major cleaning on the same day the keys would be handed over to the new owners. So (Best Decision EVER) we paid a local moving company to pack our rental truck for us and then parked it in front of a neighbors house while we lived in a hotel for several days. We honestly didn't know what was going to come next. Either we'd close on a new home that week or we'd have to find a last minute rental (and that wasn't looking like it would be easy.) We had found a home we were simply smitten with but we didn't know if it would work out. We made them a crazy offer on the home, which included a hefty price drop, required an answer by dinner time that day, and an explanation to the sales guy that it was our best offer. Amazingly, they accepted it! We rushed things as fast as possible and we couldn't believe it when we had the keys in our hands. It was one of our most difficult weeks ever, what with the stress of the unknown, and seemingly endless paperwork and phone calls... but the result is that we're living in our dream home. We are so incredibly thankful.

Self timer photo from the day we got the keys.

In February Little Brother turned two and in May, Little Mr. turned four. How I ever became the mother of a two year old and a four year old, I have no clue. It has happened in a blink and I'm feeling utterly unequipped and overwhelmed, but even more I'm feeling thankful and grateful and content and happy! These children are ours to raise for the Lord and it is such an honor.

Taking turns blowing out candles at their joint birthday party.

Among the mundane grocery trips, hair cuts, errands and chores, we've also hosted guests, visited the the Tulip Festival, thrown a massive birthday party (42 people), explored many of our local State and city parks, spent a weekend in Winthrop, WA., helped celebrate a family member's 25th wedding anniversary, become amazed by our backyard wildlife, sold our Ford Ranger, bought a used Nissan Leaf, spent a day at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and an impromptu night in downtown and The Mr. had a birthday. How's that for an all inclusive update? With that, I leave you with this video of a fun moment shortly after we got the keys to our home... it was such a happy day!

Change

2015-01-23T09:44:00.003-08:00

I've come to the conclusion that there's no better way to change one's life than to just change it.

It's time to figure out what is important in life and just take a leap of faith for those things. Not only to just reach towards them, but to reach out with confidence, grab them and make them part of my life. To make them part of who I am.

(-excerpt from a journal entry I wrote almost exactly one month ago.)

I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions. Or to choose a word to represent each new year as many do. But this year I felt a tug towards a change in how I spend my time each day, so I started taking a realistic look at just that. I decided to give myself the month of January to try to create a different life, one that would become my new normal. One where there was time for things that mattered and time for things that I enjoy. One where deeper relationships would flourish with family and friends and one where I would grow as a Christian. One that would hopefully put an end to things like anxiety, laziness and loneliness, and instead create peace, confidence, diligence, devotion and communion.

This resulted in some pretty drastic changes around here. For starters, I found out that when you do what needs to be done when it first needs to be done, it feels like your work is barely any work at all. I also found out that if you declutter everything you aren't using, don't love or won't finish (yes, half finished craft projects I'm talking about you!) it gives you instant freedom to love and enjoy whatever is left behind after the purge. I found out that giving up commitments that you do not enjoy or do not truly have time for, is a very good thing. I found out that if you make an effort to be a friend, you'll gain a friendship. Most importantly, what happened this month is that I'm growing as a Christian.

One more big change took place that is worth mentioning. It started two weeks ago when I took a (sort of) break from social media. I unfollowed and unsubscribed like a crazy person, but still kept in touch with a few people (mostly family) through Facebook and Instagram. I liked the results so much that I did the extreme and deactivated my Facebook account. As I was doing so, Facebook asked me why I was leaving and the very first option In the list of given answers was "I spend too much time on Facebook" and that was true, so I clicked it. But to tell you the truth, that isn't what came to mind first as my reason for deactivating. If I would have taken the time to fill out the "give us more info on why you're leaving" box, I would have typed that I want to form and maintain relationships the old fashioned way—face to face! Or via phone or email if there are miles between us. But not via a list of 300 friends and acquaintances who randomly share parts of their lives online. Not by clicking on links they shared, or reading messages left for other people, or their random rants. I want to reinvent what friendship means to me personally. So goodbye for now, Facebook. And hello intentional email letters and phone calls. And maybe even snail mail letters, yup... as in with a PEN and PAPER of all things.

So did you make any resolutions this year? Did you choose a word? If so, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2014-11-27T15:21:00.000-08:00

And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God,

and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto,

ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.

Deut. 12:7

Mt Baker's Artist Point

2014-11-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

The mountains are calling and I must go. -John Muir

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! -John Muir

Heather Meadows

Picture Lake

Little L Turns 2

2014-11-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

We were happy to be able to attend Little L's birthday celebration in August. I can't believe he's two! Grace did a lovely job of ushering in his new year and a fun time was had by all.

The adorable birthday boy, eating his birthday cake. Nom nom!

Foraging

2014-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Just a short walk from our house there is a path through the trees that leads to a neat little park. Sadly we haven't made use of this park as much as we should. Now that it's November and colder and wetter... these photos make me realize how nice it would have been to spend more time at this park. I'll have to remind myself somehow to spend more time outdoors next summer.

On this particular visit, I brought along couple of metal bowls just in case there were blackberries to pick and I hit the blackberry jackpot. Endless untouched blackberry bushes lined the park, ripe for the picking.

Walla Walla

2014-11-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

In August, we spent a few lovely (and WARM) summer days in Walla Walla. The boys got to know some of our family better and we all had a wonderful time. These are the kind of days that memories are made of. We visited some neat downtown shops, including the toy store Inland Octopus (and impatiently waited for it to open.) We had a lot of fun at the Children's Museum, cooled off on the trampoline, met a new baby cousin and on our way home the boys were kept busy reading books and taking selfies.

Waiting, not so patiently.

Yay! It's open!

The cutest vet clinic I've ever seen, complete with x-rays.

He was still so much a baby in August, when I look at this photo now, in November, I just think "oh where has my baby gone?!"

Our mild version of "crack the egg."

I think this photo captured one of my favorite memories from the trip, Little Brother running around the trampoline with this really hilarious gait. It was so cute!

Static!

It always helps to have a spare foot to help hold your book.

Peek-a-boo!

Little Mr. took over the camera.

Selfie!

Daily Life: August

2014-11-20T05:00:00.002-08:00

Yup, August. (Slaps hand.)

August was a month of hot days, parks, playing, beaches, learning, being goofy, loving books, learning to climb, going head first and loving life.

Through a Child's Eyes

2014-11-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

Oh if we could always look at our surroundings through the eyes of a child, with wonderment and awe!

To enjoy God's creation freely with unhindered joy, setting aside all else.

So I thought, "why not?" and handed the camera to my 3 year old.

I don't regret it. What a perfect reminder to enjoy the beauty of God's creation, to love life and to live life fully.

San Juan Island

2014-11-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

Living in the Pacific Northwest, I've come to realize that I need a dose of the islands on a regular basis.

It had been too long since we'd made the voyage across the water and stepped foot in the San Juans. Yesterday we remedied that. The day was perfect, with its bright blue sky, crisp air and beaming warm sun rays. A layer of sparkling frost still coated the earth when we left home. It had turned the fields into wintry grey landscapes and as we drove along, Little Mr. pointed out each one with glee. Kids learn so much at this age and it blows me away to watch him sucking up his surroundings like a sponge. His vocabulary has exploded and his curiosity is growing. He is becoming aware of his surroundings, asking questions, and talking non-stop. He loves to talk. And we love to listen.

Little Brother is chill.

We met up with Mom J, I squished myself between the two boys in the back seat and we headed over to Anacortes to catch a ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Little Mr. was beside himself with excitement, shaking in his seat as we made our way towards the ferry line. We were all in for a treat. Once we were on the ferry, we couldn't resist heading out to the open deck. The smell of the ocean woke our senses, if the brisk air hadn't already done so! It felt so good to be on the water again, even though a ferry is no comparison to a pleasure boat. In the distance, Mt. Baker was beautiful, covered in a thick layer of snow and as the islands went by, we recognized them from our own boating trips and the memories flowed.

I always find it beautiful to watch the gulls gliding in the air current of the ferry. Gulls are one of my least favorite birds, but oh they are so beautiful lit up by the sun, floating along.

The result of my "okay everyone, say cheese!" request. I love it more than I would have if everyone had been sitting still and smiling. This is more "us."

Docking anticipation. We arrived, we shopped, we relaxed, we ate (Haley's Bait Shop- great burgers!) and then we took off in the car to tour around the island.

Our first stop was one of our favorite places on the island, South Beach.

Jump!

The Mr. and Little Mr. did a bit of exploring.

Our next stop was the American Camp.

The women who did laundry in this yard sure had a beautiful view. The fog obscuring the distant land was breathtaking yesterday.

After our visit to the American Camp, we made our way over to the English Camp. The sun shone through the trees, illuminating a path to our right as we made our way down to the camp. It was stunning!

Little Mr. and Grandma J.

We found a delicate looking mushroom in the English garden.

Before we made our way back to Friday Harbor to board the ferry back to the mainland, we made one last stop at Roche Harbor. Memories flooded back to us as we thought of how many times we had visited this harbor during boat camping trips. If you visit here, make sure you visit the little shop in the Quarryman Hall, as they sell such beautiful wares and it's an inspiring stop for any visitor.

As we left the islands behind us, the sky darkened and the view was so beautiful.

Earlier in the day we had stopped at Gourmet's Galley, a fun shop that sells kitchenware, fancy baking ingredients, gifts and delicacies. The Mr. picked up these yummy treats, which were perfect for our ferry ride back to Anacortes.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handywork. Psalm 19:1

Autumn Wonder

2014-11-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Along the North tip of Lake Whatcom, there is a beautiful walking path that is magnificent in the fall. Recently we walked part of it with some friends and as always, it didn't disappoint. The sun shone down on the lake, autumn colors abounded, the air was crisp and clean and the company lovely.

In the summer this is a place to wade in the cool water and sit in the shade of the massive trees to cool off. This time of year you're better to dress warmly, walk briskly to keep warm and even better, bring a thermos of hot chocolate to share somewhere along the way.

The beckoning path.

Lake Whatcom

The children found gigantic fallen leaves. It was fun to hear the crunch of the leaves beneath our feet. In some places, the ground was completely obscured by them.

The sun was heading down for the night as we made our way back.

My boys are always fond of throwing rocks in the water. It's such a simple game that produces such joy in little ones.

Running with abandon through the crisp leaves.

“Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn--that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness--that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.” -Jane Austen

Where Memories Flourish

2014-11-13T22:12:00.001-08:00

I haven't blogged since early September. I am a bad blogger.

You would think that my history of neglecting this blog would convince me to write some sort of closing message and just move on to whatever other things keep me busy these days, but every time I come back and start blogging again, I remember how much I love it and that means it's worth the effort. That I need a place to record our lives. And that this blog is a journal of sorts, where memories flourish.

I realized recently that the tidbits of my family's life that I record here might otherwise be lost, and in a way that makes it pretty important. Photos can only tell so much without a few words thrown in here and there. And that pile of photo laden DVDs stored in a box somewhere? It's certainly not as accessible as this little blog. It's almost as if it replaces the old sticky-page photo albums of years past. With their little squiggly ball point pen dates and names, beside faded images of childhood days long gone. I believe they are one of the most precious things mothers have done for their children. Births and birthdays, road trips and best friends, loose teeth and baby kittens, first day of kindergarten photos and awkward braces-laden smiles. I love those, I love them all.

So I'll keep blogging, and I'll just embrace the natural ebb and flow of posts, hoping you'll excuse my lack of consistency.

Northwest Washington Fair

2014-09-05T20:19:00.005-07:00

One of our favorite annual events to attend is the Northwest Washington Fair. I don't think we've quite made it every year since living in this area, but if we do miss it, we kind of regret it. For me, fairs like this hold a special place in my heart because they bring back childhood memories of attending things like The Canadian Western Agribition and The Regina Ex. I want to create similar memories for my boys- memories of the sights and smells and tastes of the fair, and most importantly, of the four of us doing fun things as a family.

One of the first things we saw at the fair was this Oliver tractor, which Little Mr. thought was great.

Then of course we visited the animal barns, which were noisy and stinky, but I love them!

There is a new camel farm in Bellingham and they were at the fair offering rides.

I love seeing the horses at the fair. They are so beautiful.

It was neat seeing so many different breeds of cows at the fair. Little Mr. also got to learn exactly where milk comes from at the milking exhibit where cows were being milked, and the milk was being processed right on site.

Chocolate covered strawberry kebab, with sprinkles of course.

Sprinkle face!

Sprinkle face #2!

I'm pretty sure Little Mr.'s favorite part of the entire day was the bunny barn. It was quiet and calm in there and all the rabbits were just lounging around. This fuzzy one had quite the entertaining look about him with all that fluff and those cute ear tufts.

The end of the day was HOT and while we ate dinner under a canopy, the boys got so warm that we just took their shirts off. Little Brother was exhausted and fell asleep on the ride home and I think after such a long day, we all wanted to join him! I'm already looking forward to going to the fair again next year, it's such a fun experience!

Blaine Marine Park

2014-09-01T06:00:00.001-07:00

MMM, blackberries!

The Dog Days of Summer

2014-08-29T15:24:00.001-07:00

What do you do when it is HOT out and stores are sold out of baby pools? You use the dinghy!

Daily Life: July

2014-08-26T21:25:00.002-07:00

The boys are loving their Thomas Take and Play "choo choo chacks."

Exploring a new-to-us park in Bellingham. This park is right in the area of town where I often run errands, and it is nice to have somewhere for the boys to run off steam.

Lord's Day morning latte. Don't worry, he only gets the last sips of mine. :)

Little Mr. loves having independent play time with the rice bin.

Playing at the mall play area.

The pharmacist at the drive through window at Rite-Aid gave the boys Dum Dums. They were quite pleased! Tobin only had his for a moment so I could snap the pics, and then I bit off a piece for him. Now every time I go through that particular drive through they want lollipops!

Instant sugar rush!!!

Tandem rocking horse riding.

Melissa and Doug brand reusable sticker books are awesome for independent play. Little Mr. will sit and play for quite a while by himself. I often have him play independently during Little Brother's morning nap.

Right around the time that Little Brother was learning to walk, he took some clumsy falls and somehow ended up with two black eyes!

I have a picture of Little Mr. riding this dump truck in a similar fashion. It's so fun to watch Little Brother unknowingly following in his older brother's footsteps.

Backyard picnic fun!

Relaxing at Juanita Beach in Kirkland on a Lord's Day afternoon.

Cousins!

Going for a ride in Daddy's truck.

Little Mr. picking out his new Strider balance bike at Earls Bike Shop in Bellingham.

Boulevard Park Boardwalk

Bellingham Bay

Splish Splash!

2014-08-25T06:00:00.001-07:00

Little Brother wasn't so sure he wanted to join in when we took the boys to the spray park at Cornwall Park in Bellingham.

Little Mr. mid-air.

After watching all the other kids having so much fun, he eventually joined in and had a very fun time.

This is what childhood memories are made of. Pure enjoyment!

Happy Independence Y'all!

2014-08-23T06:00:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little late! Oh well!

Rise and Shine sleepy-head!

You too Little Mr.!

This fleece Halo sleep sack with feet was seriously the best thing during the cold nights on Mount Rainier. Kind of silly, but so practical! I loved how it made him seem like my baby again. :)

Mmmm, breakfast!

Hot Chocolate

The little girl in pink was one of our camp site neighbors and one of the sweetest kids I have ever met. Her mother told us she wears dresses and tights almost all the time, even camping! :)

While I packed up camp, Little Brother took a nap in the Peapod. My must-haves when camping with small children are our Peapods and a battery operated sound machine.

Good morning Little Brother! This post is so bittersweet for me, because Little Mr. has weaned off bottles (seen several images up) AND his morning nap now that he is 18 months old. Sniff... sniff!

The beauty above.

A group shot of the kids.

Overexposed, but still a favorite shot. Little Brother looks precariously balanced on that tree trunk, and that is because he was! The Mr. was just outside of the frame ready to catch him if he wiggled!

The Ohanapecosh River ran right through the camp ground. So beautiful!

Waterfall under the bridge that led to the visitors center.

That afternoon we left the campground and headed to Sallad and Grace's place for a J Family 4th of July celebration. It was so much fun! The guys lit off a ton of fireworks.

Sqiggles! Fun with sparklers and a long exposure on my camera. If you squint, it sort of looks like it spells "POW" but that was not the intent. The intent was just squiggles. :)

I heart the 4th! Always loads of fun!

Grove of the Patriarchs

2014-08-22T06:00:00.001-07:00

When we woke up, it was COLD! If my memory serves me correctly, our second night was the coldest of them all but still not miserable, just "crisp!" So in the morning I dug out the boys' snow hats. Let me correct myself, I dug out the boys touques. (Can't hide my heritage! Ha ha. And yes, that is one of the accepted spellings of the word.) Every night I dressed the boys in their pajamas with a long sleeved thermal over top and then fleece Halo sleep sacks. Oliver's is a larger size that has openings for his feet. They are like wearable sleeping bags and keep little kids SO warm! I highly suggest them for boat camping or camping at high elevations like we were.

Here The Mr. and Little Mr. were making plans for the day. This is one of my favorite action shots from the trip, simply because it shows my boys' personalities. Little Mr. loves to be active (hence the bike) and LOVES maps. Little Brother, who is hiding at the bottom of this photo, is my independent one. He loves to wander off and do his own thing, all while making cute little sounds with his mouth. Like raspberry sounds, rolling his tongue sounds, brrr sounds, woof sounds etc. It cracks me up. Often I'll hear him make the sound of an animal (sort of grrr sound, or "woof") and look up to see a stuffed animal peeking out of a basket, or a squirrel hanging out nearby or someone walking a dog. He is almost always the first to spot that sort of thing.

I brought a few cars and buckets on the trip with us, but next time I think I'll leave them behind and let the boys play solely with what they find around the camp site. Really, nothing more is needed when you're camping and there's so much to explore.

We made plans to visit the Grove of the Patriarchs along with L&P and crew, as well as P's parents who were in the area visiting. They all came up for the afternoon and it was really nice to see them, we were so glad they joined us. This is the Ohanapecosh River, which you cross on your way to the Grove of the Patriarchs.

A very bouncy suspension bridge leads to an island on the Ohanapecosh River. Since it is an island, the trees have been protected from wildfires.

The Grove of the Patriarchs is an old growth forest and they say there are trees in this grove that are 1000 years old. Some of the trees are 25 feet in circumference and I read that there is at least one that is reaching 50 feet around. Amazing!

My boys eating their PB&J's for lunch. This is what Little Mr. calls "walk and eat." (When he doesn't have to sit down at a table.)

A squirrel's perspective. ;)

Throwing rocks.

My little towhead.

That afternoon I took the boys back to the campsite for a nap, but after a short "rest" this one decided he'd rather be kamikaze on the balance bike. He took this route over and over until he had "mastered" it, but really there is no mastering a route that is littered with small trees, tree roots and rocks! It made for a crazy ride!

Check out the cool decor in Sallad and Grace's campsite, a huge overturned stump!

Cute little L!

My independent one gathering pine cones. Ever since he could sit up and play with toys, he has loved putting things into any sort of vessel and then dumping them out again. This makes meal time harder, but toy clean up time easier!

This little dogwood was growing beside a tree between our two campsites. It is called Bunchberry, or Canadian Dogwood.

Sallad and Grace made us the yummiest steak dinner complete with all the fixings!

I don't know why, but when I look at this photo, I just start singing "We're off to see the Wizard!"

Roasting marshmallows before bed! MMM!

Mt. Rainier Gondola at Crystal Mountain

2014-08-21T19:27:00.001-07:00

Good morning Little Brother! Our first night at the campground was cold, but we had packed appropriately and we were quite comfortable. Before the sun had time to warm things up, it was a bit chilly around our camp site, but it was refreshing! One wonderful thing about our Ohanapecosh visit was that there were very little bugs, and we didn't get rained out!

I love camping breakfasts. Something about preparing a simple hot breakfast on a camp stove and eating it outdoors is so fun.

Aunt Grace was super thoughtful and brought along a balance bike for Little Mr. to use, and he really enjoyed it! He advanced quite a bit during our time there. The road beside our camp site had a small hill and the kids spent a lot of time riding their bikes up and down it at high speeds!

We decided to visit Crystal Mountain and take a ride up the Mt. Rainier Gondola. The kids were pretty excited. Mostly they just LOVE hanging out with each other.

The whole crew, minus the photographer. ;)

All aboard!

Little Brother liked the gondola ride. (If you're wondering, he still had a mark on his face from his morning nap. And yes, that's part of a pb & j sandwich in his bib pocket. I guess he decided he would take a break from eating and enjoy the view.)

The sight at the top of the mountain was breath taking with the wide open sky, winding river below and mountain peaks! From this ridge you can see several other significant mountains in the distance including Mt. Baker and Oregon's Mt. St. Helens.

Playing in the snow was lots of fun.

Little Brother's first experience with snow.

The perfect place to sit and relax.

It got so hot up there that Little Mr. and I had to cool down with some ice cream. :)

The combination of that cliff and young children/toddlers was unnerving.

This little friend ate some of the kids' trail mix, even the M&M's!

Little Mr. looking through Uncle Sallad's binoculars.

On the ride back down we saw some elk.

Heading back to Ohanapecosh.

Tunnels always make travel more interesting. :) The boys love them.

Mount Rainier or Bust!

2014-08-20T05:24:00.001-07:00

What do you do when you're going car camping for the first time with 2 kids? You pack the car to shoulder height! It was strange going car camping, since in the past we'd been going boat camping, which calls for very minimalist packing. Hopefully next time we won't be quite this packed, but I can honestly say that I think we used everything we took, maybe with the exception of warm jackets since the weather was warmer than predicted.

Mt. Rainier is stunning!

Pre-4th of July excitement. Lots of firework stands!

Beautiful!!! I'm a prairie girl at heart and I love wide open spaces and the contrast between the green fields and the bright blue sky..... sigh!

We were meeting Sallad and Grace at the Ohanapecosh Campground at Mount Rainier. Since we arrived first, we went and scouted out our reserved camp sites and compared them to the first come first served spots that were still available. We ended up switching things up and got two adjoining spots in a beautiful and quiet area of the camp ground. If you plan to visit this campground I highly suggest that route so that you have confirmation of campsite availability, but still have the option of choosing a site when you arrive.

Our sites, before we set up camp (you can see the two picnic tables.)

The men setting up our tent.

That evening we took the easy route and went into town for dinner. It was so relaxing! We went to Cliff Droppers on Highway 12 in Packwood. They have excellent food and staff, were happy to accommodate a gluten-free eater, and overall we were very pleased with our choice!

Of course when we found out they also serve hard ice cream, we couldn't say no!

The temp was 101 as we made our way back to the campground, but the elevation changed and it was nice and cool by the time we were back.

Back at the campsite, Sallad and Grace had just arrived and were setting up camp. It was so good to see them! They kids were having a blast together right off the bat.

That evening after the kids were in bed, the adults were able to sit and relax. It was lovely!

Our home sweet home.

The "ceiling" of our camp site was so beautiful. One night I looked up to see a pitch black sky peeking through between those trees, and it was simply sparkling with stars. Layers and layers of shining stars. It was so stunning and an amazing reminder of the beauty of the works of our Creator.

Zuanich Point

2014-08-19T05:00:00.001-07:00

One of our favorite Bellingham parks is Zuanich Point. It's often sunny and lovely there, and the air is fresh with the scent of the ocean. Little Brother was JUST learning to walk during this visit and we took some fun videos of him stumbling around, and finally one where he walked about 10 feet without falling. Success!

On our way to the park we had stopped at Rocket Donuts to pick up a snack. MMM! The perfect treat to bring to the park with us.

Hundreds of kites!

Hand made kites.

This is a storage box for one of the kites (not sure how to refer to it... kite, kites, sets of kites???) Written on the outside of the box is a record of its flight history.

I think it's pretty amazing that these kites fly like they do, and especially that they are all hand made. It's so beautiful!

Welcome Little P!

2014-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's a baby shower for this precious little baby girl! Her parents are "Napper and Cheerful." ;)

Fancy Schmancy party food!

Cousins

Mama and Baby, beautiful!

Little Mr. loves babies!

Honorary present opening helper.

Everyone wanted a turn to hold sweet little P.

My not so tiny first baby. :)

Kirkland Bible Conference

2014-08-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

I flew home with the boys on the 28th and the Kirkland Bible Conference was on the 31st. We stayed with Grandma J and that was lovely because her apartment is very close to Northwest University where the conference was held. It was very nice to be able to go to her place and have the boys take an afternoon nap, and it is also nice staying with family as it always feels like home. The bible conference was really good and we had a wonderful time. It was so good to see lots of our friends again as well!

It was really nice to see Phone Guy and Princess again. Here are our two boys with their 5 lovely children!

The day after conference, Sallad and Grace had us over to their home for a wonderfully relaxing morning. Lots of good food and good company. It was just what we all needed after the busy weekend!

Coming HOME!

2014-08-14T22:06:00.005-07:00

The last evening in our Saint Simons condo was bittersweet. The Mr. had already left with most of our belongings crammed into the car helter skelter. The car was so full that he couldn't see out the back windows, but we fit most of our stuff in! We left a few big non-essential items behind, either donating them or giving them to friends. I took the boys down the street to Dairy Queen for dinner, and of course, ice cream! :) We had to celebrate the fact that we were going HOME the next day, even though SSI really had become home for us over those last 6 months.

I knew I'd miss that walk from the downtown area to our condo, so I snapped photos as we walked along.

We were without toys that last evening (other than a few that were safely packed in our carry on) so the boys had a ton of fun playing with measuring cups. It was SO NOISY, but fun!

Very late that evening, most likely into the wee hours of the next morning, all the cleaning and organizing and packing was finally taken care of. Here was the line of luggage that was going to be mine-all-mine to take care of the next day, ha ha! There was our double stroller, 2 car seats in travel bags, 1 small suitcase, a backpack and my diaper bag. And Little Brother was still crawling at this time too!

Earlier in the week I had tried out the Moby Wrap for Little Brother and it worked, but it was pretty comical too see how huge he looked in it. (Here's a tip for the Moby wrap: make sure the wrap is spread knee to knee under their bottom and is very tight, you can carry a baby up to 35 lbs in this wrap if you wrap it properly! Knees above bottom is the rule of thumb for a proper carry.)

The morning of our trip home we woke up very, very early, got loaded into a taxi, got dropped off at the Brunswick airport, got through security (thankfully a nice older security guard helped me with the bags) and before we knew it, we were in the air on our first flight of the day.

Goodbye lovely marshes! Saint Simons Island will always hold tight to a little piece of my heart.

Here is Little Mr. still sleepy eyed, but fairly cheerful while sitting on the floor enjoying a Curious George DVD. Buckling the baby into the seat belt and putting the toddler on the floor is so much easier than trying to hold a baby for an entire flight while taking care of a toddler!

Here you can see Atlanta! We landed at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on time and unlike last time, I had a couple of hours before our next flight. The Atlanta airport is HUGE and basically is a combination of a mad house and a zoo. There are 2 main terminals (domestic and international) and 7 or 8 concourses which together have 207 (or more) gates. In 2012 it held the world record for the busiest airport in the world!

My experience with this airport has been "interesting" to say the least. My first experience in this airport (when I was traveling from the West coast to the East coast), is documented in this post. Traveling East to West I had an even crazier experience. When I arrived at the airport, my departure gate was announced and I took off for the gate. Once again this involved a lot of walking, a train and a few elevator rides. When I got to the gate about twenty five minutes later, I was told to turn around and go back because the gate had been changed, and I read the electronic sign which also confirmed this info. So I back-tracked and basically ended up at the same gate I had just came from, which was supposed to be my new departure gate. When I arrived there, they apologized and told me that the information was wrong, and that the gate I had just come from was indeed the correct gate. So I traveled my same steps one more time, going down the concourse, getting in line for an elevator, then finally onto an elevator, down a hallway, onto the train, off the train, down a hallway, eventually getting into another elevator which took me to the proper concourse, which of course then meant walking to almost the very end and finding the gate. Phew! We made it there with plenty of time to spare (about 30 minutes), but I am not fond of this airport AT ALL. Ha ha! There was just enough time for us to use the bathroom and get in line for pre-boarding.

When we were finally in the air for our second flight, I got Little Mr. to scoot over towards the window, and put Little Brother in the seat beside him, buckling him into the seat belt. About 10 minutes later I looked over and he was asleep. Beautiful! It had been quite the morning and he was exhausted.

Thumbs up!

Later we were able to enjoy the beautiful sights out our window. We were glad to have a window seat and we were sitting beside one of the nicest and most gracious women I have ever met.

Finally, we had reached the West Coast! Look how beautiful Mount Rainier is!

Home Sweet Home! Even though we don't live in Seattle, I started to tear up when I saw downtown Seattle, the waterfront, ferries and the Space Needle. Oh it was going to be so nice to be home!

Originally we had planned to get on a bus at the Sea-Tac airport, take it to Bellingham (3 hr ride) and then rent a car in Bellingham to drive home, but instead, Grandma J picked us up and we were SO thankful! It was so good to see her too!!!

We stopped for some groceries on the way home. Thinking back on this now, I think I was crazy. I couldn't have done it without her help, and I guess I was running on adrenaline.

Home Sweet Home! It was so good to be home!