Cinco de Mayo 2012

Well, we did it.  A year late, but we finally did it.  When we moved here at the end of March 2011 we told some of our friends in Auburn we’d have everyone up for a Cinco de Mayo party after we got settled in.  We meant Cinco de Mayo 2011.  Even after being here over a year I still don’t feel like we are completely settled in, but a party was long overdue.

Jason had a Cinco de Mayo Mother & Son activity that same afternoon that was put on by our homeowner’s association.    When I walked into the gym and saw all the fun balloons I knew I had to ask if the balloons had anywhere to go post-party.   I was ecstatic when she told me I could take some home.  I rushed home, took out all the seats in the van, and returned with Abigail to gather as many balloons as we could.

We were able to cram into the van hundreds of dollars worth of balloons.  I was beyond thrilled with my bounty.  It made our otherwise colorless house quite festive.  

We even had a fun balloon arch on the front porch.  

Yes, totally over the top, but it was fun to hear some of our friends reactions.  I’m too cheap to even buy a few balloons for my kids’ birthday parties so this wasn’t at all like us.

Everyone helped us with the food resulting in a yummy dinner and delicious desserts.  We’ve been friends with many of these couples since moving to Washington 10 years ago.  They are such a fun group with no shortage of personality.   It was hard to come up with a game we haven’t played in the past so we came up with questions along the lines of  “Who’s most likely to…”  We should have known that with this group any game would result in lots of laughs.

Everyone was game for trying on a little festive attire: (click on image below to see album)

What Fiesta would be complete without a piñata?  

Should have known that the former softball player would be the one to decapitate the bull

So where were our kids all evening?  Upstairs.  It wasn’t the ideal situation, but we didn’t hear a single peep out of them all night.  Shocking since Katie can be quite the squealer and isn’t the heaviest of sleepers.  Katie let Abigail take over bedtime routines even knowing we were just downstairs.  Abigail was in charge and lived up to our challenge that no one should know they were home.  Seriously, we have the BEST kids!

As reward the kids got to play with all the balloons the following morning.  Some were already succumbing to gravity, but it still made for a fun playroom.

Missing You!

This is my Mom

She's serving a mission in Hong Kong

It's been almost 17 months since we've seen her

And we’ve got at least 9 more months to go

Even from thousands of miles away I know she thinks of us often

I know she cares

I know she prays for us

I know she mourns with us

And I know she celebrates with us

She's celebrating Mothers Day today

A day before the rest of us

I'm pretty sure she knows how much we love her

How much we miss her

How often we think of her

and how grateful we are to have her in our lives forever

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

Deception Pass – Whidbey Island

Deception Pass State Park has been on Justin’s must-see list for years now.  So after the tulips we made our way to Deception Pass.  We had no idea how close we’ve been to it each time we’ve driven up to the tulips.   It was only about a half hour further.

The park is gorgeous – we stopped first along the beach.  Justin took Katie down to the shoreline and introduced her to skipping (throwing) rocks into the water.

 

She loved it and continued throwing rocks the entire time we were at the beach

 

Then everyone else had to give it a try.

 

As you enter the state park you drive over two bridges – the views on both sides are breathtaking.

 

There is a rock in the middle of the above picture that Justin and the kids stood on while playing on the beach.

 

Rock cliffs surround the shoreline.  Justin and the girls took a much easier route to the top than the guy climbing up on the far left.

 

The beach was also covered with large logs and driftwood.

 

Yes, Katie is still throwing rocks

From the beach we hiked back up to the bridges so we could walk across them.

 

Grandpa Fletcher is deathly afraid of heights and only walked out about 15 feet before turning around.  The rest of us walked out to the middle to peer over the edges.  I don’t like heights either and having my kids that close to a major dropoff was nerve racking.

 

We decided the next time we visit Deception Pass we would like to stay in one of the many popular campgrounds.

Instead of heading back home the way we came we decided we’d continue our adventure and explore Fort Casey further south on Whidbey Island.  Justin has fond memories of visiting here with his Grandma Fletcher many years ago.

By the time we arrived both Jason and Katie had fallen asleep in the van so I stayed back while Justin, Abigail, Carly, and Grandpa explored the area.  Justin took several pictures, but he didn’t get one of the entire fort – I found this picture online.

 

When I think of a “fort” I imagined a small building – Fort Casey was huge – a more appropriate name would be Compound Casey.  We’ll have to come back when we can spend more time on the beautiful green grounds.

The girls loved exploring and climbing the various ladders.  The kids could have spent hours exploring everything.

 

We decided it would be fun (and faster) to take the ferry back to the mainland.  We were surprised how excited the kids were for this and shocked that we couldn’t think of any other time they have taken a ferry.  To their disappointment it was only a 20 minutes ride and we barely had time to get out of the van and go on deck.

To top off our perfect day we ate a late dinner at Macaroni Grill – one of my favorites.  The kids all did great and enjoyed our fun day trip.  Even Katie was an angel through all the driving and walking, lack of a decent nap, and eating late in a nice sit down restaurant.   

Nature vs. Nurture

ANOTHER fun filled, sunny weekend!  Too bad I still haven’t finished documenting our excursion the previous weekend.  And as you may know, I have to go in chronological order.  Thankfully, this week looks to be pretty laid back, but once Saturday hits….

I’ve got lots to catch up on, but until I can delve into all the pictures we’ve taken I leave you with a picture and thought.

Nearly a year ago, Justin and I made a spontaneous purchase while walking around Costco and bought Katie this outfit.

It sat in her closet all this while, unworn, because who needs to wear a sparkly, little tutu-like outfit around the house or to the park?  Sure it’s fun, and cute, but so out of character.  It’s no secret my girls aren’t very girlie.  Is that because their mother isn’t a fan of big hair bows and gargantuan flowers on little girl’s heads?  Or could it be their nature and personality?  Have I stripped them of that femininity because that’s my preference?  I suppose it’s a nature vs. nurture question.  Don’t we all like to claim our children’s positive attributes as results of our skillful parenting (nurture) and blame any of those less pleasing characteristics as being out of our control, ingrained in their genetic, god-given make-up (of course from the spouses DNA).  Just a thought…

I actually think my kids are pretty darn perfect just as they are.

Twin Falls – 4/14/12

With no rain in the forecast, the girls and I headed out for a morning hike while Holly stayed home with Jason (still in cast) and Katie. We bought our annual state park pass at the local Ace Hardware and then debated between hiking Little Si or Twin Falls, both of which have been on our list to check out. We decided on Twin Falls as it was shorter and not as difficult. We arrived early at the trailhead so we were among the first few cars there. The hike starts with a flat well groomed walk along the Snoqualmie River and it was a little cool even with our jackets but within a few minutes the path left the river bank and we warmed up quickly. I snapped a picture of the girls on the riverbank.

 

The trail winds through the trees and climbs about 500 feet for the first glimpse of Twin Falls. This picture illustrates the condition and grade of the path to this first viewpoint.

 

From there, we descended into the valley and then back up towards the switchbacks leading to the top of the falls. We found this big tree along the way.

 

 The viewpoint of the Lower Falls was closed due to damage from the recent ice storms. Hopefully the repairs are made by the next time we return. There is a footbridge across the top of the falls with a nice view of the valley.

 

On the return trip, we left the path to get closer to the water. The girls had a blast bouldering around. We got a little bit better view of the falls from the bottom as well.  On a nice hot day, there are quite a few pools we could jump into to cool down.

 

Unfortunately, to get back to the main trail, we left the beaten path a bit and had to scramble through some underbrush. At some point we will learn from our past mistakes.

 

The kids love to climb the huge rocks we encounter so a picture of them on top seems to be a staple.

 

At first Carly did not want to join me and Abigail on the hike but I am glad we persuaded her to come. There is just something about being in nature. We had a really good time and are excited to go back with Holly, Jason, and Katie.

Tulips

When we moved to Snoqualmie I was disappointed when I found out that there isn’t a spring soccer season offered through the local recreation program; however, without games to attend every weekend (and not to mention practices on several weeknights) we are free to spend our family time exploring the beautiful area we live in.  Once again this past Saturday was awesome!  We were planning to spend the day hiking around Mt. Rainier (free admission to all national parks last weekend), but Jason had just gotten his cast removed Friday afternoon and we weren’t so sure hiking would be the best idea.  Instead we decided to venture to up north to the Tulip Festival (and beyond).  We left as soon as the kids woke up so we could beat the crowds and after all our travels, we didn’t get home til way past bedtime.

It was fun to have Grandpa Fletcher join us on our excursion – he took this picture of our family, not too shabby, huh?

Even though it wasn’t raining on Saturday the fields still had a few muddy areas.  We brought along the stroller for Jason to sit in since he’s suppose to wear a boot for at least a week to help him transition from his cast (though for some reason Katie is getting a ride here and I was carrying Jason around the muddy mess.)  Anyhow… it made for some interesting maneuvering. 

We liked walking on the areas where the mud had dried on the surface, but underneath was still soggy.

Usually Katie is my child who always wants to get her picture taken, but she was too busy checking everything out to stay still.  Abigail and Carly were unusually cooperative.

I LOVE this picture!  Justin snuck in and grabbed Abigail while I was taking her picture.

Then he scooped her up in his arms.

After the tulips we decided to visit Deception Pass and Whidbey Island, but that’s another hundred+ pictures to sort through…