Category Archives: Addyson May

Spokane’s Torchlight Parade

During the Lilac Festival in Spokane there is a Torchlight Parade that honors all branches of the military and law enforcement. There are other entries in the parade, too. Many high school bands, drill teams and parade floats from cities around Washington State and Idaho participate. Many of the bands play military music like Anchors Aweigh and other songs.

This was Addy May’s first road trip. It’s about 70 miles from her house to Spokane.

We shared our parking space with some horse trailers and a few horses.

After we found our parking spot and the parade was about to begin Addy was tucked into her front carrier shielded from the sunshine and we headed for the downtown area. Before we crossed the Spokane River we got to see some floats that were lined up in order ready to proceed to the parade route.

Lots of water this year and the river was churning.

The Red Hot Mamas were very entertaining. They had some great moves and lively music. It was fun to see bands in kilts.

This was the most sobering part of the parade. Each one of the men and women pictured here lost their lives in the line of duty. After this board went by friends and family members carried large poster boards with a photo of their loved ones with their service dates and the date that they died. There were rows and rows and rows. Everyone stood and took their hats off to honor the fallen. May God comfort all the families who have lost their loved ones.

We left after the portion of the parade we came to see went past us. Addy slept the whole time and didn’t wake up when she was gently tucked into the car seat and then she slept all the way home! Woohoo! A very successful first long outing.

I am safe and sound in California at my sister Vera’s home. Tomorrow we will head over to our sister Kathy’s to celebrate our Pop’s 94th birthday. We will be celebrating again on Saturday with a dinner here at my sister Vera’s home in Huntington Beach. I’m happy to say that Southern California is not scorching on this visit of mine like the last few trips have been. On the airplane today I was reading a portion of Psalm 119 and had to write out these verses.

Psalm 119: 133  Keep steady my steps according to your promise and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
Psalm 119: 160  The sum of your word is truth and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Psalm 119: 175  Let my soul live and praise you and let your rules help me.
Hope all is well with your soul…

And Now I’m Headed South

We arrived home from northeastern Washington just after noon on Tuesday and now I’m packing to fly to Southern California early on Wednesday morning. But in the meantime I’m relishing all the time we had with little Addy May and her parents.

Mommy and Addy have lots to share with each other.

While the grown ups enjoy their dinner Addy sits and watches from this little baby lounger.

Some views from around our kid’s property. The lilac is such a rich beautiful color. The chicken coup got moved in a new position and cleaned out. The new position will make it easier to retrieve eggs in the winter and also make it easier for the chickens to get in and out. Speaking of chickens some animal has been killing them and only leaving a pile of feathers. They are down to only 2 chickens. Maybe this hawk that likes to circle above the chicken coup is to blame or a fox.

I take this shot every time we visit. This is taken from the drive down from the kid’s home to the main road. Above taken on May 20th and the photo below was taken in April.

Most of the water that you see in this shot from April has been absorbed and there will be lots of dry grass to deal with come summer. We plan to get back to visit our kids again in the latter part of June.

I’m hoping I will have more time while I’m in California to visit and see what you all have been up to.

Rest Stop

Last Friday on our journey from Western Washington to Northeastern Washington we stopped at a rest area we hadn’t stopped at before on our past trips.

The rest area in Sprague had some beautiful Spring views.

It was good to stretch our legs and enjoy the views before we drove into Spokane and then headed north to our destination.

I’ve been quite busy at our kids home holding sweet Addy May and helping out here and there so I haven’t been able to visit much if at all. Hope all is well in your corners of the world. Happy Victoria Day to our Canadian neighbors!

Here’s one of my great views with more to come.

Friday Favorites…

My new favorite look of Addy’s that the kids sent to us this week! Very soon my camera will be clicking away trying to capture all the latest looks. I wonder what she’s thinking.

I’m also getting a post ready from Katie and my time at Calvary Cemetery in Seattle after we enjoyed tea together.

In the upper photo of the collage you can see downtown Seattle in the distance.

Hope you all have a great Friday. No rain here today and we are promised dry skies all day long. Woohoo!

Spring Has Sprung…

The most vibrant of our azaleas has bloomed.

The fern fronds are unfurling.

Everything is green. Our large rhododendron plants are just starting to open their buds. This is the back side of our home.

This smaller rhododendron is in full bloom.

The rosebud azaleas are close to their prime.

This is view of our side yard looking to the front of our property. Our house is on the left and garage/shop on the right.

Yellow Rhododendrons

I’m real excited about all the peony buds this year!

This is one of our Top Hat Blueberry plants on our deck.  Fresh blueberries are in our future.

We are in another rainy pattern. They are talking about some sunshine in the near future.

Addyson is 2 months old today. We were texted some photos the last couple of days.

They’ve been storing breast milk and daddy was able to successfully feed her for the first time on Mother’s Day.

2 months old with Rayna keeping a watchful eye on her! Isn’t she lovely…So happy for the easy way we have these days to share photos. It makes being far away so much easier. Are you near or far from your grandkids?

Linking up to ABC Wednesday for the letter S. Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her loyal team.

Swords Into Plowshares

On our walks in Magnuson Park with our daughter we have visited this sculpture area called The Fin Project.

The Fin Project: From Swords Into Plowshares 1998 by John T. Young, Artist, Max Gurvich, Producer

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore…” Old Testament, Micah, Chapter 4:3.

This artwork is made using diving plane fins from decommissioned U.S. Navy nuclear submarines built in the 1960s. It is about peace, turning weapons into Art, recycling, and honoring the men and women who served our country during the Cold War. It also may remind the viewer of dorsal fins of a pod of Orca whales or a school of salmon.

I’m adding some more photos from our recent walk at Magnuson Park.

Magnuson Park is a 350 acres park on Sand Point at Pontiac Bay, Lake Washington, in the Sand Point neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The park is the second largest in Seattle, after 534 acres Discovery Park in Magnolia.

Established in 1900 (military use 1922-1975).

And now for some favorites that we received via text earlier this week and this morning.

Sweet little Addy is discovering her hands and fists! Soon we’ll be seeing little Addy and her parents in person again. Here’s Addy on her first Mother’s Day.

Seriously? I love this face! This little one had a nice Mother’s Day with her mom, daddy and Granny Linda and Granny Florence, and great uncle Scott and great aunt Rhonda. I had a very nice Mother’s Day with our firstborn Josh and Laura, who treated us to brunch. Phone calls came in from Addy’s Daddy and from our daughter Katie and my dear old Pop, too. I’m blessed.

I’ll be linking up to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

Skagit Valley Barns

These photos were all taken on our way to Roozengaarde Garden on May 2nd to see the tulips.

I’m linking up to The Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveler.

Dear pressure washed the deck and part of the drive and put up our patio covers on Friday. Now we are ready to bring the patio furniture down from the loft in the garage. That will happen once we have a dry spell again. We continue our quest to go through boxes of records to sort and shred. Our major Spring project is to let go of a lot of stuff! Our kids will reap the benefit of not having to do it for us! If you are a mother and are visiting here I hope you have a very grateful and peaceful Mother’s Day!

This is a side by side of our daughter-in-law when she was a baby and our granddaughter a couple weeks ago. Addy’s mommy will be celebrating her first Mother’s Day tomorrow. Happy Mother’s Day Jamie! You are a great mommy for little Addy!

Tulips in Borders

We were happy that we had a nice window of sunshine on May 2nd to enjoy this years tulip display even though it was in it’s very last days. The tulip festival usually runs the month of April. This year there was a late start to the blooms because of our winter weather so they extended the festival through the first week of May. So much beauty in living color.

We had a crazy weather day yesterday. The day started with beautiful sunshine and the temps climbed up to 78 and then just before 4pm the skies darkened and we had a thunderstorm event across our region with lots of lightning. One of the lightning strikes was right over our home and it was so loud! The rains came down in buckets and some trees and power lines came down, too. We have power but a good amount of folks lost power. The news called the event “the biggest severe weather day in decades”. Things are a lot milder today. Spring is unpredictable.

Our weekend looks to be quiet again which is a good thing because the end of the month will be busy with travel for both Dear and me. Got this sweet collage texted to us from our daughter-in-law with Miss Addy enjoying the sunshine on their porch. These photos were taken on May 4th.

Oh how we love this little girl. What a blessing she is from God to our whole family. Have a good Cinco de Mayo and first weekend in May everyone!

So Thankful for May!

Addy May that is! Our little triple Y! She’s Y we want to head east and Y we are willing to drive across the pass over the Cascades anytime whatever the weather. She’s Y we bought a car that can manage those driving conditions better, too. Those driving conditions include the driveway to our kids home. All these photos have been shared with us via smartphone texts.

Comforted by her daddy while mommy gets some much needed sleep.

On April 28th-30th Uncle Josh and Auntie Laura got to fly over to Spokane and head north to have a few days of cuddles and walks. Our boys, Josh and Dan were born 2 years apart and have been the best of friends for most of their years and I thank God for that. I thank God a lot for that.

Auntie Laura was determined to catch a photo of Addy smiling. In the meantime Addy had a sweet grip on auntie’s finger while cuddling.

Sweet sleeping bliss.

A wee smile of contentment.

Some sweet sleepy cuddles with Uncle Josh.

Be still my heart for this sweet capture of daughter and daddy!

And then a comfortable sleep in uncle’s arms.

Another sweet pick that is my phone wallpaper right now!

Of course Uncle and Auntie had to try on the Sounders hat while listening to the game on Saturday night. She looks concerned but thankfully the team pulled off an amazing comeback to tie the game.

Auntie and Uncle with miss Addy May just before they said their goodbyes till next time.

Thank you Jamie, Dan, Auntie Laura and Uncle Josh for sharing these photos with us! Love them all and all of you!

Dear and I are planning our next trip over the pass and across central Washington to Spokane and then north to see our kids again soon.

Today on Mennonite Girls Can Cook I’m sharing a recipe Rosella shared with me for Lactation Cookies. I made them for Jamie and if you have a new mom in your community group or family they’d be a good choice to add to that meal you take over.

Rain, Rain, Go Away Hodgepodge

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Has your April been filled with showers? Do you carry an umbrella, wear a slicker, or make a run for it? Besides rain, what else has filled your April?
We are breaking rainfall records here in the Pacific Northwest. Oye. No, I do not bother with an umbrella. I do have a good waterproof jacket. Mostly, I run for it!
Our 5 week old granddaughter has filled our April with lots of love, cuddles and smiles. This is one of the latest photos we’ve gotten via text. Oh how I love this little gift from above.
2. What’s something you could give a 30-minute presentation on at a moment’s notice and with zero preparation?
How to wing it making a meal with whatever you find in your fridge and cupboards.

3. Share with us a favorite food memory from childhood.

Pishky! Russian Fry Bread. 

4. What’s a song you thought you knew the lyrics to, but later discovered you were wrong?

When I learned lyrics to a song I listened to them over and over and over again to get them right. In junior high we would listen to Leslie Gore songs on a record player pulling up the arm of the record player and setting down the needle carefully again and again until we knew the words by heart. I was in choirs and Christian singing groups and enjoyed music enough to get the words right. When our minds went blank and we forgot words in the middle of a concert we kept our mouths moving and never missed a beat.

The thing I get wrong very often are well known sayings…

5. According to one travel website, the most overrated tourist attractions in America are-
Niagara Falls (NY), Hollywood Walk of Fame (California), Times Square (NYC), Epcot (FL), Seattle Space Needle (WA), and Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (Boston). How many of these have you seen in person? Did you feel like a tourist? Did you care? Tell us about a place (not on the list) you’ve visited that might be considered a tourist trap, but you love it anyway.

I’ve been to Niagara Falls (both sides), Times Square, Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Seattle Space Needle. Pike Place Market in Seattle is a tourist trap that I enjoy taking people to.

6. Your signature clothing item?

Blue jeans in public. My pink chenille robe in the privacy of my home! Sometimes you might see me in the yard early in the morning with my robe on. My Dear cringes when I head outside in my robe.

7. What’s an experience you’ve had you think everyone should experience at least once? Why?

Being the one in need of help. This is when you learn that it’s better to give than to receive. It’s hard to be the one who needs help. It’s a lot easier to be able to give…

8. Insert your own random thought here.

A little sunshine in a song from my teen years…

I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day
When it’s cold outside I’ve got the month of May
I guess you’d say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin’ ’bout my girl (my girl)

Linking up with Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Hodgepodge Wednesday.

I drove to Canada and back on Tuesday and spent some time with my Mennonite Girls and will be sharing about our time soon. I am happy to report I had very little rain on my windshield going and coming back home, woohoo! Hope to get around and meet some new Hodgepodge friends.