Category Archives: Family

A Fortnight Ago

The guys were out of the house before dawn to get to the location they would be hunting in. The girls got ready for a sign painting party leisurely.

All of Addy’s grandmothers and her great grandmother were at the party. This photo is of Jamie, Granny Great, Granny Linda and Addy. I forgot to get photos of everyone’s sign. This one is mine.

Jamie, Laura, Katie, Addy and I went out for a snack after the painting party.

When we got home the men were back from hunting with their first buck. We tuckered Addy out.

Addy woke up happy and had snuggles with her mommy and then she was ready to be entertained by her two aunties.

I’ll spare you too many details but when the men got to a certain point in their venison preparations they got all cleaned up and we had leftovers for dinner. Look away before you get to this last photo if you are queasy around raw meat.

We were all tuckered out after a full day of entertainment. Sunday would be the second day of hunting for the guys and it would be Pumpkin Patch time for the girls.

Back to the present: Today was such a glorious sunshiny day in the Pacific Northwest with beautiful color all around us. Glory to God for creating the seasons for us to enjoy.

Hope you all have a wonderful last weekend of October!

Fishing

Each of our family members arrived at Dan and Jamie’s home at different hours on Thursday the 12th of October. The last to arrive were Katie, Andrew and Laura after Dear and I were fast asleep. Dear and I arrived first, Josh drove by himself arriving later in the afternoon. Katie and Andrew hit the road from Seattle after Andrew’s last class at the University of Washington. On their way through Spokane they picked up Laura who flew in after her work day. Hunting Season opening day wasn’t until Saturday the 14th so Friday was deemed fishing day. Dear and our original three loaded up their gear and headed to Lake Roosevelt (part of the Columbia River) to launch Dan and Jamie’s (new to them) boat for a day on the water.

Jamie, Laura, me and Addy enjoyed the morning getting re-acquainted. Andrew worked on some homework so he would be free to hunt on Saturday. Aeronautical Engineering involves lots of hours of homework. Close to noon Jamie packed up some lunch items and the stay at home crew drove to Colville Flats on Lake Roosevelt to meet up with the fishing crew and enjoy a picnic lunch together. The morning family time tired little miss Addy out and she slept through the drive and the lunch and all the way home again!

The views of Lake Roosevelt from one of the day use areas on the lake.

We had the area all to ourselves.

We enjoyed the views and the reflections. Andrew skipped some stones along the still water surface.

It was fun to watch the boat approach the flats where we had set up our picnic lunch.

Everyone made it out of the boat without getting wet.

The boat took off again with one more passenger, Andrew. The rest of us headed home for the late afternoon and evening. We enjoyed a meal together, fish and chicken tacos and then preparations were made for an early start for deer hunting on Saturday. The ladies and Addy had a Sign Painting Class to attend on Saturday. Speaking of Addy…

She is on the move with many skills. Crawling, holding herself up, pulling herself up to standing, side stepping while holding onto the sofa and increasing her balance. She’s a strong little babe. More to come.

So thankful for our family time all together under one roof for several days.

We are busy back here at home getting the kitchen ready for new quartz counter tops. I have taken some before photos so I’ll have a before and after post in the future. We are scheduled for templates to be made next Wednesday. With the quartz chosen we now will choose the backsplash product.

Hope all is going well in your corner of the world!

Barns and More

A few farm scenes from Northeastern Washington for Tom’s Barn Collective. These shots were taken from the road on the way to our son’s home for some family time together last week and weekend.

Back here in Seattle we enjoyed the last season game for the Seattle Sounders v. Colorado Rapids.

A Sunday afternoon game and the sun came out to warm us after several days of rain. The tifo for this game was exceptional. Tifo [ˈtiːfo] is the Italian word for the phenomenon of supporting a sport team. In some countries (but not in Italy) it is mostly used as a name for any choreography displayed by fans in the stands of an arena or stadium in connection with a sport event, mostly as part of an association football (soccer) match.

We especially enjoyed our time this afternoon since the Sounders won 3-0 and we now get a bye before we head to a playoff game.

Hope you all are having a good weekend and that it ends well.

Sixty Four

On Saturday we met our kids at the Edgewater Hotel on the waterfront in Seattle for a brunch to celebrate Dear’s Sixty Fourth birthday.

I married someone younger than me. God has blessed me dearly with this man and I thank him for that many times each year. And the blessings from this marriage continued with our three children and then their three spouses and now our little granddaughter Addy May. For God’s mercy and grace we are grateful.

The views were nice all around. Our kids chose this spot because of the Beatles tune, When I’m Sixty Four.

In 1964, during their first world tour, The Beatles stayed at The Edgewater Hotel, newly completed for the World’s Fair. At the time, no other hotel in the city would accept The Beatles as guests; however The Edgewater happily welcomed them.

Beatlemania so consumed Seattle that The Edgewater had to install cyclone fencing around the hotel to keep the screaming fans at bay. Some fans even tried swimming across Elliott Bay to reach the Fab Four. After their concert, The Beatles were rushed back to the hotel in an ambulance, while taxi cabs and stand-ins were used as decoys. During their stay, the band famously fished from the window of their suite, the photo of which has become legendary.

These next photos were taken after brunch in the Edgewater Hall of Fame. On a side note The Beatles were the first group as a young teen that I was smitten with. When Dear and I were in a Christian Rock Band we toured England and our group sang on one of the first stages the Beatles performed on in Liverpool. Lots of fun memories connected with this group.

We sang the Beatles tune to Dear during our brunch and for the record,  I’ll still love him and I’ll still feed him now that he’s sixty four!

I had to share the beautiful skies we are enjoying now that the smoke has dissipated. We have beautiful views of the mountains again to the East of us and to the West of us.

And since I mentioned little Addy May I have to share the very latest photo we were just texted. She continues to steal our affections.

Now for some reason I can’t wait to take her to Disneyland, when she’s five or older! Happy Tuesday to all of you!

Surprise!

Dan, Jamie and Addy surprised us royally with an unexpected stop at our house on their way home from a vacation on the Oregon Coast. All our kids knew about this surprise that was on it’s way. They kept Dear and me in the dark until they pulled up in our driveway. We were shocked in a happy happy joy joy way! We enjoyed them under our roof for 20 hours before they made the final leg of their journey home.

We gave Addy time with mommy so she could get used to her new surroundings after spending 8 hours in the car traveling up from the Oregon coast.

I got lots of snuggles and kissed those cheeks and when I wasn’t holding her I was snapping some photos. She spent some time getting reacquainted with Gramps.

Aunt Katie blocked Addy’s escape route off the blanket while Addy stretched and scooted getting some good exercise before it was time to go to sleep.

Time for jammies with a little prayer that she’d be able to sleep through the night after a few rough nights in Oregon. Thankfully Addy was able to sleep through the night and was ready for lots of visiting and attention on Saturday.

Aunties and Uncles arrived for our Swedish Pancakes breakfast and we took turns being entertained by Addy. Addy was very interested in her aunties and uncles. Auntie Laura got some extra noises and raspberries from Addy.

She can really move and scoot and push herself up on all fours.

Uncle Josh got some good snuggles in and Addy was very interested in his beard.

She is active and curious and strong.

It was like Christmas in August. We traditionally take a walk after Swedish Pancakes on Christmas morning. We took this selfie after our morning walk to burn some of the calories we added up at breakfast. Addy is under the white hat in her baby carrier having fallen asleep during our walk. I borrowed some of these photos from Laura.

She looked a bit dazed when we pulled her out of the front pack waking her up. Addy loves to stick her tongue out, blow raspberries and work those eyebrows of hers.

Expressing herself with Auntie Katie.

She’s also on to all of us and knows when we are taking photos with our phones or cameras!

A friend of Jamie’s handed down this Johnny Jump-Up which has proven be be enjoyable for Addy. We had one years ago for Josh and Dan. We never tried it for Katie. They really have improved the design with extra padding and comfort.

It was a quick overnight visit and the kids were in some horrendous traffic heading home over the pass. Thank you Dan, Jamie and Addy for going the extra miles to visit us and enduring the horrible traffic you encountered going home! See you in two weeks! This time we’ll do the driving.

Hoping for God’s Peace to all who visit my blog!

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 (ESV)

Are you going to try to see the eclipse tomorrow with the proper eye protection? We will get a partial eclipse in the Seattle area from just after 9am until 11ish. It kind of makes me nervous. We are going to don two of Dear’s welding helmets and sit on some lawn chairs  in our back yard and see what we can see. Time will tell how long we last…

Pretty as a…

Picture Lake!

On Tuesday when we reached Picture Lake there was a breeze that made ripples on the surface of the water so the reflections were not as clear as they could be. The lake has a very nice 1/2 mile trail all around it. Picture Lake is at 4100 feet with a postcard view of Mt. Shuksan, elev. 9,131 ft.

You don’t even have to hike in to enjoy this spot. We parked right on the road next to the lake.

The weather was just right for us this day with no need for a jacket. Our next stop and my next post from our time on the Mt. Baker Scenic highway will be from Artist Point.

Meanwhile back at this old house Dear continues on some home improvement projects. We have new closet doors in our Master bedroom. I’m hoping to sort through my clothes before I put them back into the closet and face reality on which I’ll never wear again. In the last 7 days our water leak got fixed, the shingles on 3 peaks of our house have fresh stain on them, our overhangs are sanded and repainted and we have new closet doors. I’m thankful for my hard working husband.

Our kids from eastern Washington are on the Oregon coast far away from their smoky skies and heat. They sent us this photo of the three of them at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Now they have to beat all the solar eclipse traffic to get home.

Love these three and praying that their long trip home goes well for all of them.

What’s going on at your house?

Cruising on Lake Union

On Tuesday after a hike to the bottom of Snoqualmie Falls in the morning our kids decided a 2 hour cruise on Lake Union in an Electric Boat would be a nice thing to do with our company from Southern California. Our niece Debbee and her husband Lenny were with us for 2 days before heading north to spend time with friends in Surrey, British Columbia.

These Electric Boats hold up to 10 people. Josh started the journey as our skipper and soon we were wondering how to avoid the float planes landing and taking off over, beside and in front of us!

We headed to calmer water. The sights we saw were varied. The Space Needle was shrouded in smoky skies as was Gas Works Park. The floating hot tub had us laughing. There are floating home all along the shores of Lake Union including the home used in Sleepless in Seattle. I didn’t get a photo of it.

We were warned that after five we’d probably be dodging sailboats. They have the right of way.

Soon Lenny took over as the skipper. What are you trying to hide Skipper?

We went under several bridges that we normally only drive on. The blue and orange bridge is the Fremont Bridge and it’s a drawbridge. The larger bridge is the Aurora Bridge.

Behind Dear and me is the University Bridge.

We headed toward the Montlake Cut but the Electric Boats aren’t allowed through the cut. The Montlake Bridge is also a drawbridge.

As we headed back to port Laura tried her hand at steering the boat and decided Lenny could take over again. Two hours went by quickly and our time on the water was refreshing even with the smoky haze that has settled on the Pacific Northwest.

On their way back to our house the cousins stopped at Brooks for Debbee to get some running gear. Debbee is a marathoner. She has run the Boston Marathon twice. You know you can’t just sign up for the Boston Marathon you have to have a documented qualifying running time from another marathon to qualify to run in the Boston Marathon. The picture on the right of the collage is her during the Boston Marathon in April of this year. She’s a high school math teacher and she also coaches track and cross country at her high school.

We had a nice two days with Debbee and Lenny.

Another summer weekend is upon us. Dear is scrapping and painting overhang and freshening up the shingles on 3 areas of our house. I try to do a few chores in the cool of the morning and am waiting for more serious household projects next week when we are promised cooler days and cooler nights. Happy Friday and Happy Weekend to you.

From California With Love…

For the last 5 days we have been enjoying visitors from California at our house. My oldest sister and her daughter Michelle along with Michelle’s hubby and two kids have been staying with us. On Sunday we gathered at Josh and Laura’s for a birthday celebration for their Aunt Lana, my sister. Three out of the four original sisters were able to enjoy this time together. Our oldest sister, Kathy, on the left was born in Iran. Lana and I were born in California. Kathy and her family have been caring for our dear old pop. He’s getting a little lonely since she’s been gone but Kathy’s husband and her other daughter are keeping a close eye on him. I hope it’s a nice break for Kathy.

Sisters, Aunts, Mothers, Nieces, Daughters…

The current batch of Californians visiting and celebrating with most of the Washingtonians.

The weather was just right for an outdoor event.

During the visit Pandemics were halted and the world was saved by different groups of players in different locations. There were fairy worlds to discover by others.

On Monday some of the ladies headed to Snohomish to do some shopping along First Avenue. Since we only managed to hit about 1/16th of what this shopping district had to offer a return trip in the future is on the to do list.

The youngest among us on this family visit enjoyed using the fruit picker to help Great Auntie out by picking a small fraction of our apples.  Our white hydrangea has some huge blooms as you can see with Avery standing next to it.

This extended family photo from our nephew Joe and Hannah’s wedding just popped up on facebook. In this photo from my side of the family there are 11 Washingtonians, 4 Texans and the rest are Californians. This wedding was in January just north of Santa Barbara, California. It’s nice to have visits from our family a fraction at a time. We have another small fraction of family arriving on Monday!

The Pacific Northwest is bracing itself for a heat wave. It’s all the news up here. Hope you are staying cool and comfy where you are.

The Finale, at the Zoo

On Sunday we decided to have a last hoorah with our guests and 8 of us headed to the Woodland Park Zoo. It took a while to find parking spots since it seems several thousand other folk thought it was a good day for the zoo, too.

This heron wasn’t part of the zoo but was watching the penguin feeding area carefully to see if there would be any leftovers.

While walking at the zoo Josh called and made reservations for dinner in the Greenlake area of Seattle, next to the zoo.

Dukes was a great choice and we all enjoyed our choices.

At the zoo promises were made for ice cream and we convinced the 2 littles that they would enjoy the ice cream more after dinner at an ice cream parlor a few doors down from Dukes instead of the choices at the zoo.

The kids were satisfied. Josh was excited to see some dairy free choices, too. Thanks Ben and Jerry’s for making his favorite, Chunky Monkey, dairy free. This was a great way to end our time on Sunday. This was National Ice Cream Day after all.

I’ll be linking to Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters.

We are headed up to Canada on Saturday for a party, it will be groovy and we’ll catch you on the flip-side.

First Time at Gramps’ and Baba’s House

While niece/cousin Jenna visited with two of her kids and with their grandma we had as much family time as possible. Our kids from Eastern Washington traveled the five plus hours with our little Addy to enjoy the time, too. Saturday at Gramps’ and Baba’s house there was lots of activity and Addy was happy to sit with her Auntie or cousins when she was fed and awake.

Games and discussions were enjoyed. Little T-Rex has lots of questions that need to be answered.

When it was time for a little nap Baba’s lap had just the right cushion for comfort and when Addy woke up she had some words and love squeezes for Gramps.

Later in the day after we had yummy taco salad and pica de gallo we started a fire to enjoy S’mores.

Addy expresses herself well without words.

Love this expression with her mommy and daddy and the way she has her hand resting on Sky’s head in the grandparent with grands shot.

More shots with mommy and daddy.

Addy laughed out loud with her cousin once removed, our niece Jenna. The expression in the center photo cracks me up. Mister (T-Rex) was quite proud of being able to walk along our wall and our tree stumps.

Cousins!

These are 3 of the “B” grands all together at our house 2017.

And here’s a flashback to when Dear and I were able to enjoy our first little niece, Jenna, back in the 70’s. So happy that we could get the chance to enjoy her and two of her kids at our house in 2017. We need a proper “B” reunion with all the B’s together soon.