December Highlights

~Erica

I was hoping for a quiet December with plenty of time to complete projects and relax. I had three weeks off of school and we gave the kids 2 weeks.

My dad bought Isaac a 3/4 scale bass guitar for Christmas, birthday, etc. I overheard my dad explaining to him that it was his to use but not his so he couldn't sell it or trade it with his friends. Isaac's excited to learn how to play it.

We had Walk & Knock on the 4th. I don't have any pictures- I took my camera but never got it out of the case. Rush, Arin, and Jonah went out with drivers while Isaac and Tovah stayed at the Grange to sort food. Before all the routes were in Tovah and I had to leave to get her to rehearsal and Isaac and Arin were picked up by one of the scout leaders to go on Isaac's compass hike for 2nd Class Scout.

Tovah had a solo in the kids Christmas play Back to the Manger on the 5th. She's all Engle- no stage fright for her.

Ryan and I had finals the 6th and 7th. Tovah and Jonah started out the week with the stomach flu. I lost my first half week at home being sick with the kids- it was a nasty stomach bug. Friday night our youth group rented the theater to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Unfortunately our boys don't drive yet so they had to be escorted and accompanied to the movie, my dad and I went but Rush had to stay home because the stomach bug hit him about 4 hours before we left. Ryan took Rush, Jonah, and Tovah to the see the movie the next week. I'm not sure if I would consider it the best of the 3 but definitely in the top 2.

The kids put the tree up.

Ryan played Santa for a friend's preschool class. Jonah sat on his lap just to get a candy cane. All the boys wanted DS's and the girls wanted Blizzard Makers except one girl who wanted some penguin toy.

We drove through Fantasy Lights in Spanaway. The weather had been so bad that I didn't want to go to ZooLights in the rain and the nights that had good weather the crowds were bad. Afterwards we took the kids to Sonic in Puyallup. Rush and Cheyney had the Tex Mex Coney dogs and Vanilla Dr. Peppers, she took a picture with her phone but I didn't get any pictures of the food. It was fun but definitely a summer eatery so we can sit outside at the picnic tables.

My mom took us to the buffet at the casino for lunch one day. I had heard about Restaurants.com and knew that they had 50% off coupons available to the Lucky Eagle. I got an 80% off code and got the coupon for $3- It saved $48 off the total order! I didn't take any pictures and haven't been able to get copies of the ones Cheyney took. The kids like the buffet because they can eat whatever they like and get dessert.

It's interesting to see what they choose and what they go back for, I think they are incredibly picky but Ryan says they really aren't. They are getting more adventurous in their tastes- fish, shrimp, sheep cheese, goat cheese, hot peppers... I think Jonah eats quite a bit of lamb at the neighbors and doesn't realize it (and they aren't going to tell him.)

It was cloudy and misty but I did get a few pictures of the lunar eclipse. I went out every 10 minutes or so, when I went out the last time and the moon was totally gone it was the wierdest feeling. I can see why ancient peoples freaked out when the moon disappeared, I knew where it had gone and it was still a bit of a shock when it was not where it was when I saw it last.

John brought gifts over for the kids. He got Rush a shotgun to go duck hunting in January. He wanted to take him bear hunting this fall but had to cancel. Next year he, Nathan, and Rush will go.

Tovah got horses, grandma has her eye on them to add to Grand-daddy Wilbert's collection. The other boys got really good binoculars- they each got their own pair.

New fingernail polish from Cheyney and new nightgown from The Disney Store's BOGO free and free shipping sale that week.

We didn't celebrate Christmas until Monday when Ryan got off work so we spent the weekend in our jammies watching movies, playing XBox, and I scrap-booked. Sunday night Tovah and I went to Jillian's 9th Birthday party. Tovah brought home a huge bag of candy to share with the boys.

The kids got new jammies, books, videos, DS games, and XBox games.

Rita brought over Max and Squeaky but Max didn't work out. The kids are enjoying having a new cat, once Squeaky came out from under the stairs where she hid for 2 days. We went to Applebees for our Christmas dinner. Tuesday Ryan and the boys went to see Tron. We had a Family Game Night Tuesday night with friends. The boys did a good job inviting their friends but forgot to tell people it was for the whole family, we finally got an invite out on Facebook a few days before the party. We had a great time...

The big kids played XBox

The littler set found the Marbleworks and Legos in the boys' room

Downstairs there was Mexican Train dominos, Settlers of Cataan, In a Pickle, the new electronic Scrabble, and lots of food and laughter. We had 17 boys here, 8 girls, and 17 adults. Next year we'll do a better job of getting the word out ahead of time...

Tonight's New Year's Eve- Ryan's at work, I've got most of my Winter Break To Do List to finish, and the kids are watching the Dr. Who marathon on BBC. We have have one more day to stay in our jammies all day. Church on Sunday then school starts for everyone on Monday.

Randomness

~Erica

***Today I'm trying to catch up with all the things that have gone undone since school started. I've lost a brand new shirt that I only wore once and I'm pretty sure one of the boys has it since they pull their clothes out and fold them and they won't learn to fold the picture out so they can see what t-shirt it is. I'm sure my new bejeweled black t-shirt is folded in one of their drawers

***The other day a friend emailed to ask which email address she should use for me- she had 4 in her address book and was that a reflection on how much was going on in my life? I didn't have the heart to tell her that I actually have 7 email addresses that I check regularly (though to be honest 3 are "future" addresses):

-2 are our "family" email addresses at our old carrier and our new carrier that will be our only carrier as soon as Ryan and my dad figure out what to do with my dad's website hosting

-2 are my personal email addresses with our old and new carriers. I had to get my own email address to have my own facebook account. They are really only used for things I don't want cluttering up our main email account.

-2 are Lewis County Homeschool email addresses with our old and new carriers.

-1 is my new student email account at the college and to get to it I have to log into a whole new window and it's a real pain but I don't have the time or energy to try and figure out how to forward it to one of our other accounts.

-I think I may also have a google email that I got at some point for some reason I can't remember- it's just a vague feeling that I did it.

***I've made 3 trips to the post office to mail packages in the last 24 hours- I got Nathan's monthly care package off so I can now focus on his Christmas Care Package, I mailed Marylinda's birthday socks to her (only a week+ late and I didn't take any pictures), and I mailed a magazine to a friend who I thought would enjoy it (Elaine, you should get it Monday). All three were in different piles and I just had to get to them.

***This morning I had 37 emails flagged in outlook that I needed to deal with, I'm down to 19.

***I'm really keeping busy so I don't have to think about writing my research paper on "The Pros and Cons of a Personal Income Tax" that is due Dec. 3. I really don't want to do it. I did some research last night and emailed a bunch of articles to my school account to print out on their paper on Monday so I can pretend like I've worked on it this weekend. Also I have a book in at the library that I need to pick up. I need to type up an outline and turn it in to the teacher by last Thursday (it's an online class that I set all the deadlines except the Dec. 3 deadline- this is dangerous territory for an expert procrastinator).

***Last night I got to spend 2 hours at Barnes & Noble while the bigger boys were at a Warren Miller film (it was my reward for spending 2 hours at the Scout store early that day trying to straighten out the popcorn sale fiasco- not really, I was already scheduled to drive the boys to Olympia last night). I found the new Artemis Fowl book The Atlantis Complex but Ryan wouldn't let me spend $18 on it so I bought a $4 book (Lauren Willig's Temptation of the Night Jasmine) and a $5 Peppermint Mocha and did research on the school library from B & N.

***This Wednesday I have 6 items plus school on my calendar and I'm trying to figure out how to add a funeral to the day. Mrs. Verley died this last week. She was my first Freshman Advanced English teacher plus I had her for 2 trimesters of AP English my Junior yr.

***Wednesday night Ryan is doing dinner at church so Jennifer and I can go to the college and hear Ann Rule speak. Our county has hit an all-time low, we now have a criminal case worthy of an Ann Rule book. I read all her early stuff when we lived on Guam and I worked at the Stars & Stripes bookstore. I had to stop reading them when Ryan went to Japan for 6 months- I heard too many bumps in the night that freaked me out.

***I can't remember the last picture of my kids I took, I know we took our camera last weekend to my aunt's service but it never came out of the case. I took a picture on my cell phone of some cool driftwood balls in a store display window last night while we waited for the boys to come out of the movie. Ryan's working most of Christmas break and I'm going to spend entire 3 weeks scrapbooking and see if I can get caught up to 2010 before 2011 starts ) minus the 3 days I spend cooking for the dinner theater at church.

***One of my friends' daughters will be 11 on 11/11/11. How cool is that?

***Tonight I have a Creative Memories Photo Solutions Party. My first one in about 3 months. I should go and review what I'm actually supposed to do and get my bag packed. My lapboards are all over the house being used for schoolwork (they are perfect for the mouse when I have my laptop on my lap).

I'll leave you with a picture that will be the theme for the rest of my week:

I'm Impressed

~Erica

It's the simple things that make moms happy: Tovah got a Dora "piano" book at Costco last year- it was her money and she really wanted it. I really don't like those because it seems like the batteries die quickly and then to replace them costs twice what the book originally cost, you see dead ones at Goodwill and garage sales all the time. This book came with a card for replacement batteries from Publications International, Ltd. I was able to order 3 sets of replacement batteries for $7.99. They came today and had everything I needed including an extra screw for the little flap and a card to order again. She's back to making music and I'm rather impressed with the cost and the ease in which I fixed the book. I didn't even have to look for a screwdriver...

Jonah's birthday

Happy Birthday Jonah! Jonah's birthday was September 16th, he is 11 years old and he made sure that I wrote that he got $47.00. Here are some pictures of Jonah's birthday:

Your love never changes

~Erica

Rush, Arin, Isaac, and Jesse at the wreck of the Peter Iredale, Ft. Stevens, OR

I don't have to be afraid-

There may be pain in the night

But joy comes in the morning

Since Sunday I've been singing these 3 lines to myself, over and over. I just couldn't remember the rest of the words but these are the ones I needed.

 

Aunt Jane

~Erica

June 2010 at Nathan's party

Deborah Jane Johnson

June 1, 1952  - October 29, 2010

My Aunt Jane died last Friday night. She had AML and had gone through a Stem Cell Transplant in July using Stem Cell's from my father. Her stem cells had grafted but the steroids preventing GVH caused too much damage to her systems and she just couldn't recover.

One of my earliest memories of family is going with Aunt Jane when she drove a school bus route. I think I was about 3. We left long before dawn to start the route. I sat in the first seat across the aisle from her so she could keep an eye on me. I fell asleep about halfway through and woke up back at the bus barn. I was so disappointed to miss seeing the school.

When I was 6 we lived in Portland, OR while my dad went to Multnomah. Jane and Dwayne lived in Gresham while he attended the mortuary school at Mt. Hood CC. They lived close to the campus and we would go out there and walk onto campus to watch old movies. That summer we saw Old Yeller and the Jungle Book (I think we saw more but those are the ones that stuck with me.) Dwayne had to make a funeral mask out of plaster and hung it above their front door. It totally freaked me out. To this day I don't like anything on or near my face.

Later they moved into Portland (not sure where but I remember we turned at the Fred Meyer). My uncle had the coolest garden in the attic. Then they moved to the Hollywood district of Portland- I can still find that house because I was driving when they lived there. It was about 20+ LONG blocks from my great-grandparents apartment (I know how long it was because we walked it one day).

I loved going to visit them- when we were there nothing was expected of us, I could read or watch TV all weekend. Dwayne died in July 2004. It was hard to imagine that he wouldn't be there when I went down. I always told each of my uncle's they were my Favorite Uncle.

Jane loved to laugh and sing and to be creative. She loved to weld and do stained glass and garden and crafts. She loved camping and family. Best of all- she loved Jesus. She spent 3 days with us in June when Nathan was home from Afghanistan. We went to an outdoor concert  and cooked and baked and played dominoes.

She left behind a daughter, Sarah, who will be lost without her mother. 2 brothers, 2 sisters, many nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews.

Trigger Finger Mittens

I wanted to make Nathan a pair of mittens with a trigger finger for Afghanistan. I thought I had found a pattern online but when I sat down to make them the pattern called for bulky yarn and I had worsted weight. I took bits and pieces from several different patterns and found a tutorial on making gloves. I will compile all the bits into a pattern once I try knitting another pair (that won't be until December because going to college full-time severely limits my knitting time).

These knit up very quickly. I'm thinking I'll make a pair for my mom for Christmas so I can work out sizes. Nathan's are a little big for Rush (he wouldn't come outside and model them for me). I used Cascade 220 Superwash and it took just under 1 skein for the pair.

Summer Vacation

I'm back from summer vacation. I went to Boy Scout camp, & the SWWF.

My favorite part of the summer was unlimited rides at the fair, my favorite ride at the fair was the vortex.

 This is the 1001 Nights ride at the fair

At Boy Scout camp I got to shoot rifles, go canoeing, & hike, a lot. I'm looking forward to this school year. I can't wait for chess to start, this year I don't have to qualify to go to the state tournament. So that's my first blog post.




And this is the Vortex.

 

The "S" Word

~Erica

A friend recently posted on Facebook that she was considering homeschooling her children. I quickly encouraged her to look into it and then the public school folks jumped in with the "Socialization" argument- they won't be socialized if they go to school at home. It's such a tired argument and my first thought is "Really, that's all you can come up with?"

When someone uses it to my face I usually counter with a joke, "We have to schedule time out of our social activities to get school done," while I'm thinking if I socialized my kids the way public school does I'd go to jail for child abuse. And how many of us heard from our teachers, "Miss, you are not here to socialize, you are here to learn."

When new homeschoolers ask how to meet other homeschoolers it makes me sad. It means that they are not reaching out to the community that is out there available to them. When we first started homeschooling I didn't wait for opportunities to come to us, I made our own. I found a couple of other like-minded moms and we started a field trip co-op so that we could do something fun with the kids each month. A few years later I got involved with another group of moms in a learning co-op using KONOS. The group disbanded after a couple of years because our older kids were getting involved in other things and it was time to move on.

Nowadays our family does very little "socializing" with other homeschoolers because our kids are so involved in activities that have nothing to do with school- Scouts, sports, church, etc. We do go to Homeschooling Swim Lessons because it works into our schedule. Isaac is involved in a chess club that is homeschoolers and the kids from the Christian school. All the  kids' closest friends go to public school or the Christian school.

In our area there are lots of opportunities for homeschoolers to socialize with homeschoolers- soccer co-op, baseball co-op, swim lessons, Chess Club, and several new learning co-ops. It's easy to get involved but you have to leave your house and maybe your comfort zone

I'm still alive, barely...

~Erica

School started a week ago and I feel like I've been buried alive- I have class 2-hours a day and then it's taking me about 5 hours a day to do my homework. I took Geometry and Trig my Jr. year, those formulas are buried deep and having a hard time coming to the surface. My Spanish seems to be bubbling up a lot easier but we haven't moved past Dora yet. My English class is a whole 'nother story- I feel like I'm reading in a foreign language and can't make sense of it at all. Being sick all last week didn't help. Tonight is the first night I've even felt like I can slow down and do something other than homework. I have tests in Spanish and Math on Wednesday so we'll see how it goes...

The kids have written some posts that I need to edit and match pictures to. I'll get it done and upload them as soon as I find the camera and get the pictures on my laptop.

Too funny: we took Jonah to Applebees last week for his birthday and one of the managers came over to talk to Ryan. She asked if that was his grand-daughter on the soccer team with her daughter? Because its usually grandparents who have such big cameras...

Countdown to School

~Erica

September 20 is our official first day of school. I'm trying not to go into panic mode because, after 16 or 22 years (depending on how you're counting) I'm going back to college full-time. It seemed like the right time for a lot of reasons but the closer that day comes the reasons why it's a really bad idea are becoming more apparent.

1) We can't go to Disneyland for 4 years or more as I will have a set schedule that can't be moved or ignored.

2) I'm already triple booked most days how am I going to fit in 2 hours of classes plus an online class and study time?

3) It's been 16 years since I've strained my brain and I'm not sure it's up to the challenge. Just reading the course descriptions makes me weary.

These really seem trivial once they are written down. This is a good time- the kids are capable of independent study, Ryan's home most of the week, my mom may pick up Tovah's enrichment activities (not that I would do any with her if I was home full time), in 2 years we may not be eligible for financial aid but I have time to qualify for scholarships if I start now, and if teaching 5 kids in 5 grades isn't challenging to the brain then I don't know what is!

So, in a little over a week I'm going to school to earn my degree in Sustainable Agriculture and if I never use it- that's okay, I'll know I have it.

For the kids- Monday we are going to start our school schedule and focus on Scouts until the rest of their curriculum arrives, Rush has 3 Eagle required Merit Badges started and really needs to finish them before he gets busy with life. Arin and Isaac have a couple to finish as well. Cub Scouts starts Monday night- Rush is Den Chief for Webelos 1, Arin is Den Chief for Webelos 2, and Jonah is in Webelos 2. Tovah has soccer games on Mondays and Wednesdays for the next 7 weeks, AllStars starts Wednesday at church, and Thursday is Jonah's birthday (as well as 4 kids are getting fillings, including the birthday boy).

This is them walking "naturally"

Puttering at Projects

~ Erica

I've been working my way through my project list 15 minutes at a time. I'm getting a lot done and getting more ideas about personalizing our space. I took all the pictures off the walls 10 years ago when we raised the house and put in a new foundation and I've never gotten them back up because I wasn't sure where and how I wanted to do it. I'm spoiled because the old half of the house has solid wood walls under the sheetrock so it doesn't matter where I put a nail- the new half of the house is modern construction and looking for studs is a pain. I've used quite of few of the 3m hangers that are like velcro.

In our bedroom I hung the silhouettes I made of the kids along with the silhouettes from Disneyland- the upper one is me when I was little and the bottom one is Nathan and Rush from 1996. The lamp has to go, I think I'll bring the floor lamp in from the family room and the candlestick lamp cam sit in the window of the family room to give me a little extra knitting light, the purple shade will have to go. The paint and wallpaper are on my Project List but we need to change out a window and repair the sheetrock before I paint.

This is in the new schoolroom.

I finished my chalkboard! I'm not totally excited about the chalk pens but will use them for now. The kids aren't detail orientated so a general overview of the events of the week is all they need.

A place for featured art or cards. I may try and paint over the blue stripes, or not. I think I got the idea from Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss I had the frame stashed in my closet, it's glass got broken a long time ago.

I replaced the Armed Forces Insignia poster with my Narnia map- this was a Christmas present when I was 12 and I've never found a replacement for it. It's old and tired but aren't the best maps the aged ones? This is the hallway (can you call it that when it's only a door width deep) between one of the bedrooms and the bathroom. I thought I wanted a cool Ikea full-length mirror here but then I decided that maybe I didn't want that many glimpses of myself.

I decided to hang the maps in the stairs, there are always handprints on this wall so laminated maps are a good choice. Next time I will put 2 kids on the corners while I step back and check that they are level rather than asking the kids to tell me when its straight.

I still have a chalkboard to hang in the kitchen and I want to paint some rocks with the rest of my chalkboard paint and move a bulletin board so I can hang a phone center next to it but that has to wait for Ryan to remove the thermostat from that wall...

Finally, baking was on our list of things To Do this summer. Arin wanted to try the Petite Vanilla Bean scones at Starbucks and I told him we could make them from Pioneer Woman's recipe. They turned out okay- I didn't have cream or vanilla bean so we had to use half & half and vanilla extract. They baked a little too long so they were crunchy rather than soft.

Then my mom went blueberry picking and we made a pie (you can see the crust).

We froze about 20 pounds and dehydrated a couple of pounds. We thought that blueberry scones sounded really good. I don't have a picture but they were wonderful. I didn't add any vanilla, I used 1c dried blueberries (soaked in water- next time I will simmer them or at least use hot water), I still didn't have any cream so I used half & half instead, which made them a bit wetter, and I dropped them in big spoonfuls on my baking stones. I glazed them with powdered sugar glaze made with half & half.

We have one more week before school officially starts so I guess summer's over. We're hoping for a few nice days next week and if it does get warm we'll try and go agate hunting or go to the rock farm to get my chalk board rocks. We won't get to go to a parade, there's one in Hoquiam on Saturday but Tovah has soccer pictures and the Jamboree. We'll save our NW Trek passes till later this fall when the leaves are off the bushes and the grass has died down- a sunny winter day is the best day to see all the animals, they come out to lay in the sun on the warm blacktop tram road.

LEGO Games- We All Win!

~Erica

In June the kids asked if we could go to the Lego Games 2010 Tour they were having in Seattle or Portland at the end of summer. It was 2 months away so I said what all mom's say, "Maybe." I was thinking it would be fun and I had plenty of time to make arrangements.

Last week Isaac reminded me and I still thought we could go to Portland on Monday.

Sunday I decided I was out of my mind trying to make it happen- it was a holiday weekend, 2-hours down and back in heavy traffic, bad weather, 100s of people, and a week before payday. At a minimum I figured it would cost us $40 in gas and $10 for parking or the Max plus some spending money for snacks and then they'd really want to buy a game. So I told them we could go to the event or we could go to Walmart after dinner and just buy a game.

They decided that they really wanted Minotaurus. It cost $25 so I came out ahead...

The point of the game is to get your 3 heros through the labyrinth to the temple avoiding the Minotaur. You can block your opponents by moving sections of the wall. The biggest problem I see with the game is that only 2-4 can play at a time.

Ryan wants to get these for them for Christmas

http://games.lego.com/en-us/products/3844.aspx

http://games.lego.com/en-us/products/3840.aspx

This post is linked up with Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family

Racing the Rain

~Erica

Last week my dad pulled the roof off the Little Shop so he could tie in the new back porch roof. The weatherman was saying that we would have a rainy Labor Day weekend. Ryan helped him until 1 on Friday when he had to go to bed to get ready for working the weekend. Dad kept working by screwing on the panels rather than nailing them (nailing anywhere in the house wakes Ryan up when he's sleeping). We went into the weekend with the sheathing on the roof. Monday morning I woke up to the sound of rain and cars on the wet road. It stopped during the day but more was expected.

My mom got to go up the ladder to help with the last few pieces.

We just made it. At 6 my dad had to run to Home Depot for another roll of paper while I started the barbecue. It started sprinkling while he was gone but they got the last few pieces on before it really started raining. Dad says the paper will last years... just kidding. A friend is coming over to help us roof later this week but the shop is dry for now.

He Cares

~Erica

Tonight it seems like all the worries and cares of the week are piled on top of me. I was burdened with someone else's situation today and it's not one that I want to carry. My aunt's bone marrow transplant seems to be taking but I worry if it will really work and then what, I worry as my dad recovers from donating to his sister. I worry about Nathan in Afghanistan and the world situation. I worry about Grandma who is 90 and can't live forever. Because I am a fixer by nature its hard for me to not try to solve these problems even though I know they are all bigger than I am. I have to remind myself that God is in control and He is bigger than all of these.

I cast all my cares upon You
I lay all of my burdens down at your feet
and any time I don't know what to do
I cast all my cares upon You

I review His promises to me...

1) Hebrews 13:5 God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

He is there even if we aren’t looking for Him

2) Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I may not understand what is happening but I am assured that He does and I can refer to Promise #1

3) 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
He will never give us more than we can handle and He will provide a way of escape for us. Job was tested beyond my imagining- he lost all his children at one time. Mother Teresa said once that she knows that God will never give her more than she can handle, she just wishes he didn’t trust her quite so much.

4) John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
He loves me so much He sent His Son to die for me.

5) John 14:1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
This world is not my home. He has gone to prepare a place for me and He is coming back to get me. I don’t know when but I’m ready

6) Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
ALL things! Not some things, not only in certain circumstances, ALL things. Check your Bible, its there.

These are promises we can rely on- Jesus told us that trials will come, trouble will seem to prevail, we may lose life, liberty, and happiness but God is still standing there saying, “I won’t leave you, I know what’s going on, I know you can handle this, I love you so very much, your home is almost ready and I’ll come for you, it’ll all work out for good, trust me in this.”

So before I go to sleep tonight I'll hand each and every worry over to him and trust him to take care of them. And tomorrow I'll do my best not to take them back and fix them....

A weekend without the children...

~Erica

Last week Ryan took me to Leavenworth for my birthday. We had been there 17 years ago with Nathan and Taryn but it was winter and cold and long time ago. We made a serious road trip of it- we took Stevens Pass up to Leavenworth then came home over Blewett Pass through Ellensburg and Yakima and over White Pass. It was a very long roller coaster ride that took 2 days. There were fires burning in Cashmere and Stehekin so the air was very hazy.

Leavenworth is quaint, kitschy, touristy but pretty cool. It was converted to a Bavarianesque village in the 60s when the logging first started drying up. They did a pretty good job of the buildings on main street and now its all covenanted so everything has to be built to specs.  I think there are 2 officials fonts for signs- I got a kick out of how they got National chains to comply. I didn't get a picture but McDonalds did not change their Golden Arches M but the building looks like a chalet. The main attraction is shopping and I think my shopping gene has withered and died. There is hiking and water sports but since we were there without the kids we were "relaxing." We might try and go back next year and rent kayaks for the Wenatchee River.

Thursday afternoon we had a terrific rain storm, I heard some thunder but didn't see any lightning and didn't hear that any more fires had started. It cleaned the air a bit however the humidity went up. We went to the Brau Haus for dinner and ate bratwurst. They had a German sauce (that's what they called it) that was red and slightly sweet with some curry. It was great and I would have brought home a big bottle if we had found it in the stores. The air seemed brighter so we took a few more pictures and got to go to the Farmers Market that is open in the evenings.

Friday we went into Cashmere and did the Aplets & Cotlets tour. The only thing we bought was some Aplets & Cotlets to bring home to share with the kids.

Downtown Cashmere

We had lunch in Yakima before coming over White Pass.

We saw the helicopter filling up from the lake at the top of White Pass, I'm not sure where it was taking the water as there weren't any reported fires in our area of the state.

I tried taking this picture of Mt. Rainier as we drove down the pass. It was the first time we'd seen it all weekend- the sky was so hazy in Eastern Washington that we couldn't see past the foothills. I just about got carsick trying to look through the viewfinder as we drove.

In Morton we stopped at Spiffy's for ice cream- the kids like to stop there on Boy Scout outings so we thought we'd give it a try. We went to the new Centralia Deli for dinner (Ryan wanted BBQ). I was ready to go home but Ryan said we couldn't go home for another hour....


We got home to a house full of guests who came for cake