Grammie's here

With only a couple of weeks in our house, we received our first visitor to our new home...Grammie!  Yes, Grammie flew in late on the evening of the 7th to join our little family for a month long visit.  She came to help with the moving in - unpacking, decorating, etc. - but also for the cooler Washington summer and a look at our new surroundings.

We took the day off from unpacking to visit a little town about an hour from here called Sumner.  It's the home of a unique, family-run furniture store where we purchased some new couches and also the "Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World".  Now how many of you can say they have been to a more exciting place?

We didn't actually eat any of that pie (no one in our family likes rhubarb and Grammie is gluten-free so can't eat pie), but it was a fun afternoon to wonder around the downtown area and look at the flowers and antique stores.

Here we go again...

I got the much anticipated phone call on Friday, our third and final shipment was here and ready to be delivered!  This is all the stuff that we thought was worth putting in a storage unit for three years and now it was going to be reunited with us.  For the last three years I have fairly frequently been heard saying that something was "somewhere in a storage unit somewhere in Virginia".  Like my bread machine and my crock pot and my waffle maker.  Why I thought I wouldn't make waffles, bread or stew in three years, I'll never know.

But along with these items that I knew were in storage there were a lot of things that I forgot we had.  A lot of things that we did just fine without.  In other words, a lot of things we really don't need.  Yes, I've heard from a lot of people that getting their storage shipment is like Christmas.

So here's my turn, I'm looking looking out the window for snow because it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

No, that whole van is not our stuff!

Here we go again...I just got all the other boxes unpacked.

Anticipating the toys in storage!

Beautiful summer day

I don't think the weather comes much better than we've had this weekend - warm, sunny and all-around beautiful.  We had a great day yesterday for Cannon's birthday but today was also a special treat because our neighbors across the street invited us out on their boat!

Our new neighbors, Becky and Paul, actually invited us yesterday but things didn't work our so instead the invitation got bumped to today.  The only bad thing is that Steve was on call so all the fun was left to be had by the kids and I.  It's tough, but someone had to chaperone those kids...

It was really neat to see the area we're now living in from the water instead of from our hilltop perch.  There are so many more homes around here than I thought and many, many more high dollar ones than I could have imagined!


We started our ride in Horseshoe bay and then went past Kopachuck state park and to a small island that is also a county park.  Since it was such a beautiful day there were tons of boats moored up to this little place, but especially along this sandbar strip that you could walk along.  It looked like people were walking on water out in the middle of the bay! 

But the tide was quickly coming in (there are HUGE tides up here) so we jumped back in the boat and headed over to Fox Island.  We floated by the shore while the kids attempted to get in the water (it was C-O-L-D).

Afterward we tootled to a couple of other place including a little sand jetty with all numbers of sand dollars on it.

We finally ended back in Horseshoe bay where the kids did actually get in the water!  Despite their best efforts, I did not get more than my toes in the water (remember, I'm a bath water or warmer kind of gal).  And Cannon actually tried his had at water skiing!  He made a really good effort, but then got out of the water before trying again because he was so cold.  We'll try again with wetsuits next time!

London and Paul, our neighbor

Emmy, Cannon and Paul

Cannon trying his hand at water skiing!

Cannon's birthday

I can't believe my baby turned 12 today!  Not to sound cliche, but where does the time go?

It seems like for the past few years, poor Cannon has kind of gotten a bum deal on his birthdays.  When he turned 9, we had only been in Okinawa for about a week and so knew no one.  One year later his best friend, Isaac just moved away about 2 weeks before his birthday.  Last year we were in the middle of a typhoon on his birthday and this year we have again moved to a new place and so he hasn't had time to make any friends yet.

So we try our hardest as a family to make up for the poorly played hand by doing every thing his way for the day.  He chooses his breakfast (homemade cinnamon rolls), lunch (on the fly and you'll see why) and dinner (macaroni and cheese with meatballs).  Keep in mind these are his choices and he didn't want to go out for dinner but wanted a homemade dinner (you know my cooking is that good!)

For things to do, he requested a "scavenger hunt for presents" then to go for a hike in the morning and then try out a local archery range in the afternoon.  The scavenger hunt was modeled off of something our friend and former neighbor, Kelly, does with her boys for Easter baskets.  I had to take pictures of objects around the house and then he had to follow the clues from one point to another finding presents along the way.

First clue

The found clues

Finding the grand prize!

Around mid-morning Kelly, drove down from Anacortes to join us on the hike.  We went to a state park on the Key Peninsula called PennRose park.  It was really pretty and I'd like to go back to explore more.  We were a little rushed for time since Cannon really wanted to get to the archery range before it closed.

Mick and Ty on our walk

Cannon's been interested in archery lately and he's been practicing in the back yard using a recurve bow that David, Kelly's son, generously gave him and a packing box.  He's pretty good, but has lost a few stray arrows to the woods behind our house!  His big gift from Steve and I was a junior sized compound bow.  Since he needed a better place to shoot that than the packing box, Steve took Cannon and London out to this "family friendly" archery and gun range.  I, for one, would have never said that I would be a member at a gun range, but I guess that's what having boys does for you.  I think I might ignore the gun part and just concentrate on the archery part!  The guys had a great time and learned a lot so maybe Emmy and I will get to go soon?

London trying his hand.

When they got back, we had Cannon's favorite dinner and (what else?) a "target" cake for dessert.  Happy birthday my sweet baby boy!  (I can still call you that, Cannon, because I'm your mom.)

U-Pick

I didn't realize that Washington was such an agricultural state, but it is littered with cute little farm stands and u-pick kind of places.  I love it!

We've stopped at several farm stands already - in fact just 3 minutes from our house is a stand that has not only produce, but also grass-fed beef and free-range chicken eggs for sale.  The thing that made me laugh about this stand is the forms of payment.  It was one of those "honor pay" systems where you just leave the money in the box.  But in this 21st century day and age, the sign said you could also pay by PayPal through your mobile phone!  That's a long way from leaving your nickel in the Ball jar.

Two days ago as the kids and I were driving home from swimming, we passed a sign for pick-your-own dahlias.  What a nice little pit stop on our way home.

London doesn't look so sure about this, does he?

Emmy had to go visit the chickens

Washington Funny Signs

I thought once I left Japan I would never see another funny sign, but I was wrong.  I think the folks in Washington also have a sense of humor!

Moon over Mt. Rainier

That's what Cannon called this picture and it kind of says it all.

And this one he called "A Ribbon of Rainier"

I think I'm going to accumulate a lot of photos of Mt Rainier in our stay here...