Fathers Day

Instead of buying Matt a tie, Addie made him a bow-tie :)

We went to church in the morning then spent the rest of Fathers Day down in Kent.

But Matt & I actually left the girl there & came home without them!

(Being in our own house without the girls was weird!)

The next morning we headed North to catch the ferry to Orcas Island.

We spent 2 nights there as a little "babymoon" if you will!

We went on a whale-watching tour (which we had never done before).

We got numerous viewing opportunities of the whales.

But it is not like SeaWorld or something where they are doing full jumps out of the water 

or are right up against the glass. 

But we used a Living Social deal and the tour guide was really knowledgeable and friendly

 and the boat was comfortable with a covered area and outside decks. 

So I liked the experience. 

We took a hike one morning.

It was a nice hike.

My knees were not happy with me at times and I was pretty slow getting up some smallish hills

thanks to decreased lung capacity due to pregnancy. 

But I was glad I did it.

One weird thing on the hike was the enormous amount of caterpillars we encountered.

It was bizarre. I do not know how many hundreds of fuzzy orange caterpillars there were.

They coated the trail. It got me anxious because I was looking down and trying so hard not to step on the little guys but  they were impossible to avoid. There were tons of them in this certain wooded patch.

We talked about how the girls would have loved them and

 would have wanted to collect them or something.

We stayed at Rosario Resort.

We toured the main building which is really neat in all its wood detail and how well it is made.

There was also a free piano and organ concert there which was narrated and 

a slideshow shown of old pictures of the island, the property and Seattle so that was pretty cool.

The rest of our time was spent relaxing and reading, eating yummy food, etc.

(But we failed to take pictures to document this time-away.)

Meanwhile the girls had a great time staying with Matt's folks.

So good times were had by all :)

Paint

face-paint

and red paint

The first pictures of Etta with the butterfly face-painting are from on Sunday.

There was a neighborhood fair that she went to with Matt

(Addie was going to go but said she felt sick. 

After a good nap she felt fine but she missed out on the fair)

Etta had a great time. She got to sit on a big new bus, get a temporary tattoo of a dog, 

get her face painted, get balloons twisted into a flower for her, 

but best of all she got to go down a bouncy-slide. 

Again and again and again from what I hear :)

Matt had the girls help him paint a shelf to attach to our kitchen wall in the nook above where the portable dishwasher hangs out. I told him I wanted it red to match the red kitchen walls. 

It is red. But after painting it he realized it was not actually the correct red paint for matching the walls.

Oops. Oh well.

It is not a super-visible spot so I don't think it will drive me crazy.

What is driving me crazy is the &*%#$ road construction everywhere around my house.

I do not need to get worked up by providing the details.

But it is a frustration I could live without.

Having to add an extra 5 minutes on my drive time is one thing. 

Never knowing what streets I am allowed to drive or turn on is another.

GRRR!

Sun & Swim

Not much sun today. Rain mostly. Which I am disgruntled about because for some reason I expect better for June. School is out, the sun should be too!!! So these first few pictures (taken about 2 weeks ago) remind me that we do have random days of sun tucked in (even if the weather barely qualifies as warm).

Addie started her first official swim lesson yesterday. She loves the water and loves the lessons. 

They are half hour sessions every day for 2 weeks at an outdoor pool only 10 minutes away.

So far I do not love how chaotic & crowded the shower & changing room is. 

Nor do I love trying to keep Etta content to sit on the sides while Addie gets to splash.

But we decided that Addie is the age where lessons really can "click" well enough 

to produce actual swimming skills. 

I put her in the most introductory class since she had never done any before, 

but that may have been a mistake. 

If I register her for a second set of lessons I might try to skip the next class in the series

 since she is so eager & willing to learn I want to maximize on her instruction time. 

The ratio is great, there are 5 kids in her group & 2 adults. 

But there are about 10 other groups having instructions in the pool at the same time. 

I do not think it feels too crowded to Addie. 

But there sure is a lot of activity 

(thus the super crowded changing rooms since there are classes directly before & after ours too).

A few more Sun Lakes Pictures

(thanks to May)

Sun Lakes

This weekend was a Marston Family Reunion at Sun Lakes Resort in eastern Washington.

Matt took Friday off so we could drive mid-day. But then he agreed to take Thursday off as well. What a treat for me and the girl! Matt went to class with Etta Thurs morning while Addie & I stocked up on food for the trip at Costco. We ate lunch at Costco then drove to school. I picked up Etta and dropped off Addie so Matt could continue his full co-op experience by being in class with her. I know the girls really enjoyed having daddy in class with them. And I really enjoyed being able to spend the day shopping and packing for the trip.

Friday we loaded up the car and headed out after lunch. It was a pleasant drive on I-90 over the pass and through fields, by lakes and scenic sights. The girls both napped but woke up only about half way through the 3 1/2 hour drive. We stopped at a rest stop where we were able to experience the first of what would be a very windy weekend. The girls did fine snacking, playing, etc the rest of the drive. They were very excited when we arrived and they were able to see the cabin where we would be sleeping and see some of the family who were starting to arrive.

We were hoping for a nice sunny weekend. The sun did not make a full strong appearance until Sunday so we were only able to experience it a bit that morning before we drove home. Most f the time it was windy. Like blow the picnic tables over windy. Like I am surprised the kids were able to get around and play despite it because I had visions of one of them being blown away. Part of the time it was also misty raining. Although it was not the weather we were hoping for, I can be grateful that we did not get sunburns and that the majority of the time the mosquitoes did not bother us because the wind kept them away. Also, the weather forced us to huddle together in groups and go from cabin to campsite visiting. If the weather had been gorgeous, we all might have been scattered off doing our own activities. And there were a lot of activities we could have done: there was a heated outdoor pool, paddle boats, mini-golf, golf, water balloon fighting stations, hikes, etc.

Cabin camping is pretty great in my opinion! The cabin had furniture, towels and bed linens but nothing more. So we had to pack all the kitchen ware we needed along with our food. So although we had a stove and fridge we could use (hooray for not cooking over a fire!) we still got to eat more basic picnic style or camp food. I am all for packing the swagger waggon to the gills with outdoor chairs, kids folding table, kids bikes, lots of food, board games, you name it versus only packing what you can carry in on your back. I used to (pre-kids) backpack with Matt some. We bought all the gear and I tried to be a trooper. But car-camping is my preference. And car camping with a cabin with a bathroom with hot water and a  kitchen with a stove is better than tent camping in my mind. You lose some of the wilderness feel but the gain in convenience is worth it for me.

I liked Sun Lakes enough that I would be all for going back again next year. But this time 3 nights instead of 2. And I would special order some sunny but not over 80 degree weather. That sounds lovely!

Etta drove the entire drive back. As in the entire drive. After Addie woke up we kept our eye out for a rest stop so she and I could use the bathroom. and because I was getting a kink in my back and really wanted to stretch my legs and take over the driving. But there were no rest stops ahead. So we stopped at the North Bend outlet malls (my eyes got so excited when we saw that sign!). Matt agreed that if Etta woke I could extend my leg stretching to going in a store or two. Alas, she slept like a log and I was not cruel enough to "accidently" wake her. But it was so sad driving past the kids clothing store with the sign saying "extra 30% off clearance items". I don't make the time to go to the outlet mall often at all (like less than once a year) but I do love shopping the clearance racks and stocking up on clothes for the girls to grow into.

Instead of going straight home once we hit Seattle we went to a park where the girls co-op was having an end-of-year potluck party. The weather was nice. There was yummy food and friends all around. Worth the stop, but the weekend full of socializing and snacky foods did seem to catch up with the girls. Addie especially had a rough time re-entering our home and a rough time this morning. I am sure the cold we are all fighting did not help any :(

And to end, here are a few pictures of the gaggle of girls who Addie & Etta had a blast spending the weekend with:

Some nice pictures to share

This first one was taken at co-op. Each year a photographer comes and takes group shots of the classes as well as individual shots of kids and/or kids with siblings. I know the backdrop screams "school picture" and it is not a natural setting, but I think the pictures are consistently really good.

And the rest of these are from Mothers Day weekend when we had family photos taken. The point was to get a couple good ones of my parents with the grandkids, but there were some other sweet ones too!

 (Aub & Addie were practicing all sorts of silly and scary faces together. 

I did not even know Addie could contort her face like that!)

(um, pretty sure Lauren is pinching Etta or something!)

(and Tom & Troy could not resist a beauty shot together, and I could not resist including it!)

Meeting Baby Boy Bennett in Boise - travel tales

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Boise to meet Mike & Becka's 2 month old baby boy Bennett.

We tried hard to schedule our flights for times that would not interfere with naps and would give us the maximum time in Boise while still having enough time to unwind at home before the next day. So our alarm was set for 5am Friday morning, but Matt & I both actually woke before it went off. Etta woke on her own early too and was in a good mood, so that was nice. Addie was very excited when we woke her and rushed into her clothes so we could get in the car and to the airport.

Our timing worked great. We were one of the last to board the plane, which is better in my opinion when you have young kids who don't really want to be buckled down. We borrowed a CARES harness from a friend and had Etta in it and Addie in a regular seatbelt, so we did not have to worry about lugging car seats around. The girls used their Trunki cases as their carry-ons and we got lots of smiles as they pulled or rode them around the airports.

An hour long flight is a wonderful length of time in my opinion. The time saved compared to driving makes it worth the money when you have young kids. Except I started to question that when they both threw up on the plane. Everything went well until the end. We had some small toys packed to entertain them. They people-watched. They asked lots of questions. They got excited about the beverage cart and snack as soon as it was announced. So there was the anticipation of it, the watching it get closer & closer to out seats at the back of the plane, the enjoyment of the snack & drink, the waiting for them to come back & collect our cups. Plus the bathrooms that had to be visited. Which were so small that they had no sinks. Which were so small that on the return flight I let Addie go in on her own since I was worried I would not fit with her. And then I had a couple seconds of panic when I realized that the plane was going to be starting the descent soon and Addie had slid the door into the locked position and was turning the knob and getting frustrated because it was not opening and if she started panicking I would have very little luck of talking her through unlocking the door. She stayed calm, I told her what she needed to do, and all was well.

Anyways, back to the throw-up. As we were starting to descend into Boise, Addie told me she did not feel good. I pulled out the airsick bag and tried to make sure she was not too hot, she was breathing calm, etc. She put the bag to her mouth & started breathing into it. I thought she was kind of faking not feeling good because she sometimes likes to joke about throwing up. But she did, in fact, cleanly throw up right into the bag a few minutes later. I removed that bag & got her a new one, but she announced that she did not need it because she was done throwing up. And she was right. Five or so minutes after that I looked behind me because I heard a distinctive noise and I saw Etta throwing up all over herself. She did not give Matt any advance warning. Honestly I am trying to remember if she has ever thrown up before in her life. She might not have had any understanding of what was coming. So she made a mess all over herself and matt and the seat. I got them sickness bags & handed matt wet-wipes and paged the flight attendant. Who was as helpful as she could be at the time considering that we were minutes away from landing and she was supposed to be strapped down too. At landing the lady behind Matt & Etta was saying "oh, you poor thing!" and trying to give our puke-splattered daughter a hug. Even I was not trying to do that!

So we were the last to exit the plane due to clean-up and Etta's need for a clothing change. We all slowly started walking away from the plane only to have the flight attendant run after us. oops! We had left behind the slightly puke-smelling CARES harness.. Those things are like $80 to buy new and it was not even ours so we wanted it back, gross smell & all. We spent some time in the clean & nearly vacant airport bathrooms doing additional clean-up. Over the loud-speaker we hear announced that boarding fr a flight is being delayed due to the need for additional clean-up. Sorry folks, I hope you are not sitting in row 18!

We were thrilled to see Mike, Becka, Ellie & baby Bennett at the airport waiting for us. But we were a little hesitant to give hugs. We were pretty sure it was the flight that made the girls sick, but nothing says "stay away" more than the flu.

We went to grab our bag off the baggage-claim carousal and the entire room was eerily deserted. The Boise airport definitely sees less travelers than Seatac or pdx!

The girls did not get sick on the flight back to Seattle, even though it seemed to hit slight bits of turbulence. One of the flight attendants was really friendly and had a puppet he introduced to the girls and their "woof-woof" and "lion" lovies. So the girls had fun with that. We warned the flight attendants about the girls getting sick on the first flight, and they gave us extra air-sick bags but thankfully they were fine on this one.

Meeting Baby Boy Bennett in Boise - pictures and snippets

We stayed at Becka's mom's house while in Boise. She let us take over her entire upstairs, which was pretty great! There was a large bedroom with a queen bed, a twin and a trundle. Plus there was a bathroom and a tv/play-space.

There was also a guest room on the main floor that Ellie slept in a pack & play in 2 nights so us adults could have game time once the little ones were down.  By down, I do not mean asleep. That took quite a while. We had a few things going against us. One was the time change. Two was the excitement of being somewhere new and the feeling of not wanting to miss the fun. Three was the fact that the girls slept in a room together (we joined them in that same room well after they were asleep). Little girls sharing a bedroom, as we all know, is a recipe for lots of talk (and possibly some naughtiness). At one point we had Addie come down to tattle on Etta and say "she is playing the guitar and she is doing it too loud!"  Ha! It was not only that Etta had wandered into the closet, found the guitar and decided to test her musical abilities. It was also that she was being less than quiet when she played!

We had offered the main floor guest bedroom at Addie the first night, but she did not want to be so far from us. We could have let her sleep in the tv room upstairs, but then there would not have been a place for Matt & I to hang out. Plus we decided that the girls should get used to the reality of sharing a room. Around Christmas time I think we plan on buying bunkbeds and putting the girls in the same room so baby can move out of our room. So they might have a few trial-runs before that. By the 4th night in Boise they fell asleep pretty fast without too much up & down. Then again,  neither of them had napped that day (naps were attempted but eventually abandoned that day) and they had a busy day with lots of fun things including the pool so they were pretty exhausted by then!

My aunt Shirl and Uncle Bob retired to Meridian less than a year ago, so we spent a morning visiting them and their new house. My Uncle Dan & Aunt Mary were in town for the weekend visiting Bob & Shirl, so we had a family get-together! The girls enjoyed the yummy breakfast and the play area right behind their house. But mostly the girls enjoyed playing a game of hide-and-seek with the two cats. The cats hid, the girls tried to find them. The girls love cats and dogs. They know not to chase them and are gentle with them, but the cats were understandably wary of the visitors. Etta was rubbing at her eyes and her eyes were watering when we left, plus she said she was sleepy. It could be that some sun-block got in her eyes when she was rubbing. It could just be that all the activity was catching up with her body. Or it could be possible that she has cat allergies. I will keep my eye out for similar reactions after visiting other friends with cats.

Meeting Baby Boy Bennett in Boise - weather and water

I kept a close eye on the Boise weather forecast while packing. But I did not like what I saw. I wanted to get so much sun that I was sick of it and glad for Seattle's tepid temperatures. I wanted the girls to show off their cute shorts and sundresses and get slathered in sunblock. I wanted the water we encountered to be in a pool.

The weather on arrival to Boise did not make me happy. Rain. I could have stayed in Seattle if I wanted rain. As a matter of fact it was not even raining when we left Seattle!  Bummer.

The weather did improve over our time there, and we had to leave on a gorgeous day and return to Seattle's tepid temps. But it was not quite hot enough long enough for pregnant me to be sick of it. And it was not as much water play time as the girls wanted, because lets be honest they are basically insatiable when it comes to water-play!

On Sunday we went to a park in the morning. We had decided to skip going to church since it is so rare that we visit and newborn babies don't typically make church relaxing anyway. We were the only ones at the playground. There was only one other car in the large parking lot. But we could tell exactly when church got out because families in semi-dressy clothes starting arriving! To our surprise the water-spray features turned on too. It had rained a bit the day before and the slides still had wet spots and the trail had some puddles. But the fountains turned on and our girls could not resist. Of course, we were silly to say they could take their socks & shoes off and get only their feet wet. Because what child, obedient or not, can resist stepping just a little closer to the spray? They were cold and wet but happy after about 5 minutes :)

The next day we spent some lovely time in the pool. A lot of the developments in Meridian (just outside Boise) have pools. Mike & Becka have one a quick walk from their house. But we visited the pool in Becka's mom's development (where we slept as well) because it was bigger & better! There were wide stairs slowly getting you deeper. So the girls like hanging out on the stairs laying on their tummies pretending to swim, or slowly descending the stairs seeing how high the water went on them. They also loved taking turns in the deeper water with Matt or I holding them.

The next morning (our last in Idaho!) we went to a large, popular local park. There was a fountain spray pool that turned on at 11. The girls got wet but also got cold. They would have spent a lot more time in it if the weather had been 10 degrees warmer I think. But they had fun exploring the park and we had a relaxed picnic lunch there.

Then it was back to the house, nap time (game time for the grown-ups) and straight to the airport after naps. We were so glad we were able to visit and so thankful for the time we all spent together (especially since we probably will not see them again until Christmas!). But no matter how nice the time away and how comfortable the sleeping accommodations, it is always nice to get home & sleep in your own bed!