Diary of a Traveler - Day 8

Today I spent the morning with Wimp, the afternoon with Molly, and the evening with Pali and Elena.

Molly and I went to the Panera Bread Company.  I had the most delicious soup in a bread bowl, but I also got some orange rolls for breakfast later this week.  YUM!  And I had a great time catching up with Molly.  I'm so grateful she had the time to spend with me.

Later that evening I met up with Pali and Elena at the Cheesecake Factory in Bellevue.  Oh, do they have YUMMY foods!  We ordered just about everything on the appetizer menu (which means we gained about 35 pounds in one night) but my favorites were the fried cheese and the fire-roasted artichoke.  Mmmmm.....

Elena showed us her helmet that Dave decorated for her, complete with Tigger. :)

I love Elena - she's so awesome!  And she wasn't shy about posing for me, either. :)  She has to be the bravest person I know. 

Me, Elena and Pali outside Bell-Square Mall.

Elena and JR.  I am in awe with how JR takes care of Elena and is always looking after her needs, and at the same time treating her as normal as possible and challenging her.

Elena with her helmet - she has to wear it anytime she is in a position where she could fall or get hurt (ie walking around, in the car, sitting on an unstable chair, etc).

Elena is getting better as time goes on, but some things are still a challenge and I love her for her courage and strength.  I pray that the appoiutment in two weeks goes well and she can have the rest of her skull put back in within a month.  Thanks for an incredible night ladies!  Love to you both!

Diary of a Traveler - Day 7

Today Wimp and I took it easy. We unpacked, tidied up, and got some rest before heading out on some errands (Target and Chico's - which is where I found MY WHITE T-SHIRTS! The ones I've been searching EVERYWHERE for! AND THEY WERE ON SALE!!!)

On the way home we decided to stop at:

Which, of course, was under construction (well, the road was, which means they had to remove their sign...).

They have THE most amazing ice cream!  My faves are the chocolate/vanilla fudge swirls.  They never carry both at the same time, which makes it REALLY handy for me because I don't think I'd ever be able to choose between them.

I got the CFS. Yummy!

And what's a trip to Theno's without a picture of the cow?

Ahhh... the perfect ending to a (more) relaxing day. :)

Becky, Jane, Alex, James - I heard you went fishing and daddy almost threw Becky into the water.  I guess I don't have to remind you all about my fear of piers, but can I just say how glad I am that you are no longer on that thing?!  I'm glad you were all cautious (well, maybe not daddy) and got home safe.  Take it easy today and enjoy the water we have in our own backyard. :) I love you all!

Sean - DO I have to remind you of my fear of piers?  C'mon.... ;)

Becky - drama queen... calm down. :)

You guys all be good and stay safe.  Oh, and have fun!

Love,

mom

Diary of a Traveler - Day 6

And you thought yesterday's post was long......

Sunday morning we woke up and realized we had a LOT of time before church at 1pm, so we decided to get a few things done and then take a field trip.

After breakfast of blueberry muffins and peaches (gratis mom), some ironing, sweeping, dusting, mopping, and scrubbing, we got ready and headed out, but not without taking a picture with the fabulous house pets that kept us company:

(Cash and Nikki were the sweetest dogs!  Course, they were also a bit naughty... Cash can literally rest his chin on the top of the kitchen counter, and apparently a bag of candy isn't safe if left resting against the wall on the counter. He enjoyed some Smarties, a few Hot Tamales, and ALL of the suckers.  He wasn't too delighted with the Sugar Babies, but he destroyed the box, so all of it had to be discarded.  And when we got home he was WIRED!)

We decided to take a little trip to downtown Spokane and see what there was to see.

We were absolutely blown away at the beauty of the city, the river, and the bridges.

This river is a tributary of the Columbia river, which is 111 miles long, and it's amazing!

Wimp has a continuing joke with this little "bus."  She and her friends take it around the world with them and post pictures on FB, so we had to get several pictures posing in Spokane. :)

This was just one of several bridges that crossed the river.  I was in heaven!  I just love bridges, especially pretty ones, and there was definitely no shortage here!

There were also a few totem poles around the park that graces both sides of the river in downtown, as well as a ferris wheel, play equipment, and naked runners (sorry, no pictures of the nude. haha)

After enjoying the splendor of downtown we headed back towards church and on our way we fell in love with this sign:

Perfect!

After church we drove to the top of a very tall hill and took a picture of the city:

It really is beautiful.  I love the green, the hills, the small-town feel.  There was an abundance of parks and beautiful buildings.  It was like a mini-Seattle that decided to venture off on its own.

After packing up, loading the car, and getting a few snacks (including the largest pita I've ever seen in my entire life) we headed for Seattle.

We enjoyed all the views, including the Columbia river, acres of corn, sunflowers, and more corn.

(Above: the Columbia River/bridge, the beautiful drive, the gorgeous sunset, our favorite tunnel in the side of the mountain, a hilarious licence plate, and the view of Bellevue as we drove in.)

About 2 hours into our drive we hit the traffic....and it continued for another 2 hours until it all of a sudden disappeared...

but until it did, we got a glimpse of hilarity, including people who decided to wait it out and lounge in lawn chairs on the side of the freeway, kids who needed a bathroom and decided to do it back-woodsman style, people rocking out in their cars (including us), and a lot of this:

We were hoping the guy in the blue car had some sort of clothes on, but we never gathered the courage to really look.

We finally made it home at 9:15pm, making our journey a total of 5 hours 45 min - almost 2 hours longer than normal.  Whew!  Let's just say we were all glad to get out of our cars, though it was hard to extend our legs completely for a little bit.

I'm so grateful we arrived safe, even if we had to sit in traffic for forever.  It allowed us to enjoy the scenery we'd normally be passing at 70mph, get to know our fellow travelers a bit, and listen to some great music. :)

Monday will be our day of rest (well, except for mom - she had to work).  Whew!

I love you guys!  Have fun with dad fishing.  Take care and be safe! :)

Love,

mom

Diary of a Traveler - Day 5

(I left my computer in Seattle as we journeyed to Spokane, so these next two posts are catch-up now that I'm back....)

Saturday morning started out early.  Mom and I wanted to get a good start on our trip to Spokane to see Wimp's work and where she's living, so we got in the car at 9am and started our journey. 

We decided to make a quick detour to:

The little statue in front of the temple is one of my favorites.  It represents one of my favorite memories of being a mother.  I loved those moments when they each ventured off into the world of walking.  Tender moments! :)

After that we were on our way!

It was and always is such a joy to see so much green and so little city. :)

The little peak on the top there is Mt Si.  Mom says she'll take the kids up on that hike some day. "It's the most boring hike!" she says.  Haha, so why would she want to take the kids?

These were some of our snacks, as well as Cheetos. Twix, and a LOT of water. :)

Here we are over half way (mile 141 was closer to half way, but I missed that sign).  We're through the pass, over the Columbia River, and heading towards acres and acres of corn fields.

Here we are getting into the city of Spokane.  It really is gorgeous there.  A small town feel with all the necessities you'd get from a big city (Wallmart, Costco, malls, movies, an airport, and a temple).  Not to mention it's beautiful!

We quickly found our way to Wimp's place of work, and I practically jumped out of the car to get this picture:

Doesn't she look so cute?!  And when mom finally parked the car we got one of all of us:

So there wasn't a sign nearby of the title of her hospital, so we got a picture of Wimp in her lab coat by a statue that sat outside their front doors:

Ah!  We're all so excited for her!  After so long, so much waiting, and a LOAD of hard work she finally gets a few weeks reprieve before going back to work and school.  Yeah for playtime!

On our way back to her place we saw this street:

What fun!  I don't think we ever get very far without seeing SOMETHING Monroe! :)

After letting Wimp change into something comfy we headed out to find the mall and see the movie Eat, Pray, Love.  It was alright - I think I'd have enjoyed it more had I known at the time I watched it that it was based on true experiences.  It seemed a bit negative, without much positive, and they really could have done without all the cussing.

Anywhoooo....

There was a very cute store in the mall called, "Monroe."  It sold all sorts of cute hair flowers, tutus, onesies, hair clips, hats, etc.  I got pictures, but they somehow got erased :(  Something to do next time, for sure!

After the movie and a short drive around town we headed back to Wimp's place to relax and sleep.  :)

Becky - You'd love it here!  So many adorable buildings that are great for imagining fantasy stories.

Jane - You'd love it here, too!  TONZ of fun stuff to do, and all sorts of walks to go on.

Alex - I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy all the arenas and parks we drove by.  SOOOO much grass to play all sorts of games, and there's a river to go fishing, too!

James - I know you'd love it here!  There are so many places to explore and it's super close to everything so you wouldn't have to be strapped into your carseat for very long. :)

Sean - There are a PLETHORA of schools here, and most of them look brand new.  I'm SURE we could work something out. :)

I love you all!  More catching up to come tomorrow. :)

Love,

mom

My UCreate Submission: "'Sweet' Teacher Treats"

Are you ready to send your bookworms back to school?  How about sending them with an "apple" for the teacher?  Marie from Make and Takes shares this sweet idea:

How adorable is that? It's so easy even a preschooler can create this treat.  Check out this adorable model:

What a "tasty" gift to grace the new teacher's desk!  I just had to pass on this adorable idea.  Go here for the full tutorial and have "bushels" of fun!

Diary of a Traveler - Day 4

WHERE TO BEGIN?!

Well, I guess I should start at the beginning.  It's a very good place to start...

Mom and I started this morning in her room organizing, tidying up, and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

We made a trip to Target to get more organizational tools, then back to the grind.

At about 2pm we decided we needed a break, so we got ourselves cleaned up, dressed up, dolled up, and went to the movies with dad.

We saw Salt.

It was a bit violent, but the cussing was at a minimum.  It will obviously have a sequel, which made for a bummer ending (I'm not very patient. I like solid endings.  If there's a sequel I usually like to wait until the second movie is out before I to see the first).  Other than the rough-and-tumble excessiveness, it had a good story line.

After the movie we went BACK TO TARGET (I've been in Target more the last 2 days than I have in the last YEAR!), then came home and finished the cleaning we started this morning.  Whew!

Then I got a text from Sean telling me I was a final contestant for the Kids Craft Blog by UCreate!  WHOA!  I'm SOOOO excited!  I almost stopped breathing.  My dad was a bit confused - he kept saying, "I don't understand." I must have been speaking in hyperventilate-mode.

So now I'm freaking out - in a good way - and trying to keep a level head as I submit my last application email. 

Tomorrow we're going to Spokane to visit Wimp and bring her back to Seattle.  We're going to have great girl time this weekend.  I'm so excited to be with her and mom at the same time. :)

I love you Becky!

I love you Jane!

I love you Alex!

I love you James!

I love you Sean!

Love,

mom

Yeah!!!!

Diary of a Traveler - Day 3

This morning we began with cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. I'd post pictures of all that, but really, how boring! So, instead I show you what we did AFTER all the cleaning:

We don't have Fred Meyers in CA, so I had a BLAST looking through all their racks and shelves of stuff.  It's always fun to see something new, and look what I found:

Do you notice the color scheme?  Yeah, I might have an obsession, but I think it's one I can live with.

I've also been enjoying all the scenery and greenery, especially in my parents' backyard.  They have truly made beautiful arrangements in their flowerbeds and around the fountain.  It's such a peaceful, relaxing setting:

Looking out the spa window last night I saw pine branches and I said to my mom,

"It's almost as if they're real!"

Haha, of course they're real, but I don't see them as often as I've been used to growing up here so when I do see them so perfectly hanging from the trees it's almost as if it isn't real, more like a lovely dream. :)

Becky - how was art class?

Jane - are you practicing your soccer drills?

Alex - are you teaching James some soccer drills?

James - are you practicing your pitching?

Dad - are you surviving?

I love you all!  Thank you for all you're doing while I am away - especially having fun, making memories, and planting that apple tree! :)

Love,

mom

Diary of a Traveler - Day 2

I slept in. Normally I'd love it - except the carpet guys were supposed to be here anywhere between 8-12 today and I woke up at 8... which means I had little time to get ready. But that's ok - I didn't have that much to do to anyway. We moved a bit of furniture, ate breakfast, organized a few messes, and left for our fabulous appointment here:

Courtesy of my incredible mother I enjoyed 120 minutes of pure facial bliss.

What could top that?

So we came home, ate lunch, and moved all the furniture back into the living room, tv room, and study. Whew!

Tomorrow we plan on going through everything else that belongs in these rooms before putting it back exactly where it belongs - IF it belongs. :)

Today I also went through old pictures from my mom's desk.  Pictures of her on her trips, and pictures of our family.  Pictures of my siblings, my nephews, my children.

Pictures that remind me of why I'm here.

Pictures that remind me of where my family is.

I miss my family, and I love my family.  I'm so grateful to be here so I can take moments for reflection on this HUGE role I have as "mother."  I love my children so much and I want to be the best mom I can be.  Sometimes that means I need my own mom. 

Thank you, Sean, for giving me this time.

Thank you, kids, for understanding family love.

I love and miss you! :)

Love,
mom

Diary of a Traveler - Day 1

Today's travels don't have any pictures, because it was just so boring. But after much packing, much tidying up, a few LONG lines (for which I seemed to be the last person in them), two in-flight movies (thanks to my Itouch) and one stop in San Jose, I finally made it to Seattle. And THAT'S when I wished I hadn't packed my camera deep down into my purse. I wanted to take pictures of EVERYTHING!

But, there's always tomorrow. And the next day... and the next day.... (repeat 9 times) :)

Right now, I'm sitting on the couch, watching Ollie beg for attention as mom looks through my photo album and dad sorts through mail that accumulated during his trip to Sweden. I got a tour of the yard (which looks FABULOUS! - pictures to come), unloaded all the "gifts" I brought (including the pictures the kids drew - they LOVED them!), and helped move furniture to get ready for the carpet guys that come tomorrow. I should be tired, but I'm just so excited to be here that I don't know how long it'll take me to fall asleep....

I miss my kids - even the ones that don't stay in bed all that well...(you know who you are!) and I'm thinking of our most recent family outing, to the LA Temple Visitor's Center (which was amazing and I urge EVERYONE to take a few moments, or an hour or three, to visit and take the tour. It's just so beautiful and peaceful!). I looked at the pictures we took there and miss my beautiful family. I definitely need this time every now and then to re-energize and refocus.

Thank you, Sean, for making this possible.

Thank you, kids, for helping dad take care of the house while I'm gone. Make sure to do your chores.... :)

I love you!

Love,

mom

(It turns out that the new Visitor's Center Director -and his wife- are old family friends of mine from Washington- Elder and Sister MacDonald.)

Squash!

We've been growing a lot of veggies this year in our garden(s) and this was one of the first to be harvested:

Of course, we were pretty proud of our yellow squash until my RS president traded two of ours for one of her zucchini. THAT thing was like bringing home another child! It was huge!!!

Alex was excited to pick this one, and we used it with just about every meal last week- our Chicken Balls, Spaghetti, and I even tried it on a hamburger.  It's been fun. :)

This Kid Cracks Me Up!

So obviously he thought Sean was taking a picture. What a cheese! :)

Photog Skills

So this is what happens when kids take pictures...

and I love it! :)

A Walk, a Lighthouse, and a Bit of Rolling

After the Aquarium we walked around the harbor to see the lighthouse. We've been members of the Aquarium for several years and have NEVER made the short walk over to the lighthouse. That's going to change from now on! It was beautiful! The boats, the sand, the grass, the water, the birds, the whole ambiance of the late afternoon was just perfect!

Becky was sent a card in the mail for her birthday from the Aquarium inviting her to come in for a special birthday surprise. She was given bubbles and while we walked around she would blow the bubbles, which James would have a BLAST chasing and popping them.

The kids in front of the lighthouse. Up by the lighthouse there was an impromptu band and some people dancing around. It added to the whole gaiety of the day.

Of course there were several trees that the kids just couldn't resist climbing, and hills for running up and down! We thought for sure the kids would wear themselves out running up and down all those hills, but when we got in the car they seemed still full of energy while Sean and I were completely pooped!

Becky and Alex make the trek to the top while Jane takes a break from her rolling to smile at the camera. :)

James tried the rolling-down-the-hill thing but just couldn't figure it out this time around. So he was content just running up and down, up and down, up and down.....

Becky was the first and last to roll. She LOVES it and wasn't ready for us to start walking back to the car.

All in all the kids had a blast and we're so happy we could spend that time together. We're looking forward to more family time during this next week. :)

Long Beach Aquarium

On Friday we went to the Long Beach Aquarium to celebrate Sean's last day of work (until 19th of August). We had so much fun spending time together as a family. Each of the kids took turns with the camera and documented our day. Both Jane and Sean showed us where they slept during their overnighter at the Aquarium in early June.

Jane was so excited to have a lorikeet land on her hand.

The older kids pet the rays while James and daddy watched. James was NOT excited to get near anything at the aquarium, but kept a safe distance from all the exhibits, except for the SHARKS! He got right up to the glass and would have stayed there to watch them forever!

James also loved the sea lions, and how they sounded like dogs.
What is with the Monroe men? How is it so hard to take a serious picture of these guys?

Kitchen Towels

I made these kitchen towels for my husband's cousin - her bridal shower is tomorrow and we're so excited for her wedding in September! :)