Hat Island Escape

Recently I had the opportunity to escape life for a bit and join seven of my wonderful friends for a short get away to Hat Island which is small island off the coast of Everett.  I had never heard of the island before Carrie's family started going there and I had no idea what a special place it was going to be.  Living in Western Washington I can sometimes take things like being near the water and islands for granted.  I thought if I had seen one island around here I'd seen them all.  It's easy to take the friends in your life for granted as well.  The weekend escape brought me back to reality about how lucky I am to live in this beautiful area and more importantly how lucky I am to have such a great group of friends.

The weather for our weekend couldn't have been better, sunshine as far as the eye could see and we were able to walk all the way around the island.  How many people can say they've done that?  When we boarded the ferry on Saturday morning I warned the girls that I was going to be making a photo montage of our trip.  It's something I've been wanting to do lately and this was the perfect opportunity.  The girls were all very patient about pictures and hopefully they feel it was worth it.

Here is the slide show that I made of our wonderful weekend.

A few of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

I am enjoying every year of growing old with these ladies and looking forward to all our adventures to come.  We are already plotting how we can all get into the same retirement home someday.

Roller Skating Magic

Magical.  That's the exact word I used when describing my recent trip to the roller skating rink with the kids to Matt.  I've always loved to skate and it has been the one thing that Matt has always refused to do with me.  Having kids was going to be a game changer, they would skate with me.

Gina and I had purchased a social media offer for skate admission for two plus pizza and pop and decided that it would be so much fun to take the kids roller skating.  The coupons were burning a hole in our pockets for probably six months while we waited for the stars to align on the best possible date to use them.  The plan was for me to just take McKenzie and have Ben do something else with Matt.  It was going to be just like I remembered from my childhood but I'd be skating hand in hand with my daughter, teaching her how to skate and then trying out the hokey pokey.  Magical.

Fast forward to the reality of our trip... I had just come home from a three day trip for work and was heading out again on Saturday morning for a girls overnight trip so leaving Ben with Matt was out of the question since Ben needed some Mom time and Matt needed some alone time.  So now it's two grown ups versus three kids with wheels on their feet.  Add in McKenzie's arm being in a cast and we had all the makings for a magical event.

Roller skates are okay if you're sitting down

I think we officially made it around the rink three times.  After the first series of falls that resulted in strangers hauling my kids off the floor and then us shuffling back to the skate rental counter to have their wheels locked down so the skates were essentially turned into clunky shoes I think three times around is great.

Once the kids spotted the video games all hope of skating further was out.  The skates made them taller so they could reach more of the video game buttons themselves.  Score one point for the skates. Luckily our pizza was delivered to our table which was located next to the video games so we didn't have to herd kids and carry pizza on skates.

I was glad to have Gina along to feel my pain and reassure me that I wasn't crazy to wanting to come roller skating with the kids.  Now I can assure you it will be a year or two before you'll see me dragging these kids out to the rink again.  I won't give up the dream of skating with the kids, instead I'll just postpone it until the right stars do align.  If you weren't convinced by the above details about roller skating with the kids being magical this picture pretty much sums it up.

Magical.  But not in a good way.

The Main Event

Finally after all that Easter prep we get to the main event.  We hosted Easter at our house this year and the theme was German, thus G-Easter.  This continues our tradition of having the Easter meal change every year to a different region of the world.  We've enjoyed F-Easter, fiesta themed food, Gr-Easter, Greek food, H-Easter which was Hawaiian food and I-Easter for Irish food.  We're still all working on a menu for K-Easter.   For G-Easter we had a great selection of food that was as much fun to try as it was to experiment with making.  I wish I had take a picture of all the food!

The kids of course woke up as early as ever to find their baskets and found some headgear outside their doors to help them on their hunt.

Just like last year the Easter Bunny left them eggs down the stairs and all over the main floor of the house.  He also hid their baskets in some trickier places this year.  Very exciting presents in their basket, especially large versions of their letters for their rooms and the pinwheels.

McKenzie is helping Ben collect all the money out of his eggs so they can put it in their Mickey Mouse House jar.  It's getting quite full and if we keep up at this rate we may make a visit to see Mickey this year!

With both sides of the family over we had a massive egg hunt for five very lucky kids.   McKenzie and Ben loved having Nathan, Kayla and Claire over.  When we all got together and started stuffing eggs we may have overdone it and set the expectations for all future Easters a bit too high but it was as fun to hide the eggs as it was to watch the kids fill their baskets. 

McKenzie is in full Easter egg battle mode.  Wearing her party dress, pink camo boots and of course the pink cast.  The pink cast though would not live through the day.  That evening we noticed it was cracked in three places and it had to be replaced by a green cast the next day.  Nothing like full contact egg hunting.  

Ben definitely got into the hunt this year but he still moved at his own pace and enjoyed every minute of it.  He got a lot of help from all the grown ups and came out pretty good in the hunt.

Overall, it was a beautiful day with the sun shining and our families over to enjoy a nice meal and share some fun.  Looking forward to next years themed Easter already!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Here comes Peter Cottontail,

Hopping' down the bunny trail, 

Hippity, hoppity, 

Easter's on its way.

In preparation for Easter this year the kids got their picture taken to capture another year of their lives and their absolute cuteness.  It didn't hurt that there were live baby bunnies as well.  They were very good for their pictures and I finally found a photographer who doesn't put my kids on a pure white background.  I love capturing these special times as they are growing up.

Better be good the bunnies are watching!

Here comes Peter Cottontail,

Hoppin' down the bunny trail, 

Look at him stop, and listen to him say: 

"Try to do the things you should."

Maybe if you're extra good,

He'll roll lots of Easter eggs your way.

- Steve Nelson & Jack Rollins

Our Princess

Little Man

Silly Rabbits

Too Cute.

What Are We Going To Do Today?

The kids had a mini Spring Break from school and so I had a day off work.  The idea of a day free from our regular routine was very appealing.  When I asked the kids what they wanted to do with their day McKenzie came up with a long list of possibilities like the zoo, the aquarium, Jump Planet and the list went on and on.  All the ideas were good but they were also the idea most others on Spring Break would have.  Ben was the one who came up with the winning idea which was simply bubbles at the beach.

We invited Aunt Kacey and cousins Nathan and Kayla to join us.  Then to guarantee a good time we got Aunt Renee to come out and play as well.  She came through on the fun by starting a conga line in the parking lot.  We picked Mukilteo Beach since it had a playground right by the beach and the ferry close by in case it was raining and we needed a Plan B adventure.

Classic picture of the kids - all such good sports for the camera.

It turned out to be a bit on the gray and wet side but it didn't actually rain on us so in true Northwest fashion we were able to enjoy our bubbles on the beach.  Aunt Renee brought some Easter eggs for the kids to find and that was very exciting to hunt for eggs with pictures of sea creatures and bugs.

Miss Kayla

Nathan aka Ben's De-De

The kids had a great time searching for "crabbies" and making clams squirt down on the beach. Beaches are such a great natural playground since there is so much to discover and very little you can actually harm.

Aunt Renee in on the hunt for "crabbies".

Then we got to the main event - the bubbles which were fun until the bubble guns got sandy. Then we had to trek to the bathroom to wash them off.  I guess while bubbles on the beach are beautiful they aren't that practical.

Bubbles are no problem with only one working arm. 

After bubbles the kids wanted to build a driftwood fort and so we hauled all the nearby wood that we could lift around to make a little structure.  I can't wait until the kids are a little older and we can make an amazing things on a beach.

Ben helping Nathan and Aunt Renee move the driftwood.

Spending time at the beach is one of the most consistent memories from my childhood, hauling driftwood around to make a fort or a raft and once even to change the course of a mighty river.  That's a story for another day but it's an adventure I will put in my back pocket to pull out someday when we need a perfect plan for fun with some of our favorite people.  

Eggstravaganza

When it comes to preparing for holidays any related arts and craft projects are high on our list of things to do.  Dying Easter eggs is no exception.  We take the process very serious and have strict quality control.  Let's just say that this year we only broke six of our twenty four eggs before they were fully dry.

We typically buy white eggs and so when I asked Matt to grab some eggs at the store I never thought he'd bring home brown eggs.  This is the first year I've ever colored brown eggs and while I was a little skeptical I really liked how the eggs turned out and the variety of colors the kids created.

Very serious discussion going on about the proper way to color the eggs.

So many colors to pick from!

Ben's eggs:  he mostly picked the blue dye for his eggs.  Occasionally I could get one into the other colors before he notices but he double dipped most of them in blue just to be safe.

McKenzie branched out a bit with her colors and she also used her watercolor set to make her eggs extra beautiful.

Ben looking like he dipped himself in the blue egg dye.

Kenzie and her favorite pink egg!

Love that both kids enjoy creating things together. If only I loved cleaning as much as they love making messes!

Fun For All Seasons

The drama of McKenzie's broken arm stole the thunder out of our Chelan trip.  Setting aside the broken arm we had a great visit and enjoyed the lake in a totally different way than we usually do in the summer.  During winter and spring the lake is partially drained and will be refilled when the snow melts and flows down the Stehekin River.  This leaves a wide sandy beach perfect for exploring that is underwater during our summer swims.  It's a whole new route into town if you can get onto the beach somewhere up lake.  We walked almost to the swimming area that we visit in the summer.

The kids loved the wide open space for running, digging and oddly enough hunting for shells.  That was one of the most surprising things to me to find shells in the lake.

Kenzie sorting out her shell collection before we got in the car.  We have a strict limit on how many shells and rocks she can bring home so her room doesn't overflow with her collections.  Her arm was slowing her down a bit.

Ben was always walking right on the edge of the water and it's amazing he didn't get too wet.  He wanted to be right there with the action.

Taking a quick rest with Grandma and Grandpa C at the end of our walk.  Everyone found a good walking stick on the beach.

Ben loved visiting his Grandma and Grandpa and playing outside in the sun.  

The beautiful view from the yard. The hills/mountains are amazing to look at anytime of year but the snow on the high peaks is such a pretty site.

We always enjoy our visits to Grandma and Grandpa C's house and can find something fun to do no matter the season.  

It's Not A Competition

McKenzie seems to have inherited a bit of a competitive streak.  After Ben's Emergency Room visit it seems this little girl felt she needed a special hospital visit as well.  The kids and I like to take an early Spring trip over to Grandma and Grandpa C's house each year to try to catch some sunshine.  This years trip didn't disappoint and we had some nice sunny days. We headed over on Friday night and caught the last of the day's sun and then had dinner and got into bed.  Unfortunately, the kids didn't stay there.  I typically don't let the kids sleep in the same room but I thought we'd try it and see what happened.  They were suppose to be sleeping on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed but the loud crash that followed let me know that wasn't happening.  McKenzie was on the floor holding her arm saying her bones hurt.  She said, "I thought I could fly." Oops... you can't.

I wasn't sure if she was just scared or really hurt but her arm didn't have any visible signs of injury so I put her back in bed and got Ben situated in the other bedroom.  I decided we'd check back in the morning.  Anyone who's ever tried to remove a sliver from McKenzie's body knows that she may be a little dramatic about injuries sometimes.  It was a rough night that led to only one conclusion we had to take another visit to the Emergency Room.  Ben got to stay with Grandpa and Grandma C and I packed Kenzie off to get the arm checked out.  

Here's our patient being wheeled around with her baby doll.  The doll was not injured in the jump from the top bunk.  Again I opted to leave the good camera in the car.  

Kenzie got X-Rays taken of her arm and I thought it looked okay but the doctor quickly pointed out that it was actually broken. Guess I'd better stick to my day job and forget medical school.  She was diagnosed with a supracondylar fracture to the right humerus.  She got an adult sized sling and directions to put ice on it and see our regular doctor on Monday.  

The sling was useless and when we got into our regular doctor on Monday she was surprised that it didn't have at least a splint on it.  She put on a splint and referred us to an orthopedic doctor for a cast.  Kenzie heard cast and the first thing she said was "Can it be pink?"  We got a cast on it and her mobility is back at record levels, the cast keeps it from moving and also keeps her from bumping it on everything.  She'll have it on for four weeks and then she'll be as good as new.  

Pink princess with her pink cast

The other great thing we learned from all of this is that casts are now able to go in water.  So no more wrapping your cast in bags to take a bath.  Swimming is back on the agenda.  The doctor even checked her off to go to a bounce house birthday.  

Lessonslearned:

1)  Humans cannot fly unless they are in an airplane

2) We are not having a competition to see who can visit the ER the most

3) My girl is pretty tough, nothing can slow her down (guess I already knew this one!)

A Couple of Firsts

We took the kids bowling to celebrate Matt's and Aunt Jennifer's birthdays.  It was Ben's first time bowling.  McKenzie got to try out bowling at cousin Nathan's birthday when she was one.  The kids really had a good time.  McKenzie loved to help Ben with his turns.  She was probably more excited about his turn then her own.

McKenzie cheering as Ben's ball heads for the pins.  

All this helping can be good but sometimes it is just a bit too much.  This was one of those times.  In the middle of the second game there was some wild clapping and cheering perhaps a bit too close to Ben's face and he ended up with a scratch on his cornea.  We could tell he was in some pain but we assumed it would pass as most eye irritations do.  We finished up our game and then attempted to go to dinner but Ben was crying non stop (which isn't like him at all) so we decided to head to the doctor.  It was a Sunday evening and so we ended up at the Emergency Room near our house.  Ben was diagnosed with a Corneal Abrasion and sent away with some eye ointment and some minor pain killer.  He rested up on Monday and was as good as new by Monday night.  When the doctor scratched out a picture of the damage on a paper towel I was reassured we weren't dealing with anything long term.  

Here's my attempt at a picture in the ER.  I did have my good camera with me but made a conscious decision to leave it in the car and not be that crazy Mom taking pictures in the ER.  Kenzie was continuing her big sister duties and helping Ben sit on the hospital bed.  Ben was wanting to check out all the buttons and machines in the room.

The doctor was very patient as Ben asked him what every piece of equipment in the room did and why.  Then Ben demanded to have multiple colors of lights shined in his eyes.  This was our first trip to the Emergency Room for the kids and it was a positive experience despite the circumstances. It's nice to know we have such a good facility so close to home.  Let's hope we don't visit again but at least we know it's there.