Now a Teen

To celebrate his birthday, Christian invited a few friends for an overnight camping trip to Fort Ebey. Although they left under some sprinkles, the rain held off and they stayed dry. They were able to get in all of the fun camping stuff; like roasting wieners & marshmallows, snack non stop, run around the bluff and bunkers, play German spot light, tell stories around the fire and of course, the freedom of not having to follow "house rules" (aka mom telling him what to do). Shawn truly enjoyed taking them and hanging out with what he described as a nice & respectful group of young men. It's still hard to believe it, but we have a boy who is now in his teens and rapidly turning into a young man. We love you so much Christian and pray that God will continue to protect you and guide your path as you become an adult.

And may we share many more camping trips at this special place.

Birthdays

Now to the real important events of this month. Birthdays! We have two boys celebrating their special days with only a week apart from each other. First in the calender is Ethan, who turned eight. When you measure the time based on how fast your children grow, it's really mind blogging. Ethan is the measurement of how long we have lived in Bellingham. When we moved here, he wasn't even crawling, now look at him. Almost as big as a horse!

We had a den meeting on his birthday and he had fun sharing cup cakes with his fellow cub scouts.

All Ethan really wanted to do to celebrate his big day, was to take his two good friends to the bike park and have ice cream at our favorite ice cream shop. It was a fun (and safe) afternoon.

Next, it was Christian's turn, celebrating 13 years! The birthday person always has the privilege of choosing the day's menu. Christian's favorite meal for the last 12 years has been Brazilian beans on rice. It could not have been a better choice since part of the day's celebration was to cheer for Brazil on its debut in this World Cup. My aunt and her husband came down from Canada and Shawn was able to come home from work in time to watch the game and feast with us.

But the party hasn't ended yet. As I write this, Christian and a few friends, along with Shawn, are camping overnight at his favorite spot on Whidbey island. They left the house this afternoon filled with energy and enthusiasm, in a car filled with sleeping bags and junk food. I can't wait to hear their adventures when they get home tomorrow.

Bottom of the Bin

Due to a hectic day (and week), I found myself at the supermarket at 10:30 pm. At first I thought that it might just be the perfect time for shopping; peace, solitude, wide empty aisles. Until I got to the bulk section. I had to scrape the bottom of the bin and hardly got two scoops of cornmeal, so I move a few bins to the unsweetened coconut, where there were only a few forgotten flakes. My next item on the list was black beans. I could not believe it, I barely got two cups! While I even bothered to scoop it up I don't know, I'll have to go back and get more before it's worth it to cook a pot of beans. I did not realize this were such popular items. Maybe I should try opening hours at 5am on my next shopping trip, I wonder if I would have better luck!!

Time to Cheer

The World Cup is here. Time to get your colors on and cheer!!

Adventures on the Island

We always enjoy going to visit Shawn's parents on Vancouver Island and we were long overdue for another visit. Playing bocce and croquet are always a favorite and just as part of the visit as taking the ferry is.

Would you ever have thought that a pedicure would hold the guys attention like this?

Of course it's not just any regular pedicure.

We have done quite a bit of exploring around this little corner of the island, but were surprised again by another trail with some beautiful surroundings. Nolan and Ethan found a great spot to take a rest, but in order to join them, one would have to fit through here.

Our enjoyable weekend did come to an end and it was time to go home.

Hoping Hard

It was time for the Ski to Sea again (Memorial Day weekend), and although we do not expect hot temperatures, we look forward to a lighter jacket and a BBQ to share the team's stories. We were determined to hold the gathering outdoors. The forecast promised rain by 5pm (the starting time), but sometimes they are wrong, right? Our neighbors brought their outdoor heater to our porch, then their sun (rain) shelter. Some guest got their rain shells on. By golly, we were all determined to have an outdoor Memorial Day BBQ!! It was to no avail, the dry, cozy and warm indoors won. Except for some tough boys who can weather the weather whether they like or not.

Conquering the Howlin' Tornado

Last time we hit the slides at the Wolf Lodge, Ethan had to be convinced (with a little bribery) to try one of the bigger slides. He had fun and went back, but there was talking him into trying the other ones. We were eager to get back to those fun slides, well I was not that eager since I was still battling the remains of my cold. About an hour after we started, I look up and see Ethan in the Howlin' Tornado line!! How did that happen? Christian told him he would give him five bucks he tried it just once. All of a sudden he turned brave.

He even came out with a smile on his face and there was no turning back after that. He kept going back over and over. As for my cold, all that humidity must have done the trick, I felt quite well and had enough energy to hit the Tornado (and yell really loud).