Spring Break Alternative

My idea, or dream, for a spring break day is a visit to the beach under somewhat clear skies with mild temperatures. I'm not talking about a hot blue bird day with kids wading in the water. Just a pleasant day, where you can leave you rain coat home, wear your fleece, have the sun occasionally peek out and warm your back while you explore the tide pools. The reality is that it has been chilly and raining so much that they even canceled the soccer games for this coming Saturday, you know it's wet when that happens; regular amounts of rain do not scare the soccer enthusiasts away. The obvious choice then is to hit higher elevations to where the rain drops turn into snow. All the rain down here was forgotten when the boys saw it meant 10 new inches on the mountain. The problem is that I would much rather drive in any crazy South American big city rush hour traffic,

then on a winding snow covered road with only a imaginary guard rail separating me from a abyss.

It is a fear that I have vowed to overcome. I'm happy to report that I got a carload full of boys up & down the mountain safely, but I'm still dreaming with that visit to the beach!

The Art of Playing in the Rain

Saturdays in Whatcom County

Every boy's dream, stampeding through the mud, sliding into puddles, getting dirt in the face while their parents watch and cheer.

Carte Blanche for playing in the mud! Now I will put those laundry detergent claims to the test.

No Joke

When we came home from our date and I told the boys that their dad had eaten a raw octopus leg, tentacles and all, they thought for sure it was an April's fool joke. The truth is that we had a delectable experience at a sushi restaurant in Vancouver. The place came highly recommended by our neighbours and it did not disappoint. As for the octopus leg, you will need to ask Shawn, I drew the line at the squid.

When a trip down to Seattle's Children , when a long wait in a room with outdated magazines and a needle stick to your arm are all unavoidable, one just has to take a detour to a Galaxy Far, far away . . .

Moonwalk

We waited for dusk to set in and then told the boys to dress in a warm jacket, hat and put on their headlamps. They were a little bewildered at first but ready to comply. Christian was the first to suspect that we were going on a walk to look at "supermoon". With a bowl of fresh popcorn and a thermos of hot cocoa in our backpack, we headed down to the lake. A few red streeks of sunlight were still visible in the western sky. We settled on the dock and focused our gazes east, where the profile of the Stuart Mountains was still quite visible. We suddenly realized that we had no idea how long it would be before the moon would "rise". Our waiting time was spent by telling some of our childhood moonlit adventures to the boys. Maybe we were giving them some stories of their own, that will be retold some day as well. It wasn't long before we saw a disticnt brightness behind the mountain, and soon after, the beautiful moon rising. I'm always in awe of the moon, no matter where it's positioned in the sky. I'm not sure if on this night it looked any bigger or brighter, but I'm glad we went out to check.

Bellingham Day

It's been eight years since we moved to this corner of the United States. We loved it then and continue to love it now. We instituted a family holiday for this week to celebrate and hopefully help us not to take for granted the beauty around us. The stipulation for our holiday is that we either go explore a new place we have never been to, or do something that would not have been possible back in the Midwest. Last year we had a fire by the beach, this year the boys all wanted to go skiing at Baker. I asked if they were not tired of skiing yet and I got a big unanimous NO. All right, that qualifies, so off we went.

I donned my snowshoes instead and took in the peace, solitude and beauty of the snow covered wilderness.

We finished the day with dinner at "Chair 9", a place we had never been to. Great wood fire pizzas, buffalo burgers and the best dark ale Shawn thought he ever tasted.

I should have kept my sunglasses on, as it happens quite often, I blinked. Actually I think I'm squinting, we are now Washingtonians and do not know what to do when the sun is out! Besides, it was hard enough to get this one family portrait, I wasn't going to push my luck by asking for a second posing. This will have to do!

Scout Update

We are proud to present the newest boy scout in our family.

Nolan is very enthusiastic and excited about this new stage of his scouting experience. He is working hard fulfilling different requirements, sometimes even a little too hard, like the 100 push ups he did the other day! Last weekend he went camping with his new troop for the first time, and like a good scout, not even the cold rainy weather stopped him.

Conrgatulations my son!

More scouting fun this weekend:

The Pine Wood Derby