Time With Family

Memories are something we can give our children that is free, yet priceless at the same time. I believe that the memories with grandparents are even more precious. This was one of those weekends, where the boys made some good memories with their grandparents as they listen to them talking about their childhood. I remember so many stories my grandparents told me, and I'm now passing them on to our kids. I only wish I had heard and retained even more!! So I really treasure this time the boys can have with their grandparents. I'm sure that playing krokono with grandpa and grandma will also always stay with the boys as special moments, especially since their grandpa made this board for us. It's one of our favorite games to play, so great for all ages. and this board is already a family heirloom!

"The Experience"

This year our boys wanted to experience the real "trick or treating". Our streets have never been the best for this activity, having no side walks, street lights and being very curvy. We have gone to a couple neighbors in the past and then headed to safe indoor festivities. So this year we went to our friends, the Davis's, new house in a new neighborhood just perfect for trick or treating. I really don't know who had more fun, the dad's or the kids, and at the end, they came home with plenty of sweets. Nolan even showed me the educational value of all the candy by building a symmetrical structure.

A week before Halloween I told the boys to think about what they wanted to dress up in so we could find the props. I refuse to buy ready made costumes when we have so much "dress up" stuff around the house, and besides, what a great opportunity to get creative. The boys kept changing their mind up to a few hours before we left. This is what they came up with, Christian as "the shadow warrior", Nolan as "Davy Crockett", Ethan as a "sheriff" and Shawn as a "hobo".

My all time favorite costume was when the boys went out as the "Three Amigos". Even back then I had to persuade them this was a great and creative prop. I have not been able to convince them to try it again.

Our Next Taekwondo Master

Today Nolan told me he thought about something else he might want to be when he grows up. It had been a firefighter helicopter pilot until now, or anything else to do with the environment. So that's the direction my mind was going, but not his. " I want to be a Taekwondo Master". It really did not surprise me since he loves Taekwondo. After asking for a while, he finally started taking classes this fall, and I have never seen him as focused and dedicated to something as he is in this class. He also has a great role model, since Master Choi, the studio owner, is a world champion and a very nice man who really loves the kids. So now that we have one black belt in our family, we are starting the journey all over again. Not that it ends at the black belt level. Do you know that there are nine more degrees and six levels in each degree after black belt? Yeah, I did not know it either until Christian got his black belt and I asked, what's next!! And that's only the beginning of your training to become a "master". So how is that for a long term goal? All I can say is, just keep on smiling!

A Trip Around the State

We covered all 4 corners of our state today and we learned a few new and interesting facts, all under 2 hours. Did you know that there are pieces of the Mayflower and the Beaver (a Canadian ship), encased in the Peace Arch? We lost ourselves in a unique 12 acre maze that is a giant map of our state. It contains over 250 actual roads and 400 places and towns marked by signs (with interesting historical facts about each). There are 4-1/2 actual miles of highways and country roads within the maze. Each group received a map with highlighted places to be found and a little fact questionnaire to prove you really found the place. Nolan was our map reader and guide, Ethan read the road signs; although it was hard for me not to give opinions, they took us to all our destinations without too many turn arounds.

Once in a while Nolan had to stop and look at his shadow, which points north at this time of the year at noon, and he found his way again. It was a lot of fun and 2 hours was far from enough to cover it all and read all the facts. I would recommend the trip down to Snohomish county to visit this maze, it's a fun and educational activity.

We ended our trip at the mouth of the Columbia River, where nearly 2000 vessels have been lost over the last 300 years.

Can you tell how happy my boys were to pose for mom? Nice smiles!!

Oh yeah! I can't forget to mention the duck race, it was hilarious!!! To bad they crossed the finished line by the time I got my camera out.

My Little Mountain Goat

Nolan is a natural born hiker; he left us all in the dust! Besides his determination though, what I love to see is his enjoyment of being outdoors. There was not a moment's hesitation when I asked him if he wanted to join me for a hike.

This was Levi's first hike in the Mt Baker area. Nolan enjoyed having a little buddy. He called Levi "the little bear bell on our shoes"; Nolan was certain that with all of Levi's cooing and babbling (and a little bit of crying), the bears would stay away. Kudos to Ryan for hauling him all the way to the peak.

For the last push we all had to slow our pace, except for Nolan, who seemed to run up to the top.

"I made it"

We all made it in time to enjoy the beautiful views and to see the clouds roll in.

Soccerless Saturdays

We woke up this Saturday with no definite plans. Shawn and I went out for a little run, came home and fixed a tasty breakfast of hash brown, eggs and toast. It was a beautiful day and it was calling us out. I had hoped to go on a hike with my cousin Jessie and her little son the day before ,but the weather was too wet for the little one. I have learned that out here we basically make our plans according to the weather. So today was a hiking day. Both Jessie and I had things to do around the house, but that could wait for a rainy day. Shawn and Christian went mountain biking with friends and Ethan did his favorite thing, playing with his friend Noah. We sure aren't missing having our Saturday schedule being dictated by soccer.

Let's Get Out

Fall is such a beautiful time of year and one just can't sit inside and let it pass. So out we went to enjoy the beauty and get some fresh air. We were joined by our friends, the Masons, and caravaned down the North Cascades Scenic Highway 20, one of the nation's most spectacular mountain drives. Since we had no destination, our drive was the destination. We stopped at different spots like Diablo Dam, North Cascades National Park Visitor Center and turned around at the Ross and Diablo Lake overlooks, but not before we hiked up Thunder Knob. The boys enjoyed the trek up and found lots of things to explore, including snakes and mushrooms. I just can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon.>