Cub Scout Camp

Also from the draft file, I found this picture of Peter at Cub Scout camp. This was in Oregon at his first Cub Scout day camp shortly before we moved away from Washington. He loved scout camp and was especially good at archery. He still laughs about the funny counselors that worked there and the silly skits they performed.

He enjoyed this summer's cub scout camp in New Jersey as well. It turns out that Peter is on his best scout behavior when he's at camp.

Left and Right

Focus

Black and White

So Long, Washington

Our time in Washington is over. That year flew by. As we head out on our new adventure, I've been thinking about what I'll miss and what I won't miss.

I won't miss

• The oppressive rain. I like rain, but the cloud cover here is kind of unreal. I didn't realize how much we all needed the sun until we were without it for sooooooo long.
• The loud and echo-y downstairs of our house.
• The skin-tearing jaggedness of our back patio and driveway.
• The stink bugs.

I will miss

• The upstairs of our house. The layout is perfect.
• The libraries. The library system here is huge and wonderful. And they don't charge late fees, which has come in handy a few times. 
• The mild weather. This sounds like it's in opposition to what I said above about the rain, but it's not. The weather is never hot, it's rarely too cold. Add some sunshine and you'd have Oceanside weather, which is probably why I like it.
• The smell of the trees and plants. It smells like the west coast, which I still think of as home. 
• The people. I will miss the people most of all. 

Thanks for the year, Washington.

New Jersey, here we come!

Raspberries and Blueberries

"Okay guys, follow me."-Peter

"Berry picking is way better than watching a movie."-Phoebe

"Mom, I ran through a whole pack of bees today!"-Cooper

"Today was the best day!"-Phoebe

"I can just eat them even though we haven't washed them, huh?"

"I ate way more than that."-Peter

A Lesson in Scarcity

The kids had their first garage sale experience this weekend. Our neighbors across the street filled their driveway with wares, which meant the boys could see all the goods from their bedroom window. As soon as we got up on Saturday, Peter wanted to head out to buy stuff. Being the mean parents we are, we insisted that he do his chores first. He kept gazing out the window, looking to what was still available. Finally, after checking each child's bank account, we headed out.

Because Peter had been watching the sale he already knew what he wanted: a shiny red robot. It ended up being two robots, one with a remote control. Bryan looked it up online and discovered that they sell for $85; Peter paid $1. It isn't it new condition, but it's certainly worth the money he spent. And he thinks it's awesome.

Phoebe already had one item; I had picked up a Rapunzel tower the day before, also for $1, which made me think that was the going rate. She wanted to pick something out on her own though, so I walked around with her, trying to help her decide. What she really wanted was a Merida costume, but it was much too big for her and would have cleaned out all the money she had. We negotiated a bit and she ended up with a very fancy Tinkerbell costume for $5. The shoes light up, so naturally she's been wearing them almost non-stop since making the acquisition. After she bought the costume and took it home, she came back and had a hard time understanding why she couldn't take anything else home. 

Then we had Cooper. He picked up and debated and considered most of the items they offered. Some things were two big (like the air hockey table) and some had too many little parts. There were a few things he wanted that ended up being kind of broken; those were quickly moved to the free pile. Finally, after much deliberation, he bought a card game meant to be used on road trips. I told him I thought it was a good choice since he's got a 45-hour car ride coming up shortly. And he only paid, $0.25.

Based on our shopping experience at the garage sale and Powell's Books, I'd say Cooper is much more like Bryan in his purchasing habits (spends a lot of time making a choice, weighs all pros and cons), Peter is more like me (I decide what I want in advance, see if the price is good, then get it), and Phoebe likes pretty things.

Two Loves

We crossed two more items off our list this weekend.

We finally made it to Powell's Books. It was amazing. We only visited a small part of the children's section and we were there for an hour. I was in awe of their collection. The kids were in heaven. Each child bought a book with their own money, but the process of choosing was harder for some than others.

Phoebe gathered a stack of princess/fairy/anything girly books and read. She also kept recommending books to a little girl who was much younger. Finally, she picked a Sophia the First book. Peter went to the LEGO section and found Ninjago books, which kept him occupied. Cooper agonized over which book he would choose and looked at several before he landed on a Magic Tree House book at the last minute. Even Sophie was excited to be there. She desperately wanted to hold the books, but I didn't think would end well. I found a cloth book for her and she played with it all day yesterday. And Bryan got to check out the science fiction section, which made him happy.

I'm kind of kicking myself that it took so long to go there.

The other thing we did was even better than Powell's. We went to the Portland Temple.

Due to being pregnant and uncomfortable when we moved here and then having a new baby, I hadn't been yet. On Saturday we all drove down and Bryan sat in the car and watched a movie with the kids while I attended the Temple. It was glorious. I feel so much lighter and more centered. And I feel like I've been a better mom.

We were sad that Bryan and I couldn't go together, but he pointed out that it is much harder for me to find a time to go on my own than it is for him (since I always have kids with me) and he wanted me to have that experience. And he had fixed his car that morning (a belt broke so we had to leave it at his office in Portland) so he was greasy and not dressed for the Temple. I love the Temple and am so thankful for it. I know that it is a sacred place and the work that is performed there is divine.

Look at All the People, At All the People*

We concluded our Seattle adventure by doing the most touristy thing we could think of: we visited Pike's Place.

The masses were there in full force. It was hard to see the famous fish shop and the smell was a mixture of seafood and unwashed human. We didn't stick around for long.

We hiked many levels down to the pier. And we had an awesome guide!

My MBASA friend Ashley drove forty minutes to meet and lead us around downtown. We had a lovely time catching up. She filled me in on some of the MBASA happenings of the last year (her husband graduated the year after Bryan) and I assured her that MBASA withdrawals would dissipate over time, though I'm not sure if they ever completely go away.

After walking all day and not getting to ride on or go into anything, the kids finally got to do something fun. On the pier below Pike's Place there is a carousel, and for $2.50 a pop, we rode it. I think they enjoyed it. Phoebe certainly had fun.

The kids were good sports and walked much more than their legs wanted to. Sophie hung out in the Björn all afternoon, which I think was a nice change from the car seat. Also, the stroller would not have fit through the crush of humanity.

I'm glad we took the time to visit Seattle. I liked the city. It felt like a combination of San Francisco and Orange County, with a dash of Portland sprinkled in. And with our big move coming up, I'm not sure when we'll be close enough to visit again.

That's one more major item on our bucket list complete!

*Giant bonus points if you know what I'm referencing in the title.

In Which We See Everything and Nothing

After our late, late night watching fireworks we all slept in. No wait, I mean no one slept in. Instead we all got up and slowly pulled ourselves together so we could tromp about the city. We loaded up on breakfast at the hotel (and all grabbed fruit and yogurt to eat along the way) then, in an effort to be frugal and keep our car in the hotel parking lot that we had already paid for, we walked the fourteen blocks to Seattle Center. In retrospect, this was not a great idea, especially for poor Bryan who pushed the girls in the double stroller up and down some mighty hills. But at least we got to see some cool stuff.

Like this.

And that's as close as we got to the famed Space Needle. There were several museums (Chihuly, EMP, Pacific Science Center) and attractions in Seattle that I wanted to see, but each thing would have cost about $20 per person, which adds up quickly with a family of six. We were only there for a day and I didn't want to shell out the cash for something that I couldn't spend ample time enjoying. So we saw lots of things from the outside. We still enjoyed it though, and now I have a good idea for what I want to do on a future Seattle visit.

The kids desperately wanted to go running through this fountain.

We said if it were warm (it was not) and if we had swimsuits with us (we did not) we would have let them. Phoebe had a simple solution: just walk the fourteen blocks back to the hotel for her suit. We said no.

Thankfully, the kids discovered some fun whale artwork to play on.

Phoebe is good at pretending to be stuck. She's also good at getting other moms to do things for her that I've said no to. She almost convinced another mom nearby that she couldn't get down from the top of the whale. I walked up and reminded her that she had already slid down on her own several times, which kind of foiled her plans, but also stopped her from playing the damsel in distress.

Sophie spent most of the morning in her stroller, either sleeping or happily cooing.

We finished our visit to Seattle Center with a walk by the Seattle Repertory Theatre and a game of Spot the Children. Oh, and we all got free sunglasses, which upped our cool-factor, obviously.

I'm Going There Someday

One big thing on my bucket list was to visit Seattle. We took advantage of Bryan not working on Friday and drove up for the holiday weekend. Our first big stop was at the Seattle Temple.

Ward Family

When we moved here we felt like this was the house we needed to be in. At the time I thought it was because of the local elementary school. Our experience with this school, however, hasn't been all sunshine and roses, though when we're done with it we might be able to see the positives.

No, I think one major reason we needed to live here was for the ward. We've been in some truly wonderful wards in the past. Our ward in Wisconsin saved my sanity. I made so many wonderful friends in our Pleasant Grove and Provo wards. Our time in our first Wymount ward is full of happy "we're all in this tiny-apartment-no-real-income-too-much-homework situation together" memories.

This ward has welcomed us, certainly. But they've done more than that. They've taken care of us. They've brought meals, watched our children, invited us to dinners and desserts and play dates. They see our kids as adorable and smart and kind of feisty, but not as the naughtiest children in the Primary. I know we've been here for almost six months so we're not the new kids anymore, but I'm still amazed that they've done (and continue to do) so much for our family.

I need to learn from their examples.

Bundled Up

The kids have been mourning the fact that it's snowing in Utah and not here. They all miss the frozen white stuff. On Friday morning they got their wish. We woke up to a Winter wonderland. At least, we woke up to snow. There was just enough everywhere to make driving slick, but not much more than that. And we learned that they don't plow the roads here. I'm glad that I have so much driving-in-snow experience, otherwise I might have called an unofficial snow day for the boys.

School was not canceled, however. And though the snow wasn't deep, it sure was cold. I guess I felt the difference between arid cold and humid cold. The boys wore their snow boots and heavy coats to school. At pickup time I saw one of the older classes out playing in the snow. Several of the kids were in sweatshirts and shorts. I got cold just looking at them. When the boys got home in the afternoon I sat in my house, wrapped in a blanket, and watched the kids play in the snow in the backyard.

Now I truly appreciate the beauty of the fully-fenced backyard.

It's So Much Fun Not Knowin' Where You're Goin'

In addition to finding a new place to live, Bryan took a few hours one day and met his new boss. The kids and I had the choice of either sitting in the parking structure for an undetermined amount of time or waiting around the hotel. We chose the latter.

We had done enough driving over the last few days that I had a vague idea of my surroundings, so I decided the kids and I would take a walk. It was raining (shocking, being in the rain forest of the Northwest, I know), but we donned our raincoats and braved the elements.

Really, the brave part came from just walking and wandering and not really knowing where we were. I've written before about my sense of direction, so we could have ended up anywhere. Luckily, I started us heading the right way and soon we came to a green belt, possibly meant for local business people to enjoy during breaks and lunch hours. We wandered around that for a bit and found a small amphitheatre. The boys took the opportunity to run around the performance space. Phoebe felt that it was the perfect spot to put on a show. So she did.

After that we kept walking, but not back in the direction from which we came. By my calculations Bryan was probably finishing his meeting and would no doubt be willing to pick us up wherever we landed.  I was right on both counts.

Soon the children started to complain that they were tired. They had walked too far, shouldn't we turn back? I realized that this was the first real physical activity they'd had in days since they'd been stuck in a vehicle for so long. Their usual boundless energy had been curtailed by hours of sitting.

Luckily, just as the whining had grown intense, Bryan called to ask where we were. We were near an intersection and a store (double win for the girl who can't find her way out of a paper bag), so I was able to give him our location. He swooped over and rescued the children from additional exercise.

By the way, if you know the origin of the title of this post, I will give you a prize.

New Digs

I mentioned last week that we found a place to live. And good news, it's bigger than where we live now. Granted, most things are bigger than where we live now.

I saw a listing for the house two nights before we drove out there. After looking at the pictures I announced to Bryan, "Well, I found our new house." We both filled out applications that night and when Bryan called in the morning we discovered we were the first in line for the property. He made an appointment to see it the following Monday.

We had been counseled by a few different people to look at Vancouver, Washington as well as Portland, Oregon and its suburbs. We drove all day Saturday and then, after going to church, spent most of Sunday driving around getting a feel for the different towns.

Portland is cool, and it knows. It's also dirty in a big city kind of way. Now, we're not talking LA or Paris dirty, just generally rundown. Also, Portland is uber friendly to homeless people. I'm afraid I'm simply not cool enough for Portland. The towns south of Portland were nicer, and the area around the Temple was especially lovely. It reminded me of La Jolla (where the San Diego Temple is located), I just needed to switch out the palm trees for pine. But it was also more expensive down there. And it was a farther commute for Bryan.

Our hotel was actually across the Columbia near Vancouver. I was impressed with how clean and well maintained everything appeared. I did a little research and found that the cost of living is twenty percent lower in Vancouver than it is in Portland. The schools, in general, are rated higher. And that house we found that we had an appointment for? It was on the Washington side of the border.

We saw the house and we liked it. The biggest drawback for me is that the school district has all-day kindergarten. Some people like that; it was almost a deal-breaker for me. Cooper has never done preschool, aside from one semester of Joy School. I'm really concerned about how he's going to handle it.

Other than that, it was nice. It has four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a backyard, a garage, and no registered sex offenders living nearby. Yeah, that's one of the things I check on whenever we move and one reason we're so darn picky. And the ward that we found to attend while we were there is the ward we're moving into.

After we saw the house we spent several hours trying to see other houses, just to have a comparison. Everything we saw was either already rented, looked scary in person, gave us weird vibes (for real), or the property managers wouldn't answer their phones. The one we saw was really and truly the only one we could see.

We took the hint and prayed about the house. Like I said, I was really uncomfortable about the kindergarten thing. But we both felt good about it. So, now we have a place to live.

Want to see a few pictures? In keeping with tradition, I'm not going to show you the front of the house or even tell you exactly (or approximately) where it is, but I'll show you a few shots I pulled off the listing.

Peter has been requesting three things from each prospective domicile for the last three years. This house has all of them.

Number One: Backyard 

Number Two: Fireplace 

(This will be my first fireplace too and I will most likely never turn it on, but it looks pretty.) 

Number Three: Stairs

It also has the things I wanted like a dishwasher and washer/dryer hookups and more than one bathroom. The kitchen is smaller than the one we had in our condo, but at least twice as big (probably more) than our current kitchen.

There are bedrooms upstairs, but they all look similar, so I won't add those pictures. We're both in a bit of shock that we found a place so fast. We have friends that went on house-hunting trips and returned empty-handed. We're very thankful.

When we told the kids we would be living there they were excited. Peter asked if we could have the keys right away so we could go run around the new house. He was disappointed to learn that we wouldn't get them until later. But we did drive by the house everyday we were there, no doubt making our new neighbors nervous and suspicious.