Two & a half Weeks...

We spent the last two and a half weeks…

Taking a family road trip to visit some very dear friends (and for Andrew to do a little bit of work!)

Driving 3,650 miles

Spending over 60 hours in the car

Falling in love with Whidbey Island

Trying out farm/island life

Feeding chickens and eating farm fresh eggs every day for a week

Walking around the very charming town of Langley

Finding a great deal on the Narnia series books I've been wanting for a while at a thrift store in Langley

Enjoying a perfect morning out with music, dancing and bagels~just the moms and their girls (& Luke!)

Roasting marshmallows & slugs over a campfire in the front yard (no, we didn’t eat the slugs)

Visiting an awesome skate park where the boys all tried out some moves on their bikes & skateboards

Temporarily adopting all our friends’ pets

Finding seashells on the beach

Painting those seashells

Nervously seeing the views from on top of Deception Pass Bridge

Hiking the beautiful paths around Deception Pass Bridge

Having a picnic lunch on the beach

Receiving an insiders guide to where all the locals go

Eating delicious food at all our friends’ homes

Watching Food Inc. (everyone REALLY needs to see this movie) and then dealing with the challenge of…

Searching for delicious & healthy food on the road

Enjoying a nighttime run & chat with a fabulous friend

Golfing on Whidbey island

Touring the house for sale on the golf course on Whidbey island

Considering moving to a golf course on Whidbey island 

Staying up late talking with friends

Meaning to stay up late to talk with friends, but falling asleep with the kids

Playing with baby chicks

Playing a round of Blokus

Playing the triangle version of Blokus—weird getting used to it, but still so much fun

Barely making the ferry onto Whidbey Island

Barely missing the ferry off of Whidbey Island

Learing about Mars, butterflies, insects, dinosaurs and more at the Pacific Science Center

Rejoicing in a visit to Trader Joes for a few favorites (in other words, stocking up on the POUND PLUS BAR!)

Eating a delicious dinner with some dear friends in their beautiful home in the charming town of Hood River, Oregon

Driving through a snowstorm (in California!)

Running through the rain

Slathering on sunscreen

Being blown by the wind

Sleeping in five different beds

Sleeping in the car (sometimes!) and everywhere else

Listening to Ipod’s…stories and music

Enjoying fabulous views in several states…this really is a gorgeous country we live in!

Attempting to catch some of those views on camera, with limited success

 Being grateful for Andrew working hard, while still trying to fit in all the activities we were doing!

Feeling grateful and a little amazed at how well the kids were doing in the car for so long

Becoming slightly hysterical listening to the few times when everyone was NOT doing so well in the car (at least the sight of Andrew and I laughing so hard actually calmed everyone down for a while!)

Swimming with the family

Finding some fun, unusual stops & sights along the way

Enjoying a morning run alone in perfect weather

Visiting the Jelly Belly factory (so fun!)

Eating Jelly Belly jelly beans (even the gross ones!)

Exploring San Francisco in perfect weather with a favorite friend

 

Riding the BART and the cable cars

Visiting Fisherman’s Wharf

Watching sourdough bread being made & then eating a yummy lunch at Boudin’s

Laughing at the Sea Lions on Pier 39

  
Riding the first two story carousel I’ve ever seen on Pier 39

Having several private conversations with my daughter in various public restrooms

Catching lizards or relaxing in the sun on a perfect outing to the park

Racing to experience all the exhibits at the Bay Area Discovery Museum

Assembling peanut butter sandwiches in the car, and then racing through the rain to feed everyone

Admiring the perfect views of the Golden Gate Bridge

In awe of the absolutely gorgeous Redwood trees at Muir Woods

Watching Luke learn to crawl

 

Leaving the kids in charge of Luke for a few minutes while I got dressed

Being very spoiled by our very generous friends

Receiving the title of “overworked flight-attendant” for dealing with the kids in the car while Andrew drove (and drove, and drove, and drove)

Reading a lot fewer books than I had planned (being a flight attendant doesn’t leave lots of downtime!)

Watching a lot fewer movies than I had planned (only 3 the entire trip!  Although I must admit that Luke received his first introduction to Baby Einstein much earlier than I had planned during one particularly difficult hour in the car!)

Coming up with our own ideas of entertainment 
(stuffing faces, trading back scrubs, eating crayons, and taking off shirts -hey, whatever works, right?!)

 

Changing a lot of very poopy diapers/outfits (I missed my cloth diapers!!)

Taking hundreds of pictures!

Having a blast at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk!

Taking my boys on their first big rollercoaster!
(see the background for the one we rode)

Falling in love with the perfect weather in Southern California

Fulfilling a year long dream of the kids by visiting LEGOLAND, after which Robby replied “That was the most awesome day of my entire life!”  (It really is a very cool place!)

 (Loving how kid friendly Legoland is...Who else has an "all you can eat buffet" for KIDS with kid food only?!  Now that's a cool idea!)

Chewing lots of gum

Buying a jar of peanut butter at Target to take into the bathroom at Café Rio to clean the gum out of Annie’s hair

Annie resolving not to scream at her brothers when she has gum in her mouth

Creating a long line at the bathroom at Café Rio

Having success with the peanut butter (hooray!)

Learning lessons from our friends on being better people: We really admire each of you and feel so grateful for our chance to stay in your home and learn from your goodness

Feeling grateful for several small miracles along the way

Having a much harder time than I expected coming home~I thought after two and a half weeks we’d be more than ready, but re-entering normal life is proving to be a bit challenging for all of us!

Creating some amazing memories

**A very, very huge thank you goes to the Hunts, the Jacksons, the Lintons, and the Koehles for being such gracious hosts and such fabulous friends.  Even with all the major life events all of you have going on (family coming into town right after us, getting ready to move, getting ready to have a baby, and very busy work schedules), you took so much time out to make our trip wonderful.  It's no small task to feed and house a family of six!  We’re so grateful!  Each of you has us pretty darn close to picking up and moving right now.  The only problem is you live in four different cities!  Can we all please move a little closer together?!  We love you guys!**

One of my favorite stories from the trip happened at the very beginning.  I had been preparing my kids for a while with how long we'd be in the car and holding off on various treats and activities ("No, we're saving that for the car on our trip!").  When we were finally leaving, I had to drop something off at a neighbor's house on our way out of town.  She lives about 2 minutes away from us.  We got a great laugh when, as we pulled into the driveway, Annie exclaimed, "Well, that wasn't very long at all!"   That's right Annie, 2 minutes of driving time down, only 3598 to go!

Things I am Loving Right Now...

These diapers and this diaper cover.

The unseasonably warm days we've been having this week. I haven't even had to force coats and hats on the kids.


That Andrew has been reading this book to the kids every night. (If you have kids, read this book with them! If you don't, read it to yourself!)


Having my husband around more.


That the SECOND Christmas and New Year's were over, my kids starting planning their birthday parties. They aren't for a few months, but they already have some very detailed plans (including diagrams!). Hey-at least they are doing most of the planning for me!


This video gave us a good laugh.



The homemade granola we've been eating every morning. (recipe from Better Homes & Gardens cookbook)

Granola

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sesame seed

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup oil

dried cranberries (or raisins)

Stir all ingredients together. Spread mixture evenly into a greased 15x10x1 baking pan (large cookie sheet with rim).

Bake at 300 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir mixture after 20 minutes of baking. Remove from

oven and quickly stir in dried cranberries or raisins (however much you want, about 1/2-1 cup) and then immediately turn out

onto a large piece of foil. Cool, then store in tightly covered jars or plastic bags for up to 2 weeks. (Can freeze for longer storage.)

Makes about 6 cups.

This Cookbook (and the cleanse she recommends).

The yellow curry from Bangkok Grill. (I've only been there twice, but Andrew had a meeting there this week and brought me his leftovers! The only problem was that I am obviously a wimp compared to his capacity for spicy. Five stars is too much for me. Can you believe that the girl who used to work there is a 27 star girl? How is that possible?)


The Bloom Blog (I haven't been reading blogs very often lately, but every time I read this one I feel inspired.)


Playing Dutch Blitz and Blokus, and better yet, that my kids can play with me! I love playing games, and back in the day we used to have a weekly game night with friends and family. It's been a while since then~it just gets a little more complicated with more kids and more distance between other adults. But all of a sudden in the last few months, I have kids who can play all my favorite games with me. It has been a blast! Now we have a family game night almost every night.


Our astronomy book and the experiment kit I got to go with it (so I don't have to make my kids wait to do an experiment because I forgot to get all the supplies).


That of the healthy meals I made this week, there were three nights when the kids asked for more! (Broccoli & brown rice soup, spinach frittata, salmon with asparagus and roasted potatoes) If you have eaten with my family before, you would know that this is definitely something to celebrate!


How much Luke loves his brothers and sister. They only have to smile at him, and he is overcome with laughter. It is adorable.


What are you loving right now?

Childbirth Classes

With a cross country move, a pregnancy, and a new baby, it's been a while since I've taught childbirth classes. But it is something I still love...teaching others about how joyful pregnancy and labor and birth can be...and so I am going to teach a class beginning later this month. We'll see how Luke feels about it before I decide whether to take another break or to begin teaching regularly. For now I have one class scheduled beginning January 22nd. Email me if you or someone you know is interested! (rebecca@gentlebirthchoices.com)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dear Dad,

Happy Birthday! I hope you're having fun. I love you. You're fun to play with and I'm happy you're taking tomorrow off so I can play with you! happy birthday!!!
Love, tyler.

Dear Dad,
Happy birthday Dad. I'm glad you can take tomorrow off so we can do fun games. I'm glad that you are my dad because I love you. I hope you can come home early today. I'm glad that you take me on daddy dates. I like when you take me to Pirate Island.
Love, Robby

Dear Daddy,

Please take me to another Fancy Nancy party. Let's go to Macey's and eat some ice cream because I like to. I love you because you're so sweet. I like it when we play games. I wish we could go on a daddy date more often. Let's go on a daddy date with Lukey and me. And let's go on a daddy date with all my family, even Lukey. Happy birthday to you, you live in a jungle. Happy birthday to you.

Love, Annie

Dear Daddy,

I love you Da-da! I want Momma and you. Thanks Dad for letting me spit up all over you. Are you having fun at work? Happy Birthday to you Da-da! I really like you holding me. You're a great Dad! I love you.

Love, Luke

(with help from his brothers and sister)

Dear Andrew,

I love you so much. Thank you...for EVERYTHING! Happy Birthday Babe!

BFF&EA Je t'aime

Love, Becca

Mothers With Style

Meet my cousin Rosalynn.

I like to call her Rosie.

Meet her family.

Aren't they cute? And guess what...they will be adding a sweet baby boy to the picture this spring. I am thrilled!

I am going to let you in on a secret just in time for Christmas**.

Rosie makes jewelry.

Not just any jewelery. Take a look at this:

My sweet cousin made this for me. Isn't it lovely? Don't you want one? I suppose you'd want to change the names on yours, but don't worry, she can do that!

I just love that Rosie makes jewelry. It goes along so perfectly with my earliest memories of her. Growing up on the east coast meant growing up far away from almost all of my relatives. When I was young, our family would try to make it to Utah around Christmas time and it was so much fun for me to have a couple weeks of sleepovers with all my cousins. Along with staying up all night watching movies and making recordings of our fabulous renditions of Beach Boys songs, we loved to go shopping for Christmas gifts together. Jewelry was one of our favorite things to buy. Usually they were of the dollar store variety, but I don't think we could have loved those strings of fake pearls any more if they were real! Our taste has changed a bit over the years however, and now those fake pearls aren't quite as cool to wear. Thankfully, Rosie quite obviously knows what is in style, and her shop is just full of the most lovely, classy jewelry!

It has been fun to see that at we've grown older, we still have many of the same interests. One of those interests is baby wearing. Rosie knows everything there is to know about baby wearing, and I have loved learning from her. She also makes beautiful slings, and if you are lucky enough to be related to her, you have very likely received one as a gift. (Sorry for those of you who aren't lucky enough to be related to her!)

Rosie is a generous friend, an attentive mother, a considerate wife, and a really fun cousin. By far my most favorite thing about her is her contagious smile and her cheerful, optimistic attitude. I am sure that she has had a bad day, but I have never seen her act like it. Every single time I have ever seen her, she is smiling. (I think my family and friends would like me a whole lot better if I was more like that!)

Now, even if you are not a jewelry fan (seriously? who isn't?), you have got to check out Rosalynn's blog! She has the most fabulous blog! It is full of the most gorgeous, classy DIY projects that are both inexpensive and easy enough for even me to try! I love looking at them and thinking, "I could do that!", even if I never actually do sit down to make it.

Rosie just started making jewelery a few years ago, and I am amazed at her talent. It is so much fun being related to such a kind, generous person. I really hope that you enjoy getting to know her a little better too!

**Rosalynn's date for guaranteed Christmas delivery has already passed, but I talked with her and if you are interested in buying anything from her store, do it soon and she said it is very likely you'll receive it in time, since, being the organized person that she is, she's ahead of schedule with all the orders she already has! (In case it wasn't clear, I added in the part about her being so organzied! :)**

Letters

Dear Fall Weather,
Thank you for easing me into winter. You make leaving the summer more bearable. And I am loving the chance to sit by the fire and read to the kids. It was really very thoughtful for you to stick around a while.

Dear Annie,
I love that you sing things more than you say them. I love the words you get confused...like calling tomatoes potatoes and potatoes tomatoes, and then, since you got tired of asking me which was which, you just started calling them tah-pay-toes. Please don't ever learn the right way to say it.

Dear House,
Where's my nesting energy now? All I want to do at night is sit around. And it shows. Well, you were clean for a little while. A very little while. Maybe once I get enough enthusiasm for Christmas decorating, you'll look pretty once again.

Dear Wheat and Dairy and Sugar,
I miss you. Not nearly as much as I feared I would, but still, I do miss you.

Dear Tyler,
Even though I sometimes act frustrated, I actually really love how you can get so wrapped up in a book that you honestly can't hear a thing I am saying when I'm two feet away. I love how you will finish one book when we're at the library, another one on the way home, and two more before you go to bed--if they're about 100 pages or so--if they're any shorter, you'll read a lot more. I love that I just found a huge list of books to fill your appetite for reading, and I love that they have almost all of them at the library! Thank you for sharing your love of reading with your brothers and sister and for being so excited to read your favorite books out loud to them too.

Dear Laundry,
There's just so much of you. And you never stop needing to be washed. And dried. And folded. And put away. Is it really too much to ask for you to all be clean at once? Or for you to wash yourself?

Dear Thanksgiving,
Who knew that you would be more fun when I was doing all the planning and the work instead of just enjoying the food? I never would have guessed!! But last year was great, and I sure am excited for you to come again this year!

Dear Robby,
Do you know that I've never seen another kid who will sit and hold a baby for as long as you will? Even when Annie was born and you were only three, you would just sit and hold her and stare at her for so long. Thanks for being so willing to hold Luke so often and for loving him so much. You're going to be such a great dad!

Dear Running,
Welcome back! I know we're going much slower and shorter than we used to, but at least we're going! It's nice to have you back.


Dear Luke,
It still amazes me how absolutely irresistible a baby's smile can be, and a baby's smell, and a baby's soft skin, and even a baby's frown...especially yours. Thank you for staying small longer than any of your other siblings. It means so much to me. Thank you for being so sweet and sleeping so well and staying so calm through all of our craziness. Are you trying to avoid being the youngest child? Because right now you're doing a pretty amazing job of convincing me to have a dozen more babies just like you.

Dear Christmas,
How has it possibly been a year since you were here? You are my favorite holiday. And so I am working hard to really, really enjoy you this year. I know I always say this, but I am going to keep things simple this year. Really, I am. Now I just have to decide which things to cut out. Thank you for being the highlight of winter-time. I'd like it if you stayed around a little while longer. I think maybe we should start celebrating you now, and continue on through January (because-- don't tell January--but it really is kind of a let-down after December).

Dear Andrew,
I miss you. Las Vegas can't possibly be more fun than me, can it? Please come home. Five days is five days too long to go without seeing you.


With Love,
RMP