Oh the memories...

OK. I promised to revisit our family reunion/vacation in the state of Washington. We have known about this for about a year so hubby dear decided to buy a motorhome in the salvage auction. It was soooo stinky and yucky. With a whole lot of work and tlc it is really nice. We were so excited. The girlies couldn't wait to get going bright and early the first morning. This is Roo the first day as we were happily driving down the road.
We were driving a long about 5 hours into our adventure when the motorhome started to lurch a bit. Hubby looked over and asked if he should pull off or take a chance. Hmmm.....stranded in a town where we can maybe figure out what's wrong or stranded on the side of the freeway. Tough choice. I think the look I shot his way made his decision easy. We pulled off the freeway and just at the end of the ramp the motorhome died. Once again, hubby came through. New fuel filter, new spark plugs and wires and only a few hours behind schedule we were back on the road. I have to say that being stranded in a motorhome is a much different experience than it is in a car. We had a bathroom, food, and a generator to run a tv. I have to say it wasn't horrible, just stressful.

Anyway, we arrived in Washington about midnight. The reunion was a lot of fun. My aunt and uncle live in paradise.
This is a picture of the waterslide they made. The kids would hit a bump on the way down that should have put their bottom end in their forehead, but they loved it.

My uncle took us out on the ocean in search of orca whales. It was AMAZING. He got us right in the middle of a pod that were coming right at us. The rules are pretty strict about getting up close and personal with the whales. You can't just drive up and see them. You can however cut your engine and hope they come to you and they did. There were whales everywhere. My camera was too slow to get a good picture, but I got what I could. I have to say it was a lot of fun and definately a highlight of the trip.


My aunt and uncle also have cherry trees. The girls had a blast picking cherries and we enjoyed them for the rest of the trip. .

On Monday we headed out on our own. We toured Widbey Island. We went to Fort Casey for a while. I have been there once, when I was a kid and it must have had quite and impact on me because it shows up in my dreams periodically. It was really fun to go back and visit.

We stayed at Deception Pass that night and this is where the adventure truely began. We drove under the bridge when my uncle took us out and it is really pretty. Here is the view from the boat.
There is a really nice state park there with rv hook-ups so we got settled in and decided to walk to the beach. We didnt' realize the beach was so far away.
One blister on M&M's foot and a lot of whining later we were there. On one side of the parking lot is the ocean. On the other a fresh water lake. It was very cool. The only problem is we forgot to have the girls change into their swimsuits. Oops. Roo made it known she did not like the ocean side. She walked around with her hand on her mouth screaming that is smelled and she was going to throw up. Nice. We let them play (Roo safely off the beach on the freshwater side) and then we walked back. M&M on her daddy's back and Roo on my back or B's back. I must say we slept very well that night.

The next day we headed down the road to Levenworth. Levenworth is a charming Bavarian town just at the bottom of Mt. Baker. I have always wanted to go and we were all excited to get there. One thing I havent' mentioned is that it was HOT the whole time we were there. Really hot....record breaking hot......and humid. we were headed up Mt Baker in the heat and just at the top, the lurch was back. Uh-Oh. The motorhome died at the top and we literally coasted all the way down the other side of Mt. Baker. Best gas mileage we got the whole trip. Hubby got it started at the bottom and we were off to explore the town.


We stayed at the Isicle River Rv park that night and got to camp backed up to the Icicle river. It was very pretty and the girls had a good time playing in the river.

That is the first little bit of our trip. Stay tuned for part two. It gets much better....or worse depending on your point of view. I can say that the adventure has just begun.

What ever happened to summer?

I have been sitting here tonight straightening the house wondering where in the world summer has gone. I sent B to her first day of Jr. High. (I do not recommend to ANYONE to go in there....still wondering what kind of mother I am) Seems like just yesterday M&M walked home and dissolved in a puddle of tears because she was going to miss her teacher, and her friends, and the bus driver......she can be a little bit dramatic, but the girl loves school. I even took Roo to her pre-school open house. She was miffed she didn't get to stay longer, and wants to go back as soon as possible. I hope her teacher feels like that after a couple of days and Roo is comfortable in her class. I can say that we have had a very full and adventurous summer.

The first highlight that I missed is Roo turned 4. Poor thing was sick for her birthday, but she put on a good show. I can't say she didn't share anything from her birthday, because that night I got the same crud she had been trying to get rid of for a week. Thank goodness none of the party guests got sick. I always try and say a few things about my girls on their birthdays. I have to say Roo is giving us a good run for our money. She is the most determined 4 year old I have ever met. She is way too smart and does everything she puts her mind to. Life is a song for her. She is singing a medley of tunes all day ranging from her favorite primary songs from church to the Mama Mia sound track with a little radio Disney and some Christmas songs thrown in for balance. She is in trouble more than not, but always says something that breaks the tension and gets herself off the hook. I am sorry I missed it, but Happy Be-lated birthday Roo.

Roo also took swimming lessons this summer. I have never in my life sat and listened to anyone tell thier swim teacher no so many times in an hour. She was a stinker. Then she would come home and try to practice in the bathtub to prove she had been listening. Little stinker. Her swim teacher is a saint and I appreciate her patience with Roo. She said it was her last year teaching, and I feel some responsibility for that. Even if Roo did give her a hard time she surely does love you Lisa!

July flew way too fast this year. I got to go to girls camp and then we headed off to the beautiful state of Washington for my family reunion. Both were an adventure. I was so glad to get to go to girls camp with B. We had a great time. This year we had some people who generously offered to let us stay in their cabin for camp. It was heavenly. No coolers, real showers, flushing toilets, no camp stoves. I have never gone to girls camp without tents in the whole 15 or 20 years I have gone to camp. It was so nice. And to top it off we had a fabulous group of girls. There was no drama. Like I said, it was a heavenly year.

When we got home we left the next morning for the family reunion in the motorhome Hubby bought. May I suggest if you are going to buy a motorhome in a salvage auction and refurbish it, you may want to take it for a trial run. Just sayin'. I will leave that story for another day. It's a good one too. I will say after 10 days in our own personal version of the rolling turd, I was glad to come home, and I am never glad to come home. I am so glad we went and it's a trip we will always remember. Now if we can just get Hubby a real vacation maybe he will feel a little better.

Aug. has rushed by and spent recovering from July and trying to cram everything we were going to do this summer in. It didn't work. We didn't get it all done. But that is not because we didn't try. It has been a good summer but I have to say it does feel good to get back into a routine. My house did not get trashed today like it has been all summer. I now have three girls in three different schools with three different schedules. It will be much more exciting this year. I have taken full advantage of sleeping in this summer and the days of rolling out of bed at 9 am are gone for another school year. In fact I am thinking it is getting pretty late if I am going to survive my 6:30 alarm. I am very sadly wishing another summer goodbye and looking forward to all the adventures this new school year holds.