Memorial Weekend

What a fun time we had this weekend; visiting with family and enjoying the great outdoors!

On Saturday we drove out to Hood Canal for a visit with Uncle Dan, Aunt Heidi, cousins Ava & Anders, and Grammy and Papa. The children had time to cuddle up with their grandparents and read to them. Kennedy and Grammy read A.A. Milne's classic, Winnie the Pooh together.

Jackson reads The Vet to Papa.

Each of the kiddos took a kayak ride out into the canal with Daddy. On Sunday we drove out the Lake Cushman and celebrated my brother's high school graduation with family. Here are three generations.
We pitched our tent and stayed the night. It was the first time the kiddos have slept in a tent outside.

I think the children enjoyed spending time down by the water the most.




And what camping trip would be complete without a time around the campfire. Cousin Karsten helped his mommy roast his first marshmallow.

Spicing Things Up

While Ken was in Chicago a week ago, I decided to spice things up a bit. Originally I was looking for something kind of cinnamon or nutmeg-ish, but with the help of my seven-year-old daughter, I picked out this orangey-orange color and painted an accent wall in our room. But more than that, I de-cluttered our space and made it less chaotic.

To you this may just be a chair, but to me it was 2 1/2 hours of labor, putting together the parts and making it look like something that can be sat upon. It was a real challenge, considering the directions that came with it.It was my Mother's Day gift to myself. Yes, I am trying to get rid of knick-knacks and clutter, but to me this is art. It represents who I am and the most important job I have in life. I think it's beautiful. Thankfully, Ken was pleased by my room make-over. It actually inspired us to paint an accent wall in our living room the day after he returned from the Windy City. It is kind of a mud color. I love it, too!
Stay tuned for our next dramatic room make-over...

Baby & Baseball

Today was a special day. We went to visit my friend, Kelly and her precious little Mabel Pamella, born April 1. It is so wonderful to see my dear friend in this new role in life. It does suit her well. We had a nice visit while the boys played in the sprinkler and Kennedy tried to avoid the cats. Jackson had his first ever T-ball game tonight. He is on the "Red Team" (creative, I know) with other 5 & 6 year-olds. It was so amusing to watch these kiddos play. The rules are very basic. There are three innings. Everyone bats. No one gets out. The ball is always thrown to first base.

Running to First!

...and second!

After the first inning, some of the children started to lose interest. Our little man was not the only one out there digging in the dirt and ready to end early. But they all stuck with it and finished the game. The score? Tied, of course.



We celebrated Jack's first game and great perseverance with ice cream afterward. It was a fun way to end our day. We are so proud of our Jack-a-roo!

Another Big Milestone

Kennedy reached another big milestone in her life yesterday. She received her very own library card! She is taking the responsibility very seriously, keeping her shiny blue card in the Hello Kitty zipper pouch inside her library book bag.

We really should have done it sooner. I have maxed out my library card a few times, but now that Kennedy has her own card, we have twice the borrowing power!

Thank You, Mom

There is something I never thanked my mom for until yesterday. It never occurred to me...until I became a Mom of three sick children, all of whom spent the majority of Saturday throwing up. I ran (sometimes literally) from one child to another, rubbing their backs and keeping their hair out of the way, and praying for them as they were getting sick in the toilet, on their beds, blankets, floor, toys, etc. I am still not caught up on all the laundry that was soiled yesterday but I think my bathrooms are cleaner now than ever before. It was in those moments of caring for my precious children, I thought back to my own mom. She would place a cold washcloth on the back of my neck and rub my back when I was a kid getting sick. And even more than that, she cleaned it up when I missed or didn't make it time. Never complaining, just doing it because she loved me. Thanks, Mom.

The television was on downstairs all day yesterday as my children lay sick. This was the first time that has ever happened at our home. After the second hour or so, Kennedy spoke up, "Mom, you can't let us watch this much t.v.. Our brains are going to turn to mush!"

.

Yes, they do listen to us sometimes. But I reassured her that one special day of television while they are sick will not quickly make oatmeal out of their brains.

.

So needless to say, Mother's Day was not at all about me this year. That's okay. I'm totally fine with it. But I am hoping that perhaps we can try a do-over some other day. A spa treatment would be great (hint, hint, Honey) but I'll be happy for a chance to sleep in and have my healthy children pounce on me after, say 9:00 AM with a vente americano w/ cream and one raw sugar, along with a pumpkin or whole wheat cherry scone (another hint for you, Babe).

Commissioning and Training the Corps of Discovery

It was Lewis and Clark Day at co-op this week. The students had been reading all about the Expedition and the Corps of Discovery that accompanied Lewis and Clark on their journey to map, explore, and report on the findings of the Louisiana Territory. Throughout the week we read books about Sacajawea (actually a distant relative of ours; my great, great, great grandfather married Sacajawea's granddaughter), Clark's slave York, and even Seaman, Lewis' Newfoundland dog that helped along the way. So it was very exciting to be a part of this historic event.

Thomas Jefferson commissions the Corps of Discovery before they embark on their training and journey.

Lewis, Clark and Thomas Jefferson
Sacajawea gives a talk on Indian Relations.
The Corps tries out the dried meat that they will eat on the journey.
The doctor explains his part in the expedition.
Mapping skills
York talks about camp life and expectations.The Corps helped set up camp.Lewis gives a lecture on journaling about plant and animal life.
Private Kennedy takes copious notes.

My Children Are Stuffed!

It's been a funny activity that my two big kiddos have been enjoying lately. They stuff their jammies with as many toys as possible and then march into the room together, holding up one another. It's comical.

They remind me of little Ompa Loompas.

The Case of the Coffee Curse

It started about two weeks ago. Every cup of coffee we made at home tasted like cigarette ashes mixed with solid waste. Not good for a couple of coffee lovers. We live in the suburbs of Seattle. Coffee shops are more common than gas stations. Starbucks has coffee shops inside many of our grocery stores. We even have cup holders built into on our shopping carts to hold our beloved caffeinated beverages while we get our groceries. Coffee is not just cultural. It's essential. It's a way of life. So you can imagine how our lives turned upside down when the coffee in our cups turned sour.

At first I thought it was the beans. I returned the one pound bag to Starbucks, asking for another. The barista suggested that I try having them ground in the store. Perhaps that would make the difference. I sailed home, sniffing my open bag of ground happiness. I could hardly wait to share the next cup of joe with my hubby later that night. Much to our dismay, the coffee was wretched.

It must be the machine! It is, after all, a couple years old and they don't make things like they used to. Perhaps our 12-cup, chrome and black, automatic Cuisinart had made its last great cup of wonder. I tried using my stove top machine, in hopes of a better brew. The loathsome, repulsive java was promptly poured down the drain. Happy with the old Cuisinart before the breakdown, I purchased an identical machine from Costco for $49.99 on Wednesday. The first pot we made that night was dreadful. We were forgiving, however, knowing that it was probably just flushing the dust particles out from the packaging. We were certain that the next morning would bring us a fresh, tasty, perky pot of coffee. Wrong!

Our water? Was it contaminated? Had someone cursed our coffee craving? Were we doomed to making a miserable brew forever? Why was it that every cup tasted worse than the last?

I suspected that the beans might still be to blame. On the way to our home school co-op on Thursday, I returned the half-used bag to good 'ol Starbucks one more time. They cheerfully exchanged it and suggested I try Cafe Verona for a less bitter experience.

As I lamented my coffee struggle with some of the moms at co-op, one brilliant mother, a genius in my opinion, made an astonishing suggestion, "Could it be the cream?" she asked?

The cream? The cream? That was the only variable of the coffee equation that remained the same. The carton was not due to expire until the middle of May. It had, however, sprung a leak right after I brought it home from the market. I had kept it in a dish in the refrigerator so that it would not leave a mess; changing it out as necessary.

As soon as I heard my husband's motorcycle pull up, I greeted him in the garage, "IT'S THE CREAM!," I joyfully announced.

He immediately knew what I was talking about. Why hadn't we thought of that? It was in plain sight the entire time; flowing into our cups, contaminating our coffee like blood into the water of the Egyptians' Nile.


Yesterday, I returned the new Cuisinart and got our money back. Ironically, I saw Genius Mom at Costco while I was in line. "It was the cream!" I shouted to her.


She gave me a genuine smile as she passed by. This humble super-sleuth may never know how grateful we are for her extraordinary intellectual and creative power in solving the Case of the Coffee Curse.