I'm so tired!

We were in bed early last night- by 10:30, and thought that would cure the jet lag.  Well we totally slept in today and didn't wake until 9:30am!  This meant a pretty late start to all we had planned- so we quickly got ready and headed out.  Our first stop was Pere Lachaisse the cemetery at the end of our street.  We headed in under some pretty dark storm clouds and a few sprinkles (we were to be dodging the rain all day!)  There are over 100 acres to this graveyard and about 70,000 occupants.  But none as famous as Jim Morrison- we followed the crowds and there we were.  It is the only grave with 2 guards and tons of flowers on it out of the 1000's in there.  (We did not know until we looked it up tonight that he actually died July 3, 1971- what are the chances we would visit his grave on the anniversary of his death?!!)  We spent a little more time looking around- but as we had a lot on the agenda we left and caught the metro to our next stop if the day- The Louvre.

We arrived to more rain and some pretty dark clouds.  The line up to get in was horrendous, thank goodness for Michelle's advise to look for the side entrance.  We started off on the wrong side!  Asking a guard he had no idea and pointed us to the masses lined up!  Then we found someone who gave us a map and saw it was to the left facing the Louvre.  We entered via the Rue de Rivoli and there was only a short line up for the bag check- we were in.  OMG there were so many people and it was so hot- I don't know how they keep the temperatures cool enough to preserve all that artwork.  We followed the thongs of people to the wing that held the Mona Lisa- urg did I mention so many people.  After halls of some impressive art we found her in all her glory!  It took a little pushing and shoving but we got a front row view.  Far more impressive is the huge painting of the last supper opposite her- but what do I know?

Frank wanted to visit the Egypt wing after that and so we headed in that direction.  The crowds thinned out and we were able to enjoy this MASSIVE collection of Egyptian artifacts at a good pace. We were so happy we had packed a lunch and didn't have to worry about grumbling stomachs hurrying us along.  Egypt ended in the medieval wing- or the foundation of the Louvre. A quick jaunt to the Greek wing and a siting of the Venus de Milo were all we could muster for one museum visit.  Lucky for us a Starbucks coffee gave us a boost for the rest of the afternoon (although it was already 5pm by this time!)

Heading out of the Louvre we were aiming for a stroll through the Jardin des Tuilleries, but a wind storm and promise of more rain sent us looking for the covered passage we were looking for. A wrong turn along Seine confused and disorientated  us but soon figured it out.  It also allowed a siting of Thom Yorke strolling walking the banks of the Seine.  (I'll wait for you to google him :))
We passed the massive Ferris wheel and on to the Palais Royal.  The girls spent some time enjoying the stripped columns at the Cour d'Honner in the Palais Royal.  We ambled through the gardens and window shopped some of the expensive boutiques along the way.

Finally ending up at the rue de Vivienne and the covered passage which housed the first "shopping malls" as it were.  We were a little late so most thing were closing up. It was pretty neat to see though.  By this time were were hungry and surrounded by very expensive bistros.

We decided to head back to the Latin quarter as we loved it there and knew there were tons of reasonable places to eat.  We hopped on the tube and in 5 stops we were there. The metro is awesome - it costs E1.80 per person to go underground on as many tubes as you want.  So although it costs us E6.80 each time we go somewhere it is a lot cheaper than taxis and pretty darn efficient. Exiting at Chatelet we had to walk across the Ile de La Citie to get to the LQ, we passed by the Palais de Justice enroute and there were a ton of people standing facing the huge fence and gates. We asked a girl standing there what was up- she said that 2 months ago a gay activist who opposes the banning of gay marriage was arrested at a peaceful demonstration and apparently there are constantly people outside this area all in protest of his arrest.
For dinner we hit a French bistro- Danica and I really wanted a fondue for dinner, Frank and Delaney were not as adventurous and had steak and pasta accordingly.  Dinner was followed up by a Nutella crepe for dessert. Love the creperies all over the place.

Two tube lines and we were back at our stop Voltaire and home by 10pm!
It is going to be tough to leave this city as there is still so much to see and do, we will just have to come back.

Plan B

For some reason we woke up at the ridiculous hour of 4:00 am.  The girls made it to 6:30am- I guess jet lag kicked in?!  We figured we were up early so thought we would hit the Louvre early- luckily when I checked the website for opening hours I noted that it is closed on Tuesdays!  Hmmm- that put a spoke on the works. What to do instead?  A quick checklist of things we want to do and we headed off to the Paris catacombs - we arrived at 9:45 as we thought we would get there before the 10am opening- we were not the only people who thought that might be a good idea- the line up was already long!  We settled in for the long wait- chocolate croissant in one hand and coffee in the other. On a side note finding coffee as we know it is not an easy task- we keep getting served double espressos when they hear us ask for a coffee.  Then we try and correct it and they ask if we want an Americano, which is 2 shots with cream!!  Oh well it is good none the less!
The line up took over 2 hours and we were in.
We had to climb down about 200 stairs into the depths of the earth- the catacombs are under the metro and under the sewer system- deep down.  A lot cooler down there as the entire system is built out of limestone. The girls thought they might be a little scared but they really found it interesting and "cool".  Apparently there are over 6 million skeletons stacked down there.

After surfacing we found our way to the metro station and headed north of the city.  We planned to catch the tube to Pigale and exit at Le Moulin Rouge, but the metro station that we were to connect at was under construction!  So we found ourselves on the street in search of Le Sacre-Coeur.  We found it- in all its majesty up on the hill.  We stopped for a sandwich and ate on the steps in front of this beautiful church.  Then we caught the funicular up to the church.  At the top the views were never ending. We sat down and enjoyed the beauty for a while.
Exiting the church we thought we might want to climb the bell tower- but didn't feel like spending 32 euros for the pleasure of climbing another 300 stairs!

Lunch on the stairs!

We instead took a stroll through Monmartre- what an eclectic neighbourhood- lots of art and funky stores.
Of course we had to have an afternoon gelato.  We made our way downhill wandering the alleyways of Monmartre and ended up at Le Moulin Rouge- instead of our beginning it was a fitting end.

Hopping on the metro we figured we were 3 different trains away from home- but I quickly found that we were actually only 15 stops down the line we were on.
Tonight as our exhaustion set in, we decided to cook a pasta dinner in the apartment as we are just beyond tired.
Tomorrow- the Louvre!!

Macaroons and the Metro!

We slept in a little this morning which was great as we were refreshed when we started our long day.
We walked to the Voltaire Metro as today is the day we conquer the Metro.  Well it was a lot easier than we thought and we were at the Champs Elysees in no time.

We walked the long walk up the street towards the Arc de Triomph.  Along the way we happened upon a group of young girls all waiting to see- Ross Lynch of R5!  We keep coming across this band.

We got to the Arc and headed up- via the many spiralled stairs! The view from the top was amazing- we could see all the way to the Eiffel Tower- our next destination.

We walked the stairs down and started the long walk down to the Eiffel Tower.  It came into view quicker than I thought- although maybe not quick enough for Delaney (are we there yet?!)

We arrived and were starving by this time- it seemed on our walk down all bistros and cafes had disappeared and we were left with a lousy Eiffel Tower tourist trap sandwich place- it filled the gap and fuelled us for the CLIMB up!  The line up for the stairs was a lot shorter than for the elevator so we stood there for 30 mins or so and then climbed to the 2nd level observation deck.  The views of the city from here are spectacular.  We looked around- caught our breath and had a rest. Then it was back down- Frank decided to walk down, while we caught the elevator down instead. Once at the bottom it was gelato time ;)

We headed to the nearby RER station- a double decker train that we caught to Notre Dame. We exited the train and there it was- so majestic.  The line up looked long, but we were inside in no time. Wow, the stained glass windows are spectacular- unbelievably beautiful.  We spent a long time walking around and admiring this 850 year old church.  We were hoping to climb some more stairs and visit the tower top- but we were too late for the day!  We walked down past the church to the bridge of locks- hundreds if not thousands of love locks on this bridge- quite the site to see.  A left turn took us to St.Louis en I'lle- most of the building here were built in 1657- and a lot of the aristocracy lived here- very neat architecture.

We crossed back over to the North bank and walked up to the Shakespeare and Company book store- a quaint store filled with books old and new, nooks and crannies, and many walks of life. I great little treasure chest of books that is for certain.

After the book store we were in the Latin Quarter, a pretty amazing area, filled with boutiques, oodles of restaurants. We walked through the alleys and inhaled the sites and sounds, eventually finding ourselves in a little Italian bistro for diner. We were not able to get a seat on the sidewalk but were close enough to the street to see the sites, hear the sounds and smell the smells- mostly LOTS of cigarette smoke and sewage!  It was a great dinner, followed by a visit to the confectionery store for some macaroons.  Then we caught the metro back and were back here in the apartment by 10:30ish!  That was  a long day and a lot of walking- especially all the stairs- lets see how we feel tomorrow.

Paris- we are here!

We left a lovely sunny Vancouver early in the morn and headed to YVR.  A smooth journey and check-in was in order.  We even bumped into Lori from my work- she and Eric were off to Ohio and on the same flight Toronto bound as we were.  TO seemed to appear on the radar faster than we could watch 2 full movies.  A quick dinner and then we were on the flight to Paris.  In Toronto the girls spotted some minor celebs and kept them in their sites all the way to Paris.  After a cumulative 8 hours between all of us (it is hard to sleep on the plane!) we landed at 9:30 am Paris time.  Wouldn't you know it those minor celebs were the first site we got to see and photograph in Paris- the girls spotted them at baggage pick up and I had to head over and see if R5 (you say who?  as did I) would say hi to the girls and pose for a pic with them, they were very sweet and obliging.
Soon we had the bags and headed to the taxi stand.  We got our cab and as I was told about most cab drivers- he spoke not a word of English.  I gave him the address and we were off, as he continued to talk to us as if we might understand him??  55euros later we were at our apartment. We met Jean Charles and he acquainted us with the area; Frank and I headed to the grocery store to buy some supplies and we hope that we bought milk for breakfast tomorrow- we will have to see when we open it.  I know a few basic words in french, which are turning out to be most helpful, but the word lait was nowhere on the bottle of white stuff we bought!!
Then we headed off to explore, we walked to the Bastille and saw where the french revolution began- this quickly lead us to the Marais area.  A great area filled with cute stores and cafes.  We found the Les Vognes and saw where Victor Hugo wrote his masterpiece- a few doors down from the cardinal Richelieu's house.  We really wanted to see the Picasso museum, but turns out it is closed until December 2013. We then found the rue des rossiers and the promise of great food.  We found a creperie and had our first crepes with nutella (yummy and oh so healthy!)  A great street packed with people, store and food.
After the hubbub we turned and headed to the La Seine.  The weather is gorgeous so the banks were filled with people of all shapes and sizes, including many people on scooters, rollerblades and bikes.

We watched a few boats float by and then exhaustion set in.  We walked back to the apartment and had a little break.  By this time we were starving, a little bistro around the corner held the promise of some good food and wine. It delivered both and we are now done for the day at 9:30pm pooped and ready to retire for the night.
PS:  yes it is milk!

California 2012 Photo Book

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Japan-land

September 10, 2012
I left my house early in the morning and headed to Renee and Sean's house in Belingham.  I picked them up and we headed to SeaTac for our flight- which was already delayed before I left home.
We parked and caught the park and fly bus with our 5 suitcases and 6 carry on bags- yikes.  We checked in and headed to the gate- for our 2 hour wait. Renee met some people at the gate who were traveling to Asia from Egypt- expats- making friends along the way.
Eventually we boarded and as luck would have it- I had a free seat next to me.  Thank goodness as 10.5 hours is a long flight!  I watched 2 movies- Safehouse and the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  We were served an early dinner and then the blinds were all drawn, as we were flying towards tomorrow we never had darkness.  After a few hours sleep I was awoken to ice cream bars being handed out- weird but okay, I'll have one.  I managed to lie down and get some more zzz's.  Before I knew it breakfast was being served.  An hour later we landed and it was 6:30 Tuesday evening!
We arrived into Narita airport, had to go through customs and we were expecting hustle and bustle when we go there-but it was very quiet.  We sorted out Sean's school papers, organized delivery of his air freight and got him a cel phone.  We then headed to the airport bus limousine and awaited the bus- outside- oh boy it was humid.  The bus arrived and we traveled for 83 minutes on the bus- really not seeing much as it was dark.  We arrived at the hotel Otani and then had to catch a taxi (remember 5 suitcases, 6 carry on bags and 3 of us!). Thank goodness we only had to go about 3km's (820yen's worth), bungee trunked and front seat piled high.  Eventually we arrived at the Jal City hotel at about 10 at night. Exhausted and jet lagged we went to bed.  Wednesday would bring new sites, smells and sounds.

That was the beginning of 9 amazing days in a city I can't wait to return to.  Tokyo had sites to see the likes of which I never new.  We went to Akihabra- Manga crazy and electronics heaven; Harajuku- girls you have the coolest look; Shinjuku (where we stayed) amazing eats and treats; Shibuya temples that were amazing and so much more.  Cannot wait to go back to this amazing city!

Summer is almost here...

We had a great start to Summer- waaay back in April. We got a ton of yard work done and the gardens look amazing thus far. We even managed to get a few bike rides in and some fun family hikes. Then the craziness that is May and June began. May is busy with getting ready for summer and school stuff coming to an end. June is crazy with year end activities and trying to enjoy each moment of sun (if any)! Plus we have so many family and friend birthdays in June it is crazy. Last weekend we managed to get a great hike in with friends. We caught the ferry over to Bowen Island and did a 3 hour hike/walk around the lake there. We had never been to Bowen so it was a great adventure and fun to be a tourist in our own town.

So Cal

Saturday morning we left a very soggy Vancouver and headed to Seattle for our flight to LAX! This was the first time we had flown Virgin airlines and it was a great experience. the girls got to sit in the captains seat and see all the buttons which was too cool! Each seat had its own tv and we got to watch tv for the entire flight. Landing in LA the sun was shinning and it was nice and hot. When we arrived at Thrifty car rentals that was not a great experience they were very rude and told us we were stuck with a mini van- this was not going to work for us as we were going to be doing a lot of driving and we needed something small for parking purposes up in Manhatten Beach. After an hour of arguing we had to pay $100 more for a compact Ford Focus! An hour later we headed south to Escondido- we arrived at about 7 checked in then headed in to town for dinner! After driving around for a good 45 mins we eventually found an Applebee's and had a so so dinner! The we went to Von's and stocked up for the week. We eventually got to our condo at about 9:30- we were exhausted!

Sunday
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day and decided to spend the day at the pool! The pool at our complex was closed so we headed up to the Boulder Springs clubhouse and the huge pool and water slide up there! The girls were in their element, me too as I got to relax and read my book(Dreams of Joy!)! After a few hours of sun we were crispy. We headed back for lunch and then took a walk up to another clubhouse for ice cream sundaes. Sunday afternoon we chilled, had a BBQ dinner and then some family pool at the kids clubhouse after - what a great start to our holiday.


Monday
Another gorgeous day greeted us, we decided to head to the beach! So we drove to Oceanside and took a long walk on the long pier. It was beautiful, with tons of surfers and at the end of the pier we say a few pods of dolphins- awesome! We then drove south to Carlsbad and lunch time. We had a great lunch at Swamis and the headed down to the beach? It was so nice and warm we all chilled for a bit. Then we decided we needed some retail therapy. The Carlsbad outlet mall was close and off we went. Frank found some good deals but they were missing a lot of good stores. We shopped for a bit and then headed home. After a full day no-one felt like cooking so Pizza Hut it was. Another great fun packed day!

Tuesday
It was a little cloudy today and Frank and I had to attend a timeshare presentations- not sure how we were roped into that. It was too long and they were giving us the hard sell- so we left. The girls int he meantime had a great time at the kids club and had made tons of origami and had a good lunch too. We then drove to Mission Beach and Belmont Park, the girls each got a wristband and went on all the rides. Danica went on the roller coaster about 6 times- she liked it a lot. After a few hours we headed to the soft serve ice cream stand and each had a massive ice cream- yum. Then we took a walk down the beach- it is so nice and relaxing down here. After a few hours in Mission Beach we headed to Point Loma- Karen had told me about this and it was an amazing site to see. All the white crosses in memory of fallen soldiers- truly a site. We could also see all the way to Mexico too- what a great place to visit- too bad we were too late to go to the museum at the point. Then it was home for a pasta dinner.

Wednesday
The sun was out this morning so we decided to have a chill day- we headed up to the pool and spent a few hours there- I discovered the adults only hot tub at the pool and spent a bit in there. The girls had a great time in the massive pool. We had an easy lunch followed by a nap. Then we woke up and had to go to Von's for some food items. Frank dropped me at Ross to do some shopping and headed to the Whole Foods nearby. Coming home we got caught in the traffic and we worried we would due late for the 7pm Illusionist show we had fix too. We dashed in - had a dinner of leftovers and made it in time to the Welk Theatre for the Anthony Hernandez show. It was an impressive show- there were birds and bunnies and ladies cut in half, even an underwater Hodini escape. The girls were mesmerized and got toe meet Anthony after- not bad for a free show.

Thursday
The fog was abound in the morning so we headed to the beach. Our first stop was the wine town of Temecula- a great little town, with lots of antique shopping and wine tasting. I had an olive oil tasting- which was a little weird as they don't use bread- but the oils were delis and I ended up buying a few bottles- will be a challenge to fly home I am sure. After a few hours here we continued on our adventures for the day and stopped at the Mission Lui Del Rey- one of the many missions in So Cal. It was lovely to see - the architecture was beautiful and the church so restful. They have the oldest pepper tree in North America planted here- pretty huge.
Next stop was the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad- wow! Frank and the girls had a blast here- surprisingly I was not bored- there were great displays and many instruments to play. i really liked the electric harp the most. The girls each got a mini harmonica necklace here too- cute. across the street for the museum were the ranunculus flower fields- they were lovely and colourful- a great site to see. A quick stop and at Starbucks and we were headed back to the resort. The girls got to go swimming too- fun packed day was had by all.

Friday
It was pretty cloudy today and so we headed to Balboa Park and the Nat-The National History Museum. There were huge dinosaurs in the lobby so we knew this would be good. The first floor had water etc in california, the next level
showed dinosaurs and how lad masses move- relevant to what Dani is learning in school now so that was great. The top level had skulls- so many different sizes and shapes- they also had a display of how they clean the flesh off the skulls- maggots!! The lower level was my fav- it was all about gems- there were some impressive diamonds and other stunning rocks down there.
We popped in the Spanish Arts Village after the NAT- we saw how they make fimo beads- we can do that!! Then lunch and off to Las Americas mall for shopping. This mall is 2 miles from the Mexico border- in fact there parking lot backs on to the border and you can see Mexico across the fence. We did some damage to our bank account here that was for sure- but the deals were great. Danica who is growing like a vine- go the most followed by Frank and his shopping habit. After a few hours- we were pooped and headed back north to the resort and dinner at Chilis. Frank was so hungry he finished off his meal- half my burger and the girls chicken chunks- must have been all that shopping. Then we had to go back and pack up to leave the next morning.

Goodbye 2011

2011 was a bad year for a lot of people around me, but for me it was a pretty good year. I had started a new job at the end of 2010 and was well into it at the beginning of 2011, although working from home was getting a little lonely. Spring Break was awesome- we went to Hawaii for 2 weeks- one week on Oahu- where we go to spend time with the Liquorish Ohana. I haven't seen Wes in over 20 years and to get to meet his amazing wife and delightful girls was such a treat. We also hung out in Waikiki for a few days- that was pretty amazing. I think the highlight was seeing an episode of Hawaii-50 being filmed- too cool. After a week we flew to Maui and spent a week with the Chandlers in paradise!


Then Frank and I got to go to England for a week. Frank was asked to be the best man at his good friends wedding. So we left the girls here in good hands with family and headed to the UK. We had an amazing week, first hanging out in Somerset with the bride and groom and all the wonderful sites to see in the country. I think Wells Cathedral was my ultimate fav. We also spent 2 days in London with my cousins- that was so incredible to see everyone- lucky us.

The summer was a whirlwind as always - Oregon was fun and Camping at Golden Ears was great. The Freers lived with us for 2 months too- between houses. The weather was great for these adventures although the rest of the summer left a little to much rain in its wake.

Back to school was good- Dani went to middle school - which was a giant step for us parents. Boo's into grade 3 with Mrs.Chu- she was happy.

November we headed to Cali and Disneyland for a surprise trip with the Quinn's. It was a brief but great trip. We flew from Seattle to Santa Ana airport and stayed at the Red Lion. We spent the first day in Disney and managed to make it through the park in 11 hours or so!! Saturday we headed to California Adventure. It was a pretty cloudy, cool day so we had no line ups to deal with- awesome- hence the need to go on the TOWER OF TERROR 4 times! Ugh! Sunday was Dani's birthday so we went back to Disney for the day- followed by a swim in the pool at the hotel and dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. What a great birthday treat. Monday we rented a car and spent the day in Santa Monica- then it was home.

Before we knew it December was upon us and all the fun festive activities- what a great year it was!

Oregon

Another wonderful week gone by, spent with friends on the Oregon coast. We truly love heading down to Oregon each year and doing wonderful family activities.
Friday July 29th we left work early and headed to the border- thank goodness for our Nexus pass, as we were through the border in no time and on our way to Olympia. Denise and Ian were ahead of us and texting about how bad the Seattle traffic was- so we headed to the 401 and by passed the jam. We arrived in Olympia to the Phoenix Inn and suites and what a lovely hotel it was. We all walked down to the Mercato Italian Restaurant for dinner. They seemed to have a hard time seating 8- but we eventually got a seat in the back of the place. After a great feast it was back to the hotel and to bed after a long day.
Saturday was a gorgeous hot morning- we had the buffet breakfast and then headed towards Salem. We made a detour so Frank could buy a new bass and then headed to the Walmart in Salem. We stopped for subway and food supplies (boy is it cheap!) and then we were coast bound! We arrived in Neskowin at 2ish, go the key and headed up to the house.
Frank and Ian were headed to the the White Snake concert that night - so we made an early dinner and then Denise drove them to the Chinook Winds for their concert. We hit the sack early- all that fresh ocean air is tiring.
Sunday, Denise and I decided to hit the outlet mall for a few hours while the guys headed to the beach with the little people. We shopped for a few hours- got some awesome deals and then back to the house.
After all that shopping we were not in to making dinner so we headed to Pacific City and that wonderful dune. We climbed the dune and the kids ran ahead. The menfolk also ran to the top. On my way up I was greeted with Danica coming back down as she had sand in her contacts- poor thing. So she and I headed to the Pelican Pub to get the sand out and book a table for 8. The rest hung out at the dune and we turned back at one point to see a herd of horses at the top of the dune, poised to run down, and run down they did. The kids got to pet the horses at the bottom. Dune climbing is tiring work, so we eagerly sat down in the pub and ordered our fish and chips. What a great setting for a pub. After dinner we enjoyed the lovely sunset- after all that is what Oregon is about.
Monday we figured that it was time to get some food- so we all headed to the Safeway- the guys were going to drop us off and go to the Lincoln City beach for a while- as we go out of the car, I noticed that our tire was flat- flat- flat! So Frank and Ian installed the spare and went in search of a tire repair shop instead of the beach as planned. We headed in to Safeway to shop.
When we were done, there they were with the tire al fixed- thanks Les shwab! Denise and I went back to Neskowin with the little ones and Frank and Ian and the older 2 set out in search of an Internet cafe! We headed to the beach for an afternoon of kite flying,sand castle building and reading our books. The guys joined us much later. After dinner we were too tired for a campfire so we deferred in until the next night.
Tuesday we started off the day early and headed to Florence and the sand dunes. It was a long 2.5 hour drive but we arrived and headed to the dune site to book our sand rail experience. It was a long wait, which we filled with a picnic lunch and mini golf. But it was so worth it. We had Me, Frank, Dara, Delaney and Denise in one sand rail and Ian, Danica and Quinn in the other. It was crazy- we went up over 800 feet and felt like we were on a crazy roller coaster. The girls screamed and screamed but LOVED it. It was a 30 min thrill ride. What a great experience!! Then it was back home - stopping at the Fred Meyer in Newport for some Starbucks and supplies for the house. We picked up Papa Murphy's take and Bake pizza and headed home. No fire Tuesday either- we were pooped!
Wednesday Frank, Ian , Danica and Quinn, headed up to the Silitz river and rented a boat to go fishing, while we went to the outlet mall and shopped for back to school for the little ones. No fish were caught but lots of clothes were bought. Wednesday night we had a huge fire on the beach- it was awesome. There were marshmallows to be roasted and fun was had by all. Until we had to come home- then it was dark and we had to walk across Hawk Creek in that dark and cold! Then Denise fell on the stairs on the way up - it was not that much fun!
Thursday we had to take the older ones shopping for back to school- so to the outlet mall we went for a hours and then we headed to Foggerty Creek for a BBQ lunch and a few hours of agate hunting- a favourite pass time.
Before we knew it Friday was upon us!! We decided to spend the entire day at the beach. We headed down in the morning spent the day on the beach with a break for lunch and then we were there late into the afternoon until the tide was almost up to our towels. We headed back for dinner and then back to the beach for a bonfire!!
Saturday morning we cleaned up the house and headed for home-too short a trip!
We stopped at the Walmart in Salem for school supplies. Then it was straight up to Tullalip and some last minute deals there.
We reached the border at 9:30pm - exhausted from a day of travel- sailed through the border and homeward bound.
Another awesome trip under our belt and memories to last a life time.

Spring?

Well, the one advantage to this rainy Spring we are having is that I have been able to catch up on my scrapbooking. I am perpetually 6 months behind. But with rainy days and some spare time I am closing that gap. I have also been able to catch up on lots of reading as the girls have started Spring swimming-which amounts to 10 hours a week that I am at the pool. So reading and scrapbooking have been at the top of my things to do.
We had a great Spring break getaway in Hawaii- but that tan has faded fast. 1300 photos or so were taken in those 2 weeks away- thank goodness for mac books otherwise those photos might never have seen the light of day!
It has been a pretty busy year so far- so there have been lots of photos taken and so I do hope to get on top of all that. There are so many other projects around the house I wish I had time to do too. I have managed to paint the bathroom, but still have the master bedroom and all the windowsills in the house to paint. Not to mention the yard work. The flowers are late to bloom this year due to the continuous rain, but the weeds don't mind they come up no matter what.