Painting the House... Both Ways

I got a little distracted this summer. About the time school was starting, and we were getting a cat, and my dad had major heart surgery, we decided it was time to paint the house. I still love the periwinkle blue, but it was getting really, REALLY faded across the front.

So we spent a lot of time looking at colors, because there are so many. It's insane.  I mean, go to any paint store and ROYGBIV is meaningless.  Nobody has "green". Nooooo. There are 500 shades of green. Anyway, we pondered and hemmed and hawed, and I brought home samples, and we made a decision we're happy with. A deeper blue, and deeper green for the doors and the little triangles up in the eaves. I love it. And we spent all that time thinking about it only to be told...

... we painted a Seahawks house.

Why yes, apparently we did.

And if we'd only thought of it that way, it probably would've simplified the whole process ;D


After painting the actual house, Kerry gave me gift money to have the house painted by a friend of mine.  I know, have the house painted?  We just DID!  But my Ben Mann painting is a dream come true :D  I want to link to his website, but it seems to be down.  He's on fb though, here.

Isn't that a great addition to the living room?!  Look closer :D

I asked him to paint the house the "old" colors - it's really capturing a moment in time when the boys were younger... playing soccer, watching a robin... and Kerry is mowing, and I'm hanging quilts on the line :D

Every time I look at that painting it makes me happy!

Choate Tuesday

With our last full day of Choate-filled goodness ahead of us,

Wyatt and Kerry took a day off work, and Tate and Gunnar skipped school

so we could make "Adventure Tuesday" possible.

Apparently it was red/pink day and almost everyone got the memo ;D

We could have filled weeks with special activities and outings

and not seen half of what our corner of the state has to offer!

(So much to do!  So much to see!)

Aaaaand we could easily have overwhelmed our friends

with a barrage of EVERYTHING,

when they were already dealing with jet-lag and culture shock.
(Or so I'm told, they sure didn't show it :D)

We tried to strike a balance between low-key days

and "adventure" days.

Looking across Puget Sound at Port Townsend and the Olympic Mountains

I'm so glad Wyatt suggested Fort Casey,

a historical state park in a gorgeous setting.

Disappearing gun in the "up" position

Fort Casey, Fort Ebey, and For Worden formed a protective triangle,

guarding the salt-water route to Seattle and Tacoma.

All three are now state parks with campgrounds.

Disappearing gun in the "down" position

Though we're all interested in history,

... the main attraction for me was my friends :D

I'm so thankful for how seamlessly the kids - from big to small -
blended together and enjoyed the activities and the new friendships.

And the underground bunkers!

Admiralty Head Lighthouse

Love those happy faces!

What a gorgeous day, too!

Fort Casey sits right next to the Coupeville ferry landing, so we saw the ferry shuttling back and forth to Port Townsend through the morning.

We could've stayed there all day, but after a picnic lunch we headed back north to the Deception Pass bridge, and stopped on Pass Island for a look around.

The kids were quick to take off to explore.

The tide was coming in while we were there and I'm amazed
at the volume of water that moves through that narrow channel.

Blue Camas

180 feet above the water.

So much personality!

From there it was just a few minutes to Rosario Beach,

a lesser-known part of Deception Pass State Park.

More exploration requires sustenance,

in the form of "the cookie mountain".

I love this little corner of the park.
It's often much quieter,
and it holds a lot of happy memories for me.
I lived with a host family here during one of my summers
with Reachout Expeditions.

Hard to believe this is the same ocean they live by in the Solomon Islands!

Imagine the next two photos side by side...

There's a wonderful (small) bluff with beautiful little bays on both sides.

It doesn't take long to walk around it,

and the views are totally worth it!

You'd want to hang on to small children though, because there's a 30? 40? foot drop into some very cold and rocky water.

I wasn't really worried about our crew ;D

Aaaand the bay on the other side... lovely :D

And I love the CCC picnic shelters :D

All too soon we were headed back to Chateau Grasshopper, for an early dinner,

leaving time for the master packers to get all their gear ready for a 2:30 am call time.

For some crazy reason I don't have any pictures

of our early morning farewell at the airport!

It was all worth it!

Let's do it again :D

Choate Monday

So, "Choate Monday" starts with a reprise of "Choate Sunday",

because I forgot the bike ride.

Tate, however, did not ;D

Sunday afternoon the kids all decided to go for a bike ride.

Almost all the kids.

One of the boybarians decided he needed some quiet introvert time in his room.

(No, he wasn't being punished.  He really did need some down-time.)

With not-quite-enough bikes for everyone, Tate rigged the wagon to his bike and pulled Katherine and a cooler with water bottles.

As I look at this picture I'm having a "Duh!" moment.

I puzzled over whether the bike ride was Sunday or Monday.

But, DUH.

Look at the school playground.

It would not be available to us on a weekday.

And it's a great school playground,

with a million dollar view :D

Yet another thing we take for granted...

clean, safe parks and playgrounds.

Not always common overseas.

Then a visit with Polly.

So.... back to MONDAY...

Monday's plan was for everyone to do their normal things...

work and school for Kerry and the boys,

exercise (early in the morning is so much more fun with Joanna!),

and errands for the moms.

So ordinary to me,

yet a re-entry into American culture for Joanna.

Things like the Apple store to get her phone checked,

Walmart, the grocery store, and Barnes and Noble :D

Once everyone was back home,
and dinner was in the oven
(Costco lasagna, because I am all
SO FANCY MUCH WOW!)
we headed down into Whatcom Falls Park
for a three-bridge walk.

Long ago there were sawmills out on Lake Whatcom.
An electric streetcar ran out to the lake.
And even when I was little,
a train still came out daily.

These two ALWAYS had some sort of friendly discussion and/or debate going :D

If you're local you may recognize the trail down to Derby Pond,
and the little dam (or weir),
and Bridge #1 :D

Katherine, Gunnar, Wyatt, Aaron, Olivia, Tate, Benjamin, and Sarah

(Kerry, where were you?  Joanna and I were taking photos)

And on through the hatchery to Bridge #2

Looking downstream...

... and upstream.

If we could just get the kids to quit goofing around for a moment!

They absolutely LOVED that we kept making them pose for photos.

(Yes, sarcasm is just one of the services I offer.)

And they're pretty cute even when they're not posing :D

I'm usually in the park in the morning,
so it was interesting to see it in different light.

Around the pond to Bridge #3...

Apparently Wyatt got tired of having his photo taken.

And about that time we all realized how hungry we were getting!

And thinking of FOOD and DINNER and LASAGNA and starting to hurry home!

But I was lagging in the back,
with Joanna keeping me company,
enjoying the beauty of the woods and the water.

I could just sit in that red chair...

... and look at the sky...

... and watch the wildlife...

... and listen to the birds :D

Especially with a good friend to share it with :D