Sidetrip to western WA

When we found out that Cass' mom was staying with them, and that her brother Tyler was a willing and capable helper, we decided to entrust them with our children's lives and head out west for a few days. (Darla said that she could almost guarantee they would be alive, and who could resist an offer like that?) On day one we left Spokane, headed through the mountains and got a glimpse of Wenatchee (apple growing capitol), it's cute little neighbor Cashmere, the very touristy Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, and then on to the coast.

We stopped for some German food at Oktoberfest.

This is the canyon we drove through just past Leavenworth.

We spent the night in Bellingham, and explored it the next day. We both thought it was beautiful but Tim had a hard time imagining the work there.

Lake Whatcom Falls park. My eyes were popping out of my head, it was unbelievably gorgeous.

This is the view of the Pt Townsend lighthouse from Sequim.

Taking the ferry from Whidbey Island to Seattle.
The Seattle skyline as we approach.We ended our trip here and headed back to Spokane. It was short but fun, and we saw lots of places we can imagine retiring (notice I didn't say working...). We'll see what opportunities come along. We were so grateful to Cassandra and team for keeping the girls with them while we went. It would have been much harder with a carsick Tessa and a sleepy Phoebe. So now we have returned to autumn in Tucson where it is 90, there are no trees, no color, but we are home in our own beds, Phoebe is back in school which she loves, and we have reassured Dallas that we are not leaving her again any time soon.

Autumn in Spokane pt 2

The "kids" fell asleep in the backseat while Dave drove us up to Colville. It was quaint and beautiful but I can't imagine getting transferred there.
We went to a park in Coeur d'Alene, ID (only 20 mins from Spokane). It was right on the lake. It had a gorgeous old neighborhood right next to it, with restored craftsman style homes and tree lined streets. If only Couer d'Alene were a transfer option!

I thought this was funny because Tessa couldn't stop licking the fur on her hood.
Grammy Darla (Cass' mom) getting her workout for the day. The park had a little kid section and the cool swing that doesn't need a belt to hold Phoebe in. It was nice to not have to lift her above my head to get her in, as she is getting pretty tall these days.

Crashed in front of the tube. Tyler, Cass and Tim fell asleep watching movies. Isn't that what vacation is all about?

Happy Birthday Shayne

We celebrated Shayne's 8th birthday today. Boy, how time flies! I remember the cluster of anxious grandmas waiting outside the delivery room at Saddleback Hospital. What an exciting time and the beginning of the era of Westlake grandchildren. A shot of two families' worth of grandchildren today. (Baby Jaleina will be here soon for Shayne's baptism but we will miss her).
Clockwise: Shayne, 8, Tessa, 2, Ethan, 5, Nolan, 1, Phoebe, 7. We spent the afternoon at Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane. Everyone but Nolan rode the carousel and all had a great time.

Dave is showing Ethan and Cass the video he took of Ethan getting sprayed in the face by the water fountain.
The birthday girl in her new outfit from Mom that she got to open before school today.

Autumn in Spokane pt.1

I don't know if she is just messing around at bedtime or needs a little extra comfort, being away from home, but Tessa has climbed in bed with Phoebe a few times. It's so darn cute, but I always have to move her because of how restless Phoebe sleeps.

Phoebe always falls asleep in the car and since she is in a borrowed booster seat she isn't used to all the freedom and flopped over onto Shayne. She was so patient I after I tried to adjust Phoebe and she just wouldn't stay up.

Ethan and Tessa playing piano. They are cute little buddies.

We visited a pumpkin patch in Green Bluff, WA that had a corn maze that led to a castle and a pirate ship. Tessa is peeking out of the porthole.

Shayne, Ethan and Dave looking for pumpkins. I am in shock at how used to the cold their kids are. We have coats and they have t-shirts!

Tessa having fun in the dirt. She laid in it, kicked it, threw it in her own face, and ate it. A hard days' work. And shockingly that coat came clean after one wash.

The kids walking back to the cars. I think it's cute how Ethan (just turned 5) is the same size as Tessa (2.10). His mom swears his friends are the same height.

Great Uncle Clint helping Tessa swing on the trapeze bar in his backyard. How wonderful to have grandparents around the corner!

Tessa taught herself how to twist the swing around like a corkscrew. Phoebe is falling asleep (shocker!).

Nolan thinks he can drive.

Ethan and Tessa trying to outrun Phoebe and I. They stopped to let us catch up alot.

After a fun day of running, jumping, swinging, playing, sliding, climbing, hiding, seeking, walking, riding, her hair wasn't fuzzed out by bed time! I had to get a picture of it.

A Day at Apple Annie's

It wasn't started until my sister and I were adults, but our family has a tradition of visiting apple orchards in the fall. Sometimes it coordinates with pumpkins and Halloween, and sometimes it's almost Christmas time, but we go every year possible. This year, I was able to show my dad (a produce expert) where they grow apples in Arizona. The big kids had fun using the poles to pick them and Tessa insisted on carrying around the bucket that was almost a big as she was. Actually, it was bigger because she got inside it once. We rode around behind a tractor (almost a hayride but without the itching afterwards). We had a fresh BBQ lunch and bought some bread to take home. Since most of the apples we picked were Granny Smith I volunteered to make pie out of them. It actually turned out yummy, even without a recipe handy! This day was part of why fall is my favorite season.

P.S. I love this website: www.pickyourown.org. Awesome way to find little mom and pop farms in places you might be visiting in the fall.

Lucky Number 7

Happy birthday to Phoebe! She is seven years old today. We had a small party yesterday, just a casual get together with friends, no themes or entertainment, just kids running around the house playing while the adults ate and enjoyed each other's company. Taking advantage of Phoebe's naivete, I strictly forbid any gifts from being given so we didn't have to torture our guests with the unwrapping ceremony. One friend said that is was the best birthday party ever, and they should all be like that! Phoebe enjoyed the commotion, the chocolate chip banana cupcakes that Tessa helped me make, and when we all sang to her. Tessa did NOT like the singing and ran screaming from the room. (a foreshadowing of her birthday in a few months...) Later, when she returned to good spirits, she decided to honor Phoebe by stripping down to her birthday suit and paraded around the house naked. Everyone loved Phoebe's haircut and also noticed that her dress was the same color as her amazing eyes. After the party I sat my girls down for a few photos (with Tessa's clothes back on, of course). As usual, Tessa struck a pose of her design. I asked her to stand or sit next to Phoebe and then she flopped down behind her. I thought they looked pretty darn adorable.

Like Sands in the Hourglass

These are the Days of Tessa's Life.

I just wanted to add some cute pics of Tessa and that's all I could think of for a title. Sorry!

Eating salsa with a spoon.

Learning to swim. She was afraid to leave the steps at the beginning of summer and now will swim out to the 4 foot section alone with only her floaties for assistance. Brave girl!

Always willing to smile for the camera so that she can "see Tessa" after I take it.

A purple fairie making herself "bizzy" by twirling in front of the mirror.

It's hard to give in to sleep when there are so many adventures to be had. This is Tessa's version of "staying on the bed" as her parents repeatedly tell her to do.

School Daze

That's what we're in now that the school year has officially begun! At registration, Phoebe was grinning from ear to ear, even though she is at a new school this year. After a long battle that was going nowhere with her former district, our move strategically allowed us to get her into the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. Phoebe's visual impairment is one aspect of her challenges that is really difficult for us non-vision specialists to understand. She does have quite a bit of vision but the methods of teaching they use at this school will be quite different than any other. We have a really good feeling about this placement and what it could mean to Phoebe's development. They also have every type of equipment available, such as tricycles (Phoebe actually pedals some of the time!), a swimming pool (she swims twice a week), and access to a hippotherapy center where she can ride horses again (other than the county fairs and such she has been deprived of her favorite hobby for almost two years). I know that in addition to learning she is having fun! It has been challenging to be her "bus" driver for the first two weeks of school, while our home district figured out their options, but it was still worth the 4 hours a day on the road. Tessa was getting pretty frustrated spending that much time in a car seat and asks to go to school too. She figures that much time in the car she should have a reward! All of her friends are in school so it is hard for her. (I remember being jealous of my sister...) Into the second week of school, Phoebe has already attached (literally sometimes!) to her teacher, Miss Seamons.

Endless Summer

I'm sure that Tessa wishes it could go on forever. She came home from her vacation absolutely enamored with her big cousin Elizabeth. She throws a bone out to cousin James, Papa and Gramma, Auntie Shawna and UncUg (Doug) every once in a while too. The first week of being home she would suddenly burst into tears and say "I sad". Then she would beg to call Grandma or Papa but instantly request Elizabeth once someone answered. Somehow she knew that Elizabeth didn't have her own phone so she needed a ploy to get around that. In typical big sister fashion I was told that E wasn't always thrilled to have a shadow following her around, but was a good sport about it. I wonder if she missed Tessa after she was gone. Here are the last few photos from summer in CA. James and Elizabeth made over $50 selling shells, even though they weren't tending to their stand most of the time. How do I get a piece of that business???
The big kids (and James and Elizabeth, hahaha) organized a treasure hunt for Tessa. She has been very into pirates lately, thanks to the Backyardigans. This was something that was done for the big kids a few years ago at Lake Powell, when Pirates of the Caribbean came out and was on everyone's mind. I was skeptical that the kids would fall for it. Pirates at Lake Powell?!? They either didn't get it or didn't care, and had a grand time following the treasure map they found. Tessa followed suit and believed that Pirates once roamed Balboa Island hiding their treasure chests filled with Mardi Gras beads. After she found the treasure she tried to rebury it. Here is Tessa walking the plank.

Phoebe's favorite pastime, riding horses, at the OC Fair. She was so perturbed to be taken off the horse at the end of her turn that when Shawna tried to make her leave she just flipped herself around in a 180 to get back to them. Pretty determined for a girl who can't walk!

Tessa and cousins enjoying the Pirate ride at the fair. It took her a while to warm up to the idea of carnival rides but eventually she was riding roller coasters with her hands in the air like a big girl.

13 Years of Wedded Ignorant Bliss

After the girls were in bed I was indulging in a little me time and was watching Becoming Jane. Tim woke up for work when I was in the middle of it and I didn't want to turn it off. After a few minutes he asked me "What is this?" to which I replied with the name of the movie and briefly described it as a portrayal of the life of Jane Austen. He then asked me in all seriousness "Who are Jane and Austen?". I could not help but burst into fits of raucous laughter. Not at his ignorance of English Literature but at the fact that he has been married to ME for 13 years and during several of those years the Complete Works of Jane Austen sat on my bedside table (seems to have been buried in the many years of moving boxes but certainly still a favorite). I wrote my first novel at the age of ten (okay, okay, it was only one chapter, but still), I constantly had my nose in a book until the age of 14 when boys became somewhat more important, and I got my (however meager) degree in Arts and Humanities after we were married. Does this man know me AT ALL? Did he really just ask me who Jane and Austen are? Followed by (because I was still laughing and he was left to his own attempts at guessing) "are they royalty or something?". Even after I divulged that Jane Austen was one person, he still looked perplexed. I explained that as a writer her influence was surpassed only by Shakespeare himself, to which he replied, Oh. I was seriously starting to question the validity of our marriage, but the conversation turned to work and he was explaining why he needed to borrow my tripod, and I had to ask "what's a MILK cam?" to which he burst into laughter. Now, whatever this milcam thing is cannot possibly compare in relevance to Jane Austen, but it did help me remember that whenever he tries to make me watch Family Guy or some sci-fi horror flick I get out of it by threatening him with Anne of Green Gables. And that some of the very few movies we watched in the theatre this year were The Other Boleyn Girl (amazing!), Juno (LOVED IT!), The Shooter (eh, Tim loved it), and American Gangster (um, loved Denzel....). So I guess there just has to be that give and take philosophy to marriage, and every once in a while you find something that you have in common or can tolerate surprisingly well. I can't believe I actually know lines to Super Troopers and Tim can recite half of French Kiss! And we will both stop what we're doing to watch Oh Brother Where art Thou. Despite our opposing interests I'm sure that our kids will think we are both weird...

Happy Birthday Two Binkies

Cousin Elizabeth (or Wibiff as Tessa pronounces it) spent the night with Tessa at Grandma Pat's house. She is still talking about the kitty, "pull tail, meow, bite".

My girls are back! They've been home for one week now and it's almost like they never left. Except that Phoebe is actually letting me leave her sight for a few moments at a time and Tessa seems to be completely potty trained! Days and nights! WOOHOO! Now, we've been working on it for a year but at 2 1/2 I can't complain. Anyway, life is back to normal, even though it's not. The girls seem to be comfortable already in our new house and Tessa seems very happy with her big girl bed. I have to admit it wasn't feeling like home, even after three weeks here, but the girls have rushed that along this week. The house is alive with voices and movement.

Tessa sang Happy Birthday to her binkies as she went to bed last night, holding a binky in each hand.

Fun on the Fourth

Tessa dressed in her R,W and B. With cute little piggies. We'll see how long they last!

At the Santa Ana Zoo. Phoebe looks nervous doesn't she? I would be too!

I guess Tessa was so excited to go eat lunch she just wanted to hurry up and get everyone in!

Phoebe just followed this dog around the beach and laughed.

Tessa feeling patriotic...

The gang watching fireworks on the beach. Phoebe liked them as long as she had warning that they were coming. Tessa enjoyed them this year but kept her ears covered the whole time. After they got home they helped her call me so she could tell me all about it. I had no idea who was calling me but when I answered here's what I heard: "MAMA! popcorn! purple! red! fireworks! blue! popcorn! beach! fireworks! stars! purple! popcorn!" At least those were the words I could understand. I wish I could have recorded the conversation because she was SO annimated. We had some monsoon lightning storms, but that was the extent of the fireworks we got to see in Arizona. Tim was at work of course, so her call was the highlight of my night. Very entertaining!

A good end to a good day. Dessert!