Where to start? I haven't written since March and it seems the last
two months have flown by, filled with fun activities and adventures.
Funny, I just got up and got my calendar so I could remember what we've
been doing, which so reminds me of my grandma.
At the end of March the kids and I headed down to see my mom, sister and friends in Arizona. It was so lovely to be in the sunshine and we took full advantage of it. Balin had work to do in Arizona so he flew down and picked us up at the airport. I had to laugh because for my birthday in January, Balin got me a huge stand up paddle board. Clearly it was a present meant for he as well as I. So for his birthday in March I made reservations for he and I at the Spa at Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale. The thing I love about this particular spa is the adult only swimming pool inside the spa grounds, the female only hot tub, cold tub and outdoor showers. We literally stayed here all day enjoying a massage and then just hanging by the pool, eating lunch and relaxing. It was like we were really away on vacation. Around 5pm we met at the bar at the hotel, where we had a drink by the fire. Afterwards, we head to downtown Scottsdale which was so much fun. We walked around in the warm evening air and stopped at a restaurant for drinks, widow shopped and just wondered where ever we wanted. We made it to one of our favorite restaurants called Cowboy Ciao for dinner and then headed back to Sun City West to spend the night at my moms. Both Balin and I agreed that we need to do that kind of date every time we come to Arizona!
From Sun City West, Balin, the kids and I headed north to Prescott where we met up with friends and had a lovely time. We've got such a great gig when we got to Prescott as the kids love hanging out with their friends, which often includes a sleepover, and Balin and I get to hang out with our friends and not have any sleepovers. It's like we're on vacation! We spent the night at our friend Christie and Randy's house, which is always such a treat and spent time with my sister, niece and nephew while we were there.
Balin had to fly back to Spokane and get to work but I wasn't ready to head back yet and the kids had a week of no school since it was spring break. My sister, Sophie, mom and my kids and I all headed down to Bisbee and Kartchner Caverns to do some exploring of Arizona. Mom rented a great house in old Bisbee which was awesome. It was walking distance to town and Bisbee is such a quaint artist community, which made it fun to wander around in. We checked out the mining museum as well as the Queen Copper mine. Kartchner Caverns was also a delight for the rest of the family with all it's different geologic formations. I declined going into the caves after my last incidence of claustrophobia in the last caves I went in and enjoyed a nice walk around the grounds a nap in the car.
When we got home the second week of April we enjoyed a few nights with Balin before he was flying to Kentucky for work. Since February Balin has been traveling every other week if not more, which has been tough on all of us. Some have mentioned that they thought his travel was supposed to decrease since we moved, but I remind them that he would be traveling even more if we hadn't moved as he would have to be coming to Spokane at least once a month, if not more. Another reason to be thankful that we moved.
The end of April brought us Grandma and Grandpa Strickler for a quick visit. It was so lovely to have them come, especially Susie as we go and do things that I would otherwise do by myself or not do at all. She and I took a Saturday morning and headed out to the Master Gardener sale in town and afterwards explored a nursery on the north side of town. It was so much fun to look at plants, buy plants and dream of gardening. We ended up filling the truck with yummy trees, shrubs and perennials that gave my large yard some structure.
After unloading the plants, we all headed back downtown for a movie, shopping and dinner at Fire. It was so fun to just play and be tourists in our town.
With
spring the children's chores have become more weather appropriate. I
taught Sam how to wash a car, which I have to say is not the easiest
thing in the world to do. I have a dark blue car and I am picky, I
don't like spots and dirt and having a 10 year old wash the car, well,
we got into a bit of an argument. But the kids chore lists are growing
as I'm deciding that I don't need to do half the things I do and they
need to learn how to do things so they're healthy, capable adults. Like
scrubbing the toilets. One of Perrin's jobs this week was to scrub and
clean all sinks and mirrors while Sam had to do the toilets. He whined
and complained but I told him it was non negotiable as I've seem men's
bathrooms and it's gross. That night when Balin got home he asked if I
had cleaned the bathrooms and I smiled and said, "No the kids did it."
He complimented them on how nice they looked. Yes!
I
found the above quote in a parenting book and it couldn't have
resonated with my soul any more. Truly. I am taking this advice daily
and structuring myself and our family so that we're not running around
from one thing to the next. There are things that are important and
need time and attention, but so many of the activities we engage in are
not needed or helpful to my families sanity in the long run.
With this in mind the other day we played hookie and went exploring instead. I was hoping to get to the North Fork of the Coeurd 'alene river but I missed the exit. We ended up in North Idaho on some random road, but it was great as we took a little hike into the woods and found all sorts of beautiful plants and flowers.
Our adventure ended with a trip to the ice cream shop in Coeurd 'alene. There are so many amazing places to explore here in the Northwest, I guess we'll have to play hookie a little more often.
Perrin
has been busy lately hanging out with girlfriends, her favorite being
Alex Nupert from the South Hill. Those two are strangely inseparable,
better than sisters almost. When she's not hanging out with friends or
chillin' at the lake, she's crafting a spectacular baked good in the
kitchen. It's been tough to lose the few extra inches around my belly
with all her sweet somethings floating around our kitchen. Since she
takes such joy in cooking, baking and serving I put aside my waistline
and encourage her in her culinary explorations and I'm usually very
rewarded.
At the end of March the kids and I headed down to see my mom, sister and friends in Arizona. It was so lovely to be in the sunshine and we took full advantage of it. Balin had work to do in Arizona so he flew down and picked us up at the airport. I had to laugh because for my birthday in January, Balin got me a huge stand up paddle board. Clearly it was a present meant for he as well as I. So for his birthday in March I made reservations for he and I at the Spa at Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale. The thing I love about this particular spa is the adult only swimming pool inside the spa grounds, the female only hot tub, cold tub and outdoor showers. We literally stayed here all day enjoying a massage and then just hanging by the pool, eating lunch and relaxing. It was like we were really away on vacation. Around 5pm we met at the bar at the hotel, where we had a drink by the fire. Afterwards, we head to downtown Scottsdale which was so much fun. We walked around in the warm evening air and stopped at a restaurant for drinks, widow shopped and just wondered where ever we wanted. We made it to one of our favorite restaurants called Cowboy Ciao for dinner and then headed back to Sun City West to spend the night at my moms. Both Balin and I agreed that we need to do that kind of date every time we come to Arizona!
From Sun City West, Balin, the kids and I headed north to Prescott where we met up with friends and had a lovely time. We've got such a great gig when we got to Prescott as the kids love hanging out with their friends, which often includes a sleepover, and Balin and I get to hang out with our friends and not have any sleepovers. It's like we're on vacation! We spent the night at our friend Christie and Randy's house, which is always such a treat and spent time with my sister, niece and nephew while we were there.
Balin had to fly back to Spokane and get to work but I wasn't ready to head back yet and the kids had a week of no school since it was spring break. My sister, Sophie, mom and my kids and I all headed down to Bisbee and Kartchner Caverns to do some exploring of Arizona. Mom rented a great house in old Bisbee which was awesome. It was walking distance to town and Bisbee is such a quaint artist community, which made it fun to wander around in. We checked out the mining museum as well as the Queen Copper mine. Kartchner Caverns was also a delight for the rest of the family with all it's different geologic formations. I declined going into the caves after my last incidence of claustrophobia in the last caves I went in and enjoyed a nice walk around the grounds a nap in the car.
When we got home the second week of April we enjoyed a few nights with Balin before he was flying to Kentucky for work. Since February Balin has been traveling every other week if not more, which has been tough on all of us. Some have mentioned that they thought his travel was supposed to decrease since we moved, but I remind them that he would be traveling even more if we hadn't moved as he would have to be coming to Spokane at least once a month, if not more. Another reason to be thankful that we moved.
The end of April brought us Grandma and Grandpa Strickler for a quick visit. It was so lovely to have them come, especially Susie as we go and do things that I would otherwise do by myself or not do at all. She and I took a Saturday morning and headed out to the Master Gardener sale in town and afterwards explored a nursery on the north side of town. It was so much fun to look at plants, buy plants and dream of gardening. We ended up filling the truck with yummy trees, shrubs and perennials that gave my large yard some structure.
After unloading the plants, we all headed back downtown for a movie, shopping and dinner at Fire. It was so fun to just play and be tourists in our town.
With
May came beautiful weather and a chance for us to really enjoy the
Northwest. I had purchased a replacement road bike at the Bike Swap in
April and was looking forward to getting out and riding. My dear friend
Gen and I started our road biking once again with a 25 mile loop to
Templin's for coffee in Post Falls. Her dad joined us and I was
reminded of my dad and all the biking we would do. It brought it home
even further when Bob took the lead and gave a windbreak for Gen and I -
just like dad used to do.
 | ||
| Gen waiting for me at her favorite spot at her house. |
I
had a sneaky suspicion that Perrin needed a new bike. Her old one,
which is still a great bike, had such small wheels and really was making
riding with the rest of the family a chore. After a month or two of
talking about it, I finally took her to the bike shop and we walked out
with a 27.5" wheel set and a bike that should take her all the places
we're going. Balin said those lovely words, "You were right, she needed
a new bike". I love it when he says those things. With her new bike
in tow, we've been trying to get out and ride a bit more. We went over
to Saltese Flats for a evening ride one night, doing over 6 miles with
600' elevation climb and we didn't hear a word of complaint from either
of the children. It was awesome!
Balin
decided, rightly so, that since we're asking the kids to do activities
that we enjoy doing, we should do some activities that they enjoy
doing. For Sam that meant joining some of the video games that he
enjoys, Clash of Clans being one of them. More often than not, I find
Balin on his phone playing Clans. He and Sam have really enjoyed
playing together and having something in common. Another activity we've
been enjoying together is trampoline time. We purchased a rectangular
trampoline as part of our yard remodel project and the kids are really
enjoying it. Balin and I are both trying to get on it regularly, which
is really good excercise.
Spring
is just gorgeous around here and I love all the flowering trees. Balin
in fact is planting a tree just like the one above for me as I type.
The garden is growing and soon we'll have an abundance of flowers and
hopefully fruit. I just planted two pears, an apple and a peach today
and am thinking maybe some blueberry bushes are needed. The garden has
turned into a big project but it's so, so satisfying to my soul. I go
out to my garden every day and look to see what's growing, including the
weeds, make a mental list of what needs to be done and when it needs to
be done. It is so beautiful and for no other reason I am thankful to
be in the Northwest again.
With this in mind the other day we played hookie and went exploring instead. I was hoping to get to the North Fork of the Coeurd 'alene river but I missed the exit. We ended up in North Idaho on some random road, but it was great as we took a little hike into the woods and found all sorts of beautiful plants and flowers.
Our adventure ended with a trip to the ice cream shop in Coeurd 'alene. There are so many amazing places to explore here in the Northwest, I guess we'll have to play hookie a little more often.
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