2-21-2014

More reflections of the past that is a bit difficult because one always misses something fun. Anyway, as I already stated we arrived at Lake Pleasant RV park in Bothell, WA on August 10,2013. The next day was as stated Caradon's birthday and also our grandson Jonathan's 4th birthday. We were very excited to see our son and his family and Gemma was a bit shy of us. Jonathan wanted to go to the top of the space needle for his birthday so that was our first outing and quite a fun day. Seattle has built a beautiful ferris wheel down on the waterfront that is all lit up at nighttime. However none of us wanted to pay $14.00 to ride it so we just watched !

The summer weather was so much cooler than Utah which was a great relief. Don and Adam began working every weekend on Adam's investment triplex and remodeling the kitchen that they were living in. Such a hard task to accomplish with two small children underfoot, so this Nana spent many hours in their back bedroom reading books and keeping them entertained.

Katie and Adam love cooking and eating good food so we did lots of that, with Katie cooking great meals. The kids are very adept at eating lots of Korean food and love vegetables which is a great thing. Katie and I would go to unique thrift shops and Don and I often drove to little places I would read about. One day we went into the U of W area and found a little hippie vegan store that I was so thrilled with! Not one thing had dairy in it and since I have been diary free for about five years now, that was such a nice event. I love the atmosphere of Seattle and the people.

Doc and I were the designated babysitters for the kids so Adam and Katie could have some dates. They even managed an overnight getaway while we were there!

My sister Cheri and her husband Dale Johanson live in Bellingham which was about 90 minutes away. They came down a few weekends and Dale was another great helper to have on the kitchen project. We also took time off in late October to go spend the weekend with them. One of the days we took a trip into Anacortes and had lunch at a quaint little cafe, walked around a farmers market and just enjoyed the day.Of course, my sister is an excellent cook and anytime Don can enjoy her talents, he loves it! On the way back to Seattle, we were able to stop off in Mt. Vernon and have a short visit with our cherished friends of over 40 years, Ric and Lori Packard.They are both battling serious health conditions and are certainly our heroes. We pray for their well being and are so thankful to have them in our lives.

More remodeling was always happening and we loved having Gemma and JJ come to our RV park. We had a set of swings right by our rv and we would go watch for the geese to come swimming into the two man made lakes. In mid October, the five of us with some planning ahead took a weekend trip. It started out on a rainy foggy Saturday morning down to Tacoma and then onto a small ferry over to Anderson Island. I had read about an annual apple festival there and we watched old antique machines making the cider. Some little exhibits and a museum were toured and then we were on our way for a drive up to Sequim, WA. It was the weekend of the government shut down and thus we were disappointed when we couldd not see the Spit and other coastal sights Katie was eager to see. We spent the night in Sequim and toured around this charming town that is known for its aboundant lavender farms.It averages half the rainfall of the rest of WA because of it being in a mountain enclousure. Next day, we drove to Port Angeles which was having their annual Dungeness Crab Festival. So fun to wander around and eat some fresh crab! Then we drove farther to Port Townsend which is a quaint Victorian styled seaport town. I bought a hat, we had ice cream, homemade chocolates and a wonderful day. We then got in line to ride the ferry back to Edmonds, and of course I love ferry rides! We stopped at an Indian restaurant on the way home and back to Adam's after a fun but quick two day holiday !

The days were beginning to get cooler by then and the rain was coming more regular. During that time, I had been planning to surprise my sister for her 65th birthday with a book of letters from family and friends. On the weekend of her Nov.9th birthday, our daughter Lindsay had flown in from Texas to surprise Aunt Cheri. Another dear friend of Cheri's , Bandit had also flown in from Las Vegas. So we had a big party and Samantha had made a utterly fantastic video for her beloved Aunt. Dale's sister and niece were there too and we had a great time at a hotel in Smokey Point, WA. Lindsay had surprised Aunt Cheri at the outlet mall and we were all in tears and laughter galore! Lindsay had not seen her brother Adam and Katie for two years and just met Gemma so it was a double pleasure for Lindsay although she had been fighting a terrible bronchial infection for some time. All in all, the party was a great success and we said our good byes for now to my sister and her Dale.

Lindsay returned to Texas and the time soon came for us to depart. It was November 12th that we tearfully pulled away from Lake Pleasant. Over three months had gone by and Gemma and JJ were pretty attached to us, esp. Gemma to her Papa. She would always go to their window by the door when she heard a big truck and call "Papa, Papa ". We are so thankful for Skype to keep connected to our kids and grandkids.

SO, away from Seattle and down the road on I-5 headed for Salem, OR and then on to Merced, CA to see Don's parents !!