Quick Trip to Seattle

Anna loves RC Sproul's hymns that he wrote with Jeff Lippencott.  She listens to them all the time and longed to hear them in concert like Russ and I were able to do in Orlando a couple years ago.  She knows all the lyrics and can point out with precision her favorite parts of songs.  So, I promised her if they ever arranged a concert nearby, I would take her.   When I found out Ligonier was organizing a concert in the Seattle area the evening before the West Coast Conference, I looked into taking the girls.  Unfortunately, I looked too late.  All the cheaper hotels were booked, and I couldn't find a room cheaper than $200 a night.   In a providential conversation with a widow lady from our church, Marita, she mentioned she would also love to go to the concert (I had given her a CD of Sproul's music when her husband was dying from cancer) and that she had a sister that lived in Seattle.  Marita said she would love to visit her sister and was sure she would welcome us into her home.   This sister and brother-in-law graciously hosted Anna, Lydia, Marita, and me for two nights and took us around the Seattle area on Thursday before the concert.   

Beautiful drive to Seattle!

Marita's sister lives just a 5 minute drive from Lake Washington.  It was such a beautiful evening to watch the osprey and eagles dive for food.

Edmonds Port on the Puget Sound.  We did a little browsing in Rick Steve's shop and another travel store before eating a lovely lunch.  

I needed to check out all the travel gadgets to see what would be helpful before we visit Caleb in Spain next fall!

 After lunch, we walked along the pier and marina and enjoyed watching the ferries come in and out.  You can see the Olympic Mountains from one side and Whidbey Island on the other.

We then drove about 20-30 minutes to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.  Watching the water move in and out to lower this boat to get past the dam was pretty cool.

Kayakers even utilize the locks!

The concert was well attended and beautifully done with a full choir and orchestra.  The music moved Anna to tears through most of the concert, so I kept her stocked in kleenex.  Totally worth the trip!!

View from Mary Hill museum on the Colombia River Gorge on the way home.

Lovely vineyard at the base of the museum.

We did not stay for the West Coast conference because we needed to get home in time for Lydia's viola concert! 

Upper Gulch Hike

We enjoyed the hike on Memorial Day so much, we decided to drive up a few more miles and hike the Upper Gulch.  Since much of the hike is out in the open, we wanted to be sure to hike when it was still cool.  On the morning we decided to hike it was only 40 degrees  I had jokingly told the kids to bring mittens and hats.  No one was laughing when we started out and wished we all had a hat and mittens!  We all warmed up on the hike and enjoyed the beauty of the morning.

Summer Begins!

Although summer doesn't officially begin until June 21st, we all know that summer really starts when the school year ends.  The end of the school year also means gifts for some teachers which included one more crocheted literary character, Huck Finn, for Anna's favorite English teacher.  (From Literary Yarns by Cindy Wang).

Summer also officially begins when the college boys come home!  I love having my bedrooms and kitchen table full.  The boys brought with them an extra kitty, Iverson, which the kids absolutely adore. Russ and I insist that it is just like having a toddler in the house--needs constant watching, gets in spats with the other pets, eats and poops a lot, and gets up at the crack of dawn.  He loves the outdoors, so spends much of his day either outside or wishing he was!

Watching Seth mow

So the bread making wasn't a fluke... Seth made these absolutely yummy English muffins.  We all agree he definitely needs to make these again.

The afternoon of Memorial Day was spent with friends which included a hike in the foothills just north of the city.

We also spent one day with friends learning to sew!  We started at a fabric shop, picking out coordinating fabrics for a pillowcase.  Then we learned how to cut (measure twice and cut once!), press, and finally sew!  The best part was doing the project with friends.   Next project:  a Layer Cake Quilt!

Since Nicolas drives to Nampa each day for his job (working with a heating/cooling company) and Caleb needs to drive to BSU each day as a research assistant, we really needed to replace the vehicles we lost.  With the insurance money from the totaled Fusion, we were able to purchase two Chevy Impalas--a  gray 2005 and white 2007.  Anna, Seth, and I spent several hours detailing them so they look pretty spiffy inside and out!