Fall 2019 (September to November)

School started in September and my kids are back in public school full time this year. They were both a little nervous, but they adapted quickly and are both doing so well. We don't love having to set an alarm to wake up, but we're making it. 

Matthew with our volunteer pumpkins

Sean after the first day of school

These two are often drawing on the white board. 

September gave us some really pretty days. The flowers lasted a long time which always makes me happy.

This was one evening on the way to the library. It was so pretty, I had to stop and take a quick picture. 

One day, Sean was helping me look for something and we found Jon's heavy duty rain gear. He needed to try it on. Maybe one day he'll fit into it. 

I spent a lot of time in Vancouver to hang out with Matt after a surgery. I FaceTimed with the boys a lot. They are so silly. I was so grateful that my cousins are able and willing to help with the kids so I could help Matt. Also, it's been so nice to have extra adults around to encourage my kids to be more helpful in all house duties. They're learning so many life skills! 

My aunt and uncle came for a visit in October. It was so fun to have them here for a bit. Their visit coincided with my aunt's birthday and Ella's. We had a very pony-themed party, complete with unicorn horns for everyone. 

These two fight a bunch at home, but they really do love each other so very much.

More life skills: how to cut onions without crying.

Matthew's school held a Fall Festival and both boys helped at a couple game booths. It was a fun night.

All October long, the boys asked when they could carve our volunteer pumpkins in the front yard. I told them they had to wait until almost Halloween or they would rot on the front step. The day finally came and they got to work! The last couple years have been great for carving pumpkins because the boys are old enough that they don't need my help. So I can keep my hands clean and just take pictures of the boys at work. 

Sean the Cereal Killer

Matthew as Link from Zelda for the 3rd year

Sean got glasses at the end of October. One of the unintended consequences of him having more peers is that he tried on a friends' glasses and could see better. He's pretty happy to be able to see clearly now. 

We visited the Davis family and on the way there, Sean commented that he and his cousin James are glasses twins now. These boys are such good cousin-friends. Sean looks up to James so much (literally and figuratively).  I love them both so, so much.

I left my mom in charge of the kids for a bit and got back to find them like this: eating Mint Moroccan Ice (mostly referred to as Icy Stuff) and reading comic books. What a perfect time with their grandma. 

Sean is at such a great age! Those middle school years are so fully of awkward changes. Since he got glasses, he definitely needs braces too, right? Well, since all his adult teeth are in now, it is time. 

I got him a warm drink to ease his suffering. He was sore for a couple days, but he's doing great now. 

Sean reads in some of the craziest positions. Sometimes he even has a cousin on his back. He's never phased.

Weekend snuggles are pretty great!

My friend Angela is a musician and she was doing house concerts in the fall and I wanted to host one to support her, but also just to see her. She and I grew up in the Philippines together and the friends I have from that time in my life are so like family that I love chances to visit with them. It always feels like hardly any time has passed. Those are great friends to have! I actually got to pick up her son the night before she came and he and my boys had such a fun time together too. We went to an indoor Nerf arena which was a blast. 

Angela was so nice and engaging with my kids. Matthew told her about him being on Stage Crew at school and she said he could help run the sound during her performance. He took that task very seriously. Sean told her about how he's been playing cello for a few years and she invited him to play a song with her at the end of her set. I played ukulele with them too. We practiced a few times in the afternoon to prepare. I love when people encourage my kids to put their skills to work! 

Angela being such a pro! 

Matthew running the sound.

She's so talented, and if you want to hear her songs or learn more, please check out her site:

https://angelasoffe.com/home

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to my dad's house. Rex and his girls came up from Vegas and Adam was able to join us too. We had such a nice time eating, and taking walks, and eating, and playing games, and also eating. My dad loves Costco, and sometimes forgets what he already has. Rex found so many pairs of work gloves, so we ALL put on a pair for a picture while he was out shopping (but not for gloves this time). 

One day, the kids noticed there was a cat hanging out in the back yard. My dad isn't a fan of animals inside the house. His mom always fed stray cats at her house. He has no intention of following suit. I think he was a little nervous that Matthew might let the cat inside the house, but he knew not to. 

Adam's dog, Lobo, taking a look at the cat. 

It was going to freeze that night, so Matthew made a little bed from a cardboard box and some shredded newspaper. We didn't see the cat the next day, but we are all pretty sure that it came from a loving home since it was so friendly and evidently well fed. 

That wraps up most of the Fall. 

August

Early in August, Amy and I took our kids to La Push for a backpacking/camping trip. Mom was able to join us too. The night before, everyone spent the night at my house so we could get an early start to the coast. We chose Second Beach because it's a relatively short hike (just under a mile) to the beach. It's the same beach I took my kids to in May, so it was somewhat familiar too. We stopped at the National Park Visitor Center to get our overnight pass and bear canisters. Just before getting to the beach, we also made a stop at Forks so we could use a real bathroom one last time. (There is just an outhouse where we chose to camp.)  We trekked all our gear down the trail and set up our tents and then the kids went off to explore for a bit. We saw pelicans, sea lions, otters, and a whale (or maybe more than one) in the water just in front of where our camp was set up. It was so fun to watch the whale blowing spouts for such a long time. I had brought binoculars, which helped, but all the animals were still pretty far away. 

We had a little fire, ate our dinners and went to bed when it got dark. Even though it was August, it was still pretty chilly. Which seems about right for the Washington Coast. 

In the morning, Mom and I decided to take one load up to the cars, so we wouldn't have too much when it was time to leave. It was a good decision! 

Three of the cuties spotted through the binocs, climbing rocks. (Their natural habitat.) 

The tide was out, so we were able to wander around some tide pools.

The kids wanted to do some exploring, so they took off down the beach. It felt like they were gone a long time, so Amy and I went to look for them. We couldn't find them anywhere and were starting to get nervous about them getting stuck when the tide turned. We walked nearly to the end of the beach without seeing them. We turned back to see if maybe we missed them somehow. They weren't at our camp, so then Amy and Mom went to look again. By this time, they were headed back. It turned out they had gone as far as possible and through an opening in the rocks. They had a great time and saw a baby seal. The lesson learned was that we need more details on where they are going so the adults don't freak out! All in all, it was a really great adventure and I'm so glad it worked out! 

Earlier this year, while I was on a trip to see my brother in Vegas, I made a goal to visit all my siblings at their homes by the end of the year. I hadn't ever been to Molly's place, so I booked a trip for the boys and I to Colorado. 

They were being so silly in the airport. At least they were entertained, right? 

Molly and Amir live on a couple acres and have all the animals. A couple dogs, some chickens, ducks, turkeys, and goats. The boys were in heaven! There were plenty of jobs to do (cleaning out a work truck, moving branches, feeding the animals, etc.), but then they got to hold the animals. At least, the animals they could catch. 

The boys happily gathered chicken eggs every day. The ducks weren't laying while we were there. We'll just have to visit another time so the kids can try fresh duck eggs. 

All the ducks in a row. Haha! 

One afternoon, Amir said he wanted to kill a couple ducks. I was interested to see what the boys would think. They were both pretty involved. Sean got a fire hot so the big pot of water could start boiling. I don't remember all the details, but I think after Amir cut the head off, he dips it in the boiling water for a bit, then pulls out all the feathers before removing all the organs. Matthew said he didn't want to watch the actual killing part, but he was right there when it was time to pluck the feathers. The kids were both impressed with how fast Amir can pluck feathers. They saved some of the down feathers and a few of the bigger ones to bring home. Molly cooked one up that night and it was pretty tasty. 

The goats were a lot of fun too. They were pretty tame and liked to be pet. The boys gave them lots of branches to munch on and helped clean their pens. I think they both tried milking them too. I know they watched and were, again, impressed with Amir's skills. 

This is Felfel. He likes to play fetch. All. Day. Long. 

Thankfully, Molly has gloves to wear, so we didn't have to pick up a slimy ball. 

Molly took us around her town a bit. We walked along a trail on the river. It was really pretty.

A different day, we walked a different trail on the river in the city. It was fun too. There were fountains that the kids had to play in for a bit.

It was such a wonderful trip. Seriously. I'm so glad we made it out there. I was so pleased with how hard the boys worked. And it's always so good to catch up with my sister. We'll be back for sure!

Kitsap County from the sky

The 3 year anniversary of Jon's death was the day we left for Colorado. I wanted to do something different this year. I didn't want to be sitting around being sad on purpose. It was nice to be busy doing something else this year. Making new memories. It was still nice to get messages throughout the day from friends and family that love me and Jon. It means so much to me when people spend a couple minutes letting me know that they care. I spent some time reflecting on the last three years and where my kids and I are now. I wrote some of those thoughts here. 

When we got back from Colorado, we had a back to school activity for Sean. He got his schedule and found his locker. We walked around the school so he could find where all his classes would be. He seemed ready to get going. What a kid! 

A friend of mine invited us to go to a plant nursery in Port Orchard. It has a hobbit house! I've known about it for a few years, but hadn't ever taken the time to go. It was really cool. The nursery has some really interesting plants and the hobbit hole was pretty neat for all of us. 

Another place I hadn't visited was the USS Turner Joy. It's a retired Navy Destroyer that is now a museum. I'm glad I was finally able to take the boys. 

Matthew in the captain's chair

While we were down at the boat, we were reminded of the Fountain Park by the ferry and decided to go back with Ella. We had some friends that were able to join us too, which always makes things more fun. 

To finish up August, and Labor day weekend, we headed to Oregon. Matt invited us to go camping with some friends at Detroit Lake. We brought the kayaks with us and had such a fun weekend. The boys and I went out on the water almost immediately when we got there. 

There is an island on the lake that we paddled to. It was fun to explore a bit. 

When we left the island to head back to the campsite, we decided to see if we had really seen a floating outhouse. Sure enough!! The kids wanted to use them, because how often do you get to do that?! I held their kayaks while they used the facilities. It was so stinky! Because also, how often do those get cleaned out?! 

I didn't take any other pictures on the trip. It was so nice. I helped take the kayaks to the lake each day and we played around on the water for a while. Some of our friends had bikes and the kids rode around a bunch. We sat by the fire a lot. Sean made sure that the fire stayed burning. We ate good food and talked and talked. I had a really enjoyable time. Camping has not been a fun thing for me. I quit wanting to go when the kids were little. This trip may have convinced me that the kids are old enough for it to not be horrible. 

One of the days we were out there, the kids hooked an inner tube to one of the kayaks and took turns pulling each other around. I always think of being pulled on a tube by my grandpa and uncles, holding on for dear life. Watching the boys paddle their hearts out, but not going very fast was so funny to me.  I asked a friend to take a picture for me so I could remember it.

I took a little kid out on a kayak with me for a bit. He is 4 and I was reminded that 4 year old boys are the best. He said "Betsy, this kayak needs a motor so it can be faster." I told him that I was being the motor. Then he said "But a motor would go 'Vrmmm'" He's not wrong! There was a cove that some of the menfolk paddled out to and I kept referring to it as the "Man Cove." 

A few of us decided to walk out towards the lake at night to see if we could see any stars. Oh man! We could see so many. It was beautiful! We saw the Milky Way and a bunch of shooting stars. We went a second night, but it wasn't as impressive. I don't know what made the difference, but I'm sure glad we got one super clear and beautiful night. 

Stargazing

Our camping trip was such a perfect way to wrap up our summer. We got home, had one full day to recover, and then it was time to start school. More on that next time!