Keeping it Simple

Day 51 Morning 16 The sun trying to peak through in the morning.  Today the whole family woke up at the lake. So nice to have Toby and the boys back. I tried to get out for a walk with Addie before waking everyone but our small quarters…that just does not work. Addie and I headed around the lake for a walk…about three miles I think…yeah my first time around and she did not loose it. I was a little worried about being half way around the lake and having a baby who was done with the walk. All the blackberries that I picked and fed her might of helped.  Toby took our walk time to teach the boys how to play cribbage. I am sure there are a few more lessons before they have it mastered, but they got a start and I love how much counting and thinking is involved. Time to get those brains kicked into gear for school in less than three weeks!  After breakfast and spending a little time cleaning…we headed over to the house for a few chores. I picked up all the garbage that th

Day 50 Camping 15 What a week…and I do not say this lightly…in a nutshell in went like this… Monday - playdate with a few unexpected friends just stopping in during the playdate - A/C went out in the camper…I flipped all the switches and still nothing…yes all on the hottest day of the week. Finally found the breaker box inside of the camper and thank goodness it worked.  Tuesday - Errand day…so I thought - Got to Olympia to run errands: school supply shopping, grocery, Costco, ext.  - Forgot wallet in trailer in Tenino…realized it as I was driving by Wells Fargo and thank goodness I had my check book. They let me withdraw money with just my checkbook.  - Costco…was out though, probably didn’t need anything there anyways.  Wednesday - It rained the entire night before, Addie slept terrible and I had one of my older boys obviously drink too much water the night before. UG… - So this morning I went out to check the awning and tried to release it so the wa

Day 42 Hotel Morning 10 Our Visit To Seattle Children’s Hospital Today was our appointment at Seattle Children’s Hospital for Addison. I shared earlier in A Whirlwind how my sister noticed that Addison had one leg more swollen than the other.  This picture doesn't show too well...but a little...for those of you who are curious.  So today was our much awaited appointment. We stayed at a hotel in Issaquah last night so we were up in the area this morning. Which all turned out for the better, turns out that a very dear friend was spending her last night in Issaquah and we had the chance to visit for a little while before our daily commitments called us back to life.  This morning, Toby(my husband) and I dropped the boys off with my aunt so she could watch them for us while we went to the appointment. I was not sure how we were going to handle it all and knew it would be better if the boys were not with us. They know some already about our concerns and Easton wa

Day 40 of Adventure Travel Trailer Sleeps - 6 Just a few notes to share about the last few days.  Easton and I ran into Tumwater and went shopping and we stopped and got their bikes from their grandparents’ house. Eventful trip with the utility trailer…backing up is a learned and practiced art…one that if not practiced often can lead to an almost jack knifed trailer…just two or three times on this trip. All good.  We returned to the lake for a the end of birthday BBQ and then back to our property to meet our cousins as they pulled their travel trailer onto our property. Yeah…for cousins showing up!  The next day we BBQ’d and had lake fun…fishing, swimming, digging, floating, tubing and more! Tubing till the uh-oh with the rope getting pulled into the intake on the jet ski. Lake Lessons right? Toby headed off to work for a short week this week and it is pretty nice having company here with us while he is gone.  Always so much fun to be had camping…last night

Day 37 of Adventure Morning 3 Waking Up At the Property I suppose I could start calling it Waking Up At Home…Yesterday as we were driving back from Seattle in the Crazy Traffic, I joked with Toby and the boys about just take me home to Tenino. Tenino where there is little to no traffic and where I wake up to the chatter of birds, wind blowing through the trees and a glasslike lake in the near distance! (Well, let’s be honest, I wake up to a little girl wanting her mommy. But, when my brain is waking up, this morning with my cup of coffee in hand and sitting outside our trailer I get the nature of Tenino - Home.) A glimpse at our home...Easton and Preston's bed pulled out for sleep, tucked in for a couch during the day.  Our room and the bathroom up top.  Our fifth wheel sitting right next to our future home.  Funny, when I swim in from the lake...I see the trailer and the house...and realize that our trailer will fit into my bedroom and bathroom.  Tob

Yesterday we went to Seattle for the night. I have an old college roommate/very dear friend that is in town for the weekend so the whole family went to Seattle for the night so I was there this morning to see her for a little while.  Getting off of the property took us much longer than we expected. Which was a good thing really. From 7:30 in the morning until right before we drove off of the property, we had sub contractors asking us questions about our house. A few of the decisions were Where the wood stove wood sit and how How the entertainment center would change A few more questions about heating and air…added another vent The electrician took us on a walk through of the house and we discussed all the lighting and power outlets.  Then the “Pump Guy” showed up to place our water pump on the property so we could get water at the trailer…YEAH! So we headed to Olympia to stop at another dear friend’s house to do laundry and take showers. So nice of them to open their ho