happy birthday!

For my birthday, I wanted to go whale watching. That is one of the few perks of living in Washington--we're only a few hours away from the orca whales. We invited some friends and we decided we'd make a day trip out of it.

Longest day of my life.

Let me recount the day for you:

5:00 a.m. Jesse and I wake up to finish packing food and such for the day.
5:45 a.m. Wake up SUPER cranky girls and try to get them into the car.
6:00 a.m. Leave for Anacortes, WA for the Washington State Ferry.
9:00 a.m. Take the ferry across to Friday Harbor. It was CRAZY foggy so we couldn't barely even see the water. I was so nervous that we wouldn't even be able to see the whales.
10:00 a.m. Pull into Friday Harbor and run to the whale watching co.'s office and book it for the boat.
10:30 a.m. Pull out into the foggy Puget Sound to look for whales....

And there were NO current report of whales.

Boo. Abby was crying because she was terrified of the boat. She thought when we put the life vest on her it meant she had to get in the water. She would not let go of us. She was absolutely petrified--literally. Would not move. Fortunately, this boat had an inner cabin where she didn't have to wear the life vest and it had a booth/table set-up with crayons and whale coloring books. Abby stayed there the rest of the time. Claire was also crying because it was nap time. I actually did get her to fall asleep, but I had to take her to the inner cabin too to take off her life vest so she'd sleep. The inner cabin had windows, but it's just not the same... you know?

We got word that the whales were in Canada. Good thing we didn't stay at Lime Kiln Lighthouse or we never would have seen them.

We drove 40 mins. in the water to Canada and found about 30 orca whales. We got to follow along with them for about an hour. We saw two breach, several tail slap, and a few did cartwheels. I can't describe it, but that's what the behavior is called. I was crazy stoked to see them and especially to see two breach. But I still can't decide if it was worth the travel time and the hysterical tantrums my children threw. And unfortunately, because it was such awful lighting (due to spectacular fog) and because I'm a total amateur, I couldn't get any good pictures of the whales. Seriously.

2:00 p.m. Finished the boat tour.

We were originally going to stay on the island, shop, and get dinner, but it was raining. We decided to get the next ferry at 3:45 and just head home. While we were waiting, we bought ice cream and chilled at the ferry landing dock. The kids had a great time playing on it, and Jesse got some awesome camera time in. I was just trying not to pass out because I was so exhausted.

All of these pictures are of the kids.

Next time we're going to make a weekend of it. And next time, my whale watching boat will be without my kids.

We were EXHAUSTED when we got home. On Sunday, I slept 1-4:30 p.m., and then went back to bed at 6 and slept until 6:30 the next morning. Yeah, I was tired.

Abby and J

Baby E

My Claire

Look at the fog. Really??

Thank you, Grandma Jenkins for the girls' red rain jackets! They were so needed on that cold, rainy day in July. Seriously, who still is freezing in July? Oh, we are.

Tales of a Sassy Ballerina Cowgirl

I've missed so many posts: Utah, the beach, the Strawberry Festival. And no, I'm not going to go back and catch up. It's too hard.

So we'll start with the ballerina cowgirl.

My mom sent super cute 4th of July dresses and shirts for the girls. She also sent Abby bright RED cowgirl boots. Don't say cowboy, she will correct you.

Abby LOVES these boots. And she loves leotards. Put it together and you've got
the ballerina cowgirl.

Claire is convinced Abby is the coolest and the funniest. There's just no contest.

Abby struck this pose fast and told me she was "sassy!"
Oh she totally is.

Please ignore my bad lighting and grainy photos. I don't know what caused that. And my nasty back patio. I'm still spring cleaning... in July. Hey, but here, it just stopped raining. I have my excuses. :) Jesse says I'm being mean for not posting Utah and such. Maybe I'll get motivated and post tomorrow too. We'll see.

Loves.

The Beaver Ham and the Bobble Eagle

One of the BEST things about living in Bellevue is that we're super close to Lake Sammamish. We love being able to play on the beach, watch for bald eagles, and soak up some vital Vitamin D. It rained for four days straight and then the sun came out FINALLY on Friday and Saturday! So I told Jesse he had no choice but to go with us. Hooray!

I totally forgot to check for my camera settings before I took this picture. It's the ONE time when Claire cheesed for me. I know it's totally overexposed, but I had to put it on. The rest of the time she just solemnly stared at the sand. She loved digging in it, but she wouldn't smile. (She's currently screaming at Jesse for some watermelon. She keeps grabbing it off the table. Oh, what a hilarious babe).

I was way impressed that Claire didn't mind getting dirty. She loved grabbing the sand and squishing it in her fingers.

Abby had an AWESOME time playing with her dad. They dug holes, built sand castles, and hauled gallons of water to dump into their holes and castles. At one point they built a dam to prevent the water from leaking out. Jesse called it their beaver dam. When Abby brought some water back from the lake, she accidentally dumped it on the dam and it completely broke. All at once she shouted, "Oh no! I broke the beaver ham!" And then she looked up to see a bald eagle flying out of the trees and without a pause she yelled, "Oh look! A bobble eagle!" Jesse and I were just rolling. It was awesomely hilarious! Abby knew at one point that they are called bald eagles, but it's almost been a year since we've seen them.

You're invited to join us anytime!

homesick for Utah

Sorry. No pictures today. Today is my day.

I tried really hard to ignore the feelings. I thought, "We did this last summer. This round should be easy, right?" But as we neared the 3-month mark of being in Washington, the feelings only intensified. By this time last summer, I would have been back home. But I'm not home, and I'm not moving back home.... for a LONG LONG time.... Can I tell you how even admitting that right now makes me want to bawl?

Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from the specific home environment or attachment objects. The Oxford English Dictionary describes homesickness as a feeling one has when missing home. Feelings of longing are often accompanied by anxiety and depression. These symptoms may range from mild to severe.

There's wikipedia's description for you. And that's how I feel. I have incredible, dramatic swings from excited-to-be-in-Washington days to we-have-to-move-back-or-I-will-die days. Unfortunately I'm lingering on the have-to-move back days.

To my WA friends: I LOVE you. LOVE LOVE LOVE you. If it weren't for you, then I wouldn't be surviving AT ALL. Thank you for saving me. You have been the BEST friends ever. Ever ever ever. Thank you for being my WA family. Because really, I consider you family.

About a week ago though (or two, I can't remember), I had my absolute meltdown. Like fetal position on the armchair, bawling my eyes out meltdown. Up to this point, the thought of flying alone has absolutely terrified me. The trip here was traumatic and I didn't want to repeat it. Ever. Again. I even missed my mom's 50th, I was so traumatized. But as I sat there bawling that night, I suddenly found it in me to conquer flying with two babes again. I sat up, searched flights, and asked Jesse for his credit card. When he asked what I needed it for, I told him I was going home. He didn't even blink. Just handed me the card and I bought my tickets.

I'm coming HOME.

This is where Jesse gets upset with me because Home should be where my family is, and my family is now here.

Some of you don't quite understand. My dad is HILARIOUS. My mom has been my best friend since junior high. My siblings are BRILLIANT. My family is THE BEST. I LOVE being with my family. Maybe they don't see that, or believe me, but they are truly the best. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? My fam definitely has their quirks, but every family does. But I truly do love spending my time with my family.

I'm looking forward to sitting my parent's kitchen table. I want to eat a hamburger from my dad's grill. I want to drive the streets of Utah. I want to laugh with my family. I want to watch Sam walk! I want to be there for the baseball game on Memorial Day weekend. I want to see my grandparents and my aunts and uncles and cousins... all those wonderful family members of mine. I want to see my family laugh at Abigail's incredible antics. I want them to see Claire's humorous facial expressions and hear her squawk. I want to feel comfortable in my environment again. I want to eat at CAFE RIO or even go to a blasted Dollar Tree.

I know one day I'll get over this, but you can't expect me to now. I spent close to 25 years of my life right next door to family. It's going to take some major adjusting. I'll get there, but in the meantime I get to vent. :)

And no one is allowed to say "Sorry you feel that way." I already feel like a wimp. This is just part of life! Y'all have hard things too. You're just not as public about it.

A present from Sarah AND a Happy Mother's Day!

For Claire's birthday, Sarah bought her this awesome Melissa and Doug Pretty Purse Fill and Spill toy. Claire LOVES it. She actually found it in the Amazon delivery box first. I was in the bedroom and I could hear Claire hitting something excitedly. I came out to find her with the present on her lap. She had pulled it out. So, she's known about this present and has eagerly waited for it. She was SO excited when I actually put it down for her to reach again. I didn't even have to pose the picture. She was just so stinkin' excited. Look at the joy on that babe's face!



Happy Mother's Day! We had a spectacular day. I got to sleep in, Jesse made me breakfast in bed... and then we had to run out the door for 9 a.m. church. When we got home, we ate lunch, took naps (EVERYONE!), and then we woke up in time to make the conference call with Seth. I'm so ready for him to be home.... Then we did some video chat on the Kinect with Jesse's family. Love love love them. :) Wish y'all didn't live so far away!

Somewhere in there, I demanded that for Mother's Day, my family had to let me practice taking pictures of them. I like that at least once a year everyone has to obey my demands (though Jesse would argue that's every day... HA! beat you to the joke). So here's what we got:
(Nikon D40 18-55mm)

The superhero pose.
Appropriate, right?

Yes, Claire eats every picture. Last time it was carrots. Today, celery. You should the tantrum pictures when I took away the celery...

Abby says that's her moo face. She wouldn't really cooperate... These pictures looked better on my camera... oh well. I tried. If anything, it's just to show that we're alive and growing. :) Love you all!