More fun in the sun......

Another gorgeous day means more fun in the sun!

Just thought I'd share a little "sunshine" with ya!

Death by Chocolate!!!!!

Ok, so I'll admit, I could not resist that colossal chocolate cake from Claim Jumpers last night!

David and I ordered it after our meals and we could only get through half of it, but what a devine half that was!

I'm still recovering from sugar shock, but it was definitely worth it for a peek into what life would be like if I could have dessert on demand!

Now I'll have to ride my stationary bike for about 14 hours to make up for it!

Speaking of bikes, let me tell you about "Penelope"!

Penelope is our GPS and she did an awesome job getting us across this great country of ours, but upon arriving in Marysville, something changed.

She seemed to be avoiding the highways and freeways and interstates. At first we thought that she was just being courteous because she was as sick of traveling as we were. We were thankful that she was showing us the beautiful winding back roads of the Pacific Northwest, but on our first Sunday morning when we were heading to church, we knew that something bigger was going on here.

We were told that The Rock Church was only 20 minutes away. To a "last minute" person with herself and a five year old to get ready, plus a bunch of lazy teenagers to prod awake, a 20 minute drive means we leave at exactly 19 minutes and 59 seconds before we need to be there! Hey, every extra second counts when you are shoving cocoa puffs down your throat, affixing ribbons in semi-wet hair and making sure everyone's socks match, plus nothing beats the thrilling challenge of whittling down that extra second on the road!

So, with the chaos that can only come from a family of six exiting a house full of boxes in a town that they have been in for less than 36 hours, we piled into the van.

We plugged in the address for The Rock Church and Penelope betrayed us.

Her smug display told us that we'd be there in 3 hours and 18 minutes!

WHAT????!!!!

Even at warp speed, we'd never make it!

Sure that she was dilusional, we headed out anyway.

With each mile Penelope dropped our arrival time by 10 or 12 minutes.

I usually get alot of satisfaction from making good time in an "almost late" situtation and from looking at the ever lessening arrival time display, I was feeling like I was flying!

This would go down in history as the best save from the clutches of lateness ever!

It was quite rewarding to see our progress as we got closer and closer, but we were still confused by the route Penelope chose to take us on.

It seemed like we made about 750 turns through backwoods and tiny towns.

Our panic subsided when we reached our destination at exactly 10:55 for a service that began at 11:00.

We planned to go to IKEA after the service and asked someone how long it would take us to get there. We were told that we were within an hour of IKEA, so we plugged the address into Penelope and again, she told us that we'd be there in over 4 hours!

David spent some time sifting through her menu and didn't see any indication that we were instructing her to avoid main roads, so we were convinced that she obviously needed a date with our PC for some updates.

We followed her directions as she led us through roads thick with trees and steep hills. We really enjoyed the ride and the scenery was beautiful, but we were confused as to why she was not taking us on any interstates which clearly would have gotten us there much quicker. Again our arrival time dropped with each mile we traveled and it took us about an hour and 30 minutes to get to IKEA.

Having shopped way longer than we had intended, when we got back in the van, all we really wanted to do was get home quickly. We plugged in our home address and were shocked to see that it would take us 5 hours to get home!

Determined to find out what was going on, David went through every single setting to figure out why Penelope insisted on the scenic route.

After 8 agonizing minutes of sitting in the parking lot of IKEA with four grumbling kids who just wanted to go home, I saw a gleam in my husband's eyes.

"Aha!" he said.

"I found the problem!"

My husband is a fixer.

He has always been good at tracking down a glitch and and providing a remedy.

"Penelope thinks we are on a bike!"

Apparently when we first arrived in Marysville, Madison was playing with the settings on the GPS in an effort to change our display vehicle. We normally travel as a little blue sports car or the "Black Pearl" from Pirates of the Carribean, but Madison wanted something different.

When she found "Bicycle Mode" she expected our display to change to some version of a mongoose mountain bike, so she chose it.

Our display never became a bike, but Penelope's understanding of what we were driving did change.

That is why our arrival time dropped so much with each mile we drove.

Penelope must have throught we were on the fastest bicycle ever!

So, now we know that we are 3 hours and 18 minutes from church in case we ever feel like riding our bikes there!

Now that she is fixed, I get places much quicker, I travel with the flow like everyone else. But having driven through the gorgeous backroads of the area we now call home, my eyes have been opened to what lies beyond the mainstream.

And it's worth the time management it takes to experience it.

When I have visitors come, I might just let Penelope think we are on a bike again. It would be a shame to visit here and never see what lies beyond the convenient.

It kinda reminds me of Jesus when He left heaven to become our Way.

Following Jesus will rarely take you on the main roads that are heavily traveled. Instead He'll lead you by Faith on roads you have never seen before.

He'll direct you up steep hills that you fear you'll never reach the top of and then He'll show you the view from there and you'll be so thankful for the climb!

He's seen what lies beyond the traffic of this world and He's promised us that it is worth experiencing!

Vitamin D!!!!

As promised, the sun made it's first appearance in almost a week!

It is a balmy 75 degrees outside and the kids are making the most of it.

Bren and Miss K are at the park with a few neighbor mom's. It was too long of a walk involving hilly terrain for me to make comfortably while my ankle is still healing, so I didn't tag along this time.

The boys are out playing basketball across the street and Madison and I just came in from the deck.

If the weather man is right we'll be soaking in as much of the sun as we can for the next four days!

I usually love Thursdays because of the shows that come on, but I especially love it tonight because it's DATE NIGHT!!!

I'm so excited!

David is taking me to Claim Jumpers for our last date before his deployment.

We are going to see Narnia with the kids tomorrow and we may try to make a trip to see a bit of Seattle on Saturday, so tonight was the only open night for us to go.

Check out the menu here:

Claim jumper Menu

It looks great, huh?

Whirled Girl

Introducing my daughter Madison Joy blogging as Whirled Girl!

Do you remember being 12?

Remember middle school?

Best friends, spending Friday nights at the skating rink, sibling squabbles, weird teachers, embarassing parents,

learning about life and love at a confusing warp speed?

These are the true wonder years.

The innocent, carefree, dramatic years that we look back on fondly when we are older and secretly wish we could reclaim even if just for a day.

During our cross country trip Madison and I brainstormed over a name for her blog.

Whirled girl was at the top of our list because it seems to symbolize the ever changing life of a tween from a military family.

Madison is creativity, apprehension, hilarity, quirkiness, sweetness, strength, compassion and understated beauty all whirled into one.

Check out whirled girl for a glimpse into the charming life of a middle school girl making her way in a big world.

Playing dress up......

Bren has a new friend!

She and Miss K have been inseparable since the second day we moved in.

Their favorite thing to do is play dress up.

Miss K only lives two doors down so the two of them run back and forth on most afternoons.

Miss K and Bren will be starting Kindergarten together this Fall.

There's also much talk and excitement over a possible ballet class in a few months.

We are so thankful that Bren has met such a sweet little friend!

I've also been playing dress up!

It feels so good to have every box unpacked, most of the clutter hauled away and finally be able to decorate a bit.

I haven't gotten a steamer yet, but most of the wrinkles have worn themselves out so as promised, here are more photos of my red sectional.

And here are the flowers I found on Mother's Day morning along with a really sweet card from the kids.

Here's another room that is about done except for changing those wine colored sheers out for some casual curtains.....possibly in kakhi.

And here's another peek at our view. On clear days you can see the snow capped mountains along the horizon.

I hear we are going to have awesome weather this coming week, so we are going to get out and see if we can find some parks or some outdoor things to do.

*

And in entertainment news:

Did ya'll see the survivor finale last night???

First of all, I cannot believe that Parvati won over Amanda, but after hearing what Ozzy said, Amanda is the real winner anyway.

What a sweet guy, huh?

Weekend wrap up.....

Who could resist this scene?!

While we were waiting for the ferry to Whidbey Island on Saturday I spotted this pink floral carpet on the sidewalk and

I couldn't help but take a photo of Bren and Madison in the pile of fallen petals!

Too bad the ferry was off-loading just as I took the first photo so after a few more seconds of clicking, we had to leave and run back to the van.

I got one good one though!

They say that taking a ferry is the ultimate pacific northwest experience, so we couldn't wait to do it!

We were amazed at how many cars the ferry could hold and at the beauty that surrounded us as we made our way across the water.

This weekend Bren was able to attend a carnival at what will be her school next Fall.

She was excited all week for the carnival and had so much fun!

She got her face painted and played all kinds of games.

She filled her goodie bag with loads of plastic toys and candy prizes.

It was fun to walk around the campus that will be the beginning of her school days.

She is so thrilled to be starting school soon.

Not a day goes by that she does not ask me if today is the day she gets to go.

All too soon, that day will come and my last baby will be off to school.

Kindergarten up here is run on a half day schedule, so I'll still have another year to slowly ease into having my days free full time.

And believe me, I'm in no rush at all!

*

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mommies out there!!!!

And to my own sweet Mom,

I love you and thank you so much for being such a vital part of my life.

You are such a blessing to me!

Seeing Red!

Here's a peek into our new space.....

I'll share more as the rooms get finished.

Box by box, room by room, we are starting to feel at home in this house.

I was so excited to get my RED sectional from IKEA in my living room!!!

We left our old tired brown sofa and loveseat in Rhode Island and I really wanted something that added some pop to the space we spend so much time in.

I wanted to walk into the room and smile.

Red does that for me, so the logical choice for me was bright, bold, beautiful RED!

It was a hard sell on the rest of the family, but knowing that these are slip covers and we can change to safe, mediocre kakhi for less than $300, I got my wish.

I'll show a better photo of the sectional once I get a steamer and steam the wrinkles out of the slip cover. The wrinkles look so much worse in the photographs, so I don't want to give you the impression of sloppiness while everything is still fresh and new.

For a more honest dose of reality, check back in about 4 months after David has been gone a while when the wrinkles in my sectional are the least of my housekeeping worries.

For now though, I'm basking in the newness of everything and in the convenience of having a husband who is not deployed and not having to report to work for another ten days!

For the living room, we got a big white window box style coffee table to balance out the bold solid red and we also got a kakhi slip cover for the chair to add some contrast.

We added navy blue solid and striped pillows along with stark white ones for a kind of modern nautical look.

I really wanted to put lime green pillows on the sectional, but I figured I'd pushed my luck enough with the red and I'd be wise to let them get used to that brave choice first!

Here's what you see when you are standing at my front door looking in.
I love the light that this house gets.
We've still got lots of clutter to either throw out or find a home for, but so far it's coming together nicely.

Here is the downstairs finished basement.

Because the room that the boys share down there is much smaller than we had anticipated, we geared the whole downstairs toward them and entertaining their future friends.

The game systems are down there along with the kid's computer and a TV for watching movies and sports.

I found the colored chairs that are around the black table on craigslist and I'm hoping that this area will be used for homework or for playing board games.

At first there was so much whining from Zach and Michael about sharing the small room downstairs that I thought I might have to move into it myself just to preserve my sanity while David is gone, but now that it's all put together they love it.

It's going to be a great space for them to use when they have friends over.

Blue Skies!!

So just in case you were wondering if those blue skies I posted in my last post about the road to Marysville were actually the last ones we'd seen, here are a few fun photos of our visit to the park on Sunday after church.

Note the gorgeous blue skies!
The weather here has really been surprisingly beautiful for the most part.
There were a few dismal days when I started to worry if I could really live here for three or four whole years, but the sun still broke through long enough to keep me from throwing myself off of the nearest bridge!


There was one bizzare day last week when it was 53 degrees outside and hailing!
People were walking around in the parking lot of Target wearing tank tops and capris and they were being pelted with marble sized balls of ice!

I've been told that we have moved here at the right time.

Everything is in bloom and most of the gloomy-all-day days are suposed to be over for a bit.

It does make me think twice though when almost everyone who knows that we are new arrivals says something like, "Welcome to the cold, wet northwest!"

As someone whose mood is greatly affected by the weather, a comment like that strikes fear and dread into my very soul.

But, I'm not thinking about that now.

For now, we've got lots of blue or spotty blue skies and weather that is warm enough to go out and play in.

The trees are in bloom, the grass is green, the birds are all out singing in the morning and the flower pots on everyone's porches are overflowing with color.

So far the northwest is not wet and cold for us.

So far it's like a present waiting to be opened.

A new adventure everyday.

Something new to find, some place new to explore, someone new to trade smiles with.

So far the northwest is green and pleasant

and I'm stocking up on as much of that as I can get!!

For those of you who have been following this blog for a while, you know how big of a deal it was for Bren to come across this little guy!

It was fun to see Bren find something familiar to her.

And even funner for David and I to find something familiar for us!!!

Our FAVORITE beverage, ev-ah!!!

If you have not had an Orange Dream Machine from Jamba Juice you have soooooo much more living to do!

If you have experienced this heavenly concoction, then you know what I'm talking about.

Add an immunity boost and it will cure all that ails ya!

The road to Marysville...........

Ok, let me catch you up on the last leg of our trip.....

the road to Marysville!

Driving from Spokane to Marysville only took us 4 hours and 45 minutes.

We started out on Hwy 90 west with blue skies and lots of wide open land.

Having heard so much about the gloom in the Seattle area, I was secretly wondering if this was the last time I was going to see blue skies for a while.

Here we are getting our first glimpse of the Cascade Mountains.

I was so nervous about going through the Snoqualamie Pass because there had been snow in the forcast and because I am a big Southern whimp!

Snow really freaks me out and I just assume that I'll slip right off the side of the mountain and if I survive the crash I will, of course, be quickly eaten by the big black bears that I hear live in the mountains around here. This irrationality without a doubt ties right into the fact that my life is heavily dotted with irony. I would never, and I repeat never drive on a twisted mountain road in any weather on my birthday. That would just be asking to be remembered with a little white cross and a floral wreath on the side of the highway right there beside that failed roadside barrier on the Snowqualamie Pass.

I have to do deep breathing and really psyche myself up just to remain sane while driving in the snow or through winding, cliff hanging mountain roads in any weather really. Just days before in South Dakota, I think, we were driving through some pretty nasty weather on the 212. The road was super curvy through some pretty steep hills and my windshield wipers just weren't keeping up with the sleet that was falling. I kept telling myself to just hang on until the next curve, then I could pull over and cry. Once through that curve, I'd tell myself that I could pull over and cry after the next curve..... I did that for miles until the weather broke and the land became flat again.

It's just a quirk of mine. My only one, I'm sure.

So, anyway, the closer those mountains got, the higher my blood pressure rose and the less jolly the atmosphere in my van!

And look here! What a treat.....snow clouds!!!

Here we are going up the Snoqualamie Pass.

I remember nothing.

I had to look at the photos that Michael took to get a feel for how truely beautiful it was. Too bad I was busy gripping my steering wheel so tightly that my fingers had to be removed from

it with plyers!

Through the loud whir of rushing blood in my head and the beat of my heart in my ears, I would occassionally hear one of my kids oooh and aaah over the huge mountains looming over us. Tempted to see them for myself, my eyes would dart right or left for exactly one-tenth of a second and then return to their position locked dead straight on so that I didn't accidentally drive us off of those magestic mountains!

And then the snow was replaced with green once again and I was able to exhale!

And look at what greeted us as we turned off of I-5 and onto our Marysville exit!!!!

A Rainbow!

We drove through about two miles of cow pastures and pig farms as we made our way along a winding road called "Sunnyside".

Minutes later we were climbing a big hill to our new home. The higher we got the greater the view. I kept hoping that we'd keep climbing so that we'd get a better and better view.

To my great pleasure, we have the best view in the neighborhood!!!

This is the view from our back deck.

I was describing the neighborhood to my brother and said that it's like everyone in Marysville wanted to live on the same piece of land, and so they do!

The homes here are definitely close together, but having lived in Navy housing for years, we are used to that.

In Rhode Island, we lived with lots of space around us and we really kinda missed the closeness of neighbors. Furthermore, we are not super fond of lawn mowing around here nor are we fond of prodding young boys to lawn mow, nor do we delight in the murmuring and complaining that goes along with deciding whose turn it is to mow the lawn.....and so we take great joy in our smallish yard. :)

Coming Up For Air!!!

Hi everyone!!!

We just got internet hooked up so I thought I'd check in really quick so you all would not forget us!!

We are busy unpacking our boxes and trying to make this house look like our home. We've been in Marysville for one whirlwind week so far and I cannot wait to tell you all about it and show you some photos, but for now, there are too many other things that need my attention.

Today we'll be meeting with Zach's principal to get him all set to start school on Monday. We'll also drop off the completed packets for my two middle schoolers so they can start on Monday too.

We've also got to get all of our medical records sent to our medical clinic on base, find an orthodontist for Michael and then David has to go weigh the vans so we can submit our travel claims within the time alloted us.

Whew! It's been crazy, crazy, crazy!

I can't wait to come back and blog all about our first week.

I've got a great Penelope story to tell you, I've got to tell you about our first visit to The Rock Church and I want to show you my brand new sectional.....can you guess what color it is????

If I already told you on the phone, don't spoil the surprise!

Much love to all!

I'll be back soon!