October Rose

We had a special visitor with us over the weekend. Elizabeth brought home October Rose, her 'baby think it over' doll for her Child Development class. It was Liz's responsibility to take care of Toby (what we called her) just like a newborn, and the doll was programmed to perform a lot like a newborn would.

Elizabeth got to name her and chose October Rose, nicknamed Toby. "Toby from Nairobi" "the Tobster" "Tobalicious"....ok, that's probably enough.

Toby was set on "random" which meant that she could be easy or tough for different periods of time. Liz was looking for as real an experience as she could get and has come away not only sleepy (Toby got her up at least two times each of the three nights), but appreciating a bit more just what it takes to care for a newborn. Of course there wasn't a way to replicate the hormone craziness and the physical recovery that's needed (not to mention the RAVENOUS hunger that comes from nursing) after giving birth, but for a doll, Toby delivered a pretty life-like experience.

Elizabeth was very conscientious and took great care of Toby. She raided the doll clothes and the baby clothes, so Toby was a very well-dressed little lady!

Toby had to be fed and changed and soothed at various intervals. Liz kept track of her eating schedule and her diaper changes on paper all weekend.

All of Elizabeth's sisters had a little turn caring for Toby (so Liz could shower). Emily learned to say "Toby", which was so cute. Not sure just what Em thought of the doll that everyone was making such a fuss over. She didn't seem to mind when mommy held the new baby, which is considerably different than what happens when mommy holds Nathan in her presence.

We were glad to have Toby with us, and since she was programmed, that particular doll and setting doesn't really exist anymore. When Liz turned her back in on Monday, she said she could hear a baby crying at different points during the day. She thought she was going through 'mommy withdrawls'. (though I don't think she missed Toby so much on Monday night when she got to sleep the night through without interruption)

At not-quite-15, Liz is definitely not ready to have a baby (not that she was running out to make that happen any time anyway...). But she had enough 'fun' with Toby that another baby is coming home for another weekend soon (for extra credit).

Liz came up with quite a tale regarding where Toby came from, just for fun... A story that included a honeymoon to Africa and poison darts and an abandoned baby in a Moses basket.... quite an adventure!

xoxo

Open House at Station #12

Kurt has recently been reassigned to Fire Station #12. Just last Saturday the department held an Open House at the Station as it's now housing Paramedics full time.

The station serves a part of I-84, and Highway 21 which is the road that leads to Lucky Peak. Kurt is excited to be there and has had a good experience so far with a good crew.

I came separately with some of the kids, including Emily.

When she saw Daddy, she was his and no one else's!

Nathan Jumped in to work on his medical skills. He wore his "fire" boots and helmet for the occasion. (His shirt also says "Fireman in Training", but that was his mommy's addition)

When she finally put daddy down, Emily was an incredibly good sport and let the big kids strap her to this backboard. In reality, she was mesmerized by the buckles.

Ready for transport! (kinda) :)

Then, not wanting to let the board get the best of her (and because of her fascination with buckles...), Em spent some time as the boss of the board! It was so fun to watch her little mind work ~ I snapped and snapped away.

I was worried I'd lose her when she caught me taking pictures, but she was so enamored she went right back to her project.

That's a little over 80lbs of kid Kurt's holding... (and such cute poundage, too!!)

xoxo

Mr. Smarty Pants

Melissa has decided to teach Nathan "home school" every Friday, even going so far as to research just what and how to teach a 3-year old. She learned that there needs to be lots of play time, something she hadn't anticipated.

Melissa is absolutely the product of her two big sisters' influence, so it's fun to see her "pay it forward".

Today was the first day, and it was a success. Not every day will be this good, but it's nice that things started off on the right foot.

Melissa started with the letter "A". She took Nathan through some pronounciation exercises and then took a 'recess' break. They read a couple of books and then took another break for recess. When Nathan didn't want to come in when the whistle was blown (yep, she has a whistle!), Missa was flexible enough (with just a little bit of encouragement) to let Nate stay out a few more minutes. It was the first day, afterall!

Finally Nathan wanted to write and he took the white board and had his "A" down before we knew it.

Here he is to tell the story and show off his first attempt:

He's so excited and she is really motivated. Surely good things are yet to come!

xoxo

Spring Break

We ventured back to the tiny town where we lived for nine years for Spring Break and had a fabulous time! We were greeted with wind and rain and more wind and more rain ~ what a welcome home!

Traveling all day Saturday, we were able to attend church Sunday. It was wonderful to see friends and to sneak updates between classes (ok, a little bit during classes!). Our tiny twig of a branch does not currently have a nursery, so Nathan got to attend the Sunbeam class (for ages 4-7) with his buddy Drew. Just the two of them made for an interesting time for dear Sister Coty! Emily spent her time playing with toys and exploring the halls, while we looked after her. She especially enjoyed the stairs and thought she was pretty big stuff climbing all the way to the top, where the teenagers have their class.

After church we were lucky enough to be there for a baptism of a girl we've known since her mom was carrying her. Hard to believe she's eight already, but it was wonderful to share this special day with her family. Great timing!

We were lucky enough to be taken in by our dear friends the Towery's, who totally and completely opened their home and suspended their lives on our behalf. We were completely spoiled and so appreciate their hospitality! Kurt and I and Emily slept in their motor home the first night, putting Nathan and the big girls to bed throughout the house. The next morning though we learned that Nathan had been up "exploring" most of the night ~ he'd hardly slept at all! So, he got to come bunk with mom and dad from then on out. He loved sleeping in the bed that was so high up (over the driver's seat in the motor home).

We spent a lot of lounge time (we were on vacation after all), but were able to get in the stuff we had at the tops of our lists ~ mostly. :) It just means that we' have a great excuse to go back again I guess.

Elizabeth's priorities were seeing friends and the sights. I think she accomplished most of the list she made ~ she spent two different nights with two different friends, got to go horseback riding, see the jetty and enjoy the great ice cream from our friends' shop.

I was excited to visit my very favorite thrift store ~ and came away with a bundle of clothes, shoes, a cool plate and tried to convince Kurt I'd bought a bookcase and a headboard. We were so tight on space coming, I knew he'd get a little excited about where those things were going to go. But, I was only kidding. lol.

Of course we made several stops at the fire station, Ocean Shores' NEW and beautiful fire station! On one of our stops, the guys were headed to the store and asked Nathan if he'd like to go for a ride. Is the pope Catholic?!? So, they put him in a seat (daddy took another), slipped a headset on and away they went.

Our friend Joe is driving. Looking good there, Nathan!

Elizabeth spent time on her buddy Scooter. He belongs to our good friend Barb, who taught Liz for a while when we lived there.

Liz got to take the saddle off and brush Scooter down. She even brought apples for him and the other two horses.

Pausing after her ride with Barb.

The weather was blustery to say the least while we were there, with gale force winds at some points...we always have to smile at 40-ish mph winds around Idaho. Just a stiff breeze compared to the regular 60+ we got accustomed to in WA.... one year a guy's wind meter broke at 109mph. That's the kind of wind you can lean into and not worry about falling to the ground. What a sport!

But, between wind and rain, we saw some pretty amazing vistas. When the sun decides to pop out, the view is always breath taking.

Elizabeth took this picture I think of the moon through the trees over the river at our friends' house.

We got to go out and try our hand at crabbing. The weather was so kind that day and only dripped on us for a few minutes. We had a fantastic time!

I asked Nathan to smile for me....this is what I got!

The beautiful Pacific Ocean

Thumbs up from Melissa, who is ready to head out

Liz and Kurt in the cabin as we head out to where we'll drop the pots.

Our good friend Kasidee and Kathryn taking the birds-eye viewpoint on top of the cabin.

Nathan and our good friend Jeremy (he and Kurt have been friends since they were 5!). Nathan thought he was pretty cool, getting to drive for a while.

One of the first pots we pulled back up ~ turned out to be a nursery! Not any of these were keepers.

Gratuitous ocean shot

Nathan climbed up on the cab for part of the ride back. That's our buddy Kaleb in the background.

Nathan and a crab pot

We had a great time on the boat and paused for a picture at the Marina. The background is a place called Damon Point. Even though the area is known for its rip current, guys (and girls) actually surf out there.

The day's crew, minus Jeremy who is taking the picture.

The day's catch.

Nathan wasn't so excited to have the crabs running around on the concrete. He jumped up on the porch to watch from a distance.

Crab catchers are now crab eaters!

how do you like your crab there, Liz?

it didn't take too long to finish it all off. Not everyone wanted some, so those who did had a bit of a feast.

While we were crabbing, Emily spent the afternoon with our friend Verlee. They had a great time and Emily was happy to see daddy when we got back.

This chair got named the "taco" chair because you can fold up the cushion around you like a taco. It became one of Nathan's favorite places!

We trekked down to the jetty one day to see the water and the rocks. There's always lots of logs washed up on the beach. Makes for fun climbing!

Another gorgeous ocean shot

the beach

Elizabeth getting a free pedicure

Proof that she was there!
what day at the beach would be complete without a few sand drawings?

Emily was so cute bundled up and fascinated by the water and all the sand.

building castles and motes and vocanos in the sand (l-r: Emily, Nathan, Melissa)

Emily was fascinated with the kite this guy was flying. It was windy enough that the kite was humming!

This just might be the picture on our Christmas card this year! :)

We have a few favorite places to eat in Ocean Shores. One of them, of all things, is a Mexican restaurant called Las Maracas. I know it seems funny to go for Mexican at the beach, but we were so glad to get to eat here this visit!

Two other favorite places to eat and visit are Bravo's Pizza and Murphy's ice cream, both owned by our good friends the Harnagy's. We went to visit them and the kids had a blast reconnecting. Emily found a pair of sunglasses and knew just what to do with them.

then the big kids decided to dress her up. She loved all the attention!

We decided to extend our trip and learned that there was snow in the passes, which made us worry that our trip home was going to be especially long (as if 11 1/2 hours wasn't already long enough!). We were so glad to find that the roads were barely wet through the Blues. We did opt not to take White Pass, but instead go through the Gorge (which we can't remember the last time we did ~ sure loved all the windmills along the way. Ocean Shores could use a few!!).

It was wonderful getting to see friends and the sights and the changes that have come in the two years since we last visited. Kind of hard to believe it's been three years since we moved away! We loved our time there and miss a number of things about such a special place. We were so thoroughly spoiled by the Towery's and enjoyed catching up with other good friends and hearing about the latest in their lives and sharing the latest in ours. Surely this Spring Break trip will be a treasured family memory!

xoxo