September

 

September came and summer ended. Ian and Spencer went on a last summer church activity--kayaking. I hope we will do a lot of kayaking next summer!

Spencer and I tried a new restaurant on a lunch date. Realized our outfits matched. 

Labor day we got up super early and drove out to Mt. Rainier to hike at Paradise. It was beautiful!

First week of September we started school--Audrey 10th, Ian 8th, Declan 6th, and me as a substitute teacher. Slowly looking to get back to public school teaching...

One hot Saturday in September, my sister's family and mine went on a Clued up adventure (virtual scavenger hunt). It was fun, but the kids wore out in the heat very quickly. I made silly little hats for us to wear since the theme was Alice in Wonderland. We took a lunch break and then a few of us adults went back to finish the puzzle. 

I love being close to my family here in Washington. That and the incredible beauty all around us has made this move a lot easier.

Disneyland 112 reunion

 My Ricks College roommates are some of my best friends. We lived in the Birch Plaza apartments, number 112, which we've kept as a nostalgic identifier. We stay in touch multiple times a week online, and we get together for reunions every couple of years. This year was a big trip we'd been planning for a while--Disneyland! As always, we had a ton of fun, talked constantly, played, relaxed, ate, and smiled. Here are some highlights:

August

Had some summer fun in August.

Berry picking with my sister Kelley and her kids.

Brien family reunion (Spencer's dad's family)--great fun!

Declan making cookies almost by himself.

Hiking with the boys while Audrey went to band camp.

Spencer hiking with the older two while I stayed home with sick Declan.

Hiking with the boys while Audrey stayed home sick.

Some kids sleeping downstairs during extra hot days. Lots of video game time.

Lake day with Kelley and her kids.

I started taking some walks again.

Spencer took the kids to Longview for a weekend, and they spent a day at Seaside, OR.

Kelley came up to go shopping with me and help ease my anxiety about getting ready to be a substitute teacher. Also she treated me to Thai food. I have the best sisters.

 

July in Olympia

July was a weird month. We moved to Olympia, WA and spent a lot of time unpacking/setting up house/figuring out our lives, and we also hung out with our extended family a lot. So it honestly felt like a really weird vacation, in which we brought all our stuff along.

First weekend in WA, we headed to the Ape Caves for a hike with Ben, the Connors, & Kenny. It was amazing and I loved it. I hope we go every summer.

My brother Paul came to town with his boyfriend, Ryun, and we had some good times with them--family dinners, outings to Owen Beach

Spencer with my sister's girls: Lindsey and Jamie

Ian with Kenny

Ben, McKenna, Declan, Audrey

One night Audrey had a YW hike, and Spencer and Ian went to the YM activity, so after dropping Audrey off on her hike, I took Declan around the same area. It was beautiful, and Declan spotted a river otter that we saw twice.

Spencer took the kids on a bike ride to Evergreen State campus, which is right on the Puget Sound (that water is close to us in several directions, and we're about an hour from the Pacific).

We started finding frogs in the yard: here's the first one. Spencer found it while doing yard work and it made me so happy.

Deco found this one.

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Spencer found this one too.

We didn't take any pictures of the trials and challenges, but there have been many: tears of grief and frustration, no air conditioning in 80-90+ degree weather, having to spend so much to get reestablished, trying to find doctors, registering for kids school, and me looking for a job. I had a wonderful interview at a middle school but they chose another candidate. Nothing else good has come up, so my plan is to be a substitute teacher and keep looking. Spencer applied for a better job than the one that brought us here and made it far in the process before also getting a no. It's felt a lot like we can't catch a break, but we recognize our many blessings in spite of challenges. We miss Monterey, we're anxious about finances, and we're hot. But we have spent a lot of great time with our families, we're relatively healthy, we still like each other, and we have food to eat and money to pay the bills. We will be okay.