Sequim Lavender Festival

I have a thing for lavender.  It's true.  Every July or August I have to get my lavender field fix.  This year, we decided to go to the Lavender Festival.  I could easily retire in Sequim, the town where the festival takes place, it's such a quaint, beautiful, seaside town.  Jason fell asleep right before we got there so the big boys joined me at Purple Haze Lavender Farm.

 

I wondered how long it would take the boys to lose interest but they were actually interested in the lavender, flowers and animals.  I love that my boys can talk about airplanes, Super Mario Bros., lavender and poppies. :)  I loved this garden that they had.

 

This was one of the darling booths set up.

 

We saw peacocks and chickens.

 

Lavender fields forever.

 

We also saw cute bunnies which the boys named Freddie and Teddy (???)

 

Max said his favorite flower is the poppy.

 

Afterwards we went to the festival.  There was more to see than just lavender.

 

Jason was fascinated by the Hot Air Balloon.

 

We saw Sadi-dog look-a-likes.

 

The boys got to see what it's like to be a firefighter and learn about an ambulance.

 

 

 

And I visited more lavender booths including this one, where I learned about Washington Lavender, where I've got to visit.  They had the most delicious smelling teas including a divine lavender peppermint.  Yum!  The actual farm has a B&B.  I made mental notes for future anniversary plans.

 

Another fun surprise was meeting a cartoonist from South Africa.  He speaks Afrikaans and Xhosa.  It was so fun to talk to him about South Africa. 

 

Magic Show

The King County Libraries sponsored a magic show at the park and of course we had to go.  The kids loved it.

The kids were showing me magic tricks the rest of the day.  Ryan told me he could make an envelope disappear (He threw it).  Max told me that he could make me disappear (I closed my eyes and when I opened them I "reappeared").  Silly boys.

Sweating Lots and Rambling

I sit here dripping sweat and feeling like I need to keep our family journal updated with even the little things.  So maybe, I'll just make a list for today.


*It's been great weather and I tried to weed today in the baking sun but didn't get much done.  I went out at 9:00pm and weeded a whole lot more but I'm still sweating bullets.  I love the warmth and I love getting out and working in the yard.  As weird as I used to think my dad was for liking to weed, I actually get it now.  It's calming and therapeutic.  I looked up at the pine covered hillside and saw the moon as bright as could be.  It was absolutely breathtaking.  I'm so grateful for this beautiful earth.

*We've had doctor's appointments like crazy, or at least it feels that way. ; )  Maybe there's been some that were the dentist too.  I got to hear baby girl's heartbeat today, which is one of my favorite sounds ever.  Tony had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon.  There's a lot going on in that ankle of his and not a lot that can be done to alleviate the pain.  We're facing some realities that are hard to face right now, but at the same time, I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has given me my husband after his horrible crash.  He let us experience so many miracles, that the setbacks are really small compared to how blessed we've been.

*Raising kids is hard. Period. I haven't been as energetic as I usually like to be as a mom, and Tony's ankle has been killing him, but we're trying to give them all the fun opportunities of summer as well as those quiet moments where they can just BE.  There are times where I feel guilty--like I should be doing more for them, but I'm trying to handle the lowered energy level with parenting, job responsibilities, church responsibilities, etc.  I've been trying to worry less and rely on Heavenly Father more.  The church hymn, "Have I Done Any Good?"  is a favorite.  I tend to forget about what I'm not doing well, when I'm trying to just do things for my family, other people and then letting myself rest.  The other day Max came to me and told me that he was very sorry but he had made a scratch in the car with his bike.  This isn't the first time this has happened and he's been told not to ride his bike by the car.  He felt so bad and we were so frustrated.  We asked him what his punishment should be.  He said his bike should be taken away for a week.  Tony had the good idea that was a very natural punishment.  He gave Max a block of wood that he had made a deep scratch in.  Max has to sand that huge scratch out.  He worked on it a lot today but he still has a long way to go.  I feel like it's making an impression on him.  Hopefully it really is. 

*A friend gave birth to her twins today!  A friend sent me a sweet message.  And now I've rambled on the blog.  A good day. ; )

And Sunday we Slept!

Saturday was busy, so it isn't surprising that I needed a 2 hour nap on Sunday.  Normally, I am not a napper, but...then again, sometimes it's necessary!  Saturday was fun and full of adventures of course. :)

Tony took the older boys to the Arlington Fly-In.  I had office hours and a lot of filing and organizing to do with the property management stuff before baby comes.  I had to redo some files, create new files, etc.  Jase also took a huge morning nap so it was good that he could get the rest he needed.  Here are the boys enjoying airplanes.

 

Then I picked up our baby-sitter and Tony and I spent the afternoon with Kim and Josh.  We enjoyed West Seattle on a gorgeous day.  I just love Kim and am so glad we got to spend some time together. 

 

Right after that we dropped the older boys off at our friend's house for our date night with our baby-sitting co-op.  We took Jason with us for a relaxing fishing date.  We did lots of walking and a little fishing.  It was nice to be together.  Jase is such a mellow kid usually, that it's just fun to have him along.  However, in church he started to show us that he is definitely a toddler now.  He wants to explore and climb and laugh and flirt.  Silly boy.  But he did love fishing on Saturday.

 

 

 

Another Gorgeous Day at the Park!

We visit the park and ride our bikes a lot, but I don't take pictures every time.  This time, I did and it was fun to capture these little glimpses into these happy faces.

 

We rode bikes and stopped to throw rocks.

 

Zip-lined

 

Merry-go-rounded

 

And rested.  So sleepy.

Sleeping Baby

What a sweet baby boy!

 

 

Visiting Fort Casey and Admirality Head Lighthouse

Yesterday, we drove up to Marysville to visit Tony's cousin Ben and his wife Kara.  We got to see their cute place and then we all piled in for an adventure.  We drove over Deception Pass Bridge to Whidbey Island.

We visited Fort Casey where the boys had fun exploring the cannons and climbing up to the observation towers. 

 

After finding these lookouts, we went down to the beach and looked where we'd been.

 

It was a gorgeous day to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

 

 

After that we went over to see the Admiralty Head Lighthouse

 

 

It was a fun day to have a spontaneous adventure.  Poor Jason threw up in the car seat on the way back, but we still had a good time.