New Year Day Trip

We had been wanting to head out to a Washington beach for some time. We've now lived in Washington for four years and I thought, this is it. We're finally gonna do this ... or so I thought.

We left the house around 10:00 am. I knew of two ways of getting to the beach. One cutting through Olympia and the other is up North along the Straight of Juan de Fuca. I wasn't aware of the route Jacob took through the Olympic Mountains.

We packed a bunch of snacks and water and we began our day trip. We drove past Tacoma and Bremerton. As we continued driving I was surprise to see snow on the side of the road, obviously never been this way before.

To keep Riley entertained we played I Spy and since Jacob tries to make everything funny we were cracking up at all the silly things he was saying.

The drive was pretty though. Seeing so much snow on everything made it look so magical like something out of a Christmas movie.

We stopped in Sequim Bay to get gas and to check out what their market had to offer. We were surprised at how big and cool this market was. They had a good size deli that offered a wide variety of food. We got a couple of hot sandwiches to go. We continued on, drove past Port Angeles and then stayed on Olympic Hwy for a while.

It was such a pretty sight once Lake Crescent came into view. This was my first time seeing it. The snowed trees around the lake made it look beautiful.

Then out of nowhere we saw two emergency vehicles. We pulled over so they could pass us and about five minutes into our driving we saw a line of cars stopped on the road. One lady came up to us and said that a tree was blocking the road and that Rangers were already working on removing it.
It was about 2:00 pm by this time and we were hungry so while we waited we decided to eat our sandwiches.

What we thought was something minor quickly changed to something serious. I could see a white vehicle that was very close to the down tree. I figured it was an accident. The same lady that initially told us was just a tree blocking the road told us that the tree had actually fallen on top of a vehicle. Within minutes we began to hear more sirens.

We were just about thirty minutes from reaching the beach from this point. Although it was a big bummer that we didn't reach our destination it was sad to know that a 5 year old boy lost his life. A young girl got paralyzed from the waist down, the 2 year old child is expected to make a full recovery, the grandfather was driving and he too had a broken back, and the grandmother was unresponsive and still in a coma a few days after the accident.
This was such a freak accident and sad that so many from the same family were affected. So devastating. May God provide comfort and peace to this family.


Well, I hope one day we'll be able to visit the beaches.

New Year's Eve

It snowed on New Year's Eve but it didn't stick. We've had snow several times since including icy roads which I hate! So dangerous! I don't think I would want to live where it snows each winter. It's just not for me however, I wouldn't mind staying a few days at a cabin somewhere where it snows. If we're visiting some place then it's fine.

We've never really been the party time of people so for us New Year's Day is just like any other day. We just don't see the point to celebrate it and resolutions are also something we could care less about. There's been a few times where I did have a New Year's resolution but now, the more I think about it is why do we need to wait until the new year to become better people or to eat healthier. Deciding to change ourselves in any way should happen at any time. That's just how I see it.

Since New Year's Eve fell on a weekend we enjoyed being home in each other's company but once nighttime came around Riley was asleep by 8:30 pm and Jacob fell asleep around 11:15 pm. I turned on the Dick Clark's New Year's Eve on tv and was instantly annoyed by Gloria Estefan's performance. Gosh, I'm thinking it had been a while since she "sang"/performed in public because she seemed a bit out of breath. All that hullabaloo annoyed the heck out of me that I ended up turning off the tv before her performance was over. It was just time for me to go to bed and get cozy while reading.

Sydna got me hooked on reading the Mysterious Benedict Society series. It's geared for middle school age children but I gotta say that the way it's written and the characters personalities are very intriguing. I must admit that at first I was a bit hesitant to read a children's book but the story soon catches your attention that you don't dare put it down. I totally looked forward to continue reading the first and second book each night. I told Jacob that I totally enjoyed reading these books. I described them similar to the feeling one gets when you walk into Disneyland ... you just leave your worries behind and you're reading a book just for pure enjoyment.
I do like to have a sense of balance even when I read books. I just hate to take life too serious even when it comes to reading. I gotta have some fun books to read.

So, with all that being said I was in bed by 11:45 pm reading the second book of the Mysterious Benedict Society series plus, I also had a hallmark movie on for some light background noise.

I was surprised about not being kept awake by excessive firework noise {it was a different story last year}.
To family and friends that do celebrate New Year's Eve we hope you had a great time.

Our First Outing of 2016

For the first day of the year we decided to spend the day in Gig Harbor {just past Tacoma}. Sydna and Nathan chose to stay home and be warm and cozy. We've driven through here a few times but never actually explored the area besides, Jacob was told that there's a good hamburger restaurant and if you know Jacob at all, you know he will drive even an hour or more away to try out delicious food.

The Narrows Bridge is pretty amazing. I hope we get to walk across again but hopefully we'll plan it for spring or early summer.

We first stopped at the Gig Harbor waterfront. I saw several cute stores and about a handful of restaurants.

Any public place that has a nativity scene on display next to their town's Christmas tree is a town/city that has my respect. I mentioned to Jacob that this is probably a fun place to gather for their Christmas tree lighting ceremony. It would be nice to visit during that time.

It was a very cold day even though the sun was out shining. There was ice on all shady areas and as we were headed down to the pier we had to turn back because the slope that lead to the pier was iced over. We would have definitely fallen.
Riley didn't start the new year off right. He came down with a cold on the day before new years eve. He was being a little sensitive than normal.

We then planned on taking Riley on the Cushman trail. We brought his new bike, he still needs the help of the training wheels. He does't ride his bike often enough to where we can have him practice balancing. However, the training wheels are set a bit high so the bike leans from side to side which makes him feel he's going to fall. As we continued with our walk he began freaking out and said he wanted to go back to the car. He said he was scared. You should have seen the big old crocodile tears streaming down his face. Poor thing. And because he wasn't feeling well we decided to leave. Oh, well. At least I know that the pine trees provide a lot of shade and I don't have to worry about getting all sweaty. I definitely want to come back and walk this trail again.

After our trail fail we made a quick stop at Jimmy John's because a simple ham sandwich is what Riley will eat then we headed over to this so called excellent hamburger joint. We've noticed that a lot of restaurants here in WA are very small, some too small to where you can't even enjoy your food and feel rushed to leave because people are waiting to be seated. I've said this before, I really do not like to eat at places like that. Anyway, We found the place.

Lol. A bit grumpy because he was feeling sick and he was starving AND he didn't want me to take his picture.

But once he had some of Jacob's vanilla malt he was in better spirits.

Here's my food critic thoughts on this place. Good thing Jacob had looked this place up because he saw that besides onion rings they have shoe string fries. If there's one thing I dislike regarding french fries is for them to be on the thinner side. So Jacob ordered me onion rings with my burger. He knew that I wouldn't have been happy with those shoe string fries. Although they were nice their service was not great, it took them about twenty minutes to bring out our food. I took a bite of my burger and I immediately noticed it needed salt so I had to add some then I took a bite of onion ring and I noticed that they weren't crunchy and that the inside felt doughy. I ate three of them but didn't finish them because I knew if I did I would have gotten grossed out. The one thing I really liked about my burger was the thick slice of pickle that they put in it.
I don't believe we'll be coming back to this place. Who ever recommended this place to Jacob was way off about the food quality. Let me just say that Red Robin burgers and onion rings are way WAY better than here.

Exploring Gig Harbor was fun. We saw several neighborhoods that we liked and the houses by the waterfront were so pretty. We also saw fairly new shopping centers that had most of the stores I shop at. We thought that Gig Harbor is a nice town. A town with that cozy feel. It's just too bad that it's far from Jacob's work and definitely further out from Seattle.



As I looked through facebook I came across a different s'more version. It looked good to me so I had to try it. You need half a graham cracker, a square marshmallow and then you cover them with melted chocolate and then sprinkle some candy cane crumbs on top. Let them chill in the fridge for a bit then enjoy. I took my first bite and boy, they are delicious! I'm not a big fan of candy cane and Jacob's not a big fan of marshmallow but eating them like this is so very good. I was told to make more. Jacob liked them much better than regular s'mores and I would have to agree. So from now on I'm sticking to this s'more version even for the 4th of July.

The Year is About Over

*week of december 28*

Jacob decided to go shopping on the day after Christmas, on one of the busiest days of the year. At least he knew what he wanted and really didn't take that long. In the meantime I continued to shop for the home.
Once I was done I texted Jacob wondering where they were and he said they were waiting in line at Auntie Anne's for some mini pretzel dogs for Riley. I should have guess.. Riley was mesmerized watching this girl make pretzels. She would look over at him and smile. Made me laugh.

Jacob bought a massager. We tried it on Libby thinking that the noise or the vibration would scare her but it didn't. She loved it, surprisingly.

On the Sunday after Christmas I decided to put away all my Christmas decorations. Once Christmas is over I feel that there's really no need to keep the decorations or tree up. Besides, I like to keep Christmas in my heart by listening to Christmas music year round.

The one area where I believe Jacob and I have laxed a little with Riley is his bedtime routine. I was talking to Jacob about when Sydna was five and what time we would put her down for the night but we couldn't remember, lol {it's been that long ago} but with Nathan I do remember. When Nathan was a baby and into his toddler years he would go down for the night at 7:30 pm and be asleep shortly there after. When Sydna and Nathan where in elementary school they would both go to bed at 8:00 pm and be asleep before 9:00 pm. But, with Riley we've just really been going with the flow since Sydna and Nathan are older and we no longer have a strict bedtime routine for them so because of that Jacob and I go to bed at any given time and Riley is usually hanging out with one of us.

I obviously want Riley to have more structure in his nighttime routine. It's obviously a healthy thing to have in place since he's a growing child and just as important because of when the time comes for him to start school. So, I talked with Jacob about instilling a new bedtime routine for Riley. Jacob is the one that says prayers with him so he's taken that responsibility to put him down. Riley has been going to bed at 8:00 pm for about a week now. It's been hit and miss on some days but it's still pretty darn close to 8. This new discipline that we've put in place is really for the three of us. We gotta be sure that we're home and relaxed and hour before 8 pm that way we're not rushing to get our nightly routine done. Because, if there's one thing I dislike is being rushed. I actually hate it!

Last week we went to a different library than the one we usually go to. I just thought it would be good to change things. It is slightly smaller than the one we frequent but I like the layout and I especially like that this particular library is right next to a large park and a gymnasium that offers a variety of activities including an indoor playground during the winter.

Riley spent the entire time of our visit playing computer games while I looked for a variety of books to read to him.

This sight doesn't happen often so when it does I make sure to capture it.

Since we're not party going people we spent New Year's Eve at home, like every year. For us, the New Year's Eve celebration has never been a big deal. I like Valentine's Day a whole lot more than New Year's.
This time we didn't even watch any of the celebrations on tv. We had cartoons on while we played Candy Land. Such a fun game to play with Riley.

Just before going upstairs for the night, which was at 11:30 pm, I took this picture. This was my way of ringing in the new year.

Vanilla spice eggnog is super yummy! That's what I had instead of an alcoholic drink.

Once it struck twelve there was non stop fireworks going off and that scared the heck out of Libby. It's so weird because in past years it hadn't bothered or scared Libby but this time she was running from room to room trying to hide. Finally, she felt the safest in my closet. That's where she stayed for the rest of the night. Poor thing.

Happy New Year - 2015

We spent New Years Eve at home. It was my mom's last day with us. Her flight was early the next morning so we also didn't stay up late.
We watched the NYE celebrations on tv, snacked on my yummy spinach and artichoke dip and Jacob played ball with Riley.

Riley took a nap around 7:00 pm. These are happening few and far between.

Sydna and Nathan were the only ones that did stay up late. I went to bed around 10 pm but at midnight I was woken up by fireworks. Gosh, I believe people were lighting up fireworks for at least an hour. It took me forever to go back to sleep. I'm just glad that Riley didn't wake up during all that ruckus.

2014 was fun, slightly challenging and humbling. 2014 was the year that I vowed not to fret over trivial things or things I have no control over. I also learned to become more humble in my marriage. 2014 was the year I came down with anxiety and slight depression which I had to get on medication for. Definitely had a lot of learning experiences and because of them I believe I am a better person.

Since that one episode I had, my appetite dwindled especially at breakfast. I wasn't able to make myself eat breakfast but I also knew that having an empty stomach made that nervous feeling in my stomach that much stronger so Jacob got me these protein juices {and the greens kind too}. For breakfast I eat half of a banana and drink a small glass of milk then around 10:00 am I drink a glass of protein juice. I've gotten used to the taste and I drink it easily as long as I drink it with ice in it.

Jacob took my mom to the airport the following day. It was great having her here. Her visits always seem too short. Once Riley woke up and realized that my mom wasn't here he asked for her and I told him she went back to San Diego and he said, "I don't want grandma to go to San Diego, I want her here with me". Broke my heart ... so sweet.

January 1st was sunny but very cold. We spent part of our afternoon in W Seattle but this time we walked along Alki. Watching the ferries pass by never gets old.

I shared a similar picture on Instagram and on there I wrote: "we will forever be tourists ... no matter where life takes us". It's true!! We love to explore and take pictures while we're out and about.

Nathan's FINALLY wearing sweats and not shorts when we're out.

For Christmas we were gifted some money. We renewed our Aquarium membership with it. It was nice being back here. Riley loves it. He loves to touch the anemones. Jacob is laughing here because he was trying to make Riley touch a crab but Riley was scared to.

That's W Seattle in the distance. The waterfront {where the Aquarium is} is under construction. It has been for a while and it's a mess.

We stopped by our favorite pizza place. Every day of the week they change up their specialty pizzas but they always have cheese and pepperoni on hand. Jacob likes to go on Saturdays because that's when they have their 12th Man Primo which has: pepperoni, salami, chicken, Mama Lil's Peppers, olives, mozzarella and seasoned tomato sauce. He was a bit bummed because we were there on a Friday.
I still need to order one with all my favorite toppings {pepperoni, pine apple. bell pepper, mushrooms, and onions} but their simple pepperoni pizza is totally delicious!
Sydna and Nathan always sit by themselves which is fine because we all like to have our own comfortable space where we're not touching elbows.

Just a picture of us driving through downtown Seattle. I just liked the way the sky looked between the buildings.

We had a pretty fun first day of the year. What was even better was that I felt good and that we're all healthy again. Praise God!

I'm hoping that whatever challenging times the new year brings that I will not freak out and that I will deal with whatever it is with grace.

Getting To Do More

I am two weeks behind in my blogging. Not that much has happened as in activities but life is happening and sometimes I just don't feel like blogging during the day and once its night I'm ready to go to bed.

Today was the first day of Winter. Crazy! Gorgeous Fall was definitely bittersweet for me this time. Never expected to ever be going through what I'm going through. But, like every setback, there is a lesson to be learned.

We still go chasing sunshine when it peeks out from behind the clouds. Even if we're in the middle of watching a movie or playing games ... if I see that the sun is shining I tell Riley that we're either going for a walk or going to the park. We bundled up and went to the park. Riley has been having fun playing with his sword and likes to bring it with him wherever we go.

Later that day Riley received a package in the mail. A belated birthday gift from my friend.

Pretty cool puzzle right? We think so.

Nathan had a band Winter concert on December 9th. It was pretty cool.

Jacob massaging Riley, trying to keep him still and quiet during the concert, lol.

It took almost two weeks {13 days} for the medication to get entirely into my system. By this time I was beginning to feel like my normal self again. No more nervous feeling in my stomach or feeling flushed or depressed. I was looking forward to feeling normal and often prayed for it to be possible. So relieved when it finally happened. Thanked God for that and for His healing {helping me to keep a positive mind} He has been doing in me every day since.

Riley had his 4 year well visit. Jacob took a few hours off work to come with us to his appt. We weren't able to see his usual pediatrician because he was booked. I really liked this nurse, she was very nice and took the time to not only talk to Riley but to listen and make eye contact while he was talking to her. He was set to get three vaccines. I wasn't up to seeing him get the shots so I told Jacob that I was going to step out. Jacob said that he didn't cry at all. He took it like a champ!! What a brave son I have.

He was rewarded with three stickers for every shot he got.

Watching some basketball. I love that my kids like to watch sports.

We are so bummed that the show Gracepoint is over.  We loved it, it was such a great show. By like the fifth episode I told Jacob that I had my suspicion that it was the detective sergeant Ellie Miller's husband who either killed Danny or had something to do with it. I suspected him because the show was hardly ever concentrated on him. That was weird to me. They did an excellent job at making everyone a suspect but it would have been too obvious if it would have been the priest or Nick Nolte's character.

We haven't done many crafts lately ... only one so far. A Santa hand print. Riley colored the hat all by himself and glued all the cotton balls too. So proud of him for doing such a great job in not coloring the rest of the hand.

We had not been to the school playground in a while. I had told Jacob that if it was sunny Saturday morning {2 weeks ago} that we should take him there so he could ride his bike. The sun felt good. The grass was super soggy from so much rain though.

After we got home I had Sydna sit out back with Libby. This old girl also needs her vitamin D. I wonder if there's vitamin D for cats? I should look that up.

Anticipating my mom's visit and of course the kids are so ready to be off for Christmas break.

Christmas festivities in the next post.