October Fun

October 2020

I'm glad I have this space where I can document pieces of our life. I hope my children will find it fun and comforting to come and read once they're old. I wish my mom would have documented parts of her life ... from her youth and young adult life. I would have loved to have seen things she was interested in back then, homelife and everyday outfits.

Carving a pumpkin can be such hard work but the end result is usually worth it (as long as one doesn't mess it up, lol).

My daughter's cat Lila was curious about the pumpkin smell, so she jumped on the table and began sniffing.

She gave the pumpkin a few licks and she was done with it. 

So, Riley hollowed out the pumpkin and Jacob carved it for him. Dad's are the best!

I like to make Halloween fun and special for my children. One of our favorite treats is a cookie cake. I make sure to buy one every time. 

And another family favorite for Halloween is ordering pizza and wings for dinner.

We had an early dinner so we could go back to a local pumpkin patch and do the corn maze. 

It was nice that it wasn't too busy. We started out quite sure of ourselves thinking that we would know which direction to take but .....

.... we soon realized that we were lost. We let Riley lead, so he thought it was hilarious that we didn't know which way to go.

So, dad had to take over leading. 

I on the other hand like to hang back a bit to take in the moment, look for bugs on the corn stalks, birds in the sky when they do happen to fly by, and as I rounded a corner I looked up and spotted Mt. Rainier. She's a giant!

Still lost by the looks of it. Ha ha!!

Eventually we found our way out. That was a fun time. It was now time to get home to get Riley ready to go trick or treating.

I don't recall what his costume was called but it was an ugly scary one. He was obviously happy with it. 

Oh, the jack o'lantern on the right was the one Jacob carved for Riley. It turned out looking good. Good job dad!

We walked about four blocks. Not many people were giving out candy because of the pandemic, but he got enough to be satisfied.

After we checked his candy and he ate a few we settled down on the couch and watched "It's a great pumpkin, Charlie Brown". A family favorite!

Memories, one of the few things that can never be taken away from us. Make lots of them (and document them).

They chose me from my brothers: "that's the nicest one", they said. And they

carved me out a face and put a candle in my head. And they set me on the doorstep,

and the night was dark and wild; and when they lit the candle then I smiled and smiled and smiled.

Sightseeing in the PNW

Driving North

The floating bridge is pretty awesome. I love how low it is to the water. 

I honestly can't get over at how beautiful Seattle is. Especially near lakes, parks and the Puget Sound. This bridge crosses over Lake Washington. I mean, I know I've mentioned this before and probably sound like a broken record, but I have a great love for nature, all that God created. It's just all so beautiful to me that I can't keep from marveling about it.

Beautiful pine trees.

First, we came across Crescent Lake. It's a deep lake and it's known for it's crystal clear water due to low levels of nitrogen that inhibit the growth of algae. I read that there are leeches in this lake. I don't think I would want to go swimming in it, but I most definitely would like to kayak here. It looks quite big and wraps around the mountain. That would be such an awesome experience.

We drove about 54 more minutes to Rialto Beach in Forks.

The parking lot at Rialto Beach is very small so the overflow had to park along the road. We ended up parking a ways away. It was quite the distance to walk to the beach, but it was worth it. 

This is one of the beaches that has a lot of driftwood. 

It was a little humid but a bit chilly at the same time. 

So pretty!

I did find the coolest smoothest looking rocks. I didn't take a picture but they were different shades of blue and green. I have them on my bookshelf in my study.

There are areas where there's too much driftwood. It definitely makes it challenging to walk. Plus, given that this beach has a lot of small rocks especially away from the water didn't help with walking either. You had to be careful were you walked to avoid spraining an ankle or falling flat on your face.

After spending some time at the beach we drove to Port Angeles and had dinner at Barhop Brewery. They use a 115 year old Alaskan sourdough starter for their pizza. That's quite neat right?!

We spent the night in Port Angeles and had breakfast at Chestnut Cottage. I remember that their coffee was good. I wrote in my agenda that they use Boyd Coffee. Jacob and I get so excited whenever a restaurant serves good quality coffee and this place had it. 

Riley always enjoying something extra sweet.

We got home around 1:30-ish. It felt warmer back home. According to my journaling it got up to 90 degrees.

We had BBQ for dinner then drove to Ruston Way in Tacoma for an evening ice cream treat.

Strawberry ice cream on top of a brownie. I couldn't finish it. It was very filling. 

Mt. Rainier was visible and when that happens you have to photograph it. It's definitely a prettier picture with it in it.

This is a great spot to hang out and spend an evening by the water. I miss it!

There are concerts during the summer. It's very nice and relaxing.

Beauty in nature draws us to the creator's 

glory and fills our hearts with wonder and worship.

An Afternoon in Poulsbo

July 22nd, 2020   

Wednesday. I'm thinking Jacob must have requested the day off or else we wouldn't have had made a trip to Poulsbo in the middle of the week. And to that I say, awesome! because I love spontaneity. It sure kills monotony.

An unhurried morning (the way I strive to always live; a life without haste).  We had bbq, brisket, somewhere in Tacoma. I don't remember much about it only that the fries were tasty. However, I am grateful for the opportunity to enjoy a meal out.

I love that sky! and in mid-July ... ah! just perfect weather.

Made it to Sluys Bakery in Poulsbo. It's a cute little Norwegian town, also referred to as "Little Norway".

I'm sure I've talked about this place before in previous posts. Of course, they also sell donuts and a very delicious pull apart bread that I failed to take a picture of. Whenever we're here we always have the hardest time picking out which desserts to get. 

There are coffee shops, ice cream shops, and a candy store. Plenty of delicious treats to choose from. Even though we got pastries Jacob and Riley also got ice cream. I was in the mood for coffee which I had half a donut with.

Afterwards we walked over to the marina which is just behind the shops and enjoyed the view. There's just something about the sight of water that attracts me, pulls me to it. 

Wouldn't it be nice to live in one of those houses across the water? I hope they know how blessed they are to live there. I would love to wake up to this view.

If you continue driving past Poulsbo you will drive into Bainbridge Island. From there you can get the ferry to Seattle.

There was still time for the ferry to arrive, so we went trail walking. I sure love to walk and living in WA makes walking such a pleasant experience especially if cloudy weather doesn't bother you. 

Here we are at another marina. 

Besides my love for cloudy weather picture taking, I also love to take pictures of flowers.

All flowers (even weeds) are so pretty. They do paint the world so beautifully. If only their blooms lasted longer than just a couple of weeks. Too bad they fade/die so quickly. Thankful God made them though. 

And now we wait for the ferry. Good thing I had a book with me. This was a cozy read. I enjoyed it!

Ferry rides are the best. 

I like to walk about among

the beautiful things found in nature.

The people who seem to be the most content live in the present and take their pleasure seriously.