Victoria, BC, Canada

We left Friday for Victoria,BC. We drove from Redmond to Port Angeles, Wa where we boarded a ferry for an hour and a half ride. The kids loved the ferry. Landon, his dad, and I were all sea sick. YUCK. We got settled into our hotel, got some dinner, and went to bed!

Saturday morning we went to The Butchart Gardens. This was the main reason we were there. My parents had been there many years ago, and I remember how much they loved them. I wasn't sure what to expect, or how the kids (and frankly the men) would like it. However, it was one of the most amazing, beautiful places I've ever been! The gardens were breathtaking. There was one section called The Sunken Garden, that is exactly how I picture the Garden Of Eden. AMAZING! I couldn't help but think of my friend Lori C. in AZ. She would have thought she'd died and gone to heaven in this place. I took lots of pictures of the flowers with her in mind!

After the garden, we did a little shopping for souvenirs. It was really interesting just walking around the harbour. Lots of little trinket shops, and street performers.

We got up Sunday morning, and headed back home. This time we all to Dramamine, and were much better on the ferry. This is definitely an experience I was hoping we would have while we lived up here, and it did not disappoint. Thanks mom and dad for the tip!

Redmond

We're here, and holy moly do we have a ton of stuff. It took 4 big men a little over 5 hours to move all of our stuff in. It was so crazy and overwhelming that I didn't even think to take any pictures. By some miracle I was able to find our sheets, and so we at least have our beds made and ready to be slept in for tonight. We'll unpack like crazy tomorrow, and then we're off to Canada on Friday. Poor Bumpa

On our way to Redmond

The movers came first thing Monday morning. We had a lot more stuff in Moses Lake than I thought we did. I'm so glad we didn't have to do this ourselves! It took 4 guys about 3 hours to load just the Moses Lake stuff. They left around 1pm, and headed to Pasco, WA where the rest of our belongings are being stored. They packed all of that up today, and will be here first thing in the morning to drop everything off. I'm so excited to have all of my things in one place.
This is the first night in our new house. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the kitchen floor, and slept on blow up mattresses! Can't wait for my own bed!

Boating on Moses Lake

We got up early this morning, and headed out on the lake. It was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun. The kids loved knee boarding, and flying around on this tube. Poor Kennedy with her cast couldn't do much, but we did put her on the tube and went soooo slow. For the most part, she was on flag duty. I'm not sure Bumpa enjoyed the boat as much as we did. He wore this life vest all day, and after lunch went back to camp for a nap. We stayed out until about 5pm, and then sadly returned the boat. After spending all day on the water, we decided that we definitely "need" our own boat! Right Lan???

Bumpa comes to visit

Bumpa arrived today, and will be here for about 10 days. The kids are soo excited he's here.Colton and Whitley decided that they were going to cook dinner by themselves tonight. They went through my cookbooks, and decided on what to cook, and then for the most part really did cook dinner. It was a little over seasoned, but for the most part was pretty good. Bumpa and Kennedy enjoying the fruit dip appetizer.

While they were cooking, Kennedy decided that Bumpa needed a new "do". Tomorrow, we're taking Bumpa camping and out on the lake!

AGAIN?? That's what I said...

So this is not the best picture, but this is it. This is our new house in Redmond, WA. That's right, we're moving AGAIN! This past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Landon got offered a promotion with Genie, which meant us moving to Redmond (just outside of Seattle). After a couple of trips to the area to check things out and many, many prayers we know this is what we're suppose to be doing. WHY???? Only time will tell. I only know that when we listen to our Heavenly Father, things have a way of working out better than we could've planned them ourselves. So that's what we're doing.

The kids seem to be just fine with the move. We talked to them alot about the move, and how they felt. They are a little apprehensive, but also very excited. It definitely helped to spend a couple of weekends there. After finding our house, they were even more excited. It's in a great community just 10 minutes from a huge shopping mall/area. And about the same distance from Landon's work. The elementary school is around the corner from our house, so the kids can walk to school. The neighborhood has a huge community center, and tons of trails for walking/hiking.

So the moving truck will be here Monday morning and we're off on our next adventure! Wish us luck...

Indians??

Kennedy said her stomach says "who wants to wrestle?" (see the word hoo)
This is what happens at the end of the summer, when you leave your kids alone for an hour!

School starts when???

Whitley's Birthday

Happy Birthday Whitley

Happy Birthday to Whitley! Today she is 9 years old. I know everyone always says "I can't believe she's/he's "9" old already, but it's sooo true. Where has the time gone. Whitley is such a strong, special spirit. I know she was saved for these last days! We always say she is the best mix of Landon and I. She looks just like him, but acts just like me. I think because of that we have a tenancy to butt heads, but I know that someday that strong will, will serve her well. She is very independent, and is trying to grow up too fast. She is counting down the days until she turns 12 so she can wear make up and get a cell phone! WHAT- She's always been very athletic, and excels in every sport she does. Maybe the fact that she's ultra competitive drives her to be the best. She can't stand to be second. She is such an amazing, wonderful part of our family, and I'm so thankful that my Heavenly Father trusted me enough to try to raise her!

Here are 10 reasons why I love our "Whiterbug"

1-Her desire to choose the right. We have always said that she is so strong willed, that if we can just guide that will in the right direction she'll be just fine.

2-I love her red hair. I have to be honest, I didn't at first. I was shocked by it, and wasn't sure how I felt about it. However, I absolutely LOVE it. I can't imagine her with any other color. She's red through and through.

3- I love her competitive spirit (most of the time). I know it's that spirit that will drive her to achieve great things in her life.

4- She is a self-starter. She gets her jobs done before the day ever starts, so that they're not hanging over her head.

5- She's become a great help to me in the kitchen. She wants to help, and is learning more and more all the time.

6- I love that she writes in her journal. From the time that she learned how to write, she's been writing in her journal every night. This was not at our suggestion, it was just something that she wanted to do.

7- I love her fit little body. This goes back to the whole "Landon's" body. She is so muscular, it's ridiculous. She has the kind of body, that most women can only dream of.

8- I love it that she loves to spend time with me. She always wants to do thing "just the two of us". I know that this won't last, so I'm enjoying it while it does.

9-I'm so proud of the example she is to Kennedy. I remind her often, that Kennedy will always be 2 steps behind her watching what she does, and that she needs to make good choices. She takes this very seriously, and is very protective of her sister.

10-I love that she writes music. She had a whole notebook full of songs that she's written. Many people don't know, but she even wrote and sang a song at her baptism last year. It was very special.

The fair

So we finally went to the fair. It's been here all week, and the town is all a buzz! The fairgrounds are huge, and there were a ton of rides and even more good fair food. We met Landon after work, and headed there for a healthy dinner.

We started with these things called spaceburgers. Basically ground beef, thousand island and lettuce in a panini type sandwich.

Then we moved onto the rides. They had your typical carnival stuff. The kids all rode these swings, and then Colton and Whitley rode this circle roller coaster.

Kennedy is braver than she is tall, but still couldn't go. So she settled for these motorcycles, which she said were lame.

We walked past this pony ride, and Kennedy just had to ride. Whit didn't want to miss out on the fun, and Colton thought he'd crush the ponies. So he opted for some paintball shooting.

We headed into the barns to see the animals. Colton had a couple of friends that had raised sheep, and were showing them at the fair. We found them, along with some pigs, goats and cows. By then we'd been there for a couple of hours. It was hot, and we had just enough energy to take down a funnel cake! As far as this new experience, and would have to say been there, done that, don't need to do it again!

Cast drama

I took Kennedy in yesterday to get her cast. The splint was nice because we could take it off at night to give her a bath. Now that she has the cast, there will be no more takin' it off. Our Dr's. office didn't have waterproof casts, so she went for glow in the dark.

We hadn't been swimming for a while, and the kids were begging to go to the pool. So I cut a garbage bag in strips and wrapped her cast with them like an ace bandage. Then when we got to the pool, I put her arm in 2 gallon sized baggies, and taped it all shut. This thing was Ft. Knox! I instructed Kennedy that she couldn't go in past her waist, and that she had to keep her arm out of the water. I watched her walk around for a minute, and then try to swim with her head in the water, and her arm out. She did pretty good for a second and then lost her balance. YEP the whole arm was submerged! I got her out of the water, and the baggie was filled with water. So I'm trying to hurry and get it off and maybe save her day old cast. Remember Ft. Knox. I couldn't get off, so I just bit a whole in the bottom and let the water drain out!

When we got home, I cut all the plastic wrapping off her arm. Her cast was sopping. Her hand was like a raisin, and I knew that she'd have to get another cast. I hurried and called her Dr. and got her right back in to replace it. This time she chose red. While she was getting her arm wrapped she was explaining to the Dr. that when she got this cast wet, she was gonna choose baby blue next time. She just laughed. I did not! Needless to say, we will not be going to the pool again.

Redmond trip

We have been in Seattle/Redmond this weekend. We spent some time driving around, and making ourselves a little more familiar with the area.(more on this later) It is so pretty there. Very green and lush. We were able to do a little school shopping, and of course every chance we get to go out to dinner at a restaurant that we love is always a bonus.

Our first Break

It finally happened to us. I thought there was a slight chance that we were going to get through our kids without a broken bone. NOPE. Last night we were getting ready to take Colton to scouts, and the kids were out in front racing. Whitley was in the back of Landon's pickup, and Kennedy was on the bumper. They were going to jump off, run across the street, and back! When I saw what was about to happen, I said "Don't jump off of there, you're gonna get hurt". Then I hear Colton yell, "GO". The girls jump, and Kennedy's feet slip out from underneath her. She landed on her hands, and then onto her face! For any of you that know Kennedy, whenever he hits her head, she pukes! So I ran over to her, picked her up to see the damage. Her gums were bleeding, and so was her nose. Somehow she didn't yack. She just kept complaining that her arm hurt. We put some ice on it, and gave her some Motrin, and decided to just watch and see. She favored it all night, and still again this morning. She can't rotate her wrist at all! So I take her to the Dr. and sure enough, she fractured her left wrist. They put her in a splint for a week, and then we go back next Wed. for the cast. So much for swimming the rest of the summer. Kennedy is so excited that she has a cast. I don't think she completely understands that it's gonna get really annoying to wear that for the next 5 weeks!Getting her x-rays
Putting on the splint

Newly splinted

Fancy Pudding

The other day at the grocery store Colton asked if we could get some pudding. Not the kind that is already made in the refrigerator section, but the "real" pudding. He told me that Ahma (Landon's mom) use to make pudding for them when they would spend the night. How could I say no.

Today we ran to the dollar store and while we were there he spotted these "fancy
glasses". He told me we had to buy them, because they were perfect for the pudding. When I asked him what he was talking about, he said that Ahma use to put the pudding in fancy glasses for them to eat out of. He said that these glasses were NOT as fancy as Ahma's, but they would work. Again, how do I say no. So when we got home, he whipped up a variety of pudding in these fancy glasses for dessert tonight. I thought it was such a sweet memory of Ahma that he has. It's something that I never knew she did for them, but it was so like her to even make pudding "fancy".

Dancing with the Stars and Elephant Ears

Tonight it was Kennedy's turn to give the FHE lesson. You never know what she's gonna come up with. Tonight we read a story from the Ensign about learning to be a patient parent! I don't know if that was a hint, or if she just liked the pictures that went along with the story. After the story, our activity was a dance program! She played Neil Diamond's "Coming to America" and really let loose. I think we've been watching too much So You Think You Can Dance, because she enlisted Landon's help with a lift. Of course, Whitley couldn't just sit and watch, and she had to get in on the action.

While we were in Seaside, our friend Travis discovered a delicious treat called an Elephant Ear. Basically a giant scone with butter, cinnamon and sugar. YUM. For dessert tonight, Kennedy decided that we would have elephant ears, so I defrosted some Rhodes rolls, fried them up, and slathered them with butter, cinnamon and sugar. Not bad for an imitation. I would say all in all, Kennedy did a pretty good job with FHE tonight!