Trip to Mayne Island

The most remarkable thing about our trip happened before we even left the house. I asked Lucy to pack her suitcase. She did - and she had folded and organized the clothes into four outfits, with underwear and socks. I didn't even check her bag before we left. Rob and I were stunned...
It was so lovely to take the ferry to the magical wonderland of island life. The place we stayed (Blue Vista "Resort") was not fancy, but it had a great outdoor area for the kids to play, with a few balls and such provided. Deer were everywhere and best of all, Jasper got to see the animals at Joyce's Meadowmist Farm - peacocks, peahens, peachicks, goats (Dusty Miller was the favorite kid - a very cute and friendly baby goat), sheep, chickens, rooster and a wonderful dog named Bridgett.

We spent time in the woods, time on the beach, time on the farm, and ate all meals but one in our little "resort" cabin. It was quite idyllic. And Canadian ferry boats offer turkey and quinoa wraps! We knew then we were in a friendly country. We've been back for several days now, but Jasper still occasionally says "Goodbye, Dusty Miller."

Kombucha and Doughnuts

Today I poured off another batch of kombucha - a fermented mixture of tea and water that apparently is quite health-giving and also tasty. I love making kombucha. Lucy, on the other hand, loves making doughnuts. Today she whipped up a batch in the kitchen. They were not completely inedible either. She also loves artichokes. For bedtime snack, she ate an entire huge artichoke, heart included. And I've recently read artichokes have the most antioxidants of any vegetable... Who knew?

But today her masterpieces were created right after school. She dashed straight into her bedroom and closed the door. This is usual. She emerged a few minutes later buck naked carrying two shaped pieces of paper with yarn taped to them, calling them swim diapers. One for her and one for Jasper. The Jasper one had a penis-shaped outcropping just for him. Ah, shucks.

Meanwhile, Jasper likes to march around the house eating tofu (which he affectionately refers to as totu), mango (mamo), and rice (ice) with soy sauce (oyahth). He is a super-dooper love bug these days. He loves to kiss and be held a lot - holdy he says. And he is so darn cute that it would be impossible to resist kissing and holding him even if I tried... His favorite phrase: no, thanks. As in, Jasper are you ready for bed? No, thanks.

A restorative Sunday

Even though I'd had a great time in Port Townsend, I headed back home in a somewhat foul mood. Rob had not caught up as much work as I wanted (hey, the guy has a social life too!), and we had to head staight out to a friend's 40th birthday party. The Sagers' parties are always fun, but for some reason heading staight to a party seemed like too much. But, as usual, I ended up having a great old time. It was a fun crowd because it included two other Unitarian couples who Laura and Eric go to church with. And we all know how fun it is to party with Unitarians...

Perhaps due to this close encounter with Unitarians combined with a New Yorker review I read today, I have officially decided to start questioning the existence of God, or any universal force for good. Or any particular creative force at all, other than essentially physical and scientific phenomena. I'm trying this world view on for size. So far, it feels quite liberating...

Other than that, today was mostly about family time, and gardening. Rob and I weeded our garden and planted lots of veggie starts. The yard is looking very nice. And Jasper and Lucy both love playing in the dirt. Jasper had a super long nap to make up for his late bedtime last night. In the late afternoon, we headed out for a trip to Costco, then back for a dinner of lentil/rice/veggie soup. Rob and I may even get to watch a movie tonight as the kids are in bed nice and early. We'll see.

On holiday in Port Townsend

Lucy, Jasper and I spent the last four days back on the Olympic peninsula at Mom and Merrill's house - it must be the most peaceful setting on earth. I picked Lucy up from a play date on Wednesday. She joined Jasper in the van with a half eaten pop tart that the play date dad smilingly described as "organic." The three of us headed to the ferry in Edmonds with plenty of snacks. The timing was perfect, and we were all so happy to be off on an adventure with Grandma and Pop Pop, Charlie and Rose (the dogs) as our destination.

We got to the house in time for a lovely dinner. Water and sunset views, birds filling the lovely yard, big swing on the deck, lots of space for lounging in the house, plenty of kid books and toys. Every evening we watched the sun sink slowly and with colorful fanfare - eagles and cruise ships sometimes accompanying the main event. Jasper loves his Grandma, but he more than loves, adores Pop Pop. He spends as much time as he can following him around and in his arms. And Jasper is definitely the dog-lover of our family; fortunately Rose and Charlie are very patient and accommodating with his affections.

I actually finished half of a book during the time there (A Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion). We ate delicious food - roasted chicken, lots of vegetables from the farmer's market, salmon, pink beans - the world's tastiest, most creamy beans. We also spent an evening at a carnival - Lucy having a wildly fun time on rides, Jasper and I having a moderate amount of fun watching her and navigating the crowds. A few hours spent on a big sandy beach at low tide on Friday morning. Sea stars, sea sunflowers, big boats to discover, and Grandma and I got to watch the little ones running around so absorbed with the water, the sand, birds, and sticks.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, we grabbed the kids and one set of grandparents and headed to Port Townsend to meet another set of grandparents. It was the perfect day: quick breakfast at home, ferry boat ride, not-too-long car ride, brunch in a beautiful setting with easy access to a huge outdoor area for the kids to roam - at Fort Warden, near the ocean. We all got out of the house together and had a nice adventure - just enough snaffus (Lucy needing to go to the bathroom in the ferry line, etc) to keep things interesting. After lots of family get-togethers sitting around in the house together, it was nice to have a gathering on the go - we all love adventure and road trip.