Home at Last

Well, it doesn't quite feel like home yet, but we're getting there. The movers brought our things about a week ago, but with kids and all else happening, I haven't gotten everything unpacked yet. We are slowly but surely getting there.

We really like the house, as you can see it is a cabin-style house. It has four bedrooms and three stories. It is on 5 acres and includes part of an airstrip. We were lucky enough to have an airplane there over Labor Day weekend which Ryan and Glade got to see take off. The barn is a garage with a huge loft above it for storage. The garage is nice and big for working on cars and other things. Also, since it gets to cold around here, the garage is heated in the winter. Although it is out in the country, it is only 8 miles from Ryan's work, so it is close to go to work. Also the town is named North Pole, which is kinda fun. They have lots of fun street names here. I'll have to post some when I get a chance.

On a different note, I saw the Northern Lights one night this last week, but since then it has been too cloudy. It was really neat to see. I've heard September and March are the best months to see them, so hopefully we'll get to see them again before the end of the month. Kim asked us to get her up and so I took her outside to show them to her. The next day she said she didn't remember though, so that's too bad.

The leaves are all yellow here, but autumn seems to be a really short season. The air has a bite to it today and I've heard they usually have snow before the end of the month, so the race is on to get warm clothes for everyone. Lucky for Ryan, he was given everything he needs by the Army.

Way Up North

Well, sorry for the delay in posting. We've made it up to Fairbanks. It was a long week of getting moved, cleaning and traveling, but it wasn't too horrible. Thank goodness for Army perks (they pay professional movers). We rode the ferry up here and that was pretty fun. The drive wasn't too horrible. Now we are just living in the hotel on post and looking for housing. To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Any thoughts are appreciated. I will get some pictures of our trip and more details up soon.

Free at Last

Believe it or not, Liberty has come! That's right, our sweet little Liberty Laura was born on Saturday. She weighed in at 8 lb. 12 oz. and was 20 1/2" long. We are glad she's here safe and sound. She has lots of dark hair and looks like our other two babies. See what you think.

Kimberly


Glade


Liberty


Liberty and Dad


Dad with his 3 kids


Thanks Mom, for being here to help out for a while. It's nice not to worry about the kids while in the hospital.




The three amigos


Ready to go home


We got home yesterday and things are going well. I'm sure it will take a while to get back to normal, but then again, things will never be the same again. The kids are really excited to have the baby home.





Now if we can just get our move scheduled . . . .

A Trip to the Ocean, and Another Down Memory Lane

On Saturday we drove up to Northern Washington. Ryan's dad spent a few years there growing up while his father helped build a Shell Oil Refinery. We found that and were also able (we think) to find the house they lived in. It was fun to drive around Burlington and see what he could remember. We spent the morning, however, in Anacortes, where Ryan and his dad went sea kayaking around Burrows Island, while Mom, the kids, and I enjoyed the fun little town.

The store to check in for kayaking trips.


Preparing to launch. Pretty small group size, I thought, which is nice.


Ryan and Dad in their kayak.


A sea star


In the kelp beds, which were neat.


We went to Washington Park and saw Burrows Island, which they paddled around. We even saw them paddling around it from the hill where we looked down.


The kids at Washington Park.


After getting home, Grammy and Kimberly made cookies.


It was a fast and furious visit, but we enjoyed every minute of it. We love you guys! Thanks for coming to visit!

Graduation

Ryan's AEGD Program ended this last week and they had graduation on Friday. It was an enjoyable day. We spent a few hours at the Ft. Lewis Museum.



Then went and changed for the ceremony. The graduates each got a medal and Ryan even got an extra one that he wasn't expecting for being MC at the Birthday Ball.


Ryan's class of AEGD Residents.


He got to give a short speech since he was the class president. It was a nice event with cake afterward. Kimberly enjoyed the frosting flowers a lot.



After the ceremony we went to the Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma and had dinner and a little reception.

Glade didn't make it all the way there in the car and actually slept for about an hour after we got there.


The seats were very comfortable.


The residents made a movie that we enjoyed watching. There was a fun fountain outside the restaurant that the kids enjoyed playing around.

Another Busy Weekend

For our last weekend pre-baby we enjoyed having Grammy and Grandad here. They were only here for a few days, but we managed to pack them pretty full. Grandad's birthday was about a week before they came so we celebrated on Thursday night when they arrived with cake and gifts and then went to bed.

Ready or Not, Here I Come

I can't believe how fast time flies! Our new baby will be here in only 3 weeks! Ahhhhh! Where did the time go and how am I going to get everything done that I need to in the next few weeks. I am scheduled for a C-Section on August 1st, which will be here before we know it!

Cousins

Kim and the kids came to visit us on Monday afternoon. We met them at Ft. Lewis and showed them around a little bit. We saw a Chinook hovering and landing, which was fun, went to the hospital on post (my sister-in-law is a nurse), stopped by the dental clinic where Ryan works, and also got out by some helicopters and an old tank on display outside of various buildings. We enjoyed having them come. They spent the night and then while Ryan had to go back to work on Tuesday, the rest of us spent the afternoon at Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, which I again took no pictures of. Help me out please Kim. Thanks for taking the time to come and see us. We really enjoyed it!

Kim, Ryan, and the kids in front of the old Ft. Lewis gate.


Ryan showing the kids something in the dental clinic.


We had what I had planned on for the 4th of July for dinner, including a BBQ and then cookies with fruit topping. Red, white, and blue, you know!

Family 4th of July

Saturday dawned hot and sunny again and we decided we wanted to try to do something with other people. Our Sister-in-law Kim was in Snoqualmie just 1 1/2 hours away visiting from Utah. We decided at the last minute to join her, her children, and her sister's family for the afternoon of the 4th. We went to Ensign Ranch. We had never been there, but really loved it. Kimberly loved the giant slip and slide that they had and Glade liked wading in the pond.

After a fun afternoon there, during which Ryan actually did get to go for a mountain bike ride, we went back to Snoqualmie and spent the evening there. We had little fireworks and then watch some bigger ones purchased and put on by neighbors. Ryan and the kids camped in the backyard and I spent the night on the couch.

We got up on Sunday morning and headed for home so we could be there for church.

I thought I had forgotten the camera from the day before so I didn't get any pictures. Only after we arrived at home did I discover that the camera had been in my purse all along. Talk about pregnancy air-headedness!

Lighthouses, Crabs, and Seashells

Since Ryan had Friday off, we decided to travel to the beach for one of our last excursions. We chose a place called the Dungeness Spit. There is a half-mile hike to get to the beach and then another 4.5 mile long sand spit, one of the longest. At the end is a lighthouse, which can only be reached by hiking. Ryan was planning to run to it, but in the end decided to hang out with us. The kids liked the rocky beach, but weren't quite sure about the waves, which were big and pretty noisy. I couldn't get Glade to even let the water get his feet and Kimberly would only do so at great urging. It was a neat place though. It is a national wildlife refuge so you aren't allowed to take sticks, shells, rocks, or anything.

Here is a view of part of the Dungeness Spit from the hill going down.


The lighthouse at the end of Dungeness Spit is in the background. Can you see it in front of Mt. Baker? Also notice the cruise ship sailing close by.


Ryan and I both thought the waves were neat. There were some pretty big ones. Glade thought they were neat also, from the safety of Dad's shoulders.


Kimberly the sand queen. She loves to dig and build and play in the sand.


Glade the beach boy.


We asked around and heard that "The 3 Crabs" was the best seafood place in town so we drove over there to get a late lunch. Ryan opted for a platter with a little of everything. He enjoyed it. Kimberly got her favorite . . . shrimp. Glade also likes shrimp so they shared a plate.


It turned out that there was a very nice beach right by the restaurant. It was protected from waves by the spit, so the water was calm and much more fun for the kids to get into.


Kimberly and Glade both got into collecting seashells and mom helped. There were some big nice ones.


Glade enjoyed the water, which seemed a little warmer than at the Dungeness Spit. He enjoyed it so much he went all the way in, literally. Good thing he was right by Mom. I grabbed his arm and pulled him out right after his head went under. After a few minutes to dry out, get out of wet clothes, and warm up, he was ready to wade a little more.


After that beach, we decided to drive to Port Townsend, where one of Ryan's colleagues was posted while in the Coast Guard. He took care of the Point Wilson light. We were able to walk around the light and take some pictures of it. I don't know about you, but I have always had a fascination with lighthouses and it was fun to see one up close. Unfortunately, they didn't have any tours going so we weren't able to go inside.


After that we went to our third beach of the day, right by the lighthouse. It was a neat beach with nice sand and we even found a few little jellyfish that had been washed up. It was starting to get late and a little cold at that point though, so we decided to call it a day and head home.


We heard that the Startins were moving to Port Angeles, so we thought about them, but didn't have their phone number any more. We were only about 10 miles from there though so it would have been fun to see them.