Week 27 Around Here {2019}

Reading... Harry's Trees, which is such a sweet book I will be sad when it's over, and listening to The Prayer Box.  I finished The Prayer Box this week, in time for book club and it was pretty good.  I would say maybe 3.5 stars.

Deciding... that we are going to sell our house and look for something bigger.  I adore our house.  Adore it.  But it's only 1300 square feet, with a single car garage and all four kids sharing two bedrooms.  It's tight.  We are all squished in here together.  So when Josh and I were talking about refinancing to get out of our mortgage insurance, he suggested talking to our mortgage lender about the possibility of selling instead, just to see what she said.
Well, she said now is a great time to sell, and suggested we get in touch with a realtor.  So we did, and have been working feverishly to fix the house up to put it on the market ever since.

Packing... for our lake house trip & forgetting swim trunks for Wyatt and a swim suit for Carly.  Whoops!  The Suburban was packed to the gills with gear and I even left some things behind because we had so much stuff!!  The road trip to Lake Wenatchee where my parents rented a lake house was only two hours, but we had to stop twice for the bathroom (kids!) and it felt like forever!

Living... that lake house life.  Gorgeous views, our own dock, floor to ceiling windows on both floors & a deck filled with outdoor seating... it was amazing.  The lake house was beautiful and the company could not be beat.  Our family (Josh, myself and our four kids) met up with my parents as well as my sister & her three kids (Ferris, 9; Milo, 7; and Romy 1.5) to make some memories there this summer, and it was so much fun.

Having... some bad luck with the car on this trip.  First Josh accidentally backed into a tree when we pulled into the wrong (super steep) driveway upon arrival.  Then, about three days in, the driving started to feel funny when we were on our way into town for dinner, and thankfully Josh pulled over because the driveline fell off!  We ended up having it towed to my sister's house for $120 and later he and Samuel were able to fix it for less than $50, but at the time, we couldn't believe our bad luck.  (I want to give a HUGE shout out to Samuel who drove our van up to the lake house on his day off so we could get our family from the lake house to my sister's house, and eventually home.  Thank you so much. You are such a blessing!)

Impressed... with my sister & my husband who kayaked from the lake house to the state park where we spent an afternoon playing in the water with the kids.  The rest of us drove, but they braved the choppy waters in the boats.  I was amazed at their ability.  It looked ROUGH out there!!  #tough
I was also impressed when my sister and her husband jumped off the dock and into the FRIGID water- I couldn't believe they did it! Logan came up after his third jump in holding the sides of his head because he had a brain freeze.  Haha! It was SO cold!

Loving... being in nature.  One of my favorite parts of being at the lake house was just sitting in the Adirondack chairs on the porch and listening to the wind blow through the trees and the sounds of the birds chirping & singing in the mornings.
I also loved hiking around with the boys in the forest at the state park.  Where we live, it's the dessert, so I miss all the green.  The trees, the ferns, the smell.  Ahhhh.

Laughing... a lot at the girl cousins and their antics.  Carly and Romy are a year and a half apart, and Carly isn't sure what to make of Romy.  She can't talk and doesn't listen to Carly, and whatever Carly has, Romy thinks looks pretty fun, so that basically makes her Enemy #1 to Carly.  Poor Romy.  She was the best sport about putting up with Carly a) telling her what to do b) yanking toys out of her hands and c) yelling at her all.the.time.
I will say by the end of the week that Carly was much more patient with Romy and understood a lot more that Romy is a baby and just needs to be talked to and traded toys with.  Maybe there is hope for their friendship yet! ;)

Enjoying... smores that Roxanne & Milo made for us in the oven since there was a burn ban in effect because of forest fire risk.  The smores were delicious and all the kids got thoroughly sticky.  I haven't had a more in two years, so it felt like an extra special treat to me!!!

Kayaking... on the finally still waters during our last morning at the house.
We awoke to quiet, glassy waters and I decided to take full advantage and get out on the water, which we had not been able to do (except for the one time that Josh and Roxanne had braved the water to meet us at the state park) the entire time we were there because of the crazy wind, rolling waves and wild white caps.  It was my most peaceful, beautiful ride ever, and if I hadn't already been in love with kayaking, that trip would have done it.  The setting didn't even look real!

Grateful... for so many memories made with family during this week.  The kids had so much fun laughing with cousins, eating cereal together around the table, collecting rocks and learning how to fish.  These are memories that will last a lifetime.  What a beautiful blessing.

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