The Keene Family

Spirit Lake Trip

We couldn’t book two separate weeks at Banks Lake this year, and my family really wanted to keep our annual tradition alive, so we booked one week at Seddlmeyer’s RV Resort on Spirit Lake and invited our friends the Drews and Jim’s parents to come along. All good decisions!

The biggest disappointment by far was the all-dirt campsites. I thought Maverick would be an absolute mess, but it turns out, his fur just brushes right off.

The second disappointment was the “No Dogs” sign at the beach. What? I talked to the camp manager and explained my Labrador’s gravitational pull toward the water and asked what we could do. He said swimming on the other side of the (small) beach when people weren’t really around was going to be just fine. So Maverick got to swim before breakfast every day, which ended up being a super peaceful way to start the day that we all enjoyed.

That was it for disappointments! We enjoyed the clear water, blue skies, HOT temps (90-100 all week), and great company.

Skiing and swimming were favorite pastimes.

The rope swing was a BIG hit.

Haley was all smiles after her first ever tubing fall!

We also discovered an ice cream truck for rolled ice cream, which was new to me, a half mile down the road at the boat launch. So one evening we took a walk down there and treated ourselves. Maverick loved the walk because he could look over the bridge down into the water.

We skiied at night a couple of times – always a joy to do that.

We also had lots of great experiences like sharing a tiny beach with tons of people…

Sleeping in the tent with the dog…

Ordering drinks and pizza for lunch from the bar at the beach…

Leaving the dog in the camper while we went out in the boat…

Playing beach volleyball on the sand bar…

And a father-daughter hike!

All in all, a wonderful week and we would definitely go back for more.

We took our time coming home, partly because Maverick needs breaks from his kennel in the camper, and partly because we just didn’t feel like killing ourselves.

Our first stop was Thomas Hammer coffee, and it was probably the best iced coffee I’ve ever had. It reminded me of Belgium’s cinnamon chocolate!

Then we stopped for a break in Ellensburg and again at Fat Burger in Issaquah for dinner – yummy.

It took us 10 hours to get home!

Filming in Boca Raton

After months of staying home, I had a quick work trip to Florida to film a video. My boss and I flew allll the way to Boca Raton to spend one hour in a film studio! We were excited about the trip when we booked it, and then all of Miami was under lockdown and we ended up doing not much of anything!

We landed on Wednesday night about bed time. We woke up on Thursday and had a makeup session in our hotel rooms and got (my kids say) “way too much makeup on.”

We walked about a block in Florida humidity, filmed for an hour, and walked to lunch. Then we walked back to our individual hotel rooms and watched the dark clouds of a storm roll in. And worked all day!

But then something exciting happened. There was a GECKO on my hotel room floor. I couldn’t tell if it was dead or alive or WHAT, but it totally freaked me out! Fortunately my boss came and saved me with paper cups but I was in the middle of a video call and everyone thought the whole thing was pretty funny. Me too.

We woke up on Friday and saw blue skies… and flew home.

Triple Date Night in the Harbor

What a fun idea our friend Kristin had to celebrate her birthday this year! We rented kayaks and spent a gorgeous, hot afternoon paddling around the harbor.

Then we had a very yummy dinner at The Tides restaurant, and then ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s for dessert!

JT Turns 12

We can’t believe JT is 12!

We started with breakfast – cinnamon rolls were his choice. He also got gifts from his family and lots of hugs and smooches.

Later that day, we took some photos of the birthday boy with his favorite ladies.

And hosted a group of sixth grade boys for capture the flag, pizza, and cake.

On the weekend, he got to experience one of his gifts: go-kart racing with Jim!

Then he came home to his family party. JT had requested chuck wagon wraps for dinner, and he got a unicycle among other fun gifts. We measured him as usual, and he is now five foot two inches. Crazy!

Summer Arrives

Finally! Summer weather and summer schedule. The kids took the opportunity to do some things they have been wanting to do. Like making cupcakes!

And going to Wild Cat lake for swimming and kayaking.

And taking long walks alone (okay, that was me).

And later start days with snuggles on the deck…

And finally trying the new donut shop nearby.

And finally, fixing things that need mending.

And cuddling by a fire. A good start to the season.

Happy Independence Day 2020

We started July 4th by taking Maverick to a new beach to get as much energy spent as possible, so he would relax during our barbecue and maybe during the fireworks. It was his first time in the back of the truck, and he loved that!

Then we returned home and got decorated and welcomed people to our backyard – with food and corn hole and laughter and fun.

When it got dark, we made our way to the neighborhood cul-de-sac for fireworks. Aren’t we cute?

The kids just loved all the lights, and Maverick did pretty well until the big booms happened… and then Jim took him home and put him in his crate for the night.

Dirt Fish Rally Driving School

For my 40th birthday present, Jim got me a day of rally driving school at Dirt Fish. (He also got me a glitzy, dress up night out on a boat with catering and drinks and friends and fancy outfits that’s been cancelled twice but we won’t talk about that.)

The drive school date was originally April but was postponed due to COVID-19, so I was thrilled it was rescheduled for June so I could go drive around a race track all day long!

It was soooo much fun and I would highly recommend it!

Almost Normal

It felt almost normal to have the kids go with Aunt Gena and Madi to Point Ruston for dinner and hangout on the waterfront… to get a haircut… to spend the evening at the park with the dog eating sushi and reading a book by myself.

Almost!

Last Day of School 2020

It’s here! It arrived! The last day of (remote) school for 2020 came and was a little uneventful without a school bus to exit. We celebrated anyway. I hung up the banner and we took a photo.

And then we picked up the kids’ school awards and last day commendations. JT was proud to get his Presidential Award for academics, and both kids got Sharkspectations awards at the assembly we never had.