Due to the civil unrest in the Seattle area and the community aggression aimed at law enforcement, we moved out of our home for a week. Fortunately, we found somewhere wonderful to go. The people who own the company I work for also own vacation rental homes on Whidbey Island, and they blocked off one house for the entire week. 

The whole week was lovely. We had great weather (mostly). The kids did school from there, and I worked. Jim joined us whenever he could, which was rare but wonderful.

The kids really enjoyed having their own floor – a hot tub, bonus room, and even JT’s bedroom were all downstairs!

Lunchtime off the kitchen…

Kayaking in the spit…

A trip to Langley for ice cream!

A few moments of rest for Jim – this made us all happy!

Jim and I also got a tour of the distillery next door – complete with whiskey ice cream. 

We also got to put some baby goats who were visiting a neighbor. 

We left the week feeling safe and having a wonderful family trip away after so long stuck at home, and that was just perfect. 

We traumatized Maverick by taking him on his very first car ride for three hours, with people he’d never met, away from his family. Ever since, he has hated getting in the car. 

I read that we can change his mind if we replace long and horrible memories with lots of tiny good memories. So the kids and I committed to take him somewhere close by every day for two weeks, and make fun memories there. Off leash running around, frisbees, hiking, water, you name it. 

It worked! At the end of two weeks, he started coming to the back of the car and sitting nicely. He doesn’t jump in by himself yet, but he doesn’t fight us either. Progress! 

Both kids have decided to start new businesses during school closures. They don’t have a ton of extra time on their hands, but they have some – and I love their entrepreneurial spirit!

Haley started a greeting card business called Haley’s Care Cards. She promotes her cards among my Facebook friends (we started a group) and creates cards from scratch for people who wish to stay connected to others while physically apart. 

For JT, he decided to start a car washing service in our neighborhood. We advertised on the neighborhood Facebook page and he also passed out some business cards! He brings everything he needs except the hose and water, and people can add on vacuuming, tire shine, and other services. He’s really enjoying making cars look good, and making a little extra money too. 

When we found out our annual camping trip to Fort Worden was cancelled, we decided to take the day and make it a day trip instead. We invited along our nephew Travis, who was visiting his grandparents nearby, and we brought Maverick for his first trip to salt water. It was very fun to hike the trails together and enjoy the beach and sand for our afternoon picnic! We climbed trees too. 

Maverick went straight into the salt water. It was so crazy to watch. He just headed in like he’d always been there. This really surprised us, considering he is not an adventurous guy with unknowns. But water was not a problem – until the waves surprised him and put him under! He wasn’t happy about that. He recovered and went in again later, and he sure loved hiking. Maverick is an outdoor dog. 

My mother’s day gift was a new grill. That’s right: a grill. Jim has a Weber charcoal grill that he loves, and I do not. Because I am so often the one making dinner, I would rather have a grill that I can turn on and cook on. Jim knows this and kind of laughed the day I came home with my own little propane camping grill to cook dinner on. 

This year he decided I needed an upgrade, so he bought me a new grill for mother’s day. I spent the afternoon assembling it, and I love it! My first grill meal was salmon and veggies. I have lots of grill meals planned for the entire summer!

Crista Camps hosted a virtual camp out, and we had our nephew Travis over to hang out in the tent with us. The camp did such a great job! We learned about horses and got to laugh together, eat s’mores, and enjoy an indoor, virtual adventure.

We got a new truck! Jim has been looking and eyeing new trucks for a long time. With purchase rates so low and our truck needing so many repairs, he felt it was time. He found a really good truck that matched many of his wish-list items: black dualie F450, ready to haul our camper and boat, good interior, all that. Cooling front seats were a bonus. 

We haggled and thought and talked and came home with the truck. 🙂 

What gorgeous weather we had over Mother’s Day Weekend this year! This first picture is NOT from Mother’s Day Weekend… it’s from the weekend before, when Haley and JT decided to surprise us with breakfast in bed. It was lovely. 

The actually Mother’s Day weekend had beautiful weather. We played in the sunshine, and did some reading and relaxing. 

Kristin and I went for a bike ride on Cushman Trail too!