Day Three - Galiano Island

We enjoyed another great trek around the island (and if I'm remembering my sequence of events correctly, this is the day we picked a LOT of blackberries and my aunt made an amazing cobbler! But, I digress).

Here, we're not sure if that lump on the left side of the tree is a strange growth or what?



Is it a log? Is it a seal? We should learn to listen to Aunt Gloria, who knew all along (even without our binoculars) that it was a seal. I have to note that everybody was making seal noises at it, trying to get it to raise it's head and it wasn't until I did my imitation of the (annoying) sea lions in Astoria that it lifted up. I guess those sleepless nights paid off, afterall.


Later that afternoon, Aunt Gloria and Elaina got creative with the Silly Putty. They were trying to make a hummingbird nose, but I think it turned out more like Gonzo. ;)

Galiano Island - Day Two

The deer have my aunt well trained to feed them each morning. They even wait politely for her outside the fence, next to the shed. She talks to them, and they really know her voice. They weren't so sure about these smaller, louder humans, but the desire for apple was larger than their fear. The girls, of course, were delighted to help toss the apple chunks to the deer, and to watch them eat their bowl of black sunflower seeds, too.




Then it was on to another beach for a beautiful walk. Can you
spy the sea stars, crabs, and jellyfish? It is always so great to see our girls out exploring with more freedom than they'd ever get here at home (we had the beach pretty much to ourselves).

Day One - cont

Thanks to my aunt for these pictures of day one... Galiano Island is sure a place for cool rocks!



So cool, in fact, that they even look like toads!

I don't know what I was thinking, but for some reason I allowed my girls to persuade me to bring their hermit crabs along (in a small cage, of course, not the aquarium). What would we have done if we got searched either way at the border?! I'm sure they wouldn't have believed us that they were from PetCo! Anyway, to further play into their fantasy, I allowed the "hermies" to come on ONE beach walk with us. The girls even put them in a shallow tide pool so they could get back to their roots for a bit. (Although, I think they're more of a tropical hermit crab than a rugged coastal type) Here are the 3 curly girls...and the 2 crabs, hermit crabs, that is!


We had some rain later that evening, and this incredible rainbow. A spectacular ending to Day One!

I Digress

Pardon me, this is not a vacation blog, but I have to record this cuteness!

E became quite fond of watching the Olympics w/her daddy. She would say, "I wanna watch the O'lipsticks with you!" It took us a minute the first time...she had to explain, "You KNOW, swimming, running fast, gymnastics..." in total exasperation.

We've been practicing the name of her new kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Marcy. Except she pronounces it "Missy Marcy." SO CUTE!

Day One - Ferry to Glorious Galiano Island

For all our worry about crossing the border and getting to the ferry on time, we arrived forty minutes earlier than we needed to be there for our 40 minutes early departure time! Oh well, better to have time to kill than have the stress of watching the ferry sail away with out us.

One thing we really enjoy about this particular ferry terminal is the playground, so it was a great way to pass the time. They also have a good sized shopping area - mostly food - that we walked through (but we were still full from our healthy on-the-road breakfast of yogurt and doughnuts), and then the girls hit the jackpot...on the opposite side of the terminal were all the dogs and their owners! I think the girls were even calling it "Dog Heaven." They got to pet at least 6 pooches and were thrilled with the variety. Thanks to all the nice owners who humored them!





We finally set sail...we were hoping to see whales or porpoises like we did last year, but no luck. We enjoyed our voyage anyhow.



As we drove off the ferry and onto Galiano Island, I said, "Ahhhh...feel the relaxation!" Seriously, this is one beautiful place, and even though it is fully "functioning" (i.e. electricity, phone, cable tv, internet) it still feels remote and removed from the rest of the world, like some great secret. It also helps that we get to stay with my aunt and uncle, who retired there a few years ago. They are gracious hosts, fantastic tour guides, and gifted cooks! I am kicking myself right now, b/c I just realized I didn't take any pictures of them! D'OH! Here's one from last year!



After lunch, we headed out for a low-tide exploration...and then my batteries died. My aunt took over with the photos, so I need to save them to my computer so I can share them. I will do that soon...

The Adventure Begins...

I will attempt to chronicle our recent summer vacation, and please bear with me b/c this is also going to "count" as my journal!

Our awesome summer vacation began on Sunday the 17th and we came home on Saturday the 23rd. On Sunday, we had church from 1-4, came home, ate a quick dinner, and started loading up. We drove as far as Lynnwood and spent the night with our awesome friends, the Mc Cs. (Side note: Jen and I met at BYU as elementary ed majors. After our jr year, she left on a mission, I stayed and finished school. Fast forward 5 years and we ran into each other here in Seattle! She hasn't been able to shake me since. She is one of my favorite people and I'm so blessed to have her in my life - twice!)

Yes, it was a little odd to only drive for an hour and stop, but we had to be across the Canadian border and at the ferry terminal in Tsawassen at 9:40 am on Monday morning. That would have meant getting up at 4:30 to factor in Monday morning traffic in Seattle/Bellevue. We saved a few hours of sleep this way and only had to get up at 6:30 in Lynnwood.

Here are most of the kids (2 yr old J was already in bed) "listening" to scriptures before bed. H is 10 mo younger than M and big J is just a few (5?) weeks older than E (but she was supposed to come first!) It was really fun to have all the kids together, even if it was just for a few hours! Thanks for the accomodations, friends!




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My Girls are With the Band

We went to another concert in the park last night and a band called, "Nowhere Near Nashville" played. They sang country songs that are probably familiar to people who listen to country radio, but not to us. Fortunately, it was "rock-country," so we still enjoyed it! The girls always dance around in front of the band, so of course last night was no exception. Imagine E's delight when the sole woman in the band handed HER the tambourine! It got even better when one of the guitarists brought her up on stage and even mic'd her rythm! She was a crack up b/c she was SO serious about it! I kept trying to get her to smile, but she was really concentrating! When the song ended, the asked, "E, is there anything you want to say?" and in the cutest, clearest voice she said, "Thank you." Then she sat down and started massaging her arm. She kept saying to me, "Mommy! I was on the stage! I was playing with the band!"









Of course, her sister didn't share the same enthusiasm that their daddy and I did. This is right after E came off the stage...


She soon perked up when our neighbor showed with his puppy, Gizmo "Gizzy." The girls LOVE this dog. Works out great for us...they get to play, we don't have to take care of it!

Later on, I noticed that other girls were just walking up to the band and asking for the tambourine, so M decided that she'd do the same. She was happy for her chance to play with the band, too!




Just fifteen minutes after the concert ended, they fired up "Cars" on a 20 ft inflatable screen. It reminded me of drive-in movies when I was a kid - minus the foot pajamas. We sat with friends and ate lots of candy and popcorn. It was a late night (we got home at 11:05pm) but the girls did great and slept in this morning, so it was all good. We (heart) our little town!