Spokane

This year, our summer vacation included the annual work conference (that was on hold for the past 2 years because of Covid), which was in Whistler BC this year.  Neither of us had ever been there before, so that was something to look forward to!  Karis' middle brother Korey lives in Spokane and we had never been there before either, so we spent the long weekend prior to the work conference there - flying into Seattle for the night, then driving over to Spokane on Friday until we then drove on Monday to Whistler.

The flight to Seattle ended up being a little more eventful than we would have liked - that week Zachary had been sick.  On Thursday he felt much better but still had some congestion so we gave him medicine to clear his ears on the flight - and then right before we landed we gave him some more and the double dose of medicine made the poor kid's heart race and he became nauseous - throwing up the medicine (thankfully as he was starting to also get faint-ish).  It was a crazy few minutes on the flight as his body rejected the extra medicine but thankfully as soon as he threw up he felt back to normal.  What do you do in the middle of the sky when your kid's heart is racing abnormally, light-headed and nauseous - that was a scary moment but we are thankful that he was ultimately fine.

The weather was absolutely perfect - nice and cool in Spokane. We enjoyed going for long walks every day, playing outside, and exploring Spokane.  Thanks for such an amazing visit!

Great time with family - we love you guys!

We went downtown Spokane, which had a really neat little gondola ride over the river rapids, and a playground, lots of little touristy things to do there which was fun.

The rapids were fun to see - so much water spray and rushing water with tons of force

The northern grass is so much nicer than Floridian St Augustine grass that the Florida Zs couldn't resist laying down on the grass while the little kids played on the playground and took a little siesta!

And who can resist an ice cream shop complete with a wall of balloons!?

Enjoying the yummy ice cream

Addison never can resist climbing on anything that she finds along the way!

More climbing

Korey and Rachel have a dog, so every day they have to walk said dog -- and they live right beside a state forest with lovely walking trails, so once a day we'd go for a 2 mile walk - it was really a nice way to stay active and get some fresh air every day.  We'd coax a few of the kids to come along each time as well so that they would get out of the house too!

Kind of obvious who is used to the cooler weather versus the wimpy Floridians! :)

Cousin hugs are the best!

On Sunday, we headed over to a nearby state park with a lovely river through it and took advantage of getting a family picture - there were of course additional places to climb which made Addison's heart happy.  Spokane had a lot of nice parks with walking trails - it was very charming!

Korey and Rachel had a trampoline, so it got a lot of use - even Zachary went out by the end of the weekend and played on it with the other kids for a while.

Lots of time on the trampoline!

The two big boys had a good wrestling match once the younger kids vacated the trampoline.

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Family together-time always is better with games where you talk, laugh, and play all at the same time so we played a lot of card games over the weekend as well.

Korey and Karis bonding over some BBQ time outside - thanks for the delicious food!

We had a tremendously fun time together, and were really sad to leave on Monday when the weekend was over.  Thanks so much Korey and Rachel for amazing memories and your hospitality!

Retreats, Camps and Showers!

With summer starting the usual activities such as boating and summer camp at Kulaqua were highlights that the kids were anticipating with glee.   Thankfully with life after Covid starting to return to more normalcy, the camp was allowed to continue so Zachary was able to attend his last year of summer camp which was a blessing.

Early June, Amy's mom took her to a Women's spiritual retreat at the local conference.  It was a lovely day, and very good information was shared.  It was fun to spend the day together doing something out of the ordinary - thanks Mom!

We have had several projects going on at the house in terms of home improvement, and body improvement :)  First off, we got a tonal after talking to a friend about the ability to work out at home - it is so hard to find the time to actually go to the gym!  You have trainers and can do recorded classes or live classes, or just do your own set of exercises.  Each of us have found certain trainers that we like - Kaleb's favorite is a lady named Francis - watch out for Francies, your muscles will hurt for days! 😂

In addition, we have been making progress on the pool re-do and the bonus room - amazing how long things take but it is nice to see them moving along.

The pool largely done, screen is about to go up.

And the navy/brown paint job was transitioned to a light "Panda White" paint color.

A raccoon decided to check out the new pool deck as well!

The old bar removed (such a waste for people who don't drink!) and new cabinets put into the bonus room.

Zachary and Kaleb went off to their camp early June.  Zachary had a great time, but unfortunately Kaleb's counselor had anger issues so made their week miserable.  It was very disappointing to hear - when the moms all found out about how bad it was, we did reach out to the camp so hopefully weeks 2 and 3 weren't subjected to the same experience.  Thankfully they did have a cabin full of friends, so that at least made it so that they could stick together.

Kaleb's cabin included Jesse, Sam, Daniil, Lucas, Evan, Kieran and Nolan

And Zachary's included Blake, Hunter, Rob, Aiden, Jakob, Erick, and Adrian

In addition to Camp Kulaqua, the next week the kids did golfing camp - but poor Zachary ended up getting sick so it was just Kaleb and Addison.  They did pick up some tips about how to play golf so little by little maybe they'll be ready as adults to go "network" on the golf course!

The kids attended the following summer camps - because otherwise we'll never remember!

Addison:  Swim camp (highly rated!), art camp, golf camp, horse camp, sailing camp (one of the favorites), VBS, and then a couple weeks off with "Grandma's camp"

Kaleb:  Kulaqua, golf camp, VBS, RDV (got sick, so didn't attend), and cooking camp (very good!)

Zachary:  Kulaqua and golf (didn't attend as he got sick), and then worked all summer.

Setting up her golf clubs on the pull cart - she was the Z child who had the easiest time figuring it out - she is very mechanically minded!

Amy's cousin (well, daughter of her cousin - what does that make us?) Lauren had a bridal shower to celebrate her upcoming wedding (end of July).  We enjoyed going over to celebrate her nuptials - Addison came along which was fun to give her that experience.  We wish you all the best Lauren!

Lovely sign at the entrance - She Said Yes!

Lovely brunch out on the deck

Millie (mom), Lauren, Kelsey (sister)

The whole group

Random pictures:

While the boys were at camp, Addison and London enjoyed a lunch out with Miss Sheri one day - Panera and Jeremiah's Ice Cream - now that is the way a fun date should always be - thanks Miss Sheri!

Exhaustion finally wins over the Ipad!

Savannah Georgia Vacation

For Memorial Day this year, we took a very fun vacation to Savannah Georgia with Grandma and Grandpa!  We have never gone up there before to spend any time exploring, so this was a fun outing for all of us.

We got a house rental not too far from Forsyth Park (about 4 short blocks, so very easy to walk) which we weren't too sure if it was a safe area of town when we first drove up but it ended up being a perfectly fine, quiet area so we were quite pleased.  It was a 2 floor townhome that had 4 bedrooms, living room etc so there was lots of space for us to spread out.

On Friday, we got up and went out to brunch at the Funky Monkey Cafe in which you can cook your pancakes in the middle of the table on a griddle which added an element of fun!

Waiting for our table, it started to rain but thankfully we were prepared with umbrellas!

Fun times making pancakes!

After eating breakfast, we then went on a open air trolley right (the white one, not the orange one should anyone head out to Savannah) which included multiple stops and on certain select stops, they would have an actor get onto the trolley, dressed from the historical period they were talking about, and give us interesting tidbits about that particular location and era.  It was very entertaining and we got to see a lot of the downtown touristy spots - we ended up doing the loop 3 times as we did it once fully without stopping, then we got on and off for the 2nd loop (it wasn't super long to do) and then Amy accidentally left her phone on the trolley at one of the stops, so we did it a third time while we retrieved her phone!

We spent some time exploring River Street as well - which was a fun way to wander along the riverfront.  Special moment watching Karis and the boys walk with their arms around each other!

There was an old candy store on River Street that we went into as well - and they were making Taffy - so fun to see how they do it and then cut/wrap it!

With the fact that Forsyth Park was within walking distance, we went over there every day to play on the playground and people watch.  It was a lovely park to hang out in!  Even the boys would play on the playground with Addison.

Twirling around!

The boys on the playground

And on the swings - we can't remember the last time the boys played on swings - sweet to see

The famous fountain in Forsyth park

The whole crew

We are blessed to have great grandparents in town with us - we miss our Canadian grandparents too, so are thankful to at least have one set nearby.  

People watching from the bench

Savannah has several art murals around the city - so one morning we went around and saw as many as we could - some were quite lovely!

The colors in this one are beautiful!

Karis interpreted this mural as "let's help each other out!"

This was at SCAD - there were lots of SCAD buildings around, they have really rejuvenated the city.

And a "welcome to Savannah"

On Sunday afternoon, we went on a riverboat ride which was fun --  but hot...

On our way - a street vendor gave Addison a flower made out of reeds - very pretty.

It was a fun time to spend with our extended family!

No trip is complete without some games - so we played the Logo game along with of course other card and board games that we brought along.

Playing Trouble with Grandpa

Playing the logo game - complete with glasses and a flashlight to read - we are getting so old!!

Grandma was playing that she fainted when Addison ate some raw carrots - that got a good chuckle from the crowd!

On Sabbath afternoon we went out to Tybee Island to visit the fort and see the canon firing and the reenactor- that was fun and a lovely time to explore around.

Getting her junior ranger medallion

Other moments during the week:

No idea why, but we ended up at Jeremiah's together for a little "date" 

Addison on her last week of school had a "camp-out"

And this was the first summer that Addison wasn't with Miss Jennifer or at home with Amy when Amy was working from home --- so this was a camp summer!  The first camp was swim camp which was one of her favorites, and Elin was there!