Our Fun-Filled 4th of July Vacation

 

We took some vacation over the 4th of July Holiday and spent our time enjoying family and exploring the land.  We started off at the general Samish council meeting, which we enjoy every year.  We spent the weekend attending cultural events, and spending time with family.  It was a great weekend with so many great memories!!

We headed out on the ferry to explore Friday Harbor, and that was such a beautiful ride!!  Friday Harbor was gorgeous and SUPER HOT!  Goodness gracious, it was hot!  We had a lot of fun walking around the town and exploring all the little shops... We also ate at Fridays Crabhouse right across from the ferry terminal.  I want to say that it had the best fish and chips that I have ever eaten, and we also had the nicest server.  Her name was Victoria, and she was spectacular.  We had some special requests that were handled very easily by her and she took amazing care of us!  We all wrote restaurant reviews about her and the incredible food, and also I called the manager to let them know how much we appreciated her hospitality.  Its a must eat for sure if you ever get out to Friday Harbor!!

Isn't my husband handsome??  HAHA

Aboard the Samish Ferry!

We also spent some time in Bellingham exploring my brother-in laws stomping grounds... we toured Western, Saw Tyler and Liz's apartment and spent time at Boulevard Park at sunset which was one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen!! I blew out a flip flop, so I walked around WWU barefoot most of the time, and no one seemed to notice... Got to love the hippies up there :)

 

 

I am going to have this one framed!  From Left to right - Ryan, Tyler, Liz, Blake, Me, Kyle, and Luke :)

 

We went Blue Fox Drive-in in Oak Harbor... OMG- HOW NEAT!!!  It was all retro... decked out with black and white checker tiles everywhere - the food was amazing, and the bathrooms were super clean (we all know how important that is) there were go-karts, and arcade and the best part was this amazing bed Kyle made in the back of the truck with cushions from the table in our trailer and matresses from the kids bunks... HAHA I could have slept in there all night and my kids thought it was the coolest thing ever!  They made it through the first movie - Inside Out - but fell asleep 15 minutes into the Avengers.  Kyle and I stayed awake through it and by the time we packed up after the movie and drove back to the trailer, it was 3:15 in the morning!  OMG I haven't stayed up that late since before we had kids.  Kids went right to bed, but of course, and then they were up at 7:30!  It was a lot of fun though, and I would totally do it again!!

 

Thank you Tyler for the picture :)  Snug as a bug in a rug!

I married into this...

 

We also spent some time on Whidby Island to visit a family that we know and also happens to be someone that both Kyle and Monty work with.  Kyle, Monty, Tyler and the boys went early and went crabbing... everyone got their limits and they limited the day before also, so there were a lot of crab!  like 60 something... and oh, it was hard to not eat too much since I kind of need to be careful about my seafood intake, but I still bet that I ate way over my quota for the week, in just that one day!  Whoops!!  Whidby Island is beautiful, and full of deer!  It couldn't have gotten any better - great food, great friends, and beautiful scenery! 

The 4th was great!  We had some friends come up and celebrate with us in Anacortes, and the RV park that we stay at overlooks the harbor, and they had a great fireworks show, and we didn't have to worry about people being stupid and shooting each other with fireworks.  It was really nice.  I kind of wish the kids got to do some sparklers or something, but oh well, I am sure that they will survive :)  We celebrated with fresh Salmon and Halibut that Kyle just caught in Alaska, and even more crab... yes, I over did my seafood intake... whoops!  I just couldn't help myself, it was so delicious!!  I mean, how much more all-American can you get??  An apple pie would have been the icing on the cake, but that's just my sweet tooth talking :)

 

 

We had a lot of firsts this vacation too!  Blake finally was ready to take those training wheels!!!  YAY!!  Monty went and got him all these pads so that he couldn't be scared to fall, and with his help, and Daddy there to catch him, he figured it out!  He almost ran Luke over, but now the kid is pro!

Kona, who I thought only liked to walk in water up to her ankles;  never thought she would like to swim... she just walked out into the water, and kept going.  We just stood there with our mouths open in shock, and she was swimming.... she's really good at it!  You know when you see a dog swim for the first time and they look like they are drowning?  Not Kona, she was so graceful and stayed out there forever!  She ended up swimming next to me while I was in the kayak, and we had to make he go in.  So proud of our girl!!

Blake learned to paddle his Kayak by himself!  We still have his boat attached to ours, but hes got his rhythm down, and before long, he's going to be on his own!

 

We had a lot of fun playing on the beach, getting dirty, playing in the water (it was so warm) going on walks and just enjoyed taking some time to slow down.  We LOVE camping... we cant wait until our next adventure!!

 

They have their own bunks, but every morning one or both had made their way into our bed... our little bed!

This kid was born sticky and dirty... he will never change.

Luke LOVED swimming in salt water.  He comes alive while exploring his first homeland!

;

goofy boaters :)

 

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

We had so much fun with T-Ball this year.  I love seeing how the kids skills develop over the years and how much more confident they become.  Something that I learned this year that I haven't had to deal with before was that parent participation is KEY... I just about had it with the parents of extremely difficult children (one family had twins) just seeing a baseball game and practice as an hour and a half of babysitting!  Parents just sit there chatting with other parent friends while their kids are being monsters and they are completely ignoring it...some parents finally said something... although, Coach Lee is a very patient and understanding coach, I am sure there were days went home and drank a case... I couldn't have done it, I would have whooped on those kids!

Blake had a blast this year playing with his friends from school and some kids were new this year, and he made some new friends too that he was really excited about.  Most of the weather was fantastic, so we had minimal rain outs and no one got hurt!   When you have a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds throwing balls at each other, your bound to have something go wrong, but nothing major... so it was a great season!   Blake cant wait until next year!!

Schools...Out...For Summer!!!

So, Last Thursday was Blake's last day of his Early Kindergarten program, and next year, he's off to full days of actual kindergarten.  He is really excited, and he's ready to conquer the school... but he has to get rid of this nasty cold first!
Blake missed his last day of school and also the end of the year parties that he was invited to because this cold got the better part of him.  On Thursday, he was sick, but it was his last day and he didn't have a fever so I was trying to convince him to go to school, and I was going to volunteer in the class that day anyways, so I figured that we could handle it, but then he looked at me, and said in the most sad and pitiful voice " I just cant make it" and he is not one that EVER wants to miss school, so I knew that something was wrong. 

Poor Kiddo :(

 

I got him into the Dr and we weren't able to see the boys regular Dr. so we just saw another one in the office instead and she said that it was Croup... okay, we have never dealt with Croup before, but after doing some research, the kid doesn't have Croup, or if he did, he also has a nasty sinus thing going on with gross green boogers... and since sharing is caring, Luke has it now too... they are getting better, The cough is almost gone, but Luke's nose is like a running faucet of green goo....yuck, and nasty!!  They feel pretty good, so the hard part is getting them to sit still long enough to get some rest, but I definitely think that we are on the mend... hopefully we can start some fun summer activities soon!! 



They got to play outside a little on Sunday, and they went straight to the dirt!!



Lots Of Doctors

We have had a few big doctors appointments lately.  Blake had his annual cardiologist appointment last week and everything still looks good.  They always have something that their watching to make sure that his heart grows with him and that it cooperates, but so far so good.  Normally, Kyle and I take Blake to these appointments and we drop Luke off with a relative so that we can direct all our attention on Blake, but as he has gotten older, these appointments have become so much easier.  Getting him to sit still for the ultrasound was the hardest part, but now, he just cruses through it.  Luke was curious about it, and I couldn't think of any reason why he couldn't go, so this year, he was the spectator.  Kyle got held up at work, so he wasn't able to attend this year, and he was a little upset about that, but we got it all done.  Luke had so many questions and was really curious... he was all up in there trying to see it all.  It was cute... so, we are good for another year!!

I also had my loooong sequential screening testing with this new little babe!  With Blake, I just had the standard testing... like the one for downs, diabetes, and the 20 week ultrasound.  With Luke, I had some more testing done, but it was just lab work for CF and Fragile X, also that time around we had a 22 week fetal echo (which is miraculous by the way) where Blake's cardiologist did a echo on the baby in utero and checked his heart.  This time...3 years later, there are so many more tests available.  I just went in for the sequential screening.  All this screening/tests/poking and prodding makes me anxious, and I seriously went back and fourth on weather or not I really wanted to have it done.  Kyle and I weighed it all out and figured that it was better to be prepared then be surprised, and regardless of what the tests said, we would knew the love that we had for our baby wouldn't ever change, it was just intimidating.  I met with a woman who took medical history from both sides of our family... learning disabilities, mental disorders, disorders that I didn't even know where disorders, any health problems, types of cancers in the family, and who knows what else.  It was an hour long appointment with this woman and she was very nice, but I didn't know that I would have to answer all those things, or I would have been more prepared.  Then there was a pretty lengthy ultrasound followed by blood work, and all the basic health checks.  It was a long day, and I was ready for it to be all over with.  My ultrasound came back good, but I should get my blood work results this week sometime.  I'm in my 13th week and everything is going great.  I feel good, and we are having fun picking out different names and dreaming what its going to be like with 3 little kiddos running around... We cant wait!!!

We Found Him And He Is Safe!

Thank you all for your thought and prayers and also all your incredibly kind words regarding Mitch and my last post.  The post had true feelings but was intended to grab his attention and get him to reach out to someone since none of us knew where he was and he was threatening his own life, and I am really glad that it worked!  He is now in a detox program and will need to transfer into a rehab facility.  The only this is that he needs to choose to do these things, we cant make him stay.  As an amazingly wise aunt told me " You didn't ask me to walk you down that road, so don't ask me to walk you back"  he's on his own, but at least for now, I know that he's in a safe place.  XOXO

I'm The Sister Of A Drug Addict

I am the sister of a drug addict, I have been the sister of a drug addict for over ten years.  Right now, I sit here and I don't know where my brother is.  He could be high, he could be hurt, he could be on the edge of death, or he could even be dead.  I always wonder if I have done the right things to help him... I wonder if my love has been too hard or it has been too comforting.  I wonder if my kids will ever really know him, or if were going to be attending his funeral.  I know so many things about being a drug addicts sister that it makes me sick... I've held it in for many years and not talked about it to anyone except Kyle and close family, but its time to talk about it.  My blog is my therapy, although many could argue that I might need professional help to deal with what's going on, but for right now, this is my saving grace...

I know what it feels like to want someone else to save him because I am too tired to keep trying.
I know what its like to go visit someone in rehab over 7 times in 7 different rehabs...maybe more, I lost count.
I have tried to forget about him.
I know what it feels like to get the call from your parents that he's doing bad things again.
I know what its like to hear people talk about him like he's a monster, and to secretly agree, and then feel guilty about it.
I have seen my parents and their marriage suffer for years.
I have believed his lies even though everything in my body tells me not to.
I know what it feels like to cry yourself to sleep over it.
I know what its like when your grandpa asks for him in his final minutes of life and you have to just smile and tell him that he's on his way when you know he's high on someone's couch somewhere.
I know that feeling in the pit in your stomach when someone asks you how he's doing, and you just don't know what to say.
I hope and pray that I will not have children that behave like him...
I have forgotten that he does have a good heart, because all I see is a heroin addict.
If he dies, I almost feel like I would be set free... I know that's horrible, but i'm so tired of fighting for someone who doesn't fight harder then me.
If I don't here from him for a while, I always expect the worst.
I will never leave my kids with him alone.  I cant.
I am so angry with him, but I never want him to see that because I don't want to be the one that sends him over the edge.
My husband will never have a brother in law that he will have a relationship with.
We have been stolen from - Tools - Money - prescription meds - Kids Birthday Money...
I remember how he was as a kid, and it makes me so sad to think about who he is now.
most of the talks I have with my parents are about him, and what he has done bad now...
I don't want him to know that were going out of town because I am afraid that he will break in.
I hate that people call it a disease... cancer is a disease... disease isn't something that you choose to do.  It pisses me off that people call it a disease.

So, I don't know what tomorrow will bring.  I don't know if I am going to get a call that he is dead, or that he is in jail, or that he checked into rehab again... maybe he will disappear and we will never know?  I don't know.  What I hope for really doesn't matter anymore.  Its not up to me, and believe me, I know that I cant fix anything or change him.  I cant make him stop and I cant make him want a healthy life.  I cant make him want a relationship with his nephews or with his parents... I just want him to know that I will never stop helping him fight...he just needs to be the one to throw the first punch.  

3 Going On 16

I just cant believe that my baby is 3.  I feel like it was just yesterday when we brought him home, and I cant believe how big he has gotten.  He is smarter then his own good, and I can no longer really persuade him, he has his own mind and he sure knows when he wants.  Luke has 2 speeds... 0 or 100 -  He has no in between.  His emotions follow the same suit... he loves hard, laughs hard, plays rough, but at the same time, he will give you the biggest kiss and tell you how much he loves you.  He gives the tightest hugs and runs to you and leaps into your arms with the biggest smile. 

Lucas is only going to be the baby for a little while longer, and I have no doubt that he will transition into the Big Brother role with flying colors, and he is really excited for it!  I am showing just the tiniest bit and he will point to my stomach and ask if this is where the baby is, and then give my stomach a kiss.  He thinks that the baby is a boy and he wants to name him Jason... haha and he says that Baby Jason can share his bed with him, but he cant poop in it HA!
I thought I would give a little interview to my newly turned 3 year old... Out of the mouths of babes :)

Favorite Color - Seahawks Green
Favorite Food - Mac and Cheese from Red Robin - BBQ chips are a close second :)
TV Show - Paw Patrol
What do you want to be when you grow up - Fireman
When he learns to drive, he wants to drive a green fire truck to school.
Favorite Bug - Worms
favorite place - Hawaii (he's never been there)
Favorite Part of the Day - When I get to find the eggs :)
Tub or Shower - Shower
Favorite Animal at the Zoo - Fish Tank


Happy Birthday to our sweet boy...I cant believe he is 3!!!