Washington Part 2

So Erik go ta huge scrape on his fave just before Lindsay came to join us unexectedly on this trip.....and it was all my fault! I was pulling him on that fun scooter and he face planted as I was trying to pull him up over the lip of the curb, whoops. Poor kid-I gave him a bloody nose and all. 

Good thing Grandpa Pooper has cool things like BB guns to distract from owies. 

 Erik loved loved loved that he was able to shoot a real gun and took all of the advice very seriously. He did pretty well at safety too. We had to remind a couple of times of different things but he was so excited to be shooting targets in the back yard!

 Getting great advice from Grandpa about how to aim. Love these pics. I grew up with guns in the house. My dad was very serious about talking about safety of them, and where they were, what purpose they served, how they were put together. He let us touch them and handle them while they were taken apart for cleaning and we were very much aware of the courtesies of talking about them. It was great to start passing that on to Erik. WHile in Australia (where guns are illegal) we cant help him learn those types of things so this was a big thing for our entire family.

 We shot the lid of a plastic take away container. That small thing on the first tier of the garden bed.

 And I had to take a crack at it. I tell you. I am ok with a pistol but I am horrible aiming with a big gun. I just dont get the whole aiming mechanics. I am sure Erik will be better than me by the time he is 10.

 WHile spending time with my parents we took a weekend and went camping and it was so so sooooooo amazing to be back at the lake, on my parents boat, and just back to where I was familiar being in the summer time.  I love the ocean and the beach but I think my heart belongs to lakes. It was the first time I had been to the lake and boat since before Erik was born since we normally have travelled home in the winter for the holidays. It was lovely!

 Once we got to the campground, we immediately went to the lake beach and Erik and Grandpa went exploring.

 My parents brought up some canoes and so that was a fun activity to do.

 And we met up with other people who camped in a site with their RV and brought this amazingly nice and sweet dog that Erik was obsessed with.

 Their little girl cuddle with me one morning while she was waking up and it was fun. She let me do her hair as well which was super fun!

 We fed ducks off the boat..

 did some fishing

 And acted like super cool cats..

....It was such a nice weekend. A perfect rejuvenation from or typical day to day lives and since the lake has been such a part of my life since I can remember it fed my soul. It really just gave me a good push and helped fill my cup. Its amazing how small things like that can do it. Just basking in such a familiar and beautiful place, watching the sun set, my senses were not overstimulated by newness they were revived by tradition. I do think it feel great to get out and explore new things, take risks, and get newness around you but I love having that home base. And I am so glad that Lin was there to share it with!

Washington part 1

So in May we realized that Lindsay was supposed to be out of town for 7 straight weeks. I was having a little bit of a hard time and that time seemed daunting so we decided very last minute to fly back to Washington to spend those long weeks with family. In the end, Lin's work all got changed and he desperately needed a break from it all and ended up joining us last second for a few of the weeks. So fun!

 

One of the first things we did upon our arrival was Erik helped Papa mow his lawn. With Erik's asthma symptoms and allergies we put a bunch of protective gear on him.

 this picture came on out of order and I didn't want to mess with changing it all up. But Papa had an awesome scooter that the kids loved getting pulled on and riding on their own down small inclines.

 Some of the things that Erik loved when we got to Washington was that he was not confined to our 800 sq. ft. apartment (that includes our balcony). He could be on an entire different level than me, outside while I was in, etc. He thoroughly enjoyed the space and freedom to roam. It really made me excited for the time that we get to live in a neighborhood again. But I have absolutely no regrets about living in our little flat in the city. I have loved every bit of it.

 We had a weeny roast in Nana and Papa's back yard for dinner.

 Nana wasn't grumpy but she was mesmerized by the flames!

 An American hot dog! It had been a long time since we had indulged in one of those. Hot dogs in Oz are longer and a bright orangey pink color, or you get a sausage. Even when you find one that says "American Hot Dog" on it, it's not quite the same. So this was a great treat.

 Then cousins came for the long Memorial day weekend...

 Erik shows off his newly acquired skill of rolling his eyes.

 one of the favorite play spots at the house is the old fashioned mail slot that goes into the house. Before Church the kids were delivering goods to one another. THey loved to pass things through and ring the door bell.

 We had to get some cute pics of them all dressed up for church.

 On Memorial day we attended a traditional bbq at the park with members of Nana and Papa's ward at church. And that evening he held a special family night lesson about the meaning of Memorial Day

 He spoke about the members of the family who had served and why its important to be patriotic. We said the pledge of allegiance and sang some patriotic songs. It was lovely!

 Loved the look on Erik's face on this one! We had fun singing some old school songs like Yankee Doodle Dandy and waving flags.

 The kids tried on Lindsay's grandpa's uniform from World War II

 Then we held a small parade. That part was lots of fun too!

It was a great end to a great weekend. Just writing this makes me miss family....and it's only going to get a bit worse while I document the rest of our trip. I absolutely love it here in Oz, I really and truly will miss my friends and so much of this place. But family is where it is at my friends. There is something so fulfilling about being around family. One day we will live closer (and that's not too far away)

attack of the monster

 My dates are all a bit messed up I think this was in late April but it may have been early May. I had a few friends who were all due with babies within a few weeks of each other. On this particular occasion Erik and I brought home his little friend after we visited his mum and baby brother at the hospital. Once Linds got home from work he dressed up as a bad guy/monster and we had a little knight and batman defending the city.

 The knight was a little freaked out in the beginning (who wouldn't be?) and then the boys got right into it.

 Backed into the corner of the kitchen but giggling...

 They caught him and start taking him down

 Unmasked.....the good guys won!

Fun times in the moon house!

Family Preparedness

 For a long time I have wanted to get our 72 hour kits ready, and I mean fully ready. Not just we have everything or most everything but its in a billion places around the house, I wanted it ready to grab and go. When we first moved to Oz major floods has just happened. Our building had flooded, all the units were safe and dry (although the power went over for a time) but our car park had flooded and our lifts (elevators) were not working. Knowing that we were in the flood zone and just having the urge I finally put my foot down this year around April. It's hard when you move every few years to want to put them together to only pull them apart and start over but I wanted to put a plan into place that would help with that in the future.

 when looking online into what you can put in, the options and advice are endless. I read through a few and then turned everything off and just started making a list of food that would be easy and that our family would eat. I made a master meal list and master shopping list. We had nearly everything on hand but all the food. So Erik and I went and did the shopping and for Family home evening we assembled one night.

 First we did the food. I layed everything on the table and we did one grocery sack for each day for each person. I called out what to grab and everyone filled their bag. We put a sticky note on it to say who's it was and what day. Lindsay and I each took a bit of extra food for even snacks and what have you.

Next we did clothes and other necessities. Erik loved this part as well because we had gotten him a rolling suitcase for his pack that was spiderman. He was asking for an emergency so that he could use it.

 It's hard with a child with clothing because they grow so fast. But we just made sure it was all a bit big. And plan to change out or pack food and check things each General Conference time (april and October) and so we can reassess then.

 This assembly process took us longer than I thought, you can see we started in daylight and ended in night) but I think it will only take that long this initial time and from now it will just be rotation of things.

And since it was family night we had a treat after the activity. And there is nothing that can stand between this little man and his chocolate.....Don't even try

 What a goof

Funnily enough, our complex had a fire alarm happen late at night, and the building evacuated. Erik was pleased as punch that there was an 'emergency' and Lin let him take his emergency pack downstairs with him. Then they practiced a few more times over the next week to time and see how well he could do toting it around. It was super cute!