Trying to get settled

We have been home for 2 weeks now and we are slowly settling in. Matt was home for 5 days then headed back to Canada to finish his job there. While he was gone the girls and I headed to the westside to visit family and friends.

We met my friend Jo at Bellevue Square for lunch and little shopping.

Our first stop on our trip was Thom and Christines. We had a great time celebrating Grace and Thom's birthdays. On Friday we got to have Sophie hang with us for the day. The cousins had a blast just hanging out together.



Our next stop found us at Point Defiance Zoo. We met Jackie and the kids there along with Jackies sister, nephew, mom and Jackie's sisters in-laws. We had a great time seeing all the animals and watching all the cousins have a great time just hanging out and being silly.

Finally, we made it to Grandma's house. Janet and the girls along with Matt's mom Marcia come over for dinner and visit. We finally got to meet Sharlet and I got my baby fix!! The girls and I enjoyed 2 days of visiting with Grandma and doing our special Dairy Queen treat.

Last on our stop was Dad and Debbies. Kaitlyn have fun taking care of the horses with Debbie and decided she wanted to try riding Sunny again. She did a great job and was feeling very confident. But she decided to canter and Sunny got excited and took off. Kaitlyn panicked for a moment, lost her sturps and got bucked off. She was OK and is ready to get back on a horse at her next lesson.

Later in the day, Dad and Grace went on a 6 mile bike ride. Grace is quite the bike rider and kept up with dad. She was tired when she got back but really enjoyed just getting out there and spending time with Grandpa.

The next day Dad and Debbie took us out the Bloedel Reserve. It is a 150 acre "plantation". It has a few different gardens and a beautiful mansion. We all enjoyed walking around and just enjoying the different plants and sights.



Our trip ended with Janet and the girls coming over for dinner and one last visit. It was fun to get all our girls together.

It was so wonderful to go home and see everyone. It was a fairly quick visit moving from place to place but I am thankful that we are only a few hours away and we can come back for a longer visit and have our family and friends over to our house.

Gracie is 11!!!

11 years ago today God blessed us with our second daughter.

I enter the hospital on July 28 @ midnight. She was taking her sweet time so I spent the day just laying around waiting. Of course my favorite story to tell is come the afternoon and having nothing to eat all day I was SO hungry. I had this thing for Milky Way bars so I convinced Matt to go get one and let me have just one bite. When I did finally get that bite who walks in just then~ yep my doctor. I was caught red handed!!

At 10:00pm things were still going slowly so my Dr decided she was going home. The nurse had me turn over and I fell asleep for a bit. I woke up, which felt like just minutes later, with some BAD pains. Sure enough she was coming and there was no waiting. The nurse kept telling me to hold on and wait but OH MY this little girl was NOT waiting for anyone! My Dr arrive just and Grace entered the world.

She was SO little with this dark curly hair and these big blue eyes. The moment Matt looked at her she had him wrapped around her finger. She was so calm and peaceful. But when she wanted to eat, watch out!!!

Fast forward 11 years, here we are with this young lady who has a mind of her own. Who knows what she wants and is full of life. Grace has taught me so much over these last 11 years. I have watched her be a friend who just loves a person for who they are and never tries to change them. She works hard and does the best job she can. Hockey has become a big part of her life. She loves to watch and play it. One of her dreams is the play hockey in college.

These last 11 years has been a great adventure and it's been fun to see what God has created her to be. I can't wait to see what lays in store the next 11 years!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE!

Our trip home to Washington

On July 16 we left Tiverton, ON on our journey west to our home in Kennewick. It was an emotional morning for us. Our friends who live along the highway out of town were out with signs to wish a good-bye. We had a great day of travel. No wait at the boarder, thanks to our Nexus cards, and no hassle about coming back into the US with all our "goods". We went as far as St. Joesph, MI. We stayed in a KOA that had a large jumping pillow. The girls and I had a blast playing on it.



Our second day of driving was a LONG day. We went from St. Joseph, MI to Jackson, MN. It was a 13 hour day but we will did well.

Our third day we went from Jackson, MN to Rapid City, SD. We took a little time and stopped at a neat rest area that had this HUGE buffalo. Grace thought it was the coolest. And of course there was a horse for Kaitlyn.






Day four was Mt Rushmore day. I had been waiting since I was 14 to visit and I finally made it. It was everything I could have imagined and more! The best part of it was the evening program. I learned so much more about Lewis and Clark and why the sculptor picked these 4 presidents for his monument. It all ended with the lighting of the faces and all past and present veterans being called down the stage for the lowering of the flag. A boy scout troop from Minnesota lowered the flag. It was quite emotional to watch.

Our fifth day took us from Grand Rapids, SD to Butte, MT. It was another LONG day but we took some time and went to Cabelas and had a nice sit down lunch and dinner.

Day six we finally made it home to Kennwick!! It was so great to be back and there was a peace that we felt.

We have been busy unpacking and organizing. Matt heads out Monday morning to go back to Canada for a couple weeks to finish his job there. Then he will be back and start his new job at Hanford. We are so thankful for the blessings God has given us during this time and can't wait to see what He has planned for us next.

Grace's Birthday/ Goodbye Party

We had an early Bday party for Grace with her Canada friends. She invited 4 of her besties and they had a ball down and the beach, at the park and just hanging out at the house.




Grace and her pink hockey cake.




Close up of the cake ( no I did not make it )



Gracie doing her jump off the dunes.



All the girls having a ball in lake.



The whole gang...



Grace and Danika

Grace and Rylee

Grace and Annika



Grace and Lauren

A good shot of all of them.



Hanging at the park.

Getting close....

Uhaul loaded.....

Kaitlyn's goodbye/sleepover party

Kaitlyn had 4 of her best friends over for a goodbye/sleepover. These girls were so much fun to watch and listen to. They got along SO well and I can tell there are some life long friendships there. Kaitlyn has been blessed with meeting these girls and my prayers are that they can keep in touch over the years and one day they will cross paths again.

Lori, Kaitlyn and Olivia

Delaney and Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn and Kerri

Kaitlyn and Olivia

Kaitlyn and Lori

Beach time!



The girls had a ball jumping the dunes!

It started to rain so they decided to paint nails.

Gift time!

Then they did each others make up.

Olivia..

Hanging out in the trees at the park.

Grandpa Lookabaugh and Barbara's Visit

Matt's Grandfather and Barbara came to visit for a few days this past weekend. It was fun having them here and showing them around the area. Kincardine was holding their annual Scottish Festival so we took in the parade and some of the heavy competitions.

The girls with Great Grandpa and Barbara waiting for the parade to start.

Kincardine's Pipe Band

The Women's Sheaf Toss. These ladies were quite amazing! The winner was the smallest lady and she tossed the bag which is about 26 pound over the pole that was sitting 20 feet high.

The Caber Toss was my favorite!

The men threw this medal ball that weighs around 26-28 pounds.

We took a drive up to Collingwood, our favorite spot, and had lunch and walked a round a bit. Got a nice picture of Matt and the girls with Grandpa and Barbara.