Another Day on San Juan

So, the most recent summertime trip to the island happened a couple weeks ago. While there was not a single trace of the beloved Orcas, we did not get completely cheated. Which is good...because then I would have gotten up before the sun for no reason at all. Which would have then made me VERY grumpy. But maybe not. After all, I got to spend all day looking at sights like this.

And...I wanted to show you just how close we have been to Orcas before. Welcome to their favorite playground.

The killer whales will get just that close to shore (which is deceptively deep considering the proximity to land) all because of the lovely bull kelp. But...they aren't the only animals who enjoy the glorified seaweed. Take a look and see if you can find our fun marine mammal companion for the day.

Can't see our little friend? Well you can either click on the picture to get the expanded view...or, the much more fun way...look below (I recommend the latter)!



This lovely creature stayed floating and ducking amongst the kelp for HOURS. At one point, we worried if it was okay. But, then we'd see it dive or roll, and our concerns about the possibly dead sea lion would vanish. Especially when he lifted his head and looked right at me. It was soooo cute.

So, that was a fun day, despite the lack of Orcas, which I'm sure made it infinitely more enjoyable for our little showoff friend.

Have I ever mentioned that I love where I live?

Day on the Island.

So, come summertime, one of my favorite events happens. Anybody who truly knows me will not be surprised that this event is ALL about marine mammal happenings. But for those of you just getting to know me, here's a little bit of helpful information.

Ever since I was eleven and sitting in a theater in San Antonio, TX, I have been completely in love with Killer Whales. This adoring obsession is courtesy of a little movie called FREE WILLY. That's right people, I'm a child of the Free Willy era...and mostly proud to admit it. I was completely proud to admit it until the last one came out this past year. Now, just to clarify, I'm not hating on Bindi Irwin (who I happen to think is completely adorable), but I am totally hating on the CG whales that didn't even swim correctly. So...not going to step on that soapbox. But...see for yourself.

VS.

Anyway, returning to the point. I adore Orcas...so much in fact that they are the main reason I uprooted my life in TX and moved 2,800 miles away to the beautiful place I now call home in Northwestern Washington State.

And every summer, a group of three different pods join up in what is sometimes referred to as Superpod, which now numbers close to 90 whales. And....I go spend hours on an island in the hopes of catching a glimpse.

Well, this summer was no exception. I went to the island multiple times, and only got to behold these gorgeous creatures twice from REALLY far away. But...I did get to see them. Which is a miracle in and of itself.

One of the times I went, I was privileged to get to play tour guide to a couple friends who had never been over before. And we had a blast. So...here are a few pictures from that great day.

REALLY windy (and freezing) ferry ride.



The relative warmth inside the ferry.

View from the ferry as the DENSE fog was burning off (which then resulted in a BEAUTIFUL day)

My friend enjoying the sights. This may have been gazing off towards the whales (which were much too far away to photograph).

And...as we were leaving, some kind tourists took a picture of the Three Adventuring Amigos...or would it be Amigas?





Dad's Birthday

So, on August 14, Dad turned the distinguished age of 64. For a year, he's been saying he wanted to learn how to play the mandolin. So, among other things, that's what he got. He ordered the one he wanted from Ebay about three weeks before his birthday. Which meant we received it two weeks before the big event. Which meant we had to REALLY hide the sucker for that length of time.

Now, it is important to know that our apartment seriously lacks space in general, much less hiding space. Pretty much every nook and cranny is stuffed full of something. So, creativity was a must. But, thank goodness, we found a suitable hiding spot in the well known chaos that is otherwise known as my bedroom. And, despite many casual attempts (that I'm sure he thought were well disguised but sooooo not), Dad never found the not so surprising surprise.

Being that he knew what he was getting, Mom and I toiled long and hard on how to best make this birthday a surprising event. Which miraculously worked out quite well. I had sneakily purchased a DVD for Dad that he kept slipping onto the Netflix queue, despite my several covert operations to remove it from said queue. Seriously, he out it on (and I removed it) FOUR times. Sheesh. But, somehow, he never realized what was happening until the day he opened his coveted disc of Captain Correlli's Mandolin (are you seeing the theme here?).

But the best surprise of all involved the actual mandolin. Dad and I had this wonderful Friday night tradition of staying up obscenely late to watch Whale Wars. And when I say obscenely late, I mean the show didn't start until 1 A.M. But we were addicted and couldn't help ourselves. Well, on this particular Friday night, we were both lagging a bit. So, at about 11:30, I went into my room and wrapped his gift. At precisely midnight on August 14, 2010...this is what occurred.

Okay...once technical issues are resolved, video will be posted here.

Until then, here's the synopsis. At exactly midnight, Mom and I marched out of my room, wrapped package in tow, singing "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Dad was immensely surprised...and had no problem staying up long enough to watch Whale Wars. :)

My Father-the Umpire

So, once again, it's been a while since I've logged onto my blogger. So long in fact that when I couldn't post anything, I was worried that my account had been deactivated. But, fortunately, thanks to the help option, I discovered the problem, and I can now resume a more normal blogging schedule. So, yay!!!!

A little while ago, my eldest sister and her FIVE boys asked that we post some pictures of Dad in his official umpire getup. So...here you go Joyces. Enjoy!!!!

And what's this? A video too???? What good are pictures when you can shoot a candid moving shot? So, here's a taste of Dad in action.

Voila...and there you have it. Isn't he cute...I mean incredibly awesome and extremely manly?

WARNING: Non-Chronological Posting

So...at the urging of more than one of my dear friends and family members, I am committing a heinous blogger sin...an out of order post. I promise I will get back to finishing up the posts from our loooong trip, and if I'm lucky, that will happen before we leave on our next one...in just a coulple days. It seems like we can't stay put for more than three months at a time. But anyways....moving on.

On June 5, 2010, I did something that was really about eight years late. But I've said it before and I'll say it again...better late than never! Especially when the task culminated in this.....

!!!!!!

I FINALLY completed my Associates Degree in Business Administration. It was really hard-fought. I will now make an admission. Had I known what I was getting myself into when I decided to go back to school and do it online...I may not...revise that...I WOULD NOT have done it. If you're wondering why, well, I'll tell you.

You may have heard that online school is easy. Another misconception...it's not really like the normal college classes. Something else I hear, "People who go to school online are slackers." For those of that mindset, I feel I must tell you as gently as I can... W-R-O-N-G...in fact, completely wrong. It is obvious that the purveyors of such myths have never, and I mean never ever, taken an online class, much less a whole degree's worth of online classes.


How I would have loved to show up to a classroom to meet attendance requirements! How nice it would have been to only have to had to raise my hand once in a while to earn participation credit! I can't imagine what it would have been like to only have to take notes while someone lectured on the material instead of read, re-read, and then re-read again the ENTIRE textbook throughout the course of nine weeks...whilst taking notes as well.


But alas, that was not the lot I chose for myself. And so, this accomplishment was that much sweeter!



I could not have endured that eternal two-year process if not for those of you who showed love, support, and compassion for me throughout that time. So, I say THANKS SO MUCH and I appreciate everything you helped me with during the time I strove for my baby degree.
Also, a big shout out to my friends the Messegees for their fabulous photo skills from acres away from the action. They were awesome in snapping shots since, once again, our camera battery died. In fact, my buddy Alan even video-taped some of the action. You can witness Alan's skills at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhbX8BFzRRQ.So, along with that, there will be a couple more pictures posted soon, so keep an eye out. I'm just waiting for them to arrive!We followed up the festivities with lunch at a fantastic restaurant that some more friends who shared the day with me recommended. Then it was home to hang up the cap and gown for good...well, at least, for a few more years.

From MD to OK (sorry-post without pictures)

So...after spending a great deal of time in MD (thanks again Joyce and Washburn families!!!), it was down to OK we went. All I can say is that after a 57 hour drive, 16 did not seem so bad at all.

The main purpose of that trip was to help get Da's (my mother's father) house ready to go on the market. We engaged in some great manual labor which included pulling fluff and staples out of hardwood floors and pulling up severely stationary tackstrips. Mom spent a great deal of time hunched over in a chair yanking things out of the floor while Dad and I invested many hours on our trusty hands and knees...neither of which were so trusty the next day.

But, despite soreness, it was a fantastic couple days. We spent time with Aunt Cyndy, Uncle Dennis, and even Kara (for a few hours anyway). After two days, we headed out to the cemetery to see some ancestors' headstones. And then it was on our way again.

Whilst in MD--Beware: LONG POST (re-posted)

So, after two-and-a-half days in the car, it was with great relief that we arrived at the Washburn home in Abingdon. We were greeted energetically by six of the cutest kids known to humanity and had a blast playing with them.

While this is not how they looked as they came outside that morning, it's the best shot to show off their total adorable-ness. We loved every minute of it.

Also, we got to see our incredibly handsome and athletic Joyces while we were in MD. Unfortunately, it seemed that the boys were a little camera shy. Every time I asked to get pictures of them, they scampered off to locations unknown until the threat of the "Auntiecam" disappeared. However, I was able to get a darn cute shot of the oldest Joyce "boy" and the youngest.

There's nothing quite as sweet as a father/son bonding photo.

One of the great things about Annapolis and Abingdon is the proximity to our nation's capitol.

We took full advantage of that one day as we headed out to go visit the National Museum of the American Indian. There were soooo many neat things in that place that I completely wound up depleting my battery camera. I can't pick just a few shots, and so, cue the slideshow.

Then came one of the craziest/fun parts of all. Snowstorms descended...en masse. It literally hit in the time it
took for my sister and I to make a run to BJ's (a Costco type place). When we left the house, it had barely
started snowing. When we left the store forty minutes later, we were trapped. Enough snow had fallen, so
quickly that all the roads back to Catherine's house were closed. I-N-S-A-N-I-T-Y!!! With only one way to
leave the store, we were inextricably trapped. The good news: it was cold enough outside to keep the cold
things, well frozen actually, AND there was a movie theater within walking distance.

Catherine and I sat in the parking lot for nearly an hour without moving more than 1/10 of a mile. At that point,
we went back into the store. They'd set up Hot Cocoa and a movie for all their trapped patrons to enjoy while
waiting for the storm to clear enough to go back home. It was in that store, over our respective slices of pizza,
that we decided what to do for the next two hours. Decision made, we hoofed it on down to the movie theater
that was a couple blocks away--in about 18 inches of snow. It didn't matter that Catherine nor I had on snow-
appropriate shoes or that we were not dressed for an arctic expedition, we tromped through the snow
anyways. With Catherine's love of Han Solo and my intense crush on Monte Kessler from With Honors, the
choice was obvious. And we weren't disappointed by this movie.

By the time it was over, the roads had been plowed enough for us to get back to Catherine's waiting husband
and children. So, while completely spur of the moment and totally unplanned, Catherine and I were able to
have some bonding time...and it was fabulous.

In fact, it wound up snowing so much that night that church was cancelled. Alas, that gave us an opportunity
to enjoy a fabulous session of home church. Then the children enjoyed a great time playing in the snow. Sadly,
due to my inappropriate trekking attire from the day before, I was pretty much on self-imposed indoor house
arrest. I know my body...and it does not get along with snow. So, I stayed indoors, and sadly was forced to
forsake a prime picture-taking opportunity...sadness.

But I did nab this a few days later

...before Snowstorm #2 hit us.    

I pretty much adored Briella's training session with

big sis Kamberlynne regarding the fabulous art that is

making snow angels. It was so stinkin' cute. And Ellie

seemed to like it too!

And the end result was something like this.

See all those snow angels in the background? Sooooo much fun.

And, way harder than driving 3,000 miles in the snow, harder than being confined to a car for two and a half days, way harder than the sleep deprivation, and temporary malnourishment was this.

There is still not a day that goes by where we don't think of our little angel up in Heaven. How we love our Angel Mariah and look forward to holding her one day, along with Baby Isaac and the little Joyce boy we never got to know. The Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways.

And so, amidst tremendous grief, there were moments like these that helped us through.

And so, that was our Maryland trip. Laughter, tears, fun, love, Olympics, athletic events, and oh so much SNOW! My only regret is that I couldn't snap more pictures of the Joyces. And so, I'll refer you to their blog spot, which you can access off the list on the right side of my blog. It was so much fun watching the boys dominate in Soccer, Wrestling, and Basketball. It was great showing Star Trek to a couple teenagers who just thought it was completely ridiculous. It was fun playing ball with the not even 2-year old and getting squeezes from the almost eight-year old. Basically, I learned that I'm the luckiest Auntie on the face of the planet and there is never enough time to get your fill of family...especially when you don't see them for five years at a time.

So, here's to pictures and memories...and not waiting so long in between visits. Thank you dear Joyces and Washburns for sharing your families and homes with us for sooooo long. It was a wonderful trip!