Category Archives: Musings

Events, Musings

Visit to the Duckabush

We had beautiful weather, last week, for our trip out to the Duckabush. The cousins are getting ready for their next move (this time to Norway–sob). They have packed up and moved out of their rental home and are currently staying in our Duckabush house.

The girls
Rebecca, Rachel and Aunt Koffee taking a break from a relaxing day.

Since the drive is double what we used to face, we obviously haven’t been having our weekly Family Game Nights. This is a great sadness for those of us who are addicted to Settlers of Catan (oh yes, and the nice time gathering with family). I think the children, in particular, (well, and maybe an adult or two) miss having Papa John’s pizza every Friday night. I know I miss having dinner all planned and prepared for me (especially a meal that is always a hit with the kids).

With great resolve and fore planning (ahem, okay with great lackadaisical casualness and no planning whatsoever) we decided to have a Game Day (not quite as catchy as Game Night) out at the Duckabush. (I don’t know what is with me and the parenthesis today). We remembered to actually bring Settlers of Catan with us this time — last time we left it at home since we were “sure the cousins had the game”. They, in a terrible rash of packing, had already sent the game on to Norway. Trying to retrieve the game would have been a bit of a trip. We ended up playing cards that evening and barely suffering through (I mean, having a great time).

We got to the Duckabush in the early afternoon and, silly me, I thought we would have plenty of time to finish a game of Settlers before dinner. I had forgotten about the Cousins of Lengthy Turns. Settlers of Catan is a creative, ever changing game that can be as long and involved as you want to be. Obviously there are some among us who like it to be as long and involved as it POSSIBLY can be!

Liz & Timothy
Elizabeth and Timothy in front of the Settlers of Catan game board.

Sigh, we did convince them to take a break so Elizabeth and I could prepare dinner (homemade pizzas this time–oh how the mighty have fallen, or is it risen?). Even though the game runs on turns, there are things that happen throughout the game (even when it’s not your turn) that need your attention. There are roads/cities to build, people who want to steal your cards, resource materials to gather depending on the roll of the dice, and so on.

The Refuge
What a gorgeous picture of The Refuge Retreat Center in the making!

Sometime amidst the visit, Tim did manage to go out and take some beautiful pictures of the retreat center. The building is taking shape and coming along nicely. The children had a nice time playing together although I think there were many mosquito bites by the end of the evening. Ouch.

Cousins at the Refuge
David, Daniel, Samuel, Rachel, Joshua and Timothy–outside the retreat center.

I did my part in the visit by valiantly winning the game of Settlers. I had to do something as Tim has had MUCH too long of a winning streak and really had to be stopped! Hopefully we will manage to fit in several of games during WNW day camp next week. Tim suggested we leave our set of games out at the Duckabush, that way we don’t have to haul them back and forth. It was a smart idea but ever since we drove away, I have had a terrible hankering to play Settlers of Catan. In fact, we have company coming this weekend and I had to tell them that they will actually have to bring their own copies of the game with them since ours were out at the Duckabush.

David and Sarah
David and Sarah play by the water.

Talk about poor hostessing. I hope I can live it down.
KME

Share or follow
Share

Related posts:

Family News, Musings

Weekend Alone

The sun is out! The sky is blue and crisp and the air warm. It’s a gorgeous day in western Washington.

Joshua
Joshua worked on the yard this morning before heading out to the doctor’s office. Doesn’t he look cheerful. Now if we can just get rid of the weeds I’ll be smiling too!

We have spent every afternoon, since Monday, at the pool. Somehow, however, I haven’t taken a single picture. How can that be?? I’ll remedy that as soon as possible. I’m sure it’s because, when we travel, we carry bags with towels and sunscreen and swim floats, not to mention crackers and snacks of some sort. I bring a bag of reading material for myself, keys, cell phone, water bottle, etc. Each child has a bag of their own and is responsible for their towel and goggles and any other swim paraphernalia they would like. We exit the van with full hands–I’m sure we are quite a sight. Ha!

4 kiddos
Need to photoshop out that trash can–adorable kids but not exactly a scenic background.

I’m just thrilled with this pool membership. I think it’s going to be a wonderful addition to our summer. It’s fairly expensive but I think we will get our fair share of fun out of the money. We calculated how many times we would need to go to bring the price down to lower than guest fees (cost $3 per person as a guest). So far we’ve been four times and Joshua and Tim take great delight in counting down the remaining necessary pool visits.

One of the greatest benefits of the pool is something I hadn’t even figured into my calculations–Mommy relaxation time! When we go to the pool I am forced to relax–I can’t do laundry or wash dishes or tidy up the house. All I can do is read, write, play with the children or visit with friends. What a gift! I hadn’t really expected the pool to result in a more relaxing summer for myself, I only thought of what fun it would be for the children. [Of course, since I'm not home I'm also not making dinner so we'll have to work on that aspect of things. Ha!]

Today, with the sun blazing and the temperature warm, is a perfect day for a long afternoon at the pool. Instead, I’m sitting alone in the family room, not another soul in sight. Ahh, the bliss of an empty house. Of course, there are many reminders of children all around–a huge white teddy bear of Daniel’s from his time at the children’s hospital, a little doll house and Playmobil of Sarah’s, Rachel’s dress shoes she left on the floor, and so on.

Sarah and the backpack
Sarah is ready to go–only 5 more hours!

The children themselves, however, are happily off with their grandparents, driving out to the Duckabush for a weekend away. Hooray!! For our anniversary, Tim’s parents gave us a certificate for a babysitting session. Aren’t they wonderful to take the children for the weekend. I have two hours here by myself in the house before Tim gets home. Tonight we’ll go to the theater to see a play. Tomorrow we have the whole day to ourselves (including sleeping in as long as we like!!!) and then we’ll pick up the children Sunday morning.

David
Here’s a boy who is ready for the Duckabush!

Tim and I have been tremendously blessed to have parents (on both sides) who are willing to watch all five of our children. They are extremely supportive of our decision to have a big family (mind you, compared to some friends, five isn’t that large of a family) and help out as often as they can. Not only do Tim and I benefit in having some time to ourselves, to reflect and enjoy each other alone, but the children gain a deeper relationship with their grandparents.

I’m very thankful!
Kathy

Share or follow
Share

Related posts:

Musings

Where has the sunshine gone?

1 Comment

I’m afraid our sunny summer days seem to be few and far between here in Western WA. We’ve had a run of cloudy, grey days lately. I don’t mean to complain since it’s far better than rain but I do love the sunshine.

Washing the car
Don’t be fooled by those smiling faces–it is NOT warm enough to be washing cars.

We have a picnic planned for tomorrow but I don’t think we’re going to need sunglasses. Ha! Ahh well, getting together with friends is a cheerful diversion whatever the weather.

We’re continuing with our homeschooling through the summer. I’ve tried to cut back as much as I could (to give the illusion of a summer vacation for the kiddos) but still keep things structured and focused on some learning. I’ve found too much freedom results in whiny, bored children not to mention what it does to their mastery of math facts.

David will be in kindergarten next year which is exciting. Those early grades offer all the fun of schooling with few of the drawbacks. Everything is interesting and new and fun. The world of reading is right at his finger tips but we can stop at any time to spend the rest of the day playing. I’m already eager to start him on some early math books. We’ll have to do some tweaking of our schedule to keep Sarah entertained while David’s school increases. Thankfully Sarah is able to play contentedly on her own.

Pool prison
Summer 2005–Sarah makes sure Daniel is behaving!

If the weather ever heats up we plan to join the local pool. Last summer I resisted that idea as we had our own above ground pool and were gone for so much of the summer. This year David has been taking swimming classes at the Y and is much more comfortable in the water. We aren’t participating in any of the Y camps–we actually put our membership on hold this summer which frees up some money for a pool membership. Our Wal Mart pool died last year with several rips in the bottom (our fault–surely I can find some pictures of that little miscalculation).

Sliding pool
Although it seemed like a GREAT idea, it turns out a plastic pool (with a rather thin bottom) can NOT handle the wear and tear of a jungle gym placed on top of it. Oops! That was a costly mistake.

All in all a membership to the country club pool right here in our neighborhood sounds like a good idea. The pool doesn’t open until noon (swim classes in the morning) which dove tails nicely with our summer homeschooling schedule.

Now if we can just get some nice, hot summer days.
–KME

Share or follow
Share

Related posts:

Musings

Family Visit Coming to a Close

We’ve had such a lovely visit with my parents. They arrived last week and are going home tomorrow. The weather has just now turned sunny and beautiful (typical). I am afraid they might be returning to some Michigan rain storms (also typical). Ahh, thankfully they came to see the grandchildren and not blue skies.

I have some fun pictures (mostly stolen off of Grandad’s camera) of our visit. I will have to post them later. We never seem to remember to take enough pictures or video. After the occasion (or visit) has passed, I am always sad that we didn’t capture more of the time on film. Even when I have taken more pictures than seems necessary, I am always glad for each one and hunger for rmore. I guess much of the time we are so busy living in the moment there isn’t time or thought to stop and take pictures. During those times I try to use “Fresh Film,” a concept a dear friend shared, and hold the memories vividly close in my heart and mind.

Tomorrow morning I will drive Mom and Dad to the airport. The children (those that were awake enough to respond) said they wanted to get up and go swimming in the morning. Hmmm. I’m not sure we have enough time for that but it does sound fun. It’s quite amazing how much pool time the kids manage to cram into a short visit. Their favorite thing to do is sleep over at the hotel with Mamie and Grandad, eat a sugar cereal/donut breakfast, and then spend a good hour or two in the pool. If they had their druthers they would also return in the afternoon or evening to swim again. What a blessing that the children all enjoy the water so much. I grew up with swimming lessons, pools, beach and lake trips. Both sets of grandparents had pools for our summer swimming pleasure. My maternal grandparents had a pool IN their house so we could swim whatever the season of our visit. Very fun!

It’s a delight to see the children enjoy the water as well. With a July birthday, most of my parties were situated at a pool or lake. David has made the most notable progress in his swimming. He has been in swim lessons at the Y during the homeschool PE. He had such confidence in the hotel pool this time. I was very proud of his abilities. One precious moment was when Rachel asked if he wanted to “race.” They both had on goggles and swam across the shallow end of the pool (almost literally on top of the stairs). Rachel paced herself and swam along side David for some exhilarating “races.” I loved watching their joy–David’s in swimming with the big kids and Rachel in being kind to her brother.

More later with pictures.
–Kathy

Share or follow
Share

Related posts:

Musings

Hot Summer (??) Days

We are having a run of lovely, warm days here in Washington.

Sarah in pink
Sarah finishes her breakfast before church.

Perhaps it’s to make up for the long run of rain we had in the winter. Whatever the reason, I am certainly enjoying it thoroughly. The children love the sunshine and have loaded up the freezer with Otter Pops (a sure sign summer is here).

Daniel and David
Daniel and David enjoy the swing ball set.

Last weekend Tim set up the tent on Saturday evening and let the kids have a little camp out. Somehow (tragedy of all tragedies) we didn’t take ANY pictures of the whole event! I’m not sure how we let such an exciting evening go undocumented. Tim and David put the tent in the back yard while the rest of us were dropping off a friend from a play date. There was so much excitement as the kids ran out to see the little tent. They spent the rest of the evening dragging every pillow and blanket (it seemed) that we have out to the tent.

In the end only Rachel and Joshua actually slept all night in the tent. Tim read the Bible chapter to the kids out in the tent and I joined them for a bit. We were quite, ahem, packed in–it’s not a very big tent, certainly not a family sized one. It didn’t help that Rachel and David/Sarah had brought out several stuffed animals to join in the fun. By the time everyone settled down it was quite late and the little ones were very tired. I took them inside and put them to bed. Daniel came in shortly thereafter. Both Daniel and David changed their minds and tried to go back out into the tent but it was close to (or after) 11 pm and I knew they really needed a good night’s sleep. They fussed some and promptly fell right asleep.

Tim's tomatoes
Tim’s tomato plants–we eat a LOT of tomatoes in this family and hope to grow a few of our own this summer.

The children have already played with water several times. I’m not sure why they haven’t washed my van yet–perhaps the novelty of that runs out fairly quickly. I’ve spoken to several friends who have set up pools in their back yards.

Water fight!
Rachel and Joshua enjoy a friendly game with water.

There is a definite air of summer about. Sadly, I am fairly certain it’s not here to stay. Usually you can count on summer’s arrival by July 4th. Before that time it doesn’t really stay nice and warm here in Washington. We’ll see what this year will hold. I’ve certainly been very thankful for the sunshine and warm days.

We tried to do our school reading outside yesterday. That was a total bust! The children couldn’t pay attention–it’s too hot, it’s too sunny, I need a drink, etc. My goodness! What a girl has to go through just to enjoy a little sunshine. Finally I sent them all off to do some more tablework and sat down to do some weeding. Daniel and Rachel did their work outside near me but we didn’t do our reading. It was a good lesson for me–I can certainly be out in the gorgeous weather but had better plan on doing our school work inside where everyone can focus on the subject at hand. Ah well. I guess that means I can give up the idea of doing school at the pool/club this summer.

Sarah in bathing suit
Doesn’t this girl look like she wants to do some serious school!

Kathy

Share or follow
Share

Related posts: