Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest I feel most alive surrounded by trees and breathing in the fresh mountain air.
When I am not working you will most likely find me spending time outdoors, volunteering with my church and exploring this beautiful planet with my family.
This is my place to share my passion for life and to encourage you to take time to find the extraordinary in your life.
All tagged Washington
The North Cascades are my happy place. The moment I set foot in that valley or hike through those mountains I feel calm and at peace. It is the place I look most forward to visiting year after year and the place I most often find myself day dreaming about. When Cameron mentioned he wanted to go there for his birthday this past month I was eager for the day of our trip to arrive. Unfortunately, good health has alluded us so far this year so Cameron had the privilege of celebrating his birthday instead with two "sickies".
In my opinion, each day should consist of six things: fresh air, inspiration, exercise, creativity, meaning and play. When a day feels off it is usually because it is lacking in one of these categories. It had been a long time since we last visited the Olympic Sculpture Park and during our couple hour visit I was reminded why it is such a fantastic place- especially for children. At the Olympic Sculpture Park you will find large scale art pieces to interact with, sweeping vistas of the city, mountains and water and most importantly, for this little two year old hills to run up and plenty of space to run free. The train tracks which run parallel to the park and the constant air traffic overhead provide additional entertainment.
Most days when I take Jasper on an adventure I have a series of events planned out in mind. There are certain elements of the day I am certain will excite him and then I leave all the rest to chance. However, most days the memorable moments typically happen during the in between periods, the pit stop at the park before nap time where we are almost mauled with kisses from an adorable new puppy or on the walk to the car when we encounter a road construction crew. Time and time again I am shown there is wonder and awe in the mundane as much as the majestic. So when we took Jasper to Northwest Trek this Fall I thought he would be really excited about the tram ride, but in actuality he was equally pumped about the information signs on the walking paths, pine needles and being a rebel by not walking on the pavement. Kids these days, they are just so easy to please!
We are fortunate to live near hundreds of islands, but the thought has never really occurred to me to go island hopping for the day. Usually, we have a destination in mind and the ferry is the means to get there, this time we decided to try something we had never done before and go island hopping. We knew we could head to Vashon Island and then hop on over to Tacoma but we have never done so. We live so close to the Vashon Island ferry within minutes we were cruising across the water and heading toward our island adventure. No traffic, no waits, perfection on a sunny Saturday with an antsy toddler in the back seat.
The one question I get asked the most often is "how do you keep a toddler happy while you are hiking/snowshoeing?" Aside from my amazing husband who willingly carries our little heavy weight around the answer is pretty simple, sometimes we do and other times we don't. Early on we decided we did not want to stop doing the things we love because we had children. That being said we have had to curtail the length and frequency of our hikes in addition to having our moments where we question why we brought him along in the first place.
Today, we are slowly getting back into the swing of things after a nice, long sunny holiday in San Francisco. We lucked out with a streak of warm weather and sunshine while we were there which resulted in entire days spent outside, zipping around the city by foot, bus, street car or trolley. Eating almost every meal outside and basking in every possible ray of sunlight. It was so nice to get a break from the cold and the rain. When we arrived home to a dusting of snow and then spent the following day in the mountains I was reminded real life isn't so bad either.
Every family does their Christmas tree shopping a little differently. Some people like tall trees, some people like short fat trees and other people like to find the saddest little tree they can and bring it home. Some families go to tree lots, tree farms, out in the woods, nurseries or even the grocery store. When Cameron and I were dating we selected our tree based on price, ease and convenience. We found the best looking tree the closest to Cameron's apartment and walked it home. Once we were married we continued this tradition for several years until we moved to a different place. That year, the closest place with trees for sale was Home Depot and once again we continued the tradition of walking our tree home. The following year we lived in a condo which was located near our local nursery and for a couple years we walked our tree home, shoved it in the elevator, took it for a ride up six floors to our place leaving a trail of pine needles as we went. Once we were in our house for the first time in our life we drove our tree home. After moving into our new home last year we decided to keep things simple and selected a tree we could easily put in the back of our car. Even though our beloved nursery delivers there is something so gratifying in selecting a tree, bringing it home and decorating it in one evening. Over the years, our Christmas trees keep getting smaller and smaller, but I think that is in large part because we are partial to the small and slightly chubby type. This year since we will be out of town for Christmas we decided to forgo getting a tree, but the Christmas spirit and one enthusiastic little boy quickly changed my mind about that.
On Jasper's birthday we paid a visit to the Seattle Japanese Garden at the Arboretum. The Seattle Japanese Garden is a 3.5 acre park located in the Madison Park neighborhood of Seattle. The garden is located in the southern end of the Washington park Arboretum on Lake Washington Boulevard East. The last time I visited the Seattle Japanese garden Jasper was a few short weeks away from being born. It was fun to be able to take him on such a glorious day for his first visit. The sun was shining, the leaves were gorgeous shades of red, yellow and orange. One of the gardeners was even kind enough to let Jasper rake the leaves for a few minutes. As I watched Jasper successfully maneuver a rake almost twice his size I could tell this was a highlight of his day. I love how children don't view anything as work- just play.
On a wet and windy Thursday we took the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. The weather forecasters were calling for a "storm of the century" that weekend and we weren't exactly sure what to expect. Several years ago I heard the expression "there is no such thing as bad weather, only improper clothing". As a born and breed Pacific Northwesterner I try to stick to that as my mantra and not let the weather interfere with my plans. If we made it a point to stay inside on inclement weather days not only would we be missing out on a whole slew of adventures, but we would be missing out on the quintessential moodiness which is so integral to the PNW.
Each year in honor of Asher's birthday, we spend a long weekend in to the North Cascades. It is hard to put into words what a special place this has become for our little family, but the first word which comes to mind is refuge. Aside from the jaw dropping views and overall detachment from the outside world, it has become a place where we can remember and yet continue to make lasting memories together as a family.
During our time on Orcas Island we stayed at a lovely place called Pebble Cove Farm owned by Lydia and John Miller. Upon first glance at their website, the thing that struck me the most was how they referred to it as their "dream come true". In 2004, Lydia and John bought this long neglected acreage and worked hard to transform an abandoned barn into a contemporary farmhouse. There dream to raise their three boys by the sea was achieved and now their guests are the recipients of all their hard work. Pebble Cove Farm is a respite from the world. There is a u-pick garden, a sweet horse named Buddy, goats, pigs, chickens, a swing set and most importantly room to breathe. Jasper loved spending his time in the garden and I was in love with their bountiful orchard and flower garden.
A couple weekends ago we found ourselves up in Edmonds on a Saturday afternoon. Much to our delight we stumbled upon their farmer's market. Living in Seattle it is often difficult to find a farmer's market which isn't on a Sunday, so we were excited to peruse the fresh vegetables, flowers and handmade goods. We were excited to walk away with an assortment of locally made goods. We bought some amazing peanut butter chocolate fudge and milk chocolate toffee, handmade caramels, a head of garlic, a pound of fingerling potatoes, a bouquet of fresh flowers and a gardening tool. Sounds like we have a bit of sweet tooth doesn't it?!
Saturdays could easily turn into just another day in the week. We could spend our time cleaning, doing projects around the house and running errands, but instead Saturdays have become our day to invest in our most important priority-our family. On a typical Saturday, we try to leave the house early and head for the mountains. Depending on a variety of factors; the weather, our energy levels etc. we set out on a hike for the day. On this particular day, we hiked a total of nine miles. We hiked to a beautiful alpine lake called Melakwa. On our way up, while Jasper took a nap, I took time to document just a few of the wildflowers we saw. Once he was awake, amidst cascading waterfalls and scenic vistas we practiced his animal sounds.
