12 Year Anniversary

In May James and I got to getaway for our anniversary.  It was a long anticipated getaway as we had to cancel our anniversary trip for 11 years because the inn we planned to stay at shut down for COVID.  Plus it was just a tricky year to get away.  So it had been 2 long years since we had a getaway just the two of us.  We were giddy to get a whole 4 days just to ourselves and reconnect.  

After exploring revisiting some of our usual and favorite anniversary destinations (i.e., Cannon Beach, San Juan Island, Victoria, etc.) we decided to do something new this year and go somewhere we'd never really explored together--Orcas Island!  

We ended up finding this adorable B&B called Otters Pond Bed and Breakfast near Eastsound.  We had a cozy little room overlooking the pond where we could watch and hear the wildlife.  Apparently a river otter lives in the pond, but he was elusive and we never saw him.  :(  But I have a love for otters so when I found this cute little place I knew it was meant to be.  

We took the ferry over and stayed from Friday through Monday.  It was a mixed weather weekend--some beautiful sunny days and some rainy cooler days which we actually loved.  The first day we got there was beautiful so we had lunch, walked around Eastsound and then headed straight for Moran State Park and drove up to the top of Mt. Constitution to take in the beautiful views.  The next day was an adventure day--we took our mountain bikes on a bike/hike trip through the beautiful trails in Moran State Park and then had a picnic lunch near the lake.  It was quite the adventure for our older bodies so we spent the rest of the day napping and resting in our room which was heavenly.  Sunday was fun because we golfed the small little 9-hole golf course on Orcas.  It was actually a challenging course!  But we lucked out with an overcast and cool morning which was helpful.  And we virtually had the course all to ourselves!  The rest of the afternoon we drove around and explored the rest of the island including Deer Harbor.  We also took a beautiful hike on Turtleback Mountain which had even more incredible views than we got on Mt. Constitution.  We could see all the way to Canada!  

In addition to our fun adventures we ate really well too.  Amanda, the inn owner made yummy breakfasts for us every morning.  And at night we ate at some great restaurants including Madrona Bar & Grill, Mijitas, and did a special anniversary dinner at The Mansion at Rosario Resort.  We also found this adorable bar in town called The Barnacle and had some fun, creative drinks.  

In our down time we found some fun movies and new shows to watch and slept a lot.  So basically it was a perfect weekend overall and just what we needed to recharge and reconnect.  Hopefully our next getaway comes soon!!

Some notes about 12 years of marriage:

As I reflect back on these 12 amazing years married to the most incredible man, I just feel so grateful.  So many memories, gifts, adventures, and so much abundance, growth and love.  Here are some notable things from our 12th year:

• We started doing marriage counseling with a wonderful counselor in Nov. 2020. We decided to do it to be proactive--to get help and guidance on healthy practices, nip in the bud any bad habits or patterns we're getting into, etc.  It's been wonderful and more helpful and needed than we realized with all the COVID anxiety and other things that came up this year
• We survived a year of pandemic, both working from home, homeschooling our kids, a remodel, and lots more and still really really like each other.  ;)  I don't know how I would have gotten through all that without James--so grateful for a partner through everything to help quiet my soul, provide help and support and keep me laughing despite the craziness
• We were reflecting during our trip that many people look at lots of years of marriage and feel like it gets boring or predictable.  But we feel the opposite.  So far it's been more rich, fulfilling, growing, and interesting.  Like wine everything in marriage seems to get better with age--our understanding of each other, our communication, our conversations, our sex life, our partnership, our rhythm, our parenting (we think??), etc.  We just really enjoy each other's company and doing life together.  It's definitely not perfect and we have our challenges (thank you again for marriage counseling), but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Nathan's 9th Birthday

Nathan is 9 years old!  Luckily his birthday was a lot more normal this year compared to last year.  He actually got to have a birthday party in person with friends!  We hosted the party at our favorite Centennial Park and lucked out with beautiful weather.  He invited about 6 friends and his grandparents to his party and almost everyone came!  Safe to say he was in heaven and it filled his cup so much to be with his friends in person--especially since he did virtual school the entire school year.  

The birthday party theme this year was Minecraft.  The kids played some games in the grass, rode their bikes around the path, did a pinata, had a dance party, and ate cake.  Grampa made an awesome homemade Minecraft theme cake.  Overall it was a simple and fun party and exactly what Nathan needed after a year of pandemic.  

Here are some fun aspects about Nathan at age 9 that we don't want to forget:

• Nathan is consistently one of the most happy, content, and enthusiastic people we know. He has a zest for life that is contagious and very refreshing with all the hard stuff going on in the world.  He wakes up happy and ready for the day and mostly stays that way throughout.  We are so grateful for the positivity he brings to our household
• Nate is a morning person where the rest of us are not.  Sometimes it takes us awhile to catch up to him in the morning, but he is patient with us.  He is usually raring to go in the morning and is great about doing the "process" on his own--getting dressed, brushing teeth and making his bed
• Nathan is curious all. the. time.  He wants to know about and understand everything.  We love his curiosity and wonderment for this world and all the things around him.  But poor guy--many times I find myself saying "I don't know."  But he asks great questions and I hope his curiosity is never quenched.
• He survived a full year of virtual school!!!  We are so proud of Nathan and all that he accomplished this past crazy year.  He persevered and even made the experience enjoyable as best he could.  Thank goodness for his incredible teacher, Ms. Ziemer (Roberts) who helped him survive and thrive.  He gained crazy amounts of technology skills and knowledge.  And his favorite subjects were science and math (depending on the topic).
• He is extremely creative and his imagination just gets bigger and better with every year. The kids in our alleyway love playing with him because he is always making up fun games or scenarios for them to play.
• He currently loves Pokemon, Minecraft, Legos, Bayblades, Zoobs, Nintendo Switch, boardgames, drawing make believe characters, and reading.  He consumes any kind of book that has interesting facts, history or information in it related to animals, biology, nature, history, or geography.
• He played flag football again this past spring and loved it!  So far football is his favorite sport both to play and watch.  He also plays soccer in the fall and skis in the winter.  He is doing swimming lessons this summer.  
• Nathan is a typical first child--rule follower, pretty mindful and obedient (except when it comes to screen time).  He is a great older brother to Cameron.  They obviously have their moments and fights, but Nathan is good about including Cameron, showing him the ropes and building him up.
• This summer Nathan is doing summer camp mostly at Camp RAD which he loves.  He's made some good friends there with kids that have come year over year like him.  
• His good friends right now are Sam, Griffin, Alden, Jazi, Teagan and friends at camp.
• These recent ages--like 7 through now have been such a joy with Nathan.  I want time to stop--no more growing up!  Just soaking up this special time as much as we can. 

Happiest of birthdays buddy and we love you!

Maui 2021

 In late February we got to do two things we hadn't done in a really long time--ride on an airplane and go out of state on vacation!!!  We booked a vacation to Maui in February of 2020 before the pandemic hit so we were crossing our fingers this entire past year hoping the trip would work out and luckily it did!  It was a little trickier than normal as Hawaii is really trying to protect itself so it has strict rules for tourists coming in to the state.  All of us had to get COVID tested 3 days before we left and show proof that we had negative results.  It was a little nerve wracking and complicated at first, but once we got those negative tests we were home free!

We got to travel with Nana and Pops again and stayed at Honua Kai in Kaanapali in the same exact room we stayed in 2 years ago. For the most part things were pretty normal in Maui.  We had to wear masks everywhere which was expected and we're so used to it now.  But luckily we could go out to dinner because most everywhere you can eat outside.  That was such a treat because we haven't been eating out really at home.  There were less chairs at the pool and we had to book a reservation at the Maui Ocean Center.  But otherwise, life felt pretty normal over there.  It was just the breath of fresh air, warmth, sunshine, and getaway from routine (and screens!) that we needed.  We feel so grateful that it worked out for us to go (especially grateful to Nana and Pops who made the trip happen!).  Below are the highlights through photos:

Traditional kick-off dinner at Leilani's

Beautiful view from our condo!

A gecko on our windshield!

Banyan tree in Lahaina

Our favorite jungle walk to Honolua Bay

Blowhole on the northern tip of Maui

Date night!  

Maui sunsets never disappoint!

The Boys

With all that was going on last year with the pandemic, I just did not have the energy or desire to write in the blog.  Sadly though that meant I missed doing an annual post about each boy on their birthday and giving a synopsis of what they're like at their current age.  I love those posts because it's fun in the moment to reflect on each boy and I think it will be fun one day to reminisce about how they changed and evolved as they grew up.  

So this post today will be an attempt to make up from last year.  These are descriptions and observations of each boy in the past year up until now that I want to make sure we don't forget.

Nathan (8 years old)

• Nathan has always been drawn to technology but his interest and skills in technology were heightened this year because of remote school.  As a 3rd grader Nathan is proficient at using Zoom, Google docs, his Schoology school program, copying/pasting, taking a screen shot, typing, and using multitudes of educational apps.  I can't believe the amount of technological things he knows that he wouldn't have learned this early if it wasn't for the pandemic.  He and his buddies have even figured out a way to create Google slides and then share them with each other as a way of communicating since they can't see each other in person.  Nathan is also learning the challenges of technology that we all face every day such as going down rabbit holes with reading online books, getting distracted, and how to adapt when technology doesn't work the way it's supposed to.  It's been so fun to watch him gain all this new knowledge that we know will serve him well for a long time.
• He is still very curious and wants to know and understand things.  He asks good questions all the time and gobbles up informational or non fiction books about topics he's interested in such as animals, history, science, geography, and sports.  He also has recently loved learning more about the body.  We got him some books to teach him about reproduction and to start preparing him for adolescence and how his body will change during that time and he has been fascinated by it all. We love his awe and wonder about the world around him.
• This year Nathan became an NFL football expert. His love and passion for football blossomed this past season. Not only does he love watching it, he loves knowing ALL the things about it....stats, players, teams, leagues, divisions, etc.  And his mind is a steel trap when it comes to that kind of information.  He knows more than his papa and grandpas!
• Nathan is still a very social and friendly person but mostly with people he knows and feels comfortable with.  When he interacts with someone he doesn't know well or hasn't seen in awhile, he gets shy and doesn't like having surfacey conversations.  He's like his mom in that sense.  We're trying to coach him through what social graces look like though so he shows kindness and friendliness towards others.  This year has been tough for him not being able to spend time with friends in person.
• He is still very snuggly which we're just trying to soak up as much as possible.  He will randomly come up and give me a hug or snuggle with me and it seems to be at just the moment when I needed it--as if he has a sixth sense.  I love that about him and hope it doesn't go away any time soon.
• Nate's imagination has been on fire this year and has reached a whole new level.  Being stuck at home and unable to see friends has caused him to have to make his own fun and boy has he taken advantage of that.  Nathan is always coming up with some kind of game, scene, set-up, etc. either outside or in our house.  He involves his brother, alleyway friends, multiple toys, stuffies, books....whatever he can turn into a house, village, castle, creature, scenario, etc.  We are amazed at what he comes up with and are grateful for his creative mind.
• He finally lost some baby teeth!  I think he lost 3-4 teeth in a very short amount of time after not losing some for a very long time.  He lost his 2 front teeth this year!
• Currently into: Pokemon (cards, video games, show, and make believe), video games in general on the Nintendo Switch (Minecraft, Zelda, Super Mario, etc.), Legos, Zoobs, imaginative play, and Nerf guns
• Currently reading: DogMan and other graphic novels.  Nathan and I enjoy reading classics together and in the past year we've read Anne of Green Gables, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Secret Garden, and Little Men.  James and Nate are making their way through the Harry Potter series together

Cameron (6 years old)

• Cam has actually become quite the social butterfly in the past year with alleyway friends and friends in his class.  He is a really good friend--always making sure to include others and to show thoughtfulness to them.  He's very good friends with Willa who lives on our street and has made close friends with people from his class now that he's back to school in person for half the day
• Cameron is more apt to go seek out friends, ask someone to play, instigate his social life and is less shy. He is like James in this way.  It is interesting because both James and Cameron are introverts so you would think the opposite, but they are both really good at interacting with others they don't know or haven't seen in awhile.
• He is the "fashionista" of the family. Cameron loves putting outfits together and really cares about looking nice or having a cool outfit.  I love it because he loves getting dressed up.  We all find ourselves asking for Cameron's advice on what we ourselves should wear.  He's also gotten into wearing caps lately like his Papa.
• Cam is still a snuggle bug as well.  He's a very affectionate kid like he was when younger.  He still asks me to snuggle him before bed and even comes in the middle of the night sometimes to ask me to snuggle with him to help him go back to sleep.  How do we bottle that and make sure it lasts forever?
• He is starting to read!!  Something clicked in Cam this winter and all the practice and hard work he had put into trying to read finally paid off and it's coming much easier to him now.  Thanks to his wonderful teacher Ms. West too who really has great techniques for reading fundamentals.
• Cameron's artistic skills have blossomed this year. He has a natural talent for drawing, coloring, painting, etc.  He has especially enjoyed doing Art for Kids hub on YouTube where he follows along to make cartoons and pictures and he has a true talent.  It's amazing to see what characters or pictures he draws free hand as well.
• He is still constantly active and needs to be active.  He loves playing outside, throwing the football, and asks multiple times a week if we can do a family dance party.  He's getting pretty coordinated too--dribbling a basketball, strong throwing and catching skills
• Cam is definitely our sensitive kid.  He feels emotions very strongly and sometimes isn't sure what to do with all the emotion--especially when he's mad or frustrated.  He needs extra doses of validation, attention and love
• One sad event that happened this year was he had a really bad accident on his bike back in September. We were on a family walk and he went down the hill by our house too fast and fell forward off his bike and landed on his face.  We think he may have even had a concussion.  His face was really banged up for a few days, but it actually healed really quickly and there was no residual damage thankfully.  It was a scary moment for us as parents.  Cam was so brave though and was such a trooper through the whole thing.
• Currently into: Ninja Turtles, dinosaurs, drawing, Legos, superheroes, remote control cars, video games
• Currently reading: Bob books and beginner reading books.  I've started to read classic with him as well and this year so far we've done Charlotte's Web and the Mouse and the Motorcycle.  James started the Harry Potter series with Cam as well.

Both

• It has been such a special time to be stuck at home with the boys at this age. I have so much joy watching them in their imaginative play set-ups whether it's train villages, zoos with their stuffies or they have even set up scenarios that we can participate in as well such as turning their rooms into bookstores or toy stores and a couple weeks ago they set up a fancy restaurant  and James and I got to go on a dinner date.  ;)
• The pandemic helped us establish Family Movie Night on Friday nights which is VERY important to the boys and they look forward to it every week. We take turns on who gets to pick the movie. In this past year we've pretty much watched every classic Disney movie and James and I have introduced the boys to cherished movies from our childhoods such as Pete's Dragon, Never Ending Story, Sound of Music, Back to the Future, Star Wars, Hook, Mrs. Doubtfire, Annie, Anne of Green Gables, Black Stallion, Little Women, Secret Garden, and Goonies. 
• Both boys are happiest and content when we are all together as a family and spending quality time with each other.  They crave our attention and presence which admittedly is hard to give all the time because we have to work or feel tired or just want to check out. But we're trying really hard to just enjoy this time they want to be with us and to soak up this unique time we have with each other.  It's flying by.  But I can honestly say these ages are some of my most favorite so far.  What a privilege to have a front row seat to the growing up lives of these boys and their interests, questions, discoveries, feelings, humor, challenges, and perspectives.