Happy New Year....2012!

Just want to wish you all a Happy New Year!! Another year has gone, a new one lies ahead and I wonder what God will have in store for us. I pray the the Lord blesses us all with a year of hope, love, joy, laughter and times spent with family and good friends. God is good, and I am so glad to have peace in knowing that He is sovereign over everything in heaven and on earth.

One of my hopes for this new year (I don't make resolutions, they just fall by the wayside for me) is that I will get caught up on my blog and keep better connected with you all. Most importantly, my biggest hope for this year is to spend more time with my family, extended and close, and friends this coming year! I love you all!

Family Campout 2011 ~ Part 1

A totally awesome thing happened this summer, most of my side

of the family gathered together for the first time in a long time

for a family campout!! Brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins,

grandparents, grandkids...it was amazing!! We were missing a few

that couldn't come (Tim & Dulcey and their kids, Heather, 

and Caitlin, John & Pedro), And the best part??? We are already

planning next year's campout so everyone can

make vacation plans so they can be there!!

God is so Good!

Campsite Day 1

Simeon, Hannah and the boys arrived first, then Mike, me,

Aubrey and her girls arrived later that day

(Billy would be coming the next day).

Hannah, Aubrey & S

biked down to put up a sign for the rest of the family

to let them know where the group site was...

it was a bit hard to find!

N, O, and E also rode down

the kids all enjoyed riding their bikes this weekend!

Hannah & N

Aubrey & S

S dreaming of riding with the big kids

J, Brie's little boy

Beautiful Brie!

She and Josh arrived on the second morning, and set

up their camp right away! We found out this weekend

that Josh is an excellent camp chef!!

T made the traditional sailboat!

Mike, E & T

S & O

Love the fashion! Hot, sunny Eastern Washington

and rubber boots!

Simeon climbed trees to put up

a tarp windbreak! It was really windy the

first day and second morning!

Aubrey helping Simeon

Grampa's girls!

T

O

E

N

S

Hannah with C

hiking with Grampa

happy J!

Brie, J and Aubrey

We had beautiful weather the entire weekend!

The only time we experienced strong winds

were on the first day and the last day.

More photos & memories to come!

CraZy Busy!

My life has taken on a life of it's own! Things have been crazy busy lately and to make things worse I look at the calendar and it's mid-September already!! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!?!?!?! After this weekend is over I hope to:

1. Get a bit caught up on my blog posts...notice I said "a bit" knowing that I wouldn't be able to get totally caught up. So many posts to blog, so little time!

2. Visit some friends on Orcas Island...I miss them sooooooo much!

3. Try to get away with Mike for a mini-vacation or something....we really need it!

Although I haven't been keeping up on my blog, I have been keeping up on my friend's blogs...and now my daughter Hannah has begun blogging too! Love it! Love her more!! Feel free to check out her blog at http://www.mamawhimsy.blogspot.com/

Love you guys!

All 6!

Hard to believe that we caught all 6 of our grandkids

in one good photo!

N looks like he's planning something,

T is growing up so fast,

S is being a little clown,

C is a charmer,

O is keeping C safe,

and E is sweetly leaning on her big sister!

We are so blessed!!

(photo is from Aubrey's camera/phone)

Washer/Dryer Installation is DONE!!

Didn't Mike do a beautiful job of finishing the wood surround!

It looks like it's always been here! I am so glad to be able to do

laundry at home. He also put a couple of shelves in the

closet to hold the laundry supplies. It's been finished for awhile,

and I love how Mike is such a blessing in my life!

Firepit for Caitlin!

Mike built this beautiful firepit for Caitlin....he created it out of a huge brake drum from a truck, welded a thick steel plate in the bottom (with holes for air), and then welded the 'feet' on it. He then created the grill by welding rebar in a tight pattern. She LOVED it!! It weighs alot! We delivered it to her in Seattle....so glad she had a couple of friends visiting that helped unload it!

change is coming......

bending & twisting.....learning a new art form!

first attempt

this one was for Aubrey

Hannah got this one

Celtic tree ornament

I made several of these for gifts this year.

Some with green glass beads

and some with vintage crystals.

No two exactly alike!

Aubrey's birthday

Hannah's birthday

dragonfly hair or scarf pin

I am enjoying (for the most part) learning how to create

a little magic with wire. Copper wire can be tricky to work with,

especially as the wire I have needs to be straightened

before I can use it & the more you work the wire, the stronger

 it seems to get. I have broken a lot of wire! I hope to get

better at making the wire do what I want it to do....

usually one side  turns out better than the other.

I like working with the steel wire, copper wire can

be fun too and I am so glad that

 April introduced me to wire twisting!

washer/dryer installation update

Mike has the surround built & is working on the trim!

It's looking so nice now, and the surround helps

keep the noise level down too....bonus!

Some of the tribal preparations for the upcoming Paddle to Swinomish

Each summer, Tribal Canoes travel from their home territories to a common destination within the Coast Salish territory. This has been an annual tradtion for the last 20 years. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community will host the end of journey events this year.

Paddle to Swinomish 2011
Monday July 25th to Sunday July 31st.
To read more about Paddle to Swinomish 2011 go to the official website http://paddletoswinomish.com/.

In preparation for this huge event there has been quite a lot of work going on across the channel from us.

First they cleared a huge beach for the canoes.
Then they began bringing in loads of sand.
Next began the construction of 3 buildings on the beach.

To me they resemble the cedar hats
the coastal Salish people made.

You get a look at the progression of the building process.....

it has been interesting to watch them come together!

a closer look at the construction

These look so cool.

 I can't wait to see what these look like

when the project is finished!

morning moonlight

I woke up the other morning to a beautiful moon

shining over the rainbow bridge!

Good morning, moon!

doing the laundry @ home!

This is the first time in a long time that I have been excited

about doing the laundry, but for the last 3 1/2 years I have

been going to the laundromat or to one of our girl's homes

to do our laundry. It has been a great blessing to spend time

with our girls while doing the laundry, but I'd rather just visit

with them and NOT be doing the laundry. Mike found this

little Italian washer/dryer all-in-one unit on Craigslist & has

installed it on our boat. Next step is building the cabinet surround to match the beadboard walls.

Mike has put it by the port door.

washer in action!

It's only taking a few inches from our closet space,

and once the surround is installed it will look nice

plus we will have a great shelf/shallow storage with lid

for gloves & hats on top. It is GREAT to be able to

do our laundry at home! Mike does a load a day!

a little baby R & R!

Don't you wish YOU could be so relaxed

when you're sleeping?

Uncle Mike has the touch!

snuggle time

snuggling with Auntie Caitlin is the best!

LOVE!

my boy with balloons

N was fascinated by these balloons - I wonder if

he was trying to figure out a way to use them to fly?

now, let's see.....

maybe this will help me lift off...

he has such a cute little belly!

wind is blowing the wrong way!

maybe next time!