Wenatchee--Been There, Done That---Weldon Get Together

We went to Wenatchee this weekend to have a dinner with Shaun's family--to enjoy his Grandpa, who is suffering from prostate cancer. Almost all of the extended family made it to the event, and Lindsay and Enoch got to meet many people for the first time. But before we saw them, we checked into our hotel, and Enoch had fun checking out the closet. Daddy even got in on the fun.

This was our room at the Coast Hotel

 Enoch enjoyed watching the train go by.

Shaun's dad and his 6 siblings, surrounding their parents for a picture.

Enoch meeting daddy's cousin Joseph.

Enoch absolutely loved Auntie Critt's sugar free Oreo cheesecakes. They were yummy.

The cousins and Enoch had a great time playing together.

 

Enoch had fun with the puppies. I think it was the first time that he played with puppies smaller than he was. This one is named Bueno.

 

Great Grandpa and Enoch share a moment.

 Lots to play with and lots to look at.

Extreme close up!

 

Keeping Enoch away from the breakables at Great Grandma Johnson's house.

Setting up for another family photo.

Goodbye Wenatchee.

We had a very fun visit and are very grateful for the hard work and planning that went into this get together. It was so great to see everyone and have them meet Enoch and Lindsay.

Tupperware Cabinet

Enoch just realized that he can sit inside the tupperware cabinet-- "his cabinet."

By the end, Enoch was throwing stuff out of the cabinet to make more room for him. I was glad he was having fun. After I finished taking these pictures, Enoch started to wrap up his play time. I turned around and saw him putting the stuff he'd thrown out previously--BACK IN THE CABINET!! He melted my heart!!! I was so hopeful for the future--a tidy child!!

In preparation of nursery at church when he turns 18 months, we started teaching Enoch the "clean up" song. There's not much to it:
         Clean Up, Clean Up --everybody everywhere
         Clean Up, Clean Up-- everybody do your share
         Clean Up, Clean Up-- everybody everywhere
(The end--or repeat until mess is resolved.)

Enoch seems to like the song, but at the end, he dumps everything out--and leaves. Its a trick to try and swipe the toys up and away before he thinks to make a mess again. Really--its the wood blocks that I must keep track of--and keep together while he's playing. There really easy to step on...and Enoch likes to throw them.

Bellingham's Newest Love Rap

This video sums up my college experience and observations in Bellingham. Its a good thing I live here now, or else I'd be homesick! (I actually know the man in this video from the Theatre department when I was in college--in fact, I've directed him.)
Enjoy! Tell me what you think.

Whistler Weekend--and Caviar Dreams...

Shaun and I took some time off this week. We couldn't decide what special thing we should do. We don't have money to travel very far...but wanted to do SOMETHING. Wednesday night, I ran into a friend--K. Holman-- at Phad Thai while we were both picking up to-go orders. We chatted and she said they (her family) were going to Whislter that weekend. I thought, "what a good idea!" So, Shaun and I looked online--found a good deal for a 1 bedroom place with a full kitchen in the Bear Lodge. Anyway, we packed up groceries and planned to make most our food in our room. (Spaghetti and salad for 2 days.) None of us have ever gone that far into Canada before--and neither I nor Enoch have spent the night in Canada...so, it was an adventure.

Here's Shaun and Enoch shortly after we departed Friday afternoon.
After we checked in, we put Enoch in the stroller and grabbed some groceries at the local market--tomato, salad (stuff we couldn't take over the border) and saw these pretty treats. We didn't buy them--goat cheese with special flavorings.
Back at the hotel room, we all put our shoes under the bench by the front door. It's so great that Enoch can, and LOVES, to wear shoes. It makes me so happy to see images of our family all in one place. By the way, Enoch got to eat all his meals in the room at the table---without a highchair! He sat on a seat by himself--and ate his food, which was basically was at mouth level. He did really well and enjoyed copying us.
We soaked up the local energy on the Village Stroll. (Many stores full of food and ski clothes.) We held off buying much...but did make a few select purchases as a treat.
Saturday we purchased the Peak to Peak tickets. We rode up one mountain and over to another in little enclosed baskets and gondolas. It was worth the $42 a person price. [SIDE NOTE: We were offered the opportunity to listen to a 90 minute time share presentation--and receive FREE tickets and a $25 pre-paid VISA card. I thought it would be a great way to save some money ($84 plus tax), but --we didn't make enough money to qualify. It's ironic. We had to make AT LEAST $74k...but they really wanted you to make over $100k. Ya know, if I made $100k a year, I don't think I would be as worried about spending the money. I would buy my own tickets on the Peak to Peak--and using the 90 minutes to go to a spa treatment....or something more fun.]
Here's the Gondola from the Whistler Peak--going towards the Blackcomb Peak. It was foggy on the other side--but it burned off before we left.
Looking down. It reminded me of the final views before I landed the first (and only) time I went sky-diving. (Age 21)
I told you it was foggy. If I wasn't so trusting and naive, I might have been concerned.
We ate lunch at the fancy restaurant on Blackcomb Mountain--a place called Christine's. We knew we wanted to eat out once--and when we got to the top of the mountain around 12:30 pm--(40 minute ride), we also knew this was the time to buy. Enoch was getting fussy and hungry. What's a parent to do? Right?
Everyone enjoyed the view!
Well...at least most of the time.

Here's the chicken I got...with a tomato-ratatouille, fingerling potatoes, & grilled zucchini. It was comforting and tasty.
Shaun had this master piece! It was a organic free range beef burger--with fried leeks, sautéed mushrooms, and sweet potato fries. Enoch indulged on those fries. Love em. They were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Yum. I gave him some of my chicken, but he put it on his tongue--didn't like it--and put it back on my plate.
By the end of the meal, Enoch was ready to go! See below.
He fell asleep during the decent down the hill.
Lovely!
You can't tell, but I promise--we saw a black bear on our way down. I thought I was got a picture of him/her ---but I don't see it now. He/her was just a black smudge in the grass below.
When we got off the mountain--since Enoch was asleep-- we decided to get a few treats. Wouldn't you?
On our way back through the village--we saw a college age Asian man dressed up as HE-MAN. He proved to be very loud and obnoxious---or rather his friends who I think paid him to do this--were annoying. They yelled, "A quarter to ride on He-man's back! Who will let him take you over Greyskull's bridge?!" He woke up Enoch. (Boooooooo!)
We eventually left Whistler Sunday morning...and crossed the border after an hour wait. FYI: Enoch makes crossing a breeze. He smiles at the patrol officer's and confirms to them that we are not a threat.

He's one last shot of my handsome husband in the long border-crossing line up. One thing good that came out of waiting in the line was Enoch learned to mimic me stretching my arms and back...and grunting a little. Enoch started doing it too. ADORABLE!

That was our labor day weekend in Whislter.

Library Book Sale

Shaun and I took some vacation days this last week --giving us several days off in a row together. We went to the library...for the first time as a family. I have actually walked inside all of 2 times in my 8 years of living in Bellingham. I don't even have a library card. (I was a WWU student when I first arrived here and only used the university library. Then I got a job and didn't really know where it was.)

So, it happened to be the library book sale---so, I found an old LIFE magazine from the 1940's. It's fascinating! There's a big article on what it was like inside a Japanese Internment Camp during WWII. It was so interesting to read the articles with a historical perspective. It was awful how the Japanese were treated---and yet in most every picture in the magazine's article--they had smiling pictures of the "prisoners." It was an educational gem for me to hold onto to show Enoch what life was like 70 years before he was born.

I did find a funny children's book that made me concerned--yet smile. It's called, "Fortunately." It was written in 1964 I think. Take a look at the front and back cover.

The whole book is full of these...happy fortunate things, followed by unfortunate things. It's about a little boy who's invited to a party---and the journey that unfold's to get him there. I love it!!!!