This last weekend Eric and I took off to celebrate our 13th year of marriage. Eric has always loved sailing. I love the idea. But have been terrified of the thought of actually sailing on the ocean. Eric’s dreams are to someday, buy a yacht, and sail around the world with me. I have nightmare’s about this. Then he had this great idea. We would take sailing classes together. I would learn how to sail from a real Captain, and become certified though the American Sailing Association. I love Eric with all my heart. I embrace his dreams, goals, and just plain crazy ideas. I love being by his side and sharing in all his grand adventures.  

And that is why we took this class. To build my confidence in being part of Eric’s sailing crew. We started class Friday morning. We spent most of the day on a 28 foot sail boat on the Columbia River. We went over all the parts of the boat, boating safety, and crewman ship. The only real problem was there was no wind. And that creates a big problem when you are dependent on it for energy. We waited and waited, but it was still. There was a huge storm moving in, and the high front was not moving very fast. The sun was shining and it was warm.  We finally headed back into the marina with the help of the diesel engine. 

Saturday was much the same. A little cooler, but still sunny and warm. We could see the clouds starting to accumulate out on the horizon as the low front/pressure moved toward us. This is something that is very important in sailing. You must always be aware of the wind. The weather. The ripples on the water. Looking and studying and making decisions based on all the information you have gathered. This is sort of a problem for me. I am a little, well, you could say easy distracted. I try really hard to stay focused. But then I see something, like a jet taking off, or another sailboat, or I remember that I am thirsty. And I forget about the wind and the sails until I am jerked back to reality by luffting sails or leeward winds. 

Sunday morning we awoke to wind and rain pelting the windows.  Eric was thrilled. Real wind. I wanted to crawl under the covers and wait the storm out. But I was very brave and got dressed. We had been staying in a beautiful Bed and Breakfast in Vancouver, so after a delicious breakfast, we headed to the Marina. Our Captain was waiting for us and there seemed to be some sort of energy/excitement in the air on the docks from all the boat people. (These are all the people who live on their boat in the Marina, or spend most of their time sailing.) People were preparing to join the Susan B Kolmen Regatta. This is where sailboats/yachts join together to race.  We got our boat ready and headed up the channel, out to the river. It was cold, wet, and very windy. We sailed for 5 hours. Up and down the river. We sailed some with the Regatta.  Eric and I took turns as helmsman and crew. We let the sails up and down. Jibing and tacking. Finally, our Captain said we had passed the class and we could head in. 

I have decided I like sailing. When the sun is shining and the winds are light. The thrill of trying to keep your boat from capsizing during a storm is not an adrenaline rush for me. But Eric still is dreaming about that yacht. So onto Costal Cruising 105 next…

 

THe boat we sailed.

The storm.

Wet, cold and sailing.

THe Susan B. Kolmen Regatta

5+5+3=13

 

The Bed and Breakfast we stayed at.

 

Dinner at an Italian Restaurant

Today Julia disapperead. Literally. She had been on the front porch, playing with a truck, and I went inside to check on another child. A few minutes later, I looked out the window and she was gone. The door was open, and I thought she had come inside. I asked Maryann where Jules was, and she did not know. My heart rate went up, but just a little. I ran out to the street, which is too close to our house for me to feel she is safe, and looked. Up the hill…no baby. Down the hill…no baby. She must be inside I thought. As I ran back in the house, I asked the children to help me look for her. We checked the whole house and yard and she was no where. I was panicking. Where had she gone. Once, we had a child climb inside the dryer, shut the door and fall asleep. That took a long time to find him. But there was no way she could have curled up and fallen asleep. There had not been enough time. As I started thinking about calling 911 and Eric, that maybe she had been kidnapped right off my front porch, I heard Maryann say “MOM, I FOUND HER!!”She was outside, and with tears in my eyes I raced out the front door.

Julia was sitting underneath the house. Under our front porch, there is an opening that goes under the house to the crawlspace. She was far enough back that you could only see her if you stuck your head in there. And what was she doing, quietly eating a bag of chocolate covered pretzels that she had found left on the porch from the older children that morning. She just giggled when I stuck my head under the house. She is so smart. She knew if anybody saw her eating that bag of pretzels, they would have taken it away. So she quietly slipped away, out of site, and did not answer while we called for her. No way! The pretzels were far better enjoyed in solitude. Even if it did mean having to eat them underneath the house. 

 On her way out…

 

Spent another afternoon by the water. There were other, much bigger plans for the day. But Eric got so sick we had to cancel and come up with plan B. The children and I threw some snacks and drinks in the cooler and drove out of town, up the mountain. Away, looking for a place we had been last year. We never did find it. But we did find a spot so much better. Always amazes me how God can take a day that seems like it is falling apart every which way you trun your head and make it such a special wonderful afternoon! 

Often the rivers around us are fast moving, cold and have deep chasms down the center. This is ok for the older ones with a life jacket, but not at all for the little ones. But then the places where the little ones are safe, the older ones are bored. So that is always the challenge. Find a place where everybody is happy and entertained. And that was exactly what this place was. It had a shallow sand entrance into the water. Trees everywhere to collect sticks and treasures. Rocks for climbing and jumping. And deep spots out in the middle for the big boys to get in some jumps and fishing.  I didn’t have to make everybody where life jackets. Or do constant head counts.  A few times the boys would head further into the woods then I wanted them to. The rule is always be with in hollering distance. Now I guess that leaves a lot of room for interpretation doesn’t it??

Laura brought her paints and canvas. She was more sad and disappointed than the others over the canceled afternoon activities. I was so encouraged to see her sit down and paint. She is an amazing artist. So creative and talented.

We played for hours. Forts were built. Battles were fought and conquered. Sand meals created and served. Piles of treasures unearthed and collected. Not to much swimming though. The water was so cold and it was late enough the sun was not directly on us for very long. Here are some of my favorite moments of the day! 

 

 

She is our little snacker!

Showing us how deep the water is.

Collecting sticks to bring home.

Indian warpaint! 

Wooly bear catipillar

Wild snap dragons

Exploring the other side of the creek.

The only “posed” photo of the day!

Belly laughing!

I cut off the head here to protect the innocent…but I can’t help but laugh…

The boys teach them young to sword fight around here.

 

Making dinner.

 

Fishing

 

The wretched poison oak I so hate.

 

The favorite rock of the day.

and he was 22…

13 years ago. It wasn’t love at first sight. Pretty much the opposite. But it has been the best 13 years of their life! 

 

We were encouraged by another couple who took the time to sit down with each other, travel back all those years, and then write it down. We are working on our story. It is long and has many facets. But we will finish. Mostly for our children and grandchildren. So they can know the story.

~cheryl

A few weeks ago, I looked in the mirror and realized my hair was much longer than I usually like to keep it. Reason~I was having way too much fun this summer to schedule and keep a hair appointment. But that morning, as I looked at my super long hair, a thought dawned on me. I have never really considered cutting my hair super short. Eric loves it long, so that’s how I keep it. I told him what I was thinking, and he said he would support me totally! So I called and made my appt. But it was two weeks out, so I had a few days to reconsider. One day I would be totally convinced I was going to do it. Then the next day I would plan on chickening out. But then I went to the Locks of Love website. I read all about the disease these girls have and how there is no cure. If one of my daughters had this disease, and I did not have enough money to buy her a nice wig, I would be so thankfully for the people that had chose to donate to this cause. And besides, it’s just hair. It will grow back. 

So I did it. 11 inches. I have not had my hair this short in over a decade. But it’s fun. Much cooler. I am still working on the style. There are so many options with this cut. Flipped out…flipped in…curly…super straight…up…down…So here is the flipped under look.

Blinked here

I was just too tired last night to wait for the upload to photobucket. We have slow internet, so it’s about a minute a picture. Adds up after a few. 

 

Out of the pictures I took today, as I sat here tonight editing them, this one was my favorite. There were hundreds from today to choose from. I had to meet up with Eric and his staff after work and do an office staff photo shoot. Eric wanted it with the river, near his office, in the background. Easy enough. Until I showed up 15 minutes before they were finishing up for the day and realized that the place I was going to go, to get to the river, had “Private Property” posted everywhere. So as I drove as fast as I could from spot to spot, I finally found a great place for the shoot. The children were all with me and were delighted that we had “discovered” a new place to swim and play. Only one little factor. It was right under the freeway bridge. So very, very loud. And Gabe hates that kind of noise. So he hid in the car with his ears covered under his blanket. A safe haven for him when the world is just too much. We always have his “car blankie” for just those moments. So as he hid, everybody raced to the water, or up the huge concrete slabs to the top of the freeway bridge (I know this sounds terribly dangerous, but it wasn’t. I didn’t even hyperventilate when they tore off. You can’t get to the freeway from the underside of the bridge.

So as we waited for Eric and the girls to show up, Laura did a little impromptu photo shoot of my new haircut. I had 11 inches cut off last week and donated it to Locks of Love. I am still getting use to short hair. But it sure is cooler and lighter! Then I used the boys to figure out the best lighting and where everyone should be. I had brought along some snacks for the children. Even before we had left the house, they were concerned about what snacks I was bringing. I think I did ok. Strawberries and graham crackers. 

Little Julia loves food as much as her big brothers. She will fight to the end to get her little fingers on what ever they are eating. Here is her strawberry she carried around as she explored our new little spot.

 

Julia keeps me busy these days. I think she is more active and curious than any other of our children. Maybe it’s because she has six older siblings. Maybe it’s just her little personality. I often think of the song in The Sound of Music…

How do you solve a problem like Maria? 
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria? A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!

Only I change out Maria for Julia…

She climbs higher than any child at this age.

She sleeps less than any other one year old I know.

She can be laughing one minute because you are playing with her, and the next she has thrown her whole little body on the floor in a full blown tantrum, flopping back and forth, crying for all she is worth. And she is super cute doing it. Sometimes I just laugh at her. Which makes her madder. She is only 14 months…

Hardly anything can stop her. She is determined, focused. She is already talking. Her favorite sentence is “What’s that for?”, while pointing to the object in question. Her favorite word is “MOM!!”. I hear it all day long and it makes my heart melt. Even in the middle of the night, when she wakes (her nursery is still off the side of our room) and calls me. I go and get her and snuggle her. Often she ends up back in my bed. She still feels like such a baby at those moments when she snuggles up in my arms and falls back asleep. 

I can not even wrap my mind around how much I love this little girl. Watching her experience each little new thing. All her “firsts”. Hearing her start to talk. Watching her personality develop.  The days are just flying by.

I had all these great ideas for different pictures of her at one. Well, I actually still have these ideas. But so far I have only executed one. She does not like my camera, so I always have to catch her off guard to get a picture. So as I brainstormed ideas for her pictures, it dawned on me how much she loves sugar. Ahhh, a cupcake would be the perfect distraction. Laura and Ben helped me. We went to our fav little swimming hole and waited a couple of hours for the sun to start to set. Laura’s idea was to put the chair in the water. I was so impressed with her creativity. I am still hoping to capture some more memories of this birthday with her.

 

 

Caught eating a blue marker. This is why I AlWAYS buy the washable kind.

 

Attempting to paint her toenails. (that’s my oriental rug I got last year)

 

And while I cleaned up the nail polish, she came in the kitchen and climbed up on the table.

 

~cUpCaKe~

 

If there is one thing that my children love, it is playing in the water. The river, lake, beach, creek…they don’t care. Just please get them to the water. We had appointments for everyone to get teeth cleanings this afternoon, and I had promised that when we left the office, we would go to their absolute favorite swimming spot. I think that we all have this little bit of panic feeling. The last few days have been in the mid 70′s and felt like fall. So with fall just around the corner, so comes an end to our summer days of playing in the water. Aside from that, Ben got a gold panning pan from his Papa, and has been anxious to use it. He has daydreamed of hitting a “Glory Day” (a gold run) and needed to get out there so he could find it. 

With teeth all cleaned, we headed up the hill to the creek. There are so many different things for them to do. It’s not very deep, with the exception of two swimming holes. So the little ones can play pretty safely along the shore. There are tons of rocks. So throwing rocks in the water is a favorite activity. Sometimes we build up little dams to reroute the water at the little water falls. The children explore all over the creek and the edge of the woods. All sorts of different treasures are brought back to me. We rarely have to share our special little spot with anybody else. It’s a little remote, so I don’t think alot of people even know about it. 

I rarely bring my camera along. Children, water, rocks, and cameras do not make a good combination. But today, since it was so much later in the day, I decided I was not going swimming. (I am a wimp. I hate being cold, and the water IS cold.) So here is a small glimpse of our afternoon and how we roll….