As I type this on my iPad, during our drive to Fresno which has progressed to outside Portland, I can’t help but recall that by now, we’re usually back in Fresno for good. This year, it’s a quick visit, and then off we go, back up to Washington. We’ll spend another 4-6 weeks finishing stained glass projects, going to our grandkids’ sports activities (a first) enjoying the end of perfect weather, and hopefully visiting my cousin and Aunt and their family. Now for some highlights of our August.
We continued having the grandkids each week, and would pass them on to their parents on Sundays after church. This meant that Sundays became our weekly family day. We stayed up late many nights watching the Summer Olympics finals, and quickly became hooked.
We had never visited the Birch Bay Waterslides, mostly because our grandkids enjoyed riding their bikes in the park and swimming in the park pool … so
why bother? Now that they are getting older, though, we thought it was time. We planned a visit … meanwhile, granddaughter McKenna tried out and made the cheerleading squad. This meant that she wouldn’t be spending weekends with us anymore this summer.
Although disappointed that she wasn’t going to be able to go to the waterslides, she was excited about this new chapter and commitment. We took Grason, and were really impressed! Not knowing what it was like before, we had nothing to compare it to, but it was very family-oriented, clean, and fun. There were
certified lifeguards everywhere. Grason had so much fun, he was beside himself!
Good friends Carolyn and Dale Kole arrived in early August in their motor home for a two-week visit. They ended up staying three weeks! There were lots of evenings out on the patio, enjoying wine and snacks. This resulted in some “happy fat” for both Carolyn and I. We set out every day with a different plan. Lynn and Dale enjoyed golfing and pickleball. Carolyn and I also played pickleball, and browsed the quilt shops. The time just flew by!
The Lynden Fair was the middle week in August. We had planned on both McKenna and Grason; however, McKenna had a cheer activity. Happily for her, the uniforms didn’t come in and she could join us after all! We rode the rides and went to the Monster Truck Show in the evening. They also enjoyed the newborn piglets and very large draft horses that were there.
On that same weekend, the kids were introduced to crabbing. They had a blast! Dale and Carolyn took them while Lynn and I took care of some business. They were so proud of the knowledge that they had acquired about crabs, and the “sport of crabbing.”
Most of the crabs had to be tossed back as they were too small. Grason was very bold; I worried about him getting pinched. McKenna, ever the cautious, could only be encouraged to pick up a crab that had lost both of its pinchers!
Lynn continued to work on the stained glass project for our front window. He was frustrated by not having all of the glass he needed. To compound things, the woman at the glass store in Bellingham ordered the wrong color. So, we had to pick the right
glass up ourselves outside of Seattle. Oh well. We made it a day trip with Carolyn and Dale. After getting the glass, we went to Pike’s Place Market, rode the new ferris wheel, and enjoyed dinner.
Many wonder what on earth we do when we are in Washington. Yes, the days are more laid-back and leisurely. There aren’t nearly the obligations. But, the time flies by. We have future travel plans that we just can’t seem to squeeze in! We really enjoy having our grandkids as much as possible, and being with our friends that visit during the summer. We don’t expect that to change … well, we sure hope it doesn’t!
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