Kayaking with my Girls

Kylie and Jillian asked me to take them kayaking, so we borrowed Brooke's kayaks (thanks, Brooke!) and waited for a day with some sun.  It seemed like the sun was never going to show itself...we had two days of clouds and rain, and then finally on Friday afternoon some blue sky appeared!  After strapping all three kayaks into the back of Brad's truck, we headed out to Hidden Cove.  We launched from the public dock at Hidden Cove Park. 

My idea of kayaking is a little different than my girls'.  I like to explore and enjoy the peace and quiet of the water.  We did that for about 15 minutes, then they turned it into a big water fight!  I stayed far enough away that I didn't get wet and took pictures of them.  If it would have been 80 degrees instead of 60, I wouldn't have minded getting wet! 

Jillian really wanted to jump out of the boat into the water, but I was afraid it would be too hard for her to get back in, so I made her wait until we got back to the dock. 

They're crazy!!!  We made it back just in time.  Big black clouds blew in and it started raining as we loaded the kayaks back onto the truck.  I'm glad we were able to take advantage of the hour of sun!

Green Mountain Hike

Our Young Women went a pre-camp five mile hike the day after school got out, and since I'm going to Girls' Camp this year (as a cabin mom) I decided to join them.  I'd never heard of Green Mountain before this;  I'm so glad I know about it now!  It's a great hike, not too hard (well, not too hard for me...there was quite a bit of complaining from the younger girls, but they all survived), and supposedly there is a great view of Seattle, the Olympics, and Mt. Rainier at the top.  I say supposedly because when we go to the top, we couldn't see much.  It was like being up in a cloud, very misty and damp.  That just means that we'll have to do it again so we can see the view for ourselves! 

Farewell

Brad's dad passed away last week, May 31st.  He had been in the hospital for 4 1/2 months receiving treatment for lymphoma.  After each chemo treatment, we expected him to get better and come home.  He never did.  It was so hard to see him get weaker, then bounce back a little, then succumb again, regain some strength, then retreat. One step forward, three steps back, it seemed.  But we always had hope.  "After this next treatment," we'd say, "then Mary Lou will be here and she can nurse him at home."  His sister, Mary Lou, is a retired nurse.  She and her husband, Bob, drove their RV from Colorado to Seattle about two weeks ago, intending to stay and help take care of Morgan until he recovered.  The day before they arrived, Morgan came down with pneumonia and was transferred from the Community Living Center at the VA Hospital (nursing home section) to the ICU.  After a few days in the ICU, it became evident Morgan was not going to bounce back this time.  He'd gotten pneumonia a few months ago and been able to fight it.  This time he was too weak.  We were able to bring the kids to see him a few days before he passed to say their good-byes.  It was heart-wrenching. 

The funeral was Wednesday.  What a beautiful service.  Through the tears and sadness for our loss of such a great man, it was wonderful to hear the stories people had to tell about Morgan.  His smile, his welcoming personality, his love for his family, love for the gospel, desire to serve others, missionary spirit, optimistic attitude, entrepreneurial drive, were all highly praised.  A sister in the ward sang my favorite hymn, "Be Still My Soul."  I'm tearing up now just thinking about it.

1. Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2. Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

3. Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

I am so thankful I have a testimony of the eternal nature of our lives.  What a blessing to know that earth life isn't the end, to know that the relationships we enjoy here will continue, and that I will be able to see my dear father-in-law again, hear him say, "That's great!" and see his radiant smile.

This picture is from Morgan's 68th birthday last year.  Brad made the cake out of Morgan's favorite food, Little Debbie Swiss Rolls.  I love the look of pure delight on his face!

Fort Ward Beach Trip

Every year, all the second grade classes at Wilkes get to go on a beach field trip to Fort Ward.  The school hires divers from Exotic Aquatics who talk to the kids about diving, then go into the Puget Sound and collect marine life and put them in small touch tanks, a.k.a. wading pools, for the kids to experience.  I've been lucky enough to go on this field trip four times over the years, and this is the first time I've gone without a younger sibling in tow! 

I "chaperoned" a group of four kids.  I use the term chaperone loosely!  We got to explore the beach while the divers collected sea creatures, and the kids didn't really need much guidance.  The two girls took off looking for sea stars, and the boys were fixated on finding crabs under the rocks.

If you look closely, you can see two crabs in this shell.

Ben and his good friend, Henry

The creatures the divers found were amazing!  Much better than the touch tanks at the Seattle Aquarium, even!

That's a red baby octopus!  The water must be really clear down there, I don't know how you could see so many of these creatures otherwise!

Ben enjoyed the touch tanks for about five minutes, then was back to searching for creatures of his own. 

I've enjoyed this field trip each time I've gone. (Although the weather could have been warmer this year...stocking caps in June, seriously?!) I may have to "adopt" a second grader in a few years so I can go again!