Halloween 2023

I usually steer clear of popular costumes in favor of something more original, but this year I fully leaned into the #1 costume trend—and I have zero regrets. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce was just too fun and too easy to pass up.

The boys were pretty uninspired this year and ended up wearing their new Mariners jerseys. Hazel, on the other hand, was absolutely obsessed with her "sassy cat" costume. Sassy cat, sas, sas, sassy cat!

We hosted a family costume party on Saturday night, then hit the neighborhood for trick-or-treating on Halloween. It was festive, chaotic, and full of candy—everything Halloween should be.

Back to School 2023

Owen rules the school as a 5th grader, Hazel settles into first grade and Wes has the fun teacher he wanted for third. The last year they'll all be Purdy Panthers together. 

6-Year-Old Love Letter

My sweet Hazel Grace, 

You are a six-year-old kindergarten grad. 

You celebrated with an epic day of horseback riding and a backyard birthday party. You were all about party planning with a guest list a mile long. A friend of a friend recently moved to Gig Harbor so we invited her and her girls over right around the time we sent out your party invitations. As you were going to bed that night you asked, "should we invite our new friends to the party?" to which I responded, "I was thinking the same thing." I love your gregarious nature and desire to be inclusive. 

The transition to elementary school was smooth. You loved riding the bus and your best friend, Brynn, from preschool, was in your class. You had the same incredible teacher as the brothers, Mrs. Nilsen, and excelled in her classroom. 

Animals continue to be your passion and the obsession with stuffies hasn't faltered. You have a kind, empathic heart and care deeply about your friendships. You love music and dancing. Midway through the school year, you picked up phrases like "It's none of your business" and "I wasn't talking to you!" I mentioned that those sayings sound sassy. You were very thoughtful and replied, "Oh, I didn't know it was rude." You've since eliminated them from your vocabulary. You told me recently, "You're the best mommy in the whole world!" Then got a bit philosophical, vocalizing that I was the best mommy for you and you didn't want to make anyone else feel bad. 

You still use a pull-up at night and have a lot of near emergencies when you need to pee. You played a season of soccer in the fall and dominated the field. You did nine months of gymnastics and the class didn't teach you nearly as much as I'd hoped. When asked to climb the rope, you scaled it to the tippy top, causing a cold sweat to break out among all the parents observing. You decided you'd like to go back to dance next year so that you can be on stage for the recital. Creating your own performances at home is a popular passtime. We started the summer off with two weeks of swimming lessons and you're officially independent in the water. You can front crawl and roll over to a backstroke across the pool. As pictured, cat headbands were a staple of your wardrobe this year. You want to be a veterinarian when you grow up and I can 100% see that coming to fruition. 

You're always down for an adventure and so much fun to be around. Your tender heart and inquisitive spirit are exactly what the world needs. It's an honor watching you grow and being your mama means everything to me. As you gain more independence I pray that you lean into who you were made to be and continue to discover what brings you joy. You are deeply loved, my sweet girl. 

Xoxo,

Your Loving Mama 

Puerto Vallarta 2023

In celebration of Grandpapa Steve's seventieth birthday, he treated the kids and grandkids to a week in a Puerto Vallarta villa.

The outrageous cost of airfare around Presidents' Day prompted us to extend the vacation. Leaving on Wednesday was so much cheaper than leaving on Saturday that adding three days to the trip ended up being the same cost. Therefore, we began our holiday with three nights at the Hyatt Ziva, an all-inclusive resort. The location, pools, and beach were wonderful. We loved the way the space was laid out and enjoyed the secluded nature of the beach. There were some terrible meals as well as some lovely ones. The kids ordered Shirley Temples on demand and hit the buffet for mac and cheese regularly. We didn't participate in most of the resort-organized activities, but I encouraged Ty to join a football competition when they offered up a spa gift card to the winner. He was victorious, and I very much enjoyed a quiet morning using the prize. Hazel was beyond adorable painting the sunset with her easel on the beach in a white dress. Much to the devastation of my photographer heart, I was ill-equipped and didn't get any photos.

We've stayed in hotels locally, but our tropical vacations thus far have always been to houses or condos, so I was excited to see what we thought of being at a resort with the kids. It was a perfect addition to a week at the villa, but we concluded we wouldn't go back to Mexico solely for that.

From the Hyatt, we made the two-mile journey down the road to Casa Milagro for a dreamy seven days with Grammy, Grandpapa, Chris, Kari, and the girls. The villa came with a staff of four: Pepe, Vincent, Tony, and Marta. They were incredibly kind and went above and beyond to make sure we were well cared for. Vincent made our meals and Pepe served them with freshly mixed drinks. Tony raked the sand for us, put out chairs and umbrellas, and brought a cooler of drinks to the beach around noon. Marta kept the inside sparkling clean. There were seven bedrooms and each couple had a beautiful balcony view. What made the villa work so well was the way it was laid out. The beach, pool patio, and house were all so close together that everyone could be doing their own thing. When kids needed a break inside, nobody had to sit with them, and we could all come and go from the beach as we pleased.

Between the six kids (as well as Chris and Kari), there were a fair share of ailments including, but not limited to, fevers, vomiting, burns, ear infections, rashes, dog scratches, jellyfish stings, sunburns, scrapes, and sand flea bites.

Highlights were family time, touring downtown Puerto Vallarta, playing card games, playlists on the beach, boogie boarding, beach walks, ice cream at the beach bar, selfies with anyone who fell asleep, and free-flowing pitchers of piña coladas and margaritas.

Also, nature.

We saw whales breaching, Venus, Jupiter, multiple phases of the moon, stingrays, a manta ray, iguanas, and pelicans. The sunrises and sunsets were magnificent, and I gained a new appreciation for twilight.

Being in a foreign country where they didn't know the language was an impactful experience for the kids. Now that we have current passports and a renewed appreciation for how valuable it is to be outside your home country, I'm hoping this is just the beginning of their international travels.

I am incredibly grateful for the bond the cousins share and family that loves spending time together. Thank you, Grandpapa, for a week filled with core memories that we'll cherish for a lifetime.

Holidays 2022

Illness had a profound effect on our 2022 holiday season, but there was plenty of merriment sandwiched between plagues.

To start, all five of us went down with flu A the week of Thanksgiving. We had to cancel our trip to the Cove, and it was the worst illness our family has collectively experienced. I was the last to fall ill, so I hit Costco and stocked up on provisions before I joined the rest of them laid up on the couch. This excursion supplied the fixings for Owen and me to cook a full Thanksgiving meal that nobody ate. There were high fevers and extreme fatigue—the kids so lethargic that they didn't fight all week. We watched TV in excess while dirty tissues and dishes piled up around us. Ty developed an ear infection on Thanksgiving and Owen a few days later. Oof.

Post-flu we had a packed two weeks. Owen had a sleepover party, Wes celebrated his birthday at Ocean 5, my mom stayed with us, Ty and I attended my work Christmas party, I hosted a favorite things party, we did Santa brunch at the club, and went to snowflake lane in Bellevue with the Hights. Hazel got her ears pierced and had a gymnastics performance.

Then I spiked another fever and tested positive for COVID.

So it was back to quarantine. But this time the kids had their normal energy level, making the week very reminiscent of March 2020. The COVID symptoms were mild in comparison to the flu, except for the exhaustion, which was overwhelming and persisted beyond a week. Somehow nobody else in the family ended up testing positive, so we only had to cancel half of our Christmas plans.

We hosted Ty's family here Friday, tried out a new church on Christmas Eve, had Christmas morning magic at home, and met the Hights in Suncadia late on Christmas Day. We rescheduled our celebration with my family for January.

Suncadia was amazing, and getting away after spending so much of the winter stuck inside with various viruses was life-giving. We swam in the heated outdoor pool, went sledding, and had a blast ice skating. There was dreamy snow and quality time with our dearest friends.

As the season comes to a close, I am grateful for—and more aware of—our ongoing health and am treasuring the memories from another year ripe with goodness.