Snapshots from our Home Service (Part 1)

     A big reason why we have a blog is for ourselves... to look back and remember special things from our lives.  I wasn't very good about blogging while we were in the States, but there are some things I don't want to forget.  So over the next few weeks, intermingled with new blogs, I'm going to capture some of the memories we cherish from the past few months in America.

     The day after we arrived in Washington, we had a family reunion from my mom's side of the family.  The first day we met in Manito Park in Spokane (one of our favorite places in the world!)  Ike loved getting a ride through the Japanese Gardens on Grandma Great's lap.  She loved it just as much.

     This picture only shows the people who were there the first day, but it's special because it's around a bench that was installed in the Duncan Gardens in honor of my Grandpa (Charlie Parsons).  On the bench is inscribed the scripture:  "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest".  Grandpa would love that there is this bench in this beautiful place with these words of life!

     One afternoon some of us played bocce ball.  My grandma made a scavenger hunt for the kids with a lot of special toys, too.  On Sunday (my birthday), my parents hosted a BBQ at Medical Lake.  It was fun to take the kids swimming in the lake that I swam in a lot as a child.  =)

     We were only "home" for a few days, and in this time, our friends' (Kadie and Josh) baby was born and was in the NICU in Spokane.  It was incredibly special to get to visit them at the hospital, meet their precious baby, Andrew, and to pray over him and their family.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect!

      We were also able to catch our friends, the Shultz's, early one morning as they were driving through, on a family vacation.  We met at the Finch Arboretum, one of our favorite places.  The kids loved climbing the gigantic trees.  We didn't get everyone in this picture, but here are quite a few of us!  =)

    
     We moved all of our things into our apartment and then headed off to Montana for my brother's wedding reception.  We stayed in this cute cabin with my parents and enjoyed the beauty of Montana!  We enjoyed mornings together of fishing, my  mom reading to the kids, and playing in water on the lawn.

     It was hot, so it was especially nice to have the river to play and swim in.  The kids enjoyed riding in the raft with their cousin, Thaeden.  This was the first time we'd met him and my brother's wife, Paula.  We liked them immediately.

     One afternoon Ike needed a nap, so I took him to some shade and waited with the camera while Leif and the girls came rafting down the river.  They had a great time!

     We went to a lake nearby where crawdads were prevalent.  My brother had brought a bunch of traps to catch them, and here he is keeping them fresh on ice.  Ike was enamored, and it was interesting for all of us to taste them for the first time!

     We got to be with my Dad for his birthday and had a lovely breakfast outside that Leif had made. Our friend, Valera, had made a really cool picture of a fly fisherman on an artist's pallet.  We saw this at an art show in Ulan Ude, and knew immediately that we had to get it for Dad!  It was fun to be able to give it to him in person.  =)

     We had a couple more days to unpack all of our things into our apartment and then we spent most of August traveling around western Washington.  Our first stop was Vashon Island, where Erin organized an "open weekend" for any college friends to stop in or stay the night.  There was never a point when everyone was there at the same time, but it was so special to get snippets of time with each person and in such a beautiful setting!  The kids loved playing on the beach and picking blackberries.

     Stephanie gave them bottles of bubbles that don't spill (genius!)  These bottles actually made the cut of things we brought back to Russia with us, as they are so wonderful.  =)

Ella enjoyed helping Erin plant flowers in the beds around the cabin.

     And it was SO fun to have our friend Lynnette come with her little girl, Remi.  Remi and Ella are very close in age and were such sweet little friends!

     Next we visited my Dad's side of the family in Auburn.  My aunt, Sherrie, threw a baby shower for my cousin's daughter.  I loved that we were able to be there for this day!  It was a time of celebration. 

     We had a great time staying with my aunt Sherrie and uncle Mike.  The weather was hot (especially for western Washington!)- I think it reached 100 degrees.  I was quite thrilled with the heat because it felt like most of the summer we'd missed the heat.  We soaked it all in with a picnic...

... and then swimming and playing in/around the river.  I think here Anneka was some sort of mud monster. 

     After this, we got to spend an evening with Leif's aunt Reta and uncle Jerry at Green Lake.  We had a picnic on the beautiful grass, and the kids played on the playground there.  As you can see, the kids warmed up to them right away!

    We got to stay with our friends Kadie and Josh (the ones with the brand new baby!) in Renton.  I tried to tell them how crazy it is to have guests (especially guests with three kids!) and a newborn.  But they graciously insisted.  They even invited over our friends, the Ritchies, for lunch one day.  The kids had fun playing together (pictured above).

     After this we went up to Bellingham to get some time with Leif's dad, Eric, and his wife, Rebecca.  We had a special afternoon of remembering Leif's grandmother ("Grancy") who passed away a year ago).  We spread some of her ashes in the garden.  We each chose a special flower from the garden and shared special memories of Grancy.

     We also spread some of her ashes in the waterfront.  This was really important for us all, and we felt so blessed to have this time.

     Rebecca owns a flower shoppe, and on Fridays they give out free flowers (the ones that won't make it through the weekend).  The girls delighted in passing out these flowers.  Ike gave people free hugs (and often quite unexpectedly, as you can see here!)

     After this, we went to Darrington, the town where Leif grew up.  He wanted to spend a little more time here after the mudslide that happened last spring.  He gave sermons at two churches on two Sundays and we shared at another church on a Wednesday evening.  Leif also connected with a few friends throughout the week. But other than that, we used this time to relax at Leif's family cabin.  Irene stayed with us, and we enjoyed the fresh air and playing in the river.

    The kids's cousin, Gwen, was with us for half of the week.  It was really fun for them to all play together and make such wonderful memories!

     There's a little playhouse on the grounds where the cabin is.  The kids loved playing in and around it. 

   
     Of course, being outside and playing with cousin, Gwen, was wonderful.  But playing with Irene's dog, Polly, was right up there with everything else!

     Leif's Dad and brother came down for one day, and we went for a hike to this waterfall.

And throughout the week we enjoyed walking through the woods!

     Next, we went up to Irene's place on Whidbey Island and got time with Leif's grandparents and brother's family.  It's so fun to see the kids interacting with family!

     We feel so blessed that the timing worked out perfectly for us to go to Leif's cousin, Brit's, wedding on Orcas Island.  Here, we were riding the ferry to get there.  The kids were always excited when we got to take a ferry.

     We stayed in a hotel, along with Leif's mom and grandparents (in different rooms).  One day we danced around the room together.

 The wedding was lovely, and the weather was so nice.

sweet little cousins!

 

      I meant to attach a different picture than this one, but this one was so cute, I just left it.  We had a couple more days with Irene before we headed back to eastern Washington.

She lives right by the beach, so we took advantage of this!

     This was a whirlwind month, filled with many special moments. We cherish these times!