Bainbridge Winter

We were worried about re-entry.  And it was rough, but not for the reasons we expected.  The boys were surprisingly happy to be home (we were worried coming back from MD would be hard for them).  Dave immediately left for Presbytery, where he was examined for ordination.  It was a roller coaster of a process, but by the end of the weekend, he was approved.  And all of the exams were finally over.  Grandma was going to stay with us for a few days while Dave was away to give this tired mama some reprieve (after flying solo with the boys, and being snowed in for several days) and allow me to go to the women's retreat, but she came down with a nasty flu bug.  So I was given the opportunity to trust the Lord in new ways to be my rest.

After arriving home late Friday evening, Dave hopped on the ferry with the boys on Saturday and headed over to Seattle...

to meet up with Uncle Josh for Mariners Day at Safeco field!

They got to run bases, play catch on the field, and of course sit in the dugout. 

They had a blast.

And I enjoyed a wonderful day with the Cross Sound ladies at our women's retreat.

Saturday night Dave and I got a much needed date night to see Zach Fluery in concert at a fun venue here on the island.  Dave had discovered his music before we moved here, so its been fun to get to know him, and find out how many friends we have in common.

Andrew enjoyed another season of basketball.

Going up for a shot!

Caden got a guitar tuner for Christmas - our friend Andy was kind enough to show him some chords.

Andrew played recorder in his 4th grade concert.

They did an amazing job!  All of the music for the evening was island themed.

I continued to love morning runs..

Nothing beats the salt water air, sounds of seals and bald eagles, and gorgeous views

We celebrated our neighbor Roger's first birthday - we love him.

And his parents.

Super Bowl Sunday - we were treated to an afternoon at the Koenig's in Port Ludlow.  Their view was amazing.  And Will loved hangin with his new buddy Matt.

We also loved their dog.  And their super comfy leather chairs. 

My mom's flu bug decided it wanted to hang out for a long time.  I loved that I could hop on the ferry, head over and make them dinner, and check on her.  And there's nothing like the snow capped Olympic mountains on a clear day in February (Bainbridge in the foreground).

 That afternoon Dave got to bring the boys to a friends farm to meet some brand new baby lambs!!

I mean, come on.  How cute is that!?!

Dave got to hang with the pigs too.

I was sad to miss this.  But glad my boys got to soak it in.

And then came bingo night at Blakely.  

Despite not winning anything, our boys had a blast.

Valentine Day!  Andrew woke up with a fever (hence no church clothes).

We celebrated that night at Karl and Kathryn's wedding.  It was sweet and beautiful.

These boys had fun running around.

We enjoyed sitting with the Halperts!

After dinner we returned to the hall for a dance party.

The boys GOT DOWN.

My sweet, dear friend Krista.

And then came Mid Winter break!  We snuck over the Grandpa and Grandma's for a few days.

Grandpa telling Caden a bed time story.

By the fire.  I love that we're getting more moments like these with them!

8 boys by a waterfall!  It wasn't actually raining...

this beautiful waterfall is just really powerful.  Especially during an El Nino winter.

We met up with the cousins and my dear friend Amy and her two boys.

We walked down to the bottom...

these boys created many adventures along the way.

That water was moving fast - even posing for this picture made my stomach turn a bit.

Our oldests, taking in the view from the bottom.

 Andrew took this picture of the ladies.

And then pretended to be taking our picture while capturing way too many selfies like this. 

Walking back up hill was much harder.

We stopped at a local park on our way out to check out this awesome mountain biking trail.

The next day we walked over to the lake to feed the ducks.  The boys decided to hug their favorite tree.

Later that week Grandpa and Grandma came over to watch one of Andrew's basketball games (which was sadly canceled at the last minute) - but we didn't let that stop us from popping into Sluy's bakery.

The following weekend Andrew had his last basketball game...

followed by lunch at Westside pizza.

While I enjoyed an incredibly fun day with my family at my cousins bridal shower in Bellevue.  I hadn't been back to Kirkland (my hometown) since we had moved back, so my mom and I had fun driving over and grabbing coffee at my favorite coffee shop, followed by shopping and dinner at Bell Square, our old shopping stomping grounds.  And it was SO MUCH FUN to see my cousins.

First trip back to DC!

Mid January brought the opportunity for us to travel back to DC for the first time.  Dave was asked to officiate weddings on back to back weekends, so we turned it in to a week of fun.

We flew (and fell in love with) Alaska airlines.  More leg room, direct flights into Dulles and National.  This boy was excited.

First stop was dinner with the cousins.  Will with his Hunter boy.

We made a sneaky late night visit to the Choi's - this was their reunion with Nathan.

The next day I got to experience beltway traffic - a part of DC life I truly hadn't missed.  It felt especially jarring after months of driving on an island most of the time!

The boys enjoyed some quality time with the cousins while mom and dad were at the rehearsal dinner.  Life with them is never dull.

One last pic in front of Grandma Dee Dee and Grandpa Jerry's tree before they took it down.  

Wedding number one - Arpad and Valerie.

One of the most dear, precious couples I've ever seen.  We were SO excited about this wedding.

Their reception was at the Army Navy club - we enjoyed sitting with the Smith's.

 A sweet farewell.

 Sunday after church we hit Benihana!

And then stopped into the old neighborhood to see old friends!  The boys with our sweet neighbor Louie.

We popped into the Habib's up the street - we love this family.

Our dear, sweet across the street neighbors, the Skaag's.

Monday (MLK day) we headed down to check out the new exhibit "Wonder" at the Renwick.  Waiting outside in line was COLD.

But so worth it.  This exhibit was amazing.

Will was very proud of finding the piece featured on the cover.

These were stacked index cards.

Silly cousins, reacting to the 3-d printed statue behind them.  Love them.

Upstairs...

Laying on the floor...

Taking in this.  I believe this piece was titled "Tsunami".

Checking out the many details of this amazing piece.

Caden and Grandpa by the marbles...

That were laid out to resemble the Chesapeake Bay.

This whole room was designed with BUGS!

Watching a video about how some of the art was made.

A quick coffee stop, just across the street from the White House.

That night Andrew got to go to a birthday party for an old classmate, and see all of his old school friends.  The timing was super fun for him.

I somehow took no pictures on Tuesday!  It was a sweet day full of seeing old friends - a morning at the Gilberts, an afternoon at the Schick's, the older boys had playdates with friends.

Tuesday night we met up with these two for dinner at Medium Rare - the restaurant Dave has missed the most.

Martin officially joined our family in July, but can't imagine it without him.  

The boys were excited to see their Tia and Martin!

On Wednesday we met up with my cousin and her sweet little boy at the Museum of Natural History.  Here, the boys are touching volcanic rock from the Cascade Mountains here in WA!

They had a lot of fun posing with these Rhinos...

And seeing their pics pop up later.

T-rex!

Will's fav - the rhinoceros!

The boys got to hold some pretty cool looking bugs.

Trying to break up a frozen puddle outside.  They hadn't seen ice in awhile, so it was very exciting.

We made a quick stop into the hold neighborhood on the way home to see old friends again...

They of course had to play a pick up game of football.

Then we were off to church of Weds night dinner - just like old times!

On Thursday we went ice skating before Andrew met up with a buddy for a playdate.

And we started getting ready for the insane amount of snow that was definitely coming our way.

This was the line at Stroesneiders (local hardware store), where we stopped to grab some sleds.  Caden was interviewed by a BBC news crew while we were standing in line.

On Friday, things got exciting.  With over two feet of snow coming, the decision was made to move Paul and Caitlin's wedding up one day.  So instead of a mid day wedding on Saturday, it was a late morning wedding on Friday.

And somehow they pulled it off!

This was the adorable hot cocoa bar, which was so appropriate for the day.

The happy and very relieved newlyweds.  Another amazing and incredibly special couple.

The snow started falling during their reception (hence my borrowed rain boots).

We started our drive home just in time - a few inches had fallen, and roads were starting to get bad.

Knowing we'd be stuck for a few days, we decided to move our stuff from Monie's, and hunker down with Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Dee Dee.

 And the snow just kept coming.

Dave and I slept next door at the Wintrols - this was walking out their front door on Saturday morning.

Walking up to Jerry and Dee Dee's - a full day of snow still to come.

I couldn't tell where the steps were!

We attempted to begin digging out on Saturday - it was amazing how quickly our pathways accumulated again.

Cuddle time with Grandma Dee Dee - best part of being snowed in.

And Grandpa's yummy breakfasts and mochas.

And reading by the fire.

It was so beautiful to be inside looking out - especially since we didn't lose power!!

Will enjoying these magical pathways.

25 inches.

Digging out was a BEAST of a project.  I haven't been that sore in a long time.

Andrew's tunnel.

It was so fun to play in this much snow.

Digging out took hours.  And hours.  And hours.  

Sledding in the backyard..

The sunset that night was gorgeous.

Will getting ready to sled down the hill daddy used to sled down as a kid.

Grandma Dee Dee loves to sled.  Andrew doesn't like to have his picture taken ;).

We were supposed to fly home on Sunday, which obviously didn't happen.  Dave was able to get out on the first flight Monday evening.  But getting to the airport was an adventure.  We had to sled his suitcase down the hill...

to a friends house who had an SUV that could get him to their airport.

The boys and I were stuck until the street was plowed and we could get our rental car back to the airport.

This massive wall is what kept us trapped in the neighborhood.  And it also made for a really good snowball fight bunker.  The boys and I had an epic snowball fight that night.

The path we made down the hill made for a perfect toboggan/bobsled run.

 Being trapped at Jerry and Dee Dee's meant being close to several fun friends.

Andrew loved getting time to sled with his buddy Peter.

We got to sled with the Choi's!

Caden jumping on the back of Nathan's sled - they thought this was hilarious.

Andrew loved taking on the biggest jumps (I think he hurt his knee on this run).

Playing cards with Monie was the best.

We finally got plowed out, and decided to hit our favorite barber shop for much needed haircuts.

Tia stopped by for..

one last hug and goodbye.

Will and Monie had fun playing war.

There's so many things I love about this picture - their faces say it all.

Right before we left for he airport, a snowplow came through and pushed a wall of new snow into the driveway.  We quickly jumped into action and shoveled it way so we wouldn't miss our flight.

Enjoying Chipotle one last time before jumping on our flight.

Our flight was significantly delayed, which meant we didn't get home until 1am Seattle time (4am DC time).  These boys FINALLY fell asleep in line for the ferry.

We were so incredibly thankful for the time we had to see so many precious friends and family.  

And it felt good to be home.