Our First Mariners Game

On Friday, Adrian called me around noon and surprised us with Mariner's tickets! A subcontractor had given his department 4 tickets and luckily, he was able to snatch them up. Since we had no Mariners gear, I put them in all the Seattle apparel we had and we hit the road to pick Adrian up. As you can see, our seats were AMAZING, right on the third base line. We explained to the boys that they were incredibly lucky to get seats like this; I'm pretty sure my first game was up in the nosebleeds!

The First Days of School

I'm not going to lie, I've always laughed at the women who say that they miss their kids when the go to school. I know that sounds mean, but let's be honest here...sometimes you need a break. Especially as a work-from-home mama, I need a little quiet time to work, make phone calls, organize myself, etc.

Blueberry Picking in Enumclaw

I did not realize that Washington was such a berrylicious state. Am I the only one? In July, a friend mentioned to me that the berries grow so wildly, you can stop off on the side of the road and fill bucket upon bucket. When my parents visited and we went to Rattlesnake Lake, there were berries growing along the pathways.

Then, the moms group that I creep on (and will someday participate in) went blueberry picking. So, the boys and I decided to make a morning of it and check things out.

Hiking down Crystal Mountain

The view of Mt. Rainier looming over us in Maple Valley never gets old. Seriously. We have been here for almost two months now and I just can't get over how majestic it is as the backdrop of this beautiful, green place.

Before we left for my sister's wedding, we were on a quest to get closer to its gloriousness; we had heard about the gondola ride on Crystal Mountain so we thought we would give it a try.

Our New Favorite WA Hang: Rattlesnake Ridge

When my family came for the week, we had to find some places to explore and fish. Adrian asked around at work and they recommended Rattlesnake Lake for a great recreational area and good catch-and-release fishing. 

Camping at Lake Kachess

One of our favorite pastimes as a family is to camp, hence why we made a pact last summer to do it as often as possible. We thought it was probably a little ambitious to camp only 3 weeks post-move, but with so many visitors coming this summer and traveling in August for my sister's wedding, we really didn't think we would have many other opportunities.

Adventuring at Flaming Geyser State Park

Coming from San Diego, a place notoriously beautiful, you would think that I would be less impressed by nature's beauty. NOPE. This area is so fascinatingly gorgeous, I can't stop staring. The trees, Mt. Rainier looming in the distance, the water that is in every nook and cranny of these towns, this is the type of place where almost everywhere you go, you think: wow.

Granted, we haven't had but just a few drops of rain since we have gotten here, so I'm sure we will be in for a shock in a few short months! Hopefully I'll still be singing the same tune at that point. 

Anyway, this past week while Adrian was at work, I took the boys to Flaming Geyser State Park. I am in a Community of Maple Valley Facebook group and they recently had a thread sharing all of the cool short hikes to take kids on in this area, which is where I found this park. 

The trek

Phew, we made it. It wasn't until 6:00 am on Sunday, June 21st that it felt real. I still am a little bit in shock that we live in Washington, but I'm sure the fact that my family isn't just a short drive away anymore will hit soon enough.

Anyway, Adrian came home on Friday night and was able to take the early flight, thank goodness! The boy were ecstatic to have him back and even still today, 2 weeks later, get upset when he leaves for work. On the Saturday before we started the trek up north, my parents threw us the most amazing, fun, wonderful going away part ever. I couldn't have asked for a better way to be sent off. We played in the pool, had yummy drinks at the tiki bar and enjoyed the company of our best friends and family.

A new adventure ahead

The cat is finally out of the bag. We are leaving California this summer and heading to the great state of Washington! After a lot prayer, tears, discussion and research, we have come to a place where we feel like this is the right thing for our family.

When we found out that Adrian might be recruited out-of-state, I immediately started praying. Not really to stay in San Diego, or to go to Seattle or Colorado or anywhere else for that matter. I prayed for discernment. That our path would be very clearly revealed to us and we would feel at peace with our decision.

One by one, doors that we thought were opening kept shutting. Jobs that we thought would be perfect weren't. And very clearly, the path for us to Seattle was laid out. Throughout the process, we were scared. We didn't want to go and we kept saying over and over again, let's just take the easy way. Let's just take that crappy job.

Let's not do it.

Let's not follow the plan.

But something would change and then we would remember that this really isn't in our hands anyway. When we told the kids, they were excited; particularly, Gabriel was ecstatic. He, of course, is thinking of all the fun things in Seattle (the Space Needle and orca watching are one of his current obsessions), but we have still been very frank with him.

Mimi and Tata won't be a 45 minute drive away.

Grandma and Grandpa won't be a 3-hour car ride away.

It rains a lot.

You might not be going to Catholic school anymore.

You'll have to make new friends.

But still, even after hearing all of that, he is game for the challenge. He sees it as an adventure, as do we.

Five years ago, we applied for jobs in Seattle. Adrian's business had failed and we wanted to start fresh somewhere and we didn't really know what to do. We didn't get any leads and so we begrudgingly made the trek down to San Diego and lived with family until we could get back on our feet.

Three years ago, when we live in the Imperial Valley we started applying again in Seattle. Just a handful of jobs to see if anything would happen. Nothing. Then we were back in San Diego and comfortable and we didn't want to leave.

You just never know where life will take you. I feel comforted and at peace. I feel excited and happy and scared and nervous!

One of the exciting things about this new adventure is that we are going to take a week-long trip up the coast to get to our new home. Adrian's company is going to pay for the trip and we get to explore the entire West Coast.

So, when Adrian leaves next week, I will be keeping myself busy by finding the best places to go along the way, delicious restaurants and cool sights, all the while counting down the days until we can make our way to our new home!

A child's prayer

The other day, we were driving to Santee to celebrate Gabriel's birthday and had one of his friends from school in the back seat. They both go to Catholic school, so are required to go to mass weekly, say several daily prayers, and are overall used to learning about God on an everyday basis.

On that day it was rainy and as all locals know, San Diegans can't drive in the rain. There was an accident on the side of the road and the people who had been in the car were outside, crying and calling on the phone. Nobody looked hurt, but you could tell that they were upset.

Gabriel looked at his friend and said, "X, let's say the prayer that we say at school for those people." His friend agreed and they said to us, "In the name of the Father..." and so on proceeded to do the sign of the cross.

"Lord, please be with those who need them."

"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

Their sweet concern and thoughtfulness actually brought me to tears. Their compassion was so beautiful!

From the trenches: Responsibilities of a t-ball team mom

This is our second year playing t-ball and I guess you could say we are seasoned. Last year, we decided to jump with both feet in, guns blazing, head first, right into being coach and team mom. We had told them that we would coach if nobody else stepped up, aka, they signed us up right away. Adrian really didn't have the desire to coach but I convinced him that it would be a great experience for Gabriel, so he decided to give it a shot.

We have just begun our second season as coach and team mom (which we swore we wouldn't do, but you get sucked in!) and I would like to believe that we know what we are doing now...

There is a LOT to do when you are coach and team mom, much more than I could have imagined. Before the first month of practice, there are at least 3-4 meetings that the coach and team mom need to attend, along with several coaching seminars. In our league, the seminars are free and provide a great resource, especially for new coaches.

As the team mom, your real job starts as soon as the team has been assembled. I like to kick-off the season with an introductory email that talks a little about us and our background, as well as highlights key dates such as uniform pick-up night, our carnival fundraiser, practice dates and location, contact information, request for assistant coaches and volunteer forms, equipment needed for the season, etc. One of the best resources I have found for communicating to and coordinating our team has been Shutterfly's team sites. They are amazing!

At the first practice, I focus on learning the kids' and parents' names, and making sure to introduce myself to each person. They hear a lot from me all season and I want them to feel comfortable coming to me whenever they have questions or concerns. I also bring extra volunteer forms, because for Little League, anyone who plans to interact with the kids is required to have one on file.

During the first month, and definitely before Opening Day, I get my banner company on the phone and have them design a banner, and take our jerseys and hats to the custom screen printer to get names on the jerseys and numbers on the hats. Teams are not required to do either, but we do both. It's a nice way to customize their things, makes it much easier for dugout volunteers to figure out which hat belongs to which child, and becomes a keepsake after the season.

I also work out how we will organize our dugout during the season. This is critical. Our first game last year was an absolute disaster, and that was because I had put zero thought into the matter. My husband was about to fire me from my team mom duties and find another mom to help him. So, I went to the dollar store and bought 12 buckets and backpacking clips, then designed 12 baseballs on the computer with each child's name and number, printed them out and laminated, bought a clipboard and boom.

At the next game, the kids were sitting down in their seats. The batting order was easier to decipher because they were already in order on the bench. Cups and gloves and hats were all placed in the buckets below their names. Whoa. Amazing what a couple bucks at the dollar store and some printed names can do!

One of the most important responsibilities of the team mom is to stay on top of communication. Each week, I try to send out practice and game time and location, snack duty assignments, as well as any other need-to-know information.

The biggest recommendation I have for team parents is to enlist other parents to help. I have made great friends by getting other moms on board and having them help with assigned duties. You'll be shocked at how willing they are to help, they only need to be asked!

A sixth birthday

When I found out I was pregnant with Gabriel, I hyperventilated on the toilet. I wasn't ready to be a mom and didn't think 9 months would make a difference. And then he arrived, and like almost every parent when they meet their firstborn, my breath was taken away.

Every day since then, he has taken my breath away. Sometimes it's from laughing my tush off at his funny jokes.

Other days it's because he is driving me crazy and I am yelling and begging and pleading with him to listen/focus/pickupthetoys/pleasestophittingyourbrother!!!

This child is sensitive and sweet. Fiery and energetic. Fair and honest and thinks that people should do the right thing. He's polite and a little bit crazy.

He is my boy.

He is six today and has taught me so much since that Sunday in 2009 when he made me a mom. He has taught me to overcome shyness. To speak up and speak out and to make friends because what is a world without people to share it with?

He is a fantastic and smart kid and I can't imagine a world with him.

A summer camping pact

Our thought was simple. What can we do this summer for little money that would allow us to spend time connecting with our kids and the outdoors? Where can we take them that they will create lasting memories, ones that they will look back on fondly for years to come?

So, last February, I posed the question to Adrian, "What do you think about trying to camp at least one weekend a month for the entire summer?" As a once avid camper, it was easy to persuade him to start pulling out our old camping stuff to evaluate what items we would need to buy before starting our challenge.

Armed with a list of things to acquire over the next few months and some ideas for where we wanted to camp, we began the planning process.  The month of April would kick off our summer, but more as a test run than anything; Adrian and I planned to go with our friends for just an overnight camping sesh at Carlsbad State Beach here in San Diego. That left May, June, July and August to plan for.

When all was said and done, we bought the following to prepare us for camping with the kids:

• This camping stove from Big 5
• A two-room tent to have plenty of space for the boys and our pup
• Two battery-powered lanterns
• Two headlamps for the boys
• A camping collapsable trash can
• Two Costco air mattresses
• Three Costco plastic tubs for food items and a dedicated "camping stuff" box
• Two cast-iron skillets, one small + one large
• A tea kettle
• LOTS of paper goods
• Dollar store tablecloths 
• A wagon from Costco

We also scrounged up around the house:

• Extra pieces of synthetic grass that were never installed in our yard
• A propane tank
• Quite a few beach chairs
• Our ice chests
• Some random shepherd's hooks for the lanterns that were in our yard
• A coated cable dog leash for Bella
• Our pop-up tent
• Umbrella

Our campsite looked like this:

Now for the hard part: narrowing down our list of places to camp. We ended up deciding on the Sequoia National Forest for May, Big Sur for June and Yosemite Valley for August. July ended up falling through after a friend bailed and we lost our camping spot. Regardless, we still felt like we did our pact justice!

We meal planned using Pinterest, though our favorite things to eat were chili dogs, skillet cinnamon rolls, bacon and eggs, burgers, and of course, lots of s'mores! While we didn't necessarily meet our goal of having an inexpensive summer, we sure met our goal for making memories. 

I'll do a full review of each campsite and experience next!

Have you tackled camping with kids? What are your favorite meals and places to go?