Two milestones hit on this trip:
#1 - Landon had his first bee sting.
#2 - Zane broke his first bone (pinky toe).
I'm happy to report, both have survived.
Monday, July 27, 2015
Camping - 2015
We headed to beautiful Ephrata Washington this weekend to do a little camping! We headed over with 3 other families and all had a great time! I am not a big camper...I like the idea of it, I hate the work and the dirty of it! I'm more of a glamper at heart...but since I don't have a glamper budget, I just suck it up every other year! I loved camping with friends when I was in college and I only had myself to worry about...all I had to pack was a change of clothes a tent that we probably borrowed from someone, food we "bought" at the dining hall and beer...now it's like we bring everything including the kitchen sink! But it's all about building memories for our kids right? So we built some memories this weekend! Now, I think we are good on the memory building for another couple years :)
Two milestones hit on this trip:
#1 - Landon had his first bee sting.
#2 - Zane broke his first bone (pinky toe).
I'm happy to report, both have survived.
Two milestones hit on this trip:
#1 - Landon had his first bee sting.
#2 - Zane broke his first bone (pinky toe).
I'm happy to report, both have survived.
Chelan or Bust!
My sisters left Friday and the boys I and left for Chelan. This trip was pre-planned to my dad dying and I decided it was still a much needed trip! We had accomplished a lot over the last week and it was time for some R&R! The boys and I left early Friday and like last year, headed straight for Slidewaters!
This year my cousin and her two kids met us there - Zane and Alex (same age) ran around the park all day all by themselves! They did really good with checking in every so often. I know Zane felt so grown up, it was so cute to watch him! I love this water park because it is small enough that I can let Zane run on his own (with a buddy) and yet big enough that there's enough there for Landon to do without being shunned from rides for being too short!
Again this year we stayed with my aunt in Manson (right outside of Chelan) and the boys again had a great time with their cousins in the pool every second we were at the house! Landon also decided to show me he could swim! WHAT?! He doesn't go far, but he sure does it awesome! He was so proud of himself (as was I)!
This year my cousin and her two kids met us there - Zane and Alex (same age) ran around the park all day all by themselves! They did really good with checking in every so often. I know Zane felt so grown up, it was so cute to watch him! I love this water park because it is small enough that I can let Zane run on his own (with a buddy) and yet big enough that there's enough there for Landon to do without being shunned from rides for being too short!
Again this year we stayed with my aunt in Manson (right outside of Chelan) and the boys again had a great time with their cousins in the pool every second we were at the house! Landon also decided to show me he could swim! WHAT?! He doesn't go far, but he sure does it awesome! He was so proud of himself (as was I)!
On Saturday, we headed to the lake to play and enjoy Shave Ice! It was perfect!
Already looking forward to next year!
Sisters & Memorial
Both of my sisters flew up from California the Tuesday after dad died. They came up to help me start to sort through all of his stuff and grab what they wanted, accompany me to see an estate attorney since none of his affairs were in order and head to the funeral home and plan a small memorial. We had a lot to do in just a couple days...but we got a good head-start!
Tuesday night we all went out to dinner -
On Wednesday, we headed up to my dad's house so my sisters could go through his stuff and grab whatever they wanted before I started to liquidate it later. He has some pretty cool things and a whole lotta junk too! One thing that my dad had a lot of and most were pretty freakin' awesome...were hats! We all claimed our hats! Here are just a few of our claimed treasures.
We also headed to the funeral home on Wednesday to get my dad's cremation all set up. I had spoke with the lady the day before, so had a good idea of what all was going to happen once we got there...but it was still weird and very hard. Ironically my dad had been brought to the funeral home that morning for his autopsy to be done, she asked if we wanted to see him...we all said no. I want to remember my dad the way I saw him last...not cold with no life left in him. It was very eery to know he was "in the building" when we were there, I wasn't expecting that.
I picked my dad up last week...another weird feeling. My sisters will be up again in September around our dad's birthday - we plan to spread his ashes at that time.
On Thursday we met with an estate attorney. Since my dad did not have a power of attorney set up, the court has to appoint one. I am next of kin and am the only local child, so it makes since that it would be me. Thankfully my sisters trust me and we have no issues with each other or dad's things...so they were able to easily sign their right away to me and this coming week the attorney will send the documents to court so I can be appointed. Once I'm appointed, I can start to take care of his things (selling his cars, motorcycle, house etc), pay his bills and figure out his retirement, life insurance etc. This is one hell of a job all. If you're parents do not have a power of attorney and/or a will in place...MAKE.THEM.DO.IT.NOW! Yes, it's a hard thing to talk about - but your life will be so much easier if you get it all out of the way now! I am not going to lie - this has been a nightmare. It is getting better, but still could've been avoided if he had that all in place before hand.
Thursday, we also quickly threw together a small memorial for dad. We just held it potluck style at a park in Renton and hoped that a few of his friends would come - many did, we were happy! My dad had a TON of friends all over the state, many of them are doing their own tributes to him at different events that my dad did with them...we wanted as his family to at least have something small so we could meet some of his friends as well. All but one of my cousins were able to come as well, so it really was a great turn out! Very low key, but exactly what we wanted.
Tuesday night we all went out to dinner -
On Wednesday, we headed up to my dad's house so my sisters could go through his stuff and grab whatever they wanted before I started to liquidate it later. He has some pretty cool things and a whole lotta junk too! One thing that my dad had a lot of and most were pretty freakin' awesome...were hats! We all claimed our hats! Here are just a few of our claimed treasures.
We also headed to the funeral home on Wednesday to get my dad's cremation all set up. I had spoke with the lady the day before, so had a good idea of what all was going to happen once we got there...but it was still weird and very hard. Ironically my dad had been brought to the funeral home that morning for his autopsy to be done, she asked if we wanted to see him...we all said no. I want to remember my dad the way I saw him last...not cold with no life left in him. It was very eery to know he was "in the building" when we were there, I wasn't expecting that.
I picked my dad up last week...another weird feeling. My sisters will be up again in September around our dad's birthday - we plan to spread his ashes at that time.
On Thursday we met with an estate attorney. Since my dad did not have a power of attorney set up, the court has to appoint one. I am next of kin and am the only local child, so it makes since that it would be me. Thankfully my sisters trust me and we have no issues with each other or dad's things...so they were able to easily sign their right away to me and this coming week the attorney will send the documents to court so I can be appointed. Once I'm appointed, I can start to take care of his things (selling his cars, motorcycle, house etc), pay his bills and figure out his retirement, life insurance etc. This is one hell of a job all. If you're parents do not have a power of attorney and/or a will in place...MAKE.THEM.DO.IT.NOW! Yes, it's a hard thing to talk about - but your life will be so much easier if you get it all out of the way now! I am not going to lie - this has been a nightmare. It is getting better, but still could've been avoided if he had that all in place before hand.
Thursday, we also quickly threw together a small memorial for dad. We just held it potluck style at a park in Renton and hoped that a few of his friends would come - many did, we were happy! My dad had a TON of friends all over the state, many of them are doing their own tributes to him at different events that my dad did with them...we wanted as his family to at least have something small so we could meet some of his friends as well. All but one of my cousins were able to come as well, so it really was a great turn out! Very low key, but exactly what we wanted.
Mud Run
The day after my dad died, Zane was signed up to participate in a Mud Run - it was just the distraction that I needed! Zane had a blast! There are a lot of photos here...but I couldn't pick a favorite, so you get to see most of them!
At the last minute a friend of mine signed her daughter up - that was perfect! The two of them ran the course while we tried to keep up. Kids under 9, had to have a parent on the course with them. Thankfully neither of our kids needed help with anything, so we were able to stay mud-free for the most part...but we didn't know we were getting a 2 mile run in that day! That's ok - it was good for us!
At the last minute a friend of mine signed her daughter up - that was perfect! The two of them ran the course while we tried to keep up. Kids under 9, had to have a parent on the course with them. Thankfully neither of our kids needed help with anything, so we were able to stay mud-free for the most part...but we didn't know we were getting a 2 mile run in that day! That's ok - it was good for us!
Rinsing off in Lake Sammamish after!
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