Washington Week 3: Spokane

I had a wonderful time visitng my mom. I really wish I could live closer to my family. They mean so much to me and I just enjoy being with them. Isn't my mom lovely? Our trip was winding down, but we had one more stop before heading home.

On Tuesday we went to visit my sister Noelle in Spokane. Noelle lives on Lake Spokane, so of course we went to the beach. They had a great time except when Alissa pulled Lydia and Haley out to a floating dock on a raft. There were several teenagers on the dock playing. The girls got out to also play on the dock. One of the teenagers pushed Lydia and she fell on the dock and rolled into the water. Lydia was hurt and terrified. Needless to say she was done for the day and I was saying a prayer of thanks for life jackets.

On Thursday we headed out for our 13 hour drive back to Utah. Can you see how thrilled the girls were about this trip? Noelle and I were even less thrilled, I can tell you that. At least we had Edward and Bella to keep us company.

Washington Week 2: Moses Lake

We went to Grandma's house in Moses Lake, WA this week. Moses Lake is on the desert side of the state. It is a beautiful lake in the middle of nowhere with a little town. No worries though, it was still big enough for me to get my Breaking Dawn on Saturday.

One of the highlights of Gradma's house is the myriad of pets she has collected from various children moving out and the pets remaining. Sky is a very old golden retriever, Cocoa is an affectionate calico cat, and this is Larry the bearded dragon. The girls love to watch him eat crickets. Ali follows the animals around all day exclaiming that she is "so happy to see you!"

There is a great water park in this little town. This is me boogie boarding at the surf area. We always have fun going here in the summer.

Zachary loves dinos, and the girls like to play with him. They've been stomping around growling a lot this week. They have really enjoyed having so many cousins around to play with.

Moses Lake really is a great recreational lake. Too bad we don't have a boat or jet skiis. Mom has a canoe, that's close right? We spent one day at the beach playing in the sand (which is black) and floating around. That's just Lydia's kind of day.

Ali doesn't get in the water much, she prefers to play in the sand. That's fine by me, she's easier to watch that way.

We had a great week. I love being close to my family and miss them terribly. I wish we could live closer to them. So far it isn't in the cards for us though. We miss dad and we're all getting really excited to see him again. We head back to Utah on Thurs, but also have a reunion in Heber over the weekend. Then we're all vacationed out. I'm exhausted.

What do you do to unwind from a vacation?

Week One in WA: Seattle

I'm visiting my two sisters, Missy and Tara, in the Seattle area this week. Tuesday I didn't bring my camara, but we went to a carnival, got our faces painted, slid and bounced on inflatables, went to a petting zoo, and saw a little circus. It was loads of fun.

On Wednesday we went to the Pont Defiance Zoo. Ali's favorites were the Baluga Whales. Lydia's favorite was the polar bear. Missy and I had our hands full with 5 kids (4 of whom were 2 and under), but we managed well.

Lydia's favorite attraction of the trip was her baby cousin Vincent. She loved to hold him, push him in his swing, and make him laugh.


We played at a park on Friday. These two are only 2 months apart in age. They had a lot of fun together. We had such great weather while we were there. It wasn't too hot and it never rained.

Dallin, Shayla, Ali, Lydia, and Aunt Tara played "monster" around the yard. We had a great time playing with cousins.

Friday we went swimming at Missy's old apartment. The kids stayed in the hot tub the whole time because it was their size. On Saturday we went to Northwest Trek, but unfortunately I don't have pictures. It is an open wildlife park with all native Washington animals. We took a tram around the park and saw bison, moose, elk, mountain goats, big horn sheep, caribou, and many other animals. They were close enough to reach out and touch and in their natural habitat. It was amazing. Washington is such a beautiful state. There really isn't anywhere else like it. Now it is off to my mom's house on the desert side of the state. Thanks for a great week Missy and Tara!

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jig

The girls and I are off to the beautiful Washington State. We will be flying into Seattle and staying with 2 of my sisters for several days. Then we head off to the desert side of the state. My mom, 2 more sisters, and a brother live in Eastern Washington. We'll be there for about 2 weeks. We are so excited to see everyone. Then we drive back to Utah with my sister and her kids. I'm nervous to fly with two little ones by myself, but the 14 hour drive won't be too fun either. I did buy new toys for each girl during traveling times. I got that tip from Jessica G. I will be putting the girls in pull-ups hoping to reduce the number of stops.

Tim isn't coming with us. He has school, work, and scout camp to keep him occupied. We chose to be gone while he is at camp so it doesn't make us sad he is gone all week. I don't know how you ladies with hubbies that travel a lot do it. By the end of the day I need to know Tim is coming home to offer some relief. The girls need it too. He likes scouting though. It's a good spot for him. Lydia was pretty sad she couldn't go to scout camp with daddy. I'll be posting events from our trip from abroad. I think they have internet in Washington too. :)

Anymore travel tips from you great moms out there?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, it was my birthday this weekend. This is when I get to start claiming 29 for the rest of my life, right? No, I'm 31 okay?!? I had a great birthday. We celebrated on Sat, because there's a lot more to do on a Sat. then a Sun. Grandma took the girls for a few hours. Tim made a picnic lunch and then we watched a movie. We then headed to my favorite place (Tim's least favorite) Gardner Village. He tolerated my window shopping and my exclamations of "how cute!" over and over again. He bought me some fudge, and even let me browse in the Village Christmas Shop, where it is Christmas even in 90' weather. Next we dined at Archibald's. Archibald Garnder is my great-great grandfather. I am a descendant of his 11th wife and his 48th child. Yes, that was his last. So, it is kind of fun for me to eat there, plus it's just cute. We picked up the girls on the way home, put them in bed and had a game night with a few friends. It was a perfect day for me!

Sunday was filled with meetings. Then Tim grilled some steaks, we had cake and ice cream, and I opened presents. My favorite gift? This memory foam mattress pad. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Thanks for a great birthday Tim!! You're a wonderful husband.

The Chalet and Shingles

My aunt and uncle rented a Chalet in Midway last week and invited us to stay there with them and other extended family. We brought our sleeping bags and slept on the floor, but the girls loved it (though none of us got much sleep). Apparently there are fireflies in Midway area. I didn't know there were any in Utah, but Midway has them. My uncle gets very excited about such things, so he cut some willow tree branches and showed us all how to make nets. In the Despain family, you can't just buy nets, no no, you must make your own nets to catch the fireflies. Here is Tim making a net for Ali, and I made one for Lydia.

Here is Lydia's net we made together. They thought they were great and brought them home. We use them to catch butterflies now. We all thought the fireflies were beautiful. We caught several and put them in a jar to observe them. Then we let them go.

This is a great climbing tree the kids discovered. This branch was bigger than I could fit my arms around. My uncle also took us around the area showing us a variety of edible plants. We tried cattail, wild horseradish, wild mustard, cheese mallows, thistle (an artichoke relative), and stinging nettle. That's right, stinging nettle is edible, you just have to immerse it in boiging water first. Hey, now I don't need food storage!

We also saw some animals. The kids loved the giant earthworms we found, there were also woodpeckers, marmets, butterflies, fish, polywogs, and a dead deer (ohhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhhhhh). Ali's favorite though were the snakes we found. She picked it up and folded it in half, made it into a wad and squeezed. Yes, the snake lived, but I was surprised it didn't bite her. Even Lydia was brave enough to hold the snake. It was a great little family vacation, especially since we had to cancel our trip to Yellowstone last week. Curse those gas prices. Thank you Russ and Ruth for inviting us! We had a great time!

Oh, the last part of the title doesn't refer to the shingles on the Chalet roof. Lydia got Shingles on her leg last week. I didn't know kids got shingles, just adults. Again, I was wrong. Luckily in children it is just a little annoying (she said her leg hurt for a couple of days) and it isn't very contagious. Her have to touch the blisters directly to catch chicken pox from her. So the Dr. said to give her Tylonal and sent us on our way.

Our June Bug is 4!

Lydia's birthday and party were on Saturday. She chose a Hello Kitty party. We decorated bows to put on our kitty "ears". Here you can see Lydia's. Then we played pin the bow on the kitty.

My friend Jessica made this beautiful Hello Kitty cake. Lydia loved it!

Lydia got plenty of presents. She has had days of opening packages. Is it just me or do pieces to toys get smaller as my daughter gets older? She has enjoyed each of her gifts. She also got a new bike from mom and dad.

Make a wish! The cake didn't just look cute, it tasted great too!

Lydia has gotten a party every year. Now she expects it. Ali hasn't gotten one yet and I want to change this party expectation of Lydia's.
What do you do party wise for your kids and how can I change from her every year expectation?