Orcas Island

At the end of May my parents and my siblings (Jeff and Cassi) flew up and took us to the San Juan Islands. Though we spent a lot of time waiting for ferry boats, it was worth it. The Islands are breathtaking.

We stayed in a little cottage on Orcas Island. Our weekend was serene and quiet and beautiful.

Memories:
Eating extraordinary seafood
Visiting the farmers market with the colorful locals
Going whale watching (and seeing minke whales!)
Sacrament meeting in our cottage
Driving to the top of Mount Constitution in a thick fog
Finding a ton of sea stars on the beach
A lot of rain
Waiting for the ferry...again...for a long time

Pictures:

Seeing the San Juan Islands was on our Seattle Bucket List. It is a strange, ethereal, gorgeous part of the world. Thanks for helping us experience it, Mom and Dad!

The Little Smith's Visit

I am catching up on blogging. This post documents a visit from family in May. Stay tuned for more!

My older brother and his family made the long drive from Idaho to come see us (Scott, Kristen, Kayt, Ella, and new baby Hazel). We had a blast with them. The little girls played and played, and Brad and I loved staying up late and talking with Scott and Kris. They are awesome. We pretty much love that we're related.


We loved meeting Hazel for the first time. Leah especially!

Our many adventures included a trip to Carkeek Park,

Pike Place Market,

Eating HUGE oysters from the market (Brad gagged big time),

 The gum wall,

The view from Columbia Tower,

Riding the ducks,

 Golden Gardens Beach,

and the Seattle Aquarium (the giant octopus was totally cool).

 Sad faces the morning they left:

Scott, Kristen, Kayt, Ella and Hazel, we love you! Thanks for making the trek up!

Windermere Cup 2012

I am catching up on blogging. Stay tuned for more posts from May and June 2012.

The Windermere Cup is the first Saturday in May. It's the day Seattle celebrates its status as one of the country's biggest rowing hubs and features the University of Washington crew (one of the most revered rowing teams in the world). We went to the cup last year and decided we needed to see it one more time.

It was a beautiful day. We rode our bikes over to the Montlake Cut and got there just in time to see UW completely dominate the competition. Go Huskies!

There were hundreds of people lining the banks of the cut and a lot of yachts lining the course on the water. It's something you just don't see anywhere else (and it's a good excuse to cuddle cute little girls).

Super fun!

On Moving

We are alive.

Since you last saw us Brad graduated from medical school, we moved from Seattle to Spokane (in the pouring rain), we drove 8 hours to see family in Idaho, we flew to California and spent three days in Disneyland, we drove 8 hours back to Spokane, and Brad started residency.

Whew! It's been a whirlwind of a month.

I am very nearly convinced that we should sell everything we own before doing it all over again in a year. Seriously.

Here is an update on the girls:
Lainy is my sweet, adaptable Lainy and all registered for kindergarten at the school up the street.
Leah is...whiny.

But we are settling in and excited to discover what Spokane has to offer. I'm sure it's going to be good!

More on graduation and Disneyland later, I've got boxes to unpack!

The First of the Lasts

I remember my sister-in-law writing a post with this title as she prepared to move her family from Arizona. She wrote it after realizing one night at dinner that the "lasts" were beginning. The last time to do this or that before moving.

I'm using this title now because it is happening for us. We are moving in a month.

Yesterday Brad took his last test in medical school. Tonight is his last shift (he's going out with a bang: an all-nighter in the ER at Harborview). Friday is my last day watching Addie who has been my extra daughter for the past 10 months. Lainy only has three weeks left of preschool. And as I sat in a Relief Society Board meeting last week and discussed all of the Compassionate Service needs, I realized that I won't be here to help with most of them.

It's a bittersweet time.

We have lived longer in Seattle than we've lived anywhere. We have made friends here that feel more like family. We have grown to love this city. It will be hard to leave.

But we are so excited for what is in store for us.There will be new friends and new experiences. New opportunities to learn and grow. It is going to be an adventure.

I guess the best thing we can do for now is enjoy these "lasts" as they come. We'll try to make the most of our time left in Seattle. The enjoying part will be pretty easy, I think. The goodbye part, not so much. Still, my heart is full of gratitude for this time in our lives. It is coming to a close, but it is full of beautiful experiences that will stay with us forever.