What's not to love about Seattle?

This trip was my fourth to Seattle. 

First time: we visited Seattle as a family when I was 14 -- gorgeous and exciting. 

Second time: Brian and I went to see Randi shortly after we were married -- lovely and romantic. 

Third time: Samantha and I stayed with Randi for a few days when Sam was 6 months old -- relaxing. 

Fourth time: Just last week, with both kids on an 8-hour drive to get there -- still extremely enjoyable, relaxing, lovely, and gorgeous. 

I've heard some people don't like the rain in Seattle. Well, I'll have you know, every time I've been there, the weather has been splendid! No joke. Sunny, warm, and oh so green. Yes, we did see a wee bit of rain on this trip. But just a wee bit. Really, we had a wonderful time, and here are pictures to prove it...

First, the drive up was so beautiful! Oregon treated us to countless farms dotting rolling green meadows, and pine trees covering the hillsides. (Downside to Oregon was the 65 mph speed limit -- feels sooo slow compared to Idaho's 75 mph.) Washington offered vineyards and orchards, lots of agriculture, and snow-covered mountains. I don't really care for from-the-car pictures (they make me a little dizzy), so I only took this one, couldn't stop myself...

Here are the highlights of our day in downtown Seattle. First stop, Randi's work, but sadly I took no pictures (rats!). So from there, on to Pike's Market. We got our picture by the famous brass pig. It's a real piggy bank, and Samantha got to put in some coins for a cute lady who walked by after our picture was taken...
Then watched the guys throwing fish, they seem so excited about their work. I wonder how much they get paid?
We smelled all the gorgeous flowers. They had lilacs for sale, which seemed funny to me, when everyone had bushes in their yards in full bloom.

We walked aimlessly through the market (which is MUCH harder to do with two kids and a stroller, as it turns out)...Ate lunch at a fun little Mexican restaurant with good carnitas. Spence liked the beans...

Sam liked being photographed...
Walked along the boardwalk and watched the ferries and cruise ships. Spencer loved the walk, since it was one of the few moments he got to be out of the stroller...

After Pike's market, we headed to the monorail, to ride over to the Space Needle. We came across this fun little waterfall we got to walk underneath. Sam liked it at first, but was a little unnerved that she actually got a tiny bit WET!


Believe it or not, the Space Needle had big ol' lines and we didn't feel like standing in them and paying to go up.

So, we rode the carousel instead, for only $6 for the whole family -- much less than that Space Needle was going to cost anyway!

It was Spencer's first carousel ride. He was a little puzzled, but seemed to like it by the end...

Next stop, the International Fountain. Samantha had a great time running through the water...



Until a "surprise" burst of water gushed her in the face. It was all over after that!

We headed back to Randi's after that, with two exhausted children who got to stay with Randi's nice niece for the night. Then we topped off a lovely day with a grand finale at Safeco Field...
It really is a gorgeous ball park, no?
And the RedSox won, can't beat that, can ya?!
My favorite treat (aside from the cookies Randi brought from work, I mean) was the Shishkaberry -- chocolate dipped strawberries on a stick. Delicious (and slightly nutritious even, maybe?)
That's all for the Seattle one-day photo tour, folks. We stayed with Randi on Sunday, but I didn't have the camera at the ready. So I missed shots of Rex Johansen (Randi's dad) all spiffed up in a 3-piece suit for church, the festivities at a local park where someone was throwing a birthday party for a dog (ha ha! I'm serious... they had balloons, cake, and everything. For a dog!), and some great sunset pictures at the lake in the park. Next time, right? Next time. 

Stay tuned for Victoria, coming soon.

Back from Seattle, hi Randi.

We've been traveling again, it's true. We just got back from such a fun trip to Seattle and Victoria. Hard to come home, I tell you! Seattle is goooorgeous. And Victoria was splendid too. I have so many pictures to post. But first, I have to say, the person who MOST needs to be pictured is NOT in ANY of our pictures! oh no!!

And that special person is Randi Johansen, our lovely and dear friend who lives in Seattle and made this whole trip possible. We actually went to see her and spend time with her; that was the whole reason for even planning a trip to Seattle. But, we didn't take ANY pictures together, can you believe?! So, this first post about our trip will be pictureless, in honor of Randilicious. 

Part of the reason we didn't get pictures is because most of our time with Randi was spent in the late hours of the evening, I guess? Who takes pictures in lounge wear, at 11pm? Plus, Rand was a little under the weather while we were there and who wants their picture taken when they're a sickie?? But that's really no excuse. So, next time we visit, Randi dear, you WILL be photographed extensively -- consider yourself warned.

Let me say a little bit about Randi, while I'm here. She's one of my most favorite people in the world, one of those friends who just feels like part of the family. We met in Boston, where we were roommates for two very wonderful years. She has exquisite taste in shoes and desserts, and has the most extensive collection of MAC make-up I've ever seen -- and she knows how to wear it! Seriously, when Randi gets made up, she looks absolutely stunning; I think it's partly that perfect shade of red hair, or her amber eyes? Randi is the person I'd pick to go shopping with me ANY day, as long as I'm up for spending some money on some very tasteful clothes and perfect accessories. She's also the person I'd pick to cook dinner for me, even though she's super critical of her work and would never claim to do dinner very well. Her REAL specialty and passion is dessert, and she can make the best pastries, hands down.  She works as a sous-chef at a pastry kitchen for 5 classy restaurants in downtown Seattle. Her coconut cream pies sell in one of the restaurant's bakery for $35 apiece! No joke; I saw it yesterday, tasted a miniature last Saturday. Delish!

Okay, so on top of all this, Randi is the most sensitive, loyal, easy going friend. She's a wondeful listener -- the kind who really takes things to heart and gives honest, supportive feedback. She can sense my bad moods, and knows how to talk me through them without making me feel bad for troubling her with my problems. She plays a mean game of Catan, but can also be nice about it, if that makes sense. Also, she knows soooo much about music, movies, classic literature, and the British monarchy. Who knew!?  So many good things about Randi. I guess this trip just made me realize how great she is, and how much I miss her. If a picture's worth a thousand words, well then, here's my attempt at picturing Randilicious. Thanks for a great trip, Rand!

Mother's Day Musings

(I wrote this entry yesterday, but didn't get it uploaded until today -- Monday. For those interested, here are my thoughts on Mothers Day this year...) 

It was a weepy one for me today. I should have known it would be, when I went to choir practice first thing this morning and sniffled all through the song we were practicing for today's meeting -- A Mother's Silent Prayer. It talked about how a mother consecrates all that she does for the welfare of her family. It was the first time I'd had a chance to practice with the choir, since we've missed a few practices in a row lately. Anyway, I was grabbing tissues during the first five minutes, and continued to cry over it through the whole practice.

That should have warned me that the rest of the day might be the same. If I had been sufficiently aware, I could have had my good cry right after choir practice and gotten it out of my system. Instead, I teared up sufficiently during each talk at sacrament meeting, and again cried all the way through our choir piece. I was able to pull myself together and accept the "mother's" gift at the end of our meeting. Did anyone else get chocolate for their Mother's Day?!? We got the BIG bars of Hersheys. (Brian was pleased the I ended up with a Cookies n Cream bar.)

The real "joy" (meant to be read totally sarcastically) at church today was Samantha. The last few weeks, she's been doing the typical toddler thing where she doesn't want to go to her primary class at church. Most kids go through that when they start nursery at 18-months. Well, she never did, so I guess she's having her turn now. She absolutely refused to go to her class (refused can be defined as kicking, screaming, bawling, shouting NO! NO! NO!, etc). Brian was teaching a Sunday School class, so I had to relieve him and take care of Spencer. I ended up dragging Sam (I'm only being partly literal there) along. She was in "time-out" in the back of Brian's class, while I tried to coral Spencer for awhile. He kept wanting to get down and play on the stairs in the corner (the class was on the stage, of all the unhelpful places to try to coral a 14-month-old). I finally evil-eyed Sammie and told her to "STAY!" while I took Spencer out to get his bottle ready. It doesn't sound as stressful as I felt, but I assure you, I had HAD it! I sat down in the kitchen and started my REAL cry. I kept thinking, "Maybe I'm just not cut out for this motherhood thing." I couldn't cry it all out, because I had to get back in the class and make sure Samantha was really staying in "time out." So, I grabbed a paper towel (now my nose is all chapped, shoulda grabbed a kleenex) and headed back to wrestle the two rowdies till Sunday School was over.

Next round, Brian took Spencer and I tried to get Samantha to go to her class again. No go. She screamed and cried and just about made me scream too. So, I hauled her to Relief Society with me. Lucky day, we had ALL the young women and primary workers joining us for Relief Society so the place was PACKED. I was playing the piano and there was not a single chair left for me once the lesson started, so Sam and I had to share the piano bench. The lesson was about being a valiant woman in the cause of Christ. The teacher made it clear she didn't want any of us to feel guilty, especially on Mother's Day. I did anyway. I sat there behind the piano and finished my cry, hoping my visiting teacher couldn't see me even though she was sitting right next to me. 

I do love the idea of Mother's Day. And I really thought a lot about MY mother today, and how precious she is -- and my grandma, too. And Brian was very sweet and kind, and cooked dinner and cleaned up afterward, and helped Sammie make me a card, sort of. But sometimes, there are days where the mother just hasn't had enough sleep or something. Maybe I'm the only one?? I'm just thinking, maybe we'll  not really count this as the REAL Mother's Day this year, and we'll try celebrating some other time instead?? 

Well, for all the rest of you out there, Happy Mothers Day! If you didn't have it go absolutely perfectly, you're in good company. If you did have perfection, I'll love seeing your pictures and hearing about your special day.

Baby Blessing

Our sweet little nephew, Matthew James, was blessed last Sunday. He's adorable. Looks a lot like his brother and sister, but has his own sweetness, too. 

Here's the baby and the "brotherhood," minus my dad, who went home early... (I'm particularly partial to the one on the far right, in glasses.)

It was our first chance to meet him, so I was especially excited to hold and cuddle him. He is about 6 weeks old now, and such a little cuddly chub of a newborn. Look at these yummy pictures! 


We had a big family dinner afterward. I couldn't stop eating. Seriously, I developed an addiction to my sister-in-law's mother's rolls and homemade raspberry freezer jam. I know there are other sufferers from this addiction, so some of you out there can sympathize. I also had to reassure my mother that her peanut butter bar cookies were indeed very tasty --- by eating three or four, or maybe five of them. Sigh. It's like they picked me to single-handedly clean up any food that might be left after everyone went through the line once. I've been paying for it this week with my sluggishness and lack of enthusiasm for exercise. Getting back on the wagon tomorrow. Promise.

I took a few cute pictures of some of the grandkids, while we were all gathered together. Thought I'd share...

Little BJ, showing us the big scratch on his arm. Look at that sad, sad little face! You bet he got plenty of sympathy from us!!
Little Sara, tuckered out and fast asleep on her grandpa's lap.
Princess Sammie. No matter where she is, she always finds the princess gear. She came up with this pose on her own, too!
Anna, glaring at me for taking her picture. She still looks at me like "how do you know my name??" every time I talk to her. One day we'll be buds. Won't we??
Spence, standing up and posing like a champ! He love the little red light on our new camera, which comes on right before the pictures takes, so we get some good shots that we owe to the Canon. yay! Btw, Spencer started walking this week! If I can catch a video of him I'll have to post it sometime soon. It's adorable.
Three manly Hone Bros. See the resemblance?? 
It was a nice weekend, though a short trip for us... We got there Saturday at 5:30 pm and left on Sunday by 7 pm. (Our plan was that we'd leave late in the evening and our kids would sleep all the way home. Bad plan; the kids were AWAKE and restless and overtired ALLLLLL the way home, errr at least almost all the way!) Anyway, we had a fun time and loved seeing that baby!

Kidney Stones

I wasn't going to write about this, but since my mom mentioned it, I'll tell... My dad has two kidney stones that are too large to pass. He has been in excruciating pain since last Monday night. NO, NOT day before yesterday, but a WEEK from then. He has been on severe pain medicine -- oxycodone, or something like that, even a double dose. The doctors can't blast the stones until he's been off blood thinner (asparin) for at least a week, so his surgery is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday). In the meantime, he just went into the hospital this morning because he's been in so much pain through last night. They're going to give him pain medicine through an IV drip and monitor his digistive system (no real BM all this time), until the surgery. 

I'm really worried about him. Please pray for him.

UPDATE -- Sunday, May 10

My dad is home from the hospital and on the road to recovery now, thank goodness! He's had a tough go of it, and still has a long ways to go, but he's doing much better. I hope to see him again sometime this week if he's up to it.

Sammie-isms

Samantha always says the cutest things that make me laugh. Then I totally forget about them later and can't even think to tell Brian what she said. But I made a point to write down a few from yesterday.

-- She has learned "no thanks" is the kind way to say no when we don't want to do something. She has NOT learned that sometimes "no thanks" doesn't work... We had moved Sam's car seat to the middle seat, so she could sit next to Spencer and entertain him on our trip to Blackfoot. By the time we were coming home, it wasn't working so well, and her "entertaining" had turned to big-sisterly "bothering" the poor kid. So, we pulled off at a remote exit and started to move her seat. "No Thanks," she politely declined. We smiled and continued to move her and the seat to the new location. " I said NO THANKS," she raised her voice. She continued shouting "NO THANKS, NO THANKS, NO THANKS!" as she was strapped in -- and then for the next few minutes as we rode along, laughing to ourselves.

-- Since we just spent time with lots of Hone cousins, I thought Samantha would enjoy hearing some fun news, so I told her "Guess what?! Little cousin Sara is starting potty training today, wearing big-girl undies and everything!"

Samantha smiled really big and said, "OH WOW! That's pretty deciding!" (exciting.) 

-- Samantha was watching some cartoons yesterday while I exercised. One featured a group of animals living in the rainforest. At one point, a sloth jumped up in a huge tree and started singing and swinging from the branches. Sammie watched him for a second, then got a really nervous, concerned look and shook her head slowly as she said, "that's VERY dangerous!" 

-- Yesterday morning, I was filling up a new soap dispenser (Thanks, Lisa L., it's adorable!!) in the half-bathroom and she came looking for me.

Sam: Mom, what are you doing?

Kam: I'm in here, filling up this new soap dispenser.

Sam (watching): No, Spencer is in his bedroom.

Kam: Oh, I didn't say Spencer, I said dispenser. I'm filling up this soap dispenser.

Sam (still unconvinced and rather adamant): No, Spencer is in his bedroom.

Kam: I know, but I didn't say Spencer. I said "dispenser."

(We repeated this several more times. She took quite awhile to get it, but eventually learned a new word!)

She asked me to take this picture ... her pajamas are on upsidedown, which she thinks is such a funny joke!
She saw an umbrella at the store the other day and said, "OH! That is JUST like my umbrella! Just like it!! [thoughtful pause] Only, mine is smaller, [another pause] and pink, [pause] and has princesses." I looked at the umbrella in question, to see it was a large, plain red and yellow panelled umbrella... just like hers?
We sure love having a three-year-old around!

Random evening thoughts

I haven't had a good "writing" entry for a little while. So, here I am. It seems like I've been busy lately, though I don't have lots to report. This weekend, we went to Idaho Falls for a nephew's baby blessing (pictures to come later). It was really nice to spend some time with family and see our new little nephew, finally. He's adorable, with the chubbiest little cheeks. He still makes those little newborn noises that I love, and slept peacefully through all the chaos of a post-blessing family dinner party.

But this post is not about the baby blessing. What I started out to write about was that we stayed with my Uncle Hal and Aunt Janis this weekend, and I really enjoyed being in their home. They live in Blackfoot, where I grew up, and they've been some of my favorite "constants" -- always there for family occasion, always welcoming and supportive. Their daughter, Jessica, has been one of my closest friends as long as I can remember and I spent a lot of time in their home growing up. 

My Aunt Janis is really into family history, and has so much information about my mother's side of the family. I love hearing about her work, and talked with her late into the night, looking at photos she has collected and family pedigree charts she's organized. Have you ever listened to the stories of someone who has done a lot of family history work? I am amazed at some of the stories Janis -- and others-- have told me about how they've found a certain name, or cemetary, or date. And how compelled they've been to get their geneology in order. I hope my time comes when I "catch the bug," though I imagine it won't be right now, while I'm in the middle of the "small children" phase. 

One of the stories Aunt Janis told me was about my great grandmother -- my maternal grandmother's mother, named Callie. Callie was born in backwoods Tennessee and lived through some crazy times. She actually wrote a short life history when she was in her fifties, and Aunt Janis let me borrow a copy while I was there. I stayed up waaaay late to read it, couldn't put it down. I was fascinated to hear the voice of someone very directly related to me, who lived such a different life, so very long ago. 

She called her story "Tales of a Hillbilly Girl"and told about how her father kept a box of rattlesnakes and copperheads on the front porch, to show at a local carnival for money. Her bedroom as a child was right next to the porch, and she could hear the snakes rattling all night long. She wrote about seeing scorpions sunning themselves on the roof of their house -- 18 inches long! She told about eloping with her sweetheart because she knew her dad wanted her to marry the rich foreign neighbor and she didn't love him. She told about her rough mother-in-law she lived with for a time, who expected her to get up at 3 a.m. to do all the laundry and cooking for the entire house, every day. 

Callie eventually had 17 children, including two sets of twins who were stillborn. Did you catch that -- SEVENTEEN!?!? (And here, I struggle with my two, in our lovely new home with running water, AC, and automatic garage). She raised 13 children, including my grandmother, who is still living. 

I keep thinking about her. Not just her, but all my family and heritage. I grew up hearing stories my Grandma Hone told me about her parents leaving Kentucky and coming to Idaho to farm. I love feeling connected to these people in my past. I wish I knew more and felt closer to them. Sometimes, my lack of information and emotional connection to my past gets me started thinking about my own mortality in a sad, yet meaningful way: a hundred years from now, will one of my relatives remember me? From all my journaling, photos, and records, what will anyone be able to conclude about my personality, my beliefs, my character? Deep thoughts, I know. Maybe that's partly why people get so involved in family history work -- it's a circular hope for our own future, that someone will remember us, down the road a century or two from now. 

Who knows? Maybe the blog will be so catching, it will still be around then?? Immortality, here I come. 

Picnic in the Park

These are some cute pictures from a few weeks ago -- back when we were having Spring. (Where did it go, I wonder?!?) One fine Sunday, we had Stake Conference and miraculously were out of church by NOON! It felt like we had a reaaaallly long day. So, we packed a picnic lunch and went to a park. It was lovely, and our picnic was perfect. See for yourselves...

Spencer earned himself a new nickname on the picnic -- Little Brown Bear. We were laughing at his "rummaging and rifling," looking for food stuffs.
Sammie was a real "helper" -- keeping Spencer away from the water.
Say cheese!!
What's a picnic without a laptop?? ha!
This is a little blurry, because I zoomed in from way far away. But isn't little Spence so cute? Looks like he's posing!
Again, our "helper" is trying to help Spencer up onto the rocks.
Queen of the mountain! She climbed up on these piles of rocks over and over. 
She's being Ariel...
Some ducks, from the little pond nearby.

Come back, Spring!! 

Trip to Tennessee, out yonder!

So, how many of y'all knew I went to Tennessee last week? Yeah, with my lack of bloggering, there's a good chance most of you were in the dark about that trip. But let me tell you, it was so much fun! My mom and I went to visit my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Trent and their family, in Nashville. I took Spencer, and left Sammie with family and friends... and Brian. :) 
The main event was to watch my cousins perform in a community play, Anne of Green Gables. Since I used to live with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Trent, way back when, I was especially excited to see my little cousins (who are NOT so little!!) up on the stage as star performers! My cousin Julie (18 yrs old) was cast as Anne, and did a fabulous job. She was so cute, even though she said the wig was so tight it made it hard for her to get some of her expressions right. ha!
Kallie and Chris were also in the play, Kallie (14) as one of the school girls, and Chris (16) as Jerry Boute -- the hired hand who helps Matthew. They both did a great job and looked so cute.
Here's the whole family... Mark and Jenni sat behind me, and laughed -- as siblings do -- every time their brother, Chris, was on stage. They later said they were laughing just because Chris was sooo "in character" it was surpising to them. ha!
Here's Spence. He didn't enjoy the play as much as the rest of us. But he managed to be fairly quiet through most of it.
During the days, Aunt Kathy and the kids took us out to see some of the gorgeous Tennessee countryside. I wish I would have thought to take pictures of some of the lovely country estates we saw. It was all so pretty and green and ... country! I could see myself loving Tennessee. I've got lots of ancestors from there. Whatever possessed them to leave, I wonder?! 

We drove along the old Natchez Trace (a Southern trade route, comparable to the Oregon Trail), and visited the memorial for Meriwether Lewis, you know -- of Lewis & Clark. I've always loved that part of American history, ever since studying about it in fourth grade. Here's the memorial, where Meriwether Lewis was buried. The history books say he committed suicide in a lodge near this site, but that's debatable. Read on wikipedia, if you're interested in the details. I personally think there's no way he killed himself. But who knows?
Here I am, posing for a Southern Glamour shot, in front of the replica lodge where he died. It used to have a lot of displays telling about the L&C expedition, etc, but was lacking when we visited.
We also did a stroller-worthy hike to a beautiful little waterfall on the Natchez Trace. It was so peaceful and beautiful.

Spence loved the attention and did some good posing for the camera.


Our last day there, we went downtown to see Nashville. We saw some of the fun little guitar shops, drove by the Parthanon (didn't go in to see the nudie statues this time), saw the famous Ryman Auditorium, and visited the amazing Opryland Hotel. It's like a small oasis city, complete with waterfalls, rivers, and gorgeous floral displays throughout the grounds.

I got a little carried away capturing artsy shots of the foliage...

But can you blame me?! Perfect greeting card photo material, oh yes, I have plans for these lovely ladies...
Spencer loved the waterfalls, and posed so nicely!
I have to include this shot of my very "smart" looking cousins, Mark and Chris. They both got new suits while we were there, and tried them on for us. Aren't they handsome?! They are 8 years apart in age, but I think they look so much alike. In fact, when Chris came with Kathy to pick us up at the airport, I mistakenly thought he was Mark for a second! How do these kids grow up so fast!? (I know, I'm sounding old now.)
And one last picture... the Yard Sale. My dad told my mom, if she made it to a yard sale, he'd know she'd done it all!!! ha! Not only did we find a yard sale, but we also went to a great thrift store, and a flee market in the Amish country nearby -- all things my mom loves. 
So yes, we really did do it all! And it was a great time!