A Little of This and A Little of That

We got new window coverings installed last week. Oh my goodness they make such a huge difference in here! (I still have to remove the curtain rod hooks.)

 Beth had another visit with the endodontist.

They numbed the area, then cleaned out the teeth. They stopped for a minute and I really think she fell asleep! You guys, she was getting TWO root canals!! All of the sudden she relaxed and her breathing got loud... how does she do that?!

 I peeked into the nest yesterday and... it's happening!

 We had about 2 weeks of gorgeous sunshine recently. That is very rare in April around here.

Sharaya and I are going to Pennsylvania in a couple weeks. We're going to help Diana with wedding planning! Chuck's taking a couple days off work to stay here with Ally and Beth so it'll just be the three of us. We'll go dress shopping and get Rita's Ice-Custard and I think we'll get to see the venues... we've only got a few days but I'm really looking forward to hanging out with them!

A Marshmallow World

Beth and I were sitting at the kitchen table last weekend looking out the front window and I told her it looked like a picture postcard.

She said, "A marshmallow world!"

 Last weekend we got about 10 inches of snow. This doesn't happen very often in Seattle, usually just a trace to 2 inches each year but this much snow? Not very often at all!

It snowed for 3 days straight and Beth and I were more than happy to hunker down at home and just look at it through the windows. I did venture out a little to take some pictures but Chuck still had to go to work.

After a few days the temps warmed up and Beth and I ventured out to the grocery store.

She was glad to finally wear her snow boots but even so, she was being very careful walking around in the snow but she did really good. She went slow and steady! When she got to the end of the car, she took my hand and we walked into the store. "Whew!" She was ready to shop!

Got our groceries and made our way home. This is quite exciting stuff around these parts!

 Here's a spring picture from almost the same angle

 

As I write this, it's completely melted and life is back to normal. And I can't help but think about everyone in Texas who is dealing with such extreme weather right now. We have friends who lost power and had to go stay with family members until things begin to improve there. We're praying for you Texas!

Have you been impacted by the weather in Texas? Do you have family or friends dealing with it?

Just Beginning

I decided I was going to sit down and write about our trip so I got my phone and uploaded a few photos. Hahahaha!! More than 250 pictures later... I figured I should probably just start writing! 😂

There were so many surprises.

So many beautiful moments.

The flight down... the views were spectacular. 

 Exploring the resort was so fun and sometimes took my breath away!

 We celebrated Chuck's birthday while we were there. Restaurants were open and we found one that served steak, his favorite! Plus Diana had some cheesecake delivered to our room.

 Sunset Cliffs! We hadn't been there in forever and while I was walking around I came across this arch. It was beautiful!

There's so much more but I'm going to stop for tonight. 

As I type this the snow is falling. We're expecting anywhere from 3-8 inches tonight, it all depends on if the storm stalls over us or if the winds pick up... so I'll be awake most of the night, getting out of bed every so often to look out the window. I absolutely love the snow! As long as I don't have to drive in it. Which unfortunately is exactly what Chuck is doing right now. Driving a large city bus. Until 12:30am. 😬 Every time I look outside I pray for him. And you can bet I'm looking outside a lot!

Have you flown anywhere lately?

Do you like to fly?

Are you getting snow this weekend?

Finally Did It

Growing up in San Diego, you just get used to seeing palm trees. They're everywhere. Especially at the beach.

Not long after we moved to Washington State, we took a road trip back down to visit family and as we got closer to the city, Sharaya asks from the back seat, "What's that?" She was maybe 4 or 5 years old.

"What's what?"

"That thing with the funny leaves on top."

What?!? We were horrified that she didn't know what a palm tree was! We had failed as parents.

We decided then and there we wanted to have a palm tree in Seattle!

When we bought our second home, Chuck did some research and found a certain kind that actually grows here! So one year for Mother's Day he surprised me with my very own palm tree!

It's a Trachycarpus Wagnerianus or Windmill Palm and I absolutely love it! 

This was in 2003, right after we planted it. You can see we hadn't even buried the edging yet.

  

2009

 

 I've planted succulents around it, thinking cactus-type plants would be perfect with it but I found the fronds got really tiny, I mean really small! So I took the plants out and the fronds got big again.

2015

 

My dad has lived most of his life (almost 94 years!) in San Diego and absolutely loves the idea of us having a palm tree in our backyard. Every time I talk to him, he asks about it; how it's doing, how tall it's gotten, so now every year I take a picture and send it to him. 

April 2016

 

July 2018

 

I've tried to figure out what I could plant underneath it. I've had flowers and all kinds of things over the years, and even though it looks so nice when everything is blooming, it's been so hard to keep up with it. I'm constantly pulling weeds and watering and I finally decided that I was done.

The one thing I've always wanted to put under it was sand. Just plain ol' sand. That's one of my favorite memories about being at the beach: the crashing waves, all those palm trees and the sand under my feet! So after all these years I went to Home Depot and picked up 9 bags of sand. What a difference! No more weeds, just beautiful, soft sand.

 

If feels more tropical now, like it's finally finished. I know Allie's gonna love playing in it, and now I go out in the morning to see what kind of critters have been walking around in it during the night!

San Diego in the Back Yard

They repaved the street in front of our house. It's been interesting to watch cause they rip up the street like a cheese slicer. This yellow machine goes right over the top and a whole layer is gone. The dust was horrible for a couple weeks but now that they're done we can barely hear the cars going by! They used some kind of different blacktop/tar stuff and oh my word, it really cuts down the noise under your tires. It's so quiet now! For 12 years we've had traffic noise, but not anymore! It's so nice!

 

 

 

Beth had a doctor's appointment last week and had to go to the lab for a blood draw. This was our regular family doctor so she was used to the lab. And wouldn't you know it, the day after the appointment the issue she was having, stopped. It was gone. Of course! But we're keeping an eye on it just to be sure. :)

 

 

 

We have a palm tree. Did I ever tell you that? Random, I know! There just hasn't been a lot to write about. :) Chuck got it for me for Mother's Day one year. It was only about 2 feet high when he bought it and we weren't sure it would even grow. The guy at the nursery assured him it would... and it has! I love having a little part of San Diego in my back yard.