Mondays should gain a new reputation for being good days. No real reason...I just think that Mondays' get a raw deal.

With that said, I did have a pretty good day today. I had the opportunity to sub for another instructor and the class was very positive towards me and my instructing. It always makes you feel good when people appreciate your work.

Mikayla had an awesome practice with soccer.

Nikole met some friends at church last night and was asked to go to a bible study at the beach with a bon fire and everything. So Excited for her!

Sean had a very productive day at work and that makes for a good one!

Love Mondays!

Big Day For Mikayla

The University of Washington holds a drum line camp every summer for the high school bands in Washington State. Mikayla was very privileged to attend this camp. She doesn't officially belong to her new high schools' drum line yet but this was an opportunity we didn't want to pass up. It was a great experience and she was so excited about all that she learned. One of those things was how heavy the snare drum is when it is strapped to her. She was the cutest little drummer girl there (I'm just saying).

Melody Jam

We have this amazing tree in our backyard that has been giving us a gazzilion green gage plums! At first, we thought that they were not ready to eat because they are green and looked like they needed some more time to get purple or red ... like a regular plum. But noooo. After doing some googling, I figured out that they are supposed to be green and are indeed ready to eat. So we all of a sudden had too many to know what to do with. Nikole had a great idea to make jam out of them. So we picked a bunch and handed those out to our neighbors and then started making our first batch of jam. To our amazement....it was eatable and delicious on top of that. Our official jam taster and expert - Sean - gave us the thumbs up and we started making more. So if you would like to buy some of our homemade and home grown jam please send me a message and we will gladly send you your very own Melody Jam. The name of our jam was born out of our love of music. Each flavor will have a snappy name and a yummy, happy dance taste! Enjoy!

Sorry about the break!

So much has been going on and add to it getting used to this new place - whew I have been tired. I'm back and excited about sharing our lives here in Seattle. I now have a partner that will be posting along with me. Mikayla will give her teenage perspective on our new adventure! We have an exciting surprise coming to you... no it's now a new addition! It's definitely something you will want to sink your teeth into.

Smooth Sailing

Today we had been given a blessing from the Lord. We had a very unique opportunity to go on the Navy ROTC sailing boat with the crew and race other sail boats. It was amazing how many moving parts there are to making a sail boat go. I have a new appreciation for sailors. Apparently the Univ. of Washington's Navy ROTC is the only ROTC in the Nation to have two sail boats for their mid-shipmen to learn to sail on. What a priviledge! We felt so honored that they invited the Marine Corp family to join them for a ride. Yes, we are wearing as much cold weather gear as we owned. What you don't see is the couple layers underneath and the two or three pairs of socks :) Totally worth freezing for!

Hail and Farewell Today

What a day! Not that there was lots going on...just that there was something pretty significant that happened today. We attended what could be Sean's last "hailing" into his new unit. Are you asking yourself..."What is she talking about?" Ok I will stop speaking in military and speak English. Whenever someone new comes into a new duty station it is tradition to have a "hail". It is a saying of hello...a welcoming to the new person and a sort of introduction to the rest of the personell. At the same time there is a "farewell". That is pretty easy to understand. They say goodbye to the person leaving and hello to the person that takes that persons place. There is usually an award or token of appreciation given, food, and lots of "getting to know yous". It could be Sean's last one considering he is thinking about retiring after this tour of duty. I am always so proud of him and his acomplishments. What a day....so exciting!

Found Perfection

Ok, we had dinner tonight at one of the best pizza and pasta restaurants around. I am not sure of the name............ I think it's "Romiros" not sure! Does it matter? Not really. The view was amazing - overlooking Lake Union.

This is one of my favorite things about moving into a new area. And we have done this alot! We get to find new places to make memories and make them our little hang outs. This is how we become "regulars".

So when you make it here to visit we definitely will be going to this cute little Italian hide away in the city. Until then..... bon appetite!