Washington in December

45 days. Almost 6 and a half weeks. That's how long I was home. My calendar went from very little scheduled to meeting up over 33 times with friends and out of town family... How crazy is that. Along with that came CAP work, grocery shopping, holiday baking, appointments, even getting sick.

Highlights? (in chronological order)

Taking some desperately needed self-care/me time. Fort Casey with paints. It was lovely.

Photo shoot with this girl. Working through things together and growing. Constantly growing. Eating good foods and drinking good coffee. :-D

Derping around with old CAP cadets and siblings...  

Exploring Fort Flagler. Drift wood talks, ferry rides, dark corridors... 

Seeing my Little Fuji Family again. 

Going to the Seattle Aquarium with the Jamieson Family. Driving around Seattle, being with Mr. and Mrs. J as they saw Pike Place for the first time... 

Going to Leavenworth with Nick and Jane. It felt like a true escape. 

Anyway, this break may have had it's rough moments, but overall, I'm thankful for the time I got to spend here in Washington. 

Grumpy, Cranky and Naughty

 I woke up tired, body hurting and no energy. Elena woke up just before eight and so I brought her to my bed and she just lay there smiling at me. How could I be grumpy? She cooed, giggled and wiggled on the bed until it was time to get up.

We made the 20-ish minute drive into town to pick up some things, but mostly chocolate and Ibuprofen. Elena slept the entire way there and Elsa kept up a good string of conversation, mostly talking about "your friend, the other Gracie". Elsa loves wandering around stores and what store is better then Target to do that in?

Elsa decided to be a *bit* of a stinker once we got back. She wasn't excited about picking up her toys and ended up fake crying, pouting and running away when I called her. It happened multiple times over multiple things all morning. I think I handled it well, I was firm, got down to her level and made her look me in the eye as I corrected her. Every time she eventually apologized and gave me a hug. I've been expecting this, I've been here for a month, so a little push back was bound to happen soon.

I got to catch up with my oldest sister today, which was awesome. She's so busy that I rarely get to see her on Skype, so it was nice to have a one on one conversation with her. And to see her face, once we got the Facebook video call to work!

I guess I was truly exhausted because I spent the nap reading and watching dumb home decorating videos on Youtube. Elena decided not to take a full length nap and was consequently quite cranky until she fell asleep again about an hour later on the floor in the bonus room upstairs. I ended up napping at the same time on the couch... So that was my day. It was still a good day, even with the little hiccups of attitudes from all three of us.

Little Things

Last night I was lying on my bed, I had at least five chat windows open on my Facebook with people back home. Nights are my break. A time to recharge, to think, pray, talk with friends, and process what has happened the past month or so. Each evening is different, some are quiet evenings with Pandora playing Mandarin Orange or Ian Ethan Case while painting, writing or reading while other nights are focused on catching up with friend back home. This night was one for talking and spamming people with cute niece pictures.

While texting with with Elisabeth last night, I realized God had answered some of my prayers. Even the littlest prayer over the smallest problems, things that ultimately don't matter or that were just in the moment, God heard and answered me. It kinda blows my mind. The Creator of everything listens to what I have to say and blesses me. It's amazing.

Anyway, staying up until 1:30am with a 7:30 wake up was so worth it, although it calls for a rare cup of coffee for me.

Sunday

Most Sundays are leisurely in our household. Yesterday was far from quiet. It could be categorized as chaotic. It started at 6:45. I had to admit I turned off my alarm and laid in bed for a moment wondering why in the world I had to get up this early.

By 8:00am, I was ready for the day, backpack multiple changes of clothes in hand. Said goodbye to Dad, who is out of state for the next few days and headed for Granite Falls and the Mountain Loop Highway. Starting in January, I'll be cooking for weekend activities there, so I needed to scope out the "kitchen"- it is barely qualified to be a proper kitchen... -_- Kinda disgusting and old. It should be an adventure.

From there, around 10:45am, I headed to Canyon Hills Community Church, barely making it to the 11:30am service with Gracie and Nick. I changed my shoes and shirt in the car at random stoplights as well as fixing my hair. I rather enjoyed the service and wish it was a closer church. We talked for about forty minutes after the service while waiting for the traffic to die down.

Gracie invited us to hang out at her house until dancing started, an offer Nick and I quickly accepted. Once dancing started, I learned the bare, bare basics of the dance that was taught before we ditched and went to find alpacas (which turned out to be llamas) and ended up wandering through the woods. many ferns and branches were thrown at each other...

Volleyball was right after the dance, and we headed that way to catch a game before dark. It was sad cause it was the last game I'll get to play this year since I'm leaving next Saturday. Nick, Gracie and I, after much thought (and little brains) ended up in the Target parking lot, towering candy corn and talking.

It is days like yesterday that make me happy and appreciate the little things in life.

Adventure of the Gracies

We decided to celebrate our Friendiversary. We did some talking and we decided we've been really good friends for six years. We've known each other for a lot longer than that, but were never friends.

This morning, Gracie came over and we headed out on an epic adventure to Whidbey Island. Our first stop was at Rosario Beach. It is now my favorite spot. It was gorgeous. Although really cold, so be warned. Also, don't dress like Gracie and leave your warm jackets at home...

Gracie had never gotten out of Deception Pass, so after the leisurely drive out and the recon missions to several parks and beaches, we got to the Deception Pass Bridge and walked most of the way across.

The drive continued to Langley where we stopped for lunch and coffee. I got an amazing London Fog (one of my favorites). We shopped around the town, which has some rather cute shops. Our favorite shop was called Music for the Eyes. It was a great store with a collection of cool rugs, gorgeous jewelry and beads from all over the world (mostly Middle East and Asia).

We drove further still and found a random beach where the lighting was great so we stopped for pictures/photoshoot/to admire the view, but mostly for pictures. ;-)

We stopped off at an art gallery on the way back home as well as to try on formal dresses as Ross. It was super fun and both of us didn't want the day to end.

In addition to all that, I saw mountains for the first time since I've been home, we ate amazing chocolates, drove through slush, hail, snow-ish and rain, had many conversations and drove over 200 miles. It was a lovely day and I'm so thankful to have this girl in my life!

Home

Welp, the time has come, I'll be traveling back to Washington tomorrow. The busiest travel day of the year. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to go home. I've missed my family for ages and so much as happened since I left. I can't wait to catch up with everyone. But like every time I leave this place, I realize how much of my heart is here.

I pulled my suitcase out of the closet last week and started collecting the random things that I wouldn't need and while doing so, Elsa asked
"What are you doing?"
I looked up at her, she had been playing happily
"I'm packing to go home."
She got really sad as she climbed down from the bed and came over.
"But... You are home..."
It nearly made me cry, but I gave her a hug instead. For someone so young, she understands a lot.

Today, I spent a good deal of the morning catching up on some miles I was behind from the weekend. Then we Skyped home for probably the last time this visit and talked with Anna at West Point as well as the family back home.

I made her macaroni and cheese for lunch and tucked her in for her nap. Our morning had been filled with songs, laughter and fun. This afternoon while she naps, I did laundry to get ready to pack and made salted caramel pretzel bark (seriously addicting) while listening to Pandora.

Oh, and I got a sweet package in the mail today from a friend. She's a favorite. :-) and not just because she sent fall cookies.

So my next post shall be from Washington where I will be diving into Thanksgiving, family, friends and holiday baking.

Sunday

Sundays are usually relaxing. Yesterday was far from relaxing, but I somehow came out of it feeling happy and fully of energy...

Between waking up and Church, I went and had a business meeting for Civil Air Patrol and toured the "kitchen" I will be spending the weekend in once a month. It was a sad excuse for a kitchen, I'm not sure I've seen a kitchen in worse condition and that's saying a lot. I barely had enough time to do the entire tour and get to Church on time - okay, I was a couple minutes late and ended up changing my shirt and shoes and fixing my hair at stoplights on my way.

I hung out at my friend's house for the next few hours before Joyful Dancing started. I took about three minutes to learn the very, very basic step of what was being taught before two of my closest friends and I ditched to walk around the woods nearby.

Volleyball was already in full swing by the time we got there after the dance. I caught one game before it was too dark to play. I really just wanted to say goodbye to people since I won't see them again for at least another two months...

My friends and I weren't ready to call it a day quite yet, so (after many brainless moments of trying to find a place to go) we went to Target, bought drinks and candy and talked in the parking lot. We stacked corn candy up to look like corn, at Espresso M&Ms (which are amazing!) and talked pretty late. It was fun. I'm lucky to have such cool people in my life!

Weekend Work And Weekend Play

My weekend had 14+ hours of Civil Air Patrol classes in two days, which I was stressed out about, so I am relieved that it is over. It was another goal for this year that I got done! Squadron Leadership School was a good learning experience and really threw me out of my comfort zone.

My Squadron Leadership School class. 

After the class was done, I felt immediate relief. What made my day was that a couple of my friends came over that night for Fish Tacos, Italian sodas and brownies while watching The Kid. We ended up visiting long after the movie was done. I am so blessed to have friends who come over spontaneously and hang out until the wee, early morning hours.

Return to Fort Worden

For two months, we had a date set aside in September to spend together at Fort Worden. We made improvements from the last time by making ferry reservations and packed enough food for everyone.

So this past Saturday at 7:50am, three Fuji's, three Grays, three Jamiesons, one Hacking, four Miles and one Caitlin-- fifteen people total-- loaded into the our "rad" semi-white van and headed for Fort Worden. I forgot how chaotic and loud a full van can be, but it was fun to listen and participate in the different conversations. We arrived in Coupeville at the ferry terminal in great time. Forty minutes before the ferry was to leave. It left us the perfect amount of time to play Duck, Duck, Bang and Ninja in the parking lot. 

Fierce game of Ninja at the ferry terminal

Once on the ferry, the looks we got while fifteen adult/teens got out of the van was priceless! It looked like a ridiculous amount of people in one vehicle. 

All those people fit in one van! 

We admired the view and eventually met up on the Mezzanine deck of the ferry where it was relatively quiet and clear. We had to take what is now a traditional ferry picture for us. 

We arrived at Fort Worden hungry and ready to explore. We grabbed lunch things and headed for the beach. 

Some things you should know:

Gracie+Beach= Friends

Gracie+Beach= Frolicking 

Gracie+Beach= Happiness 

Gracie+Friends+Beach= Bliss + <3

So we ate our Robin Hood lunch of French bread, meat, cheese and sand. Washed it down with Mucho Mango tea and water and hand pies. 

The beach explorers took off, running and laughing down the beach, we were happy. There was real sand between our toes and sun in our eyes. The majority of them ran around the bend in the beach and way out from eyesight. Since shoes, socks, bags, wallets and food were still at our original lunch area, I stayed relatively close looking for cool rocks and shells and talking with Lindsay. 

After a good hour or so, the beach wanderers were called back (I'm mean, what can I say), so we could go explore the fort. They came back with smiles, covered in sand and some wet. 

The beached boat was our next destination. We had to get a group picture there and recreate the recreated Washington Crossing picture from last time... 

We went next to explore the upper bunkers. They were pretty much all the same, but still pretty sweet and not as busy as the lower bunkers. We always search for the best singing bunker. Part way through the exploring, Nick, John and I ditched in hopes of finding a different room to sing in, or just get away from the rest of the group. I think a good scare would have been planned as well. It was fun. I took a bunch of picture as we continued to explore, we ran around, sang and looked around more. 

Near the end, some of us got "separated" from the rest of the group (we thought they would find us, but instead, they went all the way back to the van). It gave us a chance to sing a little as a smaller group. The funnest part was when this dad and his three girls walked past and we screamed really loudly and Ian banged on his Cajon, then silence. When we stepped out into the hall, no one was there. It was awesome! 

Overall the time at Fort Worden was a blast, although it could have been longer.... 

The second ferry ride was us hanging on that same Mezzanine deck the entire time. Gracie gave me a killer neck massage. I was so out that walking back to the car was really really weird feeling. 

Since spending ten hours together wasn't enough to satisfy anyone, we went to Fort Ebey to watch the sunset and sing some more. It was the perfect way to spend the evening. The acoustics in the large room at Fort Ebey were way better than any of the others at Fort Worden. 

It was a sweet time and once again, I am left thinking that I know a great group of people and am thankful for my friends. Until next adventure... 

August

I've neglected this blog horribly in the last few months. Mostly because I was busy, partially because I have very little internet as far as evenings and being in my room (the trailer) where I like to work and partially because I keep getting self-conscious about my writing. Starting now, I'm hoping to post a little more frequently. I won't always share to social media, so check out other posts as well...


To catch you up on August:

August was, without a doubt, the best month of my entire life. I never thought I'd say that about what is usually a crazy and exhausting month. I think the two back to back summer camps of previous years wore me out. This August only had one summer camp. My favorite summer camp. The one where the days were long, nights were short, filled with happy memories, good people, new friends, old friends, hard work, sickness, stargazing, traditions, talks with God, laughter, stare-downs, letter writing and pranks.

Amazing stargazing with friends.

Pranks and initiation rites.

Ian's first year! It was awesome!

I came away with such a happy heart, carefree, stress free and incredibly thankful for the people and opportunities God has put in my path. I could have been more content.

But then the post activity sadness set in. Everyone either lives far away or has a busy life. Then, at 2am after a movie, we threw around the idea of a road trip. At first, it was one of those eventually/I wish trip ideas, but then schedules and calendars were pulled out. A little under two weeks later, three friends, my brother and I headed out on a fantastic road trip down to Crater Lake.

Never before have I felt so comfortable with a group of people. It was natural, peaceful and fun. We got to explore Cannon Beach/surroundings and Crater Lake. We saw the most amazing display of stars we have ever seen, sang songs, played Jeep Beep and sat through traffic, ate veggie chips and gummy peach rings. We told stories, laughed and took in God's amazing creations (seriously, Crater Lake, Diamond Lake, Cannon Beach and stargazing had breath-taking views). Saying goodbye was hard to do, but plans for future adventures were talked about and friendships grew stronger.

Between those main adventures, mini things happened all over. The volleyball nights (I'm in love with playing volleyball), afternoon at Kayak Point, surprising my twin at her work, cleaning my bedroom and making it my home, cooking and going to the fair are among many happy moments from this month.

Kayak Point with friends

Surprising Gracie at work

Fair day with Jane

Memory book with Gracie

But it wasn't all happy. I had a couple super challenging days. I had things that were hard, decisions that felt impossible and where adulting became harder. It was all good, I learned some valuable lessons and felt like it drew me closer to God.

And that, folks, sums up the craziest, most peaceful, fun month of my life! I'm excited to see what all September holds!

Crater Lake

It was a rather spontaneous plan, made in the parking lot of a movie theater at 2am. A plan that none of us actually thought would happen. A little less than two weeks later after much planning, some challenges and lots of excitement, we got in the van and began to drive. We kept looking at each other. Eyes lit. Smiles wide. Hearts happy. We were on a road trip. It was immediately comfortable, like being with family, we had talks and silences, serious and jesting conversations, we sang, danced and snacked away the 476 mile drive down to Crater Lake, Oregon. Best weekend of my life.

We stopped off at Cannon Beach to have lunch and to see the beach. It holds fond memories for the majority of us, but now it has even more fond memories of getting drenched by misty rain. Of frolicking in the waves. Of soggy hair and cold feet. Of homeless chic and delicious warmth from Insomnia Coffee.

And then more driving. Warming up under blankets, snacking on peach rings and figuring out that veggie straws are way more fun to eat when you blow out as you bite. Crumbs were everywhere. From Oregon gas stations and an overly flirtatious attendant to pulling over for yet another bathroom break (yes, I lost the game the most) we drove. The excitement of realizing that in just a few short hours were were out of state. 

We set up camp, including not bringing a proper second tent, which meant the boys suffered a bit as far as the sleep department... Ate dinner and literally hung around the campfire for hours until it became dark enough to see the stars. The adventure to find a "good" stargazing location in and of itself was fun and entertaining, if not a little scary as we drove down construction roads in the black of night around Crater Lake. We found a glorious field (a dessert, actually) that was dark and perfect. As far as looking up. It was so breathtakingly beautiful I can hardly describe it, but I will try.

The view was vast, we lay, heads together in the center, blankets, sleeping bags and towels keeping us warm and laying on a tarp to keep up dry. None of us knew that apparently Crater Lake is among the top ten dark sky locations in the National Park System. We could see so many stars. We laughed at the location of the big dipper and how some of us couldn't see it. We held our breath, then burst out laughing, but that was the only sounds. There was no constant roar of the highway, so sirens or dogs barking. Pure, blissful silence with the only sound being the peaceful breathing of these friends. We lay out in that field until we were gibberish with exhaustion, or in some cases, fell asleep. We could see so many stars, layers upon layers of stars and breathtaking shooting stars. We were also extremely lucky to have had a new moon that night, so it was even darker! It gave me perspective and made me appreciate God so much more. 

The next morning I was up first. I walked down to Diamond Lake and sat on the dock. I made hash for breakfast and we packed up the tent and campsite. We took our time. We drove to Crater Lake and the first sight of it in the day light was mind blowing and made me unreasonably excited. I had wanted to go here for many many years.

We drove around, stopping at many of the outlooks and taking pictures or hiking past fence lines. We hiked up to a lookout tower and sat on the edge just looking at the magnificent view. It felt so unreal.

The drive home was more or less dreaded, not because of the distance, but because none of us wanted this short little adventure to end. None of us wanted to recognize that we were going different directions within a few weeks. Our conversations skipped between serious and giggly. Friendships strengthened. Sure we've known each other for ages, some, up to eleven years, but in that particular, short weekend we became true friends.

Since then, we've gone on other adventures, expeditions to forts, watching sunsets and starry nights, late night talks and near constant Facebook chats. Then it happened, life got in the way. I left first, making the 2385 mile journey to Tennessee. Another left a week or so later to begin his 1500 (ish) mile drive to Arizona and closely following that, my best friend made the 5239 mile journey to Peru for a missions trip.

And that is my little story of one of my most favorite weekends of my life.