Home at last

We just got back last Monday night from a fun filled 12 days visiting family in the Olympic Peninsula. We had a BLAST! The last several years have found our family taking "vacations" where ever one of our boys were playing baseball.....not terrible but not always a hot vacation spot. So this year when August came along, we realized that we were actually going to go West and spend the night in a hotel (!)

But before we got to Seattle we slid down Lion's Head with our cousins in Idaho on our way West :

And after I drank the whole city of Seattle dry of coffee we walked up and down Pike Street (twice) and went to the aquarium (and got lost in the aquarium....actually my family got lost from me. I knew exactly where I was) we went to Port Angeles and did some crabbing.

And then after many days of fun in the (not) sun and the serf, we came home to this:

A giant garden! Yea!

And more chicks!

The new little chicks were a surprise. I must have dated the eggs wrong because they all hatched several days before we arrived home instead of three days after we returned as I thought would happen. Our wonderful "animal sitter" (one of the neighborhood girls) was not flustered in the least...... as though wandering into the chicken coop to find 6 unexpected chicks happens everyday. She separated the new babies with their mother from the rest of the coop and went about her chores. She is wonderful!

We had a great, restful time and I am thankful that we have family that loves us enough to have us visit (because you can't just descend upon just anyone with 6 big people....most of them teenagers who eat non stop- they can't help it. they are growing! again!) so we can get away from the grind that is life. It's so good to get away and it is so good to come home.

Home.

Where else can you have 22 full grown birds run at you at break neck speed hoping for a tidbit of breakfast? Or 6 monster turkeys asking you eyeball to eyeball for some lunch. Or where else can you find the constant high pitched whine of a wriggling, red puppy begging for a tummy rub. Or the the smile of 4 sweet kids snuggling down into their own beds at night.

Coming home after vacation is good.

Thanks Grandpa Mike and Grandma Pat.......