"Please Brer Fox, don't throw me into the briar patch!"

For as long as I can remember, Madeline has made us promise to never send her to "sleep away camp."  I have no idea where that fear came from--I'm sure it started with the Parent Trap or some similar camp movie--but any time she heard the word "camp" she wanted to make sure she would not ever be sent there overnight alone.  This started to change about a year ago when we forced coaxed her to go to her first overnight girl scout camp.  Then she came home from outdoor camp for 6th grade last fall and casually asked if maybe, possibly, she could go back to Camp Orkila this summer for a week.

After spending last weekend on Orcas Island at Camp Orkila for the family preview weekend, I've decided this whole, "Please Momma, whatever you do, just don't send me to sleep away camp!" was all a very well designed plot to get herself to sleep away camp.  "They'll never just let me go if I just ask. But if I pretend to be terrified, they'll be so proud when I finally work up the courage to go that they'll have to say yes."

This photo was taken minutes after arriving at camp.  See Madeline leading all those smart children into the briar patch?  "Bahaha!  Born and raised in the briar patch!  See ya later, suckahs!"  

Madeline included Amelia in this plot.  Amelia will also be attending Camp Orkila for a week this summer.  

We love the ferry ride from Anacortes through the San Juans.  It perfectly transitions you from our chaotic lives on the mainland to the slower paced island life.

 That's Canada in the background.  Good thing we remembered to turn our cell phones off or we'd be paying a mortgage-payment sized cell phone bill instead of camp tuition.

Couldn't believe how entertained the kids were with throwing rocks.

 This is where they will have their camp fires this summer.  Such a beautiful setting!

 Gaga ball was Madeline's favorite thing to do at camp.  It's a fenced in dirt corral for dodge ball, basically.  Every time we lost her, we knew we could find her at the gaga ball pit.

 We had a campfire on the beach, complete with s'mores, cheesy skits, and "repeat after me" songs.

 Our cabin was right at the edge of the beach.  When I came back from the bathroom in the morning, both girls were out on the beach in their pajamas throwing more rocks.

 I asked Amelia if she thought she would be okay there without us for a week.  She didn't even let me finish the question, cutting me off with a loud "YES!"

 This last grouping of pictures is inland a bit--Amelia will be doing the traditional camp and will be in a cabin down by the water.  Madeline is doing the horse camp and will be staying in this area by the barn.

 And this is the climbing wall and zip line out in the field near horse camp.

After leaving camp Sunday morning, we drove 5-10 minutes into Moran State Park where we had camped with Kolby's family a couple years ago.  I had forgotten what a beautiful, peaceful place it is.  I immediately devised a plan to camp here for a couple of days before dropping off the girls at Orkila in August.

I wish there was a way to describe how incredibly serene the San Juan Islands are.  Time just stops.  Cell phones don't work.  There's no sound of traffic.  Water and greenery everywhere.  Heaven.   Honestly, I can't think of a less cheesy way to describe it.  This is absolutely my happy place.  Every time I go I have to have a plan for the next time I will come back or I sink into despair about having to leave.

Oh wait.  What I really mean is,  it's a terrible, horrible place, and please Brer Fox, whatever you do just don't make me go back to the San Juans!

Red Hook Ride

There is a nice bike/running trail not far from our house that goes for miles and miles.  A couple years ago we rode it 6.5 miles north to Woondinville for lunch at Red Hook Brewery, and then back...and it was okay.   The girls needed lots of breaks.  There was some whining.   Lots of  "How much further?"  "Are we there yet?"  "Why are you making me do this?"  You know how it goes.

We've had a string of gorgeous weekends, so last Saturday I decided we were going to do the Red Hook ride again.  We piled the bikes into the car...a bit of a fiasco because they don't all fit and we don't have a bike rack, so this required two trips to get the bikes and kids there.  (We're going to fix the no bike rack problem soon!)

And the ride was fabulous.  The kids were awesome.  The weather was beautiful.  There was no complaining, very few rest breaks, just a ton of fun hanging out as a family, and a really yummy lunch at the end.  (Or in the middle.  We did have to ride back home.)

One more activity that makes me appreciate this stage of parenting.

Oh the places you'll go!

Look at me! Two posts in two days. It's amazing what a three day work week will do for a girl.

One more post about working and then I'll post about something more interesting.

I have a very clear memory of a conversation I had with my mom a few years ago...it must have been eight years ago because I remember I was sitting in this breakfast nook folding a stack of laundry on the kitchen table while simultaneously keeping Amelia's high chair tray stocked with string cheese and blueberries while simultaneously watching that our puppy didn't pee on anything or chew on anything she shouldn't while simultaneously praying my 3 year old who was quiet in the next room was not peeing or chewing on anything she shouldn't, while simultaneously talking on the phone with my mom. Multi-tasking is a wonderful thing.

But I remember that conversation with my mom so clearly because I was frustrated that I had finally decided for certain that I wanted to go back to school to be a nurse. It felt like it was such a long road ahead of me, and the girls were so small and how were we going to make that happen? My very smart mom said, "You are young. Even if you don't graduate from nursing school until you are 40 years old you will still have 25 years of nursing before you retire. Don't be in such a rush. Enjoy this time. You'll know when the time is right for you to follow that dream."

And suddenly I felt calm. There was no rush. Just because I wanted to do something, didn't mean it had to be done now.

And when the time was right, I did it. There were a few speed bumps along the way, but with each speed bump I reminded myself of my mom's wise words, that there was plenty of time, and that allowed me to relax and just ride it out.

Last month my mom came to visit. On a business trip. I got off work early Friday to go pick her up from her dream job, "working" as an educator and designer for a machine quilting manufacturer. (We say she "works" because her work is really her play.) She flies around the country helping people learn to quilt on long-arm sewing machines. Or she entertains people who have flown to Utah for retreats to learn how to sew quilts. Or she designs and sews quilts to show what their machines can do. I'm pretty sure my mom could not have created a more perfect job for herself if she tried. And she got it at 58 years old.

It was surreal to drive back to my house with my mom, both of us talking about our jobs, and the difficulties in balancing home/work life, and learning to let go, and learning to let other people help, and both of us a little bit stunned that life had gotten us to this place.

My mom leaves next week for Melbourne, Australia with my dad to go teach people to quilt. I'm sure never in her wildest dreams would she have dreamt up that one.

And so sometimes when I wonder if I made the right decision to take the job I took instead of going a sexier, more high adrenaline direction with my career, I remind myself that I have plenty of time. This is the perfect job for my family now. It's the perfect job for me now. I'm home on the weekends. I'm home holidays, evenings, nights, and one (and sometimes two) days during the week. For the most part I do not bring my work home with me. (Emotionally, I mean. I most definitely do not bring the colonoscopy part of work home with me!) And someday when I don't need to be home to help with geometry homework or pick up a munchkin from rock climbing, maybe life will lead me in another direction.

I'm not even going to try to guess what that direction might be. But it would be cool if it's in Australia.

Six Months

I have no excuses.

Well, actually I have a lot of excuses, but probably none of them are good ones. Balancing work and family is exhausting, writing sounded overwhelming at the end of a long day, my computer came a little closer to death every time I picked it up so any attempts I made at updating my blog usually ended in my computer crashing, blah, blah, blah.

But maybe, just maybe, I am back. Maybe I'll catch up on the last 3 months, maybe I won't.

Yesterday was my 6 month anniversary at work, which also means I've been working full time for six months. (duh) Those two statements actually mean different things to me. Being at my job for 6 months means I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable and confident as a nurse. Working full time for six months means I'm starting to accept what I can't do at home. How's that?

What have I learned after working full time for six months?

1. Two parents working full time is not conducive to keeping a clean house (or car or yard).
2. A house cleaner is a really lovely thing. So lovely, in fact, that I would probably keep working at a job I hate just to come home to a completely clean house once every two weeks.
3. When you have time and energy to make dinner, think big. (See #4)
4. Leftovers are okay for dinner. Three days in a row.
5. Eggs are okay for dinner when you run out of leftovers.
6. Working makes me appreciate being home more. Especially the day after the housecleaner comes.
7. If you buy everyone a lot more socks and underwear you won't have to do laundry as often.
8. Being on your feet all day does not count as exercise. (At least that's what the scale and my jeans tell me.)
9. Leaving the house for the gym on my days off pretty much always sounds like a bad idea. For this reason, workout videos are a must.
10. The cool thing about working out at home is that you can do it in your pajamas. Just add bra.
11. My kids and husband are really cool, responsible, helpful people when I get out of their way.