Seattle 2012 and a short biography

From California to cold Seattle...or so we thought. We spent the next 10 days in Seattle and it only rained 2 of the 10 days. THAT IS UNHEARD OF!! We were so lucky weather wise with most of the week sunny and 75+ degrees. Unfortunately Brandon could not join us so it was me and the kids. We spent the week visiting friends and family, enjoying the sites, and playing with fireworks. I love Washington in July. There is no other place that I have lived where the 4th of July lives up to what it should be. TOTAL FIREWORK CHAOS! We started the day by visiting the Mitchell's who I haven't seen in 3 years. There were about 10 kids running around their house playing, and Jackson and Elizabeth thought it was heaven. A baby pool and so many new friends. We chatted on the deck in the warm sun for over 4 hours before heading home to a family BBQ complete with burgers and smores. We also got the fireworks started with some little kid stuff like pop-its, smoke bombs, fountains, and my favorite the tanks. Jackson was right in the mix, using the punk to light the fireworks. A kid after my own heart. Finally when it was dark we headed down to the lake for the big show. We brought some of our own shells but mainly just enjoyed what the lake veterans had to offer. You will never see more fireworks at one time in your whole life.  I think I looked like a bobble head doll scanning the lake for all the fireworks. Elizabeth kept saying, "Mom that was the biggest boom." Then a minute later, "No mom that was the biggest boom." By the end of the night the kids were beat and went straight to bed (around 11:00pm).

We spent lots of time with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Adam. Visiting the Seattle zoo, Seattle Waterfront, and Pike Place Market. I love Seattle and the people busy, going about their days. We saw the new great wheel on the waterfront that was really amazing to see, HUGE, but the line was too long to take a ride. I think the kids favorite part was a fish sculpture outside the aquarium that they climbed for pictures.

We also took a trip out to the canal to visit my grandparents. My grandma was still in the rehab home getting better from her broken leg so we stopped by the house first. It is so relaxing there, quiet and laid back. I had a great time watching the kids explore the yard and all my favorite activities I enjoyed as a child. They played in the fountain, found crabs on the beach, played hide and seek in the gardens, played the organ, and sat for pictures with my grandpa's statue. It brought back so many memories for me and was a perfect flashback to my dad. His spirit is so strong there, I spent the day soaking it up and remembering my childhood with him. We stopped by for a short visit with my grandma after that and headed back home.

The last day of our trip we visited grandpa John. I miss him so much. He has a heart like mine, only 61 years apart. We sat on the patio discussing his life in the war and his courtship of my grandma. I just love talking to him because there is so much experience and wisdom in his stories. A few things we talked about that I want to write down:

The Tuskegee Airmen. He was an instructor for them. They were affectionately called Eleanor's boys. He talked about how they wanted to share the bathrooms with the white airmen and when the airforce allowed it, all the white airmen went to the gentlemen's locker room at the golf course nearby. My grandpa never understood that.

We also talked about his training. He learned how to fly over 7 different types of airplanes throughout his career. One of which was during WWII and he actually carried an H bomb, although he never thought he would use it and fortunately he was right. He flew the plane that lead the approach during the Cuban Missile Crisis as well. During WWII he said they would fly from Maine all the way around the world to California in 48 hour shifts during the high alert periods.  He has lived all over the world including: Maine, South Carolina, Florida, California, Arizona, Germany, Australia, Guam, and New Guinea.

He talked about courting my Grandma who is no slouch herself. She met my grandpa in high school and used to ride home on his handlebars of his bike. They would go out to the movies for 25 cents each. Then to the diner for ice cream another 25 cents. My grandpa would make $1/day at the paper mill and $4 a day during the summer when he worked as a caddy on the golf course. He joked that if the girl wanted a banana split at the diner he knew he was ordering a coke for 10 cents for himself. He loved my grandma but left for the air-force right after graduation. He said he knew he wanted to be a pilot because one day in town there was a plane that the kids could climb into during a fair one year. As soon as he climbed in he knew he wanted to fly one. My grandma went to business school for 2 years and received her degree. Then when my grandpa returned they were married. I admire their relationship so much. They were married for 66 years before she died and he still misses her so much every day. 12 kids, 2 countries, 5 major moves, and their love stayed strong. I can only hope my life will be as blissful (chaotic and difficult) but happy as theirs. I hope that I will have many more opportunities to talk with him in the future but if I don't I want to make sure to document what I know now before I forget it.

We had a wonderful time, and I am grateful that my family allowed us to take over their lives for a few weeks.

Newport Beach Temple

I almost forgot a few pictures from California. We visited the Newport Beach temple.  

The temple was closed so we were unable to attend a session but we were able to walk around the grounds and enjoy the beautiful weather. I loved the architecture of this temple with all the arches and the black shiny tile that led the path up to the doors. The temple grounds were amazing too. It was like a lush tropical scene from a movie with lots of pathways leading through the flowers and other foliage.  There was a large running water fountain that began at the base of the temple and ran down a few feet down a hill. This was a major problem because the first thing Elizabeth wanted to do was take her shoes off and run through the water.

This is my favorite picture. She was busy singing I Love to See the Temple the entire time too. This will definitely be a keeper for when she can actually go in.

It really was beautiful and I hope I get to see the inside someday.

Next we boarded the plan and took off the Seattle. We had a short layover in Salt Lake where the kids took advantage exploring the plane including the luggage compartments. Thankfully Brandon's parents were on the plane to help me keep the kids occupied and quiet for the 4 hour trip.

2012 Family Vacation Part 1-California

What a blog post??? I know, where have you been Jess?

The question is where haven't you been? I have been traveling all over the west coast for the last month and a half and am finally back at home ready to get back to reality.

We started our trip driving to AZ in the new car. I have to admit it is so nice to have a bigger car. We stayed at Brandon's parents house for a day before piling in the 12 seater van to drive to Newport Beach, California. The Stoker family reunion on the beach is starting to become a yearly destination and I have to admit, I LOVE IT. We rented a house near the beach (right behind a house that is actually on the beach) that sleeps 12 people. And we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was 75 degrees and sunny every day we were there. The whole week.

We spent most of our time sitting on the beach and playing in the water. Swimming, jumping over the waves, digging holes, and boogie boarding. I really enjoyed watching the kids play in the water while I read books and soaked up some sun. Talk about relaxing.

 

At night we had fun playing games, enjoying family dinners, and we even took one night to go to see the Disney movie Brave. It was Elizabeth's first movie in the theater. She loved it. Every time something exciting happened she would reach over to my arm like she couldn't control her enthusiasm for the movie.

Another adventure we enjoyed was visiting the tides. It is a little tricky with two small kids and a pregnant belly (throws off my balance). Thankfully all the family helped out. Ashley actually carried Elizabeth potato sack style for most of the trip.

 

We saw a lot of fun salt water animals including sea anemones, star fish, and a few large black sea slugs. One was right in the path and the kids enjoyed petting it's squishy body and Elizabeth named it Jeffery. All she talked about for the rest of the trip is how much she missed Jeffery.

 

 It was really sweet.

We also took a trip out to our favorite visitor hot spot, Balboa Island. You can ride the ferry over to the island for $1 each and tour the small island shops. The favorite shop was the sweet shop with over 30 kinds of salt water taffy including carmel apple, passion fruit, and buttered popcorn. Then we ate Balboa bars in the warm sun (taffy and ice cream for lunch, I was not feeling too great) but the kids loved it. I have to admit the highlight of the trip was walking on the beach front and running into Lavelle Edwards sitting on his porch. It was fun chatting and commenting on his BYU flag hanging in the front of his house. 

The whole week went by so fast. I think the kids were all worn out by the end. On one of the last days we were eating dinner and watching Elizabeth out on the porch. We watched her take her swim suit off, grab a pile of towels, and proceed to lay down in the corner to take a nap in the sun. Funniest thing I have ever seen. Once she passed out we moved her to her bed.

The highlight of the week was a bonfire night. It was so peaceful listening to the waves and enjoying a bonfire right on the beach. We had a little trouble with the wood we bought so Ashley went through the dumpster and found some old pizza boxes that saved our fire. As soon as we got on the beach Jackson layed down. I thought he was tired until I realized he was making a sand angel. When I asked what he was doing his response was, "I'm making a snowman mom." Cute but a little confused. 

 Lizzy enjoying a cookie Smore. Yeah, we had fancy smores including cookie smores and ginger snap and peach smores. YUM!

It was a great trip. Seeing everyone from the family (minus Filipe). I love being together with family there is always someone to talk to. It went by so quick, we were sad when it was over. But that was only the beginning of our vacation month...next stop Seattle.