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We Don't Know Normal

We had great timing with moving, haha! 

Moved here and then COVID-19 hit! We truly don't know what normal is, or what Washington will really be like for us. Income-wise, friend-wise, church-wise.... 

But even with all this madness, we are head over heels. Especially the boys. 

There's a river, sand bars, hiking trails, waterfalls, cherry and other produce "you-pick"s, farmer's markets, church friends, neighborhood friends, community master class gardens, buggy walks, sunshine...



And next week will be my big 30th where we are heading to Port Angeles! The area we are headed into is in a different and much more advanced phase of reopening than us. Close by are world-class tide pools. It's located near the Olympic National Rainforest and I plan on hiking! It's about a 5 hour drive, so we booked two nights to enjoy our time and explore. Also, the boys will need more time than us to get over a 5 hour drive, haha! 

The whole coronavirus shut-in thing has definitely taught me to appreciate the small things. We are so thankful Austin has work, albeit still tough (and he works so so hard to keep us floating, God Bless.) The boys and I are appreciating quality time together and finding creative ways to keep ourselves entertained and learning. A lot of new and curious things involve agriculture because of where we live, and a fun patio garden experiment. Austin and I really want to have a family vegetable garden when we buy a home. 

This weekend we had the farmer's market, visited the carniceria (butcher), and went cherry picking at the Hatch Patch in Pasco! (One of the three cities). 



I sound super hipster when saying this, but there's a great sense of pride when your meal is all local! And hopefully, too, not in a pretentious way. We are super lucky because all of the food ends up lasting longer, is more fresh and flavorful, but also cheaper/or equivalent --which blew my mind at first. 

I've eased into the SAHM situation and Austin and I both feel it's where I need to be right now for our boys and home life. Maybe two weeks before the shutdown of the Columbia River Temple due to the pandemic, I went and got a strong impression that I needed to stop searching for ICU and OR jobs and to stop thinking about giving up this time with my boys. I've offered to go back if we need additional income to stay afloat, but we have been okay and really want to make this work. I am thoroughly enjoying this fleeting time, and truly enjoy my kids even when it is a day where: "MOOMMMAAA BABY A. breathed MY AIR."

There is nothing harder, but more wonderful. And I am thankful to have the opportunity. I've gained a lot of pride making it work for our family and have so much joy when coming up with little lunches for them, or painting rocks... dancing and vacuuming, holding primary and nursery on Sundays, daily trips to the mailbox, tossing the ball around outside and teaching them new things...



xoxo from Washington 




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