deception pass

July 29, 2011 at 11:40 pm (Uncategorized)
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alas, i have finally reached the last  page of my vacation blogging… i hear the great collective sigh of relief.  don’t pretend you didn’t participate ;)

i would like to preface this post with how much i loved whidbey island.  if i could scoop up all of my loved ones and relocate them there, i would.  i might even go with them.  i will even admit to a few tears the night before we left.  MIGHT…

deception pass was NOT the last excursion for the dale family, but since sweet little cutie pie got sick, she and i opted out of the mt baker trip on the last day.  deception pass is beautiful… here are a few highlights:

while the pass may have been deceiving, the beauty was anything but.  charlie took the older kids on a hike (which i was ASSURED was safe… until i found out otherwise), so  i found an awesome piece of driftwood that God left for me to sit upon and ponder, and it was the perfect loungechair.  it also had cool patterns on it… apparently God is into form AND function:

i’ll give a dollar and a beach rock to the person who gives the best “what i see in the driftwood” comment. 

here’s mia in action:

here’s cousin aubrey showing some brotherly love to mia, which i hope compensates some for my apparent inability to bear sons:

i guess i have held on to this last post because of a refusal to let go of this place.  but, as all good things must come to an end… i will close with a path picture.  it reminds me that endings aren’t always as they appear… there is always something after… even if we don’t see it from where we currently find ourselves standing. 

we’ll meet again,

don’t know where, don’t know when,

but i know we’ll meet again

some sunny day…

;)

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lavender fields

July 23, 2011 at 8:59 am (Uncategorized)
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i LOVE lavender.  love, love, LOVE it!   while we were on whidbey island, we passed several signs for lavender farms,  and trying to be coy i suggested that we visit one of them because of course “moriah would REALLY enjoy that!”   i say that only because at every bath and bodyworks type shop that we have passed for the last 3 weeks i have had to pry the child off of the lavender displays, so it wasn’t completely self-serving of me.  turns out i was right, not only did mo jump at the chance, but nephew harrison joined us as well and we had a great time.  before i show the great beauty of my 2 favorite colors (green and purple), i want to share a quote.  mind you, the natural beauty of this place BLEW ME AWAY, and i hoped to find a quotation that mirrored and expressed what i saw and felt.  instead, i found one real quote and thought instead of going with the overused ONE real quote about lavender, i would go with a more fun, off-base quote that uses the word lavender… i KNOW it’s not referring to the flower, but perhaps you can look past that:

when the light turns green, you go.

when the light turns red, you stop.

but what do you do when the light turns blue

with orange and LAVENDER spots?

-shel silverstein

now wasn’t that cute?  ok, so on with the pictures of the lavender wind farm:

the smell of dried lavender was a-MAZE-ing…

let’s take a closer look…

it’s even pretty dried!  there were tons of lavender flavored jams, honey, chocolate, and ice cream.  normally, i like to keep flowers where they belong, in my NOSE not my MOUTH, but the jam was actually very good… thanks, ba-ba, for buying that jam and never pulling it back out again while we were there… but i’m not bitter…

here’s mo and harry showing some love in the lavender:

oh my gosh, there were myriads of all kinds of flowers everywhere (well, maybe not quite myriads), but i’m just going to cut to the chase and show you some lavender.  ready??

frolicking children…

wow they look so happy, don’t they???  you would be too, if you had sniffed a little too much lavender…

ba-ba, you look gorgeous in the flowers… thanks again for not sharing that jam…

i like the look of misty-rain-frizzed hair… i’m not sensitive about it… really…

omg i think i could live in the lavender… but that would be counterproductive to life, right? 

needless to say, i took countless photos for the purpose of using as computer wallpaper (because apparently that’s how i see the world), so here’s the wallpaper of the day:

happy lavender!!

:)

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fort casey

July 15, 2011 at 11:40 pm (Uncategorized)
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i probably should be able to spew some hysterical, um, historical facts about fort casey, but for the life of me i was really there for the view.   it was absolutely beautiful!  i think that my ability to appreciate beauty should FAR outweigh my ignorance, nay, my lack of interest in the history aspect, right?  don’t you judge me!!  here- see for yourself:

SEE???!!  what did i tell you?  here’s more proof:

i love this picture in particular because i find paths so interesting.  i mean, where does it lead?  who will go with you and what will you do when you arrive?  will the destination be as lovely as the journey? or, if roads truly ARE for journeys, not destinations, then surely i would never want to quit this one.  the possibilities are endless, and it leaves me with a  yearning need to know… 

this is me showing some love to rhonda… she’s my favorite sister-in-law ;)

we were sporting the windtunnel windblown look that day… i think it works!

there was a lighthouse as well…

our kids just ran free all over the place… apparently that’s how we from the south do things.  they had so much energy about them- i’m guessing it was the clean air, maybe?  here they are with ba-ba:

if you have ever wondered what it looks like on the INSIDE of the lighthouse (and you know you have), then the next one is for you, baby:

this is my lovely goldilocks climbing the lighthouse stairs…

wow… she is SO beautiful!!  i can’t believe i produced a child like that!! 

the last picture of the day is both a journey and a destination… a path by the sea to just sit and wait and listen to the wind and the water below… to sit with a friend and chase rabbits all day… :)

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a swift sunrise

July 14, 2011 at 11:03 pm (Uncategorized)


Pippin: “It’s so quiet.”

 Gandalf: It’s the deep breath before the plunge.
Pippin: I don’t want to be in a battle. But waiting on the edge of one I can’t escape is even worse. I didn’t think it would end this way…”

Gandalf: “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain- curtain of this world rolls back, and all changes to silver glass. And then you see it.”

Pippin: “What? See what, Gandalf?”

 Gandalf: “White shores, and beyond…The far green country under a swift sunrise…”

 Pippin: “Well, that isn’t so bad…”

Gandalf : “No…No, it isn’t.”  

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the view from the top

July 13, 2011 at 10:50 pm (Uncategorized)
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i have this bizarre, deja vu-ish feeling that i have already entitled a post with “the view from the top”, but as it’s late and i’m feeling lazy, we’re just gonna let it slide.  if you have already read the disclaimer regarding post-vacation blogging, then you i’m sure you know one of the dangers is getting things out of chronological order, and let’s face it, you don’t really care what day i did whatever on.  this is about the pictures anyway, right?

so, one day after the holiday weekend, we went with uncle bruce and aunt judy to mt. erie.  here’s the proof:

now, as long as you obey all rules, you will have a great time.  that means as long as you don’t consume alcohol, you don’t start a fire, you pick up  your pet’s poop, and secure your valuables.  there you have it.  the rules. 

it was a beautiful day… and silly me i thought hiking was the point, but the point of going up mt erie was this:

it’s ironic that, sometimes in life, you have to climb one mountain to see a bigger, more beautiful mountain.  here we are, the dale family, doing the tourist-y thing and taking pictures of ourselves:

(note the mountain in the background)

here’s uncle bruce and charlie looking out over the view and contemplating the meaning of life:

well, it’s part of charlie… i’m sure they are being philosphical or historical or something. 

more tourist-y pics of my fam:

the hot blonde is my happily married sister-in-law, fyi. 

lovely views from the top (besides mt. baker):

if you look really REALLY close at the very top of the previous picture, you can see mt rainier.  it’s kind of like those magic eye pictures.  (i was AWESOME at those… miss ‘em!)

i often look for pictures that would make interesting wallpaper on my computer, so in closing (i know you were waiting for that) here is a picture of a moss bloom on the forest floor:

nitey night!!

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july 4th weekend

July 11, 2011 at 9:21 pm (Uncategorized)
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disclaimer: vacation got a little busy so the remaining vacation posts were written after the fact.  if dead musicians can publish posthumous work, then i can blog my vacation after it’s over.  totally.

july 4th weekend is ALWAYS a biggie for us, as our 2nd daughter, moriah, shares her birthday with that of the nation.  she has always been spoiled to the notion that the whole country shoots fireworks for her birthday- lol.  this year we celebrated all weekend… as aunt judy ALSO has a birthday on july 4th… whew!  

we began festivities the day before at big lake with aunt judy’s family… the lake wasn’t so big but the view was HUGE!!

 and what would a post be without a cute mia picture?

here’s aunt rhonda and mia getting some quality time:

and 2 of my 3 favorite nephews (sorry- you only catch aubrey’s back and the pic is a little dark, but i just like the fun glowy effect on the football.  yes, i made up the word glowy.)

harry, i LOVE your beautiful smiley face!!!

i need to give a shout out to the 4th of july parade we experienced in the morning… dang it was a busy day!!  we were a bit tired and jet-lagged by this point…

here’s ba-ba and mia feeling all patriotic:

i think mia is saying “PROVE to me that this is going to be better than a mardi gras parade. ”  i could be wrong. 

we spent the 4th at bruce and judy’s LOVELY home with the great view… we ate WAY too much crab and salmon, but i heard that calories don’t count on vacation (my jeans say they are lying).

this is rhonda and me… making a fashion statement of sorts…  after gorging ourselves in true american fashion (after all, it’s the birthday of the nation, moriah, AND aunt judy) we walked over to the beach to enjoy nature and work off some of those calories that don’t really count… i LOVE the rocky beaches here… i discovered i have a rock problem.  it seems that it’s against the law to take rocks and driftwood from the beaches.  so of course i brought some back.  it’s not that i live to be obstinate (mom and dad- you are NOT allowed to comment), but they are just so pretty.  i think it’s amazing that they look so normal and drab until water runs over them, and then the colors come to life. 

see???  lots of pretty colors!  and my fave, of course?  the GREEN ones!!!  did you know, by the way, that you can get a sunburn on the beach EVEN when it’s a bit nippy? 

a sunburn, a driftwood fort, and an ice cream bucket full of rocks later, we got our party on with a cake…

here are the birthday girls (or gals, as they say up north):

aren’t they BEAUTIFUL??! :)

at this point, i feel the need to say that i DID stay up for the fireworks at city beach, but i was unimpressed with my pictures so you won’t see them here.  or anywhere else for that matter- lol… it seems that i am spoiled to seeing fireworks shooting from barges on the mississippi… some things are just better remembered by the mind’s eye. 

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seattle

July 5, 2011 at 1:51 pm (Uncategorized)
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Purple!!!!!!!  yay!!!  back in the saddle- lol…

i just want to preface today’s post with this little tidbit of my opinion:  if it weren’t SO far away from everyone i know and love, i would TOTALLY move here.  michaela feels the same way…

once semi-recovered from traveling, we hung out in seattle for a day.  we started at the pike place market… had to see the fish guys, of course.  i mean, they have showed their good-attitude-at-work video at EVERY hospital orientation i have ever attended.

and here is a fish mid-toss… look closely for the blur…

so, kewl… but what amazed me more was the smell of freshly baked bread and other unhealthy treats, which we ate for breakfast, and the beautiful fresh flowers everywhere.  OMG… i can NOT get over the flowers! 

and MORE pretty flowers ;)

LOVE my girls!

and then there was the produce- talk about option overload!

now, i feel at this point compelled to take a moment of silence for the strawberries… i just need to say that before this day i didn’t like fresh strawberries…

someone else couldn’t resist the strawberries, either :)

i can NOT for the life of me decide what is sweeter: the chubby little hand or the strawberry…  i think the chubby little hand wins.  so sue me, i’m a mommy.

after lunch with cousin leah (sorry, leah- i don’t have a picture with you), we went to the space needle to do the tourist thing.

ever feel like you are running in circles?  (sorry- that was corny… but it’s my way)

and here  (finally) is the view from the top…

that’s it.  really… i know it’s too late to say long story short… but keep in mind a LOT of space was taken up by pictures that required no reading. 

adieu!!

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Vacation!!

July 4, 2011 at 9:44 am (Uncategorized)
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it’s vacation time… finally…  i had the best of intentions (as usual) to post daily because i know people have nothing better to do than to read my blow-by-blow account of vacation, but in TRUE shannon form, i have waited until day 5 to begin my account.  so i will try to play catchup and promise to be better in the future.  (don’t scroll back and look at my prior blogging history).

instead of the usual beach vacation, we opted to trek to the great northwest and visit my husband’s family in washington state, and i must say i have walked around with my mouth wide open most of the time- aghast at the a-MAZE-ing beauty, the abundant plantlife, and (last but CERTAINLY not least) the cool, crisp air in the middle of the summer.  i just want to say nanny-nanny-boo-boo to all my friends in the deep south… not very christian of me by any means, but i know you would all do me the same courtesy were you in my size 7 1/2 shoes.  ;)

soooooo, last thursday we began the journey with a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG flight across the country.  well, first of all we had to fly to atlanta to go to seattle… i’m sure that makes sense to someone.  the girls were great, including mia.  for those of you who aren’t in the know, delta has a handy- dandy little iphone app, so we actually were able to check in for our flight in the car on the way to the airport… i confess my smug sense of i’m-better-than-people-who-are-relegated-to-standing-in-line right now, God forgive me.  we checked our luggage, and they told me i could carry on 1 small personal item… this was mine:

flying to atlanta was quick, as in, turn around once and you are there.  we had a 4 hour layover, which we spent getting lunch and hanging out.  here are my girls after lunch (note they are still pretty happy):

after lunch (and ben and jerry’s), we found a quite little spot by our gate… and this is how we survived the remainder of the layover until naptime:

thank God for dora!!!  she was a lifesaver- lol… and not just for us.  i looked up from playing on my phone to see a bunch of cute little mexican girls around our seats watching with mia.  so, note to self: it’s always worth it to haul a laptop around.

after many MANY hours of riding, walking, and flying we reached a chilly seattle.  we checked into our hotel and stopped at a restaurant for supper, where we were treated to karaoke (people really do that??)… good times… lol.  after showers and complimentary motrin all around, we crashed.  to all of you who have received midnight texts from us, we apologize… this whole time zone thing has been hard to keep up with.

there you have it… day 1.  stay tuned for the next installment!

ps.  i am quite saddened by the fact that wordpress isn’t allowing me to write in purple today.  sigh…

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