Back at the Angle

We are home from a fantastic trip home.  No that is not a typo, I have 2 homes and that is that. I love my home at the Northwest Angle, I think I have said that about a million times.  But I can't let go of my Wenatchee valley and the beautiful mountains or the faces I miss so much.We managed to see over 30 friends and family members while we were in Washington.  Still not everyone I wanted to touch base with, but the best we could do in 2 weeks time.  It was controlled chaos running from place to place, dragging my bewildered children around and throwing them at people they don't remember .  And when I say place to place. you know that includes a big bunch of latte stands.  The first thing I did after getting off the train at 5:30am was drive to the nearest espresso stop and order a huge hazelnut latte, sweet foamy heaven.

The train ride went well, especially with Aunt Shirley there to help out.  Tyson loved his little bunk and had no trouble entertaining himself or falling asleep. He was so excited when we started seeing the mountain peaks in Montana.  Don't you just love when your kid appreciates something that is important to you?

Other passengers were not impressed with the train or rising at 3:00am to meet it.

The first week we stayed with Rick's Uncle George and Aunt Lauren.  They have been very good to us over the years and always let me in their house with 14 suitcases and dirty kids and my crap spread all over the bathroom counter.  Tyson loves George like a grandfather and felt that George was responsible for such a fun train ride, as if George had made the train himself and made the Montana mountains for Tyson to see.

The second week of our trip was spent with one of my favorite girlfriends, Stacey.  This is the view off her front porch and I could not get enough of it. You can see these same hills from my parent's house, which brings up so many memories and the feeling of warm spring afternoons in my teen years, and of course,  my mom.  Before leaving for the trip the thought occurred to me that it may not be the same feeling, being in a valley that did not have my mom in it as it had before.  But there is something about looking at this view that she looked at everyday and feeling closer to her.  Somehow there is comfort in that instead of the ache I was prepared for.

Stacey has 3 sweet children that my kids adored and had the best time with.  Andie and Harper, Stacey's youngest, are 4 days apart and were the cutest little friends.  Tyson practically worshiped Oliver (6) and couldn't stop talking about him if we were away from their house.  This is one thing that is hard for me as a parent living in the deep woods.  There aren't many children up here and I always worry that I've taken something away from our children by moving away from so many friends.  It's a difficult thing to determine.  We have so much more time as a family than we would in the real world, so it has to be one or the other in this case.

We visited every park within a 20 mile radius while we were there.  The weather was OUTSTANDING, sunshine and no snow.  To be fair, I come from the Great White North where the temperatures are below zero much of the winter and the wind blows like it hates you----most weather is outstanding compared to this.  But the fresh air put smiles on our faces for sure. Knowing it was snowing back at the Northwest Angle made this even more enjoyable.  We did not waste a minute indoors.

Teagan and Tyson, buddies on the bridge in Cashmere, my hometown................maybe we'll take a similar picture each year we return and watch them grow together even though they live so many miles apart.

I would like to include a note here about each person we saw while home, but I didn't take enough pictures and there were too many events to write in detail. I hope no one is offended.  You know what you mean to me, in blog words or not!  Now that I've had a dose of my Washingtonians, I can go forth and conquer the busy season we're headed in to at Young's Bay!  There are some changes coming up and lots of work to do, and we are ready to roll.  If only I could grab a latte on my way to the "office"............