The Keene Family

Our now-annual camping trip with a bunch of people we don't really know and a few that we do was another success. We arrived on Friday evening, set up, ate dinner, and snuggled in. The boys got very interested in whittling.  Saturday we woke up to rain. And more rain. And lots of rain. We went to the Farmer's Market anyway, ate lunch huddled under pop-up tents, and found shelter playing foos ball in the indoor community center before heading back to camp.  Sunday morning, I went for a quick run along the beach. It was beautiful and felt great to get outside after all the cooped-up rain.  Then we all hiked up the hill to see the WWII bunkers, and got some nice photos! After lunch, we headed to the beach for a bit. It was cloudy but it was still pleasant.  Dinner on Sunday was the themed potluck. The Keene family did not dress up. I am a grinch about these sorts of things.  On Monday, we ...

The Keene family had two field trips on one day! Fortunately, Jim wasn't working that day and he went with JT while I went with Haley... and my Mom Tribe from school. :) Jim and JT enjoyed their day at Pioneer Farms by bus. The girls went to the Seattle Aquarium by bus and by ferry.

The kids had been waiting for weeks! Minefaire finally came to Seattle, and I got free tickets through my connections at work. We invited Jozie and Sawyer to join us for a day of fun! We left home at 8 AM and headed west on the ferry.  We were told to grab spots in line at VR right away, and I'm glad we did. We only waited about 30 minutes and the lines throughout the day get to 90 minutes long! The kids then got to explore all the exhibits and play lots of different games. They got to ask experts questions (who I know, through work!). They got to build with Legos... And do more VR without waiting in line at all, thanks to someone I know who let the kids into the booth without us waiting in line! At my work's booth, the kids drew pictures and learned how to build entities in Minecraft and even use a 3D printer. At the end of the day, we did an escape room experience too and that was super fun! We drove home about 5:3...

On May 12, we headed east of the mountains to meet up with 50 of our family members to celebrate and honor my grandma's 94 years on earth. It was a lovely service, a beautiful day, and a nice time to see family who aren't around very often. Since it was Mother's Day, I got to pick out where we ate dinner on the way home. We stopped at The Red Pickle in Ellensburg, and I had the yummiest chicken buttermilk sandwich with pickled coleslaw and home cut fries!

Haley finished up her third year of gymnastics with the traditional mini-Olympics. We loved watching each of her events and cheering for her, and we especially loved gathering at Menchie's frozen yogurt afterward!