“Death Comes Unexpectedly”

Something about this week has that preacher from “Pollyanna” pounding the pulpit and booming out that warning in my mind, except he is saying, “Change comes unexpectedly.”  Maybe it has to do with the fact that I helped Dallin get moved in here at home for the summer from college on Monday, totally loved it that he was going outside every day and weeding one section of the yard at a time, and enjoyed seeing the kids love having him around and making plans with him for the summer, and by Thursday evening  he was packed up and on his way back to WSU for the summer term.  It was so unexpected and so fast --Thursday morning he and Nathan are at work together at Jarstad’s, that same afternoon he is making phone calls and working on getting registered for classes that had started four days before and finding a place to live, all after his Master Sergeant Brinckley told him the military would cover his tuition if he came to summer school.  They are trying to help him graduate in two years, while sending him to this ROTC  “Leader Training Camp” this July at Fort Knox in Kentucky. 

After dinner his car was packed and he was on his way back to school.  His popularity with his siblings plummeted with his departure, though, and it may take awhile before his name can be spoken without rancor around here.  It is sort of like he died and everyone is trying to work their way through the grieving process but stuck in between shock that he is gone and anger at him for leaving while mourning his departure.  Death does indeed come unexpectedly.

Devin is back at work for the City of Federal Way Streets, and spent time this week in a variety of jobs including pouring sidewalks and going up high in one of those crane things with the buckets on them and putting up the City of Federal Way Banners that are around the down town area.  He is enjoying the variety in the work projects before the multitude of flower baskets come in at the end of May that he will be in charge of watering every day and he will indeed be wishing that change would come unexpectedly.

Devin also takes time to help whoever needs help in whatever subject they need it in, (except the language arts which is my department) including the mysteries of the Rubik’s cube, which seem to interest only him and Jamie.  He claims he can do the cube in a minute and a half.

Jim is trying to recover from a hectic but fulfilling and wonderful weekend of stake conference.  He had to speak at the stake leadership meeting at 4 p.m. on Saturday, then at the adult session of stake conference on Saturday evening, and then this morning at stake conference at 10 a.m.  This  was all in addition to all the other responsibilities that he was handling in his calling.  I was only able to hear two of his talks, but he did a wonderful job on them and I heard good things from others about all of them. 

Notice that I did say, “Trying  to recover.”

Earlier this week I took Marci in for an eye exam, since she is having trouble reading some of her flute music.  An hour or so later, she came out and sat down by me to show me the glass frames she had picked out.  Something about them brought back memories of my kids getting a good laugh at my old grade school pictures and the glasses I used to wear.  I wish I would’ve known how in style I was back then since it would’ve been the only time in my life when I HAVE been in style.  

 

We hear from Aubrey occasionally and even from Darren less occasionally, but Aubrey was asked to be the Assistant Coach for the competitive frisbee team that she is on at BYU-Idaho.   They had a game this Saturday and won 14 –6, with Aubrey scoring about half of the points, including one dive into the end zone where she caught a long bomb for a touch down.

I think we could safely say that she learned skills growing up as a little sister to three big brothers that have made her what she is today.

Obviously Overjoyed in Oceanside, Oregon

Ever since Jim and I spent our anniversary in Oceanside, Oregon four years ago, we have wanted to take the kids there.  Jim found us an amazing place online that was perched high above the ocean on the edge of a cliff in the pine trees and all view, view, view.  You have to be astonished when what you get is actually BETTER than what you saw advertised.

Marci is standing on the lower deck outside the downstairs family room.

Instead of the 2 p.m. check-in time stated on the contract, the owner allowed us to check in anytime we wanted.  Everyone was in favor of getting up at 4 a.m. and getting to the Oregon coast as early as possible—which, considering we were dealing with three teenagers, was not exactly expected.  We ended up arriving at 9:30 after a very peaceful drive of 4 1/2 hours while the kids all slept and ended up with a full Thursday there.

 The kitchen was  well-stocked, even with little spices I didn’t think about needing before hand -- and I had spent two days preparing for this trip so that I wouldn’t have that much to do when we got there.  It ended up being worth it.  I loved being able to come home tired Thursday after our excursions and time at the beach and be able to throw a dinner of chicken enchiladas I’d already made and frozen into the oven, pull out the salsa I’d already made, and have only the fresh stuff to make and cut up to go with it, like guacamole, lettuce and tomatoes.

Michael, the owner, had a telescope downstairs and binoculars  in the family room upstairs.  We were across from Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge  that features the “largest colony of breeding Tufted Puffins and the largest common Murre colony south of Alaska.”  Sea Lions were all over the lower rocks that were visible only at low tide.

Seymour was a regular.  One afternoon while I was sitting in the sunshine and reading a book, he got a little bolder and came knocking at the back slider doors.  Before then, I had been wondering what strange little kids prints could be so low on the window, but he solved that  mystery.  He wanted in, though, and wasn’t pleased that I wasn’t having any of it as he started hacking at the door with his beak.

 There’s some wildlife for you—above or below, take your pick.   Jamie was the one clever enough to take a picture through the binoculars.

 More wildlife.  This one rather tame when he’s reading a book, fortunately—unless disturbed, of course.

 

The Tillamook Cheese Factory is worth visiting when you’re down in these parts.  They are completely set up to entertain, explain and allow you to view their whole cheese-making process.

 

Devin was not a very happy cow and I’m sure would’ve produced sour milk had Farmer Marci done her milking..

Tillamook Ice Cream is a luxury brand around the Pacific Northwest.  I felt bad for the people in line behind us who had to wait for the samples some of us just had to have before we could make such a momentous decision.

It really was fascinating to see everyone in action.  They have windows everywhere for you to watch all parts of the cheese making process.  There are information stations, interactive exhibits and informative videos playing just about anywhere you care to stop.

 My family is profoundly in the attitude of learning that it takes 10 pounds or 1.16 gallons of milk to make 1 pound of Tillamook cheese.  More than 1.7 million pounds of milk arrive at the plant every day and they use it to make approximately 167,000 pounds of cheese each day.

We didn’t know this section of the factory even existed until Jim started going logical on us.  “Wouldn’t a cheese factory that catered so much to visitors also have samples of cheese out for you to try somewhere?”   He checked the site map, and sure enough, he discovered this awesome cheese-of-every-imaginable flavor testing station.

Tensions rose over the superiority of the eagle over the bear in one part of the gift shop while . . .

happy little mice randomly frolicked in other parts.

 Speaking of RANDOM -- you are looking at the very essence of it. (If that doesn’t make sense – fear not; it’s Walton Male Humor.)

He obviously didn’t like being milked.

And they’re OFF!!!

 They got a little more than they bargained for.

He’s not talking right now.  He’s involved in a good book.  This time it’s Bartimeus.  Can you believe he confessed he was actually happy to hit a traffic jam in Portland on the way down? 

The point was to make a sand castle at low tide that could withstand the oncoming waves of high tide —for a respectable number of waves at least.  They were most distressed that after all their hard labor, it all disappeared with the first wave.

 

Check out the hole in the water where he threw the rock and you can see the rock flying off to the right of it.

 

The kids ended up jumping over this like a jump rope until Marci got smacked in the side with it  Yuck.

 

You would’ve thought it was these two that got smacked.  I believe they heard me remembering how cute they were when they were little, but for some reason, this wasn’t bringing back the right memories.

.

Jamie had two words for this whole experience:  “Freakin’ Awesome.”

And two words for me in the sun with my hair flying making shadows on my face that look like wrinkles???    “Freakin’ Scary.”

Between the beach where they’d been playing in the water and the sand, and the next beach full of lava rocks that are fun to climb, sits a mountain.  Someone was kind enough to blast their way through at one point, and if you keep your head down, and carefully place your feet, you can make your way from one beach to the other in about a minute and a half through a dark and creepy cave.

 

 

She just had no problem soaking one pair of jeans after another when she hadn’t planned on it.

  I loved this little pile of driftwood and wondered who had been busy.

It would’ve made a neat little kid fort.

 This is what you call the “other side of the mountain.”

Cape Meares is another fun place to explore.  Last time Jim and I were here, we spent some time getting a tour of the Cape Meares Lighthouse and learning how each lighthouse on the coast had its own special code in the way they flashed their white and red lights that let Sailors know exactly where they were.

It was very distressing to learn that in January, vandals had used high power rifles to blow out most of the windows of the lighthouse and the lens itself, which was made in the 1800’s and worth $500,000.  No one was allowed up at the top yet and an expert had even flown in from Florida to work on the glass out of the love he had for lighthouses.

The guide had fascinating stories to tell us and also said that what was especially sad about this crime was that the two young men, ages 23 and 26, who were arrested by the FBI, were from prominent families in the community.

Friday afternoon off the back deck.

An incredible place to watch the sun sink into the horizon.  And very quickly at that.  Within minutes it was gone.

Nighty night.