8.07.2012

Adventure

On our wonderful ten-day vacation in Central and Eastern Washington and Idaho, Lauren reminded us of a G.K. Chesterton quote: "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." I don't believe any of us had trouble viewing our time of rest and relaxation as an adventure, because the inconveniences were few and far between!



Our first stop was cousins near Yakima. Look at Cody showing off!

Before we floated the Yakima River together, we sang a few Gospel songs, swimsuits and all!


Some of the group that went floating. Notice our burns...achem...tans in all their red glory! Left to right: Danielle, Cherie, Susanna, Lauren, Peggy, Melanie, Mikaela, Micah, Cody, and Sierra.


Can you tell by the smug looks on our faces that we had bested the guys again at four-on-a-couch (a favorite memory game of ours)?


Okay, okay, so the guys did win twice...victory smiles all around from Delmer to Cody to Papa to Micah.

Mama and Michelle...best friends (and second cousins) since girlhood. 

Third cousins: Trevor, Sierra, Susanna, Jonah, Mikaela, Lauren, Micah, Cody, and Melanie.

Zaniness is definitely a family trait we have in common!

From Yakima, we travelled to Idaho to spend the night with dear family friends. Pastor and Mrs. A. were Mama and Papa's youth pastors way back when, so despite the distance between us, we have definitely kept up a close relationship over the years.


Tony brought out his electric violin for us to try, so we had a duel between electric and acoustic (acoustic won all the way).

Jonah was rather fond of the blue shade of the instrument, however.

Forget that electric thing! I handed over my baby to Tony, and Lauren and I proceeded to give him a whirlwind introduction to violin playing. You know you love your job when you volunteer to do it on vacation (and when everyone involved is all smiles!).



From friends, we travelled to Coeur d'Alene to the funeral of my great-uncle (Mama's uncle) who went to be with the Lord the previous week. It was inspiring to see his whole family sing at the funeral as a testimony of God's mercies and graciousness to many generations, and it was humbling to be a part of the day as we played background music before and after the service, and it was amazing to watch Uncle Don get a hero's burial in honor of his service to our country.

All the family--some of whom I had never met before that day!

Mama with her cousin twice removed (I think I got that right!).

Cousins with Uncle Mel.

From the funeral, we travelled to Grandma and Grandpa's lake house for a few days of bliss!

Jonah and Smokey, a kitty Grandma and Grandpa adopted from us a few weeks ago. My, how she had grown!

Tubing...

Paddle-boating...

A swimming relay inspired by the Olympics...

Fancy water acrobatics also inspired by the Olympics (done by the inimitable Susanna)...

Napping on a boat (that's Great-Uncle Anton on candid camera)...

Sunrises and moonrises...

Jet-skiing...

Bathing beauties...

More water wipe-outs (this time performed by yours truly)...

Whatever we were doing, lake time and family time brought many smiles, that's for sure!

We had a girls' day with aunts and grandma and cousins, and between the pedicures, the amazing lunch, more tubing, and good conversation, it was a fantastic day!


Time spent with our other Grandpa--Mama's dad--was wonderful. It was so good to catch up!

Handsome Jonah

Cousin Jeremiah just opened his own chic coffee shop in Spokane--delish!

We also got to float the St. Joe River with Grandma and Grandpa and their church--Aunt Lisa and Amanda joined us for that sunny and thrilling day, so we got more delightful cousin time!

Now, with fall teaching schedule to figure out, a very messy room, loads of laundry calling my name, school coursework pressing, state primary ballot to turn in (tonight!) and duties left and right, I have to remind myself again of the definition of adventure. Not just tubing and floating and travelling does adventure consist of, but also of duties and responsibilities and commitments--of inconvenience rightly considered. Off to my next adventure!

13 comments:

  1. DO NOT FORGET TO TAKE SOME MOMENTS TO CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAYS ON THURSDAY!!! Love you so,
    Aunt Hiedie

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  2. Ahh what a blast!! -The jet skis look fun too ;)
    -I just recently got a electric violin too, though your'e right...it just can't compare with acoustic!
    Abby

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  3. My goodness, y'all packed a lot of adventure in 10 days! Thank you for sharing all of the amazing photos. BTW, happy, happy early birthday to you and Lauren!! Hope you both enjoy a very blessed day! :)

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  4. Aunt Hiedie--Ahh, thanks! You can be sure our family will make that happen! ;-) Hope to see you on Friday!

    Abby--The electric violins do have a usefullness in a large arena, for travelling, or for achieving a certain sound, but I'll do everything in my power to stay acoustic all the way. ;-) Your profile picture is gorgeous--you've grown up so much since I've seen you last! Hope we get to see you and your family soon!

    Ruthie--We're sort of notorious for cramming our "vacations" full. ;-) Though this was definitely more relaxing than other trips with all the lake time. Thank you so much for the birthday wishes--you're sweet!

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  5. First off I want to say awesome blog! I had a quick question which I'd like to ask if you don't mind.
    I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your head prior to writing.

    I've had a tough time clearing my mind in getting my ideas out there. I truly do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or hints? Appreciate it!
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  6. Lovliness!! Love all your posts. :D What is the name of your cousin's coffee shop? :) ~Johanna www.thinkibility.blogspot.com

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  7. Matt--a big part of making efficient use of my writing time comes before I sit down and pressure myself to write something! I decide on my topic several days before the deadline, and then I take the time to brainstorm and plan mentally. (Doing this on paper can help too.) Keep your writing ever-present in your thoughts so that when you sit down at your computer to write, you have the first sentence memorized, and you know where it is leading and what the purpose and conclusion of the post will be.

    Johanna--Thank you muchly! Jeremiah's coffee shop is aptly named "The Shop". ;-) You can check it out here: http://theshoponsouthperry.com/ (they have been a work in progress since buying the place 4 months ago, so the current decor is way cuter than the pictures). Next time you're in Spokane, you should give it a try!

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  8. Your beautiful and dear family always makes me smile.

    Amen to a life well lived.

    Thanks for sharing your life on your blog!!

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  9. Mrs. G--thank you for the encouraging words! Love to you and your family!

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  10. one word: FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

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  11. It sounds {and looks too, from the pictures!} Like y'all had a wonderful time! So glad that you've made it back safely! Can't wait to see & catch up with y'all sometime!
    <3 <3 <3 ~Mallory
    P.S.
    Happy belated birthday to you both!!! =D

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  12. Thank you! I miss you, and just heard that you won't be at church tomorrow?! Sometime when summer slows down, we are long due for a catch-up chat!

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