Going to Disney World for Christmas was an epic surprise gift from Grammy and Grampy to our family. To be clear, the adults knew, but the kids had no idea! We spent four days in the parks, while spending our first night enjoying the hotel pool and leaving bright and early on the sixth day for snowy Seattle. https://youtu.be/1_JJZVgvdjU The Disney World Christmas Surprise Our Di[...]
The Rinsekit is a popular portable shower that provides high pressure water on the go. While I may have considered this at one point a luxury, I now see it as essential for our water loving family. This helpful tool had been on my radar for at least a year, after one car trip of sandy, muddy kids too many. However, I thought it was just another thing to buy, when a water bottle could[...]
We’ve been sailing the Salish Sea for coming up on a year, onboard Coco Mar, our 41 foot ketch. This is a running timeline of what we've been up to. August 13th, 2021 Closed on the boat while in Santa Barbara, CA August 16th, 2021 Got the keys and made our first boat purchase - lightbulbs! August 19th, 2021 Moved onto the boat in Bellingham’s Squallicum Harbor August 20th,[...]
The last time I used my new stainless steel trays I was sad to be left with a broccoli sprout mess. I told myself I’d try again using a different form of sprouting seed. Having lentils in hand, I soaked them overnight and began giving them sprout baths twice a day. On the third day they were done! I had never had lentil sprouts before. They’re very tasty! A little spicy and nutty,[...]
The morning started off slowly at Sucia, making pancakes while Shane prepared the deck for our departure. We left at 10:30, on schedule with the current. Wyatt chilling on deck. The wind wasn’t great. We motorsailed most of the way, with Shane killing the engine as we got closer to Semiahmoo Bay to sail a bit. while he sailed I worked on my food inventory spreadsheet, making a sho[...]
It's been a whale kind of day. The last time we saw whales we were also at Sucia Island. Shane was the first to see the Orcas, getting a sneak attack on his paddleboard this morning. He was rounding Matia Island, Puffin Island, Puffin Island Reef, and Wiggins Reef. He was about to pass Rolfe Cove when a pod of Orcas were exiting right in front of him! He stopped and was able to grab s[...]
We started off the day at Jones Island where we anchored and stern tied the day before. Shane had islands north of where we were at he wanted to paddle, so his day started at 5am. I waited in bed when he left as rain started to fall. It was a light rain and was over before the day began. He paddled Flat Top Island, Gull Rock, White Rocks, and Danger Rock circling around each of the[...]
Don’t worry, we still have food. However, by the end of the day we’re officially out of pre-made food items, which is not the worst state to be in. Kid (processed stuff) food is totally gone. Also not a bad thing. Fresh veggies are also gone, but I have canned items. Today we left Deer Harbor to go back on anchor for a couple of days. We had a loose plan of where we wanted to go, b[...]
If we thought the anchorage was busy before, I don't know how to describe the Harbor the morning of the 4th. More boats were coming in to fill in the small gaps here and there. We left early to head to shore for the kids games hosted on the pool lawn. This was the first Fourth of July in 13 years that Shane and I would not be at Lake Marcel. We loved our small town parade and communit[...]
The boys have loved music by Imagine Dragons over the years. One of their songs they like to listen to in the car is Thunder. It’s from 2017 and hasn’t gotten old yet. There’s a line in it that goes… “I was lightning before the thunder.” This morning Shane and I awoke abruptly to the sounds of lighting and thunder overhead. Never a great sound when you’re on a sail[...]