Vacation Day 7: Need a suggestion for a Title

     Papa came over this morning around 8. I woke up hearing him talk to Grandma, Dave and Mom. I was very happy; I definitely woke up on the right side of the bed. After breakfast, I worked on my schoolwork while the other folks worked on 2 puzzles.   

     We went to Agate Beach for a tailgate lunch. We ate delicious sandwiches and drank pop. Mom and I walked over the sand dunes and I splashed around in the ocean. After lunch, we went over to Nye Beach Sweets where my Aunt Rebecah works and soon will own. We got to enjoy some delicious ice cream. This evening, we had my favorite food, tater-tot casserole! Then, we played Apples to Apples, and now we are watching Dr. Quinn.

Vacation Days 5 & 6: Churches, Travel, and a Partay

Time for Food!

      Yesterday, I went to two churches, Uncle John's and Diana's. It was fun to see the differences between the churches. I finally got to meet Diana's friends and got to see her world. Hooray Diana! (Red Stripe Commercial Voice)

    This morning, Papa, Mom and I drove down to Newport to visit Grandma Becker, Dave, Aunt Rebecah, and Uncle Dale. This afternoon, I went over to Aunt Rebecah to help get ready for the open house for Papa.

Two seriously funny guys

      This evening, we had Papa's open house. We had veggies, cookies, cake, chips, dip, and fruit. It was tasty! It was an evening full of laughter and happiness. There were at least 15 people there, sharing stories and having a good time.

Listening to story-telling Pastor Dave.

     While we are here in Newport, Mom and I are staying at Grandma Becker and Dave's house. Papa is staying at Aunt Rebecah and Uncle Dale. As I said goodbye to Papa, I felt a twinge of sorrow. Especially on this trip, I tuck Papa in and help him get ready for bed, so I was sad knowing that I wouldn't be the one to tuck him in. I know it silly since I'll see him in the morning but it still different from the normal.

Talking around the table

Aunt Rebecah and I trying to take a nice picture but Mom snuck in!

Emma: Past, Present, Future

    This is Emma. She is one of my very bestest friends. She is beautiful. She has brown not-so-long anymore hair, big brown eyes, and a great big smile! She is kind, patient, a good listener, nice, loving, forgiving, understanding, and just a good person overall! There are so many things I could say about Emma. Instead, I'm going to share something from the past, something from the present, and something that I hope will happen in the future.

     First off, something from the past, one of my favorite memories from our past was actually semi-recent. It was last summer when we went up to Lake Michigan with your grandparents. It was so much fun, swimming in the Lake, putting on gallons of sunscreen, and chasing seagulls! We just don't care, we are gonna be who we gonna be!

     Currently, Emma and I share everything; we tell each other everything.  At least, I tell Her everything. It's really nice to know that there's a person I can rant to and know that they'll understand. Emma, you are wonderful listener! You are my other half.

     Emma, I know that when you see this it won't be your birthday, I am sorry. But since I am in the West and it's 2 hours earlier, I did crank this out on your birthday! I am so glad we are both 15, at least for a little while! Be safe driving, you driver, you! Happy Birthday, you crazy, awesome girl!

Vacation Day 3 and 4: Planes, Games, and Sushi Time!

Doing Schoolwork! Fun fun.

     Yesterday afternoon, guess who I got to see! My favorite pilot, Diana! Yep, I got to see my sister for the first time, after She moved away to be an adult, over a year ago! The best part about it: I not only got to see her, I got to fly with her! Actually, Papa, Mom, Brendan and I all got to fly with her! We took two trips up, the first one with Papa, Diana, Brendan, and I and the second one with Mom, Papa, and Diana. During the first trip, Diana let Brendan fly, yep, and oh ya, this is His first time riding in a plane. That's not it though, She also let Him do some maneuvers, steep turns and stalling. It was pretty scary, like a roller coaster. The real roller coaster, though, started when Diana showed us negative and positive G forces.
   
     Afterwards, We went to this really good pizza place and had a late dinner! By the time We got home it was late. Instead of going to bed, like regular people, Brendan, Diana and I stayed up and played Pirate's Cove, which is a board game. It was tons of fun!

The PilotS!

     This morning, Mom and Diana got up, and I didn't have a clock so I thought, it was around 9, but I wanted to sleep in because it's Saturday. A couple minutes later, Mom says "Time to get up, Nancy." So like a good little girl, I turn over and sleep for five more minutes and then got up. So, I go inside and check the time, it is 7:55 a.m.! That's earlier than I get up on a school day, my mom forgot that it was Saturday. That's okay, though, breakfast was almost ready. It consisted of homemade waffles with blackberry syrup and bacon! Yum! I do love me some food!
 

Failed attempt at a picture of the two of us.

     The rest of the day was filled with game playing; Diana, Brendan, and I played Pirate's Cove at least 10 times through out the day. We watched some sports, but We mainly played Pirate's Cove. Between games, I took a wonderful nap. It was total bliss. This evening though, We paused our game playing, and went out to a Japanese restaurant! It was a cute little restaurant with nice employees! Brendan also got to try sushi for the first time ever! So many new things, as far as I can tell He liked both! Anyway, after dinner we played 2 more rounds of Pirate Cove.  

Playing Pirate's Cove!

Delicious Pizza!

 Now, here I am sitting at the computer typing up a blog post, so anyone who wants to know about my life can. Goodnight, I am headed for bed!

Vacation Day 2: Goodbye Seattle, Hello Portland

   

The Foggy Seattle Skyline

     Today We left Seattle and headed south down to Portland. Along the way, We stopped at my Great Aunt Norma and Uncle Don's and had cake and tea. We spent 2 hours talking, laughing and eating.

Aunt Norma played a lovely piece for us on the piano

    After our short visit, We drove the rest of the way to Portland. We arrived at my Aunt Kathy and Uncle John, around 3. After unpacking our luggage, We sat around and caught up on things. Then, Brendan and I played Egyptian Rat Trap, which He promptly beat me at. Marissa, Darren, and Madeline came for dinner! So, I got to meet Madeline finally! She is the cutest little angel that's ever been related to me. I love her so much and can't wait to get to know her better!

Uncle Don and Papa had a fun time talking, this afternoon.

Mama and Madeline! Aren't they the cutest ever?!

Papa meeting his great granddaughter for the first time!

Father and Daughter, nothing more I can say here, their perfect!

Vacation Day 1

     Hey Ya'll, I'm on vacation! I have mixed feeling about this vacation. On one hand, I am uber excited to visit my family, and to be in the wonderfully cool weather of the west coast. On the other hand, I love hanging out with my friends at home. I also will be missing one of my best friends birthday, which quite possibly could be the last birthday She has while I am still here in the States. Anyway, we left last night at 6:30 and got here at my Uncle Steve's and Aunt Kelly last night at around 10:00.

     Since, my dad is in Congo, it just Mom, Papa, and I. So in order to get to the airport my mom dropped off Papa and I off and took the bus to the airport. My job: to get Papa a wheel chair, and get through security. Just to clarify, I also have to carry our luggage which consists of 4 bags: a roller, a backpack that weighs about 25 lbs, a purse, and a C-PAP machine. So, this airport worker comes over and gives us our wheelchair and walks away. So here I am with four bags, and I have to push Papa's wheelchair. I help Papa sit down into the wheelchair and struggle to push him toward the elevator. Suddenly, the airport worker comes back and says "Where are we headed?" I was so relieved. We headed to security and unloaded all of our stuff, or so I thought.

       Apparently, Papa is a very dangerous man, because he is so sneaky. After walking through the metal detector, they had to pat down Papa. First, they found his baseball cap, which was neatly tucked under his shirt. Second, they found his handkerchief in back pocket. Then, they decided since He looked so dangerous, they were going to take some chemical swabs, from not only his hand but also his shoes, and his baseball cap. Anyway, they decided he wasn't going to harm anyone and let us go on to the gate.
 
   Here some pictures through our window through out the flight:

     This morning I woke up at 8:30, which ya'll maybe thinking , wow that's early, remember there's a time change. I had breakfast and coffee, which was amazing. Then, I did school, which I didn't realize I had to do on this vacation til yesterday. Then, We went out to lunch with my Uncle Steve, downtown. I have never had such a good salad, it was delicious. My afternoon was pretty lazy, I finished up school and watch The Dick Van Dike Show with Papa. This evening, I went to youth group with my cousin, Elizabeth. It was a lot like my small group, back in STL. It was really laid-back and fun, I am really glad I went. Before this evening, I had decided that I didn't want to go. It's always awkward, you know, when you only know one person, well not always! Tonight, it was fun and relaxed and I felt very welcome. 

     And right now, I am hanging out with Elizabeth, playing "Would You Rather?", laughing so hard, I was crying Well, that's all for now. Enjoy the pictures, I have taken so far.