First Trip Away From the Dock

I am still getting caught up on everything we accomplished LAST weekend.  Last Sunday, after installing the starboard side Ma'alahi decal, we got the boat out of the harbor to warm the engine up and enjoy the summer like weather.

Leaving Friday Harbor

I definitely have the itch to take our home somewhere warm, tropical, and beachy.  However, as the weather in our area starts to turn to Spring, I remind myself that we LIVE in a boating "Mecca".  We know of a lot of couples that have sailed AROUND.THE.WORLD. and they have chosen to live on San Juan Island.  So - it is days like this that I remind myself to be thankful for and explore where we are right now. 

K says, "Ma-Booowt Maddy (hybrid mommy/daddy)"

Steering for T while he checks the decks.

M - appears to be enjoying himself.

Life is good. 

Vacation Recap - Mexico -

K

The kids helped us celebrate our last full day in Cancun (Riviera Maya/Playa del Carmen) Mexico by waking up at 5AM (3AM Pacific time).  We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Mexico, but we were definitely ready to get back into a concrete and predictable routine.  The first week and a half of our trip was amazing.  The last few days made us ready to go home. 

K & M

Now that we are back home, I have been able to gain perspective and separate myself from the last few days of our trip (which left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths). 

Coastal Mexico is beautiful.  I can see why a lot of expatriates choose to live there.  This was the first time I have visited the Caribbean side of the country.  The Yucatan Peninsula is very flat (topographically) but is full of amazing Mayan ruins and tons of very intricate cultural history. 

Tulum

Tulum was, by far, one of the most beautiful historical sites I have ever been to.

I was a little bummed that we did not see Chitzen Itza, which is considered to be one of the "seven wonders of the world" - the bus tour to and from this site was 12 hours long.  T and I did not feel comfortable having my mom watch the kids for that long (for her sake…. I know the kids would be absolutely fine).  Maybe next time. 

K

The water of the Caribbean was breathtaking.  I really hope that someday we can experience it fully aboard a boat. 

No more "vacations" until May (when T and I are taking a four day weekend to celebrate his "big 3-0").  The last few months have been full of amazing blessings and travel opportunities.

We are definitely happy to be home.  We have a lot of work to do at our storage unit (we are hoping to downsize from our 12'X24' unit (with loft) to a heated 10'x10' unit) as well as a lot of projects to work on aboard the boat.  I am hoping that T and I can find a balance as far as a maintenance routine and hopefully get to know all the intricacies of our boat through minor (famous last words) projects.

It is good to be home.

Lacking creativity. On vacation. Bye!

I swear I have been working hard on posts with useful and relevant content.

Unfortunately (for the blog), most of my spare time over the last two weeks has been spent unpacking from our Oregon trip and packing (again) for our vacation to Playa del Carmen (near Cancun) Mexico.

Packing (with airport luggage restrictions) is difficult when you need to responsibly plan for all the scenarios one can encounter with a baby and toddler.  Did I mention they BOTH will be sitting on our laps for the nine hour travel?!  (which happens to be on our five year wedding anniversary... romantic!!)

If I had had the time over the last two weeks, I would have posted about how we lost our diesel hydronic heater on Sunday.  It does not "fire" and makes a funny noise before going silent.  We had someone look at it today... it will either be cheap or expensive to fix... (thanks).  We will know more soon and hopefully have our heat back when we return from our vacation. 

I will actively post starting in February. 

Thanks for your understanding. 

Hasta luego! 

Loving Life - Holiday Recap

K on Christmas morning

Our Christmas and New Year's was spent in Black Butte Oregon.  The holidays were a great retreat and break from our everyday routine.  Aside from all of the actual traveling (8 hour drive each way), T and I were able to relax and spend a lot of time sharing ideas and excitement for our future.  

Because we are living aboard, we have been given the ability for me to stay at home with the kids as well as the opportunity for T to take time off work (which allows us to go on trips and spend more time together as a family).  We are able to expose our kids to different areas and get them outdoors.  

K in the snow (happy!)

K with Grandma (not so happy)

Black Butte is located in Central Oregon's high desert.  There is usually a lot of snow there this time of year.  There was no snow AT.ALL. and we had a few days that were in the high 50's (?!?!?!).  Hoodoo Ski Resort is located about 10 miles away from Black Butte.  T went skiing the first day the resort opened (it opened for two days and then had to shut down due to rain and lack of snow).  Apparently there is a shortage of snow everywhere.  

Anyhow.  Many memories were made and quality time spent with family. 

K and M appearing to play together (YAY!!)

K helped to decorate the tree.

Buddy and M having "Tummy Time"

The Craziness

M is sitting up!

K starting to realize that Christmas is pretty cool.

Sunrise on Christmas.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2012!

First Trip to the Zoo.

Sorry about the intermittent posting.  It is THAT time of year.

Over Thanksgiving weekend (Black Friday) T treated the kiddos and I to a day at the Woodland Park Zoo (in Seattle).  It was so much fun to see K connect the dots when she saw the first few animals.

We read a lot of books about animals ("Polar Bear Polar Bear... what do you hear" is permanently imprinted in my brain).  Up until this visit, K's experience with wild animals was all two dimensional.

When we entered the monkey exhibit, we saw a larger monkey that was near the glass.  We got up close to the glass...  K saw the monkey reach for some broccoli and stick it in his mouth.  K FREAKED.OUT. clearly because the MONKEY.MOVED.  Seeing her make the connection that all the animals we have been reading about ARE.ALIVE. was so much fun.

Otter and fish exhibit.

The meerkats and giraffes (all the moms, including myself were telling their kids "Look, it is Sofie!") were a big hit as well. 

Life size komodo dragon

I hope to continue to nurture our children's interest in nature, wildlife, and the environment as they get older.  It is never too early to start. 

Black Butte Ranch - Central Oregon Vacation -

T's family has deep roots in the Central Oregon (Bend/Sisters) area.  T took Labor Day WEEK off work so we could make the 8 hour (including ferry time) trip to Black Butte Ranch.  Transporting the kids for that long of a drive requires (for our own sanity) an overnight in the Seattle area (where my mom lives) to break up the travel time.  The long drive and chaos of traveling with the kids, all of their equipment and accessories, and the dog is well worth it:

The view from T's family's condominium

One of the things we love about Central Oregon is that it is so much different than the San Juan Islands and all of Western Washington.  The area is considered "high desert" and there is something distinctly different about the trees and topography.  

Beautiful Aspens

There are lava fields, mountains, and different (to us) wildlife everywhere.  Put simply, we LOVE it because it is different. 

T fly fishing in the pond on the ranch (we are both beginners with interest in advancing)

K - 18 months, M - 4 Months

This trip does not have anything to do with cruising, the dreams of cruising, or the direct experience of living aboard.  But - GET.THIS. - Our deliberate choice to live a minimalist lifestyle has given us more opportunities to take these "side trips" than when we were land-bound.  Travel, education (exploring, learning about, and appreciating our surroundings), and quality family time are important to us.  We believe living aboard has allowed us to focus more on these things.

What we are doing is not right for everyone... but, so far, it is right for us.

Black Butte Ranch Website

Weekend on the Coast

A few weeks ago, I took the kiddos out to the coast for a good friend's baby shower.  I spent a lot of time in Westport when I was little.  My father operated a 50' Delta Hull charter boat out of Westport until he was diagnosed with terminal cancer when I was eight.  My family has deep roots in Westport and we do not get down there nearly as often as we should (it had been five years since my last visit).  

Westport is a small fishing town on the Washington coast.  Usually the weather is mediocre (think depressing misty fog).  The weather while we were visiting was gorgeous!

 

I kept telling T (on the phone) that I we should be sailing down the Washington coastline in this weather.  I did a lot of daydreaming about cruising while we walked the beach and watched Kate play in the tide pools. 

Someday ((deep longing sigh)) ... I hope we will be out there on Ma'alahi ( Ma'alahi II... or something??).

What a gift.