by jcastles | Feb 19, 2015 | Family
So back in July 2014 we drove from Washington to Texas and back in 10 days!! I wrote a post on the trip there and said to be continued. So yah, I’m a little late. Not like I’ve been busy or anything.
To see our trip to Texas click here.
So we left Texas and now that it’s months past I don’t remember everything. Darnit! But I will do my best to remember. I do have lots of neat pics though.
So according to my pics we made it to Oklahoma!
A cool pic. Where we were I have no friggin clue, lol!
HOLY CRAP look at the rain up ahead!!
So the one thing we wanted to see on the way home was The Grand Canyon. And we got there too late to see it so we decided to hit Vegas (I’d never even seen it before) and go back the next day! So here are our boring Vegas pics!
Then of course before we hit the road we got In and Out Burger.
So here’s a pic of my awesome travel trash can. I use this trick all the time! I try to bring a few with us but anytime we stopped at a gas station and bought stuff I requested a bag no matter if it was 1 or 2 items. I have my reasons for everything. I just loop the loop over the corner of the glove box and close it. It’s a great trash can when your the solo driver. It stays open for you too.
So we didn’t make it to The Grand Canyon in daylight again…..ugh. Yup, that’s all we got to see folks. We will be making this trip again.
The Grand Canyon Selfie!
After that adventure my feet were so swollen from eating sunflower seeds (my stay awake snack) so we decided to stay the night to give my feet some needed rest. Yah, that’s crazy swollen!
And of course I had to do laundry. I hadn’t used pay machines in well forever!
We made it to Oregon! I know that because the sign tells me so. LOL!!!
And we’re in Washington! I had to zoom into this pic!
HOLY CRAP the house was hot!!! Window units were not enough for that!
The hubs picked the pup up from the pet sitter and got him groomed. He was happy to see one of us!
Then we got back to real life. Laundry.
But we did get to bring back a small bag of heaven! Love this bread!
Well that’s it folks. Literally all I can remember. It was fun. If we can’t get back to Texas soon I want another road trip like this. We love to road trip!
by jcastles | Jul 19, 2014 | Family
Yes, that title is correct! It took us 3 days to get there, spent 2 days, then it took us 5 days to get home! Think we’re crazy….maybe so but it was so fun! However by the 4th day driving home I was ready to be home! Even if I don’t like home….
So what took us to Texas for 2 days? Before we moved to Washington my in-laws were having hard times and the gas in their big quad cab Dodge hemi truck was killing them. So we traded them our PT Cruiser for their truck. Then my husband got the job at Amazon…..when he came to Washington for his interview he noticed that the parking spots in Seattle were not quite large enough for a truck of that size so we sold the truck and got him a Mini Cooper. Perfect for Seattle, right?!
A year goes by and we get a call from the in-laws that the PT Cruiser broke down….turns out to be the timing belt. We were still making payments on that car so we couldn’t just get them another car. The plus side is the dealer we bought it from would give us a lower pay off if we traded it in there. Downside…..they’re in Texas and we’re in Washington! So after a few days of thinking what in the hell are we going to do we decided to sell my hubbs Mini Cooper here in Seattle, drive to Texas, get the in-laws a car, trade the broken car in for the hubbs to get a new car and drive 2 cars back. So that’s what we did. Crazy thing is I just got a new car the month before. At least we didn’t have to make that drive in my old car!
Since school had just let out I of course wanted us to all go to see friends and family. We decided to leave a day earlier than planned and didn’t get out of town until mid-day after all our runnin around that we had to do first. You might also ask yourself as you read along that we didn’t quite take the quickest route. Since we had time we took scenic routes instead.
Once we finally left we were pumped! We’d never done anything like this so there was a lot to see. We stopped about every 2 hours to stretch our legs, get drinks, potty, etc. Doing this we never got tired or sore.
We stopped at this really cool Gorge at the Columbia River. As you’ll see in the 2nd pic below it was a tad windy!
A lil windy?
Next we stopped in Spokane, Washington to see the Big Red Wagon. That was cool! Really hard to find in that park though. I can’t even tell you how to find it but I’d ask someone if your having a hard time. I was like how are we missing a 12′ tall wagon?!! Well it’s easier than ya think!
Montana and Wyoming were very cool! We saw a moose and a bear! A friggin bear ya’ll!!!! And because the speed limit is 75 we weren’t quite prepared to take a pic.
Did you know that Wyoming has some red roads?! Not sure why but it was cool enough for a pic! And the sunsetting in Wyoming was awesome too!
Something I didn’t tell you earlier is we kept the destination of this trip a surprise from the kids. Now….of course Kennyth (10 yrs) guessed it and knew where we were going the entire time but we still managed to not tell him until we were on Texas soil. And yes he was pissy almost the entire trip because we wouldn’t tell him. But our first stop in Texas was just for him! His favorite pizza place! And of course since it’s not the usual one we would always go to (cause it was still 8 hours away!) it wasn’t as good, lol! Oh well!
We arrived at our friends house about 1am….I know they were not happy about that…sorry!!!! First thing the next morning we got up and got my hubbs his new car! (This pic was taken in Utah–only good pic we got though)
2014 Dodge Challenger
After that we got to see our oldest kiddo that I just saw a month before at my brother’s wedding but the rest of the family hadn’t seen him in over a year!!
That night we got to see one of Jayson’s friends Ethan!
The next day the boys got to see Grandma….at Cici’s!!! Yes, our normal location…and yes it was WAY better!
Next up was Kennyth’s best friend Chase! I let him stay an hour or so to hang out. Jayson and I went to see our old neighbor (she’s not old though) Nanette.
That evening we got to see my nephew! He was just a baby when we left and I was so sad about leaving him. And of course he didn’t know me but I still tried to squeeze him! Of course we had mexican food too!!
On the way home we went to my brother’s house. I was the only one able to come to the wedding we wanted the rest of the family to see him….sadly his new bride was out with the girls. Ah well. Luckily she has family here in Washington and will come visit soon!
The next morning we stopped at our oldest’s work to say goodbye.
The trip home…..to be continued.
by jcastles | Jun 5, 2014 | Family
So my husband’s birthday is June 7th then Father’s day follows soon after. I see all kinds of posts from people talking about how bad/stupid husbands and fathers are. I’m here to tell you there are a few good ones out there. But you can’t have my husband!
My husband never leaves the toilet seat up…ever! It’s never even been a problem. I’ve never told him once to put it down. He aims quite well too! Yah, maybe a little TMI but you get my drift. He replaces the toilet paper roll (in the over direction) when needed! He doesn’t hog the remote. We decide together what to watch. If we want to watch different things guess what….he goes to another tv in the house and we’re both happy. He’s not messy…with the exception of his desk which is his desk….well and the garage. And he cleans his desk up before visitors come too…on his own.
He loves all 3 of his kids with all his heart. He will do whatever necessary to protect them and help them through obstacles in life. He’s there for them. I stay home with the kids. But if one asks him to go on a field trip he goes. Even though that’s what i’m home for! He plays video games, board games, Lego’s, etc with them, intentionally too! He gets up early with them one day out of the weekend for me to sleep in.
He is a devoted husband and father. I couldn’t have asked for a better man. Sure we bicker….but what husband/wife don’t over simple stupid things?!
If I don’t get my way I stop myself and think about all the things he does for me and my family. In the end I usually find myself saying…ok, is this that important to fight over? He goes to work every day so I don’t have to…even though I want to at least half the time. He chills with me every night after the kids go to bed. He spends time with all of us on the weekends…even if it’s to the grocery store.
He is the best!! I am so happy he’s mine!
Best Husband Best Father
by jcastles | Apr 29, 2014 | Family, Moving
There I said it!!! The amount of stupid people here amaze me more and more every day!!! I’m really not kidding.
The drivers are my main complaint. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t nearly hit me or someone near me. Even in parking lots people back out of their spot at the same time thinking the other will give up and let them go. In the end they both drive forward and do it all over again.
And just because pedestrians have the right of way pedestrians still need to look for cars. Sometimes us drivers don’t see you running/walking/strolling along then BAM…your in the street running and we’re doing 30-40 mph and YOU expect us to stop on a dime!
The non friendliness is so irritating. The only people that are friendly are not from here. And you’ll know who they are cause they’ll be the ones talking to you!
I look so forward to moving back to Texas. My trip there in 2.5 weeks is going to be so nice…I’m definitely not going to want to leave!!!
by jcastles | Apr 23, 2014 | Family
So it was time to have the talk with our middle son. My husband had the talk with my stepson when he was 8 and I really felt we waited too long with our middle son (he’ll be 10 in 1 week!). So I found a book at our public library that I thought would be good. Well it wasn’t. It was FANTASTIC!!! It was a real quick read so I knew it wouldn’t be too much or not enough for our son. We had our son read it then we discussed it. We went page by page and asked him questions to see what he knew and answered questions. I was really surprised at some of his guesses. Some were right on and some were well wow….way off.
One thing the book doesn’t discuss is gay relationships. Since we have friends that are gay and we live in a state where you see it a lot we added a little about that in the discussion. We asked if he knew what gay meant and he said yes. We obviously asked him what he thought and he was right. We told him that you can have gay friends and not be gay. We told him that we had gay friends and asked him if that made us gay, he said no. We asked him if they were different than us and he said no. We were very happy with his answers. We told him that there are a lot of people out there that don’t approve of people being gay and you just have to ignore them. We told him that we believe everyone should be able to love whomever they want.
If your looking to discuss sex with your kiddo whether you have a boy or a girl I believe this book is a great place to start. I was really nervous and it went so well having something there in front of the both of you with the terms and pictures you needed to discuss it without looking like a goob. And it’s so much better when you have confidence in front of your child. If gives them the confidence to talk with you and not be nervous.
by jcastles | Apr 18, 2014 | Family, Moving
So it’s been almost a year that I left my home state. I’ve complained about many things…ok, well mostly the lack of good food here in Seattle. So I thought i’d take a moment and talk about the good.
The scenery….OMG the scenery is fantastic. I’ve spent all my life in Texas and all you see is oak trees and dead grass. Here you see super tall evergreen trees, green grass, mountains and snow!!!! Well the snow is a little drive away from home but still….real friggin snow, not ice!!
I’m heading back to Texas in May and there are 3 things we talk about. 1) It’s going to look so dull and flat to us. 2) Where are we going to eat first. 3) Lastly, man is it going to be hot! And we question how much we’ll hate drivers back home because they really suck here. We thought it was bad in Texas….maybe we just miss it a little.
This winter we’ve stayed home more than I would have ever stayed home if we were in Texas. We’re still not totally use to the rain but we’ve got the rain gear we need now so we’re surviving. But overall it doesn’t rain as much as we thought it would. We came here expecting the absolute worst. Just about every week we have a sunny day or 2 and it doesn’t rain all day like we thought it would. Sure it’s cloudy and it rained in the morning and not the afternoon or vice verse. Last week we had a storm come through so we had heavy rain but there were still breaks in the rain throughout the day.
So….so far we’ve been to the Pike Place Market a few times and I love it! Lots of little unique shops to visit, sights to see, and plenty of coffee to drink. We’ve took the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and that was neat! We’d never been on one before. If you ever have time to go definitely put that on your to do list. The Seattle Aquarium is about as pretty normal as an aquarium gets. We got the membership thinking with the rain coming (cause everyone kept warning us) we thought it’d be a good place to spend weekends when we’re stir crazy. Well……I don’t suggest buying the membership. We’ve been twice and that’s only because we bought the membership. Once you’ve seen it it’s kinda over. I wish we’d have gotten the zoo membership. We’ve been to the Woodland Park Zoo and that was cool!!! There weren’t as many animals as we’re use to in Texas but it’s like hiking in the woods but your in the city. If you go before many dry days (a few weeks of summer under your belt) I’d wear shoes that can accommodate mud. Not all of the path’s are paved like you’d think. We’ve also been to the Pacific Science Center and we can’t wait to go back! I’m hoping to go again this coming weekend. We got the membership and it’s definitely worth it!
Now for the fun near Seattle but not in the dirct city of Seattl. We’ve driven around Mount Rainier and driven through the mountains that lead up to the big white mountain and gosh is that a beautiful drive! I want to go w/out the kids or I suppose when they get older I’d love to go again. They just don’t appreciate it like we do. But seeing the hidden waterfalls, ravine’s, and the neat curvy roads will take your breath away. We love going to Auburn to shop at their SuperMall. When we mention it people look us like we’re insane but when you come from an area that has an abundance of shopping and you find that similar shopping spot in a new area you tend to just go. It feels normal to us. There is even a big super Walmart there….which is rare here! I would have never thought they would be so rare here but they are! We recently went to a snow park. Yup….never heard of those before moving here! You’d think you could just go play in the snow and go home but they have actual parks here. At first I was like really you have to pay?! But when you think of why it makes sense. Number 1 reason is safety! They make sure it’s safe to play there. They set off controlled avalanches and when you hear that it’s like oh….yah, wouldn’t want to be caught in a surprise avalanche if I can help it. Number 2 reason…..heated bathrooms!!!! That’s a big deal when you have to pee man!! I’d never sledded or ski’d in my life….had no idea how that was going to be. OMG OMG OMG that was the most freaking fun I’ve ever had…seriously! I want to go again soon. I might be the only one but I could totally be a professional sledder….is that even real, lol!! Another beautiful place to go is the Tulip Festival that’s held every spring. We went there very soon after arriving here and I hope to go again this year. Although the kids will not give a care in the world about it. One of the best zoo’s I’ve ever been to is in Tacoma. It’s just a short drive but totally worth it. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is yes a zoo and an aquarium….the aquarium alone is freaking awesome!!! I had so much fun and can’t wait to go there again!!
I’m sure i’m missing something but there are definitely up sides to living here.
by jcastles | Mar 9, 2014 | Recipes
So with my son’s Crohn’s Diagnosis almost a month ago I’ve had to change a little bit of things around the house. He’s discovered he loves roasted chicken and turkey but getting out at the end of the day to buy one to be warm for dinner is just about impossible during the week. I’d seen several recipes online that were close to what I wanted but not exactly.
I decided to give it a go. I’m so glad I did!! My son said this is the best chicken ever….it’s my new favorite!! He usually eats all meat with bbq sauce but he said this chicken didn’t need it at all! That’s gotta count for something right?!
Ingredients
- whole chicken, frozen or thawed (I used frozen, minus the bag of giblets in the chicken-I tossed them)
- seasoning salt
- chopped onion
- 1 can chicken broth (I used a bullion cube with 1 cup of hot water)
Sprinkle a little of the onion and seasoning salt on the bottom of the crockpot. Place chicken in the crockpot. Cover the chicken with seasoning salt and onion. Add chicken broth around the chicken (don’t pour on the chicken or you’ll lose your seasoning–if you do just re-season). If your using a frozen chicken cook on high for 8-10 hours. If thawed I’d cook on low for at least 6 hours. About half way through the cook time I took some of the broth in the bottom of the crockpot and spooned some over the chicken. The meat will literally fall off the bone! I had to use tongs to dig it out of the crockpot.
We served with buttered noodles, carrots, and a slice of bread.
I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!
by jcastles | Feb 10, 2014 | Family
You know that gut feeling something is wrong but the doctors keep telling you something different yet you just know it’s not right. Well that’s what has happened to us. Our 9 yr old Kennyth has had one heck of a bad month! He started telling us about some stomach pains he was having and just like every normal parent we would ask when was the last time you pooped. He’d tell us last night…or a few days ago. So we’d say well you need to go and voila it seemed to work.
Fast forward a few weeks. At the same time this was going on he was having ear ache after ear ache. So after 2 months of treatment it was time for surgery. A few days before surgery he was in so much pain from his stomach I made a doc appt to make sure he was ok and could go through the ear surgery in a few days. The doc just said yah, he’s constipated and it could be nerves for the upcoming ear surgery. Give him some extra fiber and miralax for few days to get things moving and voila….seemed to work. So we went through all the ear surgery stuff and all of a sudden his stomach was back at it.
Fast forward a few more weeks and that’s where we’re at today. We were talking about how he’s not getting any better at all and we want blood work done to test for diabetes, celiac disease, etc! So the hubbs took him to our local hospital and they pretty much sent them straight to the Seattle Children’s hospital. They start drawing blood, testing his urine, stool, etc. and they rule out a bunch of things so that was good. But they did find out that he’s anemic. Which totally explains his ghostly appearance! They were kind of surprised his doctor didn’t check for that because of how pale and lethargic he was. And they’re thinking he has Crohn’s Disease. More testing over the next few days for that.
So…back to the go with your gut saying. I’ve had this feeling that something was wrong with him for quite some time during this whole thing. But because the docs weren’t worried we chalked his hurting up to him being lazy and not eating right etc. Well at some point you just have to go with your gut. Our insurance only covers emergencies if it’s an emergency. Well our pediatric doctor has local offices all over our area and are open 7 days a week. Therefore making the emergency thing a little hard. So we waited until after hours to go to the ER and i’m so glad we did!!! I wanted them to find something out but didn’t at the same time.
They always say your mommy intuition knows best….I’m glad I eventually listened. I’m just sad I didn’t listen to myself sooner.
by jcastles | Jan 2, 2014 | Uncategorized
Ever want to do something that’s not life threatening to someone but yet you totally want to do it? Well…….I’ve always wanted to drive through a puddle and splash a person walking on a sidewalk. Like get them completely wet ruin their day kind of puddle.
I say I want to do that….I’ve wanted to for a while. Why, not sure. I remember walking to school and it happening to me but not where I was completely drenched. A few weeks ago I had that opportunity. And you’ll be happy to know that I couldn’t do it!!! I had picked my kiddo up from school and on the way home there was a puddle. And kids…on a sidewalk!! They just stood there too….like they wanted me to do it. But I couldn’t. Maybe me being in Seattle where it’s rainy a lot has changed my feeling on that. Either way they went home a little wet (from the actual rain, not me) instead of a lot wet, lol!!
My point behind this post…..I am the reason these were invented!! LOL!!!
Rain Shield
Not my Photo
by jcastles | Dec 22, 2013 | Crafts, Family, Holiday Crafts
There are several tutorials showing how to make your elf posable. Some require sewing skills. Some require snipping but no sewing. Well my instructions are as simple as can be and require no sewing or snipping of your elf. I have 2 options as well, my version and the hubbs version.
Option 1 (my version)
The simple 5 minute instructions.
You’ll need: wire (got mine at walmart in the DIY section-less than $2). Your elf. Wire cutters.
The simple posing elf is just making his arms and legs posable. Cut pieces of wire to the length of his/her arms/legs. Shove the wire into the seams starting at the toes/fingers. It goes in super easy. Make sure the end of the wire isn’t sticking out by either cutting it shorter or working it into the fabric. Voila your done! Seriously that’s it.
Option 2 (the hubbs version)
This option took about 30 min but it’s TOTALLY worth it!!!
You’ll need: the exact same needs as mentioned above.
The process is totally the same as above however instead of inserting the wire in the seams of the toes/arms it’s a bit different. You’ll need wire the length of the elf’s torso to toes. Start at the butt/leg seam and insert the piece going up the torso of the elf. Then shove the rest of the wire down the elf’s leg. Repeat on the other side and now his torso/legs are posable. For the arms you’ll get a piece of wire the length of fingertip to fingertip going across the neck/upper back area of the elf. From under the elf’s collar shove the wire in to the left or right (whichever way you want to start is fine). Then shove the other piece thru the other side of the elf’s arm/neck area. Now your elf’s arms can pose up and down and all around. Same with the legs and torso!
Enjoy your posable Elf!!
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