Washington

After a mini vacay in Lincoln/Omaha with my family a few weeks ago, I had a special short solo trip planned to see my family in Washington. Oh wow---it was SUPER relaxing. Well, it was relaxing AFTER I got off the plane. I HATE FLYING. I knitted to keep my mind occupied. And that worked pretty well. Until I told the lady next to me that I hated flying & so she proceeded to tell me her worst flying story of dropping 300 feet in the air & everyone screaming while she prayed to Jesus. Nice.

Tia picked me up from the airport. Me & my chipmunk cheeks were happy to see that lady!! We had am amazing 2 1/2 hour gigglefest all the way home.

I came to see my family. Even my biological sister Kelby (who I met for the first time in December) came over with her hubby Ryan to see me for a day.

My sister Stacie, brother Andrew & me.

And these are Andrew & Stacie's little monsters. I love those little people. I didn't have MY girls with me, so it gave me a chance to hang out with these tiny humans, who would normally be playing with MY 2 kidlets. I laughed & laughed & laughed. They are funny. And so clever & silly. And loving.

My oldest niece & I walked along my grandmother & mother's roses & smelled each one.

I also gave them all Bug Catcher/Treasure Keeper necklaces.

And that meant I had to help collect bugs.

I taught my niece how to roll her socks.

That's what auntie's are for.

I enjoyed my parent's yard--with all it's pretty plants & flowers.

I watched my dad weed the strawberry patches.

And snuck a few pics in-between.

I got to hang out with this beautiful lady.

My grandmother is so cute.

We even went through her small box of yarn & knitting/crochet/plastic canvas supplies.

She sent me home with a couple skeins of yarn. And my first crochet hooks---so the girls & I can learn this summer!

Mom took me shopping at my favorite little antique mall in town. Really, it's heartache every time I enter now. There is nothing like that around here. Mom bought me lots of fabric scraps & buttons for some projects the girls & I will be making in the next couple months. I didn't want to leave that shop. It's my favorite. Vintage fabrics, trims, & loveliness abound! *sigh*

I got to swap my black & white themed handmade items that I'd been working on for the last few weeks, with my 13 year old friend Becca as part of our spontaneous & random Operation:Crafty Swap. It was fun to do this in person, rather than mailing it!!

There were raosty toasty marshmallows & sticky tasty s'mores!

And an outing to a cupcake shop/bistro called Frost Me Sweet. My sis works there & I really died & went to panini heaven. Holy mozzarella, basil & tomato with pesto aioli sauce, Batman!! (It's "The Bistro" panini, just in case you ever go there. Which you should. It's in Richland. In the Parkway.) And then there were cupcakes To-Go, of course! (We sampled & shared later that evening while playing cards.)

We sat outside so the little peeps could run around & disturb the peace. The nearby water fountain started spewing water & my mother was SURE it was because the children were feeding it rocks & sticks. We ate & ran.

One night Tia & I went on a rampage. First, we went to my favorite park in Richland, Howard Amon, & I did my first yarn bombing. (a.k.a. "knitting grafitti") More about THAT in a future post. (We even took a video, but it might be too long & boring.) AND, she taught me the way of the fork. Did you know about "forking" someone's yard? Well, we performed the most awesome hoax of all time. And laughed so hard until sour cream cheesecake almost came out of Tia's nose.

And then there was the shopping for the wee ones back home. Mommy can't come home empty handed you know. So, I headed over to my favorite unique shop: The Octopus' Garden. I picked up some "Little Miss" & "Little Mr." books by Roger Hargreaves. And some mustache bandaids for myself. Along with a little solar powered Asian piggy that wiggles & shimmy's. And some other toys & doo-dads.

There were also visits to the park in the daytime---sans covert operations.

Swinging & jumpy photos & polaroids galore. (And my niece arriving in an outfit complete with rolled socks.)

That's me & my cutie mom in the pic below!

I must admit the plane ride home freaked me out a bit. I took some motion sickness meds

for the first time & that helped take the edge off. But, when I saw the windy, WINDY day, & the 18 passenger plane with its twirly propellers spinning, I almost started crying. (This was for the last leg of the trip from Denver to Scottsbluff.) There was no knitting on the flight back. I just pretty much closed my eyes & breathed & prayed. And kept a close watch as to the location of the barf bag---just in case.

Oh, & speaking of knitting---I certainly DID get my needles & scissors through security. And I found out that knitting attracts old ladies curiosities. It's so cute to have them come up to me & start chatting about knitting. LOVED it.

I know, I know. Picture overload. Lengthy post.

But for those of you who want MORE pics (like my mom & grandmother), just click HERE for all the pics taken on my Washington mini getaway vacay.

Visiting home made me miss home even more.

I loved waking up & seeing my mom & dad on the couch---sipping their hot drinks. (Mom does tea. Dad does coffee.) And then I'd snuggle between them. My left leg on dad's recliner. My right leg on mom's. And when one of them would get up out of their chair, I was a bit lopsided. But that's ok. And then grandmother would hear me laughing & peek her head over & come sit with us in her nightcoat, with her cup of coffee & cane.

I would love to be able to give them squeezies & loves every day. I would love to just plop on my grandmother's couch & chat & knit like I did on my visit. Only do that every week.

I decided I need more visits. More often.

♥