Tatooine to Endor

Greetings family!

I took a picture that represents so much about our current place in life.  In front of my car was a dust storm rolling into Phoenix.  My rearview mirror showed the sun breaking through the clouds.  There was a moment of great contrast between what was behind me, beside me, and in front of me.  Something is about to change in the weather and we are at the same moment in the life of the 4 Webbs.

The way Kendra explained it to the twins is by saying, "Think of it as moving from Tatooine to Endor".  They instantly got it and understand that's what we are doing. 

This week we flew to Seattle…  again… for the third time in two months.  This time was for a house hunting trip as we prepare to move our family to Seattle.  The pace of this transition is like riding a rocket, but we are managing very well.  When an opportunity arises, there are those who miss it due to hesitation and those who catch it and hang on tight.  To me, the phrase, “Carpe Diem” doesn’t mean “jump on every possibility that comes by”.  It means, “be wise and patient while waiting for the right time to jump.”  Anyway, we took the twins out of school for a week-long expense-paid vacation so that we can survey the neighborhoods and figure out where we will live.

Kendra suggested I let the twins draw with markers on our suitcase.  Doing so makes our suitcase stand out to avoid being mistaken for someone else’s luggage.  It’s also a good way to keep Easton and Layla’s creative juices flowing and have some fun.  I’d be surprised if any other suitcase on the carousel has a Mosasaurus dinosaur and fairies. 

We researched over 200 houses in four days, but also took time to hike and explore.  Wild blackberries are plentiful this time of year so we stopped frequently to eat free snacks along the way.

The scenery is drastically different from our nature hikes in the desert.  The flowing streams and lush wooded areas are beautiful in a completely different way when compared to the rocky terrain of Phoenix. 

We visited the ocean at least once a day because there is so much coastline to explore.  Easton got his fill of trains too since many tracks follow the coastline through the city.  I placed two pennies on the track, but after the train went by we couldn’t find them.  I always wondered what would happen, but I’ll have to find out some other time when I can tape the pennies down on the track…

Layla enjoyed her time with Kendra even more than usual.  We relaxed and played much of our trip here even though we had things to take care of.  Layla invited me to climb around on the shoreline boulders.  I agreed, as I always do, when she offered to include me in her world.  Kendra spent that time looking through the binoculars at the ferry pulling into the dock.  Easton’s questions never stop, but putting him in a foreign environment leads to ten times more questions than normal. 

There are sculptures and art all along the shoreline.  We stopped at one interesting bronze sculpture where it was obviously available for kids to play on it.  We convinced the twins to pose for the photo opportunity.  The thing I notice most is the similarity between Kendra in the picture above and Layla in the picture below.  Like mother, like daughter...

This odd statue of a family of walruses turned into a chance to climb around and make walrus noises.  One of my favorite pictures from the trip because these weeks of my sabbatical and our vacation have created some wonderful, relaxing moments where we just enjoy each other and our surroundings. 

Walks on the beaches were common in the first few days of our trip because the temperature was perfect and the sun was shining.  We did more exploring in this week of house hunting than we have in Phoenix in the past year. 

One evening Kendra wanted to rest so I took the twins out for dinner.  They requested pizza and I recommended eating it on the beach.  ten minutes to pizza, two minutes to the beach, and viola!  seagulls, salty air, and an amazing sunset over the Puget Sound.

We also had dessert.  every single day.  twice.  We are on the corporate dime for this trip so dining out was an adventure in trying new places and dishes.  We found an ice cream shop where we could walk down to the beachfront and watch the ferry boats go in and out of the dock.  Hours of entertainment for Easton.  Layla was more interested in dancing around on the shoreline...

Our trip was filled with new places and experiences, but there's always a need to go shopping at a local supermarket.  We needed pencils for the twins to do homework since their teacher was kind enough to send a homework packet.  Too bad I wasn't smart enough to get a pencil sharpener!  Oh well, we can do homework when we get back home.

This will be the 4 Webbs cover photo for the blog soon, if I can get it to fit.  It represents our togetherness in the adventures that await us. 

There was a moment in our driving all over the city where we saw a park.  Eight-year-olds have no desire to drive around in neighborhoods so this was a good consequence for their good choices of going with the flow as we navigated the highways.  The park included a swing set with four swings and since there are 4 Webbs we swung as a family.  This is how we walk the path we are on.  resting, watching, enjoying the journey and the atmosphere around us.  This time next month we will be in Seattle as residence.  Let the real adventures begin.

See you soon!