Seattle Vacation - Day 1

Hello family,

The 4 Webbs are on a real vacation (no work, no school, no responsibilities) in Seattle.  Before we left, we had a big home-cookin' breakfast with Oupa's mom and dad, Don and Avon.  Easton and Layla are blessed to have great grandparents who are still alive and healthy enough to spend time with us.  Their only other great grandparents are GG, Ouma's mom, and grandpa Siebold on my mom's side.  Anyway, Avon and Don have been married over 60 years and I am grateful for Easton and Layla to have the chance to know them.

The 4 Webbs took a flight with Ouma and Oupa and Max to Seattle.  The highlight for Easton was riding the tram.

The highlight for Layla was sitting being Kendra and Ouma during the flight.

Max did great in the airport.  Kendra was able to take Max for free because he is considered her "emotional therapy" dog.  He flew well, traveled well, and is being an awesome dog just like we have come to expect.

Easton was a good travel partner.  He held my hand as we navigated through the mass of crowds.  Not sure how many more years I can expect him to hold my hand in public, but for now he is more than willing.

We arrived at SeaTac airport, hopped in the rented minivan, and drove to Christy and Doyle's house.  The view from their front yard overlooks the Puget Sound from Mukilteo.  They were hospitable to let the 4 Webbs and Ouma and Oupa take over their house.

We arrived under sunny conditions so we took advantage of the weather by going directly to the Picnic Point beach.  I took a candid of Ouma and Oupa walking hand-in-hand along the beach.  I am continually looking up to them as role models for how to love each other well.

Christy showed the twins how to catch tiny crabs.  They are both fearless and started to fill their sand buckets with these little critters.

Oupa saw the train coming across the island so Easton and I hurried up to the bridge so we could watch the train go right under us.  This was a special occasion to be so up close to these massive machines.  We felt the strong wind blowing on us as the train flew by.  It's hard to explain the experience of standing over a train as it moves along the track, but I know Easton will never forget it.

You can see by our smiles how much we love to be at the beach.  I wish we could spend more days and weeks at the beach throughout the year, but living in Phoenix doesn't lend itself well to beach life. We'll take what we can get!

The twins had their buckets full of shells and tiny crabs and sand.  The water was surprisingly pleasant, but the beach was not very sandy here.  It was more rocky than anything and there was massive amounts of seaweed covering the shoreline.

We met up with April and Jason and Landon and Layla Ruth for ice cream and a beach sunset at Mukilteo beach. Jason and I had a father / daughter moment where the four of us sat on some driftwood while watching the waves roll in.

Easton as being silly as Kendra took a picture of him on the log.  He turned his ice cream upside down and didn't realize it would be dripping out onto his leg, but it did.  I am glad he is comfortable and confident enough in himself to be silly in public.

Our Layla and their Layla really are best friends.  they love being together and get along surprisingly well considering their differences in personalities.

Kendra and April get along as well as any best friends could ever hope for.  I am happy for Kendra to be around April any time for as long as she can because it is good for her soul.  see the similarities between the two pics?

The 4 Webbs are together and loving vacation time more than ever.  I am so glad to be sharing these experiences with all of us together.

Back at "Aunt Christy's" house, the twins played with Layla Ruth and Evelyn, Christy's granddaughter.  Their backyard is big enough for a kid play area and grassy enough to be useful, unlike our rock and cactus filled backyard in Phoenix.  These are the times to take advantage of what's available!

When we watched the sunset, we saw the ferry transporting cars across to Whidbey island, which is where plan to go in a couple of days.  What a great way to start our vacation week!

See you soon.

Playing Games

Hello friends and family,

We are loving the NorCal summer life as I continue to work the weeks away and the other 3 Webbs get to soak in the summer vacation.  No school, no figure skating lessons, no Taekwondo, no flag football...  The most noticeable aspect of our lives is what is absent.  We are finding the pause button for just a while before the busy life begins again in a few weeks.  I took a picture of the twins on Rainbow Bridge when they were three years old and then I recreate it again each year since then.  Here is the original.

and here is this year's version.  It's the craziest emotion to see them so transformed into big kids or youth right before my eyes.  It feels as though they were three years old, then I blinked, and they are eight.

Even though I have over 5,000 pictures per year of our adventures, it doesn't feel like that much time has past. My photos and blog posts are a reminder to me that I'm not missing out on one bit of their childhood;  It's just going by very quickly.  There are times to be a dad and be present in the moment, like when I do silly things like this around them:

A father either makes these memories or he regrets not spending enough time being present with his kids.  I've never heard a father say he regrets spending so much time with his kids while they were growing up.  never.  But I have heard several fathers wish they had been more involved with their kids.  I am not the way I am because I'm scared to have regrets.  I am this way because I have a clear vision of my priorities and lots of examples of people who did well and not-so-well with managing their own priorities.

The 4 Webbs, Ouma, Oupa, and GG all drove to the A's game to watch them play.  No they didn't win, but that wasn't the measure of success for our trip.  On the drive there I tried on Kendra's sunglasses while the twins acted embarrassed for me.  As if I care what other motorist on the freeway think about me wearing these while looking ridiculous...

I brought a surprise in my cargo pants pockets for the twins.  I gave them each their own bag of Big League Chew and told them they could eat the whole thing during the game.  They opened the bag and were totally confused about what to do with the stringy strips of chewing gum.  Uncle Casey and Barbie met us at the game.  He was more than willing to show the twins how to properly eat the gum.

Easton was more interested in exploring the stadium and getting answers to questions about the design of the building than he was about the playing of the game.  I took him around to the radical fan section where they beat the drums and hang flags over the side.  We stayed here through the 7th inning stretch to sing our lungs out with the nut jobs.

One of my highlights of the day was seeing this.  GG, Ouma, Kendra, and Layla...  Four generations of lovely ladies and Oakland A's fans.  There are not many girls who can say then went to an MLB game with their mom, grandma, and great grandma.  Layla is one of the proud few who have this privilege.

See you soon!

The Value of Family Time

Greetings friends and family,

The 4 Webbs and Max are loving the California life this summer.  I'm still working every day like normal from the local site while the rest of the Webbs play.  Max has an official dog carrier for our van since he is becoming Kendra's emotional therapy dog.  That means he can go with her more places. once he gets certified. 

I brought Easton and Layla's bikes from Arizona because they outgrew the ones Ouma and Oupa kept for them.  There are miles of bike paths and residential streets to explore when it's not too hot outside. 

One of the bike outings included Kendra.  This view from my handlebars is one where I am forever grateful.  Just seeing Kendra ride a bike and the 4 Webbs sharing an adventure together is a happy occasion every single time. 

Kendra and I are taking advantage of opportunities to be together by leaving the kids at home.  We took Max for a neighborhood walk one night and it was cool enough to deserve jackets, which we gladly wore like a badge of honor.  Kendra's hair is growing back in fully and she finally likes the color.  Max is getting shaggy and probably needs a grooming soon.  My hair is thinning and I keep it shaved so I don't look like Bert from the Muppets. 

We took the twins to dinner at Mongolian Grill because it is a family tradition dating back several decades.  Every time we are in town, this is where we end up at least once. 

When we were sitting after dinner I mentioned something about how Easton and Layla are best friends.  Layla leaned over and gave Easton a big hug.  Easton sat there not receiving or giving a hug because he's an eight-year-old boy and for some reason that's not cool anymore. 

I didn't include this pic in the last post because I took it on a different camera, but it's my favorite from this past week.  On our daddy dates we take lots of time talking together in the car rides and over snacks.  I've heard lots of dads talk about how difficult their teenage daughter is, but my main goal is to maintain connection with her through whatever phases of life come along.  As long as she knows we can all go through it together, then I'm not worried.  I find myself repeating the same sentence almost daily or sometimes multiple times per day, "I love you no matter what you do or say."  I want more than anything for her to believe that is true.

Easton is finding his own place in the family and the world around him.  I'm glad to see he's expressive and silly.  It took him a while to come out of his shell, but now he is more than willing to be goofy no matter where we are or what's going on around us. 

Badminton in pajamas?  why not!  They are both learning the motor skills, but could care less about the rules.  At their age, almost all sporting activities are for fun, not rules.  mechanics and body movements are important, but hitting it twice is perfectly acceptable.

Every year when we come to Ouma and Oupa's house we do this thing called "organic church".  There are several terms used to describe house church and almost all of them have a negative connotation, but there's no other way I can describe it.  Anyway, this is church:

we are the church.  church is not a building.  church is not a pastor.  church is not a service.  What makes it a church is when, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.  What does that look like?  It looks like this.  A stranger to us goes up to Kendra and says, "I sense God wants to give you peace and rest."  He prays, Kendra receives, God is good.  I'm amazed by how simple and effective church is when God is the focus of our gathering. 

It's so refreshing being a receiver of body ministry instead of always giving out.  THis is our time of refreshing and I couldn't be happier with that aspect of our trip so far. 

vacation and relaxation are on deck. 

see you soon!

Showing up in Sacramento

Hello family!

Friends no longer come to the blog so i'm just being real about who's actually visiting lately.  The 4 Webbs are on our normal summer vacation to California and being "normal" never felt so good.  We brought Max with us because he's Kendra's emotional therapy dog and became a serious part of our family over the past few months.  The kids travelled well with their noses stuck in their Nintendo 3DS playing games against each other.  They also watched movies and occasionally looked out the window at the amazing world outside our battle wagon.  Max rode perfectly without a single peep or bark or poop mess.  We forgot he was even there sometimes.  The trip was uneventful, just like we desired. 

Layla's been wanting to get on the ice ever since her performance ended a few weeks ago.  the break was nice, but she was thrilled to be back out there practicing her next routine.  As she was skating around I sat on the cold bench in my jeans and jacket drinking a hot chocolate.  She looked at me every few minutes and I gave the "thumbs up" a few hundred times.  She skated by and stopped for a moment to breath on the glass and draw a heart with her fingers.  That made the trip there and time together worthwhile. 

Kendra and Ouma spend most days by the pool.  Joan's pool, Susie's pool, city pool...  so many options and so many days to enjoy the great weather.  Aunt Patty is a welcomed addition to any get together.  Max is learning to swim, but is a long way from happily jumping into the pool voluntarily. 

We joined the annual family reunion at Aunt Susie's house.  Layla had quality time with her cousins with hula hoops and scooters. 

Kendra was not able to join us last year.  She was stuck in bed going through chemotherapy.  This year is a much better situation...  that is the understatement of the year. 

Easton had an introduction to basketball since he hasn't played in a team environment on the court before.  It was unorganized and terribly poor form, but they had the time of their life.  Easton took some shots and he felt like "one of the boys" in a way he rarely gets to experience.

Easton and Layla love birthdays especially when they are celebrating their cousin's birthday.  Owen is one of their favorites.  they were happy to eat his cake and sing along to cheer him on. 

It was rare for all of the cousins to all be in the same general area of the pool so I corralled them for a group picture.  It'll be tough to see who is who behind the goggles, but some day the twins will guess their way through this picture with names. 

One of the most memorable moments of the first weekend was seeing Kendra sit and talk with GG.  These are the insignificant flashes of time that I took for granted before last year.  Now i recognize them and watch intently as if I'm trying to burn it into my mind and truly comprehend how special they are. 

Just... birthday cake.  nothing more needs to be said about these smiles. 

I was that guy who begged all the kids to stand next to each other in order of descending height.   There are some cousins not present, but this is most of who Easton and Layla hang out with in the summer when it comes to family get togethers.  Alyssa, Alana, Coleson, Braeden, abby, owen, Rowan, Easton, Layla, Lily. 

For 16 years I've been a part of this family and not one picture exists of Kendra's cousins together.  Although it would have been nice if someone else would have organized a group picture and invted us to join in, that has never happened and probably would never happen if it weren't for me and my shutter bug tendencies.  Logan and Bree aren't here, but this is the rest of the gang of family from Ouma's side of the family.  For the guys we have Brian, Casey, me, Mark, and Alan.  The ladies are: Kelly, Heather, Barbie (soon to be officially a part of the family in August), Kendra, Coleen, and Janine. 

We rearranged our schedule, missed some work, ditched our friends, and rushed our departure just to be in Sacramento for this evening of family togetherness.  It was worth it on many levels. 

See you soon!

Okie Life

Howdy friends and family,

We wrapped up on of the greatest vacation weeks ever for our family.  What made it great was not an exotic location or entertaining shows or expensive outings.  The fun and relaxation was experienced was relational and simple.  Aunt Mary and Uncle Joel have a 9-acre country version of Disneyland.  There were days I didn't even leave the property and that was the goal.  Kendra was in her pajamas more than not.  That's a perfectly valid option even with family coming over.

Stephanie is Joel's daughter who I talked to about Kendra's cancer diagnosis and prognosis.  She worked for one of the leading cancer docs in Chicago at the time and was able to give us a reliable third opinion.  My brother-in-law John and Kendra's oncologist rounded out the team of opinions.  Anyway, it was a special occasion for me to see Kendra with Stephanie because of the emotional ties I developed during the last several months as I talked openly with her about Kendra.  This picture represents Kendra as the miracle and Stephanie as the witness of the doctor's reports.

Mary threw a "reveal" party to share her new house and upgrades with friends and family.  My aunt Gay's family came to share in the festivities.  I don't get to see them often so their presence, and many other long-lost friends of my parents, made it a memorable day.

I took the twins with Mary and I to visit the cemetery.  I know that's not a normal kind of vacation destination, but it was very valuable to honor my grandpa, uncles, and relatives.  This is a picture from this trip.

and here is a picture from when we buried Uncle Dave eight years ago.  My, how times change and how much older I look in just eight short years.

Easton and Layla got a good understanding of what a cemetery is and who is there and why.  They watched as Mary and I talked about the deceased with honor and appreciation.  I trust they will do the same when they get older too.

Here's a picture of the last time they were here when they were four years old:

The rest of the trip included more traditional vacation experiences like shooting rifles.  Layla had her first rifle shooting lesson.  The closest she's come to shooting a 22 until now was shooting a semi-auto airsoft pistol in our back yard.  Joel set up some targets and Layla nailed the bulls eye within a few hairs.

I am proud of her for learning gun safety and how to shoot.  If there is ever a time where she will need to use a gun at least she has a little practical experience to draw from.

Easton was disappointed because Layla's shot was better than his, but I didn't care about that one bit.  I'm not sure why he does either.  He's not super competitive but Layla tends to push him in that direction more than he likes.  I was proud of him for holding it strong, loading the bullets, and hitting the target.

Joel's farm property includes ponds, woods, and a rope swing.  The three of us took turns flailing around like chickens with our heads cut off.  Layla was obviously the most graceful.

The one thing I didn't get during our OKC trip was a picture with Mary.  Not sure why other than she was preparing for the party, partying, or recovering from the party most of the time we were there.  Joel was more than happy to lead the adventures and I'm grateful for them having such a Godly man in their life who knows how to "uncle" well.

Not many pictures of me because I was busy taking them, as I have for the past eight years of their lives.  On the rare occasion when there is someone else with us who agrees to take pictures, I take full advantage.  This is my favorite picture with the twins from the week-long vacation.

While we prepared for fishing I explained how it is possible to catch fish by putting a grasshopper on a hook instead of a worm.  this blew their minds and we began searching for grasshoppers to prove it.  Layla found this little guy clinging to a weed. I plucked the weed and they talked and touched and looked at the grasshopper.  They've seen grasshoppers in "Bugs Life" and on TV shows.  they've read about them in books.  I've described them in great detail before.  However, nothing compares to actually experiencing a real, live grasshopper.  Insert a spiritual metaphor here and you'll get an idea of where I am in my own journey.

John is Joel's handy man.  He took time from his tractor duties to help Easton cast the line and catch some fish.

I took a couple of panoramic pics to capture the beauty of the scenery.  It was quiet and calm in a way rarely experienced in our normal city life.

Joel helped Layla with the fishing basics.  She caught six fish!  All were catch-and-release, but each one was a thrill of it's own for her.  I don't think she'll become the next Bill Dance, but I'm grateful for those who have showed the twins life skills.  I was physically with them, but there are times like this when i prefer to step away from the hands-on teaching and let other men and women take the lead so they are comfortable taking instruction and correction from others.

When we first stepped out of the truck by the pond Layla surveyed the landscape and zeroed in on the wild flowers.  She asked if we could pick them I gladly agreed.  We wondered through the chigger and tick infested section of weeds in order to get just the right mix of colors and styles.  Layla made it clear she was getting these for kendra.  by the time we arrived home the flowers were wilted and soggy, but the heart behind them was well received by her mommy.

The twins and I rode with Joel through the small towns to run errands.  we found ourselves at the Meeker city hall, which was just a small building with a lone worker inside to officiate business such as permits and licenses.  I lived in Meeker for a year back in 1991.  Wow, that makes me feel ancient, but it's true.  We drove by the school i attended, the house i lived in, the church i went to, and even the corner store where i went for snacks.  Sharing these details with the twins was a great trip down memory lane for me and a good history lesson for the twins.  This is a little piece of where I come from.

Towards the end of our trip we packed in the adventures so much that we were gleefully exhausted each night.  This was drastically different from the first few days where we stayed in our pajamas and accomplished as little as possible.  Turned out to be just the right combination of all the elements that make a vacation.  On the last day we went swimming in Meeker lake and took the jet skis out for some high speed fun.  68 miles per hour on the water is such a rush.  Kendra took Easton and I took Layla.  While Layla and I were trotting along the edge, we crossed paths with a water moccasin snake slithering through the water.  Layla was a little scared, but she didn't freak out at all.  I was proud of her bravery to just hang onto me and ride by it.

kendra and I didn't ride much together, but I convinced her to jump on with me for a minute to take advantage of the photo opportunity.

Joel pulled us around on the tube, but there was no chance for pictures of those adventurous moments.  Easton rode with me for a while and Layla rode with me for a while.  This was after seeing the snake in the water!  Both of them had an excellent tubing experience because Joel puttered along at a slow pace.

this will be one of the vacations we will never forget as a family.  it's the best of times and I'm grateful for every time we get to experience this much bonding at once.  it was the first time I've taken a full week away from work in over a year.  now it's time to celebrate life and live out some of the things Kendra and I have been dreaming of in the past few months.