Family Time | Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sunriver Adventures 2025 October 13, 2025

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Tasty Treats,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:52 pm

Sunriver Resort (outside of Bend, OR) is one of favorite places to visit as a family. We have a blast every time we’re there. We never want to come home! Sunriver is definitely our happy place! We have visited in the spring and summer, but the best time to go (in our opinion) is the fall! The weather is still lovely and the quiet of off-season is nice, too! We just got back from a week of October adventuring in Sunriver. Here are the highlights!

We got into Bend on Monday and tried a new treat – Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream! It was so good! I loved my s’mores ice cream. Graham thought his cinnamon roll ice cream was great and Jeremy was pleased with his deep dish apple pie flavor. Only Owen didn’t love his treat… The kid is committed, heart and soul, to Tillamook Mint Chocolate Chip. For him, nothing compares! Oh well. Three out of four Scotts gave it two thumbs up! Once we got settled into our Wildflower condo, we walked across the street to the Village. Owen has been looking forward to getting a new Sunriver t-shirt and hoodie. Graham found a wolf t-shirt he loved. After we had our SWAG, we spent the rest of the evening at the Cove. The Cove is the resort aquatic center and it features two pools and two water slides. We spent hours at the Cove everyday! The kids are now going through Cove withdrawals!

Tuesday we explored the Newberry Caldera in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. We hiked around Paulina Falls. We climbed all over Big Obsidian Flow. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at East Lake and then went looking for hot springs in the lake. You know you’re inside a volcano when you smell sulfur and find bubbling water! After the caldera, we took off for the Oregon Observatory at Sunriver. We had tickets for a stargazing event on Thursday and the weather forecast didn’t look promising. We found out the observatory was flexible and we had a couple options. While we were there, the employee let us use their special telescopes to look at the sun! Not something you can do everyday! A solar flare had just occurred and everyone was excited! Owen was also thrilled to see a sunspot. The observatory is right beside the Sunriver Nature Center. We decided to check it out as well. The nature center is small, but their birds are beautiful! The boys loved Luna, the Eurasian-eagle owl, and Freya, the gyrfalcon. We wrapped up Tuesday with Cove time and telescope time behind the Lodge. The Harvest Moon was very impressive that evening!

Wednesday was Owen’s 12th birthday! We celebrated with all his favorite things! We grabbed doughnuts at the bakery across the street before renting bicycles for Jeremy and I. We spent the morning cycling around the golf course and river. Such a pretty ride! It’s one of my favorite places in Sunriver. We had Papa Murphy’s pizza and Safeway chocolate cake for lunch. We spent our afternoon bike riding and looking for geocaches around the resort. Jeremy made Owen a special steak dinner before we went for an even walk/ride. So much bike riding! Then it was a swim at the Cove! The skies clouded up so we decided not to switch our observatory tickets to Wednesday. It was a little disappointing not to stargaze on Owen’s birthday and we were concerned stargazing might not happen at all with the forecast. Owen was sad, but we went to cheer up by the fire pits behind the Lodge. Fire always improves moods! Overall, it was a great and active birthday!

Thursday, we visited The High Desert Museum. It has a fun mix of regional animals and history. The boys enjoyed getting to pet a turkey at the Settler’s Sawmill. They also loved watching the bobcat stare down a butterfly and they got up close to a peregrine falcon at the Birds of Prey encounter. Our afternoon was spent doing a walk/ride around the resort and then hitting the Cove after dinner. We had kept our Thursday stargazing tickets in hopes that the sky would clear and miraculously it did! It was such a God thing and answer to prayer! This event was Owen’s birthday present and we’d been looking forward to it for months. The event featured guided telescopes to see special sights in the night sky. Employees were around to explain what you were seeing. In the middle of the event, they moved everyone to look at constellations in another part of the facility so they can reposition the telescopes for another round of viewing. Owen was in his element and he had a blast conversing with the employees. No surprise, we were the last leave. We had a very happy 12 year old that evening!

Friday was our final day. We packed up and tidied our condo before heading out to the Cove. We were there just before they unlocked the doors! After our final hours of swimming, we took off for the long drive home. We made some many good memories on this trip! We love exploring the Bend area and we equally love hanging around the resort. There are so many options for fun and adventure! It was sweet to celebrate Owen’s birthday in a special place. He definitely enjoyed the birds, the biking, and the night sky! Truthfully, we all enjoyed it all! It was a trip for the record books!

Monday: Wildflower Condos, Sunriver SWAG, and the Cove

Tuesday Morning: Newberry Caldera – Paulina Falls, Big Obsidian Flow, and East Lake

Tuesday Afternoon: Sungazing at the Oregon Observatory at Sunriver and birds at the Sunriver Nature Center

Tuesday Night: Enjoying the Harvest Moon behind the Lodge

Wednesday: Owen’s Birthday! Bigfoot doughnut, biking around the resort, chocolate cake, and the Cove

Thursday Night: Stargazing at the Oregon Observatory at Sunriver

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Fall Field Trips! October 4, 2025

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Simply Me,Travels — Amy Scott @ 3:34 pm

Field trips are one of my favorite parts of homeschooling. I love adventuring into the world with my family (and often with friends as well). There is so much experiential learning that can happen outside of our dining room table classroom. In the PNW, fall can be a glorious time to get outside, especially before the rain settles in closer to November. September and October field trips are some of my favorite of the whole year! I’ve already highlighted our visit to Fort Vancouver and the Oregon Zoo at the beginning of September (September Sports and Adventures!). We’ve keep the good times going with even more autumn adventures the last few weeks!

We recently enjoyed a visit to the Ape Caves with friends. It makes me chuckle that on a beautiful, sunny September day, we’d head underground! However, the hike from the cave exit back to the parking lot is much nicer with pleasant weather, so I’ll use that as our reason! The Ape Caves are always an unusual experience. There are many big rocks to climb over and lots of uneven ground. You certainly have to pay attention to your surroundings and it’s a pretty good workout. The kids love visiting caves and this is a favorite place to explore with friends! I’m so glad we made this outing happen. So much fun!

Next, we went to the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. After recently visiting both the Nisqually and Willapa refuges, I thought it would be fun to compare a third location. The RWR has two units and one has an auto tour. We selected that one. We saw many birds, white-tail deer (only found in that location), and, my favorite, a turtle! We got out of the van and walked some trails. It was another beautiful, sunny September day. With rain moving into the forecast, it felt good to be outside soaking in the sunshine. Wildlife refuges are a great place for our young nature enthusiasts to observe the local flora and fauna. I’m sure we’ll be back to visit the other unit in the future!

Finally, we made it to Mt. Rainier National Park to see the autumn color. When we visited the mountain in 2022, we were blown away by the fall colors. I’ve been trying to find the perfect time to visit again with that same amount of color, it’s evaded me… While the colors weren’t quite as spectacular as I had hoped for, our visit to Mt. Rainier was still worth it. We made it in time to see the mountain before it went behind the clouds. We enjoyed hiking around Paradise and stopping at Narada Falls on our way out of the park. I asked Graham what his favorite part of our adventure was and he replied stopping for Chinese food on the way home. Oh brother! Owen’s highlight was seeing a varied thrush (an uncommon bird).

We have more exciting field trips planned for October. Autumn is my favorite time to be outside in the PNW. I love the cool, crisp sunshine and fresh air! We are trying to make the most of the dry weather before the drizzle settles over us. By the time the rain arrives, I’m ready to slow down and be cozy inside. It’s a good balance. I love living in the northwest! Fall field trips here are the best!

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September Sports and Adventures! September 18, 2025

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Tasty Treats,Travels — Amy Scott @ 6:10 pm

I used to believe that September was a chill month where we’d fall back into our school year routine and everything settled down. Haha! It’s been years since I’ve held those false assumptions. Going back-to-school certainly does change our calendar, but September is not calm or quiet. Expectations and assumptions can be tricky little things. Now that I have more realistic understanding of September, I enjoy it so much more! Funny how that works.

We tried something new this September. We did a week of swimming lessons with our local homeschool sports group. It had been a few years since we’d done swimming lessons. Graham had just learned to swim when we stopped taking them and Owen loves to improve his strokes and diving techniques. We figured a little more practice and skill improvement couldn’t hurt. This was our first time doing swimming lessons with this group and it was a new location for us. The boys were nervous about the unknown, but once they got into the water, they were all smiles!

Since we aren’t apart of a co-op this year, we plan to lean into the offerings of our homeschool sports group. After a week of swimming, the boys kicked off soccer season this week. They’ll have six weeks at the soccer fields building skills, running out energy, and playing with friends. Graham even scored the first goal of the game on Tuesday! I’m grateful that this homeschool group allows us to experience team sports with a very manageable weekly commitment.

A few of our friends moved to a new co-op this year. While we aren’t able to join that group on a weekly basis, we’ve been invited to tagalong for field trips. Our first field trip with them was on Friday to the Oregon Zoo. This is one of our favorite places to visit and the group discount was amazing! Our boys enjoyed going around the zoo with friends. The weather was perfect and we saw so many of our favorite animals, including baby elephant, Tula-Tu! We made it to a keeper presentation for a South American porcupine that was also pretty neat. The zoo is always a wonderful field trip!

September is also hunting season. Jeremy and the boys have been out looking for elk to fill the freezer. The elk have been elusive this year, but the list of critters they come home seeing is pretty long. The highlight is all the different kinds of owls they’ve seen this month. Owen loves the hiking and the critters. He is very motivated by the idea of meat in the freezer. Graham enjoys the animals and time with family, but he is less interested in the hunting aspect. It’s a great nature walk and father/son bonding experience.

I’ve kept busy this month with school, the house, and coordinating the calendar. While the boys were out hunting on Saturday, I attended a women’s conference at our church. The worship and speaker were encouraging and it was nice be with other women (since I’m usually with the kids ministry). I attended a holiday themed workshop filled with tasty treats to sample. Yum! I led a crafting and conversations workshop in the afternoon. It was a good day. We also kicked off our Christmas musical practice on Sundays at church. I’m back to clicking through lyric slides and learning the music alongside the kids. It’s a fun season in children’s church!

As you can see, September is not a low-key month! But… at this moment, my menfolk are in the woods for the final hunt of the month. Rosie, the Roomba, is vacuuming my house. I have a few more steps to reach my daily goal. I hope to nibble on a slice of pumpkin bundt cake and start a new book. Not a bad way to spend a September evening, if you ask me. There are a few chill moments to be found in September!

Friday field trips are a family favorite!

Last week it was Krispy Kreme and now Nothing Bundt Cakes. Give me all the pumpkin spice treats, please!

New fall décor for the fireplace! So fun to have a new space to decorate!

Loving this new wooden book stack! Give me all the bookish décor and add a pumpkin! Perfect!

The mighty hunters off for a nature walk!

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Summer Beach Getaway! August 25, 2025

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Tasty Treats,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:10 pm

Just one week until we head back to our regular school year schedule! We enjoyed the slower pace of summer school in June and July. We really enjoyed taking the month off in August. But alas, the school year is quickly approaching! It’s crazy how fast summer goes. I remember feeling that way as a kid and now as a parent it seems magnified. I’m trying my best to make the most of those 18 childhood summers!

We had one final “hurrah” of summer last week. We took off to the Washington coast for a few days. Grandpa and Grandma now have a beach place. A new spot to make family memories together. We enjoyed our time there for the 4th of July and we were eagerly anticipating more time in August. Our days at the beach were a good mix of activity and rest. Our crew was getting over the summer camp sniffles, so stamina wasn’t quite 100%, but that didn’t keep us down. We were at the beach every evening. The boys playing the waves, getting all sandy and wet. Jeremy and the boys took morning walks each day while I got ready at a slower pace.

On Monday, we went mini-golfing in Long Beach. This was one of Graham’s summer bucket list items. We got there right when it opened and had the whole place to ourselves! We grabbed some lunch in town and then explored the kite festival happenings down at the beach. The kites were super cool to watch and Graham was thrilled to see a vendor selling churros as we walked down to the beach. Monday was really his day. After the kite festival, Jeremy surprised us all by suggesting we go to the arcade. The kids had a blast! I even played a couple of games. We got home mid-afternoon and crashed at the beach house for some rest. We enjoyed an evening trip to the beach and then a Scoopers run for ice cream. It was a great day in Long Beach.

Monday was our town day and Tuesday was our nature day! We hiked a couple trails at the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. Visiting the refuge was on Owen’s bucket list. While he didn’t see as many birds as he hoped, we did enjoy time on the trails. The only downside of the morning was Graham got stung by a wasp. The best way to recover from a bee sting was cookies as the local bakery! After our time at the wildlife refuge, we went to Cape Disappointment State Park. We have visited the North Head Lighthouse before and this time the trail to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was open (it’s been closed in the past). We decided to explore a new trail and lighthouse. The view from the lighthouse was fantastic and the boys enjoyed our stop at Dead Man’s Cove. Not a pretty name, but a very pretty beach! Once our legs were done with hiking, we did a repeat of Monday – back to the house to rest for part of the afternoon, dinner, and then a trip to the beach. We wrapped up Tuesday with backyard smores and a beautiful sunset!

Wednesday was our final day at the beach. We spent the morning tidying up the house and packing. We had lunch at Chico’s, the local pizza place. Our kids love pizza so it was a must to find good pizza on the peninsula. Thankfully, Chico’s was kid-approved! I’m sure we’ll be back. We made one last stop at the kite festival on the way out of town. The event had filled in more since our Monday visit. After we left Long Beach, we took off for Fort Stevens on the Oregon Coast. The kids hadn’t visited Shipwreck Beach in years and they wanted to see it again. We also explored the ruins of Fort Stevens. I have such good childhood memories running around the batteries at Fort Stevens. It made my heart so happy to see my boys enjoying it just as much as I did. We’ve taken them before, but it had been years, so it was all fresh and new to them. We learned a bit of WWI and WWII history, but the coolest part was visiting the Earthworks which was built during the Civil War. I’ve always assumed the west coast doesn’t have much civil war history, so it was fascinating to discover a piece of it so close by. I love when adventures can also be educational. Yes, I’m such a homeschool mom!

The kiddos weren’t ready to come home. They could have stayed at the beach house for the rest of the summer and very happily lived off smores and ice cream! Like I mentioned earlier, we are now home and in the last week of summer vacation. It’s been so good. We’ll take many fun memories into the school year with us. One last beach getaway was the perfect way to wrap up our summer break!

Sprawling out at the beach house! They took great delight in having their own queen beds.

They are happiest when they are wet and sandy!

Cooling down with a sweet treat after exploring the fort

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Summer Camp 2025 August 13, 2025

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Tasty Treats,Travels — Amy Scott @ 1:54 pm

A week ago, the boys loaded up for summer camp! I was so excited to send them off on a great adventure, but I also knew I would miss them deeply! All the feels! Jeremy directs two weeks of summer camp for our network. Week one runs from Sunday to Wednesday and week two from Wednesday to Saturday. The boys are such good pals while Jeremy is a way for the first half of the week. The second half of the week is such a novelty because I am home alone. This is my second year of having “Mom Camp” and I enjoyed it immensely. But, I’m always very ready to have all my boys (hubby included) home and under the same roof again. Life is truly better together!

The kiddos were super jazzed to head off to camp this year. There was a bit on rain on Wednesday that threatened to “dampen” their spirits, but once they connected with their cousins and friends, they were ready for a good time. I enjoyed hearing about their summer camp escapades from Jeremy. The lake at camp is a huge draw for both swimming and boating. The kids had a blast with field games and free time activities. Jeremy shared about chapel moments and praying with the boys. They came home with all the camp songs stuck in their heads. It’s been so sweet to hear them singing the worship songs to themselves throughout the day. Being a year older, Graham had a better year at camp. He was homesick less and he engaged more fully than the year before. He is definitely maturing and it shows! Owen is glad he gets one more year as a camper and hopes to come back as an intern when he ages out.

I filled my days at home with good things. I took long walks everyday, often chatting with my mom in the fresh air and sunshine. I did a lot of baking and reading. I worked on house projects. I get a thrill out of productivity without interruption. Such a treat! I also watched the old Anne of Green Gables movies. My family doesn’t appreciate them so no one complained when I took over the TV with seven hours of Anne. I had some social plans as well. I wasn’t a complete hermit. I went out to dinner with a friend on Wednesday. I had another friend over on Friday for a movie night. I’ve been dying to see what is so terrible about the new Snow White and my friend indulged me. Overall, it was the perfect balance of social and solitude. I was able to be productive and restful. Such a good time. I look forward to Mom Camp 2026!

Being reunited with my family meant a fair amount of laundry. I think my washer and dryer sighed on Saturday night after 8 loads of laundry. I get some serious satisfaction from cleaning up all the luggage and getting everything back into its rightful place. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday involved a lot of rest and recovery. We made it to church for VBA on Sunday. I made cinnamon rolls on Monday for our cozy home day. Tuesday, we adventured to Mt. Rainier for a family outing. It’s been a few years since we visited the mountain in wildflower season. They were so pretty! We saw marmots, ptarmigans, squirrels, and chipmunks. Owen is all about the mountain birds while Graham is all about the mountain rodents.

Now I’m strategizing on how to fit the rest of summer plans into the next two and a half weeks. I’m praying the weather will cooperate! This weekend has an atmosphere river moving in that definitely has me rearranging premade plans. The summer is winding down and yet I feel like there is so much left to do! We’ll see how it all pans out. I’ll just keep doing my best to savor the summer.

Ran to Staples for the last of the school supplies and stopped by McDonald’s for lunch. We treat ourselves a lot when Jeremy is away. It’s how we cope!

We also play lots of games while Jeremy is gone. Keeps us busy and distracted from how much we miss him!

Dinner out with my forever friend, Christa!

So much baking! From scratch raspberry crisp with raspberries from our garden, gluten-free coffee cake for movie night, vanilla “welcome home” cake, and cozy cinnamon rolls for our rest day.

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The Summer Rundown August 4, 2025

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Tasty Treats — Amy Scott @ 1:27 pm

July tends to be a super social month of us. Somehow most of our social engagements landed in a two week span of July. It was a bit of a whirlwind, but also incredibly fun! Jeremy had jury duty in July which added a unique vibe to the month. He never had to report, but he did have to check often. We didn’t make any out of town plans, due to jury duty, so our days were spent locally. We often hosted company at our house or met up with friends at parks. We also had some extra time with family this month while Jeremy’s aunt visited from out of state. Our big outing was a trip to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. It was a cool and cloudy morning which made for great animal viewing. The red wolves are our favorites! Our library summer reading program provided tickets for both kids and adults this year. What a treat!

True to life, not all summer moments are fun and games. The boys had their first dental work this month (beside their biannual cleanings). Graham had a tiny cavity that needed a small filling. No numbing was necessary and the entire appointment took about 20 minutes. Easy peasy! Owen had two baby teeth that were getting in the way. Despite a month of wiggling, they didn’t come loose so the dentist had to assist. This was Owen’s first time getting numb at the dentist. He was nervous, but handled it like a champ. A few days after the dental work, Graham had his first consultation with the orthodontist. It looks like a palette expander and braces are in his future! Oh goody! I’m glad those appointments are behind us. We can give thoughts about teeth a short break.

August comes with it’s own set of adventures! On Sundays, our church runs our Vacation Bible Adventure program for the month. We kicked off True North VBA this Sunday. Week one was a hit! Our kids love VBA! Jeremy and his team do a great job of decorating and making the theme come to life each year. We can’t wait to for the next four Sundays!

An annual August tradition is summer camp. Jeremy co-directs two camps for our Assemblies of God network. The first camp started yesterday so the boys and I are on our own for a few days. We taught the kids Boggle on Saturday before Jeremy left for camp and they loved it! We played again yesterday and another game has been requested for today. I picked up a few Dominos pizzas yesterday as a treat and we’ll live off the leftovers for a few days. My meal planning skills are strong when I’m the only adult in the house. Haha! Graham baked himself cinnamon rolls for breakfast this morning. Our days are filled with games, books, baking, playing outside, and yes, some screen time, too. I try to keep the boys and myself busy while Jeremy is away. We sure do miss him!

I’ve been using the quieter days to work on some projects. My biggest project has been back-to-school planning. I have our first homeschool semester all planned and written down in my official planner. I even have first-day-of-school signs ready to go. It feels good to have the fall prepped. It will allow me to truly savor this final month of summer. We are starting a new state history curriculum this year and I need to pick up to two binders for it. Then I’ll be officially, officially ready for school to start! We usually start school the last week of August, but we’re waiting until after Labor Day this year. It feels nice to know we the full month of August to enjoy the last days of summer break. We making the most of our summer days before they disappear!

Red wolves at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Lunch out with family! The boys love cousin time.

So grateful for lots of time with Aunt Sandy!

Living off of pizza while Jeremy is away

My cinnamon kid! Have to pass along the skills to pop a Pillsbury can on to the next generation!

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Swimming Through Summer July 21, 2025

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Family Time,Tasty Treats — Amy Scott @ 11:31 am

We are swimming through summer here in the PNW. Our days have been filled with so many good things – family, friends, pool time, park dates, barbeque, pizza, and ice cream treats. These summer days are flying by in a blur! We have been blessed to share our home with family and friends. We love watching kiddos run amok in the yard or splash around in the pool. We’ve played board games, enjoyed tasty food, and have had wonderful conversations. We’ve been thankful for air-conditioning and ice cream on 90 degree days. We’ve also reveled in cool, cloudy days that hint at the coming fall. It’s been a good mix! We’ll just keep swimming and see where the summer adventures take us!

Scootering and biking with friends at a new park

Making a splash! We had to add water to the pool after this swimming adventure!

It has been a while since I’d made sugar cookies and I was feeling inspired by the thriving bunny community in my yard this summer!

Just out for a float! The pool can be chill!

Family BBQ to celebrate of Aunt Sandy’s visit

The Triplets! These cousins are just a few months apart. The left is before they started kindergarten. The right is before they start middle school. We’ll need to snap another picture in three years to document high school!

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So Much to Celebrate! July 9, 2025

Filed under: Family Time,Travels — Amy Scott @ 11:46 am

Hold on tight! We’ve had so many summer celebrations over the last few weeks. I’ll do my best to highlight them all. I’ll have to back track to June for a little bit to get you all caught up. Here we go!

We welcomed the first day of summer with a visit to GG and a baby shower! It was a week before GG’s 92nd birthday so we showed up with flowers and a birthday card. I figured a week was in the acceptable window of time to celebrate with the birthday girl. Visits to GG are always a precious time! I’m so glad we got to celebrate with her.

The baby shower was for a friend who grew up locally in Lewis County. Aimee was my faithful, right-hand women when I taught my Wednesday night girls class. Once she graduated from kids ministry, she volunteered all the way through high school. She now lives out of state, but she was home for a family baby shower and I was honored to join. I’m so excited for her and her husband to become parents!

We completed some major projects in June. We made Jeremy’s vision of a National Park travel wall become a reality in his office! I loved sorting through the maps and pictures to create something special. It definitely highlights our family’s love for exploring new places. Jeremy has one more wall to complete before his new office is finalized. He is so close to being fully settled in his new space!

The other big project in June was a family garage sale. Jeremy’s parents hosted a multi-family sale and Jeremy and the boys went all in to assist. This was an excellent opportunity for the boys to practice hands-on math and people skills. They learned so much and were so helpful! After cleaning out Jeremy’s office and going through the house, we had quite a bit to contribute to the sale. It always feels good to clear things out, make space, and tidy up!

Now for July! We were able to celebrate the 4th of July and my dad’s birthday at the Washington coast. My parents recently purchased a beach house and this was the first time our whole family spent a few nights there together. We took a few walks, introduced the boys to the National Treasure movies, made smores around the fire pit, and watched the free fireworks show from the deck. It was great to celebrate both America’s birthday and Grandpa’s birthday with a family weekend away!

To keep the holiday weekend vibes going, Jeremy had Monday and Tuesday off this week. On Monday, we went for a birding walk at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. We got out early to beat the heat and Owen was rewarded with spotting two new birds to add to his birding list. This is one of favorite local nature walks!

Yesterday, Jeremy and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary! Jeremy took the day off. I love that we got to spend the whole day together. We took the kids to see How to Train Your Dragon. They love the animated movies, so this movie was highly anticipated. They both enjoyed the live action version and now have been singing the theme music to themselves as they go about their day. While the boys did piano lessons with Nana, Jeremy and I went to dinner and got ice cream together. It was a simple day, but very sweet. I love adventuring through life alongside Jeremy. I’m so grateful to celebrate another year together!

Visiting GG to celebrate her 92nd birthday!

A sweet way to celebrate Aimee’s baby boy!

Getting Jeremy’s new office put together has been such a fun family project!

Birding adventure at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge

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The June Jumble June 18, 2025

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time — Amy Scott @ 2:00 pm

June has held a variety of activities for our family. We certainly haven’t had a quiet start to our summer vacation, but it’s been good, fun, and productive. We’ve been busy, which isn’t my favorite speed, but I’m hopeful that some slower summer days might be around the corner for us… I need to go back to putting a non-negotiable “X” on at least one of the week. Turns out God had the right idea when he created the Sabbath. My body, mind, and soul crave a day off after a period of “go, go, go!” I could wax poetic about the intentionally slow life, but let’s move on to the assortment of experiences we’ve had recently.

The backyard pool is up and running! Or swimming… Anyway, the warm weather last week super heated the pool and made for some delightful June swims. It’s been a bit of a project to re-inflate all the pool toys and to sort out which ones had leaks. We replaced a couple floaties and got the kiddos new googles. We are ready for the summer swim season! We’ve already had one pool playdate with friends. We also had our first park play date with friends and we have another on the books for next week. Pools, parks, and pals are a great way to spend our summer days!

Our family project has been moving Jeremy into a new office at work. We have new staff members joining our church team at the end of June/beginning of July. In order to make space for their arrival, a new office hub was built and Jeremy relocated to this space. We’ve been working in phases to make this transition happen. It’s been quite the project!

First, we spent an afternoon sorting his old office. We decided what would move to his new office, what needed to find a new home in the church, and what needed to be donated. Let’s just say a children’s pastor can collect some wacky stuff over 20 years of ministry! The second phase was moving the remaining items from Jeremy’s old office into his new office. After that, we did a shopping day to gather new organization and décor items for his new space.

Just yesterday, we put the organizational items into place and started arranging all his things. Today, he got a loveseat for additional seating. The final phase will be getting wall art up. It hasn’t been a speedy process, but it’s nice to see it all slowly coming together. Interior design isn’t my strongest skill, but I love organization and making things tidy. It’s been fun to work together on this project as a family. The boys have even lent a hand. It’s been a team effort!

Father’s Day was in the June mix. We celebrated a different dad each day. Friday was Jeremy’s day. He opted to head to Portland for an office shopping day. We treated Jeremy’s to Chick-Fil-A and Salt & Straw while we were in the big city. Saturday, we had pizza and cake with my parents and sister. We celebrated both my mom’s birthday and Father’s Day. Sunday, we had bomb pops after church as a way to honor all the “pops” in our congregation. We did a fun bomb pop themed craft with the kids and had a bomb pop photo op in our lobby. It was a super “sweet” way to celebrate! We had dinner at Nana and Papa’s house with family to celebrate another birthday and Father’s Day. So many festivities!

Add in an orthodontist check-in for Owen, dental cleanings for both boys, sorting/pricing items for an upcoming family garage sale… June has felt a bit like a jumble! Friends, family, celebrations, changes, projects, appointments on top of the everyday stuff like chores and summer school. It’s been a lot! We are tackling our to-do list while making time for family and friends. Now to just balance a little more rest into the mix. We’ll get there!

My ideal way to spend a summer afternoon!

It’s been a few years since I updated my profile picture. Plus, I needed a new photo for an event this fall, so this is what I came up with. Natural Amy – curly hair, sweatshirt, books. That’s as authentic as it gets!

Jeremy’s old office in the sorting process

True love is resurrecting all the floaties and finding the sinkies before a pool playdate.

Officially moved in to his new space! Jeremy still has more to do, but it’s a workable office.

Officially moved out! Kind of sad, but we are excited for a new team member to settle in here. It’s a good space!

P.S. Stephanie from Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase tagged me in a fun summer blog tag. I had hoped to participate this week, but I’m running low on time. In case I don’t get to it, I wanted to highlight her post here. It’s such a fun idea and I’m honored that she thought of me. Thanks, Stephanie!

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Summer Has Begun! June 9, 2025

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Travels — Amy Scott @ 2:14 pm

With May endings comes summer beginnings! While the first day of summer isn’t officially until June 20th, we are officially in summer mode now that our regular school year wrapped up in May. Switching to our summer school schedule is a little bit of an adjustment period. I’m actually grateful for a lighter school load this month. June has filled in with all sorts of extra commitments. I’m glad that summer mode has given us the margin to show up in other ways this month.

Our first official day of summer vacation was spent visiting friends at the beach. My forever friend, Maggie, was staying at the Washington coast after the passing of her mother. It was a sad reason to be reunited, but time with Maggie’s family is always a blessing to our family. It’s so sweet that our families are friends. We visited the local bakery, got crafty making centerpieces for Jayne’s memorial, let the kids play at the McDonald’s play place, and then spent hours at the beach. Such a good way to jump into summer.

We wrapped up our final week of soccer last Tuesday. It was a beautiful sunny day and the boys played so well. It’s been neat to see their improvement from fall to spring. They’ve really advanced in their soccer skills. I’m proud of them. Graham wasn’t so sure about spring soccer, but he ended up enjoying much more than expected. I’m glad it was a win for our family!

Tuesday was also the beginning of the summer reading program at our local library. After soccer, we went to the library to pick up our free tote bag, books, and fair tickets. We picked up the paperwork for the program as well. We’ll be back in a couple weeks for another round of free books and coupons. The summer reading program is always a highlight of our summer.

We’re coming off of a few full days. Thursday, we met Maggie’s family in town at their hotel for a swim. We enjoyed pool time, pizza in the hotel lobby, and then play time at a local park. We just kept the fun going until it was time to wind down and prepare for Friday. Friday was Jayne’s graveside service and celebration of life. We got to the local grange early to help decorate. This was our kids first graveside experience. I’m thankful they were there to support Maggie’s kids and be pals on a difficult day. The graveside and celebration of life were a lovely testimony to Jayne’s well lived life. The grange was decorated in vibrant colors, beautiful flowers, and cute knickknacks. It felt like Jayne. All the treats were Oreo themed to honor her love of Oreos. It was such a cheerful celebration of Jayne’s life. Saying good to Maggie’s family on Friday was hard. We loved having them nearby, but we hope to see them again soon.

The pace of the weekend continued with a trip to the beach on Saturday. My parents recently acquired a beach house on the Washington coast. We spent Saturday doing projects around the house. The boys have loved exploring this new location and can’t wait for our first overnight stay later this summer. Sunday was church in the morning and a family birthday party in the afternoon. Unfornately, Graham ran out of steam before the weekend was over, so we sent Jeremy and Owen to the party as the family representatives. Graham and I rested and kept cool with AC and slushies from Grandpa’s new slushy maker (thanks for sharing, Grandpa)! We are in the middle of a heat wave at the moment and 90+ degree days call for cool treats.

The summer adventures have only just begun. We’ll see what the rest of June has in store for us!