This weekend we spent some quality family time in Leavenworth, WA. This city has been themed around a Bavarian village and is full of quaint shops and restaurants. I’ve only been there for day trips, so it was fun to stay for a couple of days. The first day we were there, we explored around downtown and ate dinner out. Jeremy had a traditional German meal while I went for the Fish and Chips. Not a traditional Bavarian meal, but it was still pretty good. On Friday, the Scotts all went golfing, which is not my pastime of choice, so I got a few quiet hours to myself about the house. It was a perfect morning to get ready slowly and read. Two of my favorite things! After the golfers returned, it was back to downtown for another meal and a stop by one of my favorite places – The Gingerbread Factory. The gingerbread cookie was just as good as I remembered it and it really hit the spot! Yum, yum! I’m highly motivated by cookies. There is a Christmas shop that Jeremy and I love to explore every time we’re in town. This year we got an ornament with three owls on it. It seemed to go with the woodland animal theme we’ve been going with for Baby Scott. We also found some more Christmas home decor. I know a lot of people think that it’s too soon to purchase anything related to Christmas, but honestly, after the gingerbread cookie, it seemed right to go Christmas shopping. On our last day in town, the group went mini-golfing, which is more up my alley than real golf. I’m terrible at mini-golf, but I can usually make the most of it. I got a couple holes in two and for me, that is the same as a hole in one. Plus, I got to play with a pretty pink ball, so it was a win. After mini-golf, we went out to lunch and stopped by another favorite bakery. I hadn’t really been living up to the German eats, so I figured cherry strudel was the way to finish up the trip. The weekend was a great way to spend time with Jeremy’s grandma and aunt while they are visiting from South Dakota. It was also fun to do a trip with Jeremy’s immediate family. Apart from camping trips, we haven’t really vacationed together in a large group like this. There was lot of good food to eat and games to play and the noise level definitely reflects a growing family. These are good times in the Scott clan. This trip was kind of the lasat “big” thing of the summer and now it really feels like fall is right around the corner. With the beginning of September just a week away, it was a great to have one last hurrah of summer!
Yodelayheehoo August 25, 2013
Family Fun: Reunion Luau Style August 21, 2013
This last weekend, Jeremy’s parents opened their home to my mother-in-law’s extended family for a Reid Reunion. Big tents were put up in the backyard. Games like ping pong, horseshoes and the Xbox Kinect were pulled out to entertain. There was a lot of talking, a lot of playing and a lot of eating! It was fun to see Jeremy’s siblings since it’s been May since we were all together in the same place. Of course, there was a large Reid clan family photo in matching shirts. Then we got a Scott family photo and a photo all three expecting Scott ladies. Oh, the memories were documented well.
Saturday was the big day of the reunion and the meal centered around a pig that they had buried in the ground the day before. In Hawaii, I didn’t go over to watch the pig being unearthed because I wasn’t too keen on the crowds. This was a slightly smaller crowd so the viewing was better. We all marched over to Jeremy’s uncle’s house to watch them remove the piggie from his underground oven. It was really quite the sight. They had a chain on the pig, so he could be hoisted out by a tractor (yes, this is rural Lewis County). He was then transported via tractor to the table (one house over) where he was be released from his banana leaf prison and picked apart for the main meal of the day. It was an interesting process and fascinating to watch.
At the tail end of the Reid Reunion, Jeremy’s grandma and aunt arrived from South Dakota, so now we’re hanging with the Scott side of the family tree this week. It’s been great to catch up with them. It’s so nice that we usually get a yearly visit from them. Again, there has been lots of good food and games. Today, Jeremy will take off and golf with the crew and this weekend we have more adventures planned. You’ll have to stayed tuned for an update on that.
Overall it’s been a fun weekend/week! It’s always a treat to have the whole family together and I love getting to spend with my niece and nephew (who seem to get bigger and cuter every time I see them). It’s not often that we get to see so many family members at one time, so it’s been a blessing to be with them. The family gatherings, hanging outside and good food are a reminder to me that summer is still here. I’ve been so focused on fall and busy with work that I haven’t just “hung” out and enjoy the summer season all that much recently. I know that September is right around the corner, but I’m going to try to slow down and just enjoy things each day at a time! And right now, that means lots of family time!
Camping! Or something like it… August 10, 2013
Usually this weekend is reserved for a conference at work, but our group decided not to go this year which left an open weekend in August. Jeremy and I had been pondering camping this summer and I will admit that I was unsure how fun being pregnant and camping would be – mostly the sleeping on an air mattress and getting up throughout the night to pee. Yes, I had my doubts. But when this weekend opened up, my hubby got really excited about the possibility that a camping expedition would now fit in our calendar! I couldn’t say no, mostly because I do love camping, so I was willing to give it a go.
We arrived at Takhlakh Lake and found a camping site fairly easily. We got out of the truck and noticed how peaceful and quiet it was… except for… the hum of flies. The second I was out of the vehicle, I was swarmed by all kinds of flies and winged creatures. Jeremy didn’t seem to mind. I think they were all interested in me, not him. We started setting up the campsite and as we went we noticed just how much the bugs loved us. Once we were all set up, Jeremy pulled out the bug spray and we attempted to ward off our unwanted visitors. I pulled out a magazine and tried to distract myself as Jeremy attempted to kill anything that flew with his electric bug paddle. Toby made himself at home on a towel and used a lumbar support pillow from our new camp chair to rest his head on – it was too funny! It was obvious that sitting around the camp site was going to mean a lot of swatting so we took off for a walk around the lake. I thought that maybe if I kept moving the flies would leave me alone. WRONG! Jeremy and I made jokes about how I was like “Pig Pen” from The Peanuts who had a cloud of dust and flies around him at all times.
The walk was beautiful (minus the many flies that indeed kept after me). I love the view of Mt. Adams and the lake. It’s really quite a sight. The thing that I love about the walk around the lake is it’s not too long, but I always feel accomplished once I’ve done it. I don’t often get to say that I walked around a lake, so it feels good. Once we had made our way back to the camp site, Jeremy decided we needed to take a drive to find more bug spray and more citronella candles. This excursion took a couple hours since nothing is close by, but it was a nice drive to enjoy the scenery and hang out with Jeremy. We got back to the campground in time for dinner which is usually a highlight of any camping trip for me. We make pizza pockets every year and they are beyond tasty! I love them. This year, we forgot to pack the cooking spray which meant that my pockets stuck to the roasters and came out charred. I normally have much pride in my pizza pocket skills, but this year I was humbled. I was still able to eat parts, so don’t worry, I didn’t starve, but I wasn’t on my game. Sad story.
At this point, I should mention that the bug spray we got took care of the flies, but this led to a whole new problem – GNATS! Again, we were swarmed. This time by smaller bugs, but still, we were still surrounded. I’m fairly certain that I ate some gnats with my meal because they were so thick. Jeremy and I laughed and joked around and eventually took cover in our tent. The plan was stay in the tent until it got darker and hoped that maybe the gnats would clear out in time for us to do evening smores. We enjoyed the reprieve from the bugs, but when we got in the tent, we noticed our air mattress was deflating a little faster than it should have. While I was out on a bathroom break, I came back to Jeremy telling me we had a problem… what kind of problem? While I was gone, Jeremy had located the leak and then accidentally made it a lot bigger! With no air mattress to sleep on, we decided it was time to pack up and head home! So no overnight camping actually occurred…
The next morning, Jeremy and I went out to breakfast at a local favorite and then we decided to head back out into nature because this was our camping weekend. We took off for the woods again to explore new roads and see the sights. We stopped at a snow park parking lot to make lunch since we had all our supplies still in the back of the truck. It was extremely classy! We drove up to Mt. St. Helens. It was a nice drive because we usually don’t approach the mountain from this angle. Day two of camping weekend was still spent in nature, seeing the sights, enjoying the drive and spending time together. It might not have been the camping weekend that we had envisioned, but it was still a lot of fun and a memory that we will laugh at now and in the future. Camping with us Scotts is always an adventure!
Dreaming of Autumn August 6, 2013
The itch has hit! I wish it were fall! Now most would assume that is because I’m anxious for our little man to get here (and I am), but autumn is my favorite season for so many reasons! I think that might be because my work at the church revolves around the school calendar. September for me is the kick-off of the year. It’s a new beginning. The kids all move up into their new classes and things reset for another year. Not to mention the flavors and smells of autumn are some of the best – pumpkin, apple, all the those spices! My favorite foods are fall foods! And the colors, the oranges and reds – so beautiful! I absolutely love it and I can’t wait for it to get here.
Because I’ve been a little impatient in my waiting, I’ve switched all my Scentsy scents over to cider smells! My house has that yummy apple and cinnamon smell that I adore! I also made pumpkin waffles and pumpkin bread last week. I couldn’t help myself! A lot of August is prepping for the fall season to start, so I guess that is why it is at the forefront of my mind. Hunting season starts in September which is a major autumn event in our family and there have already been many conversations from excited hunters about heading out into the woods in hopes of bringing home a deer or elk. All these things spur on my excitement (not exactly bringing down of Bambi) and have increased my level of anticipation.
Plus, it’s hard to not be excited for this next phase of life as Jeremy prepare to welcome a new member to our family. Now I know that babies are rarely born on their due date, but our due date – October 12th – just happens to be the day that Jeremy emailed me almost 9 years ago asking if we could get to know each other better. If you want to read our story, click this blog post – Small Beginnings. Since Jeremy and I started our dating adventures in the fall, that might also play into the romance of the season for me. We had no clue when we started those phone calls and emails in October of 2004 where we would be in October of 2013. Our journey together has been an amazing adventure and it’s only going to get better! I’m sure!
While I’ve had no major food cravings, now that it’s getting towards the end of summer and those back to school sales are going on and the world is preparing for another season, I’m right there too – ready for the next season. I’m ready for those autumn months with their amazing goodies, lovely scenery, cooler weather and special memories! I can’t wait for the new memories that we will create just around the corner!
Beach Day July 26, 2013
This summer I had a mini to-do list when it came to activities. I really wanted to spend the day in Seattle and go to Mariner’s game (without Bethel kids) and we were able to accomplish that for our anniversary at the beginning of the month. Visiting the beach was another trip that was top on my list. It’s been a long time tradition to visit the Oregon Coast come summertime, so I was hoping we would get our day at the beach on the calendar! That day turned out to be today! The weather was beautiful, despite it being slightly chilly in the morning. I think Hawaii may have forever tainted my beach experience. There is nothing like Kamaole I at 5:00am with the pink, sunrise sky and the sea turtles popping their heads up off shore. However, even though we didn’t revisit our favorite Hawaiian beach, Cannon Beach is always a popular choice!
We started the morning off with a stop by The Cannon Beach Bakery where I got a cinnamon sugar apple cider cake doughnut. That’s a really long name for a super tasty treat! We took the doggie on an adventurous walk for a couple hours and then came back in time for lunch at Mo’s – my favorite beach side eating location. Since we had Toby with us, we got the food to go and ate at a picnic table in the sun! It was glorious! For our way home, we actually went south to Tillamook where we stopped at the Cheese Factory for ice cream cones and squeaky cheese! Then we took Highway 6 out for a scenic drive! It was a great day to hang with my hubby and puppy and just enjoy the summer weather! Since summer is always a busy time for Jeremy and I with work commitments, it’s nice to have special days like these!
What is the next adventure on the traveling to-do list? I think it might be camping in August! Stay tuned!
Happy Birthday, America & Happy Birthday, Dad! July 6, 2013

Happy 4th of July!
The last two days have been full of celebrating! July 4th was Independence Day and July 5th was my dad’s birthday! Both days were wonderful and a lot of fun!
For the 4th of July, we drove back up to Mt. Rainier. Jeremy wanted to make good use of the park pass we purchased last Saturday because it was valid for a week. We drove around the mountain to Sunrise – a place I’ve now only been twice! It’s cool to see the mountain from a different angle and the view is spectacular! Driving through the park, we saw many waterfalls, marmots and even a fox! We enjoyed the scenic drive and I was amazed at how much snow is still on the ground at the beginning of July. Usually when we camp at Mt. Rainier, it’s the middle/end of August. There is a big difference in snow levels! We took Toby on this adventure with us. For the most part he enjoyed himself. Our doggie loves rides and being the car, so it was fun to spend the holiday just the three of us. It’s was kind of quiet, but lovely and fun! We got home in time for dinner. Jeremy grilled us some steaks which were very tasty. For dessert, we made a fire in the backyard and did smores – a summer time classic! Jeremy stayed out to watch the neighbors light off fireworks and I went inside to try to calm the doggie. 4 fans and my music blaring weren’t enough to keep Toby from hearing the booms around us. Poor pup. He spent most of the night huddled in the bathroom or closet – for some reason these are his “safe” places!
Friday, we met up with my family to go see Man of Steel for my dad’s birthday. They had been filming the city scenes when we visited Chicago in September 2011 (read about it here). We even stalked the filming site one day and hoped that we would actually be in the movie. The scene we would have been in is about 3 seconds at the end of the movie and way to zoomed in to see the crowd in the background. I’ll admit, I was disappointed (that I wasn’t in the movie, not with the movie itself). Jeremy says we’ll buy the DVD just to make sure we’re not in any of the behind the scenes. Since our whole family had been a part of the trip, it was fun to go see the movie with them knowing that we had been there! After the movie, we did a classic meal for our family. We had dinner at Chipotle and dessert at Menchie’s (frozen yogurt). Always a good combo! The weather was great so ate outside at both places and enjoyed the sunshine. Once the meal portion of the evening was over, we went back to my parent’s house so my dad could open his birthday cards. My mom got him this awesome card with a boogie boarding hamster on it. It was kind of an inside joke since my dad attempted boogie boarding a couple times in Hawaii. Of course, he opened her card first so it all down hill from there! No one could compete with that. Overall, it was a great family day!
Life After Hawaii July 2, 2013
Well, all good things come to an end and this will be the first blog after all the Hawaiian updates and stories. I hope you all enjoyed your sneak peek into our vacation. There was just too much good share in one, singular blog. Thanks for following the Maui highlights day by day. I honestly thought the daily posts might annoy you all, but I had some good readership numbers and I heard from many friends and family members about how much loved the stories and wanted to hear more. It always makes my heart happy to know that people are enjoying what they read here. Maybe I should start traveling for a living and writing about my adventures? If only!
Now it’s back to the real world. Seems like Jeremy and I landed in Washington and hit the ground running. The first full day home, Jeremy was back to church and I was at a dance recital for a wonderful student that I mentor. We’ve had our first big strawberry harvest come through and we’re up to our ears in strawberries! I made strawberry shortcake to celebrate and it was delicious! My first night back at my Wednesday night class, I made strawberry ice cream sandwiches from a recipe I saw in Food Network Magazine. You take sugar cookies and put strawberry jam on them and then put a scoop of strawberry ice cream in the middle! Yum! I’ve also used the strawberries to make a smoothie. I think my hubby will soon be canning and making strawberry jam! Good times!
Last week, we had our annual trip the Oregon Zoo with the kiddos at Bethel. It was a fun day, but very warm! It seems that we brought the hot and humid weather back with us from Hawaii. I got a little sunburned, but it was really great to be out and about. I was concerned about walking all over the zoo with being pregnant, but it didn’t bother me at all. I was super tired that night, but for the day, I was able to keep up with the kids and I was happy for that.
Friday night, we had family over for dinner and had a good time with them. Jeremy barbequed up some yummy ribs and we had grilled corn and baked beans. We played a couple of games and ended the night with s’mores by the fire. It was the perfect summer day! I’m loving the summer time food and being able to share it with family.
Saturday, we headed up to Mt. Rainier National Park for my grandma’s 80th birthday party! It was great to head up to the mountain because it was the perfect temperature up there. We’ve been in a heat wave, so it was nice to sit in the shade and enjoy the mountain air! It was great to see family members who I hadn’t seen in many months. The hot topic right now are the babies since both my cousin and I are expecting. We’re due about three weeks apart so it was fun to talk with her about where they are at. The found out while we were in Hawaii that they are having a boy and it seems they don’t have any names either. I can relate to that!
Sunday, we started to decorate for VBA (Vacation Bible Adventure) after church! It’s hard to believe that in just a few weeks our Family VBA will here! I spent the morning making many photocopies in preparation for the big week! The deadline to register is coming up on July 10th and our deadline to register for Kid’s Camp is coming up this weekend. Now that we’re into July it seems like the summer is just flying by! So much good stuff still ahead. I can’t wait to share it with you!
Maui Day By Day: Last Full Day & Good-Bye July 1, 2013
For the last full day in Maui, Jeremy and I decided to breakaway from the group. The plan had been to do the road to Hana, but my tummy hadn’t like all the roads we’d been on, so I didn’t want to get partially there and feel sick and ruin the whole day by having to turn around. Jeremy was okay with the diversion and ended up renting a Mustang convertible for the day! Oh my, was he a happy boy! He asked me if we could keep it! Unfortunately, it didn’t fit on the plane. So sad. It was a neat experience driving around Maui with the top down. Not great for my hair, but who cares for one day!
We called Thursday splurge day because of the car, but also because we did a little souvenir shopping. We decided to even splurge on lunch and went to the number one rated restaurant on the island, Mama’s Fish House. It wasn’t a cheap meal, but it was well worth it! The food was great and the atmosphere was perfect. We sat at a table with an open air covering that looked right out onto a beautiful beach and lovely palm trees. The service was awesome. I could post all the pictures of all we ate there and rave about it, but it would take up a lot of the blog! So anyway, if you’re in Maui, eat at Mama’s!
Later that afternoon we reconnected with the group and got to hear their stories of the Hana road and see some pictures. We decided that since it was the last night we would try Maui Tacos which is a local Mexican food chain. My burrito was good and they have a variety of salsas to choose from. It was worth the stop and a nice walk from the condo.
April and Andrew joined us for the last sunset on the beach. It was sad once that sun went down because it meant that things were officially winding down. The next morning we had to return the Mustang to the car rental – that also made the trip ending feel more real. Before we officially checked out of the condo, we went to breakfast at the Kihei Caffe. I had buttermilk pancakes with banana macadamia nut topping that were to die for! Amazing! Simply the best way to end a trip ever… However, they would be a good way to start to a trip and pretty much any day of a trip. So good!
With full tummies, we went back the condo to clean up and pack up. We walked around the local mall for about an hour to kill some time and then off to the airport we went. The trip gets a lot less glamorous from here on out. Nothing like waiting in long lines and going through security, where I was randomly selected to have an electronic device tested. Yipee. We boarded the plane only to find out that the plane didn’t have enough fuel and they needed three different fuel trucks to come out at various times to try to fill it. An hour behind schedule, we were finally in the air. Lucky for us, they gave us some extra fuel so we could go faster and got in about 10 minutes late. Not bad.
Jeremy’s parents picked us up at the airport and we spent the car ride home filling them in on the trip. I’m glad for the conversation or I would have been passed out. For some reason all my tiredness really caught up with me on the last day. When we arrived home it was almost strange as we entered our house. Things looked foreign to us. You know you’ve been gone a while when you need to re-familiarize yourself with our own home! The oddness quickly wore off as we hopped into bed and promptly crashed!
And that is our Hawaiian vacation in a nutshell – a really big nutshell! Now I will go back to our regularly scheduled programming. While I’ve been blogging about Hawaii, I’ve been saving things to blog about that have happened since Hawaii. Lots to share! These are busy, fun summer days! I can’t wait to share them with you!
Maui Day By Day: On Top of the World June 30, 2013
On Wednesday morning, we drove to the top of Haleakala before the clouds officially set in and blocked the view. Many tourist will crowd around the small gazebo at the summit of the mountain to watch the sunrise. It’s supposed to be pretty awesome and pretty cold, but honestly, I didn’t need to see the sunrise with 200 strangers. We opted for the 8:30ish time range and we had the place mostly to ourselves. It was like another world up on top. My grandma mentioned it looked like mars which I can understand because the dirt is kind of red, but Dad made a joke about how would she know what mars looks like. With almost 80 years to her credit, I believe my grandma knows a lot of things! The temperature was the coldest we saw on the trip – it was in the mid 50’s up top. That is right up this northwesterners alley. However, I didn’t really dress for the temp, so I’ll admit I was bit chilly. At the same time it was kind of a nice to be cold.
Once we scaled back down the mountain side, we stopped at a local lavender farm with some beautiful grounds. I tried a sample of lavender fudge sauce. Surprisingly it wasn’t bad, but then again it wasn’t super lavendery (if that’s a word). All the lavender products smelled good. I think I prefer lavender as a fragrance more than a flavor. We had a lavender cookie at the luau and it tasted like eating a flower. I’m not a fan of eating flowers. Just a little too strong. I do understand that it’s a popular food trend right now. Sadly, I’m not on the bandwagon.
After the lavender farm, we took off for the University of Hawaii botanical gardens. They weren’t extremely impressive, but it was free. We ended up eating a picnic lunch under the big banyan tree there and the shade was quite delightful. Plans were quickly made to head back to the condo so my parents and the boys could prep for hiking the lava flow they discovered the day before. April, Grandma and I stayed home. Since we’d been it the condo for a week, I took the time to give everything a wipe down and vacuum. I even emptied some of the trash cans and shook out the rugs. After a week of not cleaning, it felt good to do something of a tidying nature. From there I went into my room and took a nap and played on my phone. It was nice to lie down for a bit and not feel bad about resting. The hikers returned with many stories about beach combing and wild goats. Sounds like they had quite the hike!
As you guessed, Jeremy and I spent another sunset down at the beach in our new favorite spot with the lawn chairs. It was always a great time to connect and just talk about what we thought about the day and what we hoped for the next day. When we got back to the condo, we hopped into our mini-van and went to get gelato (a treat that had been on my sister’s wish list for some time). Ono Gelato is supposed to be the best on the island so we trusted the books and went there. I enjoyed a chocolate hazelnut gelato, but not without sharing some with my shirt and pants. I know, I’m smooth! Chocolate was a good way to end the day!
Maui Day By Day: Snorkeling June 29, 2013
Tuesday was our big snorkel trip! Originally it was supposed to be just us four kids, but mom got the itch to see the fish up close and personal. I know that boats are not her thing, so this was a big deal for her. My grandma decided to join us and stay on the boat and watch. We set sail on the Four Winds II. Breakfast and lunch were provided. I skipped the boat breakfast and ate a larger meal at the condo. I wanted to make sure I was full before we set sail in hopes that it would help any seasickness. The ride out was a little bumpy, but the ride back into the harbor was a lot better for my tummy. Lunch was pulled pork sandwiches and very much welcomed after a morning of snorkeling. We saw lots of sea turtles on the way back to shore and the captain gave us a tour of all the house owned by famous people along the way. Very interesting stuff!
I had a minor panic attack when stepping out of the boat and into the water for the first time. I think my mom and sister did as well. Of course, Jeremy and Andrew are fish and had no issues getting into the water. Andrew even went in with no flotation device! I used both a floatation belt and a boogie board. I’ve always attempted to use a snorkel mask correctly before but this was the first time I really understood how it worked! Lucky for me, I didn’t drink any salt water on this trip! Not like my first beach day! It was great to be in the water and look at all the fish. There weren’t as many fish out as I had thought, but we did see a good variety. This was one of those activities where I had to conquer my fears and I am glad I did! I might never be an avid snorkeler, but at least I can say I did it (and survived)!
While the family had been out snorkeling, my dad drove into upcountry to find a bakery that was well known for their cream puffs. He bought a dozen cream puffs as well as three pies for the group. My afternoon snack after snorkeling was a cream puff. It was very large and I enjoyed it for the most part. They were a bit soggy from the moisture in the fridge, but still a nice treat. After dinner, we dove into the pie assortment – coconut, apple and apricot-peach. All were very good! I was reminded how much I love peaches and the coconut pie tasted like a macaroon cookie. The apple was good, but didn’t shine in comparison.
We really didn’t make any afternoon plans since we weren’t sure how much energy we would all have after the snorkeling. April had a coffee place she wanted to check out so we drove down to Wailea to get her and Andrew a beverage. Dad wanted to explore further south, so we drove down through the youngest lava flow on the island. It was almost like another world. We found a small beach with a cove where spinner dolphins like to rest. It was pretty neat. There was a hiking trail that half the family would take the following day. April and I didn’t wear the right shoes and I was tired from snorkeling, so I didn’t jump at the chance to hike. Plus, let’s admit it, I’m not much of a hiker anyway.
Again the day ended with sunset on the lawn chairs and then a silly movie.
















