Amy Scott's Thoughts

Hanging at the hotel in Bellingham!

After we wrapped things up with staff retreat, our little family took off to connect with my parents. We went straight to their house and did some laundry while we waited for my dad to get off work. The first leg of this trip was to be the whole Vitzthum/Scott/Gallaway clan. My dad had rented a mini-van to hold us and all the luggage. When my sister and brother-in-law got off work, we met up with them for dinner and then we caravaned the rest of the way up north to Bellingham. Originally, we were going to make the trek up to Vancouver, BC all in one day, but my dad suggested going part of the way a day early. This gave us a full Friday in Canada with almost no travel time in it. Driving from Cle Elum to my parent’s house and then up to Bellingham made for a long day in the car, but Owen did really well for the most part. Once we all got settled into the hotel, it was quickly approaching bedtime. Thus, ended one of the bigger travel days of the trip.

Lunch in Steveston

Friday morning, we left the hotel around 9:00am. We purposefully waited until then to avoid commuter traffic at the border. We got through border crossing fairly quickly and we were to our townhouse before 11:00am. We stayed in cute development in Stevenson Village. Jeremy and I had visited Steveston before and knew that it was a quiet and quaint little town. It was nice to stay outside of busy Vancouver. The village had a lovely river walk that we enjoyed often while there and it is the filming location for our favorite TV show, Once Upon a Time. I was really excited to share this with my sister because she loves the show as much as Jeremy and I do. Our first order of business once we got settled into the town house was lunch. We walked downtown and ate the location of Granny’s Diner for the show (really known as the Stevenston Cannery Cafe). We wandered around town and showed April some of the key filming locations.

We spent the afternoon driving into Vancouver and visiting the public market at Granville Island. There were lots of sights and sounds and smells to take in! The market has so much to offer. We walked from the market to dinner at Go Fish. This little seafood shack on the river was a fun find from Jeremy and I’s last trip. It was very tasty! I really love salmon fish & chips!

Enjoying the Canadian wilderness

Saturday, we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridges. This park boast one massive suspension bridge, a treetop walk, a boardwalk and a cliff walk. All of the different experiences were a lot of fun. The suspension bridge wiggled a lot more than any of us expected. It caught me off guard! The treetop walk was like walking from tree house to tree house using small bridges. The board walk offered lovely views of the sunny forest and the canyon. The cliff walk was a set of steel bridges that followed the length of the cliff. The views were great and the weather was fantastic. It was a great day to be outside enjoying nature! After the bridges, we drove around Vancouver. We took a look at Chinatown, we wondered around Safeway looking for goodies we could only get in Canada and then we headed to the Metropolis at Metrotown, which is a huge mall! The last time I was there, we didn’t get to see all of it, so now I feel like I have officially conquered it! The rest of the evening included dinner at the townhouse and then a walk into town for mini-donuts! What a yummy dessert!

Point Atkinson Lighthouse

Sunday, we went to a small hole in the wall joint called Waffle Gone Wild for brunch! It was very tasty. I got a banana nutella waffle and it was yummy! This was the day that April and Andrew had to head back home so we went back the house to say our good-byes. During this good-bye period, we became aware that Andrew had lost his wallet. Originally we thought that he had left it at the house, but as we turned the townhouse upside down no one could find it. Things started to get a little panicky when a neighbor saw Andrew outside and asked if that was his wallet. The neighbor had found it earlier that morning! We were so thankful and April and Andrew were still able to hit the road on time!  After the Gallaways took off, we turned around and drove outside of Vancouver so we could see the Point Atkinson lighthouse and the view Cypress mountain. Both sights were lovely (minus the traffic and Owen screaming in the car and a massive blowout diaper – those were the not so lovely sights).

A&W Goodness!

Monday was our last full day in the Vancouver area. We went back to Granville Island to explore it when it was a bit quieter. We got some souvenirs and then took off to explore new territory. We stopped at A&W for lunch so my dad could relive the good ol’ days. Apparently, he ate at A&W a lot when he was a kid. It was fun because they served us our sodas in frosty mugs. I even got poutine with my meal which is french fries, cheese curds and gravy. It’s a big thing in Canada, so I thought I would have a try at it. It was very filling! After lunch we visited Trinity Western University. TWU was a school that both April and I had considered going to. It was fun to explore some of the suburb cities like Langley and Abbotsford. Monday night was leftovers at the townhouse and packing up so we could depart the next day.

There were lots of crazy random things that happened during our stay in Vancouver. Apparently the townhouse has a switch for the hot water heater that is on the wall in the half bathroom. That switch got turned off so Dad and I had no hot water by the time it was our turn to shower on Saturday. That was an interesting adventure. For the longest time we couldn’t figure out where all the hot water went, but our guys are resourceful and finally figured it out (not until evening though). On Friday, while at Granville Island, we saw a cyclist trash in the middle of the road. My mom being the nurse went to her and and stayed with her until she could get up and off the road (which was a long while). We got stuck in tons of traffic in the Vancouver area. They have lots of 5 lane roads that merge down to one lane for bridges or tunnels. I think my dad might have a new found hatred of driving in Canada thanks to all the traffic!

I really do love all the things you can do inside and outside of Vancouver. The Capilano Suspension Bridges were a favorite highlight for me. All the food was great and I was happy that we tried a bunch of places we don’t really have here. I munched on many a Canadian candy bar just because we didn’t have it at home. We also got Tim Hortons doughnuts. The group wasn’t too impressed with them, but I thought they were good. I like doughnuts and Tim Hortons are everywhere, so it was nice to say we tried it!

Well, that about concludes Vancouver! Stay tuned for Victoria!

Group shot!

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Cliff walk selfie with the fam

Mini-donuts!

Banana Nutella Waffle – YUM

Sunset walk on the river in Steveston Village

Bed Bug

The Scott family has returned from an epic international adventure. Our trip started off in Cle Elum, WA for our annual staff retreat and then followed right into a family vacation to Vancouver and Victoria, BC. Let me tell you, 12 days is a long time to be away from home with a baby! In fact, 12 days may be the longest I’ve ever been away from home to date. Since our trip had 3 very different locations, I’m going to break this up into a three part blog! That way I can share more pictures and stories!

Staff retreat… oh, staff retreat. I didn’t make it last year because I was 37 weeks pregnant and I didn’t want to be far away from home in case I went into labor. Going back to staff retreat this year was an interesting experience. Since Owen is still nursing, he was invited in along. I knew going into the trip that it was going to be a challenge at times. Staff retreat can be a very serious time of discussion and planning for our church pastoral team. Babies don’t lend to serious discussion. The first day went great until bed time. Right off the bat, we realized that Owen wasn’t too interested in sleeping in his Pack’n’Play. If we didn’t want him screaming at night then that meant we had a bed bug. The bonus to the house we rented was that it had three stories so Owen’s screaming was only really heard by 2 other couples. However, I still struggled with letting him cry at night. Especially because we were all in the same room and that meant I wasn’t sleeping either. So… co-sleeping became the theme of the whole trip. I’ll be honest, I don’t sleep as great with Owen in bed with us. I love my little snuggle bug, but I also like getting solid sleep. The two don’t go together all that well.

Distracting Owen while the group eats dinner… He is seriously a monkey!

One of the main activities for staff retreat was a special business meeting to elect a new network leader for our Assemblies of God district. This was a big, important meeting. There was some tension with the election process, but in the end, I think we all came to a good place and a new network was elected. I was proud of Owen. He stayed in the nursery at unfamiliar church for 3 hours. That is longest I’ve left him in a nursery before. I gives me hope that in the near future, I can maybe keep him in the nursery for both gatherings at Bethel! Anyway, back to the meeting, I was grateful to be a part of the voting process. It was a long meeting and I was glad when we reached a conclusion in harmony. This day ended with an epic adventure for me. The big meeting was over an hour away from the house we were staying at. Owen was melting down at the restaurant where the team was having an important conversation. I decided to take off and drive back so Jeremy could focus on the task at hand. During my drive home, in the dark, my phone died so I had to get back to the house by memory! Without my phone I had to remember the door code and then because the front porch light was out, I had to enter the code in the dark with Owen in my arms! It was a bit zany, but we survived!

Cousin time!

The next day while the guys went golfing, Owen and I took a drive to hang out with my sister-in-law and niece and nephews! This branch of the family lives the furthest away, so anytime I get to spend with them is a special treat. I love seeing Owen play with cousins. It was nice to be a way from serious conversations and big meetings. The whole afternoon was very relaxed and I enjoyed myself immensely. Owen slept the 45 minute drive there and back, so my introverted side got some much needed quiet time as well. A win-win!

The last day was simply loading up and hitting the road for the next adventure. I learned a lot on this trip about work related things and traveling with babies. They don’t mix all that well. I was off with Owen keeping him from melting while the group had their discussions. I knew this was likely going to be the case, but I thought I would give it a try. In between the moments of keeping up with Owen, I was able to have some good conversations with the staff members and the food for the whole week was really good. Our lead pastor’s wife certainly knows her way around the kitchen! Overall, I’m not sure I would do staff retreat with a baby again, but… I was brave and I tried it. Sometimes you just have to go for it and see what happens. I know that Jeremy enjoyed having us around. It was great to visit with the team again, even if I didn’t get a chance to contribute much to the conversation. God is good and we are blessed to work with a fabulous group of people who love Jesus and love people.

We just got back from a few days at the beach with Jeremy’s side of the family. We rented a beach house in Manzanita, OR and enjoyed some lovely weather. The trip included a few meals at my favorite places, a trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory and a couple of beach walks. We had lots of time to catch up with family, play games and eat. Owen loved hanging out with his cousins and he had a blast exploring a new home. The only downside to the trip was that Owen didn’t do so great sleeping at night while we were gone. The last day, he came down with a head cold which made our final night quite epic. It was honestly the worse night we’ve had yet with Owen. We barely slept a wink. Other than some zany nights, the days were fun and it was a great family memory made.  Here are some photos from our travels!

Dinner at Mo’s

Snacking in his new chair

Sunrise beach walk

Snuggle buddies!

Hanging at the Tillamook Cheese Factory

Sunset beach walk

Sunset

I don’t usually partake in Throwback Thursday, Flashback Friday or Man Crush Monday. If there are titles for the other days of the week, I don’t know them. But today seems like a good day to do a throwback. This day holds meaning for a lot of reasons! First, it’s my mom’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom! I’m so grateful to have a good relationship with my mom. I know that she put up with a lot from me while I was growing up. While I wasn’t a crazy, rebellious child, I think we all have our own ways of driving our parents nuts. Mine would have been singing too loud around the house and generally thinking the world revolved around me. I am so thankful for the wonderful influence and  friendship my mom has given me over the years. Now that I’m an adult, I love our relationship even more. My mom loves her family in very tangible ways. She gives us her time and attention often. Owen thinks she makes a pretty good grandma, too!

Okay, getting back to the throwbacks! Today happens to be the day that I graduated from high school 10 years ago! I’ve officially been out of high school for a decade now and that seems so strange. Where did the time go? In a lot of ways I still feel like that 18 year old kid in a cap and gown, but really I know I’ve changed a lot. Looking back over the last decade, I am so blessed to see how the Lord has directed me. I had no clue when I graduated what was in store for me. My life hasn’t followed the timeline I thought it would, but God knows better than me and it’s been a blessed adventure. What I love about this picture is that I’m still friends with the ladies standing beside me. A lot of people told me that it wasn’t possible to stay close with your high school best friends, but we’ve proved them wrong. I’m so grateful to call Maggie and Kaly my forever friends.

W.F. West Class of 2004

Just for fun, I thought I would do one more throwback to last year on this day. I was in Hawaii for the first time vacationing with my family! This past year has gone by quickly, but the memory of the warm water and sandy beaches still remains. Our little family has a new appreciation for sea turtles after that trip. Now whenever I put Owen in something with a turtle on it, I am transported back to Hawaii. Good times!

Maui 2013

Each year and decade brings about change and opportunities. I have no clue what things will look like a year from now or a decade from now, but I know that God will still be good and there will be lots of fun to be had. I love that life is unpredictable. The Lord’s plans are better than my own, so I looking forward with great expectation all that still lies before me!

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!

Jeremy is ready for the bugs!

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.

Takhlakh Lake

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.

Sunset at Mt. Adams

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!