Birthdays, Moving, Lakes & TV

Phew and fun: our little family post-explosion adventure continues; we’ve spent the last two weeks in a small cabin on a lake about 30 minutes outside of Bellingham. The kids have taken to the living arrangements like little champs; they love the water, they love all the take-out (Lily’s first introduction to French fries; lucky girl!) and they’re delighted that they share a room for the moment.

We have a resident beaver at the lake cabin and so the children are following his aggressive tree cutting style carefully, not quite understanding the ‘why ‘behind the beaver behavior. It’s fun to see what he (she?) does every day with the lots around the lake. The kids have also been introduced to their first bonfire experience and they very much enjoyed it though were very surprised at the whole “Hey, what’s this smoke?! Hey!!!” factor that bonfires also have. Just wait until they have their first marshmallow roast; they won’t care about the pesky smoke!

It’s not just home that’s been a barrel of laughs. Work has been exceedingly fun lately as well. Mariam (left), Courtney (right) and I were delighted to be on New Day with Margaret Larson to demonstrate Handmade Beauty Box’s DIY Nail Polish Kit. You can watch the full episode here. It was Courtney’s first time on TV and she did amazing (or, as we like to say in the office, “amazeballs!”). All three of us were so happy to be on the show and loved filming in front of an enthusiastic live studio audience.

(Important; pay attention) Work has also been super busy because Senator Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Personal Care Products Safety Act (S. 1014) that seeks to overhaul the FDA, including provisions that oversee the handcrafted soap and cosmetics industry. You can learn more about the bill on the Coalition for Handcrafted Entrepreneur page – and write your congressperson to tell them how the bill would affect you. The bill isn’t out of committee and it has a long way to go but it’s important that your voices be heard now so that small business considerations can be taken into account.

Jamisen also just had his 4th birthday this week. We were so happy to celebrate his birthday with his classmates, grandma and grandpa, and his uncles and aunts. It was a party full of much toddler squealing. Jamisen was thrilled to get some new toys. His favorite toy he received were the huge Lego-like blocks that he can use to build a fort (they’re reallllly big). His thank-you cards have already been written and sent. Writing ‘thank-you’ cards is a family value.

The kids loved Easter egg hunting and still have candy left over from weeks ago. I’m doling it out slooooowwwwly.

Jamisen got pretty aggressive with his Easter egg hunting this year, probably because he remembered from last year that the eggs usually contain sugar. And that kiddo will do just about anything for sugar! =) Also, whoah, when did that kiddo get so tall!?

As the weather improves, the outdoors become way more friendly to play in. My sister-in-law (Cheriss, in middle) and I have enjoyed many hikes lately and are thrilled that the weather is staying dry enough for us to enjoy the outdoors. Given that I’ve signed up to do a half marathon in September (seriously, what was I thinking!?!), it’s good that the outdoors is heating up so I can actually get a few miles logged. I don’t want to totally embarrass myself in the half in September! =)

Life continues to remain full (oh-so-full) and we count our blessings daily. The kiddos are healthy. Chris and I love our work and we feel so fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the country. We continue to plug away at our home remodel/rebuilding after the explosion and know that our home will be rebuilt even more solidly than it started out as. Life is good. =)