Elora's Big Year

Turning seven is a very big deal in our family. Seven, you see, is the magic age at which one is allowed to ascend the staircase to the top of the North Head Lighthouse. Seleia was finally old enough to be admitted last summer (We saw whales from the top of the tower! Beautiful!) and this year was it was finally Elora's turn........except for the fact that all but the foyer of the lighthouse is closed to visitors for safety reasons. What safety reasons, you ask? Well, it turns out that when they went to do a bit of interior painting they discovered that the previous painters had used the wrong paint. So much moisture had been trapped under the paint that the metal spiral staircases and the metal landings had been rusting and rotting away, and no one had been any the wiser. (Can I just say that knowing I was on those last year, and seeing their current condition, has in no way helped with my irrational fear of spiral staircases?)
So. Elora knew it was closed before we got there, but it was still quite a let down.  She was a great sport, though, and told the volunteers that she had been waiting and waiting and she was finally 7, and why couldn't she just go up? "I'm sneaky, I can step over those broken parts." But very graciously she settled for learning about the lighthouse and viewing the damage from the ground floor. When asked if she knew what a lighthouse was for, Elora replied, "To tell ships it is not safe to come to land there, but that there is somewhere safe nearby." Even I was impressed with her answer. They took quite a bit of time with her, asking her questions and answering hers, before they gave her a bookmark and some brochures to remember her almost trip to the top. She put a few dollars in the donation box  (Lighthouse repair is so low on the government fiscal totem pole that they are relying on the buck-at-a-time donations from tourists to be able to complete the repairs. That makes me so sad!) and proudly took her literature, thanking the volunteers for all that they taught her.

The day wasn't a total wash though.  She did get to hold a puppy.

Little Me

My dad sent me this lovely little walk down memory lane this morning. That is cute little me, second to the right in the back row (yes, the one who can't quite seem to manage to get her arms up over her head). Second to the left in back is miss Sari Ann Mitchell and on the far right is a Miss Allison Levy. Aren't we adorable?

Hiking by the Sea

A sunny day by the sea is always a lovely thing, but oh how we love love love those gray and mysterious days. (The Washington Coast is quite good for that, really.) The wind whips around the cliffs, howling as it goes, lonely and lovely all at once. The stories of the lighthouse keeper's wife who "could no longer bear the constant howling of the winds" and threw herself over these cliffs comes readily to mind as you stare down from the top to the raging sea below.

We love to hike, taking in new and different scenery (or in this case, old and familiar). Hikes that throw in a bit of history?  All the better. The hike to and from (returning on the lighthouse keepers trail) is always a favorite of ours, and the girls have been quite on my case for not sharing with you the pictures from our most recent trip there! So here you go!

Mikaela's 13th

One of Seleia's bff's turned the big one-three, and did the girls ever have fun at her party! Water toys, balloons, and guns..cakes, cupcakes, candy, a pinata...a fun and festive way to enjoy the late summer heat! Even Dad and Dashiell had a great time. Friends, fun and sun, who could ask for more?

Elora and the Slip n' Slide

For those of you who may not know, little Miss Elora can be very....well, enthusiastic. (She will either be President or an aerobics instructor. Seriously.) When she met the giant Slip and Slide at a friend's party recently she could not get enough. She ignored the cake.  She ignored the candy.  She ignored the games. She didn't want to miss one glorious second of sliding down a hill on a giant sheet on 6 ml. plastic. (Note to self: next year don't buy a Slip n' Slide-ours barely got used- go to the Home Depot and buy a roll of plastic sheeting.  Who knew?). She organized slip and slide games and got entire groups of kids going in lines while holding hands. There were tangles of kids all running and going together at her instruction. General hilarity ensued. Ahhh, simple pleasures.

Family Portrait

The Juhala Family, as drawn by Elora Kay.  Left to right: Melanie, Joel, Dash, Elora, Amarra, and Seleia Vaughn. Aren't we lovely?

His Last Baby Day

It has gone by so quickly.
And I am still so in love with this amazing, beautiful little man.
My heart is overwhelmed when I think that tomorrow (at 2:22!) my little preemie, my little miracle baby, will be one whole year old. He is funny, sweet, loving, adventurous, and tough....we simply cannot imagine our lives without him.
I am so grateful for the gift of this precious child.
Happy Birthday, Dashiell Monroe!!
You are loved beyond measure.