Day +448: Summer in the Northwest

Everyone is having a great time on their summer vacation in Washington. Keri and the kids left on the 6th in our Honda Civic, and I flew into Seattle on the 11th. We stayed with the Paylors for a couple of days and then headed to Lake Mayfield in Southwest Washington for the annual Kaminksy family camping weekend. Paul and Harriet Kaminsky are Keri's maternal grandparents, and six of their eight children were in the campground, along with dozens of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, spouses, and other hangers-on. We counted 61 people in campground with the Kaminsky party. Mina Brigitta spent most of the weekend with her hand clamped around that of cousin Zoe, who is the daughter of Keri's niece Karissa and who is three months older than Mina. They get along very well, and are really cute together. Zoe was mostly being taken care of by Grandma Lyn, so Mina got some quality time with Grandma as well.

Isaac loved to just wander around the campground. He would just take off down the road, talking and singing and grinning, and I would follow along behind to make sure he went into the right campsites. He was in full exploration mode, and he had a blast. We also got to go out in Uncle Bill and Aunt Kristy's boat, which Isaac loved and Mina wasn't sure about. I was expecting the opposite based on Isaac's prior reactions to noise and commotion, but he didn't want to come off the boat.

The family was of course thrilled to see how well Mina is doing. They call her their miracle baby, and I think they're probably right. I have to admit that I loved showing her off -- I try not to focus on it, but I can't help but remember where we were last year, all the worry and the doubt and the intensity of the situation. We are truly blessed to have had these last months with Mina as she has seemed fully recovered and as our lives have blended more and more into those of "normal" families.

Keri and the kids are in Wenatchee this week with Grandma and Grandpa. They've agreed to provide some child care so that Keri can get some academic work done. It didn't take a lot of arm-twisting. I went with the family to Wenatchee but flew back in to San Francisco on Wednesday and was back in the office today. Not a good summer for me to be vacationing due to the workload, but I enjoyed my week off and am looking forward to my next trip up there in early August. It's also nice to be making up for lost time at work.