Bow Down to the Sausage

A week ago today my family gathered for the annual Sausage Fest, and the reason I haven't blogged before now is because 1) school is taking up way too much of my time, 2) I continue to hack up a lung every few minutes, and 3) I subsequently have no energy left for anything. With that said, to not post about Sausage Fest would be sacreligious being that for the last 25 years of my life my entire family has gathered together to partake in the festivities. For the last 3 years, Trevor has graciously joined us.



This year my sister, brother, their spouses, my niece, and our friends Scott, Margaret and their boys all drove down from Seattle to do the following:

1) Partake in the rousing carnival games, including but not limited to "The Duck Pond," "Scat Cat," "The Lollipop Tree," and "Shooting Hoops," as seen below. Please note both my niece's and my sister's natural shot, yet neither of them made a shot. I, however, the one with no athletic ability, did, and came home with a coupon for a free McDonald's ice cream cone. Ah, sweet victory!!!

2) We played bingo. None of us won but we sure enjoyed giggling when "O 69" was called...every time.

3) Of course, we ate sausages. Please look closely at the kids' drawings below. I believe they capture the essence of Sausage Fest.

4) We watched the fabulous entertainment. Our favorites every year are the dance teams. Adam and Austin were completely mesmerized.

5) And lastly, we celebrated our family's September birthdays with a DQ ice cream cake.

Until, next year, my dear sausage. We will meet again.

Meet Travis and Tara

You may think the picture below is of Trevor and Sara but you are mistaken.

Meet Travis and Tara, a happily married couple who spent the weekend in Matlock, WA at the beautiful wedding of our friends Nate and Maya. I swear to you we introduced ourselves as Trevor and Sara but nonetheless we became Travis and Tara. Instead of fighting it we embraced it. After all, apparently many of the wedding guests had changed their names at some point in their lives. Take for instance Lulu. She said to me, "Hi, I'm Lulu." I said, "Hi, I'm Sara." She said, "Nice to meet you Tara. Actually, my real name is Pat but I don't like it so I call myself Lulu." I didn't have the heart to tell her that my real name wasn't Tara and so my new alias began.

The wedding scene was absolutely stunning. Everything took place on Maya's mother's property. The weather was perfect and the colors of the surrounding gardens and forest were gorgeous.

Nate and Maya - who we hadn't seen since our visit with them this summer in St. John - got married under a pair of married trees (trees whose trunks are growing into each other). I, of course, cried and Trevor didn't. Imagine that.

The food was the BEST wedding food I have ever had. Everything was homemade, from the beef loin with a cabernet mushroom sauce to the salmon with lemon butter sauce, I am pretty sure I died and went to heaven.
And then there was the dessert buffet. Need I say anymore?

The evening sky was breathtaking...

...but not at breathtaking as my husband's belly painted with a face. If you must know why, I will tell you in private.
Congratulations, Nate and Maya! We love you!

Where to begin...

Well, here I am. I have been absent for quite some time now and I figured I should try and forge a comeback. The thing is, I really am not sure where I am supposed to begin. I feel like there is so much - yet so little - that I really want to say.

The truth is, life is good. The proof is in the pudding:

• We officially have a front yard AND a backyard with grass, and yes, this is an accomplishment.


• The basement floor has been painted and trim has been put up in one of the two rooms. Once again, yes, this is an accomplishment.


• Vacation has been taken, sun tans were made, food and drink was consumed, and fun was had.


• School has begun, yet it feels like it never really ended. Nonetheless, one week is down, only 41 more to go. The thing is, 41 weeks sounds wonderful. This new high school is unbelievable. The facility is gorgeous, the leadership is honest, the staff is positive, and the kids are ready to go.


• Family rocks. Our nephew Wyatt turned one last month and joyfully stuffed his face with cake. My brother and his wife are back in Seattle, hopefully for good this time. Our niece Ana started 1st grade on Wednesday and is beside herself with joy.


• Friends rock too. Bonita Flanagita and Adam bought a home and moved out of our commune. Alex quickly moved in. I swear to you, we really should win some award for helping the homeless. After much searching and planning, Melanikis and I currently own the exact same Chiawana High School wardrobe. Yes, we need to cut the chord.

Underneath all of this, the truth is, I am exhausted and stressed and seriously contemplating the possibility of assuming a new identity and disappearing into the great abyss.

One day at a time, Sara, one day at a time...