Weekend sojourn to Vancouver/Portland

This past weekend we traveled to Vancouver and Portland.  We hung out with friends (new and old) and attended the memorial service of my friend, Sara's mom.  

We left on Saturday following the kids' basketball games and spent the first night with our friend Erika, a relatively new friend that we met last year on our cruise to Hawaii.  She and her wife have come up here to see us but this was our first time staying at their place.  Unfortunately her lovely wife,  Jamie, could not be there.  Next time though!!!

The next day we got up and headed into Portland and had brunch at one of my favorite places in Portland, The Country Cat.  As you can see by the photo the weather was great.  

We attended the memorial service and then headed over to my childhood friend Diane's house to have a delicious dinner and to watch the NFC playoff game.  What fun!  Finn got to eat on a tv tray for the first time.  

Monday morning we got up bright and early and headed back into Portland to Powell's Books.  We had promised Finn we would ride the Tri-Met so we took the streetcar to the area where the food trucks are and had a great lunch.  Everyone had something different. I had a pork belly sandwich, Meghen a Reuben, AIdan had Pho, and Finn a footlong hotdog. The kids shared their first bubble tea. We sat in the sun and had our lunch and then jumped back on the streetcar.

Both kids were exhausted and fell asleep on the way home.  We can't wait to head back down to Portland and hang out again with everyone.

4th Anniversary

Hard to believe but January 2, 2014 marked our 4th year of living on Vashon Island.  It has also been about 4 years since I last posted anything but this weekend my daughter stumbled upon this blog and requested that I once again start posting.  She thinks it makes her famous if she can be found on the internet.  Little does she know.

So how do I compress the last 4 years into a single post?  Well I certainly cannot write about ALL that has happened to the Magonegil family in that time but I can offer some quick bullet points.

• We moved from Point Robinson to the Westside and although we miss our old neighbors, we love our house and the location.
• Aidan completed kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade and is now in 4th grade and loving school.
• Finn completed kindergarten, 1st grade and is now in 2nd grade.  He still attends Cedarsong Outdoor School one Saturday a month.
• Aidan broke her tibia in two places on the last full day of school last year and it took all summer and most of the fall to heal properly.
• Finn became a soccer phenom and had over 40 goals for the season.
• Both Aidan and Finn play baseball/softball and currently are playing basketball.  
• I continue to coach both of them in every sport that I can.
• Meghen is busily preparing delicious food for a couple of island businesses as well as her family.
• The kids and I are very involved with our church.  Aidan is in the choir and is an acolyte while I serve as the church treasurer and lecture.  We all serve food to the island's needy at the church a couple of times a month.
• I ran for public office this fall and lost but had a blast running.
• Both Meghen and I had big birthdays in 2013.  

I am sure there is a ton more but I think those are the major things.  I promise to do my best to post on a more than every 4 years basis.

Reflections on the past year

I've found myself reflecting on the past year and the changes that it  brought to the Magonegil family.  It seems hard to believe that it was just a little over a year ago that our house was broken into and most everything of value stolen.  It has also been almost a year since I lost one of my jobs, putting our financial stability in jeopardy. 

I am happy to report that we weathered the storms of September 2009 and came out better on the other side.  We found we needed far less "possessions" than we thought we did and ended up not replacing a lot of what was stolen.  We were able to get out from under our house and made the move we had wanted to out to Vashon Island.  Having only one job suits me just fine and I am enjoying the extra time I get to spend with my kids, the commute is relaxing and often awe inspiring as I ride accross Puget Sound on the boat.  Both kids are doing great and are each enjoying the rural life.  Meghen, the city girl, has solidly become a country girl and the bounty we harvested from our garden proves that. 

Of course there is always uncertainty as to what the future holds but as I look back on the past year I have learned one very evident truth and that is to trust God.  While we get mired down in the details and the minitua of a situation, our Creator is able to see the "big picture".  It is most often on reflection of a hard time in our lives that we see God's hand at work as He leads us through the fire and brings us to a new place that He wanted for us all along.  Isn't it just amazing?

Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig

For all you non Irish speakers - Happy St. Patrick's Day!  A day when everyone is Irish or at least they wish they were.  The Irish are survivors and lovers of life.  A great quote about the character of the Irish is:

"When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees.  Maimed, stark and misshapen, but ferociously tenancious."  Edna O'Brien

A month already

 As of February 2 we have lived on Vashon Island a MONTH!  It went by so quickly and at the same time it feels so comfortable here that it seems like we have always lived here.  The kids continue to "evolve" and adapt to a more rural existence.  Meghen has started cooking again so we have had some darn good vittles again.  Finn and I venture to the beach every chance we get - rain or shine - and he is turning into quite the little naturalist.  He is able to identify a few different bird species now and at his outdoor preschool learns a ton about the flora and fauna of the forest.   


This small town life is perfect for me.  I love that last night I watched the season premiere of LOST with about 100 other folks at the local theater which showed it for free.  It was very cool to sit there munching popcorn and watching it on the big screen.  Not only will they be showing the season premiere but will show the weekly episodes - all for free.
Isn't that cool?


The photos accompanying this entry are of a Great Blue Heron and then a couple of photos  of Finn's school - Cedarsong.  Enjoy!

Visitors

We had a fun filled weekend with lots of visitors to what I am calling, Hootie Farm, due to the owl that we hear hooting at night.  Well that is what Finn and I call the farm anyhow and since I am the writer of this blog, that is what I shall refer to it as.  ANYHOW - what a great weekend we had.  We had some overnight visitors and some that could only come for a few hours but we made the most of every minute with excursions out into the soggy fields to muck about in our boots and walks on the beach at Point Robinson.  The sun even came out on monday afternoon.  Enjoy the photos.

Pictures from our first week on the island!

The Point Robinson Lighthouse only a mile from our house.

Sunrise!

Bald eagle bathing in a puddle right in our own backyard.

In flight!

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