My time in Birch Bay, WA so far...

I arrived in Blaine on Saturday the 26th...and it's already Wednesday the 6th. Time is flying by fast. I came here to avoid boredom in Loma Linda and be put to work by my family. I can say that i have definitely not been bored. :) From observing Emma, the Smith's puppy, being hit by a car on Monday while they were out of town--rushing her off to the animal hospital, then attending to her care, anxiously waiting to hear back about a potential job in CA, to entertaining all the random company that's arrived, picking raspberries, making Jam, making lots of meals, helping my mom with VBS prep., attempting to paint my uncle's garage (and stair railing, and inside trim), and on top of everything else taking time to enjoy the beauty of Northwest Washington.

I do have to add that this is not just my parent's house... this is a commune of 4 houses: grandma and grandpa, uncle Kevin, my parents, and my mom's sister Teresa's family (the Smiths). Below is a picture of Kevin's house on the right and the Smith's house on the left:

I'm taking the picture from my grandma's driveway... below is a picture of the grandparent's house (that overlooks the beach on the other side):

The day i took this picture, my grandma had her little "shop" open. She makes quilts of all sizes, bags, jewelry, and other crafts that she sells on Saturdays during the summer.

Her slippers are my favorite...Below is a picture of my dad's boat...beached because the tide is out just a bit :)
We decided to venture out Saturday morning to see if we could find any wildlife....

This is not your usual oceanic wildlife... it's Charlie, my family's chocolate lab of 12 years (this is his retirement from being a farm dog all of his life... and he's beginning to resemble grandpa a little).
My brother and his wife Michelle came up from the Portland area for the weekend. Above is Michelle (hoping Charlie won't knock her down into the seaweed).

After our ventures across the exposed ocean bottom, grandma wanted us to do some tidying around the campfire area for the "wienie roast" later that evening. (present in picture: Uncle Kevin, Time and Michelle, and 2nd Cousins Johnny and Becca from Mexico, currently living in Idaho, visiting their grandpa Linden, my grandpa's brother who is up from Mexico for a few weeks).

After enjoying our lovely hot dog dinner, the boys and Michelle took off for some wake boarding

And the rest of us had homemade ice cream

And a nice, calm ride through the bay at sunset

Later Saturday my friend Sarah Gothold from Spokane arrived. It was lovely seeing her again! We only had a day and a half together, so we made the most of it (and i didn't get the best pictures...). We walked the beach and rode bikes along the bay, drove into Blaine, onto the Semiahmoo spit, went to the border and saw the Peach Arch between US and Canada, then got coffee and a muffin at a quaint coffee shop in Blaine. This is a picture at the resort/marina at Semiahmoo.

Good times... and still a week and half to go! The Smith's are back and that definitely adds more life to the commune, along with more painting and more company to come, then VBS for a week and the fair in Lynden, and maybe camping with my parent's church family. It's hard to find time alone here... there's always someone around and always something to cook or clean. The Smith boys went to Canada yesterday and picked 280 pounds of blueberries. An annual endeavor that stocks them up for a year of smoothies. So today the women will sit on Teresa's deck and pick through 280 pounds of blueberries (minus what we used for blueberry pies last night!). There's never a dull moment.

I do get to fly home tomorrow (returning Saturday) to meet with the Executive Pastor at the church where I'm hoping to get a job! They decided they wanted to fly me back to meet with him so that they could make the final decision. This is already after 2 other interviews. Wow--I hope i get this job!

I'm excited to see Scott for a day and a half...and if i get the job, it may mean that i can stay in Blaine an extra week and finish my painting job that's been kind of put off by all the commotion. Everyone here says, "that's life in the commune." The job at the church doesn't start until September 2nd, so staying an extra week would be nice.

That's all for now! :)