God Bless America!

The past two weeks were filled with a variety of activities! Instead of writing a summary and explaining in detail each activity, I decided it would be best and easiest to do some quick bullet points with explanations.

1. Robert had his Hail and Farewell Ceremony--We were welcomed as a military family into the NHOH Command along with other families who arrived this past summer. Men and women who were leaving were given a farewell and recognition for their time at the command before they move to their new placement. We have some pizza, cake, and spent the afternoon bowling!

2. Christmas Photos--We decided while we are out in Washington it is especially important to take a quality Christmas photo to send to family and friends. We also noticed Bentley Bear was in need of a haircut so the timing was perfect. Our friend Dano, whose photos will probably be shown in the next blog, took our photos at the beach near our house. We can't say that Bentley was on his best behavior, but I am sure we had at least one photo where he was able to face the camera!

3. Home, home on the range-- We are officially members of a shooting range! Enough said. http://www.daytraco.com/Departments/Greenes-Gun-Shop.aspx

4. Jets vs. Seahawks game--Late in the summer we found out that the base was selling discounted seats to NFL football games so we jumped at the chance for some tickets. We had great seats and it just so happened to be on Veterans Day. Part of the joy in watching an NFL game was being able to watch the opening ceremony in which they honored members of the military. The game was fantastic and the Seahawks  creamed the Jets! Robert and I both agreed that we have not been in a stadium before where the energy is so positive and the fans put their all into their team. Even through the rain and some down times everyone remained standing and optimistic. We will certainly be going back to more games before we leave the area!

5. Prepping for Thanksgiving and the arrival of Mom and Dad Thacher--- Robert has not seen my parents since the end of March 2012 and I have not seen them since July. We could not be more happy and excited to have them spend Thanksgiving 2012 with us. This will be their first time visiting Whidbey Island and their first time seeing their grandpuppy, Bentley. We have many activities and events planned so the next blog will be a big one!

My view from this past Friday while driving to school.

Before the haircut...

After the haircut!

Let's go Seahawks!!!

Time out from bowling.

Practice makes perfect!

Thank You Military

Something thrilling and awesome about
handling a gun and learning how to handle one...

Boo Hoo :)

Well, we decided to close the month of October with a new look. You will be able to see the new Crawford clan below in our best dress a.k.a. Halloween outfits! The past two weeks were filled with Oak Harbor Elementary School READING NIGHT, goodbye party for some friends, Halloween costume party, pumpkin carving, pumpkin picking, NHOH command cook-out, and dipping in the fall leaves with Bentley Bear. We are so happy to have found a great group of friends through the military and school.

Robert took some optometrists out fishing on the boat, but came back with nothing. He says, "Not much on the line, but a lot of good views." He enjoyed dressing as Billy Bob, the redneck, for Halloween. I have to admit the mullet was so becoming on him as it reminded me of the mullet I gave myself at the ripe age of 4. I, Shannon Crawford...then THACHER, started "the real mullet." Robert was certainly a hit at the OHE Reading Night as he served up some delicious chili. Many of my kiddos were thrilled to report that they got to see Mr. Crawford at school.

My kiddos have been keeping me busy as ever, but I have never been as passionate about teaching as I am now. Sometimes being placed outside of your comfort zone and with some "wild ones" make you appreciate the profession even more. I have a wonderful group of coworkers and the school community is extremely supportive and friendly. I was fortunate enough to enter the district during a time when other young teachers were coming in so our interests aligned quite nicely. Hence, a book club group was formed!

This coming weekend Robert will be busy with men's poker night and I have my kick-off "Let's Wine About it Over a Good Book" book club with some girlfriends. Not sure what we are reading, but the wine and company will prove to be great! Bentley can now officially shake and is getting much better at listening to commands. Veterans Day weekend proves to be exciting with our first Seahawks football game. We will watch them with delight as they defeat the Jets! Soon after we get to have MOM AND DAD THACHER visit us for a long Thanksgiving break! First time seeing family in a while and their first visit to Washington! Bentley is all ready to meet Grandma and Grandad Thacher!

Thinking about family and friends on the east coast and praying y'all stay safe and dry.

Bentley Bear loves playing in the fall leaves.

Spider cupcakes for Halloween

Billy Bob the redneck

Goddess of Height

Oak Harbor Elementary Reading Night

Christmas Card?! Bahaha

My pumpkin didn't turn out quite like I wanted

What a sweet looking pumpkin!

So many options...

Celebrating after Reading Night!

Happy Halloween 2012

Poth loves both AND both love Poth!

We were fortunate to have our close friend, Molly Poth, visit this past weekend. The timing was perfect as the weather was changing into typical fall weather in Western Washington. The weekend flew by and was packed with the "Crawford Tour" of Whidbey Island, meeting friends, boating, and visiting downtown Seattle. The pictures pretty much sum up our wonderful weekend with Molls! The photos are not in the correct order, but if you really want to I bet you can sit and figure it out.

Bringing Molly to our home in WA!

Visiting the notorious Seattle Public Market Center.

Prepping the boat!

Grabbing some homemade ice-cream and waffle cones at the
local produce farm near home! They certainly decorated for Halloween!

Bundled up for the ferry ride over the Seattle!

Ice cream was amazing!

Robert couldn't get enough of Molly's hat.

Bentley put his "mark" on Molly the second she walked through
the door! She became his new best friend.

Ready to go boating!!!

Not sure we would be able to fly a Prowler anytime soon.

Reading the dedications at the Prowler Memorial on base.

Molls is ready to take off and so is Bentley!

Game Night with some Whidbey friends!

Bentley and his new girlfriend.

After multiple attempts we finally had a great "family photo."

A couple hours before Molly left Bentley became very sad!

I think he wanted to jump in Molly's bag and head back to San Fran.

Pulling a "Deadliest Catch" shot.

Braving the rain and wind on the ferry.

Thank you Molls for a WONDERFUL weekend visit!!!

Reeling in the Fall in Whidbey

Fall has certainly arrived in Whidbey Island, WA. The temperature during the day ranges from 62-70 degrees and the morning and nighttime is a cool 44 degrees. We have found that layering if the best fashion sense for the area. Compared to growing up in Buffalo, NY this weather is perfect and Bentley certainly loves the cool nights and beautiful days. I know Robert enjoys being able to go on a run and not sweat the second he hits the road.

Thanks to the seasonal changes we were able to have our first indoor fire, spend time fishing at Fort Casey, and enjoy Oktoberfest activities. Bentley has officially mastered the art of "Shaking" with his paws and I could not be more proud (Bentley is kinda of a big deal in the Crawford Household, if you haven't noticed). We are slowly getting Bentley used to evening runs so he can expel some energy and we can see the gorgeous sunsets over Mt. Baker. Robert has had a very busy start to the fall and I have been busy with my ENERGETIC kiddos and parent-teacher conferences. We were thrilled to spend Sunday evening with the Wright family and hear their stories of Nana from their time with her in good ol' Portsmouth, VA.

Our first visitor, Molly Poth aka Molls, arrives this weekend from CA and we can't wait to show her around!! We will have plenty of pictures from our weekend events to share!

Bentley was tired of practicing "Shake.

While having Fondue they just happened
to give us PURPLE AND GOLD fondue forks!!!

Fantastic dinner date in downtown Oak Harbor at Frasers!

Picture day at OHE
(Mrs. Crawford's "official" teacher picture. Yes,
even teachers get dressed up for picture day).

Watching the moon rise after dinner downtown

                   

Beautiful and warm fire place for our first cold night!
I am very glad Robert knows how to work it and I will eventually have to learn.

Enjoying coffee from our deck while watching
the sun rise in the sky.

Downtown Langley, WA for Oktoberfest activities.
Very quaint and friendly town.

This delicious salted caramel chocolate filled
cupcake made Oktoberfest even better!

We decided why not try some Vietnamese beer?!
Very refreshing and highly recommended.

Fishing at Fort Casey.

After not catching anything but seaweed I decided I would
have a better view watching Robert continue to fish (still not fish biting).

Certainly was a sunny day!

Capping off the weekend with our new hand-painted mugs!