The Crowl Family Adventures: May

May was quite an up and down month for us. We found out we were expecting at the end of April, and then experienced a miscarriage early in the month of May. It's a little hard for me to look through these pictures, remembering memories of the pregnancy tied to these experiences. I want this blog to document pain and happiness, so I will include everything.

Jessie invited Maddie and I to attend little gym with her and Harper. It was so fun to have the cousins in class together, and Maddie LOVED it. I foresee many classes with these two in the future.

My sister loves adventures just as much as I do, so she jumped at the opportunity to drive alllll the way to south Seattle to try out a park called Oxbow. It's well known for the HUGE pair of cowboy boots and cowboy hat. The boots used to be restrooms (there was a locked door on each boot) at an old rest stop. Fun to have a random piece of history at a park!

Ben's cousin, Tamara, along with her hubby and two kids just moved to Kitsap Peninsula from Florida. Her husband is in the Navy, and they don't know anyone out here, so we decided to meet them at the airport and drive some of their luggage over to the hotel they were staying at until they found a rental. This was the first time that Ben had ever met any cousins, so it was a really special moment to be apart of. Tamara has two boys. Her oldest is just days apart from Colter, so they became really quick buds. We are looking forward to getting to know them more.

The kids and I went to Howarth Park in the Everett area after making a quick stop at my mom's school to say hello. This park is always super deserted .. I think there was one other mom there. I love the little stream that runs to the water. It's nice to play in the water without having the kids worry about any waves.

My mom had taken the day off from work in order to come to our first baby appointment so it ended up being a huge blessing to have her with us the day we official found out we were going to have a miscarriage. She took the kids with her for a little adventure and then was ready for another adventure when she got back and I felt like I just wanted to get out of the house. None of us had ever been to the Lake Stevens area, so we picked a park and checked it out. We didn't bring any sand toys, but there was a nice beach, a great pier to walk on, and a fun little playground as well. Just what I needed to dry my eyes for a little while.

I debated whether I wanted to share our news on facebook. By the time of the miscarriage, we had only told a few close friends and family. I ultimately decided that I wanted to share our news, with a reminder that we never know what is going on in people's lives around us. I was amazed at the outpouring of love and support we received. Over the next few days, we received so many gifts. Care packages, flowers, meals. It was honestly such a good reminder of the community we have around us. Hearing other people's experiences created a connection I didn't expect.

One bonus of having quite a few follow up appointments, was that we ventured downtown quite a bit. After a blood draw appointment, I took the kids to the olympic sculpture park. Although there is no playground, we found plenty to do. We played at the beach, ran our little hearts out on the big grassy area, and looked at the sculptures. I'd love to go on a date sometime and ride bikes along the path.

We made it to the annual fish release again, and it continues to be one of my favorite traditions. The kids always love dumping the tiny fish, and I'm obsessed with the land/creek where the event takes place. The land is privately owned and it is a family compound with 3 or 4 houses and a ton of shared land. The place just oozes with memories being made.

After the fish release, we went to the Edmonds market and happened to meet up with the Blankenships and Grants. Jill's mom was in town and she was such a good sport being chased around by Jackson and Colter, while they attempted to throw "pirate stew" (leaves) on her.

I hosted a mother's day brunch before church on Mother's Day. It was one of the most loved filled morning that I've experienced in a long time. Each husband took turns encouraging their wife and there were many tears shed. I'm so thankful to be surrounded by such wonderful mamas. The food was soooooooooooooo good, I still dream about it! Biscuits and gravy, blueberry muffins with crumbles on top, and a cinnamon roll slow cooker dish. YUM! Ben and the kids took good care of me throughout the day. I got in a long nap and didn't have to do any cooking!

I met my dear friend Sam and her two kiddos down in Edmonds for some yummy treats at red twig, and then some play time at the beach.

I decided to start a new blog, documenting some of our adventures more in depth, with the hopes of sharing some of the beauty of the place where we live. One of my first posts was about a day trip to Whidbey Island with my mom. I love that island so much! We went to an incredible nursery, explored the town of Coupeville, and explored low tide.

We got together with a friend we made in our birth class for Colter. Colter and Katie are 1 day apart and it was so fun to watch them play together. Lauren blessed us with lots of clothes and Maddie had the best time going through all of it. She now wears the frozen swimsuit about 80% of the time.

I took the kids to a fire safety center open house. It was pretty crowded so we didn't stay very long, but I love that they have this place for kids.

I went out with a few of my neighbors to dinner to celebrate one of them getting married in a few months. There's more to that story..

Ben and I got to go out on an awesome date to Delancey for dinner, and then the museum of glass . There were some really incredible displays. ... what talent! We went at such a neat time of day. It was fun to watch the sun go down and the lights come on. Everything felt totally different at night.

We ate dinner with Jayna and her kids who were staying at her mom's house. Little lady was cruising around with Brayden in the power wheel and it made my mind race forward about 16 years thinking about her riding off in a car with a boy. eek!

I took the kids on an adventure to Alki Beach. I wrote about it on my adventure blog. It was such a special day with my kiddos.

We went to Saisha's ballet performance and Maddie was in tears because she didn't wear the right skirt and didn't have on tights. She has been talking about being on stage ever since, and is constantly doing ballet moves around the house. We're signing her up for dance asap :)

That same day we ate lunch at Boeing Creek Park to celebrate my mom being in Seattle for a year. This year has been so wonderful with her here.

We tried out the touch a truck event this year. I've been wanting to go for awhile, and you would think it would have been the perfect event for Colter, but it was way to overstimulating.. random LOUD horns honking all the time, tons of people, long lines, etc. Fortunately the event was right by a big playground, so we ended up playing there for the entire time. Walking back to the car through this beautiful grassy area was the highlight. Beautiful!