Today marks the last day of my last (semi) childhood summer...ever. Tomorrow I will board a plane and fly to the Midwest to start a new chapter of my life in Chicago. It's scary. It's exciting. It's bitter, but mostly sweet. God had provided me a great opportunity to live and experience something completely new, and I can't wait to see what He has in store for me. I'm hoping that this blog will enable me to share all of my new happenings (glimpses, if you will :) ) of my life with all those important to me--new friends and old.
Theses two months spent with my family in Washington have been amazing. I've been able to recenter, spend quality time with my family, and take a deep breath before I plunge into the great unknown of Chicago. Some highlights were watching my sister Kara graduate from high school, enjoying a WA week in July with my boyfriend, Steve, attending my cousins' weddings, visiting Cannon Beach with my grandparents and cousins, and being a part of the huge Bosma family reunion. I'm so thankful I was able to share those moments.
These everyday moments will be missed, but I know I'll never be too far from home. Planes
do fly to Pasco after all.
Here are some of those moments captured.
 |
| My perfect sunny bedroom. |
Kara Graduated High school in May. On August 23 she's about to make a huge transition as well. My parents will be 2/3's empty nesters.
 |
| Kara Kara with her favorite Uncle Bill. |
 |
| The Three Sisters. |
In June my mom, Kara, and I made a trip to Boise to check out Kara's college, Northwest Nazarene University, and discover her new cool city.
 |
| Dinner at Fork. |
 |
| The street art in Boise was pretty phenomenal. |
Father's day came with a surprise picnic and shooting day planned by Kara and I. We "kidnapped" Dad after church, blindfolded him, and drove him to a Chinook Pass park where a glorious picnic was awaiting him. He loved it.
 |
| Mom kickin' some butt shooting bull's eyes. |
 |
| The summer wouldn't be complete without LOTS of Mom's infamous Sassy Water. |
Kara and I went horseback riding. Meet Jasper and Timmy.
A summer at home wouldn't be complete without the annual summer trip to Cannon Beach with my grandparents. Cannon Beach is one of my favorite places in the world and will always hold a special place in my heart. It was such a blessing to spend time with my grandparents, drive 10 hours with the wonderful Ashley, and make fires on the beach with the blonde trio--Leah, Ashley, and Erika.
 |
Oh yeah, AND I also got to live a life long dream of riding horses along the beach. My awesome cousin Leah arranged the whole thing, woke Ashley and I up, and drove of to this incredible surprise. We were awestruck for at least 24 hours.
 |
| Sunset, Ashley, Leah, and I. Perfection. |
|
 |
| "A feather is artsy, right?" |
 |
| We obviously love each other. Keeping up with Grandma and Grandpa tires you out! |
While Steve was in Washington, he got to visit Seattle for the first time. I had a blast because it was the first time I was able to do ALL the touristy things Seattle has to offer. We walked along all the piers, had pizza on Alki Beach, ate in the Space Needle Restaurant, walked Pike's Market, made our own contribution to the gum wall, visited the sculpture park, watched the Hiram Locks where saltwater meets fresh, and visited Queen Anne's Hill. Yeah, that's about our complete itinerary.
 |
| I mean, the Jumbo tails were pretty impressive for the Lake Michigan folk. |
 |
| The gum wall is one of the coolest, yet most disgusting attractions I've ever seen. One whole pack of tropical Trident down, and those two orange globs were our contribution. |
 |
| Original Starbucks. It had to be done. |
 |
| Then we went on a run. |
Also, meet our newest member of the family, puppy. Or jack. Or duke....no one can agree on a name 4 weeks later. He's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.
We made it to some pretty great weddings as well. Rachel and Paul in Coeur d'Alene, ID. And Matt and Juliana here at home.
 |
| I obviously had a blast with my childhood best friend Annaka. I love catching up with her. Please excuse my face. Photo Credit: Annaka Erickson |
 |
| We do clean up pretty nice. |
This past weekend was our huge Bosma family reunion where over 100 people from all over, including the Netherlands, came to the Yakima Valley to reconnect. Here's a picture of the girls wine tasting in Prosser, one of many available activities.
 |
| Photo credit: Ashley Haak on Instagram. |
I'm going to miss it, but I'm sure there will be great things to come. Thank you to Washington and to family for one of the greatest summer's of my life. I'm ready to start this exciting new phase in my life.
