Ridenour Family - December 2011

Ridenour Family - December 2011
Shanna, Jeff and Zoe, Santiago de Chile, December 2011

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

On the Olympic Peninsula

We've just returned from a week on the Olympic Peninsula. We visited Lake Quinault, Forks and the Quileute Reservation of La Push (not for Twilight reasons, but we did watch the movies for the first time while we were there), the Hoh Rainforest, Cape Flattery - the most northwest point of the contiguous U.S., Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Poulsbo and then back to Seattle via the Bainbridge Island ferry. I think Zoe is officially "road-tripped out" for at least a few days. :-)

Isn't it funny how you notice things you've never seen before when you're getting ready to leave? We've always known how pretty it is here, but the beauty has taken on a new loveliness somehow... even in the midst of winter. Although that's not surprising. We've always really liked the rain. And the clouds. And the cold. Mostly because I don't have to lather myself in sunblock just to go to the store.

Anyway, this picture is on a trail near Lake Quinault. In the distance is Uncle Neighbor Ben (designated "The B" by Zoe), and then Zoe (not so happily) in the hiking pack with Jeff and me. I'm always the photographer and therefore not usually in pictures, so I tried to find one with all of us. This is pretty much the only one. Well, it's the only one that's already on the computer.

We fly to Texas tomorrow for family holidays. I'm sure there will be a very cute Christmas picture of Zoe that I can post here. Stay tuned. :-)

Monday, December 6, 2010

Redefining Home

Happy holidays!

Welcome to the first installment of our family blog. This is new territory for us, but we hope to keep you up-to-date on our adventures for the next 20 years or so. I (Shanna) can already promise you that we won't write every day, or even every week, but rest assured that when something big happens, you'll know. :-)

So, our current adventure is sorting through all of the stuff we've amassed over the last three-and-a-half years of living in Seattle PLUS purchasing new stuff for our lives overseas. Now, I don't usually consider myself a pack rat, but NOW, I find myself wanting to actually keep so many of these little mementos - play programs, ticket stubs, photo albums, Zoe's clothes that no longer fit, MY clothes that no longer fit, books, movies, home decor items...

Sigh. This will probably be harder than we think.

And not because I didn't realize before how many things there are in our tiny apartment. I'm sitting here looking at our little Christmas tree realizing that this tiny apartment, and more importantly this city, have been home for us. A safe haven. A place where we belonged. And we have been and continue to be grateful. And it's because we've had this safe place that we are able to jump into the unknown.

Jeff reports for the Foreign Service Junior Officer Training on Monday, Jan. 3 in Washington, D.C. (hereafter referred to as "the other Washington"), while Zoe and I make the rest of the trek with my parents by road. We won't know where our first post will be until Jan. 31 when Jeff finishes most of the initial orientation... but we're excited. Not just because we get to travel the world. Not just because Zoe will have experiences that we could never give her otherwise. We're excited because we're recognizing that while we love Seattle and our community here, our real "home" is each other. Jeff, Shanna, and Zoe - we are all each other's safe havens and the places where we belong.

That's a pretty nice place to start this new adventure. We're so glad you're coming along! :-)