More Around Bremerton

We had a lot of fun just staying in town also.

One of the places we took the children was the Bug Museum.  We knew we had to wait for Sean to go to this museum.  We thought he would be upset that it was not called an insect museum but his response when we asked was...there are bugs so it is OK...there were also reptiles so I guess he was right.

It was a small museum but geared for introduction to the little guys that make us squirm.  The moms enjoyed going through the small building once, but the children went several times to each of the insect showcases pointing out different insects each time.

We also had the joy of celebrating Shane's birthday.  Christina wanted it to be geared toward the idea that little Madison was celebrating with her dad for the first time.  It was very special and sweet...with first dance and special cards created by everyone.  It almost turned into the first piece of cake also as Madison decided to lunge into the cake just as we were about to serve...it was cookies and cream and looked fascinating with all the cookies sprinkled on top and candles ready to light!

A couple of days later it was all about the girls.  We started with a nice Italian lunch.  Then we made our way to a local lavender farm.  We thought we would have a little amateur photo session and walk away with a bundle of flowers for each of us.  We were quickly informed we could pay a $150 session fee to take pictures in the flowers...we decided our phone camera (the only cameras allowed) took great pictures!

We did enjoy the gardens.  The little ones carried their baskets and picked individual flowers for almost an hour....barely picking one bunch.  The mommas decided it was time to take action and finish the task.  We were still cutting after thirty minutes.  There were a lot of bees flying around the flowers so it made for a difficult task.  We did manage to create three nice bundles.  When we returned to the display room, the owner asked if she could take a picture of the little ones with their bundles for her website.  It turned out to be the best picture of the day.

The next day, I took the boys and Zaira on an afternoon trip to the town of Poulsbo to see the small local aquarium.  When I say small...I mean small...it took us less than 30 minutes to see everything.  It was still nice and we appreciated it.  We then walked down the main street in hopes to save a Raggedy Ann from a antique shop.  We ended up saving it and a unique chess board as well.

Thankfully, I still had other plans for the afternoon.   We went to the Naval Undersea Museum which is dedicated to those who risk their safety to explore the mysteries of the sea as well as the submarines that are used for exploration and defense.  We spent a lot of time exploring ourselves.

Our next stop was supposed to be a small drive into the gates of the naval base to attend Mass at the chapel.  When we went in the gate, I asked the guard where the chapel was located and he seemed confused and said he did not know.  I thought that was odd but proceeded to drive around the small base.  It was like a ghost town...only a few buildings and we could count the people we saw on one hand.  Very strange but when we started to leave, we noticed the top of the chapel over the trees.  I tried to get to this allusive building multiple times but it always seemed out of reach...again odd.  But the point when we felt we were in a Twilight Zone episode was when a man came jogging toward us in a gas mask!  LOL...I bravely rolled down the window and asked if he could send us in the right direction.  It turns out we were not on the naval base at all...we needed to drive about 5 miles down the road to the correct base...we were at a small base that was not actively being used other than a few historical homes and storage.  We did have the joy of seeing our fist osprey on a nest.

When we did arrive at the chapel, there was a wedding.  All were welcome to be there and Mass went on as normal.  We enjoyed inclusion in their special day but I wish we had not dressed so casual...we were very out of place.

A great place to travel around and central to many other places to enjoy.  I am glad we were able to stay with Christina and Shane.  Of course, the best part was being a part of their lives at such a special moment.  I am so blessed to be considered gramma and snuggle little Madison with love.  Hard to believe the time has gone by so quickly and it was so easy to grow attached to such a little one.