I feel like early every spring, we get a week of gorgeous warm weather that tricks us into thinking summer has arrived. This year was no exception, only I feel like it was longer and warmer than usual!
We set up the pool...
I finally hiked Rattlesnake Ledge!
It was more beautiful than everyone said it was...and not as difficult as I was expecting.
It made me feel grateful. Grateful for this world and those I get to share it with.
It's kind of weird to have spring break when you haven't been to school in over a year...but knowing that they were going back to some form of in-person school the following week (Summer started the week before), gave me enough motivation to make the week special. AND we lucked out with absolutely gorgeous weather!
UW Cherry Blossoms
This was technically the week before spring break, but we'll count it anyway. UW Cherry blossoms have been on my bucket list since we've lived in WA and somehow I've never been before this year! Phoebe came with us and gave us a little "tour" of the campus too:)
Seattle
Kerry Park was another thing I've been meaning to do since living here. Kids go here all the time for dance pictures because of the beautiful views of the Seattle skyline. We also did Pike Place (where nobody seemed to be wearing a mask-eek and was sadly practically free from vendors). We finished off with some delicious gelato.
One of my absolute favorite places in Washington. This year the weather was perfect!
Summer was still scared...the entire time we were trying to convince her to feed the animals herself. I think she did it once. Still loads of fun.
Love taking the ferry
Since we were already in Sequim for the game farm, we headed to the beach. The weather was gorgeous. Unfortunately, Summer got SOAKED (having the absolute best time of her life...I don't know if I've ever seen her so happy) and had to walk all the way back to the car all sandy and wet.
Dear Dad,
There is so much I wish I could talk to you about. We started down this path of figuring out why you are more than 40% Jewish (or why I am 23% Jewish). Now that we've started, I so wish we had done all this while you were still here. You wouldn't believe where it has led us...or maybe you would...mom wonders how much your parents told you when they had that conversation with you about your lineage that left you feeling so upset. So many questions and so few answers. This is all exciting, confusing, frustrating, amazing, and a little(sometimes a lot) sad.
After I got my DNA results that confirmed our Jewish heritage, Tina reached out to Marianne and Kenney. asking if it was possible that you had a different father than your siblings. Not really expecting any sort of confirmation, we were shocked when Tina got a phone call from Kenney telling her that Grandma Kurki confessed to Britta before she died, that Grandpa Kurki wasn't your biological father...that Grandma was already pregnant when Grandpa got home from the war...that he forgave her and agreed to raise you as his own. I COULD NOT BELIEVE THIS WAS TRUE. I couldn't believe Grandma had kept this from you her entire life...even more, I couldn't believe that Britta knew, and didn't tell you for almost 20 years.
I keep wondering how you would feel about all this. I know you loved your family....and that would not change. But would you search for your biological father? Would you be upset that Britta didn't tell you? Would you still feel like a Kurki? Would you be sad? It just breaks my heart to think about you being hurt or sad. I have had all the feelings about this. I have been upset, angry, frustrated, confused, shocked, betrayed, worried etc. I wonder how Grandpa felt. I know he loved you as his own. There was absolutely no difference between how he treated you compared to how he treated your siblings. I guess that's part of the reason no one had any idea about any of this.
And the story doesn't end there. There was a suggested 2nd cousin that showed up on my ancestry account through your line. Just one. Should I reach out? Is there any possible way there could be any answers? I was hesitant...but something pushed me to do it (maybe it was you). I sent a quick message to Ruben ???. I did not expect him to respond the very next day. And thus started me down this rabbit hole to find Salomon Borenstein...your possible biological father. The man who passed away 30 years ago. From certain angles, his picture looks so much like you...so much so, that I found myself sitting in a parking lot, staring at these pictures and crying my eyes out. This man left behind two children, Rita and Ariel. Ruben is Rita's son--my possible cousin.
All this is too much. It's exciting, yet almost unbearably sad. I miss you. I wish you could have known your biological father. I wish your (possible) half-brother and sister could have met you. They would have loved you. I feel sad for them. I feel sad for Grandma and Grandpa. They lived their entire life with this lie. But mostly, this all just makes me wish even more that you were still here. I think about you every day. I plead with Heavenly Father to let me dream about you. I keep hoping for a way to communicate with you...to let you know all these things I'm thinking and hear how you feel about it all. I hope you are in heaven, and that it's a happy place where you know the truth. A place where you can be with your mom and dad and talk about all this...a place where you can meet your biological father. I wish you could let me know you're ok and that you still do exist somewhere real.
All I can do now is hope. Hope to find answers. Hope that one day I really will see you again. Hope that I can feel you near until then. Hope that the sadness of missing you gets easier to bear.
Love you, Dad
Love, Anita
I remember last Easter, feeling extra grateful for the resurrection because of all the craziness and uncertainty that was going on in the world due to Covid. This year, my gratitude is on an entirely different level. I'm not sure how to survive without the hope of seeing my Dad again. Because of Jesus Christ, I have reason to celebrate.
There's nothing that quite compares to having it snow where you live. While we lived in California, we travelled up to Big Bear a couple times to see snow, but living where it snows is just so much better! Every year here in Bothell we usually get a couple good days of snow. The best kind of snow is the kind that comes around Christmas, but we take what we can get. This year we had one quick snowfall in November but our real snow waited until February...and it wasn't packable, so really it was just good for sledding (no snowmen this year). Summer and I walked to Miner's Corner park and Tyson spent a solid 6+ hours at Brightwater with friends.
Jordan is TWENTY!
She is still the life of the party
She is hilarious
She is beautiful
She loves music and dancing
She is a student at Cascadia (majoring in business)
She is a nanny for Cole and Kaia
She is saving for a car
She is always up for an adventure
We love her so much!!
We celebrated with Healthy Bonz for breakfast, opining 20 bday gifts, eating Nothing Bundt cake, an Escape Room, and Cheesecake Factory for dinner. So grateful to spend the day with our Jordan...especially since she was all the way in Hawaii last year.
I am not a big fan of winter...mostly because I don't like being cold...but also because I am TERRIFIED to drive in the snow!! Driving in the snow and being cold is pretty much essential for any type of winter sport. Good thing I have a kid who invites everyone on most of her adventures because there are a few winter things that I have actually always wanted to try...snowshoeing being one of them! And guess what? The roads were clear, the scenery was beautiful and I had a wonderful time.
