On my 40th birthday celebration

Posted on October 30, 2022 by Patti Hoelzle

For my 40th birthday party, I thought it would be fun to challenge my loved ones to dress like their favorite “me.” There are a whole lot of personalities and looks to choose from across the last 4 decades and I loved seeing what folks came up with!

The ironic thing about this party is I actually LOATHE theme and dress up parties but luckily, I got to put very little effort into how I dressed and way more interested in the looks of others. Scott says this type of party is his worst nightmare (especially people looking through old photos of himself – haha), but for an Enneagram 3 like me – it was perfection and led to a whole lot of laughter!

We had so much fun and I so appreciated everyone’s efforts in celebrating me and making me feel oh so loved for my 40th birthday.

My husband had his outfit planned for months.

My brother as Chyna, my childhood namesake, was the real winner in brave and hilarious rendition of “me.”

She created my own bottle of essential oil! Love this girl.

Thank you to all of you who attended, sent your love even if you couldn’t and took time out of your days to wish me a happy birthday. I can’t wait to celebrate some other peeps’ 40th and beyond birthdays in the coming year!

All the faves in May

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Patti Hoelzle

May was a busy month! Which is weird to say after over a year of a global pandemic and most normal activities being shut down or dramatically reduced…..here are a few memorable things that happened last month in photo form.

I got to meet up with two of my bests at our fave restaurant….our Sunday afternoon zooms got me through the first couple months of quarantine and I am forever grateful for their friendship.

I got to participate in a Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build – totally out of my comfort zone (would I be responsible if a wall fell down???) but so worth it to impact in a small teeny way the homelessness problems we are facing in Whatcom County.

Mother’s Day camping adventure! My mom was the only human allowed my campsite that weekend.

WonderGIRL got to attend a private prom put on my senior parents…..she looked stunning and had a beyond wonderful night with her boyfriend.

Hike #7 in the books! Trails around Deception Pass never get old…..neither do naps at the summit!

Attempts to de-stigmatize mental health for this important awareness month (as well as Foster Care Awareness Month) on my instagram pages…..

We lost a hugely important community member (and a big Ferndale volleyball fan) to Colon cancer this month….many are working through their grief with heavy hearts and I am so grateful to have experienced Brenda’s joy and light while she was here.

Tell me you’re a crazy cat lady without telling me you’re a crazy cat lady.

Onto to June – WonderGIRL graduates and the start of summer! We are ready….

April favorites

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Patti Hoelzle

From Spring Break to the boys birthdays to a lot of transitional milestones for WonderGIRL, this was a busy month!!! Here are some my fave photos…..

Recreating our first ferry date as husband and wife. The ferry and islands hold special memories for us.

The view though – what a clear and perfect day to be up at Mount Constitution!

WG’s senior photo shoot – we are so in love with how the photos turned out!

6 month post-op – WG got to donate her HIGGY BEARS from Christmas to the Children’s Hospital. What a sweet moment.

WG started her new job as a nursing assistant at the local assisted living residence just down the street from our house. She is loving it so far and I’m sure the residents are also loving her quite a bit.

Without the need for the larger SUV, we sold our highlander to a lovely couple with young kiddos and I got my spaceship back!!! Penelope Jr. – I’m just as obsessed as I was with the original.

On the link between camping

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Patti Hoelzle

….and this last year in our global Pandemic.

Obviously, we are a hardcore camping family and love to go in all seasons. Some of the things we love about camping is actually some of the perks I have appreciated about the pandemic this past year and how it has influenced our pace of life and activity choices. I love that we have been forced to slow our pace of life down…with activities cancelled and so many places closed, we stayed at home a bit more and had to utilize the resources that we ALREADY had to enjoy, entertain, organize, etc.

This past year, rest and recovery was ENCOURAGED (versus shamed and an afterthought for many). And the main entertainment and activity was just being together. Oh ya and of course a renewed appreciation for the companionship of our furry friends.

And perhaps the greatest Pandemic perk – the idea that NATURE is always open. Walks, hikes, pretty sunsets, camping trips…..the absolute wonder and beauty of the outside really struck me this past year and I want to keep that in my heart and in my priorities moving forward.

My little man loves being outdoors and we love being there with him!

What are some of the “rememberings” of this past year that you want to keep as part of your routine and schedule moving forward?

On our cozy Covid Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2020 by Patti Hoelzle

To be honest, this year didn’t look a whole lot different for us….we learned early with the kiddos (this is our 6th Christmas with our Wonders!) that a ton of events around this holiday is NOT healthy for any of us. So just like in years past, we spread out family gatherings (and used masks when appropriate), we had a slow Christmas morning with minimal presents and stimuli, and increased the answer “yes” to many of their requests.

Here are a few happy pictures I want to remember from this year:

New happy jams – and the perfect Christmas card picture we took the day after I ordered our Christmas cards. Just the way 2020 worked for all of us…..bad timing!

Waiting for Daddy to get off work was hard!

And because it’s funny – I went crazy with the Snapchat filters on Savannah and he hated every moment of it. Scott at work thoroughly enjoyed however.

On the newest members of Team HB

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Patti Hoelzle

These two little guys were rescued from a no-good, ugly situation (thank you Rescue Pet Vet) and since our family is pretty good at accepting and loving on siblings from no-good, ugly situations….we couldn’t pick just one and separate them. ⁣⁣

Introducing Hamilton and Hallford – our Wonders’ first last names and part of what makes M and T so special and so strong. We wanted to honor that piece of their world as well as their first Mom Maria Hallford who passed away earlier this year. ⁣⁣

And yes we now have 4 cats. And yes I’m a crazy cat lady. And yes they’re going camping with us. I think that covers all the questions….

Scott adds: “And yes I was as surprised as you are.” (hehe he was on shift – we went for one, came home with 2!)