ohgraciepie blog posts

Before This is Thirty Something, came Ohgraciepie. Here you can find all my past content and search for posts that you just can't stop thinking about.

So, you wanna go Camping

July 12, 2018

I decided that this last week of a shit show warranted a blog post.

We planned our trip.

We were supposed to leave town Friday morning and then drive straight through to Conconully State park in Okanogan and camp 2 nights and be back home Sunday afternoon.

Our friend Karissa was getting married and Steve was also officiating her wedding.

Nothing seemed to go as planned though.

I know, I know, it usually doesn’t. But this was worse.

Also, anything that involves a schedule change with kids is always worse. If this all went down and it was just Steve and me, we would have been annoyed but it wouldn’t have been nearly as stressful.

Let me also preface this story by the fact that our Thursday plans ran long and I didn’t get a shower after 4th of July and then boating the next day. (Which was also Blake’s Birthday)

It was late Thursday night and I had to pack and load up for camping Friday.

I decided I would wait and shower Friday morning.

Then we had a lot to do Friday morning.

So I decided, I would have plenty of time Friday after we arrived ( before the rehearsal dinner ) to just shower when we get there.

Friday Morning We pulled out of the driveway and the trailer brake system had a wiring issue. We circled back around to the house and fixed it. We headed East over the pass and made it to Cle Elum. The car shuddered as we got off the highway. We thought it was weird but continued on to the gas station to top off and then to get some lunch. Filled the tank and then the car wouldn’t start. So I walked the kids across the street to get food while Steve messed around and hit things with a hammer.

Clark got a free Ice cream cone because it was HIS BIRTHDAY.

Oh yeah, add to this lovely stress filled day that it’s Clark’s 6th ( Golden Birthday, which we totally forgot about at the time. About it being his GOLDEN Birthday, not about it being his Birthday. What kind of messed up parent do you think I am?!) and we promised him a camping party when we arrived at the site. I packed decorations and gifts and a cake for him to set up once we got there and settled in. I felt so bad I wasn’t throwing him a party this year and had been hyping this plan up all week. Eventually Steve got the car running and came to eat. We decided it was the gas cap and vapor lock. By now the kids are totally bored and unknowingly still have a long car ride ahead.

We eat ( totally went rouge on my Keto diet this weekend too ) load up and drive off. But not before side swiping a truck’s tow mirror and having to pull over again not 100 feet down the street. Get out, take care of that business. Luckily the truck owner was nice and thought he could fix it himself and sent us on our way.

We make it to Okanogan.

Only about 25 min away from our destination.

Coming into town we decide to get gas since we are low and don’t know when we will have another chance. I am SO glad we did this because had we continued on and broken down we would have been stranded on the side of the road literally in the middle of no where, with no service. We pull into the gas station and as we are almost to the pump the car dies. Everything shuts off and we skid to a halt in front of the mini mart. We get out and hit more things. Use tools and kick tires and say bad words. The kids are super annoying at this point.

I have to say, I was impressed with the amount of strangers that walked over while they got gas to ask what was wrong and if they could help. We called our friends who were already at the camp site. No one answered. Then I remembered when I was at Karissa’s bachelorette party a few weeks ago, she specifically said that the camping area has zero service. Lovely.

I leave voicemails for everyone and hope maybe they will go through. We have AAA but they could only tow our car and not our trailer. We set up a tow truck to come get the car but beyond that , aren’t really sure what to do next. We apologize to the gas station owner that we are literally blocking his business with our dead car and trailer. He is cool. He says if we are still there when he closes at 8, he has a truck and can tow the trailer somewhere for us. That made me feel a little better, a worst case scenario plan. But don’t REALLY wanna go with some random dude with my kids off into the country in the backwoods, thanks.

Then we get a call from our friend Tyler. He happened to run into town and left the campgrounds and got our voicemail. He has a friend, Brian, who lives in Omak, who has a truck. He calls him. Clark continues to remind me that he doesn’t want to miss his party at the camp site and is becoming increasingly upset. So, we do what any other good parent would do. We buy him Gatorade and Salt and Vinegar chips to cheer him up.

Tyler and Brian come to save us.

The tow truck shows up and takes our Yukon to the nearest dealership and drops it off. Of course they are closed by now, it’s 7:30 on Friday night. They leave a note on it for them. We will call them in the AM ( except we don’t have service). Then we make the rest of the drive to Conconully State Park. Which is lovely btw, but there is nothing for miles around it. Like not even a farm house. Just fields and brush and hills. It’s legit Oregon Trail and stuff, but not where I would want to be broke down and stranded. We give Brian all the cash we have because he doesn’t drink and we can’t pay him in beer.

Friday night. We arrive. Hook up the trailer and try to give Clark a party. Too late for decorations. We do cake and gifts. There was a huge storm right before we arrived and everything is soaking wet. Yay.

Clark requested a Rainbow Cake

Vanilla Butter cake with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles

Party Hat Crew

Saturday Steve has to find a ride into town to talk to the dealership about the car. We determine it’s the fuel pump. They say someone can look at it on MONDAY because they don’t work on weekends. Steve opts to get a rental car from them in the mean time so that we aren’t relying on everyone else to drive us around since we literally can’t make a phone call without driving 7 minutes up a hill to the cemetery to get a weak signal. I am finally able to take my shower and we proceed as normal the next two days.

There happened to be a parade for the 4th of July in the little town next to the Campgrounds that we caught the tail end of and scored a few free Popsicles.

How adorable is this Post Office

Blake and his paddy wagon ( that actually said vote for BLAKE on the back)

Ridin’ the duck

King of the rock pile

The Wedding was Saturday night

Here comes the bride.

Clark looked to handsome watching Karissa come down the aisle. He didn’t take his eyes off her. It was so cute.

The wedding party waiting and Steve as the Officiant

The most gorgeous backdrop to a wedding ever

A few details

Dessert station

Yard games

My Boys

Photo Booth

The happy couple

Sunday we find out that we can’t stay in our camping spot another night because its booked. We have to ask a friend to hook up and move us to another spot. Sunday evening Clark gets to shoot his first gun! ( yay? ) I don’t know how i feel about this yet. I am a “city” girl according to Steve and he grew up hunting and shooting guns. I didn’t. I don’t have an issue with them as an adult but the thought of my 6 year old being around that is a little strange to me. Clark was super excited and ” all the other kids were doing it” and basically by this point I was like F*ck it. Whatever. We are supposed to be home right now. Then we eat left over tacos from the wedding reception and wedding cake. Which kinda made up for all of this. ( Again , not on my diet)

Riding Bikes

Clark and Blake both got their first kites for their Birthdays

Deer families roam the park and don’t mind people around them at all

Monday morning we call the shop. They say they ordered the part and it will be in tomorrow and they will work on it first thing. Call back at 11 am.

Once again we have to move due to incoming camping reservations. Someone else tows us to a new camp ground all together. Luckily we arent alone. A few other families from the wedding stayed to camp so we are with them and we all move to the new location.

New Location

This place has a dock

Clark and his antenna

Random dog shitting behind me as I take a photo. Pretty much sums it up.

Our wedding gift to Karissa!

Stop looking at me Swan

Blake catches a trout!

Tuesday we call the shop, they need another 1.5 hrs. ( Probably hadn’t even started on it) We borrow yet ANOTHER truck to tow the trailer into town to the dealership.

The car is finally fixed.

The kids are PISSED we are leaving and throwing a fit.

Did I mention its hot out?

We need food.

We return the rental car, hook up the Yukon to the trailer, go eat and hit the road.

FINALLY, we are on our way.

New fuel pump and car is running good. $1300.00 later.

We make it about 12 miles.

Car dies. In an intersection.

Luckily its in a tiny town ( Malott) and it’s not a major highway but still……. cars are having to go around us and people are rubber necking and it’s hot.

The Kids are like “OH NOOOOO ,We are going to Die! We need a Tow Truck! How will we ever get home?!” Being super dramatic and chatty. Meanwhile we are on the phone trying to get a hold of someone to come help us again. After all , we are only 12 miles out! Not a big deal , right? Except all the people we know are back at the camp site…..which doesn’t have service.

We call AAA and they tell us to call the police. (because we are in an intersection). Super helpful .

I call Poulsbo RV because we got extra insurance when we purchased the trailer. I want to find out what kind of coverage we have if it needs to get towed home separately from our vehicle. They transfer me to someone who can help and it goes to voicemail. Twice. I call again and am obviously upset. ” Hi, I’m sitting in an intersection in a dead car with my two kids. Can you please tell me what the terms of the policy are?! Thanks”

She gives me the number.

I call.

They are closed.

It’s 5:00 pm here and they run Eastern time.

I call back and get another number, they source a tow truck for me and my out of pocket to tow the trailer home will be $1500.00. The driver estimated he needed 9 hours for this service.

We are less than 4 hours from home. WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK.

Meanwhile, a guy and his wife come by and offer to help pull us out of the road. His name is Ken and he lives up the road. They tow us and the Yukon and the trailer to their house and tell us we are welcome to camp in their driveway or leave a vehicle or whatever we need. We spend the next 2 hours on the phone ( thank god they had service in this area) coordinating and pricing our different senarios. Karissa had mentioned that we could leave the trailer at her house in Omak. I thought maybe it would be cheaper to just tow it there and deal with it later. Then find a way home. I needed her address though and she is camping. Then i remember that Cassie asked her for it at the bachelorette party! I call Cassie. YES! She does have the new address…but….. it’s a PO BOX. DAMN IT.

New plan.

We call Steve’s dad ( who is on summer vacation and not working) to come get the trailer in the morning and tow it home with his truck. We will just sleep in it tonight in Ken (our new friend)’s driveway. Awesome. Totally what I want to do.

ALSO Clark needs to go big bathroom. So that’s great.

We call AAA and once again set up a tow for our supposed to be fixed Yukon, which is only covered for about half the mileage to tow it all the way back home over the mountains. So we are now paying $500.00 for that. Once we settle on that plan,we get a call from our friend Mark who lives 2 hours away in Entiat and he can tow our trailer to Wenatchee so we will at least be at a friends house and it wont be quite as far for Steve’s dad to travel the next day.

We hang out in Ken’s garage and learn about his bird houses and how his house burned down in 2009 and everything else you could sorta want to know about a stranger.

Ken had a lot of cans.

We pay him for his help with a case of Beer we have in the Trailer. ( April and Matt , that was yours, thank you! )

Mark shows up and tows us away. we leave the Yukon with our new friend Ken and AAA comes to get it later that night and takes it to our house.

At this point I just want to set fire to the Yukon and the trailer and just Uber it home or something.

I held it together all weekend but now, I just want to cry. Also, I am totally out of diapers. And Blake pooped.

Two hours of sitting in the back seat of a truck between two tired and hungry ( and poopy) kids is great.

The car seats take up so much room, I can’t actually sit square so I have to alternate shoulders the entire ride to Wenatchee.

As we are driving, Mark is telling us this story about how his truck was acting super weird and skipping gears and he hadn’t been able to replicate the symptoms again. So he didn’t know why it had happened. He was kind of excited to tow us to see if it happened again or if it was just a fluke. * Fighting back tears*

It’s now after 9 pm. The kids are loopy. Blake is telling me “I needs to get off this boat! Let me off of this boat!” Followed by ” I don’t want to walk any more, smell my feet, they stink” As he kicks his legs up in the air and smooshes his bare nasty foot against my face.

We arrive in Wenatchee at Tyler’s.

Crash in the guest room.

Wake up at 7 am when Steve’s dad arrives Wednesday morning and takes us and the trailer home.

Still don’t know whats wrong with the Yukon.

We have scheduled plans to go a camping again in a few days for another wedding.

Looks like we will end up in a hotel instead.

I called to cancel our camping reservations and I’m past our 48 hour window and now have to pay for one night anyway.

Wednesday night we head over to the garage to check out the Yukon and troubleshoot.

It starts right up and runs fine.

Now I just feel like it’s like it’s Trolling us.

Also kinda never want to leave me house again.

A New Place for Grace

April 28, 2018

Hi. I moved. I wanted a fresh start to have a new place to share all the things going on in my busy world. You can still find all my old content and posts on here but the site has a new look and a different feel than before. I needed somewhere to post all of our renovations and flipping projects that wouldn’t blow up my social media. So please follow along on my new Blog space. I will be posting Motherhood mishaps and a days in the life on here. Check it out. Or don’t. Byeeeeee.

A double Birthday party

July 20, 2016

Hey, remember me?

Yes, I used to blog here once upon a time.

Turns out being a parent is very time consuming.

I have a million new topics in queue and even an idea for a new blog.

Believe it or not.

But I thought since I never even wrote a post about my birth story with Blake ( let alone filled out his baby book ) I thought I could at least post about his FIRST Birthday ( and Clark’s 4th).

This way I have something to refer back to when I get around to filling in the blanks on that book.

I seriously get the worst mom award for not even writing Blake’s name in his baby book yet though.

The longer I procrastinate, the more daunting it becomes.

It’s a vicious circle I tell ya.

Anyway, without further adieu, The Party.

(Donut themed for Blake & Paw Patrol for Clark)

Your house is not fully decorated and party ready until all tchotchkes are wearing hats.

There was no cohesive way to blend Paw Patrol and Donuts together so it was a bit of a mish mash.

I unintentionally ended up with most of the donut theme in the dining room and pups in the living room though.

Licorice ” fire hoses”

Homemade Donut Sugar Cookies and Mini Donuts

The spread

( In our newly remodeled kitchen)

My fire hydrant juice bottle

I found a few photos of cakes online that I thought Clark would like.

I let him choose his favorite one from the bunch.

He was so excited when he saw the final product he could barely contain himself.

He ran around the house yelling ” I am so excited! This is the BEST day EVER!”

It made it all worth it.

The Rubble Cake

Since I just have a little lady brain I decided it would be a good idea to use a brand new recipe for chocolate cake.

It tasted great but it was the consistency of a flour-less chocolate cake.

Which wasn’t fabulous for a kid party or a 4 layer cake that needed to be sliced up.

When I cut into the dense layers, it kind of just turned into a hot mess.

So everyone got a pile of chocolate jumble on their plates.

Cake: one & Mommy: zero

I wonder what he wished for.

Probably a barn or to use the lawn mower.

Those are his usual go to wishes.

Blake’s smash cake was on the healthier side.

I used a new recipe for this cake too.

It was made with applesauce and bananas and cream cheese icing.

I didn’t want to shock the system with a bunch of sugar and crap.

He ended up barely eating the cake and went straight for the donuts on the outside.

Which of course were not healthy at all.

You might remember Clark’s adorable 1st Birthday highchair.

This is not it.

In normal Gracie fashion I sold Clark’s chair on Craigslist after refinishing it and using it for his party.

So I had to find another old wood chair and repaint it all cute and make Blake’s banner.

Not planning on having a 3rd, so this will also be going up for sale too.

Easy come, easy go.

The best family photo out of the bunch.

It’s hard to get everyone to look the same direction at the same time these days.

I had planned to do a few outdoor games since it’s July and typically nice this weekend.

Unfortunately it was raining all week, so I couldn’t do my Donut Toss ( Cornhole) and Donuts on a string games.

Donuts on a string was one of my favorite games in elementary school.

It’s when you have to eat the dangling donut off a string hanging down without using your hands. First one to finish it without it dropping to the ground wins.

Luckily a friend let us borrow her bounce house and we were able to set it up inside our garage.

It worked out great.

And honestly, the kids did NOT need more sugar, so it was probably best that we skipped my original games.

Some firefighters even made an appearance

Nona and Oma with their Blakey Boy

Present time!

The aftermath

The clean up Crew is here!

According to Clark it was The Best Day Ever!

Turns out I’m not dying, just pregnant.

January 14, 2015

The time has come to let this little secret out!

I know most of my friends thought I fell off the face of the earth into a black hole better known as Bothell, Washington.

Based on the fact that I moved away, haven’t blogged in months, never upload new photos on Facebook and most importantly I suppose, haven’t shown my face in public.

I have managed to stay inside my little rental house of darkness and avoid pretty much all friend contact, activities and get togethers.

This wasn’t by choice.

I felt like I was dying.

This feeling was shortly followed by Clark also thinking he was dying.

But, it turned out he just had Ecoli.

(Which can in all seriousness cause one to die)

So we went on a 3 day/ 2 night vacation at the wonderful resort called Children’s Hospital.

A few weeks after that resolved it’s self, it was Thanksgiving and Christmas and I still had zero time or desire to go out into the real world.

Now that my Netflix Que is exhausted, I have moved into my 2nd trimester and we are moving into our new house, I am finally joining the living.

So, with that, I thought it was the proper time to announce that we will soon be a family of four!

Baby is due July 13, 2015

Same exact due date as Clark.

Creepy.

You had ONE JOB!

October 1, 2014

I can not express how much this article hit home with me.
l l l
l l l
l l l
V V V

* Being a Stay at Home Parent is a Luxury…for your Spouse *
From Babble.com

It was actually a relief to read that many of the thoughts and feelings that I transition through everyday, week to week, month to month, are the same ones that other stay at home Moms
( And dads…maybe) also feel.

* I say “maybe” because I seriously think Men have this amazing way of not over analyzing or reading into things , thus allowing them to do what they want and not feel remorse or worry.
Which is awesome for them. But in the world of Stay at home life, it doesn’t allow most of them to relate to a lot of these feelings.*

Anyway, back to the article.
There are many days that I wake up when Steve is hitting his snooze button for the 3rd time and it’s still dark and rainy outside and I feel immensely guilty for knowing that I get to roll over and go back to sleep.
I don’t have to get dressed in work clothes and schlep out for a morning commute struggling to stay awake to get to a job.
I lay there and contemplate if I should get up too, for moral support.
Maybe get some laundry done or make a hot breakfast so he isn’t stuck with cereal again.
But I don’t.

Then I attempt to fill my day with activities and junk to validate my worth of being home all day.
But somehow at the same time try to not spend money because that would just cancel out the fact that we got rid of Cable.
This is hard.

You can only go to the park so many times and push the swing before you want to run away.
Going to the mall to play on the indoor toys is alright, but do I really want to place myself inside a Mall and then not shop?!
Impossible.

This predicament usually results in grocery shopping.
I get to “do something” and spend money but not feel totally guilty for it.
Then I can also tell Steve about the great savings I found using coupons and show him that I am worth more than just a lady to collects the UPS packages off the front porch.

Then it’s nap time and I am tired too.
Should I lay down and nap when Clark naps?
I think about Steve at work and how he would probably give anything for a nap right now.
Here I am with 4 more hours of sleep than him and contemplating a nap.
I feel guilty. I should clean or something.
Sell junk on eBay, work out, bake a pie….. anything besides nap.

I lay down and nap.

If I am lucky, my dad stops by after work and watches Clark for a bit.
I can run errands alone, go to Hot Yoga or get my nails done.
All things I also feel guilty about.

Steve gets home after his almost 2 hour commute ( one way) and I feel the need to list off everything I possibly can to prove how productive I have been today and not let him regret letting me stay home. Trying to down play the shopping at the mall and getting my nails did part.
If I’m extra productive I have dinner ready to eat for him.
I feel like that helps my case .
When he comes home to no hot meal, I feel an ultimate low.
Like the meme ” You had ONE job!”
( Even though that’s not entirely true… I did keep our child alive for yet another day!)

It is nice to read that I am not the only one that struggles with these things.
I am more like everyone else and not just some sad lady with low self esteem.
Or maybe we all are just that.
But, hey, misery loves company.

I also realize the point of the article wasn’t just to make me feel like part of the team but to chance my views on the whole situation.

And it does.

I never really thought of it as a luxury to my spouse.

Even though he happens to be one of the good ones and has pointed that out to me numerous times.

I never took him seriously though.

It’s like your mom telling you that you look pretty.

It just doesn’t count.

Sometimes you just need to hear it from someone you don’t know.

The Bachelorette (party)

July 16, 2014

This month I had a few cake orders.

I had the pleasure of making a *tasteful* bachelorette party cake, followed by a wedding cake.

To have & to hold.

The night out started with a Moonshine tasting at 2Bar in Sodo.

Then we headed to dinner at Cantina de San Patrico in Post Alley.

Followed by Fados for drinks and dancing!

Smelling the mash

How cute is this idea.

We each kissed the matte of the frame and signed our names under our lips.

Then the bride can put a photo of her night out in the frame to keep!

Tattoos that ended up sticking to everything

Shine bright like a diamond

The country themed wedding took place in Moses Lake at the Dunes!

Here is the wedding cake.

Looks pretty good for having taken a 4 hour car ride to Eastern Washington.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

WInner Winner Renton Dinner

July 8, 2014

Thank you for all your votes!

Clark won the Renton Report’s Cutest kid contest.

Now, that we have dominated in the local competition, we will be moving on to full blown high glitz pageantry.

I intend to have Clark skipping around the stage like a show horse and blinking and nodding like valley girl.

Here is what Clark would look like in full glitz.

Calm down, it’s just photoshop.

Anyway, when I received the message that we had won, I was told that next year would be bigger and better.

Well, I should hope so.

Not to poo poo Clark’s cuteness, but there were only like 12 other entries!

Not to mention they allowed you to vote 10 times per day, which makes no sense.

It pretty much made this a popularity contest of who had more determined friends.

( Again, thank you!)

In the end there were really only 3 of us competing because all the other entries had fallen so far behind I am pretty sure they just gave up.

We worked so hard to get to number one and then they print all 3 photos in the paper anyway.

Being a mostly noncompetitive person, I would have totally been content with 3rd place.

It obviously wasn’t the great prizes I was after.

All though a 100.00 visa card will buy some diapers or toys, I am not sure how a 25.00 coupon to the local Noodle House was the best they could come up with for 1st prize option for a kid contest.

How about a coupon for the Toy Store in the Landing?

Your place on a float in the River Days Parade.

The prizes just don’t make sense to me.

Also, since we are complaining here, the photo in the paper was poor quality.

I want a refund.

What did you say?

The Renton Reporter is free?

Damn it.

Fiesta like there’s no manana

July 7, 2014

For Clark’s second Birthday this year we had a Fiesta Themed party.

Even though Clark has no idea what that is and doesn’t really even favor Mexican food.

I just thought it would be cute and it’s not like he really knows what is going on anyway.

Bad Mom award here.

I tried to make up for it with a school bus cake.
He is kind of obsessed with buses.

And in case you are wondering, he loved the cake.

So there.

Best of all, we had nice weather so we were able to be outside.

Which is a lot more fun now because we finished our backyard!

Time for some gifts!

Tennis racket & pajamas

Lawn Mower!

Snuggling up in the new Ninja Turtles blanket

Clark got a recorder, drum and guitar

Aunt Claudia playing the recorder

Clark being totally impressed

The cake

Bentley in her Sombrero

I made most of the decor from tissue paper

I had big plans for a Pinata’ but they were later squashed by Steve when he pointed out that we weren’t inviting any other children to this party and it would be kind of weird and pointless.

So, we skipped that.

Thumbs up

Sun dancing

Adult Drinking

Tequila soaked watermelon chunks filled the leftover shells of my pineapples!

Keepin’ it green and recycling ya know.

Clark got a super cool sandbox from Oma & Grandpa!

The lid folds out into bench seats.

Happy 2nd Birthday Clark!

Red Hair Don’t Care

June 10, 2014

I decided to make some changes ’round here.
Starting with my hair.
Problem is… I wanted RED.
And everyone knows what a pain in the ass it is to keep your red hair red.
Not only is it a pain, but it costs a lot.
So I went the DIY route.
AKA my sister’s kitchen sink.

I’m not afraida no ghost and I’m sure as heck not afraid to take risks with my hair.
I mean, this is me in 8th grade.
I decided to go full lesbian and shave it all.

In retrospect it wasn’t the BEST look for me
but it seemed like a great idea at the time.

I learned a valuable lesson though, hair grows back.
Unless you are my Aunt T and it takes like 5 years to grown 1 inch.
I have nice Italian genes though and grow my hair super fast.
This also has a downside and I have to shave my entire body on a weekly basis, but hey, beauty has it’s price.