Day 3: On to Eastern Washington

We left for Dad's house in Monitor, Washington today. On the way we stopped at the Wallace Fish Hatchery near Monroe. We saw tons of huge fish in the holding cell in the river there.

We stopped for lunch at Money Creek Campground and really enjoyed the beauty and peacefulness there.

On the way over Stevens Pass, we stopped at Deception Falls and let the kids explore the hiking trail. Of course, they had to patiently pose for our many pictures there too!

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the view on our way over the pass. Tomorrow, we get to explore Leavenworth kid-free!

Day 2: Whidbey Island, here we come!

Today we took a trip down memory lane and examined a huge box of old letters, pictures, and report cards from our childhood days. We divided everything out (yes, even for you Danny!) and just talked about what we found. It's been a long time since we've been able to reminisce like that!

After the kids finally woke up at 10am, we hopped onto the Whidbey Island Ferry from the Mukilteo waterfront and traveled up Whidbey Island. Our original intention was to visit Deception Pass, but time just got away from us. We ended up visiting Fort Casey and the lighthouse there. We climbed up to the tippy top of the lighthouse and looked out over the water. The view was gorgeous!

We hiked over to the actual fort and let Nate explore for a little while. He really enjoyed climbing up and down ladders, peering in hidey holes, and examining the cannons there. He was really in his element!

We took lots of pictures:

On the way back, we saw several very cute little deer.

We tried to travel BACK on the Clinton to Mukilteo ferry, but the ferry terminal was broken. We ended up traveling on the ferry all the way back to Edmonds instead. We were the focus of media attention (three helicopters circling around) and there was even a reporter filming us as we exited the ferry. We arrived just an hour late to have dinner with Grandma and Geri at our favorite restaurant, Pizza Hut. I introduced Liz and they got reaquainted with Euvah while we ate our delicious meal. Another exciting day! Tomorrow we're off to Eastern Washington!

Day 1: Fun at the Locks!

My sisters and I had a great time catching up with each other and exploring the Ballard Locks today. We even got to see something we've never seen before - there was a small boat taking on water while it was going through the Locks. Even though there were several rangers and even two police boats there at the time, none of them seemed overly concerned about what to us appeared to be a life or death situation! It really makes you think about other people!

We saw King Salmon leaping out of the water with the greatest of ease, but doing it so quickly that we couldn't catch a shot of it with our cameras. We saw a ranger throwing out a fishing line in the water (very weird), and we saw a heron just watching everyone pass through and hoping for its next meal. We got many pictures of the kids, a few of the adults, and more pictures of just the scenery.

We ate dinner at Spaghetti Factory, then went home to get everyone settled in for a great night's sleep. What a wonderful day!

Cleaning is the mission...

I can't believe how much I've gotten done this week! I've totally redecorated the guest bathroom, cleaned all three kids bedrooms from top to bottom, cleaned all three bathrooms, gone through our library and gotten rid of three boxes of books, cleaned the office, cleaned the laundry room, washed, dried, and folded all the kids bedclothes, washed every rug that I could in the house, cleaned up the front yard landscaping, mopped every hard surface floor in the house, cleaned the kitchen dozens of times (story of my life:)), framed two kids art pieces and hung them up, and volunteered at Cub Scout camp every day last week. Whew! I'm almost ready for my honored guests! My sisters arrive tomorrow and we can't wait! The kids couldn't sleep last night they were so excited.

Today I'm just planning to finish up my cleaning (there's always something to be done), go grocery shopping, visit the AAA office to get maps for our trip, get Nate's hair cut, and give all three kids a shower. Still a busy day but it's getting better!

I'll post pics when I get a free moment, but at this rate it might be the middle of the night before I get to it. Have a wonderful day!

Cub Scout Mania!

We've been at Cub Scout camp all week this week. The girls went to camp with us and had lots of fun too. Nate made a shadow box, a folding stool, a hammered metal bowl, a leather wrist cuff, and a fingerprint card. He also got to fish, practice archery, play ultimate, learn more about nature, geology, first aid, cooking (with my help), and flag football. What an exciting week! There are many pictures of everyone on this website:
http://silverlaketwilightdaycamp.googlepages.com/photos2. I'll post pics of Nate's handiwork later today.

Another busy week...

This week has been incredibly busy! The girls went to their first sleepover on Friday night with a friend in Mukilteo. They had a wonderful time but didn't get much sleep. Nate also had a sleepover on Friday night. He stayed with another Cub Scout family and got up early to go on a hike to Ebey Landing on Whidbey Island. He told us that he had a blast exploring an old fort (Fort Casey) on the island while he was there. After we picked the girls up from their sleepover, we went to a barbecue at my friend Mike's house. The kids played in the swimming pool with Mike's two daughters, on the play structure with Mike's son, and on the Nintendo Cube. We had a great time catching up with my friends from college. Today is "clean the house" day. I've done four loads of laundry, unpacked the last of the clothes from the Seabrook trip, cleaned up our activity bin from our many travels, and we've been working on cleaning up paperwork. We have Cub Scout camp every night this week from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. The kids will be very tired!

What a rough day...

We had a Cub Scout hike today that quickly turned into a nightmare. While we were on the hike, someone broke the window out of my van and stole six of the kids' very favorite Webkinz toys. We're fortunate that they didn't get more than that, but it still shatters my sense of well-being. I feel very insecure now and jittery. Now I have to call to get the window repaired, go to the police to file a report, and replace everything we lost. The kids are all very worried about their poor Webkinz. We put an ad on Craigslist, but it's probably not going to amount to anything.

Another hiking day...

Today we packed out of the house and then we launched ourselves into another hiking day. We hiked into Sol Duc Hotsprings and took lots of wonderful pictures. We also hiked into Madison Falls (which was really just a very short hike) and took more pictures. The kids enjoyed climbing up a little hill next to the falls and taking their own pictures. We saw the sights in Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Gamble, the Hood Canal Bridge, and Kingston on our way home. The ferry ride home was even a small adventure for the kids! We had a wonderful dinner out with the kids and got home pretty late. As much fun as our vacation was, it felt great to crawl into our own beds for the first time in a week.

Last day at the beach...

We met up with another family in Seabrook and hiked down to the beach together today. The kids ran through the frigid surf, played in the sand, and then hiked back up to the house. We played Bananagrams with the kids several times, and started packing for home. We also made our last big batch of smores for the family to enjoy. We put together three puzzles as a family this past week, played games, and all of us read several books. Nate discovered the "Trixie Belden" series this week (which was my favorite when I was a kid) and read 6 books in the series while we were on vacation. This is the kind of vacation I enjoy the most - just spending family time together with John and the kids, and Mom, Geri, and Brenda, and playing games, putting puzzles together, and relaxing on the beach. We're coming back home more rested than we've been in a long time!

A hiking we will go...

John planned a fun family day for us today. We drove a couple of hours up the coast and hiked to the the most beautiful beach in Washington (Ruby Beach). We took lots of family photos (Amanda was not happy so we'll see how they turn out), climbed on some extreme rock formations, and collected lots of beautiful rocks. We also crossed a raging river twice to get there. After the beach we saw the "Big Cedar Tree" (that was it's actual name) and went hiking at Lake Quinnault and through the Hoh Rain Forest. We took lots of wonderful pictures that we will share later.

A day for Nate and I...

Today Nate and I stayed home alone together while Linda, Geri, John, Amanda, and Nicole all went to see a movie in a nearby town. Nate and I hiked down to the beach and made a sand castle together, which was very challenging in the blowing winds and sand. We walked along the beach and talked about every subject we could think of. We were even able to pick up a few sand dollars along the way. After we hiked back to the house, Nate crawled into the hot tub while I read a book. Another perfect day...

Another busy day on vacation!

This morning we went to the beach and found dozens of perfect sand dollars and other seashells. After lunch we took a drive to Lake Quinault and stopped at a salmon hatchery on the way. The kids learned a lot about salmon from the tour guide. We also went on a short little hike in the woods. We got lots of good pictures and we had a wonderful time! Oh, and the kids rode their bikes in between all of our excursions.

Fun at the beach...

We made it to the beach! Yesterday we pretty much just unpacked and got settled in. Today was our day to P-L-A-Y!!! The kids rode their bikes all around town, we went to the beach, we read books, the kids rode their bikes, we went in the hot tub, the kids rode their bikes, we made s'mores, oh, and did I say the kids rode their bikes? They went miles and miles today. We enjoyed our first day of our beach vacation so much!

We don't have cell phone service here, so if you need to reach us the best way is through email. That's a good thing for John. He really needs a break from the pressures of work.

I'll post pics soon. Time for all good kids to go to bed...

Happy Independence Day!

Today we packed, packed, packed for the beach. The kids helped clean and vacuum and pack. They were troopers! We went to Grandma's and Geri's for a special dinner. Nate is spending the night with Grandma and Geri. They will go on ahead to the beach and call us with instructions before we get there. We'll meet up with Brenda and travel there with her.

I'm so excited to be able to spend the whole week with the family at the beach. It will be so relaxing and fun!

I will probably have access to Internet, but will only be on after the kids go to bed. I'll update the blog then. Have a great day!

"Old Yellow" is back!

We went to Auburn to pick up John's restored 1971 Blazer today. John had taken it in to be calibrated (whatever that means!). The kids have really missed having it around for the past week. They got to ride in it for a little while and loved every minute of it! John got this toy when the girls were babies and they've all been working on it ever since. It truly has been a family project...

Northwest Trek here we come...

Today we went to Northwest Trek in Eatonville. It was over 2 hours away from our house. We saw bison, deer, elk, moose, lynx, cougars, bobcats, and many more animals. The moose led us back to the tram station (very slowly of course!). The kids had a blast! I have pics that I will share as soon as I can get them uploaded. I hope I got some good ones.