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.