Hurricane Ridge, Hoh Rain Forest and La Push Beach

Marci wanted to go to the rain forest before she moved to Utah and it was on our bucket list too so we decided to do it in a day trip and see a few other places as well. It was a long day, but so fun. We started out by taking a ferry ride and driving up to Hurricane Ridge. As we were going up the long steep road we passed several people on bicycles making their way up. Amazing! I can't believe people would even want to do that! The views at the top were spectacular! Breathtaking! It was a perfect day for us to go too. We didn't do any of the hikes around the top because we needed to stay on a time frame, but it was really worth the drive up there.

None of the kids were cooperating for a picture. Typical. Oh well. We'll laugh about it later.

As we were about to leave a deer came over to where we were. What a picturesque moment! Thanks little Bambi. 

I love how diverse Washington State is! You have volcanoes, deserts, rain forests, oceans and mountain ranges. Love it! This was Lake Crescent and it was simply gorgeous. The bluest water. It's a big lake so we got to see it for a long time as we drove around it. 

Next stop was the Hoh National Rain Forest. It took forever to get to the entrance. You have to take this road of the main road and it seemed like forever! It was a VERY hot day and so we were pretty sweaty and miserable soon after getting out of the car. It was weird seeing a rain forest so dry. It has been a dry year so that's why, but we were joking that the woods behind our house are more wet than this rain forest! The rain forest was cool to see, but we all imagined something different so it kind of was a let down. It was like taking a walk through the woods, but these woods had lots of moss and ferns. Even though we were all dying of heat we walked on this little path and took some pretty pictures and the kids climbed on some big trees.

This bent tree was cool. 

Chelsea was running a lot along the path and at one point we met this family with this little boy. His parents liked that Chelsea was running because he was running after her. Before they couldn't even get him to walk! Chelsea was actually running away from him so he would chase her and she would tell him to stay away. It was funny. They were from California and so it was fun to chat and walk with them for a bit. 

Next stop was the beach in La Push. On the way to the beach we had the air conditioning cranked on to cool us down after the rain forest. We were excited for water to cool us off! Once we decided on what beach to go to we got out of the car and realized it was SO windy and cold! hahaha! We couldn't win! Just 30 minutes away we were sweating buckets in the rain forest and now at the beach we were freezing. The kids didn't care and wanted to get in their swim suits and go in the water. The water was like ice. It was so cold. They lasted way longer than I thought they would. We ended up seeing the family from California and this time Chelsea was friendly with their son. She even got in their family picture we took of them on the beach. haha. Good memories. 

Kate playing in the waves. She loved it.

Marci and I had to stop and get pictures with these signs. Lots of Twilight shops and signs in these towns over by Forks where the books are based. Funny. 

It was a great day trip. So worth it. We loved having Marci along the ride with us.

Cousin Camp

My Mom started doing Cousin Camps a couple years ago. This year she did it the weekend right after school ended. The cousins look forward to it. She has themes and activities for them to do, of course. They love it. She puts a lot of effort into planning them. They have to be in school to go so next year Lindsey, Reagan and Hailey will all get to go. Yikes Mom! You better get reinforcements next year. haha. We met my Mom half way to give her Kate and Preston then went over on Saturday to pick them up. 

A yummy ice cream bar my Mom put together. Delish!

Kevin giving magic carpet rides to the kids. They love doing this. It's fun that my parents have things like this for us to do when we visit. My kids talk about it a lot. 

Happy Father's Day and Summer Stuff

Happy Father's Day to Kyle! He is a good dad to our kids. This picture cracks me up because of Chelsea. She wouldn't cooperate and was mad over something. 

In the spinning thing at the park. He can sit in this and do it super fast for a long time. Yuck. He likes it though. Must be a sensory thing.

Soakin' up the sun at the local splash park. I try to get out of the house as much as possible during the summer with warm nice days. We go explore different parks, run errands, see different beaches and other things. I like doing and seeing lots around here. The kids will sometimes complain and I tell them they are lucky I take them places because we could just sit at home all day and do chores. Then they stop complaining. 

Chelsea strikes again! Her naughtiness hasn't been as bad lately, but then she goes and does something like this. Ugh! Luckily I had more paint and could get it cleaned up on the walls and it faded a bit on the railing.

We invited some friends to go on the Meadowdale Beach hike one night. They had never been so it was fun to take them. They really liked it. It's an easy hike for families with young kids and you end up on the beach so it's fun.

Happy Birthday Chelsea!

Happy 3rd Birthday Chelsea!!!

She loves Peppa Pig so we had a Peppa Pig themed party for her! She is a spit fire and keeps us on our toes. Her dark lashes and eyebrows are adorable so she gets away with a lot. We are happy she's in our family. 

My Mom made her this Ariel dress-up costume. It was so funny seeing her belly in it and how she would dance around for us. 

We invited a few of Chelsea's friends from Church and went to a park near by. It was a really hot day so we were all melting while eating the food. It was kind of a bust. The frosting was melting and none of the kids liked the treats I had brought other than the juice boxes. I felt bad because I should have done a wet party for how hot we all were. We kept trying to find shade when opening gifts. It was nice to do it at a park though because I didn't have to clean up my house and do decorations. 

L-R: Lindsey, Tate Wright, Chelsea, Gwen Landes, Halle Landes (with dark hair behind), Mikilah Bare with blonde hair, Quinn Willyerd (in green), Avery Korab (in pink), Richelle Vanderveen and Adalee Bare in front. 

Chelsea's many faces crack me up. All of these were within seconds of one another. Trying to get a normal picture out of her is interesting. hahaha! 

Last Day of School and Preschool!

Lindsey graduated from preschool! The mom's from our co-op put together a simple program with treats afterwards at a park near by. It was cute to see the kids all excited about being done with preschool. A few of them are moving onto Kindergarten in the fall. Lindsey is pretty excited to be in real school. 

L-R: Madison Grossarth, Kimberly Denning, Lindsey, Ashlynn Owens, Christina Houser and Jacob Sprecken. 

Kati made this collage with all the kids holding their sign of what they want to be when they grow up. Such a cute idea. Lindsey wants to be a rockstar. 

Kate and Preston's last day of school!