This was an ADVENTURE for the books! It was absolutely gorgeous. Definitely a place I would want to visit again.
These are the last couple of adventures for the summer season. I'm looking forward to what kind of adventures we can come up with for the fall/winter! Possibly some tubing at the pass? Well, for now we will stick with summer, warm weather, and fun outside.
Pike's Peak
The girls (and Jace) love Ava. The boys are plotting their next adventure.
Is this not the normal way to stretch at the end of a hike?
Flaming Geyser Park
Isn't that light beautiful?! PC: Shira Jones
That is what childhood should look like. Outside, sunshine, a great tree, happy kids.
Thick as thieves those boys....
Roadtrippin with these people!
We are breaking in the McPhee minivan with a day trip to Leavenworth. It's one of my favorite day trips. It's beautiful up there, and today the weather was absolutely perfect. I was a little worried it might get cool in the mountains but it was quite warm. The kids even got hot enough after our hiking to head to the river for a swim. We hit the town for a little bit and did the tourist thing...bought candy...ate candy...and played putt putt.
The first one was take in 2013, and the second is today. They look like babies! I remember this day so well. It was on our way home from Wenatchee. It was one of the best days.
We wanted a challenge...and we got one. Taylor Mountain wasn't supposed to be too tough, and we had little with us, so naturally we would take the wrong trail and hike 8 miles. For most of the time one of us was carrying a child in a pack, and for some of the time we carried TWO. It was still one of the most adventures of the summer. But that view though...
Look at these troopers! They earned their post hiking ice-cream.
This is the first summer since being married that Brian isn't working weekends! Well, he does have to put in some hours getting ready for tournaments, but all that work is from home. When we had children I went on little adventures, once they were about two, during the long summer days. They were usually no more than three hours away, but it was how I "vacationed" each summer. This year, however, we had some amazing adventures with some great friends! The Jones and Courtier ladies and kiddos made our summer that much better.
Enumclaw. What a cute town. I never really spend much time there, but it's actually quite lovely. But first, we stopped at the Black Diamond Bakery, museum, and antique shop. Yup, 10 children under 10. And yes, we took them all into an antique store. They were amazing.
Ava and her buddy the incredible Miss Quinn.
Ok...moving on to Enumclaw. Antique store, bookstore, ice-cream shop, and cruising around town. I mean look at all the personality packed into each of these little people!
The magic? We gave each of the big kids a "little" to partner with, and be responsible for, while on our adventure. They were amazing. I think I had the most fun just watching them take their jobs very seriously and without a single complaint.
Then, on the way home, why not make one more stop at a local stand.
Brian's cousin Catherine (Catie) was here from Georgia for a little visit. One thing she wanted to do while in the PNW? Hike! Well, since we love to hike that was an easy request to fulfill. Given a few options (there are SO many in the PNW) she chose the peninsula. More specifically, Sol Duc Hot Springs. I think the drive was a little longer than she expected, but once we were there the view was more than worth it. Sometimes I forget what a beautiful part of the world I get to call home.
The kids took a real shining to Catherine (who they loved to call Catie!). Noah said she couldn't be an adult because she looks like a teenager!
Stretching our legs near Lake Crescent. It was a little windy, little chilly, but beautiful.
Look what Noah found?! He pretended he did the carving...don't worry, he didn't. I love that my kids still take Tiger and Monkey on all road trips.
Isn't she beautiful?
These two make me smile.
We always love it when Uncle Seth comes to town!
One of our favorite things to do when he's in town is hike. The weather leading up to him getting here had been amazing. HOT! This week, however, it decided to rain. Not just rain...really....more like cats, dogs, mice, monkeys, and any other animal came pouring from the heavens. We were determined. And soaked. Seth carried Lucy in the pack for most of the hike. She was a trooper considering how wet it was, and only had to be bribed with licorice twice. At the end of the hike we were driving home and she turns to me and states, "I a goooood hiker!"
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Brian tried to tell me how wet we would get, but I didn't believe him. He insisted on putting in every piece of rain gear he owned. (insert eye roll, sigh, and "yes dear, thank you")
Fast forward to us arriving at the Denny Creek trail-head...me enjoying a quick snack of humble pie....and me putting all the gear on my children. They look like turtles.
We aren't a big video game family, but we do love a good Wii Mario Kart challenge.
And then there's this. Let's get a sibling photo someone said.
This guy started it...now Noah and Malcolm appear to be taking after their uncle Seth. Off the charts. He turned out pretty good.
