8/18-8/20 La Push-2nd Beach

Slideshow of the pictures-it's a lengthy blog:

We waited all summer, a little longer than most years and finally it was time to go CAMPING!!! We decided this would be McKenna's birthday party since she LOVES this trip and it didn't disappoint any of us. It was fantastic!

We left Thursday morning and made the 3-1/2 hr drive to La Push. There was some construction just after Crescent Lake but other than that the drive went by pretty quick.

We strapped our packs on (even Tate had a backpack and his buckets in hand) and hiked the 3/4 of a mile in to the beach.

Tate was so excited that he was quite the trailblazer there at the beginning, until his sisters couldn't handle being beat.

They are a bit competitive, although they each handle it a bit differently-Tyler runs ahead, and McKenna commands Tyler to halt and to let her pass and be the leader. It's really interesting to watch and then "try" to help out.

Once the trail heads downhill the excitement grows and then when you walk out of the trees and see the ocean ahead of you...we all go a little crazy. I love that every year the kids can't wait to get in the sand-I only wish I shared in their enthusiasm. Instead I spend the first night coming to terms with the sand and learning to let the control go and let them just be kids.

For the Love of Sand!

John was thrilled that although it still took him an extra trip to get the rest of the sleeping bags and water-there was less stuff than last year. Apparently we are getting more efficient. Mostly I've learned that you don't have to pack as many clothes-just swimsuits and then jackets for the cold.

It was a beautiful afternoon for setting up camp, and after a dinner of hot dogs, crescent rolls and a MRE of Vegtables and Pasta the Sunset was absolutely gorgeous!

It never disappoints!

As the sun went down we noticed the sky fill with clouds at a visually rapid rate. The girls also decided to have a lil photoshoot while they waited for dessert....

of Popcorn! YUMMY! Is this really camping?

After a rather rough night (since Tate broke his binki on the drive in-and he woke up several times in the night, angry his binki didn't work anymore) we woke the next morning to fog along the horizon and the beach and a bit cooler weather.

While we waited for the sun to come out we decided to do a bit of exploring. The tide was really low, leaving a section of water only 6 inches deep, shallow enough to wade through to a lil island (in the background of the picture above) and do some exploring.

Look closely can you see John Tate n McKenna

Further down the beach the tide brought in some lil sardine looking fish-the gulls thought us mean to be playing with their food.

Go Scatter the Gulls One More Time

Once we got back to camp we had a little more fun...

SandCastles

Kite flying...and swimming (even in the cold)

and then my camera died....

And the Sun came out. Figures. Jorelle and her 3 kids arrived just after the Sun arrived and although we thought we'd had some fun the real fun began.

There was more sand rolling, wave jumping, digging, exploring. We set up her tent and then started on Dinner making TinFoil dinners with canned stew meat, potatoes and squash...pretty yummy! Then we topped it off with our birthday Smores' which basically meant singing to her.

It was a pretty great evening....as for the night...well after enjoying the stars and grown up conversation we expected to have a well rested night. Unfortunately Tate wasn't quite weened off his binki and woke up several times during the night. Once landing himself in time out on a log.

The next morning John, acting as Peter Pan took us all over to the island for exploration to show us the hidden cave and all the starfish. The water was FREEZING but the experience was awesome! One of our favorite moments of the trip.

The rest of the day the kids played in the sand and in the water as long as possible.

(I remembered the cell phone camera making a few pictures possible.)

We finally got everything packed and sadly headed back to the car. Another fantastic trip to the beach! Until Next year...

McKenna's Loose Teeth

Today as McKenna bit into her cookie she exclaimed a big "Ow, my tooth is loose." I've heard the claim before, but this time she was right-she's got not only 1 loose tooth, but 2. Her 2 bottom front teeth is loose and behind one of them another tooth is already growing in. This was a bit alarming to me, but after a quick call to the dentist they told me not to worry, but to keep working on the tooth and if it doesn't come out in a week or two to bring her in.

John tried to pull it, but her teeth are so small he's had a hard time getting a good hold on it and it's got a very strong stubborn root holding it in. Hopefully soon, because McKenna is very anxious for the toothfairy :)

Off to the Races

Today we went to Emerald Downs and saw our friend Jennifer Whitaker who is also a trainer there race a couple of races. The kids loved watching the horses race, especially Tate who was in heaven, everywhere we turned there were horses.

Other than the movies, we've never actually seen a horse race-it was amazing. The tiny people who were the jockeys, the trainers, staff that took care of the race track and equipment and especially the horses themselves were fascinating. Jennifer didn't come in first, but pretty close and we found out she's got quite the reputation at Emerald Downs. She is a pretty amazing woman!

Blueberries

Not all posts are about the good times-some are to balance and show real life and remind me to laugh at it in the near future.

Today I decided to take my 3 kids blueberry picking. I vaguely remember that John took the kids last year and thought to myself-this won't be a big deal. We packed lunches jumped in the car and headed on our way up to Auburn/Black Diamond area to Canterbury Blueberry farm. We've had great luck there in the past and so I was excited...

After a beautiful drive we arrived, picked up our buckets and were led to our 3 big bushes ready to start picking. As the lady was leaving us she encouraged us all to eat our fill, but only off the tree. Not the ground as the woodchips came from the horses stalls. Hmmm already starting to rethink this venture with my 2 year old who thinks everything needs to be at least tasted to know its value.

Everything started well-Tate was even picking berries...and then dumping them on the ground, and then started to reach for them so I set up Tate with binoculars and a bag of chips, with M&M's to back it up and went straight to work. Tyler was right there by my side after being promised a $1 if she filled her bucket...well at least half way. McKenna picked a handful and then declared it was hot and she was hungry and so she sat down to eat her lunch. A short time later I found Tate picking up chip crumbs off the ground and quickly handed him his M&Ms and then continued picking as quickly as I could. It wasn't too much longer when Tate was running in and out of bushes and attempted to dump the ones I had already picked and then Tyler declared she needed to go to the bathroom... So I gathered up the kids...after chasing Tate we finally headed in to the Honeybucket.

After getting back and getting back to work the girls helped me out by playing hide and seek and chasing Tate around. Once again claims were made of needing to go to the bathroom, as I picked a couple more berries, I looked over and found Tate dumping my big bucket of berries...I hate to admit I was furious and after a spanking and a stern scolding I started trying to pick up the berries on top of the pile and out of the corner of my eye I saw Tate moving straight for my small bucket of blueberries and then dumped those before I could stop him. In defeat and with steam coming from my ears I once again scolded my 2 year old, gathered my children up and headed back to the Honeybucket where McKenna adamantly refused to use it and although Tyler went in, nothing came out... and then I found it was too late for McKenna (she'd rather pee in her pants than use the Honeybucket-not that I blame her sometimes I wonder if that would be the better alternative).

Upon returning to our bushes Tate FINALLY listened and sat like a good boy waiting for me to salvage what berries I could and rummage what berries were left on the bushes and then we gathered our stuff and decided to go home.

Not a complete loss 5 lbs of blueberries at the price of my sanity. If any of you see it could you send it and Supernanny on over to my house. :) Thanks!

Travel Home

I can't believe how quickly the past 3 weeks has gone by-well except the waiting for John to return...Sunday morning came and we spent our last morning with my family. Amber & Norm blessed cute baby Whitney and we were able to attend. It meant a lot to me for us to be there!

After playing with the Stephany's and finally getting packed-and having our last Sunday night of Pancakes, curtesy of Grandma Harris we piled into the van and headed North.

Tate got some new toys-where the rider actually stays on his horse. He's in love and it helped to break up the time.

The girls entered...the Movie Zone to pass the miles

We finally arrived at the Chapmans' around 8 pm-not a moment too soon. We again spent the evening just enjoying each others company and then trying to get the kids into bed.

The next day we just kind of did the same-the kids played with one another and had a great time. The kids had a great time on the golf cart. They could've ridden it for hours...days. Oh wait they did. They love playing with their cousins! Ain't nothing like family!

We were able to sneak away and have a delicious lunch with just the adults at one of Audrey's favoriterestaurants Chapalas.

The drive through Mt Rainier Park was beautiful, it was like summer finally arrived-the sun was out and more important the Mountain was out.

we couldn't believe how the snow levels had dropped. Here is the picture from the drive up and the one from the drive back down. The change in just 3 weeks.

Who can resist the snow in the middle of summer...

And who could resist throwing a snow ball...at their kid?

You do funny things when you get bored, when your children ask you to take their pictures you go a little crazy sometimes-and so do they do.

The kids were thrilled to find their big surprise a new tire swing . Which they LOVE and want to play on EVERYDAY!!!

Ahhh the travel home came way too quickly. The day we left Baby Whitney was blessed by her father Norm. It was awesome to be there with my family for the blessing-something

Aug 6-Dad returns, GNO-Tim

Busy, busy, busy-that is what this trip has been. It's been 2 weeks since our dad left and although at times it has seemed to fly by we sure have missed having him around. But before we could go get him I went to my cousin Jordan Argyle's baby shower at my Grandma Harris' house with my Mom and sister Amber and her baby Whitney. It was fun to see cousins I haven't seen in a few years and to catch up. Whitney made the Grandma's happy-she would light up when ever Great Grandma (Odessa) would come and say hello to her. As we were leaving Grandma (LeAnn) got her giggling. It was the cutest little thing that made all of our days....

Well except John since we forgot about the time making us VERY late picking up our Dad from the airport. Not only that but neither of our phone were working so we had a hard time connecting once we got there...

After finally finding out Dad and getting him in the car we headed up to spend a little time with Uncle Fred and our cousins the Sayes. They were getting ready for Madison's engagement party but let us stop by to say Hello and Good-bye's and sending the kids with some goody baskets.

Once we got back to Grandma's we quickly made dinner and took baths while I quickly got ready for our Sisters Night Out to see Tim McGraw. It seemed like the best way to spend my last night in Utah, with my sisters. We did the same thing last year-except at Cafe Rio, one of my favorite memories.

Laura, Shelly, myself & Amber

Had a great time with my sisters, can't wait to do it again next year!

Aug 4-5, 2011

Thursday morning we went school shopping and found a couple of cute outfits and some pajamas for all the kids. We then spent the afternoon with our cousins and the girls were able to attend ballet class which they LOVED!!!!

Tyler & Keira's Class

Maddie & McKenna's Class:

We then decided to spend the night to save us some driving time that night and the next morning. The kids didn't mind another sleepover at all, although it meant wearing new pajamas and sleeping without their beloved blankets. Who would've thought it could be done...apparently in emergency situations substitutes are allowed.

The next morning Aunt Shelly watched the girls and Tate and I went to visit Brooke, my old roommate. The time always passes too quickly and soon it was time to leave and head over to Tiffany's for haircuts.

McKenna got about 4 inches cut off going back to her favorite haircut-short. Tyler wanted to chop off her hair to but I wasn't ready to part with it quite yet and gave her the same bargain I gave McKenna that she could cut her hair when she was 6 years old.

Grandma making Ebelskievers

Tyler taking pictures of Tate taking pictures-both of Grandma :)

We got back to Grandma's and found Uncle James had also gotten a haircut.

A favorite spot is always with Grandpa mowing the lawn on the John Deere Tractor

We love being in Utah!!!