Memorial Day Weekend at the Cabin

The bad news: it was cloudy and cool in Seattle for Memorial Day weekend so we had to cancel the shakedown boating trip with our friends and move our weekend to the cabin instead. Luckily, this worked out really well, though Edison was sad about not camping and has been sleeping on his floor in his sleeping bag for the past week. On Saturday we went hiking on the Hidden Lake Trail with the Adams Family.

 Charlotte brought one of her "My Little Ponies" on the hike.

 Hidden Lake is an intense emerald green. Absolutely stunning.

 

 Pete and Jennie joined us for lunch at the cabin and then we all headed to Lake Wenatchee. It was warm out, but windy and not a great beach day. That didn't stop Uncle Pete and Edison, though.

 On Sunday, we went hiking on the Icicle Gorge Loop. It was another beautiful day in my favorite enchanted valley with great friends and conversation and a challenging 4.5 miles for the kids with minimal whining.

 The wildflowers were breathtaking and abundant.

 This was the far end of the loop, the Rock Creek campground. We had shuttled a car here with our lunches and it was so nice to have a gourmet picnic halfway through the hike followed by basking on the rocks below.

 After the hike, Meg and I waited at the trailhead for the men to return with the cars. The kids saw the beginning of the hike and asked "are we doing this again?!" We said "no," but they responded that they really liked the hike and they wanted to do it again. Too funny! At that point, the Adams left for Everett and we stayed the rest of the afternoon by Icicle Creek and finished up with a final night at the cabin. All in all it was the perfect outdoor getaway.

At the Cabin with Maija and Eevi!

Maija and Eevi joined us out at the cabin for this past weekend. We had a lovely time and it was very fun to see Eevi and Reed together as they are just a couple months apart. Reed is a giant compared to Eevi, but she is talking up a storm! We had a lovely morning at the Beaver Valley School playground. Then lunch at the 59er Diner - milkshakes! Mmmm!

  

After naps, we walked into town and stopped at the swings. This is what happens when Charlotte tries out the baby swing. I had to tip her 180 degrees over and shake her out.

 

Bath time with babies! 

 Reed helped me do some watering in the back yard today. Had too much fun with the water, here!

Mother's Day Weekend!

I wanted to give my mother an adventurous and beautiful Mother's Day. We planned a day trip to the Kitsap Peninsula, especially to the Norwegian town of Poulsbo. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the scenery was stunning.

 

We had fun poking around Poulsbo, checking out the Norwegian boutique shops, bead stores, the marina, and the kids enjoyed the Aquarium.

 Then we headed a bit north of town to a farm, the Molly Ward Gardens, for lunch. They grow much of their food on site, you can tour the gardens, and they have such a small dining room it feels like you are at a luncheon at your friend's house. We had a lovely gourmet meal and the kids did really well for the fancy lunch. Even though we planned the day to do everything that we would do on a ladies' day out, Eben came along for the ride and had a nice day, too.

 

 After lunch we headed to the beach at Kitsap Memorial State Park. It was a bit rocky, but there was an amazing playground and we loved soaking up the sun.

 On Sunday, Eben had a nice Mother's Day morning planned. We were heading to a matinee of the Shorecrest Spring Musical "Mary Poppins" when our plumbing went out again. Eben ended up having to stay home to fix it (which he did, thanks to a timely visit from Chris). Best laid plans... But we had  a lovely day despite it all. Can't wait to have Eben home for good!

Charlotte's Concert

As a surprise, Eben flew home from California for the weekend. He was able to watch Charlotte's preschool concert on Friday and then we spent a lovely weekend together. What a romantic gesture! Charlotte was amazing at her concert. She told us she got to stand in the front row because she'd been doing so well at the rehearsals. She is standing next to one of her best friends, Thomas and wearing a sparkly silver dress from her Aunt Kirstie. Songs included: "On Top of Spaghetti" and "I'm a Little Teapot" with a few other sentimental favorites and new songs about our place in the universe.

 

Here is a quick video of the "I'm a Little Teapot" nursery rhyme rap. Too funny! And - the girl has rhythm!

 

 

MAY - Enjoying the Little Things

I was so proud of my father for reading at the University of Washington as a guest poet last week. His poetry really resonated with the audience and I was impressed by his eloquence and style.

 We had a blast with Meg, Chris, Dillon, Liam and Jack on Friday night. Such a great way to end the week.

 Minutes before Reed got bonked in the head after getting too close to Edison's platform.

 The highlight of the weekend was spending time in the beautiful Wenatchee Valley. This is the best time of year: a sunny 75 degrees and every hillside and orchard was green. We visited the Pioneer Village and Museum in Cashmere for the first time. I highly recommend it. You can go inside several of the cabins, see artifacts pioneers used, and also many artifacts from Native tribes in the area. The kids had fun doing a scavenger hunt and found the bonus item (brass elephant) to get an extra prize.

 

We wrapped up the day by going up to Olalla Canyon to frolic in the wildflowers and then cooled off in the Columbia River before heading back to Plain.

 Oh right - Eben called Wednesday night and said he'd worked out a deal with the Dodge dealer to trade in the Durango and get a new one with 4 wheel drive. So at 6:15 I packed up the three kids and drove over there and did two hours of paperwork and walked out of there with this beauty... So nice not to have to negotiate the details, but wow - that was a crazy night with the kids.