Olivia's Big Birthday Bash

Olivia’s 40^th Birthday: (file this under the "we'll never be this young and beautiful again, so let's take lots of pictures and be sure to enjoy it while we can" category) Quick to smile and always ready for the dance floor, Olivia is the life of any party. It was only fitting that Eric threw her a gilded roaring twenties-themed 40^th birthday party. We all dressed up to the nines in sequins and fringe and had an amazing evening celebrating with Olivia. It was a night we will not forget and I’m so happy that we got to spend it together. Raising kids and “adulting” can be hard – but also incredibly rewarding. We are really fortunate to have a group of friends to share this wild and crazy life together. I love looking at these pictures because 1) it was a fabulous night and I want to hold onto that joyous and carefree feeling and 2) we look beautiful and we’ll never be this young again – so we have to enjoy it while we can.

 

Final River Float (Labor Day)

In the "better late than never" category - On Labor Day weekend, we did one last float of the year on the Upper Wenatchee. It was a beautiful blue-sky day and the scenery never stops being breathtaking. It was the kind of day you want to hold onto and remember when the fall rains kick in and school demands start getting crazy. It was just the five of us, a few eagles, the fish, and the river; it was so incredibly peaceful.

 

Reed's Fifth Birthday Party and Last Jetty Day

Reed chose to have his fifth birthday party at the Civic Club. He invited his best buddies: Ollie, Evan, Jack, Kellan, and Joseph. He wanted to take them tubing on daddy's boat, play on the beach, and have pinata. The weather cooperated and we enjoyed an 80 degree evening with only a handful of other people around. It was the perfect birthday!

 Chris managed to put a strong patch on this "Rescue Flamingo" that we had found abandoned in Lake Washington after SeaFair - it was deflated and a hole where someone had tried to tow it with their boat and it ripped. But now it is good as new and was a popular novelty at the party.

,Reed picked pizza, watermelon, pirate booty and cheetos for dinner. Yum!

  The kids helped fill the pinata earlier in the week (pig-nata), and they were so excited to have a turn to bust it open.

 Reed picked the same Darth Vadar cake as Edison. He was very excited for it!

 

The following afternoon we cruised up to Jetty Island for likely the last day of the 2018 season. We got to meet Meg's brother, Conner, and his two kids: JoJo and Elliot. It was beautiful and filled us up with peace and joy!

SEPTEMBER - Reed's Birthday and Eagle Lake Hike

Charlotte and Edison had their first day of school before Labor this year. It was way too early to go back to school. But they were troopers and survived the week. Charlotte is in 3rd grade with Ms. Gravett and Edison is in 4th grade with Ms. Wood.

 We got away to the cabin Labor Day weekend and did this hike to Eagle Lake on the way over. It was a beautiful hike, off the beaten track (probably because the trail head is only accessible by four-wheel drive), and we walked through miles of blueberries. The only downside was that the bees like the blueberries, too, and Charlotte, Eben, and I were all stung by bees on the way in.

There were many kinds of interesting fungi to see, including these very large mushrooms.

 My favorite part was when the forest opened up into a meadow with little brooks we had to cross.

 Eagle Lake with Townshend Mountain above it.

 There is an old fishing cabin on the shore of the lake which was neat to peak into, but pretty run down.

 The views down the Beckler River valley towards the Skykomish valley were impressive.

 Today was September 1st and we got to celebrate Reed's real birthday. For the record, birthday cakes do NOT travel well in a hot car on a bumpy forest road. But, we made due and it was still delicious!

 

 Eben has been exploring the forest roads on Natopoc Ridge above the cabin on his mountain bike. He took us up there in the Tahoe to check out the amazing views to Nason Ridge, Glacier Peak, and over to the ridge that was threatening engulfing Sugarloaf Lookout in flames.

 This is Reed's first day of school - Kindergarten at LFP Montessori this year, I can hardly believe it! He loves his new kindergarten backpack and the fact they take field trips every Friday!

Off-roading with Brandon and Cohen and Family Birthdays

Brandon and Cohen came out to the cabin the last weekend of August. Eben was very excited to go four-wheeling in the Tahoe with Brandon in his Jeep. We got up some roads we had never been on before, including this one of the north side of Lake Wenatchee that approaches the backside of Dirty Face Peak. It had a wonderful view of the northwest end of the lake and the valleys of the White River and Little Wenatchee River. Unfortunately due to the forest fires close by, our views were limited.

 Eben thought long and hard before bringing the Tahoe through this stretch of overgrown road.

 Snacks down on the Chiwawa.

 On Sunday, Kirstie hosted a family get together to celebrate the end of summer and our August & September birthdays: Jason, Reed, and Jennie. It was great to see the cousins playing well together!