Oma's Visit

We had a wonderful time with Oma last weekend.  We did Halloween crafts, hung out at a lake, spent an evening playing games/reading/stargazing in the tent, went to the Washington State Fair, and celebrated Evan's birthday two days early.  We were sad to see her go!

 I love my new Patriots jersey!  It matches the red, white, and blue nails that Oma had for the Patriots tailgate party she threw last weekend.

Happy 7th Birthday, Evan!

Hard to believe that our boy is 7 already!  He is growing to be such a creative, determined, and caring young man.  We can't wait to see what's in store this year!

Labor Day Weekend

We had our annual Labor Day weekend clam boil and caught our last crabs of the season.  As usual, we had great weather, great food, and great company!

 

Heading out for a load of crabs.

I really got the hang of cleaning the crabs this time around and can now do it all by myself!

Trying out the new kayaks.

And trying out the rope swing.  

Spontaneous family photo.

 

 Clam boil time!  Thanks, Dad!

Enjoying the view from here.

Fishing with Grandpa.  Elsa caught a crab!

Visit with the Waldburgers

We had a long-overdue visit with the Waldburger family this weekend!  It was lots of fun!

 

Cute little Micah.

Beachcombing with Grandma, Grandpa, Elsa, and Joshua.

Outdoor art with Emma, Elsa, Aunt Katy, and Amie.

Homemade ice cream with Emma and Joshua.

First Day of First Grade!

Seaside, Oregon

Exploring Fort Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark wintered for four months before making the long journey home.

Celebrating Grandma and Uncle Joe's birthdays.

 

Beach horseshoes, playing in the surf, beach walks, and sand castles at Cannon Beach.

Trying on the American (Nathan) and British (Evan) field gear at a WWII reenactment at Fort Stevens.  The gear hasn't changed much in the last 70 years.

Watching the huge waves crash at the mouth of the Columbia River.

Peter Iredale shipwreck.

Beach boys on their beach bikes.

Reenactment of the Lewis and Clark Saltworks.  Their crew made salt out of the seawater 24 hours a day for two months and then transported it back to Fort Clatsop to supply themselves for the trip home.

Chasing the kite.

 

Last stop for lunch on the beach on the way home.

And one last picture of our beautiful girl.

Six Days, Four Lakes, Three Hikes, Unlimited Memories

21 pictures might seem excessive, but that's what it takes to capture the great camping trip we went on in the North Cascades.

 

First stop, Pearrygin Lake.  Aunt Katy and Uncle Joe had already been there for a couple days.  They had been braving the smoke from several nearby fires.  We saw several on our way to the campground and there was one right up the hill from where we were staying.  It was very sad to drive through Pateros, where hundreds of homes were recently destroyed.

We had a great camping spot on the beach with a swimming area (AT our site!).  We got to watch the airplanes and helicopters dip into the lake for water.  The planes flew right over our heads.  You can see how close this one is (on it's approach) to the swimming area at our campsite.

The lake was perfect for swimming!

And jumping.

And diving.  Great form, Aunt Katy!

Next we drove over Rainy Pass.

 

Hiking Thunder Knob.  These statues kept appearing on our trail.

 

Our super hikers.

 

View of Diablo Lake from Thunder Knob.

The reward for good hikers?  Spending the afternoon swimming in Diablo Lake.

Hanging out at our campsite at Gorge Lake.

 

We hiked up to the Diablo Lake Dam the next day.  Beautiful on both sides.

It's a long way down!

Hiking at Baker Lake. 

The reward for good hikers?  That's right -- swimming in the lake at our own private beach along the trail.  Look at that view!

Swimming across to another beach.

The beach at the turnaround point.

Beautiful end to a beautiful trip!