Seaside, OR

 We just returned from a quick 3 day trip to Seaside, OR.  Our friends Tania and Jason have been going for years and we finally decided to join them.  We had so much fun!  

 The kids loved riding their bikes on the promenade.  We stayed at a condo at the end of the beach so we rode bikes and walked into town many times a day. 

Our first day was the only day warm enough to play on the beach (with swimsuits on).  The kids played in the water and sand, flew a kite, and helped build a giant octopus on the beach.

 We had a blast playing in the heated pool.  The kids swam while the parents chatted and drank spiked sweet tea.  =)

 There was an AMAZING sunset our second night there.  We ended up having a really late dinner because we just could not pull ourselves away from the beach!  

 We had so much fun walking through town, riding on the promenade, playing lots of video games at Funland, eating lots of junk food and just spending time with great friends!!

While Dad's away the kids will play!

Lance went to Alaska this last weekend for a few days of fishing with his Dad.  We had some amazing weather while he was gone so we took full advantage of it. We checked out the new spray park in Puyallup, then had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

Cheers!

Friday we went to my parents house to play on the beach and enjoy the sunshine.

Saturday there was a little festival that their neighborhood put on.  It was the 50 year anniversary of the community, Shorecrest, so it was extra special.  There was a couple of vendors, lots of activities for the kids, 2 live bands, great food, and pool time!  My mom had set up a little station for the kids with lots of different bubble activities.  They made some giant bubbles!

Face and arm painting!

 These are a few of the catches Lance made while in Homer, Alaska.  Unfortunately he didn't catch the salmon he was hoping to bring home, but he had fun trying!

Dewey Lake

A couple of weekends ago we had a great adventure... our first overnight backpacking trip.  Lance had our backpacks packed and sitting in the living room days in advance.  The kids practiced carrying theirs around and we talked about how long and hard the hike might be.  I will admit I was a little nervous.  2 kids, heavy packs, no bathrooms, only a few essential items... not quite my style.  But the kids and Lance were so excited that it made me excited too.

We hiked part of the Pacific Crest Trail (the PCT), starting at Chinook pass and ending at Dewey lake.  The hike was a little over 3 miles one way.

The hike was absolutely beautiful.  Blue-green lakes along the way, meadows full of purple, yellow and pink flowers, tall mature green trees, mountain views, and best of all sunshine!  The first couple of miles in were nice and easy, a great way to start with the kids.  The last mile or so was pretty steep downhill.  By then, the kids were hot and tired and there was quite a bit of whining.  Luckily, Lance had brought a few snickers bars to tempt them with.  Lets just say we took lots of breaks on the way down.

Once we arrived at Dewey lake we were all in awe.  It is absolutely stunning.  We found the perfect campsite right by the lake and immediately set up the tent so we could go play and explore.

This was the view from our tent.  Ah-mazing!

The rest of the day was spent playing in the water and sand (we were pleasantly surprised by the sandy beaches!), building forts, climbing rocks, catching frogs, exploring the trails around the lake, fishing and just enjoying the beautiful scenery around us.

Carson had a blast helping Lance make dinner on the little camp stove.  We even had dessert... a freeze dried marionberry cobbler.  It was actually pretty delicious!  Rylee taught me a new card game and we spent a lot of the evening playing that.  Once it got dark we all played Uno in the tent with our headlamps.

The hike out wasn't as bad as the hike in.  It helped that we got the uphill part out of the way first.  Carson was a little tired and whiny, but that improved a little when I carried his backpack for him.  All in all, the kids did pretty great on the way back.

The kids were exhausted by the end and fell asleep almost immediately in the car.  We ended our adventure in Greenwater with ice cream for the kids and coffee for me.  What a great weekend.  We will definitely be planning more backpacking trips in the future!

Monday Funday!

We've had some amazing weather lately.  Summer gets so busy and I feel like we've hardly had any boat time!  We jumped at the chance to get together with friends for a Monday Fun day!  Lance caught this giant carp... it was pretty hilarious!  This guy and his almost as big friend were eating chips that the kids threw in the lake and Lance and Daniel just had to catch him!  We threw him back and renamed the cove we were floating in "carp cove."  Needless to say, I did not swim after seeing these giant fish.

This was the gorgeous view on our way back to the park to take the boat out.  I just love were we live.