Banks Lake 2021

 

We just returned from our annual trip to Banks Lake.  It was smoky and hazy due to nearby fires.  There was a fire right across from Steamboat Rock while we were there which even closed the road for a couple of days.  Luckily the haze cleared out by most afternoons and we were able to enjoy blue skies.

This trip was definitely not long enough.  We spent our days swimming, tubing, knee boarding, sunning beaching, and just relaxing.  The kids were in the water non stop!  It was a great trip.

The kids had ice cream most nights and ended up with blue mouths more than once.  Their favorite was the blue bubble gum, mine was the caramel pretzel. 😀  

They discovered this sand hill on the first day.  They spent hours digging and building.  We even went back that evening for more sand play!  They couldn't get enough.  

We were lucky enough to get Waikiki 3 days in a row.  The kids built a giant swimming hole one day, it was pretty awesome! 

This was Kennedy's first year at Banks.  She was so busy every day, following the kids around and playing in the water.  The kids doted on her.  It was so cute watching them all play together.  She's in the stage of referring to herself in the 3rd person.  So all weekend it was "Kennedy likes monster cookies," or "Kennedy wants to go swimming."  She is adorable.  💓

The kids spent lots of time tubing, before our tube got yet another hole.  Sadly we were unable to fix it this time and had to go a day without it.  The kids had a blast while is lasted!

We did some cliff jumping, although not as much as most years.  

The kids all knee boarded.  Ronan and Theron tried it for the first time.  Ronan was hooked!  He was pretty good too.   Below are videos of Rylee and Carson on our last day.  Carson is the first one, then Rylee.

Rylee, Carson and Ronan tried skiing as well.  It took Rylee and Ronan a couple of tries but they both got up.  Carson got up first try!  My Dad helped them all, just like he helped me and my sister back in the day.  It was so fun to watch.

 

More ice cream pics.  Kennedy said hers was "tasty."

Another amazing Banks trips in the books.  Next year Carson said he wants to stay for 9 days.  Sounds good to me!😄

Manchester State Park

We camped a long 4th of July weekend at Manchester State Park near Port Orchard.  The campground was big and every site was private, spacious and wooded.  There was even room for 2 hammocks!

The park was at one time a harbor defense installation for the protection of Bremerton, then a fuel supply depot and a Navy fire fighting station.  This structure was a torpedo warehouse built in 1901, now its a really cool picnic shelter.

There were lots of hiking and walking trails at the park.  I think we checked out all of them!  

The ferry went by frequently and was really cool to watch.  The beach was pretty too but was stinky.

This was my favorite trail.  It went along the water and ended with this cool staircase in the trees.

Sunday we found this really cool little beach.  It was a hike to get to it, especially with all our gear, but it was worth it!  The kids had a great time exploring and building on this sand wall.

We ventured to the beach the night of the 4th to watch fireworks.  There was a big house on the corner that put on an amazing show.  We ended the night with a campfire and s'mores.  It was a super relaxing and fun weekend.  A great way to spend the 4th!

Summer is here!

Rylee started summer break by going to a friends BBQ.  They ended the night with an outdoor movie.  She had a great time seeing her friends again!

We've been blessed with nice weather so far this summer (sometimes a little too nice!) so we've had lots of time in the sun.  The kids loved playing on the Selden's giant inflatable waterslide.  The boys pretty much took it over while the girls did each others makeup and the parents drank watermelon margaritas!

We went to a nice dinner for Lance's birthday and we got to meet the Bergs' new baby Allie.  She is so cute and the perfect little angel!  Rylee loves her.

We had some days with record breaking hot weather.  We hung out in the neighbors pool and on the lake.  The temps were tolerable if you were in water!

We spent two evenings in a row on the lake.  The sunsets were beautiful and the water was 84 degrees.  I've never felt Lake Tapps this warm before!

We spent some time on the water with The Bergs.  Their kids are just so sweet!  Brooklyn loved Rylee.  Jacob loved swimming with Carson.

Such a great start to summer!  And so much more summer fun to come...

Beautiful Lake Cushman

We camped at Dow Creek Resort in Hoodsport last weekend.  It was hot.  Record breaking heat for this area.  Luckily, the campground was wooded and shady.  

On Saturday we ventured a few miles down the road to Skokomish Park to hang out in the day use area.  There was a great little beach and swimming area.  We spent the day floating and sitting in the water.   It was also great people watching!  We had camped here a few years ago, but the water was low then and the weather wasn't as warm.

Lake Cushman is absolutely stunning.  The blue-green water with trees surrounding is just magical.  It would be fun to take the boat and explore it more.

There was a really cool rope swing along one of the trails.  The kids had a blast swinging and watching the other kids jump and flip.  Unfortunately Carson got his arm caught in the rope on his last jump and got a pretty bad rope burn.  He was hurting, but was also bummed that he couldn't use the rope swing anymore!

There were some great little trails in our campground.  The kids explored the creek and found a fun little waterfall.  They made friends and picked salmon berries.  It was a great spot and I’d love to camp there again!