Off We Go

These two are off to spend a week with grandma & grandpa on Vancouver Island. Lucky ducks!

And where is Christian? He just got back back from a youth's mission trip and is now getting ready to go to a boys scout summer camp in Idaho. Another lucky duck!

Bait & Hook

Ah, the freedom of summer! Spending all afternoon sitting in a boat and fishing. Catching a catfish and a frog, now that is icing on the cake!

Thank you Amy for these images!

Ruth Mt

Shawn, along with two friends, set out on his first mountaineering experience. He came home very excited, full of stories and great pictures.

This is the mountain about to be conquered,

it takes a bit of work and determination, but it looks like these guys must have some to spare, they are still smiling.

At top of Ruth Mountain, about 7000 feet.

These guys might just have gotten Shawn hooked on to a new hobby. The only thing is, next time I'll join them. I'm hooked just by watching.

First Family Backpacking Trip

We have been enjoying reading "All Creatures Great and Small" by James Harriott. The retelling of his adventures usually brings many good hardy belly laughs. On our drive to the trail head, we read the account of his first date with Helen, and how things just went all wrong, going from bad to worse. Little did we know that our first family backpacking trip was heading the same direction. As we stopped at the ranger station, we learned that the location of our first choice, was still snow covered. The very helpful ranger gave us some other ideas and we decided to go with another location. As we made our second stop at the next ranger station, another very helpful ranger gave us a good description of the area and issued us a backpacking permit. She did warn us that we may have to park across the road due to repaving of the parking lot. No big deal, we were prepared to hike a few miles, walking across a parking lot would not deter us. By the time we finally got there, it was time for a tail gate lunch. Once our hunger pains were appeased, we donned our packs and were just about to start off when the local camp host, with a big ranger complex and hungry to exercise some kind of authority, came to check on us. " Where are you going?" We told him of our destination and he answered with a big unpleasant, "NO, you are not!" Apparently they were repaving the campground parking lot right up to the trail head and no one was allowed to walk there. He told us we could go up another trail and I was surprised you could camp there!! Oh, no, no overnight camping there. Well duh! Why did he think I had an enormous 36# bag on my back, not to mention all of our sleeping rolls protruding from our packs. The other options he gave us were not much better and he must have seen that it would not be easy to get rid of us, so he went back to his "office" to check on some things. Can you tell Shawn wasn't too impressed? He returned telling us to follow him to an old horse trail that would bypass the pavement and join the trail we were looking for. By then we had taken our packs down and had to scurry to get them back on and follow our host. He led us to this old trail head and was even willing to take our picture.

We were now on our way, but it did not take long before we got turned around and wandered onto the road again. While we were still trying to figure out if this was where we should be, I saw a trail head post and headed towards it. Only then I noticed this was exactly where we were not supposed to be, right on the fresh pavement. I took as wide steps as I could and told the boys to tread lightly and swiftly. So much for "leaving no trace behind", we only lefts a few footprints. I warned Shawn who was a little behind and told him to bush whack in order to avoid the slurry. The bush was very thick and it was quite a challenge for him to negotiate it with his big pack, but he succeeded with only minor scratches. We were now finally on the right track and ready to get started. I did look over my shoulder to see if "Mr. Law Enforcement" was around but only his guards were watching and they were on our side.

It was a pleasant hike along Thunder Creek

Ethan took a few little breaks

and after a few miles we found our perfect spot.

This would become our bedroom,

This would serve as our kitchen

And how about this spot for our dining room?

We had a good water supply right next to us.

Nothing like a fire in the evening to warm the spirits.

Always a happy camper

The next day we set out on a hike to 4th of July Pass.

A nice reward awaited after a 4 mile climb.

Time to head home.

Despite our rough start we had a wonderful time with a happy ending. I hope James Harriott's luck with his courting will improve too. We will just have to keep reading to find out if he has a happy ending as well.

Happy Father's Day

We love you and are so blessed to have a father like you.

And Thus Concludes our School Year

Completed, finished, done! It was a week of ceremonies, presentations and celebrations. Today I finished some school paper work and other office work. We cleaned the house and all the clothes are laundered and put away in the closet. We, including Shawn, have no plans for the coming week except to relax and do whatever we feel like. We are on vacation!

There was some kicking and breaking as

Nolan received his red belt. Can you find him? I was sitting way up and this is the best that my zoom could do.

Our scouts have also advanced. Ethan is now a Bear, Nolan is a Webelos II and Christian is a 1st class Boy Scout. I have never seen Ethan this competitive, he is usually pretty mellow with no need to be first. For some reason he decided that would change. He worked very hard and when the buzzer went off, this two were the only ones still standing.

Now a Teen

To celebrate his birthday, Christian invited a few friends for an overnight camping trip to Fort Ebey. Although they left under some sprinkles, the rain held off and they stayed dry. They were able to get in all of the fun camping stuff; like roasting wieners & marshmallows, snack non stop, run around the bluff and bunkers, play German spot light, tell stories around the fire and of course, the freedom of not having to follow "house rules" (aka mom telling him what to do). Shawn truly enjoyed taking them and hanging out with what he described as a nice & respectful group of young men. It's still hard to believe it, but we have a boy who is now in his teens and rapidly turning into a young man. We love you so much Christian and pray that God will continue to protect you and guide your path as you become an adult.

And may we share many more camping trips at this special place.

Birthdays

Now to the real important events of this month. Birthdays! We have two boys celebrating their special days with only a week apart from each other. First in the calender is Ethan, who turned eight. When you measure the time based on how fast your children grow, it's really mind blogging. Ethan is the measurement of how long we have lived in Bellingham. When we moved here, he wasn't even crawling, now look at him. Almost as big as a horse!

We had a den meeting on his birthday and he had fun sharing cup cakes with his fellow cub scouts.

All Ethan really wanted to do to celebrate his big day, was to take his two good friends to the bike park and have ice cream at our favorite ice cream shop. It was a fun (and safe) afternoon.

Next, it was Christian's turn, celebrating 13 years! The birthday person always has the privilege of choosing the day's menu. Christian's favorite meal for the last 12 years has been Brazilian beans on rice. It could not have been a better choice since part of the day's celebration was to cheer for Brazil on its debut in this World Cup. My aunt and her husband came down from Canada and Shawn was able to come home from work in time to watch the game and feast with us.

But the party hasn't ended yet. As I write this, Christian and a few friends, along with Shawn, are camping overnight at his favorite spot on Whidbey island. They left the house this afternoon filled with energy and enthusiasm, in a car filled with sleeping bags and junk food. I can't wait to hear their adventures when they get home tomorrow.

Bottom of the Bin

Due to a hectic day (and week), I found myself at the supermarket at 10:30 pm. At first I thought that it might just be the perfect time for shopping; peace, solitude, wide empty aisles. Until I got to the bulk section. I had to scrape the bottom of the bin and hardly got two scoops of cornmeal, so I move a few bins to the unsweetened coconut, where there were only a few forgotten flakes. My next item on the list was black beans. I could not believe it, I barely got two cups! While I even bothered to scoop it up I don't know, I'll have to go back and get more before it's worth it to cook a pot of beans. I did not realize this were such popular items. Maybe I should try opening hours at 5am on my next shopping trip, I wonder if I would have better luck!!

Time to Cheer

The World Cup is here. Time to get your colors on and cheer!!

Adventures on the Island

We always enjoy going to visit Shawn's parents on Vancouver Island and we were long overdue for another visit. Playing bocce and croquet are always a favorite and just as part of the visit as taking the ferry is.

Would you ever have thought that a pedicure would hold the guys attention like this?

Of course it's not just any regular pedicure.

We have done quite a bit of exploring around this little corner of the island, but were surprised again by another trail with some beautiful surroundings. Nolan and Ethan found a great spot to take a rest, but in order to join them, one would have to fit through here.

Our enjoyable weekend did come to an end and it was time to go home.

Hoping Hard

It was time for the Ski to Sea again (Memorial Day weekend), and although we do not expect hot temperatures, we look forward to a lighter jacket and a BBQ to share the team's stories. We were determined to hold the gathering outdoors. The forecast promised rain by 5pm (the starting time), but sometimes they are wrong, right? Our neighbors brought their outdoor heater to our porch, then their sun (rain) shelter. Some guest got their rain shells on. By golly, we were all determined to have an outdoor Memorial Day BBQ!! It was to no avail, the dry, cozy and warm indoors won. Except for some tough boys who can weather the weather whether they like or not.

Conquering the Howlin' Tornado

Last time we hit the slides at the Wolf Lodge, Ethan had to be convinced (with a little bribery) to try one of the bigger slides. He had fun and went back, but there was talking him into trying the other ones. We were eager to get back to those fun slides, well I was not that eager since I was still battling the remains of my cold. About an hour after we started, I look up and see Ethan in the Howlin' Tornado line!! How did that happen? Christian told him he would give him five bucks he tried it just once. All of a sudden he turned brave.

He even came out with a smile on his face and there was no turning back after that. He kept going back over and over. As for my cold, all that humidity must have done the trick, I felt quite well and had enough energy to hit the Tornado (and yell really loud).