Selective Noses

You know you are going to have left overs when you are cooking dinner, and your son enters the kitchen asking what the terrible smell is. "That my dear, is your supper." I have to say that once I added the ham bone to the pea soup, the aroma has improved quite a bit. If I omit the afternoon snack and let him play outdoors for a while, he might even ask for seconds tonight.

Getting back to a routine, sort of

We did get back to our schedule of learning, teaching, getting up earlier, taking kids to activities and so on. This might get to be a routine eventually, but right now we are tackling it with renewed energy and gumption.

How can learning ever be routine when this is your classroom? Nothing like a field trip to the Olympic National Park to kick start your science class.

I wish us all a year of inquisitive learning, curiosity and exploration, and may the routine never get the best of us.

Celebrating Milestones

Last weekend we had the privilege to celebrate birthdays with family. Shawn's mother, his aunt & uncle, all had a milestone year. Part of the celebrating was the fact that we could all be together, since there are many miles that separate some of us and hospital shifts that separate some of the others.

Hanging out with cousins is sure fun.

There was more celebrating the next day with my side of the family,as little Adrianna turned two.

Olympic National Park

There is about 3,300 square miles of coastal beaches to explore in the Olympic NP; they are a designated national marine sanctuary. We had only three days to dwell in this world, and although we only got a little taste, it was enough to awaken our senses and keep us in a permanent state of awe. Our adventure really began when we met the Palmers and headed down I-5 to catch the ferry. We made it to Port Angeles in time to have dinner at the Blue Flame (talk about awakening your palate) and celebrate Andrew's 10th birthday. We spent the night at the amazing dome house of the very hospitable Pat and Lance; and when I say amazing, I mean lying on your bed gazing at the stars kind of amazing; and when I say hospitable, I mean taking in five complete strangers and treating them like long lost friends. The next morning we headed to the northwestmost point of the contiguous United States, Cape Flattery. It was foggy, misty and completely socked in, none the less, we hit this landmark.

It was now time to hit the 2.5 mile trail that would lead us to the beaches. We were happy and well fed after a tail gate lunch of left over Blue Flame BBQ meat, that tasted just as good cold as it did the night before.

Our group naturally became separated, with the three older kids and Erika ahead and the rest of us further behind. As we encountered another hiker coming the opposite direction we asked if he had seen the rest of our group. "Oh yeah," he said, "they are up ahead and they are a happy bunch!" He looked around at us and asked how many families we were. "Two." He looked around again,"so how many kids do you each have?" Three each. He must not have been convinced, since he asked the same questions again. Later, when we were reunited again, I saw why he was so baffled. We did look like an enormous group!

We heard the thunderous noise of the ocean and then got a glimpse of what awaited us. Shi Shi Beach!

It did not take long to head down to the beach and let the play begin.

Now the search for the perfect campsite was on. The pressure was on since it was past 6pm. We found a place among some logs that would suffice, but the men of the group were not quite convinced. They left their families and continued on scouting. I'm glad they did, although we had to take two sites and have some woods between us, they found some sites on some higher ground. I was starting to imagine myself having a"sand range" epysode if the borderline between the tent and sand would become blurred! The site was also more protected from the weather; the mist had turned into a drizzle. Our very resourceful kids gathered enough wood and were able to make a fire, which we truly enjoyed. Nothing like unzipping your tent in the morning and being greeted by this stunning view.

Despite this great perk, we decided to move camp. As we were collecting water that morning, we saw some campers pack up and leave their site. As we checked out the newest available real estate on the beach, we decided it was worth the trouble of relocating.

The main attraction was the space that would accommodate all of our four tents. Not to mention the great yard decor. It also had a fully equipped kitchen (log bench and old plywood table) and a great room with a beach rock fireplace. We just could not pass up this deal.

I could not forget to mention the swing, which entertained young and old alike.

Once settled in our new place, it was time to take the kites, hit the beach and explore. We could not believe the blue sky and great weather we were experiencing in this corner of our country.

It was so enjoyable to roam free in this vast beach,

to explore caves and rocks,

to enjoy good friends,

to take a dip in the great Pacific. Well, maybe that was enjoyable to some, it certainly would not have been for me.

Lots of marine treasures to observe.

Who can hit the bulls eye?

Nolan was very creative with kelp. I don't know what else he got his hands into, but there were stains in this new fleece that I could not get out. Another memento from his adventures.

Apparently flying kites and enjoying their beauty in the sky wasn't enough.

We had some menacing dog fighting in the skies. Here are a few casualties of the war.

Our perfect day ended with a beach fire while enjoying the sunset. What else can one ask for!

Charades, silly games and songs added to the fun fire bond.

This adventure too, had to come to an end. Once all was packed up, it was time to head home.

To say it was a great weekend would be putting it mildly!

Can't wait for the next adventure.

P.S. Kelsey and Lydia, I'll be ready with some mind stumpers to baffle you on the next car ride.

Right now it's kids 1, adults 0, but you just wait . . .

Happy Birthday Kind Stranger

Christian tried to convince me that we should take a detour on our walk back from Marine Park to the trail head. The plan was to stop at Fairhaven for a gelato treat. If you know Christian, you know he is pretty good at bringing up the reasons and arguing his point, but he still did not convince his mom. As we were walking out, Ethan comes asking if he could have ice cream. Oh, here we go again, I thought. The part I did not hear, was that this nice group of people celebrating a birthday had too much ice cream cake (which was melting), and offered it to the boys as they walked by. Each of the boys got a huge plastic cup full of yummy ice cream melted in with cake and fudge. There was even enough for mom to get a few spoon fulls.

Making Space

Some re-arranging has been taking place at our house. We moved room (occupants) around, painted walls, cleaned out closets. I'm also in the midst of re-assessing and planning for our upcoming school year. The rain outside is perfect for the work being done inside, but I did have to spend some sunny days buried in forgotten corners of closets as well. Yesterday I took a car load of stuff to Godwill, only to get a new pile started today.