Snowy Pipeline Hike

What would a holiday with Zig home be without the capture and subsequent release of a wild animal? We've been having some fun playing with the video function on our new Windows Phone 7 mobile phones (so long iphone) and windows movie maker. Zig has made the kids several movies from footage he's captured over the holiday break. I don't expect anyone to watch the whole thing, but it you want to see a baby mole, watch the first minute. If you want to see Nina freak out...stick around till about the middle ;)

Richmond Beach

Last Saturday morning our neighbors called to see if we wanted to head to the beach for the lowest tide of the year and check out some of the marine life. With about 20 minutes to prepare, somehow we got ready and we were off to Richmond Beach with the Medds. The crowd was small and there were several naturalists on hand to help us identify what we were seeing. We were so glad we made the trip because the kids were in heaven. They were able to touch seastars, sea cucumber, crabs, and many other beautiful, interesting little creatures. Hooray for spur of the moment outings!

a family outing

We see several geese families on our Thursday morning walks along the rivertrail. The baby geese are so cute and Rollin has a hard time approaching them slowly. When he is around, somehow all ducks and geese decide it's time for a swim.

Skate Park

We couldn't spend such a beautiful day inside so after the gifts, we took the kids to a park. We were the only ones at the park so Zig, Rollin, Sela, Nina had full run of the skate park area. They had a blast riding bikes, scooters, and skateboards. Evan and I enjoyed getting our Vitamin D and making faces at each other and snacking. Our next door neighbors brought over the most delicious homemade cinnamon rolls just as we were unwrapping gifts in the morning so we took them to the park with us for a mid-morning snack. We didn't do any cleaning up on Christmas, but early Saturday morning we got after it. And boy did it feel good. I went on a cleaning/organizing rampage and seriously, I felt joy. Merry Christmas to me.

Franklin Falls

We ventured out on a little hike this afternoon for our Friday adventure. We left the house around 11 and headed about an hour east to Denny Creek and a hike called Franklin Falls. It was the perfect hike for three small kids and a baby. I heard about the hike from my friend, Colleen, and after seeing her photos I decided this one might be feasible with Evan. 1 mile each way and a very well groomed and beautiful trail.

The waterfall was huge, but after a quick glance, the kids were much more interested in jumping and climbing on the rocks, and trying to cross to the other side. The temperature outside was in the mid 60's but that didn't stop Rollin and Nina from getting wet up to their waists. Sela crossed to the other side without getting a drop of water on her. But it was not so easy for Nina and Rollin. They couldn't reach their legs as far as Sela, however they were both very determined to make it to the other side no matter the cost.

I knew they would be cold and fuss on the way down, but what do you do?! I felt like a broken record after a few minutes so I just decided to let them get drenched and deal with the consequences.

Nina ended up taking her wet pants off and we made a little skirt out of her mostly dry sweatshirt. She was happy as could be. Rollin didn't go for that idea and just cried most of the the way down because he was cold. But that's how we learn. He was also in desperate need of a nap, so we were doomed either way.

We stopped by Thenos on the way home because Nina had a very helpful hiking attitude and earned everybody an icecream. She offered to hold the backpack the whole way (it only had keys, cell, water, and 3 sandwiches) and did not whine or complain once.

I think we'll head back to this trail on a warmer day because my guide book says there is a rock slide with water for kids on nearby trail which sounds very fun.

10 weeks

This Friday I took the kids to the beach for their Friday adventure. Because Andrea came with us, I was able to sit in the shade with Evan and just play while she watched the others in the water. Under a tree watching the shadows, Evan was as happy as could be with his chubby little arms and legs flailing in the air and his eyes looking all around trying to take it all in. I couldn't' keep from kissing him a hundred times, and of course squeezing those dimply thighs! Looking at how cute the chub is on him, I couldn't help wishing the same was true for me! Alas, it is not so!


We may be in the market for a baby bra ;)


Being a little free bird is the best!

Friday Adventures:Week 1

One of the things I told the kids we would do this summer is Friday adventures. There are so many fun places to go and things to do in this area, especially in the summer that I thought this would be a great way to visit a few new spots, try some new things, and give the kids something to look forward to each week.

Since Zig was home this Friday and the weather was incredible, our first adventure was a ferry ride to Bremerton. Zig wanted to "just look" at a sailboat at the marina there, so we loaded up the car and got lucky. We drove right into the ferry terminal, went straight on the ferry with only a minute or two to spare, and off we went.

We had lunch at a restaurant on the water and visited the marina. The kids had a great time looking at all the beautiful boats while Zig and I tried to keep the two non-swimmers from falling in. Evan slept most of the day and the hum of the ferry kept him calm, even when he was awake.

We'll see how I manage alone on our next Friday adventure....

Rollin managed to find something to climb on the ferry.

Nina looking every bit the movie star she thinks she is!

Everyone is happier on a boat.


Stop! Go no further! :)

Rollin got a little crazy on the way home.

He couldn't resist showing off some of his moves.

Wallace Falls

We did a five mile hike today around Wallace Falls in a town called Gold Bar. The kids were little troopers, especially when we took an unexpected detour that added a couple of miles. I know my body could use the extra mileage, but it wasn't in the plan when we started out. The weather was gorgeous and few other hikers were on the trails. We had lunch near the falls and I considered it a successful outing because even though Rollin fell three times (I could not get him to slow down), he didn't fall off the side of a cliff and there was no blood.

Zig has been in Spain this week and we're all missing him about now. He has been around a lot lately and home most evenings for our early dinner so we notice it more now that he's away. Unfortunately, there is something about the third trimester of pregnancy that always puts a big deal in the works and this time is no different. Zig will be in New York most of March and with luck, things will normalize with his schedule by May.