The Nielsens: July 2013

Little Greider Lake

This last weekend we went on a family backpacking trip to Little Greider Lake up in the Sultan area. The hike was fairly easy. Sheeba did wonderful, only falling off a log once. Our campsite was big, and had a little private access to the lake. A few day hikers passed through, but we were the only ones camped out at the lake. I'm a little annoyed Pete didn't bring our fishing gear. He instead wanted to just try fishing with a hook, line and a stick. Yea, that didn't work out too well. And the frustrating part was you could constantly hear fish jumping all over in the lake. Our meals were amazing, with us grilling steak over an open fire. Pete and I recently bought new sleeping pads for ourselves. I can't remember the brand off the top of my head, but we slept like babies. Totally worth every penny we spent. There was a downside to our trip. Kristjan ate something that gave him a stomach ache. I had a dig a hole for him twice that evening before it really started to hit him...and then he accidently made a mess in both his pants and shorts. We only had those two pairs for him. I was able to scrub his pants clean, but we had to bury his shorts. It was bad. By the fourth time this happened to him, the poor kid stood there crying, wailing "I hate life right now". I felt so bad for him, but had to hide my laugh when he said that. Kristjan had to sit for a while half naked until I could dry his pants over the fire. And lucky for everyone, there were no accidents in the tent. All in all it was a good hike. Next time our destination will be to hike on past the lake to Big Greider Lake.

Albany, Oregon

Right after we returned home from the Fourth, Pete had to drive down to Albany, Oregon to give a work presentaion. I was lucky enough to be able to join him. His sister Dee took the boys for a few nights and our friend Shane doggy-sat Sheeba (thank you!). Pete and I took turns driving to and from. He had to make a few side stops in Portland for work before hitting our destination in Albany. Jason Mosebar, the area salesman for Romac, took us out to dinner with a few other guys who were going to be sitting in on Pete's presentation. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, and hit up the hot tub and ate a continental breakfast (I'm a big dork-I love to travel and stay in hotels!). The drive back was long and exhausting for us. Not only did we have to drive back home, but we had to drive up to Mt Vernon that same evening to pick up the boys. I'm just grateful Dee invited us to stay for dinner. On a side note, while on our way home, we got a call from Dee saying Clifford was in a little accident and bonked his head. Clifford thought it would be a good idea to sit in her jogging stroller and ride backwards down her driveway. He ran into the house and smacked his head, causing a small gash. With having five kids of her own, Dee has never had to deal with head wounds (we're a pro), so she called Papa and asked him to come take a look at it. Luckily, no stitches. Clifford just ended up with a very sore head. Hopefully he won't try that trick again.

Some rubber samples being loaded into our car from one of the side trips

Ate lunch at the Lucky Labrador

Our room at the Holiday Inn

Pete working hard

Clifford's accident

Fourth of July '13

We went down to Long Beach for the 4th of July, meeting up with Daniel and his family. The atmosphere this year was very low-key, with not many people on the beach (and by that I mean it wasn't jammed pack, wall-to-wall with people). We stayed at the same motel as last year, this time taking advantage of enjoying the hot tub each evening. Jessica and I walked the main drag of the town, popping in to stores. I was on a mission to buy a hooded sweatshirt. I've been wanting one each time we've gone down, but just never broke down and bought one. I did this year. We spent lots of time on the beach (I have tons of sand in our car to prove it). Daniel brought tons of fireworks to share between the five boys. Kristjan and (mainly) Clifford had tons of fun shooting them off. The fireworks show Long Beach puts on was a lot better than last years. All in all, it was a good trip. There's a few things we'll do differently for next year.

First, we plan on staying at a bungalow instead of the motel. They're small and cute, plus they're located right up the road from the main entrance of the beach. Pete doesn't want to have to drive the car down onto the beach and deal wit the sand getting in every nook and cranny. We'll just walk our sportsbrella and camp chairs down to the beach, and walk back to the bungalow for meals. The place is slightly more expensive, but the perks outweigh the price issue. Plus, I make payments on our room throughout the year to ease on the financial issue.

Second, we want to be more active. Next year we want to go on a day hike, bring bikes down for a ride, and bring some crabbing/fishing gear. Once you've walked the town, you really don't need to do it every year - it never changes. And the beach is wonderful, but we want to add a little more to our trip.

Third, NOT eat at the pizza place. With omitting dairy from our diet, pizza (as much as I love it, and will still occasionally eat it) isn't the best option for us. Plus, Pete and I were really disappointed with our order and service. So our goal is to try a new place or two to eat at.

Lastly, we would like a new crowd to join us. This year wasn't much fun in the company department (last year was slightly questionable). It's really annoying when someone is either on their phone ALL the time reading or in their car watching a movie, and when they do talk, it's with a bad attitude (seriously?!). Or when the other person just wants to sit around and drink. Now, granted, all one does on the beach for the 4th is do that. But it's also a social thing. And Pete and I drink, but for us it's more a social thing (shocking!), not so much to get wasted. And we don't necessarily want to do that the other two days we're down there. Having a new crowd come along also ties in to the goal of wanting to be more active and try other activities while visiting the town (someone has an issue with getting off their butt and simply walking around, unless it's to go spend money).

Anyhow, here are pics from our vacation. Enjoy!

Boys during the long drive. Clifford decided to take a nap.