Summer Vacation - Week 10

Well, this is the last Summer Vacation post for the summer. Technically, the boys do have one more week left, with school starting next Wednesday. We will be going on a family backpacking trip for Labor Day weekend to officially end our summer fun, but I figured that will be the start of the return of normal blog posts.

On Tuesday, we went to Martha Lake and met up with one of my mom friends Jeanne and her kids Ashlyn and Blake for a few hours of swimming. Jeanne and I were so busy chatting that this was the only pic I managed to get during the get together.

Peter and I shared our first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the Pre-Season! Made back-to-school shoe shopping easier. 

We went to Dairy Queen for a special treat!

And for the Grand Finale....we went to Birch Bay Water Park! It's a small water slide park 90 minutes north of us. We met up with Anne and her two boys. The park is small enough that as long as they used the buddy system they were able to run off on their own. We spent the entire day there. The boys had a blast. I realized I'm not much of a thrill seeker. The very first slide I chose to go on was the Hairpin. Out of the four slides in that particular area, that one is the fastest. At one point I tried to sit up in order to slow down, but instead my body ended up going sideways down the slide...Ugh! I at least went on the four slides once, and that was enough for me. My favorite was the River and the big wide slide. Clifford and Kristjan are already asking when we can go back. I told them next summer :)

Boys ready for their adventure!

 Here is Clifford and Jackson exiting the River

Kristjan relaxing on his inner tube

Nielsen Family Reunion 2014

About a week or so ago we headed out to Fort Worden in Port Townsend for our annual Nielsen Family Reunion. We arrived a day earlier than originally planned so we (mainly I) could enjoy an extra day of vacation. I look forward to this gathering every year. It's the one "vacation" during the summer that I'm guaranteed to have. And it was indeed a relaxing trip (well, for the most part. there was a minor issue I was unfortunately dealing with, like finding out someone on the PTA last year happened to be embezzling money !!...but more on THAT story later). We had never been to this particular area. I immediately fell in love with the place. With the particular place we were staying, there was so much to do to keep occupied. In fact, we didn't get around to everything, which makes it even better to want to go back again. The crowd this year was a small, but those in attendance were great company. We had a lovely surprise, with Uncle Dave and Aunt Kim showing up. Peter's parents attended this year in their traveling hotel....er, I mean RV, so we were fortunate enough to sleep in there a few nights and to prep our meals (thank you! that was a big stress off my shoulders). Our boys spent the entire time running around with their cousins, as well as making crafts with Mama Mickey. There was an abundance of food, of course, so no one went hungry. Peter and I had a few chances to go off on our own to explore the town and have some mini-dates. All in all, it was a great trip. The beach is my happy place, like the woods is to Pete, and I was so sad to have to leave and go back home to reality. I'm looking forward to going back there again very soon :)

Our ferry ride over

First set of bunkers we explored. You can see this view from our camp spots.

Me goofing around, acting scared while the boys made ghost noises in the hallway :)

Here's what the view looks like when the sun decides to pop out 

 On our way to explore the second set of bunkers. You have to hike up to it. 

Misc trips to the beach 

Brand new kites! A group of teenage boys staying in the campground approached us and asked if we wanted them. They were leaving and had no use for them at home. Sweet!

Kristjan attempting to fly a kite

Peter helping Kristjan with flying a kite

An evening view at the beach

 The boys and I tagging along to check crab pots. We were lucky to walk upon a group of baby otters playing around on the dock.

Peter and I out on a few lunch dates. First one was at the Nifty Fifties Cafe, where we shared a chocolate soda with our meal. The second place was at Sirens, where we enjoyed a drink with a bowl of clam chowder and a bucket of pawns. 

Our cousin Michael hooked up his tv so they could watch the Seahawks game

 A few misc family pics

 This is Emily, she is the daughter of our cousin's friends Mike and Sharon. Their family has attending our reunions for the last few years. Well, come to find out, Emily has a crush on Clifford(!!). So before our boys left for Yakima, I made sure to get a pic of the two together. The second one is of them saying goodbye to one another. They just patted each others backs quickly. It was so cute. 

 2014 Nielsen Family Picture