Summer Vacation - Week 8 and 9

We've been a bit busy the past few weeks. Below are highlights from week 8 and some from week 9 (main event for that week was our Family Reunion...separate post on that coming soon).

WEEK 8

We attended another Cubmaster Hike. We haven't been to any the last month due to the boys being out of town, so I figured we should go to at least one more before the boys go out of town again. This one was at St Edwards State Park in Kenmore. We wouldn't call it much of a hike, but the views are gorgeous and the so-called trails lead down to a section of Lake Washington. We can now officially say we've been to (and in) Lake Washington. We stayed for about a 20 minutes before making our way back to our cars.

 We brought Sheeba along for the fun

 Our company for the evening

 Playing in the Lake

 Kristjan found some shells

 Boys hanging out 

 Beautiful Views

Kristjan had his first friend sleepover at our house! We invited his best bud Cameron over. I promised Kristjan we'd have him over sometime during the summer, but then time started getting away and we kept getting busy. We had to have it now or it just wasn't going to happen. And it was a busy event in itself, as we also went blueberry picking with friends and then went over for a bbq/swimming party. We went to our favorite farm to pick blueberries. We met up with Anne and her boys, along with her friend (whom I've met and hung out with a few times prior) BJ and her boys. The blueberries were amazing...and delicious! I think I ate more than I picked to purchase! I was really surprised by how long we stayed. Typically my boys are done within 15 minutes and ready to leave. We lasted at least 40 minutes this year! Everyone then went their separate ways for lunch, but then headed back over to Anne's for swimming. All the boys were having a great time, so we just made plans to continue the evening on with a bbq dinner. 

 I treated the boys out to lunch. 

Back at Anne's for some swimming

 This is Anne and Erik's new puppy, Sam. Isn't he cute?!

 I got a little cuddle time with Sam

 Cameron and Kristjan took a break from swimming to eat (they swam for 5 hours straight!)

 So...Anne and Erik were contemplating a new spot for their fire pit. Guess they found it! I was the first to see this. I shouted "Umm, Anne? Your lawn is on fire", then I ran for the camera for a pic lol

Clifford went in for his scheduled appointment to have the palate expander attached....but then it didn't happen. The person who made it had it way too big. So now we have to go back in to have molds re-done and then a few weeks out from that it should be re-made and ready to go in his mouth. With the boys back in Yakima visiting family, Clifford's next appointment won't be until the day before school starts.

We let the boys play with some clay Pete had bought years and years ago while we were still in college. It sat in a bowl for a few days with water on it (or in it...I don't know) to soften it up. They made such a mess, but it kept them busy for a while. Peter ended up hosing them off in the yard when they were done.

Week 9

Saturday night of our annual Nielsen Family Reunion trip, the boys went home to Yakima with Mickey and Cliff. Two of Peter's sisters were in from out of state visiting, so we let them go down for a week to visit them. As usual, they're having lots of fun. So far the highlight of this particular trip was the boys, along with most of the cousins in that house, watched the steers get butchered. My boys were really bummed that they weren't allowed to see the cows get shot, but they watched everything else...draining of the blood, skinning the cows, cutting, organs...everything. To be honest, I'm really shocked that Kristjan watched and wasn't fazed by anything. He was so excited when describing the event to me over the phone the other night. They were both really fascinated by this, especially Clifford, who didn't know this was  profession. He now wants to be a Butcher. 

Clifford holding a tail and an ear. He thinks the tail is coming home with him...umm, no LOL

 A few pics I snagged off Facebook, courtesy of Marie. 

Summer Vacation - Week 7

Week 7 of our summer vacation has been low-key for the most part. The main event for us was going on a family backpacking trip over the weekend. Our destination was to be Surprise Lake up Stevens Pass. However, as we were driving along, we could see dark clouds in the distance and then lightening! As we got closer to where we needed to pull off for the road leading to the trailhead, the rain started in. It then turned into a downpour. It was so bad that we had a hard time seeing out even with the windshield wipers on high. While this is all going on, Peter and I start to worry.....we didn't pack any rain gear, nor did we bring a tarp for our tent. At one point at home while packing up for our trip Pete asked me if I was packing my rain jacket. I responded with "Why? The weather has been great." Which was true, but neither of us bothered to check the weather forecast for any of the passes. Lesson learned...always be prepared! Anyhow, we made it to the trialhead. Pete gets out of the car for just a few minutes before coming back in drenched and informs us we're not doing this. We drove back down the Pass and see the rain has let up further down. Trying to keep a positive note, I suggested to Pete that we find a different place to go. So we headed to Dorothy Lake. The sun was shining there and we figured the rain had passed that area. All was good. The hike was great with no complaints. We found a secluded campsite to stay. Peter and I set up camp while the boys played in the lake. Dinner was scrumptious, and we played a few games of Uno before going to bed. The next morning we all woke up refreshed. We ate a hearty breakfast before going out on the lake to float on our sleeping pads. For whatever reason, Clifford wouldn't come out with us, so he stayed behind. Sheeba even swam out with us. After an hour or so, Kristjan and Pete went back to camp while Clifford and I stayed out to fish. THEN it started. I thought a plane was passing in the far distant, but the noise never stopped. When I looked up at the sky, dark clouds were moving in. At that same time Pete called for us to come back in. The rainstorm we thought we had missed was coming our way and it was coming fast. We had to leave. Pete fixed lunch while I worked on packing up our sleeping gear. There's nothing quite like the pressure to quickly pack up like having thunder and lightening directly above you while anticipating a downpour to start at any moment. Just as I got the last sleeping pad rolled and stuffed the rain started. Pete and I went as fast as we could to stuff everyone's backpack. The rain let up just slightly as we started our hike out, and of course the sun was shining brightly just as we made it to the car. Oh well. We still had lots of fun and made it out for one night. And we learned our lesson to check the weather beforehand and to always pack our rain gear.

Me and Kristjan during the hike. He is officially wearing a big boy pack, though the pack was still a little loose around his hips. Otherwise he did pretty good!

 Our view from our camp spot

 Camp

 Boys playing in the water the first night

 Kristjan picking some huckleberries to snack on

 Clifford fishing right after breakfast

 Me sitting in the lake while I keep Clifford company as he attempts to fish. We took turns casting. 

 Kristjan back at camp drying off after floating the lake. This is right before we had to start packing up to leave.