Weekend drive

I am very behind in my blogging so I don't remember what weekend this was, but it was sometime in late June, we decided to drive up to Paradise on Mt Rainier and see what it was like at this time of the year.  We were hoping to see some snow and maybe do some hiking.  It turned out that there was a lot of snow and not really any hiking unless you were on skis.  It was a rainy day up there so we are all wearing our rain gear, and because of that you cannot see the top of Rainier, but we already have a lot of pictures of that.  It was a fun day out and we climbed up the wall of snow and walked around and hung out at the Visitors Center. 

 This is just outside the Visitor Center there, we have not started up the snow yet, but it is amazing to us that it is always plowed.  You can get the the visitor center all year round.

 Here is the snow ramp for people to get up onto the snow. Because it has been warm the snow was slushy and super slippery, which made it fun to come down but hard to go up.

 Here we are walking around on the snow.

 Proof that Ryan came too, although I think us being in the mountains is proof enough. We try to switch off taking pictures so we can both be in them. I was not very good this time around.

 The giant wall, there was a little creek running down at the edge of the parking lot and clayton was having fun knocking snow in and watching how fast it would melt.

 Brody is taking a turn this time. Clayton is kicking it in we spent a good 30 min just doing this.

 This is the climbing permit office. We took a picture because of the snow walls, it was pretty cool.

Playing in the snow still. We walked to this building and then walked back and that took an hour of our time even though they were a couple hundred feet apart.

Memorial Weekend

Well, we are here in Washington so we decided to do what we do every weekend... any guesses... well, if you guessed camping you were RIGHT! We also did not realize that it was Memorial weekend until Friday so there were very few options for camping. Luckily I was able to find a couple campgrounds that are within 20 min from the house and they are first come first serve, so we headed up there in hopes of getting one. We stayed there for a couple days. Saturday we did a couple hikes, and happened to run into one of the best rock climbing spots in our area. There were several small cliffs to climb and many places for the kids to play. There is an old train line that used to run up there and they have since filled it in with gravel. From what were heard it goes on for several miles, we only walked a little ways but there are some awesome bridges that we crossed and could look down on some rivers and beautiful scenery.

 Brody playing by the campsite. There were a lot of big logs to walk along and climb on. Which is one the boys favorite things to do.

 So we did not have exact change to pay for the campsite, but the campground manager would not give us change, so we had to buy firewood. Unfortunately, we did not plan on a fire, so there was nothing to cook in it. But this kids like to watch it, and Clayton helped Ryan build it.

 Hanging out at our site making food, or doing dishes. The kids running around playing.

 More playing at the campground. The big stump in the background is where they spent most of their time.

 Out on our hike, still had lots of logs to climb on...

 This was a little rock cave with roots and trees all over. Clayton thinks he could make a pretty good shelter out of it.

 Up on top of the shelter!

 A view from below of the awesome bridges, this is before we knew that we would be able to get up on top of them and walk around.

 On top! the kids loved the view and had a lot of fun running around on the long bridges.

This is a really cool tree that we saw, it is growing out of the stump of another tree that was cut down.

Back Packing Trip

So without realizing it, the first weekend after Ryan went back to work was Memorial Weekend. And since we are in Washington, we decided to go camping. But apparently everyone else had the same idea, so we went back packing to better our chances of getting a camping spot.  We found a great place called Greenwater Lakes, and it was named appropriately because the water was really green. It is so fun to see all the different things here in washington, I have seen the bluest water, gray water, green water, and clearest water I have seen. I never knew rivers could come in so many different colors! Anyways, the hike was about one and a half miles and the kids did pretty good. They were done once we got to the first lake but we made them go a little further and we found a great camping spot at lake number two.  It was a beautiful hike as always. We still have not gotten over how green it is here. I feel like I should be taking pictures all the time because everywhere you look it is sooo pretty. Even the rocks are covered with moss and are green and pretty. We were able to find a great spot that was by a slow part of the river and had a little bank that the kids could stand on and throw rocks in, so they were completely content.

 Starting out on the hike. The kids always like to walk along the logs and jump off all the rocks that they can.

 Dad carrying Brody and his pack. It is a good thing he likes camping so much or that would be too much for a person to carry. He has a lot of drive to get to his destination.

 Beautiful tree and log that we stopped to get drinks by.

 A pretty view of the river. There is so much growth that it grows anywhere that it can an when the logs fall into the river there are bushes that grow on them as far out as they can and it makes for very pretty landscape.

 We had to cross the river a number of time and the way that they did it was to use large trees that have fallen across the river and build steps up to them. They make them flat and add a railing. It is really quite cool.

 A pretty waterfall that we saw on the way up. Not the destination but a great bonus for the hike up.

 We had to stop and have a snack break. My boys can't go to long without food, and something about hiking reminds them that they are hungry.

 Another beautiful view of the river with fallen logs and moss covered rocks.

 Another cool bridge and this shows you the water. This is one of the better pictures to show the color of the water.

 The boys checking out the color of the water and the river flowing under them.

 Brody loves to watch the water flow under the bridge and he will stay there for quite a while if we let him. We have to keep him moving most of the time because he is so transfixed on it.

 Throwing rocks into the river. We made it to our campsite and this is where they spent the rest of their time.

 I had to take a picture of our tent because there was a rock cliff covered in moss for the backdrop and it really doesn't get much prettier than that.

A picture of me and Ryan on the hike out. I liked the face that Ryan was making. He loves to take pictures of people when they look funny. Eating or talking, I have decided that I look very funny when I talk and eat because I have a lot of pictures that say so. I also am like my dad and I use my hand a lot to talk and he also catches that. So this one is for you babe!

Grandma and Grandpa

So my parents helped us move out here and I gotta say. They are pretty awesome. They drove our second car so that we could take turns driving and taking care of the kids. It makes is so much nicer for everyone involved. We had them for a few days so while they were here we took them to Mt. Rainier and did some of the most beautiful hikes. We did the Walk of the Patriarchs, which is in old growth forests, meaning the trees are as old as can be, and they are huge. It is one of the few places that the loggers did not get to.

 View of Mt Rainier from the drive, it is very impressive to see!

 Grandpa and his boys with their walking sticks.

 Checking out the forest and learning from the signs that they have posted. Clayton likes to learn all about them and we have to read every one.

                                                                      Giant Tree

 This is a cool bridge that we got to cross. The river is very deceptive because it is so clear it looks shallow but once you are over it, you can see that it is really very deep. Beautiful though.

 Two of the oldest trees there. They are huge, a couple hundred feet tall at least.

Huge tree that had a little step for Clayton, he will climb anything that he can.

The second hike we did was to a waterfall, called Silver Falls. It is a very beautiful water fall, and then heads into some really narrow rocks and it is really impressive to watch that much water pound down the falls and into those rocks.

 View from the bridge into the river between the rocks.

 Grandma and Grandpa on the hike.

After we got home, we walked to an ice cream place down the street. It just happened to have the best homemade ice cream. It is absolutely delicious and we have gone back a few times since. Thanks for the help mom and dad you guys really are the best!

Its Been a While

Well, I am back. It has been a while. Brody thinks that he needs to throw a fit everytime I sit at the computer so I really only use it to pay bills and then I am off. I do everything else through my phone, but blogging is just not possible through the phone, for me anyways. So I thought I would do a little update on the family. Clayton finished kindergarten, and he got to get out of two weeks of school, which he was very excited about. Although if he knew the party that he was missing at the end he would probably have been sad. We did not talk about it. We have moved to Washington again for the summer. This time we are in Maple Valley, which is awesome. We also live a few blocks from a beautiful lake (pictures to come) that has a park surrounding it with toys for the kids, and some fun hikes. Ryan is doing great at Boeing again, he is with the same team and the same place and they put him right back to work without delay.  Brody is our busy body, and is slowly getting used to the fact that he only has mom to follow and that what I do is not that exciting.  So a little about the boys.
Clayton is very creative. He is always creating stories to go along with the toys that he just built that they are very involved. He is a total boy, and everything battles! He is beginning to love to draw and create elaborate stories to go with the pictures. He is getting pretty good at reading, but is not really interested in doing it so we have to set aside time. He does however, love math. He is constantly adding things up and counting them, and he always wants to do extra pages in his workbook on the math section. He has a very similar mind to Ryan and I can see him loving engineering just like him. He is also my little problem solver, he will listen to something I say and then give me a solution. My favorite thing is how simple his answers always are, and sometimes is makes me wish things were really that simple. But I am always happy to have his suggestions. He is getting used to his little brother and they have been doing well playing together.  We also just started him back in gymnastics and he is sooo excited about it. He loves to do tricks on the trampoline, bars, balance beam and everything else. They have a really nice place hear that is just around the corner from us which makes it very nice and convenient. He loves to build anything and everything. One of his favorites is building traps, and they are pretty good sometimes and we have to scale them back so we don't actually get hurt. Clayton is my very sensitive boy, you cannot get to upset with him or he will hide and cry. He is very good as listening as long as he has the reasoning behind why he has to do something, another way his mind works. I love him sooo much he is such a great blessing in our family.
Brody is our little entertainer. He loves to have the attention from us and will do everything in his power to get it. He is also my curious one, and is always asking questions. "What you doing?" is the first thing that comes out of his mouth everytime he walks into the room. Next question is "why?". And that continues until he gets bored or you stop answering. He loves to do what you are doing and always wants to see what is going on. The thing he misses most here is Grandpa. He follows grandpa everywhere and is always doing what he does. He loves to help grandpa do everything and anything. Grandpa is number one on his list. He is very independent, he wants to do everything himself. Walking across parking lots is our biggest struggle, and lots of times I end up chasing him down. He loves to dress himself, but also is my stripper and I can turn around in the store and have him half naked in the cart. He would be outside all day everyday, naked, if he had things his way. He is our outdoor boy, just like his dad. He loves to camp and hike. I can tell him we are going hiking and he will instantly let me get him ready to go because he loves it.  He also loves water, from the sink or outside. He will spend hours throwing rocks in water and everytime we go on a hike if he sees water he HAS to throw a rock in. He can reach the faucet in the bathroom and that is where I find him a lot of the time. Filling up whatever bottle or container he can find. He is a very messy boy and is a VERY messy eater, but also does not like his hands to get dirty. It is the most interesting thing to watch because he always colors on his hands with markers and then gets upset that his hands are dirty. One day I imagine he will figure it out, although I think he likes to wash his hands, so maybe he already has. He also is going through a hitting phase, but he always immediately says sorry and gives you a kiss better. I always say he hits me just so he can give me kisses better. He is very sweet though and will share anything that he has as long as you ask. He loves to snuggle and read books.
Both of my boys are sooo snuggly and I absolutely love it. It is so fun to snuggle up and read a book or watch a movie with them. They are so loving and so fun. They really make my life complete.