It Finally Clicked!

Ben learned to ride his bike yesterday! I was so proud of his perseverance. Usually he tends to get frustrated when he can't do something well right away, but yesterday he stuck with it and enjoyed himself and it clicked! A few months ago, my friend Marcy suggested taking off the training wheels and letting him learn to balance by going down a hill. When we tried it then, the frustration kicked in and he didn't want to keep with it. We'd give it a try every once in a while, but he never enjoyed it, so I didn't push him. Then yesterday we tried again and everything fell into place. He was so excited! I love seeing my kids experience that "light bulb" moment when things suddenly make sense and they gain a new skill. I remember feeling that way as a kid and getting such a big boost in my self-esteem. Now Ben can join the girls when they ride bikes in the yard. He's already asking when he can go out on the road!

Camping the Wise Way!

Our friends, the Wise's, invited us to go camping with them last weekend. Our whole family hadn't gone camping together this summer, so I was very excited when they tempted Brad with their camper trailer and told us we could sleep in it with them.

This is the Wise way to camp, a way that Brad and I are quickly seeing the benefits of! We used to tent-camp all the time when our kids were smaller, but now that our family has outgrown our tent, and our bodies don't like sleeping on the ground, we're thinking more seriously about investing in a camper. Nothing as big and grand as the Wise's, but something that Brad and I can sleep in, that has a toilet and shower, that can be pulled behind our van.

We headed out Friday afternoon for Grayland Beach State Park. When we arrived, it had just started drizzling, and I was afraid we were going to be in for a soggy weekend. Fortunately the rain let up that evening, and by nightfall the sky was clear. It was a perfect night for star-gazing and after the kids went to bed, Brad and I went down to the beach to look for shooting stars. Very romantic!

Saturday morning after breakfast, we hit the beach, which was only a minute walk from our camp site. The tide was way out and Kylie and Ben immediately set out building a sand-fort. It quickly progressed from this:

to this:adding the final touches...

and all it took was one spectacular wave as the tide was coming in to reduce it to this:

We brought some toys to play with, including Brad's trick kite:

It's too hard to get a picture of the people flying the kite and the actual kite in the same picture, so here's Brad teaching Jillian how to fly it.

The Wises brought two kayaks, so Jimmy and Kylie tried to take them out in the ocean.

They made it out a little way, but the waves kept pushing them back, so they didn't stay out very long.

Matzo enjoyed chasing tennis balls and resting in puddles

We even caught one of Nate's smiles on camera!

And another one! What a miracle!

I love this picture of Jillian. I was playing with my camera as we were sitting around the campfire and got a few good shots.

And I caught this beautiful sunset Saturday night.

I love the colors of the beach.

Saturday evening some other friends, the Closes, came down from the condo they were staying at in Westport, about 5 miles away. I didn't get any pictures of us together, but we enjoyed a delicious salmon and prawn dinner and then visited around the campfire.

Sunday after we packed up camp, we went up to their condo and played in the pool before heading home. I'm so glad we got a chance to have a family vacation before the summer ends, even though it was only a weekend.

We Be Jammin'

The blackberry harvest is here! Picking blackberries can be very addicting. They're so delicious, they're everywhere, and they're free! Once I get started, it's hard to stop. I've made three batches of blackberry jam so far. I tried a new thing this year and bought "no sugar" pectin. You can use fruit juice or honey or artificial sweetener instead of white sugar. Since we keep bees, we have honey, so I decided to use honey. I was very pleased with the results. The texture is a little thicker than with sugar, but the taste is great. I can't say it has a "honey" flavor, but it's very yummy.

Kylie helped with the latest batches. She got pretty tired of stirring, but she was a good sport. Here's what we ended up with, and all the jars sealed! I just love that popping sound when the jars seal!

I also made a blackberry pie using honey instead of sugar. I wasn't as pleased with the results on this one. The flavor was great, but the filling was very runny.

The recipe had you make a honey custard and mix it in with the berries, so I thought that would give it a good texture, but apparently not. The pie sat on the counter for several days with only two pieces cut out of it (both eaten by me) and then it started to mold, so I tossed it. I had made a blackberry pie a few weeks earlier and added blueberries to it, which I thought was wonderful, but apparently no one else did, because I ended up eating almost the whole thing by myself. Over several days, of course. So no more blackberry pies for my family!

Mom's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Mom!

We got together with the family to celebrate on Sunday evening. Unfortunately, Ben had strep throat so Brad and Ben had to stay home. They really missed out because Tad cooked another delicious meal: grilled salmon, roasted veggies, risotto, and heirloom tomato salad. And Tif made a delicious apple blackberry cake for dessert. We were supposed to have the dinner at my house, but since Ben was sick, we met at mom's.

I was pretty disappointed that Brad didn't get to come because he picked out my mom's present this year. He found a really cool antique co-op up in Everett where he knew he could find something she'd like. I really wanted him to be able to see how excited she was when she opened it.

Check out her expression, just as excited as a kid! I love that about my mom!

Mom and her new friend. It matches her new sewing room pretty well, doesn't it?

I think someone got the candles on the cake backwards...isn't is supposed to be 26?

F.I.G.G. Campout

F.I.G.G. stands for Faith in God for Girls, the new name for Achievement Days, which was the new name for Activity Days. I think. No matter what it's called, the girls and their moms had a campout last weekend at Faye Bainbridge State Park. Imagine a dozen 8 to 11 year old girls running around the park...let's just say they have a lot of energy and they LOVE to sing! I'm sure the other campers around us thought they were in for a night of craziness. But as soon as the camp host told them it was "quiet hours," they settled down and cozied up with their moms around the campfire.

It was the group of college students in the campsite next to us who needed to be reminded of what "quiet hours" means. They were up all night laughing LOUDLY. I discovered years ago that bringing earplugs with me whenever I sleep away from home is imperative to being able to sleep, so I wasn't bothered too much. But I felt so sorry for all my friends who didn't have earplugs. I don't think any of the other moms got a wink of sleep.

Camping at Faye Bainbridge is like camping in a parking lot. All the sites are right next to each other, with no trees or any natural vegetation buffers. Looking out at the Sound and Seattle is nice, but a little privacy would be nicer.

That said, Jillian and I had a nice time together. I loved sitting around the campfire singing and chatting and listening and watching. Jillian and I walked down to the beach around 11:00 PM to do some star-gazing. The moon was full and we didn't even need a flashlight to find our way.

Stephanie and Gretchen were the "s'mores queens." They held on to the chocolate and grahams and helped the girls pull the hot marshmallows off the sticks.

These crazy girls love to dance and sing!

This was before Jillian found her way to my lap.

Gradually most of the girls ended up snuggled up with their moms. Not much longer until they're too big to do this!

A Special Day at the Temple

My aunt Karen came up from California last week to go to the temple for her first time. I was able to join my mom, all three of her sisters, two of their spouses, and one cousin for a wonderful day at the temple. After the endowment session, Karen was sealed to her parents, who passed away a few years ago, and her husband, who also passed away recently. It was a wonderful feeling to know that my mom's family is now all sealed together. Afterwards we went back to Sharon and Dallas's house for dinner and visiting. Thanks for sharing your special day with us, Karen!

Four beautiful sisters: Sharon, Karen, Susan, and Sandra


Dallas & Sharon, Karen, Susan, Sandra & Richard


Me and my mom, Sandra and Lyn

The Scarlet Letter

I have a new driver in my family. It's been a bit of a nerve wracking experience. I don't really remember learning to drive, but I'm sure I gave my parents the same "heart attack" feeling the first several times I took to the streets.

ONE of the things that scares me is that other drivers don't know that the driver of my vehicle doesn't really know what the heck he's doing, so they can't give him a nice bubble of space, or have extra patience when he's going 25 in a 40 zone. When I first started learning to drive, my mom borrowed a large, white, magnetic "STUDENT DRIVER" sticker from my driver's ed teacher. Smart woman.

I was talking to a woman from Vancouver, BC the other day, and the Canandians have it figured out. When Canadians are learning to drive, they must display a large letter L (for Learner, not Loser) on their vehicle. I don't know what color it is, but I'm imagining that it's bright red, hence the Scarlet Letter. There is no shame in displaying a symbol of your novice status to the world. In fact, I think it would be very comforting. Everyone would know that you need some extra space and time and not glare at you or send you threatening hand gestures.

I think I'll send a letter to my congress-person suggesting we adopt this brilliant idea.

Lake Wanahokalugee, MN

To escape the horrific heat wave that struck the Pacific Northwest last week, we decided to go camping at a beautiful mountain lake. It was perfect: remote location; clear, cold water; breath-taking surroundings; good friends. In attempts to keep throngs of people from flocking to this lake, we decided to give it an alias: Lake Wanahokalugee, located in Minnesota. If you've been there, you know what it's really called. If not, contact me personally and maybe I'll tell you the real name!

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and were very happy to see several camping spots still available. By the end of the day, the campground was full, and it filled up on the following three days as well, another reason why we created an alias. After setting up camp, we headed right for the lake. It felt so good to be in the cool water!

Ben was so excited that he made up this little dance: We couldn't keep the kids off this log boom, even though a sign warning "Danger, Keep Off" was posted. I admit, I swam out to it and enjoyed sitting on the log in the sun. We swam in the lake until dinner time, then came back for night swimming after dinner. The setting sun kept changing the lighting over the lake and every minute was more beautiful than the one before.

One of the features of the campground is a ginormous maple tree, the biggest I've ever seen. It's way cooler than the "whomping willow". The kids saw it and were instantly intent on climbing it.

Thursday we hiked out to "mermaid grotto" for some cliff diving. We were told it was a "short hike", and it would have been if we would have started from the right side of the trail. We ended up going the long way there, about three miles in. Later we learned that from the other side of the trail it's only one mile. The kids did surprisingly well, and only one fell asleep on the hike back after the long day of sun and swimming. I gave Brooke the "Matt Topham" award for buff-ness; she carried Adana three miles on her back all the way to the car! But I'm getting ahead of myself! Before hiking back, we enjoyed the whole day jumping off the bridge, about 10 feet above water, and the cliff, which had three different jumping spots. One was about 12 feet, one about 20 feet, and one about 50 feet above water. We only let the kids go up to the 20 foot ledge. Maybe when they're a little older they can try the highest one, like when they're 21!

Friday we decided to try the local hot-springs, but were disappointed when we got there that it was just like a swimming pool and not the natural type we were expecting. So we didn't stay long and opted to hike to a nearby waterfall instead. (I'm trying really hard not to divulge the names of these locations!) We were very pleased with our decision, and the kids had a great time playing in the river, except for all the biting flies.

Ben did a little fishing, and caught a fish in his shoe! He thought it was so funny that it swam right into his shoe. He wanted to take it back to the campsite and cook it for dinner. Here's our group of three moms and ten kids on the bridge above the falls: We all had a wonderful time, and vowed to make this an annual tradition. If you're ever in Minnesota, be sure to look up Lake Wanahokalugee, you won't regret it!