Mora Campground and Beach

A friend recommended camping at Mora, which was a wonderful stop. It was deep in the woods and a very empty campground. Our actual campsite was awesome. You can see M&M playing at the back of it.


Pictures from First Beach...

Olympic National Park

Pictures from Olympic National Park's Rialto Beach. We were the only ones who showed up for the 10AM Ranger Tidepool Talk. It was interesting to talk to the ranger about the sealife as well as about the process of becoming a National Park Ranger. It was an breathtaking walk and worth braving the wind. We love the wild coast.

Even the ranger wasn't sure what this creature was...

Note Mina at the base of this pair of rocks.

See the tiny dots of Rich and Miles on the above left.

June Camping Adventures... Finally!

Way back in June, after Mina's preschool finished, we packed the car (and car box) rather full and set out for our first camping of the season. We intended to come home mid-week but the little campers were doing awesome so we kept going - even missing a Hayden concert at Tractor Tavern! We ended up having nine days on the road, and only one three minute shower! Our trip included camping on the Pennisula at Sequim Bay State Park, camping at Mora in Olympic National Park, a night in the very fun Port Townsend, detouring through Whidbey Island and landing at our final destination of Baker Lake.

I'll start with some pictures from Sequim Bay State Park...

Thankfully this bear, which was one of many at Olympic Game Farm, was staring at us on the other side of a fence. It was waiting, like all the sad animals there, for us to throw bread at it from our car. Some bears were so trained that they could catch it mid-air and waved when you pulled away.


Based on a great idea from another mom, we suited up Mina, like her pal, with her own backpack full of "The Ten Essentials" - check out these links, Hiking with Kids and Hug a Tree. The whole process of setting up the backpack and going over everything was a great learning opportunity.

Mr. Miles and pal dancing it up in the tent with a serious Croc collection at the door.

Pre-bed walk.
I finally got a camping-style espresso maker. I've since learned that coffee grounds are like catnip to bears. Until this point, i was loving my new habit in the woods.

We took a very windy, yet stunning walk along the Dungeness Spit. Pre-kids Rich and i walked the entire way to the lighthouse and back - 12 miles round-trip or 19.2 kilometers.


Here is Mina showing off her latest wig aka. sandtoy bag.



Beachcombing.



Turns out there is much clamming and oyster harvesting to do at Sequim Bay State Park. We talked with some local folks who were digging with their rakes and searching through the dirt. We'd like to try this on a future trip.

One other reason to visit Sequim is Lost Mountain Winery. Mmmm.

Same Overalls, Different Horses

The greatest teachers of my life have been my Dad and Christieview Farm. Both things taught me a great love of gardening, doing things the old fashioned-way and a respect for nature. I am very thankful for my childhood, and all of its seasons, on the farm.

Every Wednesday, my Dad's blog is a flashback of the farm over the last near thirty years. It is fun to watch which sibling pops up, what they are wearing, and which pet they are holding. If you look at the most recent one, it is me, in a nifty yellow hat. I'm around four years old and holding a kitten. This morning, Rich woke me up to tell me "that you made the flashback page!" Yes, the whole family loves grandpa's blog. I looked at the picture, remembered the event, but could also see my daughter in myself. It was a cool flashback - even though i don't remember the kitten!

Today, i'll flash back to a photo of my Dad on the farm, with Bonnie and Tara, from roughly fifteen years ago. This is pretty much how i remember my Dad as a child. Those same overalls. That stature. And, this is pretty much how my Dad still looks. Just different horses.

Thank you Dad.

Team Girl Power and the Trailer Boys

We just spent a rather fun weekend with everyone on bikes!

Cloverdale, BC Dollar Store

A Locally Grown Diet With Fuss but No Muss

Just a straight article link... A Locally Grown Diet With Fuss but No Muss

Bounty of the Season

The other day, we had a great morning blueberry picking at Mercer Slough. The kids had great willpower until the very end. Once Miles started eating the berries by the fistful, Mina just couldn't hold on either. We came home with 1.5 lb picked blueberries and likely the same amount already semi-digested. Mina was a huge help in freezing some berries and making a quick-to-disappear batch of Blueberry Bounty Buns from Vive le Vegan.

This beautiful dress is a birthday gift from Uncle Ross, Aunt Rosana and cousin Liam! Thank you! She LOVES it!!! It ranks up their with her beloved Maui dresses.
Africa-inspired Mina balancing raspberries from the Bellevue Market on her head.

Harvesting our lavender. We saw people at the market selling bundles for six dollars each! I think that we need to set up a lavender/egg/bread stand!

Artichokes, fresh from the garden, just prior to steaming in preparation for Friday night pizza!

My favourite garden...

For Ian

Rich is expanding his hobby list to include bread-making. Not just any bread-making but naturally-leavened breadmaking. He's got a little starter going and is quite cute in his new role of breadmaker. Our first taste test of it all was a YUMMY batch of english muffins.

Here's the website where Rich learned how to start, thefreshloaf.com

Bring Your Child to Work Day!

Last Monday, Mina went to work with Pappa for a day. She's been looking forward to this event for a while. Technically she's suppose to be seven but this year, she crashed the party. After a day of meetings at Microsoft, she stated that what Pappa does all day is "kind of boring". However, she was okay with the access to free chocolate milk. The highlight of the day was meeting up with another father-daughter pair in the cafeteria for lunch. And yes, also a ride on the city bus - until Rich got off without her :)