painting the outhouse

We moved into the cabin by grandma's and grandpa's for two weeks. No bathroom? No problem! We hauled one of the currently unused outhouses after digging a sufficiently deep pit. The kids were hopping in and out to measure it. No need to guy power when it came to moving it. Kristen took the guidance while I provided to muscle. Together we squared it away over the hole. The kids painted it, put hand prints on it, and then we were set!

attention

Not dead, just at camp, be back to posting soon!

garden 2012

 the battle of slugs vs. me is waging on. Fortunately, raspberries and sugar snap peas can stand on their own otherwise I would have had much less green to show you. I have re-planted so many times this year it makes me dizzy.

 First Zuke...the other side has a huge slug munch spot out of it. Greg and I had stir fry and we didn't have to share because the kids don't like zucchinis.

 red wall. I couldn't remember if I had taken a pic of it or not? See the door to the right? That's our new storage under the stairs.

This is all the clematis did this year. Its pretty....pretty small.....*wink*

tide pool adventure/ Haiku Tuesday

go for adventures

run far, dig deep, set records

come explore the world

click for Kristen

My girl split the webbing between her toes so she couldn't go this time. It was me, my dad, and the boys tromping across the beach and old road. (It was carved out of the rock so people could get through during high tide) It is fascinating to see how treacherous the roads use to be. My dad, ever the history buff, gave the boys a spiel on it. I am so glad he can come on some our adventures. Without him we would have missed so much. Plus its nice to have more than me with the camera around.

backpacking

A little rain mayhaps? Next time were heading for dryer country. I missed having the dog too. Apparently national parks are anti pet.

 This was such a cool shot. The kids got to be within a few feet of the young eagle as it was stranded on the path. Flying lessons gone bad? Its parents were calling to it from the trees. It was SO awesome having all the kids there to experience it. No boring summer vacations here!!

 Our tent was a cozy 4 person tent...with 5 people. Not nearly as impressive as Kristen and Daryl's 2 person tent with 5 people. We all slept very warm.

 More boardwalk on our way back. We powered the last 3 miles out in one hour and forty-five minutes. Smoking! Those little troopers did 9.5 miles in three days with packs on. Woot!

Thomas took lots of pictures of me. I am actually glad of this one. I didn't realise my pack looked so big. Its not terribly heavy though. 30-45 lbs. I only had to 'help' with Thomas' pack once for a little over a mile. 

 The sea-weed comes in more than green.

backpacking day two..yup there's still more to come

more pics

Backpacking trip number 2!

six eager hikers....okay five and Thomas



This is the first bridge you cross before hitting the trail. The whole thing makes a triangle. We headed toward Cape Alva first as it was the longest hike at 3.4 miles.

 The trail in and out are mostly boardwalk. The ceder planks were a bit slippery in places.

 Kristen's youngest gets the award. That little guy hiked like a champ..and he's super cute to boot.

 For a while the kids were in front of Daryl....but after a little mishap we switched the kids behind and let him lead.

 It was perfect hiking weather on the way in. Isn't the scenery amazing?

 This stop was about a mile away from the camp ground. The kids did great. Plugged along and finished the 3.4 miles in 2 hours.

This trip we headed up the coast to the Olympic National Park. You think after all these years of rain I would want to camp somewhere dry? Well, yes but the views posted of the hike were too breath taking to miss. We convinced/cajoled/begged my sister and brother in-law to come with us. You will have to bear with me as I took 250 pictures. It WAS that beautiful. Don't worry though I'll cut it down for your sake. More to come tomorrow!!!