August: Part 13: Other Stuff

I love these pictures because:

• Bed-head.
  
• Stella is feeding Fred and opening her mouth.
  
• Fred is holding a bear with a pretty dress.

He always gets it wrong.

The first picture is of Fred wearing one of Dan's socks and a pair of mine (the match is wadded up in the heel) and Chloe's cleats on the wong feet. The second is when he insisted on wearing socks with his sandals. Another day he was wearing Stella's church shoes. We were heading out so I switched Stella's shoes for a pair of his. On the way Chloe informed me that he was wearing Stella's. He pulled a switch-a-roo on me. He got to go grocery shopping in maryjanes that day.

On the 31st (my birthday) the girls started school. I am teaching preschool with three other moms. I am very proud of myself since I am a lazy person. I actually enjoy it and get so much satisfaction out of not paying $100/month for preschool--not just saving money but the actual act of writing out a check and giving it to someone (on time).

First grade! And Chloe V. and Ashley are in her class!!!

We didn't do anything for my birthday and I didn't care--I was too worn out from the month. Thirteen posts to document four weeks. Well, it is done. August was eventful, to say the least--oh wait, I didn't say the least. I said a lot. In thirteen posts.



Even more pictures here.

August: Part 12: Roadtrip: Olympic Nat'l Park: Sol Duc

Day 5: Hiked to Sol Duc Falls.

Drove through Seattle to a town I don't remember and stayed in a hotel.

Day 6: Drove home. Went out to eat for Dan's birthday.

Kids chillin' while we pack up the trailer.

The girls were complaining again about hiking. I told them the sooner we finished the hike the sooner we could head to the hotel and swim. So they ran.
I worried that they would fall off the bridge.

Sol Duc Falls.
I didn't realize when I mapped everything out that we would be taking a ferry.
It was very exciting. We also got to see a plane land on water in Seattle and had to wait for a bridge to split so ships could pass by.

I was afraid they would fall through that hole.

I'm very glad I got to see these parks. I'm not so sure that taking the tent trailer was much cheaper. Gas was a lot and campgrounds aren't that cheap. But it was fun!

August: Part 11: Roadtrip: Olympic Nat'l Park: Kalaloch

Day 4: Played at the beach. Drove to the Hoh Rain Forest (in Olympic). Then drove to Sol

Duc (in Olympic--the park is HUGE!) via Forks.

A jellyfish?

The kids loved playing on all the drift wood.
The water was freezing! A lot colder than Maine. I didn't even like to put my feet in. But my kids are crazy and had a good time splashing around. One of the many times Fred fell in the water. There were signs warning about the riptides. I was afraid he would get swept away.
Fred entertained himself for a long time with feathers. My kids could play on the beach for hours.

I really wanted it to rain in the rain forest but it was sunny (rained the next day).

EVERY store in Forks is playing the Twilight card. If they don't sell Twilight junk then they post signs that read, "Bella shops here."

August: Part 10: Roadtrip: Olympic Nat'l Park: Kalaloch Beach

Day 3: Drove to Kalaloch Beach (west side of Olympic Nat'l Park).

Had a wiener roast.

So HAPPY! Lizzie & JillWarming up.We loved Kalaloch Beach. The campground is awesome. The beach is beautiful (but cold).
I would love to go back but doubt we will. It is sooo far.

(In case you didn't notice we went coast to coast in one month.)

August: Part 9: Roadtrip: Mt. Rainier

Day 1: Drove to Mt. Rainier.

Day 2: Hiked in Mt. Rainier.

Dan had some time off for Independence day and I wanted to head off on a road trip. He wanted to relax at home. Instead of pouting about it I told myself that I would just go later without him. So about a week after we got home from Maine we took off again. I knew I couldn't handle three kids while hiking and camping so I recruited two girls from church to come with us.

First fuel stop--still happy.

First campground. We didn't stay in the same place twice and these girls became experts on setting up and taking down the trailer. Their record was 5 minutes. Notice how Stella is comfortable with the babysitters--this only lasted the first day. Then she would only let me do things for her, like zipping her jacket.

Camp Ohanapecosh/Lizzie & Jill
Our first hike. Silver Falls. Stella doubles as our special needs child.
Hike two. Christine Falls. Stella and one of her many refusals to pose for a photo. Sorry Stella, I'm just stating the facts (except that special needs part). But I'll give her a break since she threw up three of the six nights we were gone. She had reason to be grumpy and want to be carried on the hikes. She is a champion up-chucker and dry-heaver. Doesn't even cry. Good thing I brought lots of blankets. The tent-trailer has three beds. The plan was to have Chloe sleep with one sitter, Stella sleep with the other and Fred sleep with me. Well, Stella and Fred slept with me every night and Chloe even joined us once.
Hike three. Bench lake with Mt. Rainier in the back.
1. Hair in faces 2. Squinty eyes 3. A bit blurry
Big slugs at our second campground.

August: Part 8: Fred's Bday

The day after we got back from Maine we celebrated Fred's birthday at one of those smelly indoor playgrounds.

So happy:

So sad:
Then we ate mexican food.
(Maybe I'll post about his milestones sometime soon.)

August: Part 7: Boston

We took a day trip to Boston.

Went to the aquarium.
Saw sharks and turtles.
Then went to an IMAX movie.
Thanks Pepe!
Fred loved the subway. Chloe's eyes match her coat.

August: Part 6: Maine: Lake Ossipee Olympics

I think the highlight of our trip to Maine was the Lake Ossipee Olympics. It was so much fun because everyone was into it. It ended up being a multi-day event but nobody lost interest. Dan's family is really into exercising and there were some challenging events and intense competition. We decided to make it a decathlon, so here are the ten events:

1. Ping pong tournament.
Not just around the world--a full-on tournament with winner's & loser's brackets. (I won.)
Kate & Wayne (dad/pepe) staring each other down. 2. Hula Hoop.
Two weighted hula hoops. (I won.)
3. Weight throw. (Sam won.)
Dan's pop was a college hammer throw coach. He has been coaching Dan's mom. She won two gold medals at the Outdoor Master's Track and Field Nat'l Championships. She was the one to beat. Check out her form...

..then she hit a tree.

4. Ping pong toss. (Wayne won.)

It was supposed to be target shooting but we were out of pellets. Too bad. I think I would have done better with a gun. 5. Boggle (Scott won.)

We wanted to reward intelligence also.

6. Time trial. (Stu won.)

We biked a three mile loop starting 30 seconds apart.

7. Jump rope. (Kate won.)

Most jumps in 30 seconds.

8. Kayak rolls. (Val & Stu tied with nine.)

Most rolls in a minute. Since three people couldn't do this we were all required to take a zero in one event.

9. Swim. (Sam won.)

Dan's mom swam in college and is a swim coach. All his siblings were on the swim team. I took my zero in this event. There were some discrepancies about the standings since the time sheet for one wave went missing.10. Sculling. (Mardie won.)

Dan's mom does this for exercise so she had an advantage. I was really bad at it.
Scott (bro-in-law) was the overall winner but the scores were really close.

Aftermath.

I love these picture because it shows how much fun we were having. All chores (and maybe sometimes the kids) were neglected. Rule is loser gets to come up with the next year's events. I can't wait.