nature

October Camping… err, “camping”

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October Camping... err, "camping"

Last Christmas, Alma’s gift from my mom and step-dad was a camping trip with her cousin Liam and their dads.  They decided to go to Silver Fall State Park.  Of course, it turned out to be the first rainy weekend in months.  They went anyway, and decided to play the camping part by ear.

andthenthey camping 1When they got to the park, it was sunny and warm.  They hiked around the waterfalls, in the woods, and had lots of fun.  They had a picnic lunch in the lodge and hiked some more.  andthenthey camping 2 andthenthey camping 3Alma and Liam are just a few months apart in age, so it was fun for them to get to spend so much time together.  andthenthey camping 4One of the stories they came home with was from the caves.  Alma said to Liam, “Will you protect me?” and Liam replied, “I AM SCARED.”  andthenthey camping 5 andthenthey camping 6 Alma has been looking forward to her camping trip for months.  She would tell me, “I’m going camping with Grams and Grandpa.  You are not coming.  Harriet is not coming.  Daddy is coming.”  She was very clear about this.  There was no way I was going to sneak into the car.andthenthey camping 7 Of course, the rain showed up.  They embraced the water and got soaked.  At this point, it didn’t matter if the rain was falling, or the creek was splashing.  It was warm enough that it was still fun.andthenthey camping 8 andthenthey camping 9It was so wet, though, that everyone decided to head home.  They realized they would have just spent the whole night in their tents as a fire would have been impossible and everything would be too wet to sit on.  I don’t think Alma was too disappointed.  They got to do all the fun things of camping without sleeping on the wet ground. andthenthey camping 9aI can’t wait for this to be an annual tradition.  Maybe next year Grams and Grandpa will take Alma and Liam without their parents… maybe they’ll take Harriet, too!

The photos in this post were all taken by Jesse.  He did a great job, didn’t he?

Sweet Creek Falls

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I love where we live.  The coast is an hour away, the mountains are an hour away.  We have rivers in our town, and creeks right outside.

aIMG_7475aIMG_7411One of those creeks is Sweet Creek Falls, and it has some dazzling waterfalls along the way.  We have been meaning to go there forever, and we finally got a chance this past week.  We went with my parents, who had been there quite a few times before.

aIMG_7491aIMG_7419On the way there, we came across a herd of elk.  I have never seen this many, in the wild, all together, before.  It was awesome.  They stood and looked at us for quite a while, then all took off across the meadow and over a fence.  Awe-some.

aIMG_7389The kids did such a great job.  It was Harriet’s first time on a real hike, outside a carrier.  She just about lost her mind, she loved it so much.  She pointed at everything.  Waved at the creek and said, “Hi-ya,” whenever we had a new view of the water.  She signed water all along the way.  She almost made it to the end, but my mom turned around with her.

aIMG_7407It started out kind of rainy, but that just added to the beauty.  Alma got to use her umbrella, which is always cause for celebration.

aIMG_7403Everything was so, so, so green.  I love this time of year, when the leaves and young and fresh.  Before summer sets in and everything gets covered in dust and dirt.  The forest is alive with critters and magic.

aIMG_7410The kids got to explore, and marvel in the outdoors.  The hike was pretty short, only about 3 miles round trip, and mostly flat along the creek.  Alma made it all the way to the end with Grandpa and us.

aIMG_7486I can’t wait to do more hikes this summer with the kids.  I have a long way to go before I get to my 35 miles before my 35th birthday.  So far, I think I only have about 5!

aIMG_7442

New “Art” – Pressed Flower Hearts

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aIMG_4022A few months ago, I bought some clear contact paper and asked Alma if she wanted to make some art.  She did, and we crumpled up tissue paper and pressed it onto the contact paper.  Now whenever she sees the contact paper, she says she wants to make art.  Apparently, to her, ‘art’ is anything made with contact paper.  We might need to work on broadening her definition.

But for this project, it was perfect!

On Hattie’s birthday, we went to visit our friend Marilyn, and her lovely garden.  She sent us home with a beautiful bouquet.

aIMG_3985We took the petals off the flowers as they started to fade, and made some ‘art.’

aIMG_3983I taped the contact paper up on a window and let the girls put the petals on it.  We found that throwing the petals at the contact paper was the best, and most fun, way to attach the petals.

aIMG_3989Once we were done, I put another sheet of contact paper on it, sandwiching the petals.

aIMG_3994I pressed it for a few days, then cut it into hearts.

aIMG_4019Ta-da!  ART!

The First of Many

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Our first night away from Harriet.

Alma’s first camping trip.

It was quite a trip.  We met my parents at their annual group camp-out.  They go up the river every year and spend a few nights playing music with friends.

We have never actually spent the night at this camp-out.  This year we tried.

We almost made it the whole night.  Jesse got food poisoning and we ended up driving back to the valley in the middle of the night.

Looking back, there were a few signs telling us not the try to camp.  My sister-in-law had a baby that morning (we thought maybe my parents would want to go meet him right away – the decided to wait until the next day).  Our air mattress didn’t fit in the tent (sweet Marsha traded us for her tent).

Oh well.  At least we tried.  And Alma got to experience most of the camping experience.

And Harriet had a great time having a slumber party with my dad.

 

 

Hendrick’s Park, 2014

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For years, I have been trying to plan a trip to the rhododendron gardens just right.  I always seem to miss it.  A couple weeks ago, I was sitting in my living room, looking at our beautiful red rhody, my neighbor’s purple one, and another neighbor’s yellow one.  It hit me.  This was the perfect weekend to go.  So we went.  And it was perfect.

And Then They - Bleeding Hearts And Then They - Family And Then They - Gazing And Then They - WalkingI love that we are able to expose our kids to nature so easily.  We are so blessed to live in a place with nature so nearby.  Even though Hendrick’s Park is a very landscaped, planned garden, it feels wild and natural.  It rises above the city, and surrounds you with flowers, and branches.

It is lovely.  And I’m really proud that we finally went right on time.

Thick as Thieves

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Alma has some pretty great friends.  None so great as our neighbor, Rory.  They have an unspoken way of communicating.  Sometimes this can be a problem.And Then They - 1 Come On, Ro-roAnd Then They - 2 ChasingAnd Then They - 3 So Much JoyAnd Then They - 4 PlanningAnd Then They - 6 They're OffThere are some amazing adventures in their future.

Rainy Hike

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It’s the first rainy day here in months.  Of course, we decided to plan a little hike.  That’s the way we roll around here.

aaa Rainy Day

We went on a very short hike through the woods up near my parents’ house.  They were excited to let Alma explore the nature around her.

aaa On the BridgeHarriet and I were there, too.  She was excited to explore my necklace with her mouth.

aaa In FrontI have so many memories of playing around storm drains.  I love that Alma was just as fascinated with them.  She loved all the bubbles floating around in the water.  “Bye-bye, bubbles.”

aaa UmbrellaAnd of course Grams’ plants needed to be watered.  This girl cracks me up.

aaa Watering Plants in the Rain