Olympic National Park

I've been told that you could spend every day seeing something different in the Olympic National Park, and it would take a lifetime to see it all...I believe it! This park is huuuuge! We started early Sat morning catching a ferry to the Olympic Peninsula - we were the last car on - talk about cutting it close! We drove through Port Angeles to crescent lake and Marymere Falls. Kaitlyn did the hike in the baby bjorn (of course!) and Madison walked the entire way! Then we visited Sul Duc Hot Springs. We were disappointed in the Hot Springs themselves. Unfortunately, instead of natural looking springs, the park decided to make traditional public (crowded) pools out of them. But the Sul Duc Falls were really impressive, even for this time of year. That night we stayed at "Kinder Farm" - a vacation rental on a farm. Madison had a great time feeding the goats and watching wild deer walk by the house. The next morning we drove to hurricane ridge. Spectacular views from all around. The deer were so tame that you could walk right up next to them! Kaitlyn started getting fussy, probably because it was pretty cold up there, so we decided to wrap it up a little early and head back to the ferry to go home. Another busy but wonderful Washington weekend =)

Island County Fair

This weekend was the Island County Fair - so different from the Texas State Fair, but still fun! Instead of fried twinkies and snickers, this fair offered salads, fruit smoothies, watermelons and coffee in addition to the typical carnival food. Madison's favorite part was seeing all the horses, cows and alpacas (but no sheep to her dismay). Oh, and we couldn't leave without a ride on the carousel of course =)

M Bar C Ranch

This week we went to the M Bar C Ranch. It was great! Our group (about 15 adults and 35 kids) had a chance to dress up like cowboys and cowgirls, then go play in the pretend western village with a bank, post office, jail etc. But the best part was riding the horses - it was Madison's first time to ride one and she looooved it! She tells daddy all the time that she would like to have a horsie, and daddy wants to get her one, well, someday! Kaitlyn was awake for the entire Ranch experience too, only she was strapped in the Baby Bjorn the whole time =)

July 2009

July has been such a crazy month! We had 8, yes 8 different doctor visits (nothing too serious thank goodness). We also went on tons of fun outings. First we spent the 4th of July at Jim Creek (a military recreation area). It's so pretty there! We rented a rowboat and went fishing, although we didn't have much luck ;) We wanted to shoot some fireworks, but they were not allowed on the property unfortunately, so we got to hear the big "booms" reverberating in the mountains so loudly that our cabin shook! The next weekend we hiked to the waterfalls at boulder river. It's a nice little 1-mile hike that is easy enough even Madison could hike it! Again, so very pretty here. Then we went to the Loganberry festival in Greenbank. There was a live band, tons of carny food (kettle korn - yum!!!), horses, vendors and even a bouncy house and kid zone with games. Madison's favorite by far was the bouncy house. It's funny, she used to be scared to death of those a year ago and now she loves them - go figure! Lastly, we celebrated Madison's 3rd birthday with a beach-themed party at our house. We had a blowup pool, sandbox, beachball sprinkler, waterguns, just about anything you could think of that involved water! I made the cake myself - it looked like half sand and half water with palm trees and fish and a dolphin. I had a great time making all the food too - pb&j sandwiches shaped like fish, cookies that looked like oysters with pearls in their mouths, and sailboat hotdogs - yum! What a month!