Mt. Rainier with Julz

Our camping trip with Auntie Julz was so amazing!  This year we camped at one of her family's favorite spots:  right outside of Mt. Rainier Park, just over Chinook Pass.

There was a lot of snow at the top of the pass...this is Lake Tipsoo...Julie said it's usually filled with wildflowers in July.

The kids loved seeing snow in July--they weren't too keen to pick it up, though...

Crazy kid pose...

The first big day there, the mountain was socked in by clouds, so we decided to explore a cave that Julie knew about in the lower ground.  It was a 1 1/2 mile hike that took us to an amazing cave formed by a river.  The kids are getting used to hiking--one of their favorite ways to hike is to run ahead of us, hide, and pop out to surprise us.  We tried this tactic quite often!

The cave!  It was pitch black for maybe 1/4 mile--and the kids got to use flashlights and headlamps.  Gracie was a bit apprehensive, Joshy wasn't phased.

Gracie was spoiled to have "special time" with Auntie--nails painted in the tent, hair braided and straightened two mornings...she even reported that Auntie told her that God knew how many HAIRS were on our HEADS!

The next THREE days were clear enough to show off Mt. Rainier, and you couldn't keep us away from the park!  Day 1 of park exploration took us to Paradise!  We stopped along the way at Box Canyon Falls and the kids did a little 1 mile hike to the bridge and back.

The mountain got more beautiful the closer we got!

Reflection Lake

This is the beginning of our hike at Paradise...we went a couple miles up the Skyline Trail to see Myrtle Falls.  The kids did great!

Couldn't help zooming for this shot...  :)

Here it is:  Myrtle Falls!

And back down for...

...ICE CREAM!!!  This was the motivator on our big hikes--on the way back down the trail the kids would start chanting, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!"

Icing on the cake:  Mama Bear and her two cubs spotted off the road on our way back down the mountain.

And close to Paradise, Narada falls kept us from rushing back to the trailer for naps...

Just a little .5 mile hike...

Day TWO of park exploration took us to Sunrise--on the NE side of the mountain.  A great turnout near the top gave spectacular views.

Joshy is making sure we're on the right trail.  :)  We started out down a 1.5 mile trail to see a glacial lake, but once we got there, the Daddy talked us into doing the loop trail, only adding another mile on... :)

Julie kept the kids busy by having them take pictures of all the wildflowers they found.  She is so smart!

Auntie takes a turn "hiking" with Josh...

Across/down two snowfields!  Neither kids would walk on them, so Jeff and Julie and I became pack mules.  Jeff and Grace fell down together a couple of times.

The Indian Paintbrush will always be my all-time favorite mountain flower.

Love this family pic!

Not to be forgotten were the late nights of playing games in the tent after the kids were down for the night, throwing numerous rocks into the creek right by Julz' trailer, Gracie's 18 mosquito bites, and Joshy getting a "movie night" every evening in the trailer before bed.  :)  Oh, and Jeff squeezing into the trailer's shower, his head said to be poking out of the ceiling vent.  

Thank you for such a fun camping week, Julz!  We loved the park (why has Jeff never been there as a Washington native??) and loved getting to see a place where your family had so much fun together.  We love our summer trips with you!

Goodbye Golden Curtain Rods!

For the last three years I have been cringing each time I look at these gold curtain rods...three years of cringing solved in one afternoon with a little black spray paint...the ONLY home improvement I've done this summer!  But, I did it!

Before...

After...

Gold...

Black!

Now for some valances to put on these rods!  :)  All in due time...

These [Summer] Days...

 Gracie these days...

• Is currently trying out the word "brilliant" in sentences.  ("Is brilliant Spanish for awesome?")  She also has picked up on "migration" and "orchestra," which are a little trickier to use in daily language, but sound great coming out of her mouth, nonetheless.  Thanks, Little Einsteins!
• Is asking great bedtime questions about God:  How do we hear God?  How do we follow God?  Did you know that God knows how many hairs are on our heads?!? She is quite interested in God...and she loves to prolong bedtime.  :)
• Is wondering what foods she may like in the future:  "Will I like meat when I am a grown up?"  Nope, your body won't ever like meat.  "Will I like coffee?"  Most definitely.  How about broccoli?  "I already like broccoli, Mom!"
• Is dressing herself in the mornings!  Wahoo!  She likes to surprise us with the outfits she picks out, and loves to get dressed first thing in the morning.  (Remember this in the teenage years!)
• Has an amazing memory for people and places.  Today we drove by the Largents' church and she said, "That's where Lauren got baby-tized!"

  Joshy these days...

• Is giving great hugs, when they aren't "stuck in his pockets."  He also says, "Missed you, Mom!" when I'm out of the room for a few moments and he notices.
• Is still saying, "Carry you!" when he wants to be picked up.
• Is asking, "Movie night?" probably fifty times a day.  I'm not exaggerating.  I estimated six times per day and Julie informed me that I was grossly underestimating that number.  And he isn't asking if he can wait for night time for the movie.  To him, he's asking, "Can we watch a movie now?"  Favorites right now are Little Einstein and Bob the Builder movies sent by Slick and Twinkles (pronounced "Sick" and "Tinkles" by Joshy)
• LOVES cheese sticks, oatmeal, and pancakes.  Picks at anything that isn't one of these three foods.
• Is having a hard time communicating when he's frustrated with Gracie--he  resorts to full-fledged hitting, which leads to a time-out, which leads to an apology...
• Is going potty each time he sits down in the bathroom.  He doesn't want to go all the time, but he's getting tired of laying down to put on diapers, so when these run out, he's getting pull-ups!