Boys camping trip!

This summer we knew we wouldn't be traveling much and an opportunity for a summer theater accompanist position opened up so I took the job! It was a 6 week intensive experience that had it ups and downs. For the most part it kept me way more occupied than I thought it would. 

I was really more of a rehearsal accompanist and then during the performance they sang with tracks. I got to add 'sound engineer' to my resume as I controlled the tracks (down to every single little vamp and cue) and even ran some sound effects for the french narrator in the musical. I think it may have been a little harder playing the piano! Lots of brain power!

Melissa and I in the pit. No instruments, just computers and us!

I also neglected to mention that during my first week at work I hit a deer on the way home! I still don't have my car back! Thankfully I wasn't injured, the car was driveable to get home, and the car wasn't totaled. But it has really sucked being without my car and being down to 2 cars and a motorcycle, but 1 of the cars is Cade's PT cruiser that has sadly had a lot of problems and is NOT reliable!

After my mom and brother left, my hubby still had a little time to take of for summer block leave. Unlike Texas, you can camp almost anywhere in the PNW. The boys packed up and headed towards Mt. St. Helens and used that AWD vehicle to find a state road to explore and camp for the evening. I'm gonna let the pictures do most of the talking since I wasn't there. Really, they just drove, explored, cooked, slept, explored some more and headed back home. Hopefully the boys can have more quick adventures like this as we live here longer!

Mt. St. Helens is about 2 hours from us, depending on where you approach it from. There's obviously a lot of stories that the land around here tells. There are still faces of mountainsides that have no vegetation. There are lava tubes to explore and trails to hike.

Lots of waterfalls wherever we go!

Firewood for the evening

Not an adventure without Carson along for the ride!

So on a clear day you can see Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood while you're visiting Mt. St. Helens. They were able to see them all!

When it was getting later in the evening they drove to the end of a state road and camped at the top! They made pizza subs and s'mores :)

What a clear clear day. The reflection of Mt. St. Helens in the water is just stunning. And I love the driftwood as well.

Mt. Adams!

Now I just need to join in the next trip to Mt. St Helens so we can all cross it off our bucket list! Can't wait!

Someone came to visit!

(summer 2022 kicked my butt. blog catch up time)

Alex turned 14 the weekend before school ended. I think this is the first time he's still been in school during his birthday! It was also Father's Day! We kept it all simple with some friends over for cake and korean food for Father's Day dinner! Dan's fathers day present was a Solo Stove! We have LOVED using this all summer long!

Alex got a new 3DS XL, some 3ds games, and even a thrift find of Battleship!

I love seeing what Cade posts on Instagram- here's for Father's day and Alex's bday

First and last days of the 2021-2022 school year! Cade finished his sophomore year and Alex finished middle school!

Now it is time for summer to begin!

We are always so glad when someone takes the time and effort to come visit us, because we end up all over the country, and world sometimes! If you need an excuse to explore a part of the United States, you've got somewhere to stay!

4th of July we welcomed my Mom and Brother from Denver up to our washington home! They actually flew in on the 4th of July so our first day together was spent BBQ-ing and setting off fireworks. It gets dark really late in the summer here, so it was awhile before it was dark enough for fireworks. It's legal to shoot off the real stuff, so we bought a bunch and had a great time.

I was pleased that since Kevin had already visited Seattle with us last year, and my Mom didn't really want to go to seattle, that we got to explore other parts of Washington instead. We spent a whole day exploring Mount Rainier National Park. We are blessed to live about an hour away, and often catch spectacular views of Rainier just from our home. On our visit it was cloudy and you couldn't see the full mountain, but it's still a spectacular park.

I'm sure there's snow all year round every year, but we had a particularly EXTRA rainy/snowy year this year so the passes had only recently been reopened.

The Whole Fam Damily!

We don't all fit in one car so Dan rode his bike. Here's his pose in front of Rainier!

Driving home from the park we came across this property that had a TON of very large metal sculptures. It was free to visit, but they welcomed donations of course. I've only included a few of the sculptures, but there were so many more, all unique and entertaining! (and some beautiful flowers too!)

There's a little town of Elbe that you pass through on your way to Rainier and they have these train cars turned into restaurants and overnight stays.

And with any family visits it's just a good time to catch up, relax, eat, play games, and hang out together. 

Not wanting to drive all the way to the coast, but still wanting to spend some time on the water, we opted for visiting part of Puget Sound. Point Defiance park and zoo has a lot to explore. We found a shady spot for a picnic lunch and then hung out at Owen Beach for a typical PNW beach experience. Rocky, chilly, but pretty.

The best part about flying in and out of SeaTac is the view of Mount Rainier! 

Thanks for coming to visit us Mom and Kevin! You're welcome any time, and maybe the sun will be out next time!