By now you probably know that we love making trips to the mountain.
Mt. Rainier, that is!
Now if Kade happens to hear you refer to it as just "the mountain" he will gladly correct you with a gentle reminder that it is a volcano. He is right, it is. And gradually he is coming to understand that a volcano is a mountain even if ALL mountains are not volcanoes. Sometimes he himself refers to Mt. Rainier as "you mean, my mountain, Mt. Rainier?" How he thinks it is "his" I'm not sure but he does. Guess one of these days he will figure out that it is not actually his but God's.
Oh well, moving on...
have to share this funny with you:
We were in the middle of almost nowhere and Ryne needed a dry diaper. This fruit/veggie stand was not in use and made a great changing station. Kyle is such a good Daddy! He is a diaper changing pro! AND I LOVE HIM FOR IT!!!
Now, back to our trip to the mountain...
The reason for our trip this particular day was not just that it was a beautiful day and we didn't have anything else to do. Nope, we took our friend Luke! Luke is a part of Life Church and we have really gotten attached to him. He is one of our military friends. Joined the army right out of high school and moved here from Iowa. Luke is 19 and scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan this month. He hadn't had the chance to visit Mt. Rainier and really wanted to go before he headed across the ocean. We had a nice day and Luke was available so we took off.
This is look getting an up close look at the volcano.
And this is Kade getting an up close look at the volcano while checking out the visitor's center.
Kade knows his way around that place by now and always heads for the lookout spots.
We don't quite turn Ryne loose in the Visitor's Center yet....he hangs out on Daddy's back!
It was a beautiful day to see the mountain...and still lots of snow on the ground.
So guess what we did.
We had a family picture in the snow.
And Kade did some mountain climbing in the snow.
Ryne just couldn't stay in that backpack any longer...
He had to get in that snow, too!
Just love this picture of my boys climbing the snowy mountain.
And there were some snowballs being thrown...
And big smiles from Ryne...
Notice how wet his little jeans were getting.
Kade didn't want to leave.
But then he met a friend with a sled...
The sled was heading down the mountain.
And somehow Ryne coaxed his way into the sled????
And we made it down off the snowy mountain thanks to our new friend with the sled.
Not only did we play in the snow, we saw some beautiful waterfalls.
You have most likely seen pictures of these very same waterfalls on our blog before but we just can't help but to take more pictures every time we go. They are just so beautiful.
Luke, making us laugh!
This waterfall I did not get to see. I sat in the car with a worn out 1 year old while the other three boys went on a final hike. I was thankful for this picture of the pretty waterfall, BUT
then I saw this picture of the sign at the beginning of the trail they took....
We don't even own an Ice Axe!!!
Good news is, I didn't see this sign until I was looking through the pictures later and at that point they had obviously already made it back alive. Whew.
We also saw some cool animals on this trip to the mountain.
Kade spotted the first one as we were driving up to the visitor's center. He was sitting in the back and just very nonchalantly said "Hey, I see a fox." Of course Kyle and I immediately started asking where...because Kade always spots stuff and knows exactly what he's talking about. Luke admitted that he thought to himself, "he probably spotted someone with a dog."
Nope, this is what Kade saw:
A fox!
That wasn't the only fox we saw.
When we came down from playing in the snow this critter greeted us in the parking lot:
And then on down the road a ways we saw this little guy:
The cutest baby fox just hanging out on the side of the road.
Must have been Fox Awareness Day at Mt. Rainier.
Oh and we did see...
A couple of deer...they count as animal sightings, too.
We had a great day at Mt. Rainier. I think Luke really enjoyed the day and we were so glad to be able to spend some time with him before he deploys. Please pray for Luke that God will protect him and use him to share the gospel while he is in Afghanistan. Luke loves Jesus and wants to bring Him glory with his life.
We recouped from our mountain climbing just in time to have a two-party day.
A graduation party for our friend Emilie and a birthday party for our little buddy Aaron.
I dressed the boys in matching outfits (which I don't do very often) hoping to get some cute pics.
Remember how my boys don't cooperate for "together" pictures?
This day was no different than any other day. This is the best I got so we just gave up and went to some parties.
Emilie's Party:
Kade colored Emilie some pictures and was so excited to give them to her.
In the playroom Ryne found this contraption. You should have seen him trying to figure out what it was. When I told him it was a telephone, he looked extremely confused. However, he drug it around for quite sometime so he must have like this "plaything". This little introduction of Ryne to a rotary dial telephone made me realize just how much things have changed in the past, oh say 15 years. Wow! Will Ryne one day being showing his children and iPhone and them be all confused on how that contraption could be a telephone???? I can't even imagine what the next 30 years may hold!
Now let me tell you what Kade found in the playroom toy box. In the middle of all the cars and trucks there was a clear plastic girls shoe (jellies, if you remember those, it was one of those). He picked it up, looked at me and in all seriousness said, "Mom, a glass slipper, we have to go see who this fits!" I agreed and we started down the hall to where the rest of the party goers were mingling about. He stopped at the end of the hall and held the shoe out to me and said, "here, you go ask." It was so adorable. He did eventually work up the courage to investigate and found the owner of the "glass slipper. And believe it or not this little girl had been looking for her lost shoe for several days and was so excited that Kade had found it for her. We had our very own real life Cinderella event.
While Kade was searching for "Cinderella"...
Ryne lost his interest in the phone and decided to help Kyle out with his snacks.
Doesn't he look so grown up sitting in that chair?
On to party Number 2.
Happy 2nd Birthday Aaron!
It was a great party...
Lots of playing...
Dump truck riding...
and lawn mowing.
The boys had so much fun getting to play at Aaron's birthday party.
And after party number 2 we had dinner out with some friends. I'll spare you the details of our overly tired, sugar high boys and the adventures we had at dinner with them. We will just say that bed time came none too soon that night.
Speaking of sugar highs, we found a new frozen yogurt place that we love.
We got coupons in the mail for free yogurt at this place and it is just about a mile from Derek and Alissa's house in Steilacoom. So one day this week the boys and I went to meet "Lissa" and stroll to Black Bear Yogurt to give it a try.
Was it good?
Just look at these faces...
DELICIOUS!!!
Kade immediately ordered chocolate and the gentleman working told him that they were out of chocolate. Kade started into meltdown mode and the guy offered him a taste of something else to see if he liked it. It was Dulce de Leche (caramel). Kade took a taste and kind of smirked and said, "I guess I can like this kind of chocolate today."
Ryne and I shared some Heath Bar yogurt.
Can't you tell that it was yummy?
We will definitely have to make some trips back to Black Bear Yogurt!
And that will be okay because we've been burning extra calories trying to keep up with our boys and their toys...particularly the toys with wheels.
Kade has really been working on riding is bicycle. Moving up from the tricycle. And he is doing great.
Check him out:
So Ryne has taken over the tricycle.
Woops, I missed pictures on the tricycle.
Before I realized it he was off to ride the motorcycle.
And then it was on to the car...
Woopsie...he had a wreck.
Don't worry it didn't phase him...
But the car phase was over quickly and he moved right along to
the big bike trailor...
So we all loaded up and went for a bike ride to the park and let them play on the playground.
Not sure which set of wheels Ryne likes the best???
Mt. Rainier, that is!
Now if Kade happens to hear you refer to it as just "the mountain" he will gladly correct you with a gentle reminder that it is a volcano. He is right, it is. And gradually he is coming to understand that a volcano is a mountain even if ALL mountains are not volcanoes. Sometimes he himself refers to Mt. Rainier as "you mean, my mountain, Mt. Rainier?" How he thinks it is "his" I'm not sure but he does. Guess one of these days he will figure out that it is not actually his but God's.
Oh well, moving on...
have to share this funny with you:
We were in the middle of almost nowhere and Ryne needed a dry diaper. This fruit/veggie stand was not in use and made a great changing station. Kyle is such a good Daddy! He is a diaper changing pro! AND I LOVE HIM FOR IT!!!
Now, back to our trip to the mountain...
The reason for our trip this particular day was not just that it was a beautiful day and we didn't have anything else to do. Nope, we took our friend Luke! Luke is a part of Life Church and we have really gotten attached to him. He is one of our military friends. Joined the army right out of high school and moved here from Iowa. Luke is 19 and scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan this month. He hadn't had the chance to visit Mt. Rainier and really wanted to go before he headed across the ocean. We had a nice day and Luke was available so we took off.
This is look getting an up close look at the volcano.
And this is Kade getting an up close look at the volcano while checking out the visitor's center.
Kade knows his way around that place by now and always heads for the lookout spots.
We don't quite turn Ryne loose in the Visitor's Center yet....he hangs out on Daddy's back!
It was a beautiful day to see the mountain...and still lots of snow on the ground.
So guess what we did.
We had a family picture in the snow.
And Kade did some mountain climbing in the snow.
Ryne just couldn't stay in that backpack any longer...
He had to get in that snow, too!
Just love this picture of my boys climbing the snowy mountain.
And there were some snowballs being thrown...
And big smiles from Ryne...
Notice how wet his little jeans were getting.
Kade didn't want to leave.
But then he met a friend with a sled...
The sled was heading down the mountain.
And somehow Ryne coaxed his way into the sled????
And we made it down off the snowy mountain thanks to our new friend with the sled.
Not only did we play in the snow, we saw some beautiful waterfalls.
You have most likely seen pictures of these very same waterfalls on our blog before but we just can't help but to take more pictures every time we go. They are just so beautiful.
Luke, making us laugh!
This waterfall I did not get to see. I sat in the car with a worn out 1 year old while the other three boys went on a final hike. I was thankful for this picture of the pretty waterfall, BUT
then I saw this picture of the sign at the beginning of the trail they took....
We don't even own an Ice Axe!!!
Good news is, I didn't see this sign until I was looking through the pictures later and at that point they had obviously already made it back alive. Whew.
We also saw some cool animals on this trip to the mountain.
Kade spotted the first one as we were driving up to the visitor's center. He was sitting in the back and just very nonchalantly said "Hey, I see a fox." Of course Kyle and I immediately started asking where...because Kade always spots stuff and knows exactly what he's talking about. Luke admitted that he thought to himself, "he probably spotted someone with a dog."
Nope, this is what Kade saw:
A fox!
That wasn't the only fox we saw.
When we came down from playing in the snow this critter greeted us in the parking lot:
And then on down the road a ways we saw this little guy:
The cutest baby fox just hanging out on the side of the road.
Must have been Fox Awareness Day at Mt. Rainier.
Oh and we did see...
A couple of deer...they count as animal sightings, too.
We had a great day at Mt. Rainier. I think Luke really enjoyed the day and we were so glad to be able to spend some time with him before he deploys. Please pray for Luke that God will protect him and use him to share the gospel while he is in Afghanistan. Luke loves Jesus and wants to bring Him glory with his life.
We recouped from our mountain climbing just in time to have a two-party day.
A graduation party for our friend Emilie and a birthday party for our little buddy Aaron.
I dressed the boys in matching outfits (which I don't do very often) hoping to get some cute pics.
Remember how my boys don't cooperate for "together" pictures?
This day was no different than any other day. This is the best I got so we just gave up and went to some parties.
Emilie's Party:
Kade colored Emilie some pictures and was so excited to give them to her.
In the playroom Ryne found this contraption. You should have seen him trying to figure out what it was. When I told him it was a telephone, he looked extremely confused. However, he drug it around for quite sometime so he must have like this "plaything". This little introduction of Ryne to a rotary dial telephone made me realize just how much things have changed in the past, oh say 15 years. Wow! Will Ryne one day being showing his children and iPhone and them be all confused on how that contraption could be a telephone???? I can't even imagine what the next 30 years may hold!
Now let me tell you what Kade found in the playroom toy box. In the middle of all the cars and trucks there was a clear plastic girls shoe (jellies, if you remember those, it was one of those). He picked it up, looked at me and in all seriousness said, "Mom, a glass slipper, we have to go see who this fits!" I agreed and we started down the hall to where the rest of the party goers were mingling about. He stopped at the end of the hall and held the shoe out to me and said, "here, you go ask." It was so adorable. He did eventually work up the courage to investigate and found the owner of the "glass slipper. And believe it or not this little girl had been looking for her lost shoe for several days and was so excited that Kade had found it for her. We had our very own real life Cinderella event.
While Kade was searching for "Cinderella"...
Ryne lost his interest in the phone and decided to help Kyle out with his snacks.
Doesn't he look so grown up sitting in that chair?
On to party Number 2.
Happy 2nd Birthday Aaron!
It was a great party...
Lots of playing...
Dump truck riding...
and lawn mowing.
The boys had so much fun getting to play at Aaron's birthday party.
And after party number 2 we had dinner out with some friends. I'll spare you the details of our overly tired, sugar high boys and the adventures we had at dinner with them. We will just say that bed time came none too soon that night.
Speaking of sugar highs, we found a new frozen yogurt place that we love.
We got coupons in the mail for free yogurt at this place and it is just about a mile from Derek and Alissa's house in Steilacoom. So one day this week the boys and I went to meet "Lissa" and stroll to Black Bear Yogurt to give it a try.
Was it good?
Just look at these faces...
DELICIOUS!!!
Kade immediately ordered chocolate and the gentleman working told him that they were out of chocolate. Kade started into meltdown mode and the guy offered him a taste of something else to see if he liked it. It was Dulce de Leche (caramel). Kade took a taste and kind of smirked and said, "I guess I can like this kind of chocolate today."
Ryne and I shared some Heath Bar yogurt.
Can't you tell that it was yummy?
We will definitely have to make some trips back to Black Bear Yogurt!
And that will be okay because we've been burning extra calories trying to keep up with our boys and their toys...particularly the toys with wheels.
Kade has really been working on riding is bicycle. Moving up from the tricycle. And he is doing great.
Check him out:
So Ryne has taken over the tricycle.
Woops, I missed pictures on the tricycle.
Before I realized it he was off to ride the motorcycle.
And then it was on to the car...
Woopsie...he had a wreck.
Don't worry it didn't phase him...
But the car phase was over quickly and he moved right along to
the big bike trailor...
So we all loaded up and went for a bike ride to the park and let them play on the playground.
Not sure which set of wheels Ryne likes the best???
And all this spinnin' of wheels took place after supper....did I mention we are loving some long Washington summer days????
1 comment:
I love it... the matching shirts. I just got some for mine that look almost like that. Then the shirt Kade has on at the end with stripes...we have matching those too. Great taste!!!
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