On the Road

We have had a theme song for the trip down to AZ.
It goes like this.
To the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb.

"I don't really like the car
like the car, like the car,
I don't really like the car
when I must drive far.

Every hour we make a stop,
make a stop, make a stop.
Every hour we make a stop
because someone's bladder is about to pop."

Doesn't that sum up over 28 hours in a car?
Granted,
we split it up over a few days
but I don't know how I'm going
to make myself get back in that car for the drive back.

More coming soon about our adventures . . .

SAM and MOF and GUM

Sandwiched between
two days of me and E at girls camp
and our big summer roadtrip
was a few days in downtown Seattle
at Pike Place Market
down by the water
and at a few museums.
The Seattle Art Museum . . .

Giving Kyler the camera was the only way we could keep him with us.

We didn't have a chance with Kacin.

He ran wild and begged for a time out so he could sit down somewhere.

My dad finally obliged and they went to a "timeout" and skipped half of the museum.

But thanks to Ky

I practically have the whole museum on my camera now.

Here are just a few:

The Museum of Flight . . .

 Touring the Concord and Air Force One . . .

The Pike Place Gum Wall again . . .

Goat Lake

On our hike to Goat Lake
we had to pull out all the tricks in the bag
to get a 7 and 6 year old through a 10 mile hike.
They are strong, tough boys
but there were times when they needed a little extra motivation.
We have been on lots of hikes with the boys
and have learned quite a few ways to keep our kids going
Such as,
*make up stories or retell fairy tales.
*choose a landmark, like a tree up ahead, and focus on getting there.
*challenge ourselves to walk the next mile in a certain time
and then celebrate with a something like a mint or a short rest if we reach our goal.
*It helped a lot when we bought them their own camelpack backpacks to carry,
however after the first mile or so it is usually me who takes the packs.
*short piggy back rides, on rare occasions.
*play monster or can't get me
*make believe we're in the jungle studying monkeys
and we have to fight off and escape from ferocious animals.
*point out interesting things along the trail.
*just talk, with Kyler about Star Wars
*be silent for a certain amount time to see how far we can get
(I love my gps--it is so great to have to do stuff like this)
*search for good hiking sticks along the trail
*eat snacks

We did almost all of those things on this hike,
but it was great fun
and we enjoyed the lake at the top.

yeah, that is Kyler's jacket. a little too small i would say.

Ooey Gooey S'mores

we like

marshmellow and graham cracker goo

  

Another Trophy

Kacin had so much fun in Tball this year.

He is proud to add one more trophy to his collection.

He says he definitely wants to play baseball again next year.

Monte Cristo

This hike wasn't much of a climb (only 500 feet) but it was the farthest distance the boys have gone. We went 9 miles in 3 and a half hours. This was a fun hike that we would've stayed longer to explore if we didn't have to hurry back for a Tball game. A good place to bike or camp at next time. Except its a ghost town and I don't know how I'd feel about being there at night.

in the dark.

with the ghosts.

so strike that--

a good place to bike next time.

Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor . . .

On the wall?

The most colorful wall in Seattle
collecting gum for almost 20 years.