August Album: There’s treasure everywhere

In addition to a tremendous growth spurt by Leo, our August was awesome!  The highlight included spending our eleventh wedding anniversary on Whidbey Island with my brother JP, Meghan and "cousin Carlos".  We met several members of Meg’s extended family, basked in the sun, and boarded along the beach in a quaint cabin affectionately called “the Peanut”.  It was relaxing and joyful!

During hikes along the beach, Dean scouted for treasures.  Our finds: uniquely colored rocks (he seemed to gravitate toward the reddish ones - must be his Oklahoma roots?), shells, and small abandoned beach toys.  It was such a lovely time - great weather, great company, the best of food and music.  There’s treasure everywhere.

My brother has me convinced that crabbing is the best way to catch your meal:  leave a trap in the water, forget about it all day while basking in the sun and looking for treasures, and then return to find your meal waiting for you.  The intimidating part is reaching in the trap to fetch your crabs (throwing out the females and small males per licensing requirement) without being pinched.  And the crabs are feisty!  They draw blood with their claws and they don’t let go.  I watched him do it successfully several times (the day before he had had one unlucky pinch), and finally I took a deep swallow and fetched one out myself!  It was frightening but oh-so-rewarding.  Crabs make such a delicious meal.

Between crabbing and hiking, our agenda was filled with serious beach-time.

    

The last day on the island, we headed into town for a delicious meal and said good bye.

On the ferry ride over and back, Dean and Fiona were fascinated with the fact that our van could be on top of a boat!  There was giggling and clapping.  Such wonder!

We also were fortunate to spend some time in Seattle before our trip with dear friends, Aunt Terri and Uncle Lou and Erin, Ellis and Camille.  Our summer has been filled with exciting adventures, and we are so grateful for the friends and family that fill our lives with joy and give it meaning. 

Some of August was also spent in quiet (well, never really quiet) moments at home and typical days at the park. 

Monkey in fancy shoes!

Brothers enjoying their treasures.

Lost Lake

Last weekend, we stayed in a cabin near Mt. Hood with friends – a total of six adults, five children, and one dog.  The cabin had no running water (there were spigots and pit toilets outside), but did feature a stove and fireplace, plus a loft upstairs with four beds.   It was cozy!  We had an awesome time - lots of sticks and rocks to play with or throw in the lake, plus beautiful places to hike, and great views of Mt. Hood and the Mt. Hood National Forest.  Lost Lake was a perfect find.

           

August Album

Aside from celebrating our 10th Anniversary (!), August was an incredible month that ended with a bang at Heceta Beach.  We spent four days and three nights with dear friends of ours – Kate, Andrew and Oscar - relaxing at the beach house, hiking through a forest and sand dunes, playing in the sand, and eating!  Here is a summary of our wonderful time; most of the photo credit is Andrew’s.  Thanks again for the great memories. 
                     

smith & bybee

Here are some photos from our adventures today at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area.  The forecast finally called for a few dry hours today, so we hit the road for a small hike near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers – still within the City limits.  We scoped out two very cool observation areas, a few rock sculptures to climb in, and we still managed not to scare away these two blue herons with all of our exuberance.  Can’t beat the free amusement and much needed fresh air!