the 4th!

 The first leg of the trip was spent at Grandma & Grandpa's over the 4th. The whole extended family was there which was fun and we headed down to the Riverfest celebration downtown. It was HOT and it was super fun to watch the events, especially the fly boarding guy! We saw the bmx riders and the water skiers and the kids went back to see the fireworks show. 

The next day we got to see Great Grandma and Grandpa and it was so fun to see all the cousins together. 

A month to remember!

Wow!! It's been a month and I'm way behind on posts, there is a ton to catch up on. This was definitely the most exciting month we've had in a very long time. Travel, family, sunshine, water  - it was a month to remember. Addy went to 3 different states and on her first road trip without us! Cameron got a week without his sister and his grandma and grandpa to himself! And Brian and I each got time with no kids :) It was a welcome change of routine and scenery for all of us. The weather did not disappoint and as usual we ate our way through vacation. 

The kids were so happy to get time with their cousins. 

A Walk to Remember

Father's Day 2021 was definitely memorable. Perhaps not ideal, but definitely memorable. It was clear going into it we wouldn't be able to spoil Brian as we had intended because there was just too much to do. Cameron's team had just won their previous playoff game so that meant there was a noon game on Father's day. Since Brian is a coach, that meant he'd be on the field in the hot sun. Luckily the team won. The next project was Adelyn's girl scout Bronze Award project. Her troop decided to build a bee hotel and since she had to leave a prior meeting early for softball, she still had a lot of work to do and the deadline was Monday. Since it required drilling and sawing and other tools, Brian was the obvious choice. What she sold him as "1 hour of work" quickly turned into nearly 5 hours. 

As the day slipped away from us, we wanted to do something memorable so the kids suggested we go on a walk to see the sunset from this new secret trail they discovered. We went on the walk and as we ventured on the walk we approached a steep hill on the gravel path. Brian and I were leading and as soon as the words left my mouth of "wow, this is steep." Suddenly we heard screams and turned around and saw both Cameron and Adelyn on the ground crying. After assessing, it was quickly clear that Adelyn's injury was far more serious, so much so that within seconds of seeing her cut Brian said a visit to the ER would be required. Since we were about a mile from home, I took off to run back and get the car to pick Adelyn up since she wouldn't be able to walk. 

I wasn't brave enough to look at her cut, but I trusted Brian's expertise so let him take her to the ER. After the doctor took one look it was clear to him as well and 7 stitches later Addy was sent home. She was a trooper and had no idea stitches were even in consideration. She's since got them out and is recovering well. It was a long day for Brian and we've agreed he'll get a father's day raincheck to cash in on a future date!

End of Season

We have come to the end of the Pacific Little League season and it was a really fun year. The kids enjoyed it so much they are going to play summer ball as well. Addy's team finished 2nd overall, but definitely had the most fun game as the last game. The girls really bonded and Addy said it was the most fun season she had ever had. 

Cameron's team hit a hot streak after their loss in the tournament and beat two more teams and then lost a nail biter on a technicality since they ran out of time. Cameron got to catch in a few games and really liked it. The team they tied ended up winning the whole thing so he felt pretty good, or at least less bad :) 

Wildlife

While camping we learned about all the trees and plants around us. For example the difference between a Lady Fern, Bracken Fern, Maiden's Hair and Sword ferns. We also saw tons of wildlife, the most exciting was when we found 2 deer roaming around our campsite after we came back from a hike. We also saw Addy's favorite, garter snakes. She was not very excited to realize there were snakes, while Cameron was thrilled to go "snake hunting" using marshmallows as bait to catch snakes. Hard to believe but they were not successful in their hunting efforts. There were bunnies and birds and bats all around the campsite and there were trout in the lake. We also saw the beaver each night swimming through the pond and fell asleep listening to the frogs. I think my proudest moment was when the nature guide was explaining the ecosystem and explained about all of the living beings in the system like the plants and animals and then asked what the name was for non-living, never living parts of the environment and Adelyn answered with "abiotic factors". 

Camping Fun

There were endless activities for the kids to do at this camp. Addy's favorite was the climbing wall and gun rifle. Cameron loved the archery range and canoeing. The scenery and weather could not have been better. The water definitely could have been warmer but luckily Brian took the swim test for us so we could rent the boats. We felt very lucky to be a part of the first family camp and hope they do it again. 

Fire Mountain Camping

 Over Memorial Day weekend we had the opportunity to go camping at Fire Mountain which is a scout camp. They opened it up for Family Camp and we had the best time. We were so lucky with the weather as it was sunny and warm every day. Typically Memorial Day would be way too early for me to consider camping but it could not have been any better. There were 3 families from Cameron's pack that stayed at site. We all had stents which are kind of like yurts which was fun. Although Addy did not like that there wasn't a door with a zipper. 

The campgrounds were amazing as they had all of the activities that are normally used for scout camps. The kids did archery, swimming, climbing, boating and hiking. Addy was old enough to go to the gun rifle and shoot. They also provided food so Brian and I didn't have to do any food prep for 3 days! It was so much fun and an awesome start to the summer season.