Camping Trip, Part 2: Deception Pass

Wait. What? Weren't we all just in the car packed for a camping trip just a few days ago?

Yes, yes, we were.  Things got a little crazy a few months ago when I started planning our camping trips and it turned out that we spent 6 of the last 8 days camping.

We had a blast. But we're done for a little bit.

This trip had us driving a few hours north to Deception Pass State Park.  I read somewhere that it was the most visited state park in Washington.  It did not disappoint.  Our camping spot was definitely large enough for our 3 tents and was close to the bathrooms (hooray!).  As an added bonus, it was right next to a short trail to the beach.

The North Beach, to be exact.  Not to be confused with the West Beach, which is more popular and larger.  But the North Beach was a perfect fit for us to go visit multiple times during our stay.  Plus, it was never very crowded.  There were great rocks for throwing, sand for digging, and a lovely view of the bridge.  Oh, and a view of this cutie pie.

Sunset looking over at Deception Island.  Seriously, this was one of my favorite trips we've done since we moved here.

The next morning we drove over to Rosario beach to check out the tidal pools.  These were slightly disappointing after out trip to Ruby Beach last year, but we still got to see some interesting critters.

Josh was eager to show Isaac creatures he found, but sometimes Isaac just needed Josh to listen to him.  Isaac's method for getting Josh's attention was rather effective.

Then we hiked a bit around Rosario Head, which was probably Michael's least favorite hike we've ever done.  The drop off was steep and sudden in a few spots.  He was not a fan.  So he and Jason took the inner trails, while the rest of us took the outer route.

Bowman Bay was a short drive away, so we headed over to see what was going on.  The Interpretive Center was lame and the hikes in the area a bit long for what we were prepared to do, but the radio-controlled boats were fun to watch.

Time to go inspect the famous bridge before lunch.  We parked on Pass Island and did some exploring.  Beautiful!

Ben and walked back to Whidbey Island where Jason and the other boys gave us a ride back to the campsite for lunch.  After lunch, we loaded up the gear and walked to the West Beach.  Sand, sun, and water - it was a great afternoon.

Although, I must say something about this child.  EVERY SINGLE TIME we go to a beach, he wears jeans and EVERY SINGLE TIME says he won't get wet so he doesn't want to get his swim suit on and EVERY SINGLE TIME he gets wet.

He wasn't just wet this time.  He was sopping.  We hung his clothes up to dry overnight and they were still wet.

Good thing he's cute.

After dinner, this same child and I got ambitious.  Back at the bridge, we'd seen a sign for a hike to the summit of Goose Rock.  And we knew there was a trail from our campsite to the bridge.  So, why not combine them and do one long hike?  

Ummm, the hike to the bridge was a little bit uphill.

And then the hike to the summit was a little lot uphill.  But we did it!

Funny thing was, the hike there seemed like it took a while.  I could have sworn the hike back was shorter.

As a bonus, by the time we returned, Isaac has fallen asleep (FOR. THE. WIN!).  

Another night in the tents, another breakfast by the fire and we packed up and headed home.  We will definitely go again (not this year).  And now we get a break from camping for a little bit before our last family camp out and then boy scout camp and all that excitement next month.

Graduation/Moving On/Awards Ceremony

I am a fan of the public schools.  Truly, I am.  But, the public schools and I had a bit of a rough patch this week.  You see, I have four children in FOUR different schools.  And every single one of these schools wanted to celebrate my children's accomplishments.  Doesn't sound all that nefarious, does it? But they wanted to do several of them AT THE SAME TIME.

AHHHHH!  

So you can understand why, when I got the email from Ben's teacher saying that his school lacked the space to host all the parents for the awards ceremony so we weren't invited, I almost cried with relief.  

Michael's Moving Up ceremony and Isaac's Awards Ceremony were at the same time.  Luckily, Jason could leave work for Michael's ceremony, because I was going to have to leave Isaac's teacher with a camera since I am pretty sure my 5th grader would remember if no one was there.  Isaac might not be happy, but I am pretty sure he would forget given a lollipop and some legos.

Anyway, disaster averted.  And I got to see Isaac and all his itty, bitty classmates dance around like little octopuses and sharks.  Which is pretty awesome.

Isaac was given the Sunshine Award.  Which I thought was very, very funny.  

Isaac had some FABULOUS teachers this year.  Love, love, love them.

Jason took some pics of Michael's Moving Up, but I will have to track some down.

The next day, at the same time that Michael and Ben were supposed to be getting out of school (I bribed them to skip), was Josh's Moving Up ceremony.  It was soooooooooo long.  So, so, so, so long.  At one point, I was ready to PAY someone to make it stop.  I mean, seeing the kids get their certificates and cheer each other on was fun, but people just kept giving inspirational talks.  Yes, I realize that I may be the Ebeneezer Scrooge of 8th Grade Moving Up ceremonies.  But, I was not alone.  Isaac, hour TWO:

We finally got to see our 8th grade graduate and his buddies.

And with that, the school year was ended.  Onward and upward!

Cloud St. Helens

This post is a bit late, but last week we had a visitor.  A VERY special visitor. A ONCE A YEAR visitor.

And this time we didn't break her.

Granted, it was still probably not the funnest trip she has ever taken.  I mean, we are definitely fun, crazy (okay, maybe more crazy than fun) people, but we had just moved.

We did take some time though to explore the area, so we took her up to Cloud St. Helens.  Yes, CLOUD.  We didn't see any mountain AT ALL.  For all my Mom knows, there could still be a complete mountain there.  

Timing is everything in the PNW.

We tried to get a picture of Mom and the mountain using this postcard.  It was the best we could do.

But we still had a lovely day.  We love it when Nana visits.

Camping Trip, Part 1: Zion's Camp

And the tradition of camping on the last day of school continues.   This year we opted for two nights,  so we had more time for fun.  The boys had a blast on the rope swing, at the archery range, on the boats,  in the ropes course, and, as always,  making fire.  We are only a little sun burned and managed to get just a few mosquito bites.  However, Michael accidentally packed Jason's pants and Jason forgot to bring a sweatshirt.  Camping is usually a learning process for us. 

Also, funny sidenote.   The bucket at our camp ground was labeled "fire water". 

Michael's Track Meet

Because the schools hate me, the week before our move was filled with a field trip, track practice, band concert, and track meet...and that was just for Michael.

Death by extracurriculars.  We are barely limping across the finish line that is the end of the school year.

Enough of my pity party, June 1st was the 5th grade track meet and it was pretty fun.  Michael competed in 4 events (long jump, 50 meter dash, 100 meter dash, 4x100 relay race) and got 4th place in 2 of them.  There was great energy at the event as the kids all cheered their teammates on and they announced the winners while everything else was happening.  Miracle of miracles, the whole thing ended on time and the weather was amazing.