Mushroom Walk

What do you do after a sumptuous Thanksgiving meal and a day of eating the leftovers? Go walk in the woods, of course. And take your cranky kid who has spent waaayyyy too much time on screens. You can also turn that frown upside down if you yell a part of male anatomy as you are taking pictures of him. 

It also helps if you give him something to look for to distract him from his separation from electronics. Given the time of year, we looked for mushrooms. Some of our favorites:

Mushroom Hunters 2024

Paddleboard

Several years ago I bought a couple of inflatable kayaks and we have taken them out on the local lakes several times. However, the kayaks have to be thoroughly dried before being packed up and that turned out to be an onerous task. So onerous that in the past few years the boys have unanimously refused to use them.

Enter the inflatable paddleboard. Much less work, a great core workout, and still packs up to fit in the back of the van. Isaac and I used it a few weeks ago, but this morning we had breakfast at the lake so we could introduce Ben to the paddling fun. 

Those not paddling had the option of relaxing in a hammock and contemplating our beautiful trees.

While the paddleboard was air drying, we tested out the capacity of our 2-person hammock. It was comfortable for everyone but the squished kid in the middle. 

Packing up was pretty quick and Isaac showed off another cool feature of the paddleboard: the case doubles as a backpack!

Hopefully we will have more water adventures this summer.

Isaac's Summer Adventures

Isaac will be going to summer camp for most of the summer so I tried to pack in some outdoor fun in the few days between the last day of school and the first day of camp.

On Wednesday we put on our hiking shoes, stopped off for donuts, and headed out to Little Mashal Falls. It was a little intense for him on the steep section right before we got to the falls, but he pushed through his fear (with a significant amount of nagging and encouragement from me) and we made it to the water. 

This was a good hike for a warmer day. Many other people had the same idea and my theory that early morning hiking is the best was supported.

I was able to snag a spot for one night at Millersylvania so I would fulfill his wish to go camping. Luckily, there were no burn bans in effect that prevented us from having a roaring camp fire. We invited Jason, Michael, and Ben to join us for a campfire dinner although none of them were interested in staying overnight. 

We tried out the latest limited edition Oreos - Star Wars version with each package having either blue (light side) or red (dark side) cookies with related characters imprinted.

4/4 do not recommend these Oreos.

Living this far north translates into very short winter days and very long summer days. The sun came up at 5:16am and Isaac was awake earlier than that. At 5:30am we were up starting a fire to help with the morning chill. 

After a good amount of time burning and then killing the embers, we tried out our new paddleboard. When I read reviews about this board, several people talked about how they could have their dog hang out on the board with them. Isaac weighs less than many dogs, so I had him jump on carefully climb on the front of the board.

We had a lovely paddle around the lake and only flirted with capsizing once when I took my phone out of the waterproof container to take this picture. 

Hopefully we ticked a few boxes of his summer fun goals.

Memorial Day at Millersylvania

Continuing our tradition, we set out for Millersylvania for breakfast for Memorial Day. This schedule ensures we aren't fighting all of the holiday crowds. The boys aren't usually fans of getting up early, but this year we sweetened the deal by inviting Yogi. Oh, and Uncle Doug and Cody, too.

Isaac didn't start out the morning thrilled and panicked anytime Yogi got close. Doug and Cody kept him on leash, but that didn't make Isaac feel any better about the situation.

As always, Jason was the Master of the Grill and make delicious chocolate chip pancakes for the starving masses.

Yogi was excited about, well, just about everything and had to be taken on short walks to give him (and Isaac) a break.

Need a close up on this stuffed animal come to life? Ok. Here he is.

Eventually, when Yogi was worn out and had two dog parents holding his head, Isaac decided he could come and pet Yogi. He joined the ranks of people who love this dog and now wants to go see him. A big win for our kid who is so terrified of dogs!

We invited Michael's girlfriend and her family to join us. We had met her mom in Ellensburg but this time everyone got to meet Angela's parents and brothers, AJ and Adam. 

I appreciate when the PNW weather lets us enjoy this tradition.

Memorial at Millersylvania

It may be grey and cloudy. I may be recovering from surgery. Teenagers may be very difficult to wake in the morning. But that didn't stop us from having our annual Memorial Day breakfast at Millersylvania. 

We may have been in nature. We may have been surrounded by trees and water. There may have been chocolate chip pancakes. But that didn't stop our kids from spending time staring at a screen.

And chocolate chip pancakes there were! 

And a sexy chef!

And Jason even got the highest form of praise from Michael - a high five!

And then the pink soccer ball came out and shenanigans ensued.

At one point I was taking a video of the older boys playing "keep away" with the soccer ball when Josh whacked Michael (on accident) in the groin with the ball. Brotherly love at its finest. These are the memories that will last! 

Memorial Day

Memorial Day breakfast at Millersylvania is a family tradition we've started in Washington. Because getting up early (ie any time before 11:00am) on a holiday and spending time with no wi-fi is every kid's dream.

Or not.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

And there is itty bitty Exhibit D (Exhibit C not seen here) who actually does live his best life when he is outdoors and gets to swing in (what was supposed to be) my hammock chair.

Luckily, if there is anything in this life more interesting to teenagers than electronic devices, it is food. Bonus points if the food has chocolate chips in it.

Sugar on sugar, just how he likes it.

One of those might be more chocolate than pancake.

Really, the pancake is just a vehicle to get the chocolate to your mouth without melting on your fingers.

With some food in their bellies (there was also bacon that Josh inhaled consumed a little bit later), they could interact with each other and the world IRL.

Not a bad morning.

Memorial Day Morning

Breakfast on the lake? Early morning wake up call for the teens? What better way to spend a holiday? Well, don't ask the older boys, because I can imagine they have a different answer than their parents do.