The Blackberry War of 2019

So.

Many. 

Blackberries.

They're invasive and aggressive and we love them. Blackberry picking is the highlight of Ben's summer and he starts eating them long before they are ripe. We've finally hit a good time to find ripe ones and he has been on several trips to pick berries with friends and family. He cannot get enough.

On Thursday we hiked at Woodard Bay with friends. We've been there quite a bit - this trip was only unusual in that Isaac pooped twice and had to walk back to the car commando (under STRICT instructions NOT to poop) because I don't carry multiple pull-ups with me. (He was not happy, but then again I wasn't too thrilled either.) He was lucky there was one stashed in the car. 

Then we headed a little bit south to a spot on the Chehalis trail to pick berries. I'm not sure what the catalyst was, but suddenly Ben's hands were stained purplish red with the "blood" of his "victims" and then he and his friends started chucking berries at each other.

The upshot was all of the boys took showers that night, our car has berry guts on it, and Ben now has a reputation of a troublemaker (with his coach whose son was wearing his soccer jersey and got blackberry juice on it - fortunately it came out).

None of which slowed him down, because he was back at berry picking the very next day.

Week 8: Saint Helens

Last summer when Mom came to visit, we took her down to Mount Saint Helens and showed her....absolutely nothing. We drove all the way to the Johnston Observatory where I bought her a postcard because that was as good as it was going to get on that chilly, cloudy day in late June.

Please note: summer weather does not start here until...well...August...maybe? 

In any case, going back to see the mountain has been on her to-do list ever since she moved here and I felt badly that we kept having to put it off. Between busy summer schedules and a rather cloudy summer, there never seemed like a good day. But this last Wednesday we braved the "partly cloudy" forecast and headed south. We chose wisely.

Voila! There it is!

We left Josh and Michael behind to do their daily chores and get packing for their scout camping trip. They didn't seem too disappointed. Josh had "already seen that mountain like 4-5 times already" and Michael's class went on a field trip there at the end of the school year.  Ben was a good sport still and Isaac can't bear to be left behind when there are adventures to be had.

We did the usual: Johnston Observatory with its interactive displays and then a tiny hike to get an even better view.

The parking lot has the only food available in the park in the form of a food truck. Mom ate a brat with mediocre sauerkraut (she really misses Germany sometimes) and she had an audience. This little critter had no fear and at one point jumped on her back.

Then on to Coldwater lake with its lovely boardwalks. Ben did his part as a citizen scientist and reported on the water levels.

We all agreed that this would be a lovely location to use the kayaks.

We stopped at the Weyerhauser visitor center on the way back (they don't call it that, but let's be honest - that's what it is) and then headed home.

It was a lovely trip, even if I couldn't convince anyone else to do the 3 mile Hummocks trail with me. Maybe next time.

Week 8: Family!

We were very excited to have some visitors Sunday/Monday. It was a quick visit, but filled with fun and lots of catching up. For once, Isaac had a partner in crime in the house and these two got along fabulously....after about 20 minutes of checking each other out from the safety of their respective parents' laps.

Alas, we had to send them on their way Monday morning. They had a long trip ahead. Becky and Jeff are far more gutsy than I am - the thought of doing the 14+ hour drive straight though to Salt Lake City with the kids has been a deal-breaker for me thus far.

I would like to point out that I took a few pictures of Malorie and my boys. In every picture she is smiling nicely. That is not the case for my boys. But I do enjoy having pictures of them with their cousin.

If we're lucky, they will move here, but in the meantime we'll have to do visits as we can get them.

Week 7

Monday

American Lake/JBLM splashground with friends. A perk of being in the military, or in our case, a perk of being friends with people in the military. It was one of our few sunny days and Ben, Isaac, and I were lucky enough to be invited on base. 

Tuesday
National Night Out. We had a mostly quiet day at home with Ben's friend hanging out with the boys. At the end of the day, we walked to the park for National Night Out. The boys were not super impressed, but there were hot dogs and balloon "Pokemon".

Thursday
Northwest Trek. We used our library tickets to head to NW Trek instead of the zoo this year. The eagles were new and the tram is always a fun experience. This year we even got to see a caribou pee! Cross that one off of the bucket list.

Friday
Prepping for the pie contest. The library holds an annual pie contest with different divisions for adults, teens, and kids. Ben and Nana decided to spend Friday working on their entries. Ben had never made a pie before and it's been awhile since Mom had an oven all to herself (sorry, Rachel, even though it's your house....it's pretty clearly her oven).

Saturday
Pie contest. Neither of them won, but they are now motivated to get more practice in. Also, Jason and the younger boys all showed up for the tasting afterwards and they seemed pretty happy with that opportunity. Michael had 7 (small-ish) pieces.

Sunday
We decided to play hooky from stake conference (shh, don't tell) and went on a family hike. Once again, like a fool, I believed the weather forecast. Shortly after we found this little pull-up station, the rains came down, down, down.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me practically every day for 3 1/2 years, there is no hope for me.

We were soggy and dripping, but none of us melted in the rain. Then it was time to go home and dry off before our guests arrived. But more on that next week.

Week 6: Cape Disappointment

I guess if you had traveled across the entirety of our country and arrived in the Pacific Northwest just in time for one of our famous rainy winters and had to live in the cramped quarters of a small log building, this place could be disappointing.  But, really, that does seem to be pushing things because Cape Disappointment is BEAUTIFUL. The boys and I had come a couple of years ago with some friends and did a day trip. We'd spent most of our time hiking and really enjoyed the day. Consequently, when I was planning our camping trips for this summer, it seemed like a good spot for a repeat. This trip was very different, but we had a lovely time.

Ok, so a few things actually were disappointing: Our trip took longer than expected as the van overheated on the highway. Luckily, we were very close to an exit. With some water and 2 1/2 quarts of oil, we were back on our way (though keeping a close eye on the temp gauge). Arriving with hungry boys, we were VERY disappointed to discover that the camp host had gone out to dinner so we were not able to buy firewood until they returned after 7pm. Yeah, not happy. Oh, and it poured and poured and poured buckets of rain our second night.  But...you know...Pacific Northwest.

Eventually we started a fire our first night and got the food out to cook.  While waiting for Jason and my veggies to cook, we took our three youngest to the beach. Our campsite was practically on. the. beach.

We meant it to be a quick trip just to check things out. Of course, THIS kid can never just check out the water at the beach. He must always get his jeans soaked at the beach. I put my foot down (gently, it still really hurts) and busted his "I'm not going to get wet" butt back away from the water.

 Ben wasn't the only one ready to get wet.

Just have to throw a picture of my sexy husband in here.

These pictures of Isaac in a jacket and shorts getting in the water always make me chuckle. He's not going to have any memories of beaches that don't require warm clothing in the dead of summer.

Michael found a toy. It's pretty easy to play fetch with the ocean - throw a big stick and the waves will keep bringing it back to you.

Ben started to get involved with the sand, but alas, dinner was ready.  It was back to the campsite to eat a late dinner and enjoy the fire.

On the last two camping trips, the older boys have all slept in the smaller tents. That just leaves me, Jason, and Isaac in an 8-person tent. Lots of space for us and our gear. It means, however, that Isaac spends a bit of time each evening frustrated at the giggling and talking in the other tents that keeps him awake. Poor youngest kid. I am vehemently opposed to co-sleeping (for me - do whatever works for you), so camping trips are one of the few times I get to watch him sleep. It's kind of sweet actually.

Now that Josh and Michael have their own tents, we look like a small tent city wherever we camp. This arrangement does have the advantage of allowing the oldest teen to sleep in and emerge when he is ready (and human-ish).

We spent most of Thursday morning on the beach. It was sunny and not too warm. Perfect weather to play in the sand and do battle with the waves.

Not seen here: Josh, age 15, objector to all family activities, who burned his legs while reading a book in a chair on the beach away from the sun tent but while wearing shorts and his hoodie.

Our campsite was surrounded by climbing trees and backed by a forested area where adventures and explorations could occur. Oh, and lots and lots of sticks.

After spending a lazy afternoon playing games (at one point the game got more heated than the weather...by far), we loaded in the car and drove to a couple of short hikes. The first was part way to a light house (currently being renovated).

The second to a view point for weather (maybe?) that had a WWII bunker thingy (yes, that is the technical term) along the way.

The view was quite beautiful. Not at all disappointing.

This is where I took a few pictures that prove A) Josh actually was on this trip and B) we're going to need a professional photographer for our family pictures.

Then we headed back down to camp to eat dinner and batten down the hatches. We'd heard there was a chance of rain (40%), and it was clear that everyone else had seen the same weather report. Unfortunately, that 40 became an 100 and it was no PNW misty rain, but a full on storm. We awoke to some small puddles inside and a couple of lakes under the big tent. The rain continued through the morning, so there didn't seem to be much to do but to pack up and drive home.

Regardless of the soggy ending, this is definitely on our list of places we'll go back to.