Fun times in July and August

Hyrum and I signed up for sailing lessons.  Because of the pandemic we got to learn from the instructor with no other people on the boat.  The lessons were scheduled over 4 different days and on the final day we had to take a written test.  I like to joke with Hyrum that I'm actually a better sailor than he is because I got 100 on my test and he only got 99:)

With our sailing instructor, Harold, on our final day of class.

Julian with his friend, Jacob Greathouse, on a trip we took out to Sauvie Island.

The twins with their friend, Eli, soaking up some sun on Sauvie.

Townsend flew by himself to Wyoming to spend about 10 days with his Israelsen cousins.  He went out to help them get their yard prepped for landscaping.  I was really proud of him for going on his own and for working hard and earning some money.  I think he had a lot of fun with his cousins as well.

Townsend hard at work in Wyoming

DeNae sent me this photo on the morning that Townsend left.  I think he really had fun hanging out with his cousin Ethan and DeNae said he was a great little addition to their family for a few days.

A little family bike ride on Sauvie Island, minus Townsend who was in Wyoming.

I went down to Las Vegas for a week in July to spend time with my cute little nephews...I'm so happy they remember me even if I only pop into their lives once every few months:)

At the "7 magic mountains" art installation outside Vegas.

Cecil makes a wish:)

We took a trip out to Lake Mead to cool off in the 120 degree heat!

2 cuties at the lake

2 "cuties" at the lake:)

Keeping cool at the neighborhood splash pad!  Seriously...who visits Las Vegas in July???

We had a fun breakfast of donuts at the peacock park and then enjoyed a nice walk around the park.  It was cooler since it was early in the morning...only about 95 degrees!

3 monkeys in a tree!

We went up to Mt. Charleston which was about 20 degrees cooler than Las Vegas.  It was a beautiful evening for a walk in the forest.  I love these 2 little guys so much:)

Cecil contemplating the tree...love it

Paige is such a great mom.  I'm glad I have get the opportunity to come and stay with her while Zach is out of town.  I always tell Hyrum that Paige needs help with her kids while Zach is away but really...I just need my baby fix:)

Hyrum took Emerson and Julian on a hike near Mt. Hood while I was in Vegas and Townsend was in Wyoming.

Some summertime fun at Hagg Lake.  Julian and Jacob had fun...they just like to act grumpy in pictures

I took the boys to Camp 18 for breakfast one day with our friend Grady Holwege.  It's becoming increasingly difficult to find activities to do during the pandemic since so many things are shut down.

We did the short little "Steam Donkey Trail" after our yummy breakfast at Camp 18.  Of course no one wanted to go for a walk in the forest...sometimes mom has to drag you to do what's good for you!

Enjoying a great day of sailing on the Willamette River

Took this group of hooligans to Sauvie Island for the day.  I'm glad my boys have great friends they can hang out with.

Back at Hagg Lake for some fun.  

We are lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world.  That even during a pandemic we can still get out and enjoy some outdoor activities.  This summer has been crazy with so many of our trips having to get cancelled.  We had planned on touring the East Coast this summer with stops in Boston, New York and Washington DC.  Instead we were stuck at home... but like I said, at least we could get out and have a few fun things to do and hopefully my boys will have some good memories.

 

Backpacking Trip Near Mt. Saint Helens

After our wonderful week in Seattle Hyrum still had a full week of vacation left so we decided to take the family on a backpacking trip.  This was the first time in about 20 years I had been on a backpacking trip.  I had been camping a few times but always with our car and tent trailer.  Hyrum has taken the boys on overnight backpacking trips but only hiked a few miles to get to the campsite.  This was going to be a real backpacking adventure.  3 days, 20 miles, 3700 feet elevation gain, 2 nights, no toilets!  To say I was a bit nervous would be an understatement.  I am really out of shape and didn't know if I would be able to complete this task set before me.  But, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and I made it.  It helped that my pack was only 15 pounds.  The twins both carried 20 pounds and Hyrum carried 45 pounds!  We told Julian that if he promised not to complain about the hike we wouldn't make him carry a pack.  He was very good the whole hike and didn't complain even once!  Which is amazing because he usually will complain about a 2 mile walk through the forest!  We stayed in pretty much the same formation for the 3 days of hiking.  Townsend was in the lead, then Julian, Hyrum, Emerson and Me.  Emerson was so sweet to stay with me the whole time.  I was pretty darn slow, especially on the steep up hill parts of the hike.  I would set my sights on a tree about 20 feet from me and try to make it to that spot before I stopped to catch my breathe...it was STEEP in some places!  I kept up with everyone on the downhill or going along on the flat parts of the hike but I really slowed down as soon as there was an incline.  BUT, I did make it and I hiked every mile...so I'm proud of that.

We started out by hiking the Goat Mountain trail and then looped back to the car on the Green River trail.  I have to admit, we did see some pretty amazing things and it was lovely to get away from the news and the hustle of everyday life.

All ready to get going on the first day of the hike.  Did I mention we didn't bring extra clothes (just socks and underwear) so we smelled pretty ripe by the time we got back to the car!

The first 2 1/2 miles were pretty steep.  This was the toughest part of the hike so I was glad it was at the beginning.

Me taking a "catch my breathe" break...Emerson is right with me

This is a good shot to show how steep it was.  Hyrum was on a lower switchback and Julian was ahead of him...heading up, up, up

The view from the top was a great reward.  That is Mt. Saint Helens in the background

Mt. Hood peeking up in the far distance.  From the top of the ridge you could see Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams.  We really were fortunate to have such a clear and cloudless day that let us see so well.

The views were amazing, we were on a flat part of the trail and the wild flowers were everywhere...what a wonderful part of the hike!

My crazy boys:)

Our first night we camped by this beautiful lake (Deadman's Lake).  The water was perfect for swimming.  There was a ledge that went out from the shore about 50 feet that kept the water pretty shallow so it was nice and warm.  It felt SO good to get out of my sweaty clothes and rinse off.

Cute little lake newt

Our early morning campfire and breakfast...time to pack up and hit the trail again!

The second day of hiking started off pretty steep but didn't last long.  Then the rest of the day was mostly flat or down hill...which was good because it was our longest hiking day!

We had to scramble across lots of little streams on the trail...I was glad I didn't slip even one time:)

A great spot to stop and have some lunch.  What a view!

We hiked through the "devastation zone" which totally knocked down all the trees during the volcanic eruption 40 years ago.  It was amazing to see how much the forest has been able to regrow over the 40 years.

Campsite for our second night of the trip.  It was great because there was a river right next to the site which of course we all went swimming in to clean off the sweat and grime from the hike...even though it was freezing!

The lovely river right next to our site.  It was so nice to have a water source at each of our campsites so we didn't have to haul water while we hiked.

All packed up and ready to head out on day 3 of our trip...much smellier than day one by far:)

It was just 5 miles to the car on that last day but I was sure beat!  And then...the last 1/2 mile of the hike was super steep again.  I thought that was very unfair of the hiking Gods to throw that at me right at the end!

Back in the car and heading home, we had to take one last look at beautiful Mt. Saint Helens.

I wouldn't put backpacking up there with my top 5 favorite things...in fact I'm not sure it would be in my top 50.  But, Hyrum LOVES hiking.  He really wanted to take the boys on a true backpacking adventure and you know what?  We all survived.  Those kids of mine might even have one or two fond memories to look back on (even though they say they didn't have fun).  I know I will remember just how beautiful it all was and how glad I was to be with just my little family for a few days with no distractions.  I'm glad I could show my boys part of this beautiful world God has made for them.

Fun Times in Washington with the Israelsen's

Before COVID-19 shut everyones lives down we had planned a Johnson family reunion in New York in July.  Because that trip got cancelled but Hyrum and Stan still had those dates off of work we decided to do something together with our 2 families.  We decided to meet up in Forks, Washington.  DeNae had never been to the Pacific Northwest and we decided there were some beautiful things to explore on the Western side of Washington and then we stayed in Seattle for a few days as well.  It was so much fun getting together again with the Israelsen's and since my kids and her kids had hung out just a few weeks earlier in Wyoming everyone got along great and we had a really fun time.

We started our adventure by staying one night with our good friends the Christiansen's at their lake house near Puyallup, Washington.  It was so good seeing them and getting to chat about life.  It had been over a year since we got together last and that is just too long of a time period between good friends:)

Townsend caught this giant fish!  I think he was pretty proud of himself:)

They showed us the wonders of the "Unicorn Horn" that you put in your campfire and it changes the color of the flames...it was pretty cool.

Julian got really good at paddle boarding.  The water at Lake Tanwax is so smooth!

Our 2 families.  I'm so glad it worked out for us to see our friends on our way up to Forks...we will have to get together again soon:)

DeNae and I being silly in front of the sign for Forks, WA.  The "Twilight" book series was based in Forks so we had fun pretending to be "Twilight" tourists:)

Just me hanging out with my werewolf friend (Jacob) and my vampire lover (Edward) 😆

The place we stayed in Forks was perfect for our 2 families.  Plenty of beds for everyone and the house itself was secluded in the forest so we had no noise from neighbors or traffic.  It also had this great campfire ring that we made use of on night one!

A typical morning in the Pacific Northwest.  Our idea of the "beach" is a little different from these guys that have spent a lot of time in San Diego:)

We wandered along Rialto Beach, having fun skipping rocks in the ocean, building towers with rocks and enjoying the salty air.

Emmett does everything Owen does...it's super cute

Literally...too cute!

The kids had fun swinging from this cool old tree branch

Exploring the tide pools on Rialto Beach

We walked all the way to "Hole in the Wall" on Rialto Beach.  It was a pretty cool tunnel that the waves had carved out of a rock.

Our family at "Hole in the Wall"

The Israelsen's at "Hole in the Wall"

There were some really cool things to see in the tide pools

We went for a hike at the Hoh Rainforest.  It was so cool to see these giant trees everywhere.  It took 7 of us to go all the way around the tree!

The Rainforest was so beautiful

These kids are just too cute!

Cousins on a really cool old root wad

We got up early the next morning to be at Ruby Beach when the tide was low.  We were rewarded with some amazing tide pools with great sea life in them

There were starfish everywhere!

Hanging out at Ruby Beach with Emmett

A perfect shot of Leah doing a cartwheel on the beach

We drove up to Hurricane Ridge to get a fantastic view of the Olympic mountains...it was foggy...this was our "view"

We did see quite a few deer and the fog and mist made it sort of spooky up on the ridge

The wild flowers were still amazing, even without a view of the mountains

As we were heading back to our car after the hike the clouds began to lift a little and you could see some of the mountain peaks 

It was so beautiful and we really lucked out that the clouds lifted a little to give us the wonderful view

We stopped in Port Angeles for a treat on our way back to Forks

After leaving Forks on our way to Seattle we made a quick stop at Marymere Falls.  This was a great way to say goodbye to Olympic National Park by having one more chance to hike through such beautiful forests.

It was like being in a Fairy village as the trail wound up to the waterfall

Marymere Falls

One of the highlights of the whole trip was our time at the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, WA.  I had been here once before about 5 years ago but my kids didn't really remember it.  It was so much fun and DeNae and her kids really loved it as well.  The animals come RIGHT INTO your car looking for bread that you can feed them!  It was a bit overwhelming at times for Emmett and Owen but I think everyone else just thought it was hilarious!

A yak looking for a tasty treat

Julian feeding a llama 

These guys were heading right for our car looking for a treat.  The animals would stand in front of your car to make you stop and then they would surround you.  It was funny but a tiny bit terrifying at the same time:)

Hello Mr. Bison

These guys were as big as our mini van!

After a quick stop in Bremerton for some dinner we caught the ferry to Seattle.  It was such a wonderful day out on Puget Sound.  It was a bit cool and breezy but sunny and clear skies, a fantastic introduction to Seattle!

DeNae and I...silly sisters.  Love her so much!!

Seattle looked pretty amazing as we came in on the ferry

Our first stop was to say hello to the "Fremont Troll"  The kids thought it was pretty cool to climb around on this great sculpture.

After getting settled into our new place we took a lovely evening walk along Queen Anne Hill where we were staying.  This is Max, a cat I saw and had to take a picture of because he was so cute.

Our view of Seattle from Queen Anne Hill

Enjoying the sunset on our walk

We took a fun self guided walking tour of Seattle.  We started in Pioneer Square and learned a lot about the early history of Seattle.  

One of my favorite buildings we saw was the "Arctic Club" building.  Built in 1916 for the Arctic Club, a group of men that had been to the Klondike during the gold rush.  I loved all the walrus heads surrounding the building

Ha ha ha...funny, not funny!  The Corona Virus has been the cause of lots of pain and suffering this summer...I wonder how long it takes for this apartment building to change it's name!

Of course we had to stop at Ivars for lunch...love their clam chowder!!

I love what the sign says under this seagull😆

After lunch we headed over to Lake Union where most of the family got to take a 30 minute sight seeing tour on a float plane!  The plane only held 10 people so Hyrum and I opted to stay behind (but he promises me he will take me another time)

It was nice that every person on the plane got a window seat so they could see everything

Seattle from the sky

There just happened to be a great swim beach right by the float planes so we spent a few hours cooling off in the cool water of Lake Union.

Ethan, Emerson and Townsend had so much fun jumping off this bridge into the lake

Oh man!  This little Emmett is too cute!

Keeping warm in Mommy's shirt

Stan did a back flip off the bridge!

Unbelievable cuteness!

After our beach time we made our way to Seattle Center.  I was happily surprised to see the fountain was on, it's such a fun attraction for kids

Just a gorgeous day in Seattle!

DeNae and Owen on the monorail.  

We had to go to Pike Place market but unfortunately most of the stores were closed due to COVID-19.  I kept telling DeNae that she will have to come back when everything is open and she promises she will:)

Julian was such a good sport to hop on the pig with his cousins for a photo:)  How cute are these boys??

We had to stop and see the "gum wall"  I told Emmett that all the gum was free for him to take.  Berry gum, mint gum, cinnamon gum, orange gum...all free!  He was about to grab a piece off the wall before his Dad stopped him...I'm such a good Auntie:)

Another beautiful sunset from Queen Anne Hill

It was sad to say goodbye to our cute little house on Queen Anne Hill.  Even sadder to say goodbye to our Israelsen cousins!

Before heading home to Portland we took the opportunity to show the boys a bit of where Hyrum grew up in Shoreline, WA.  This is his Elementary school he attended.  It was so cute to imagine little Hyrum walking to school with his back pack and lunch box:)

The "climbing rock" at Shoreline Community College where his Dad worked.  He has many memories of climbing around on this rock as a kid.

This was the bench Hyrum installed as his Eagle Scout project.  It's still there but has been well used.

We had to stop at Dick's drive in for some burgers and shakes

What an amazing trip!  It's so crazy to think of all we were able to do and see in just one week.  It was wonderful to spend time with DeNae and her family.  Our kids all got along great and we had so much fun making memories together.  I'm really glad most of all that my boys could get to know their cousins a bit better.  I hope we can keep in better touch over the next few years so we can get together again.