Camping!!!!

We've attempted to go camping many times since the kids were born, we've been deterred by illness, crazy work schedules, moves, and many other things, but almost 4 years later we finally did it!  And it was a blast!  Yes there were tired kids, tired parents, some fit throwing on behalf of all :), but overall we had such a great time!

 

 

 

 

I went up early Thursday of Labor day weekend with the kids and found as a camp spot at one of our favorite campgrounds.  We lucked out and I got one of the last campsites in the entire campground.  Tyson joined us after work Thursday evening and Mike and Shelly joined us Friday afternoon.  We had to move campsites bright and early Friday morning to one that was open for the rest of the weekend, but it worked out great because we ended up at a much better spot on the outskirts of the campground.

 

Micah and Madison made a "slide" down a hill at our campground.  I know I've said it before but Madison loves Micah and follows him everywhere, Micah has definitely warmed up to that as long as she doesn't play with his trains :) They are such good buddies :)

 

The mountain... again. :)

The campsite. Do work Ty and Shell! :)

Ms. Rylee hangin' in the stroller

 Their "slide"

 Learning how to warm those phalanges up!

 The flea market at Packwood was huge and Daddy was dreaming here :)

The kids actually napped on our last day there so I got some bored mommy time. My house turned into...

 a fire station when the boys returned from buying firewood.

Mike and Rylee

 Smiley Rylee

 Going for a hike

 The river

 Micah and his tag-a-long

 Our evening hike destination, which was not a 1.1 mile loop as the sign listed, or even a 1.2 mile loop as the other sign listed, but actually a 2.2 mile loop or maybe even a 2.4 mile loop plus the 1.5 mile round trip walk back to the campsite.  Maybe it's just us, but when a sign says ___ mile loop, you'd think that was the total loop, but nope, that's the one way mileage.  Ok done with my rant. :) So we ended up hiking back in the dark, with a dinky princess flashlight from walmart that maybe illuminated enough to see your finger- if you held it right up to your hand.  Not so smart on our part :) but it was fun... next time we'll be prepared Bear Grylls style! :)

At least the kids got a ride back!

Hallie and Madison playing on the "playground."  There was a flat area at the top of this hill next to our campground.  The kids named it the playground.  Micah and Maddie even decided to play house.  At one point Micah "left" to go to work and told Maddie, "ok give me a kiss" and gave her a kiss goodbye.  Blackmail for later. :) We had a couple musical concerts consisting mainly of yelling "Twinkle Twinkle" as loud as possible.  Great entertainment, I love the rich imagination of children!

 Ohanapecosh, we'll be back ASAP!

T-Ball "Hallie Style"

I know we've had an overload of Hallie posts over here, but she's seriously cracking me up lately. She now love T-ball and dressing up, she dressed herself during "nap time" and came out to play t-ball dressed in this outfit...

Craft Show!

Wow! I've wanted to try a craft show for a while now, but fear of the unknown got me and I haven't made the plunge. Insert great sister and bam, she signs you guys up for a show in your hometown. Ahhhh! I'm so excited, a little nervous, and SO tired! With 2 days left until the show, I've got at least 3 more bags/purses to finish, and a whole bunch of other little projects, and I've got to finalize out displays... yikes!

I'm sure it will all come together and it will be a great learning experience, so if you're in the local area come keep me company at the 3rd Annual Greener Living and Harvest Celebration at Snoqualmie Winery. And while your in town don't forget to enjoy the great Prosser Balloon Rally... great fun for the whole fam!

Snoqualmie invites the public to celebrate the fall wine harvest and the natural quality of the Northwest at its third annual Greener Living & Harvest Celebration on the winery grounds in Prosser, WA.

Visitors can enjoy locally sourced bites paired with Snoqualmie’s organically produced Naked wines, listen to jazz music from the Vintage Reserve Jazz Band, and browse the offerings from green-focused local vendors.

Admission is free and open to the public. Snoqualmie is located at 660 Frontier Road, Prosser. For more information, contact the winery.

Another sweet deal...

This is a great deal! 4 movie tickets for $20! It's through the site http://www.tippr.com/ and may sell out quickly.  You can follow her instructions here to learn more about the deal.  And if you use my referral link you can get a $5 referral credit making your tickets just $15 for all 4!!!! So cheap! Plus I get $5 for you purchasing yours :) The vouchers are usable through fandango so from what I'm understanding you don't have to live in Seattle, which is where the deal is located.  Are you confused yet!? Just go here and she'll tell you more.  Really simple took me maybe 10 minutes. :)

Mt. Rainier Steam Train

We took Micah and Hallie for a train ride a couple weekends ago.  It was so fun and surprisingly relaxing.  We took the morning train from Elbe out to Mineral Lake, the website said there were easy hikes around the lake so we decided to spend the afternoon there, picnic and then return on a later train.  Well they weren't kidding when the said easy, not only were they SUPER easy they were SUPER short.  We hiked all of the trails to be hiked in a matter of 30 minutes- and that was with 2 toddlers one of whom we've nicknamed Captain Distracto.  Needless to say, we had lots of time to spare, but we greatly enjoyed it, we picnicked, walked to a local convenience store, played by the lake, and did all kinds of other random things.  Have I mentioned it was a fun afternoon?! Cause it was. :)

Micah now knows all of the "correct" steam train noises and constantly makes them now. 

Enthralled...

He loved every minute!

Hallie liked it as well, but was a little more timid about the whole situation.

Complete with the Conductor punching our tickets.

Playing while waiting...

Captain Distracto at her finest, waving a stick or some random thing!

The awesome BBQ, we will definitely sign up for the BBQ next time, it looked delicious!

We found out from the BBQ man that the steam train had broke down so they used the diesel engine on our way back.  We were busy checking the engine out and right as we were walking past the engine with Hallie the riders in the engine blew the whistle, it scared her so bad which led to her crying screaming.  And not just once, but 3 times! She still talks about the diesel engine whistle scaring her.

Micah enjoying the view on the way back

After being scared so badly, Hallie cuddled with me the entire way back and fell asleep while eating her crackers.  Micah pretended to sleep. :)

That pesky cloud blocked our view of the Mountain, but we'll be back again to give it another shot!

Snapfish $10 FREE!

You know how I love a great deal, and this is too good to not pass on.  Go to http://www.snapfish.com/ and use coupon code WOW10OFF for $10 off your entire purchase- no matter what the cost! Just ordered a 12x18 poster for a grand total of $2.15 (the cost of shipping).  I think it goes through today possibly tomorrow, so hurry!

The Orange Peel

Micah gets on an orange kick every once and awhile, he won't eat the orange, but he sure loves the peel!

Backyard Fun

Random September

Micah goes to sleep with his blankets and trains almost every night, but we would frequently find him asleep in his bed after tossing everything out after playing for a bit.

Cheese ball Hallie waiting on some nachos in her outfit of choice.

 We celebrated Tyson's birthday by dinner at Pizza Hut for wings. Micah and Hallie insisted on buying him Popsicles for his treat. 

 Hallie absolutely loves cutting fabric while I am working on a project. I save scraps and we are set!

Pretty much a nightly occurrence. Micah takes his time eating and is usually left at the table finishing up his meal with his trains hanging out to watch.