Wild Waves Fun

As family has gone home we have found ourselves a little bored. We started off our summer with lots of family and activities, and now it's back to life as normal. We've been doing our best to get back into the swing of regular life. Jeff got to take a day off so we decided to go and have some family fun just the 4 of us. We took them back to Wild Waves and the kids were super excited. It gave me a chance to take more pictures and capture some more fun moments.

We started off in the water like usual and had as much fun as we could. The weather was a bit cloudy again and some of the slides were closed. We were able to get everything done that we wanted in the water section within a few hours before we dried off and headed out for the rides.

The kids are totally hooked on this park. Every weekend they request a chance to go again. We've been like 6 times and you'd think by now it would be getting a little old but every time is like a new adventure for them. It warms my heart to get the chance to go and do stuff like this and see how much fun they have. Jeff has another day off coming this weekend. So we've got 3 days to figure out something fun to do. I won't be surprised if one day ends up back here at the park. Lovin' our summer fun.

Bombs Bursting In Air

For the 4th of July we really had no idea what we were going to do to help the kids celebrate. As we thought back I think we may have been on vacation in CA every July since we moved here. We may have had one here but we can't remember. Anyway, as we did a search and tried to find something to do we came up with a free event at the fair grounds. It is put on by a local church group so we had no idea what to expect but thought we'd give it a shot.

We got our seats in the grand stands and awaited the fireworks. Little did we know they put on a show before hand. The church's band sung a variety of songs like Miley Cyrus and Journey. After that they had an audience dance contest followed by the "Massive Monkeys" who placed 3rd on America's Best Dance Crew.

Shortly after that there was a little history lesson on wars and how we've fought for our freedoms. This concluded with the National Anthem and the fireworks show. Andrew was very ready for this part. Although he was good for the whole thing he just wanted to get to the main event. All he cared about was watching the fireworks show. Who could blame him??

Both kids loved the firework show which lasted for several songs. Megan can remember the Monterey fireworks and was a bit sad that this one didn't have any smiley face fireworks but was still excited to see the display. The kids were glued to the sky the whole time and loved every minute of it. Jeff and I were very impressed at the whole show and were glad we decided to go.

We are already thinking about next year and what we'd like to do. Maybe a little home fireworks as most of our neighbors were doing and hit up a show or something like that. As we were watching at the fair grounds I could see up on the hill about 2 or 3 other shows and I'm still trying to figure out where they were. Maybe next year will be more exploring. I hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July as I know we did.

A Ferry Ending

Our last day with Dan & Roxi's family ended with a bang. We traded kids for the night with Megan spending the night with the girls and Alex coming over here to spend the night with Andrew. All kids were very excited for their sleep overs. I think this might be the first time that Andrew has someone all to himself. Other times it is always someone that both Megan and Andrew are interested in and they fight over the attention. Andrew was thrill and has said that they will be friends forever.

As Jeff had to go back to work I was flying solo with my two kids for Friday's final outing. We headed out with all 10 of us for a ferry ride to Seattle.

The kids were super good on the ferry. Grandma brought some travel games and most of the kids were all into them. Andrew spent some time topside with Papa or looking out the window as we travelled along. When that got boring we used the tried and true DS game to keep him occupied.

As the view was so awesome we took a trip all together up to the top to look around and a nice photo op. As you can tell from the picture below it was so windy we didn't spend much time up there at all. The kids were all a giggle as clothes and hair was flying in all directions.

Once we docked in Seattle we found a park and had a nice lunch at McD's before heading downtown to the Pike Street Market. Little did we know that chaos was about to hit as the market was packed with tourists. I think I heard someone say that a cruise ship had docked for the day so it was unusually busy. I have to say it was a bit stressful making sure we had all kids accounted for. A huge fear of mine is losing Andrew in a crowd so he was not allowed to just walk next to me without holding my hand. He didn't like this so much but ya got to do what ya got to do sometimes.

It was seriously wall to wall people. We walked the strip up and then back and it took a bit of time. There was some cool stuff to look at but not so easy to buy anything with such a large crowd all around. It was fun to just go and see. We headed back to my place to rearrange kids and say our goodbyes. We had a blast this week and are sad to see it come to an end. I don't know how I'm going to match the fun we've had for the rest of the summer but I'll give it a try. It is times like this that make me wish we lived a little closer. That 14 hour car ride is a killer. I guess it makes the times we get together all the more special. Look forward to the next visit.

Geo What??

About 6 months or so ago Ken told us about this new family adventure thing called Geo Caching. It is like a treasure hunt for all ages. I think at the time we looked it up on the Internet but really didn't do much with it. Well as Dan & Roxi were visiting they had actually gone out and done some. I think it might be a bit tabu to blog about but if you don't talk about it how would other people know to get involved. I won't give away anything about the actual hunts so as to keep it fun for others.

You get hints and instructions to look for your finds. We've done three different ones and the finds can range from basic little sized stuff to larger containers. They can also be easily hidden or more difficult.

You never know what you will find and it is all in the fun of the hunt. My kids have completely enjoyed the thrill of the find. Megan has talked a lot about it and asked for other opportunities when possible.

It is a great family adventure and fun for all ages, as we all got into it. We are debating whether or not to get a gps device so that we can go on our own family hunts. It is something outdoors and fun to do. As you can find cache's all over the united states I would say it would also really fun to see new sites on vacation. It is definitely a way to explore new areas.

Who knows where the thrill of the hunt will lead you.

A Ruby in the Rough

This past weekend we had to say a fond farewell to Jeff's Grandma Ruby Fife at age 81. I've been pondering ever since about how I wanted to pay tribute to her memory in a blog.

The funeral brought up a lot of memories and emotions. It is tough to lose someone so close and struggle with saying goodbye. I felt so much sorrow for those left behind. It is rough to return to life after such an event. I began to tear up pretty much right after we sat down. Needless to say, MarGene's playing of the special musical number almost undid me all together. What a wondrous legacy Ruby left to her children. I'm in awe of the musical talent among others passed down.

Instead of focusing on the events of the funeral I thought I'd like to say more of what she meant to me. As I thought of the memories I created with Grandma Fife, I immediately thought of my wedding. She helped make my wedding cake. She graciously accepted the task and I can remember during the decorating process her and Tammy giggling and apologizing for it's lack or professional beauty. These type of things really don't matter to me, it was just special that I could say Jeff's Grandma and Aunt made our wedding cake. What it lacked in beauty, it sure made up for in taste. We saved the top tier of the cake, as is a VoFo tradition, and ate it on our 1yr wedding anniversary. I can tell you it tasted just as good a year later as it did on the day it was made.

Grandma Fife has always made me feel like part of the family and well loved. She always had a smile on her face and something so cute to say. I looked through a book that was made for her 50th wedding anniversary and read my page. I reflected on these same special feelings of love from them. Those same feelings have continued for as long as I've had the pleasure of knowing her. I'm glad that my kids got a chance to know her and she could see Jeff grow into a great husband and father. I hope that traditions and her memory will be kept alive as I pass them to my children. She will be greatly missed.

NW Trek Adventures

Today's adventures took us to the Northwest Trek. It is a cool outdoor wildlife adventure place where we got to see lots of cool animals in a natural setting. We ended up with a little rain but that didn't keep this crew down. With a few umbrella's and hood we were good to go.

We started with a 55 minute tram ride and learned a little history on the animals that we were observing. It was pretty funny to learn some new things like there is a leader among the bison which happens to be the older female in the group or the "Grandma." They call her the boss cow.

We were such a large group of 11 that we had to split up into 2 different tram cars. We ended up having the 5 boys go in one while the 6 girls went in another. It was a nice diplomatic way to divide and conquer. Plus it didn't separate Andrew & Alex which are seriously best buds.

After our tram ride we took a walking tour by ourselves where we got to see some of the coolest animals. I swear it felt like they came out just as we came around sometimes so we could get a good shot of their beauty.

It makes me feel like a pretty good photographer as I think I captured some good shots of the critters. It was so neat to see some of the things we got to witness. We did have a few tired legs from the little ones. It was a bit of walking but nothing compared to the other day. I think we might be wearing them out.

The kids were really well behaved for the most part. I didn't really hear much fighting or sassy attitude which was nice. There were some other groups going around to some of the viewing areas and I have to say they were much louder than our group so well done to us.

I loved our adventures today. It helps me to feel so close to nature and realize just how beautiful Washington can be. I guess I'm kind of lucky to have such views all around.