Fun in the Sun.....and Sand, Surf and Mountains..

We had a rare treat this past week, to have our oldest son Michael and his family come for a short visit. It has been five years since the entire family has been to visit, so we wanted to do things that everyone would enjoy. This post is going to be mostly photos of the activities that we all enjoyed. Someday I hope that I will be able to have all my children visit at the same time...I wouldn't know how to act if we could have a REAL family reunion!

(Ron and I with 4 of our 6 grandchildren)

Our first full day was spent at Camano Island Stake Park, on the beach. We took a picnic, but the kids (Elena 8, Alexander 6 and James 4) were more interested in the beach and what lived under the rocks, than anything else. It was an entire new world of discovery for them. Elena has come up to visit us for the past two summers all by herself, so she acted as tour guide to her younger brothers, showing them how to find baby crabs.

They found crabs, starfish, scullpin, eels and creatures that we couldn't even name. Michael found a geoduck (gooey duck) and it was quite a battle to see who was going to win....the geoduck or Michael! James found a "tent" that someone had built out of driftwood, and thought that it was greatest place to play. Who needs expensive toys....nature is the best!

The next day we planned a wonderful picnic and kayaking/canoeing trip to Bowman Bay, which is about an hour north of Camano Island, near Deception Pass. (photo of Deception Pass below)

Jenni, Will and Preston joined us for this adventure. We were able to borrow two kayaks so everyone was able to be on the water at the same time. It brought back so many memories of doing this in years past with the kids. I love the smell of salt water....(sorry Will!) We had so much fun paddling around Bowman Bay.

(below: Michael & Alexander, Will & Preston & Jenni)

(below: Alexander in canoe with grandma)

(below: Ron and I with Elena in the canoe)

Preston was so relaxed, that he fell asleep and had a pretty good nap.

(below: James with Emmy in a kayak)

We had fun exploring the shoreline, as well as the kelp beds.

The color of the water is so beautiful....you could see to the bottom in many places.

(below: Jenni with Preston)

There were several crab pots in the bay, so Will pulled one up so Elena could see a full-sized crab. Mmmmmm.....I wish it was our dinner! (Preston is asleep in-between Will's knees)

Relaxing, after our picnic........Preston had his first chocolate chip cookie...mmmm....pretty good!

More please?

We stopped at the SnowGoose farmer's market in Skagit Valley on the way home, and bought ice cream cones. We kept teasing Elena that she could drip her ice cream (which was melting fast) on her shirt, and no one would even be able to tell !

The next day, we drove up to Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan, so we could show Michael and Emmy where Ron and I love to go to take photos of the two mountains.

We hiked around the perimeter of Picture Lake, and then decided to go up to Artist Point Lookout. However, they road was blocked off, because there was still snow on the roads in areas, but we were able to hike up to the top. It is a pretty good hike, and over a mile uphill. The kids got pretty tired, so we tried to have fun with snowball fights as we hiked. I think that grandpa won!

It was 80 degrees and hiking uphill got us all pretty hot, but Michael found an ingenious way to cool off.......he stuck his head under a waterfall along side of the road. Alexander thought that was a great idea, so he followed suit.

We finally got to the top, and part of the parking lot was cleared of snow so we were able to get around okay. It was worth the hike....we could see both Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan from this point.

(below: Michael and Alexander walking with Mt. Baker in the background)

The hike down was much easier than the hike up. Either way, the mountains were beautiful.

All in all, we had three fun-filled days with some of our children and grandchildren. It was a nice break from our daily routine, to be able to enjoy the beautiful outdoors with our family. I hope that we can do it again soon!