Channel Islands,CA. So glad we did.

 

 

During our Califoria vacation we scheduled a charter with Island Packers to visit the Channel Islands.  There are 8 islands in all, and there are trips scheduled daily that allow you to be dropped off to explore, or stay on and take in the sights by boat.  On day 2 of our trip we caught the Sunday morning cruise and couldn't have asked for a more perfect day at sea.  The skies were blue, the waters were calm and we got terrific seats on the upper deck of the boat.  We sat up top, facing outward with our legs dangling out the backside of the bench/seat.  The water was spetacular, but it was the dolphins that made the trip extra special.  Seeing them dance with our boat, moms with their babies skipping along and jumping out of the water was really something to see.

 

 

After our 3 1/2 hour cruise, we came back to the hotel and all 3 of us accidently took a four hour nap.  There's something to be said for fresh ocean air!  What a wonderful memory!

 

 



 Evan was so excited to see the boats.  The one in the middle of this shot is the one that was ours.

 Although we mostly stayed on the upper deck, Evan and Mark did go down to check things out.

 The islands and surrounding rocks were so fantastic.  All of it was formed from an undersea volcanic eruption.  The pockets, caves and arches were created from the gases in the eruption. 

 This is one of the 8 islands.   Nothing more than a lighthouse.  None of the inlands have businesses, homes, or anything.  One island offers a campground.  It would be cool to camp there, but it's the whole logistics of getting our camping equipment to CA.  We could never fly with all our gear!

This was part of the back side of the islands.  Absolutely picturesque.

Smiles at the park

Today was one of the many Springwater park dates that I have scheduled for the summer.  There's something planned each week for anyone from our school to meet up.  Different parks, different places. Today the weather was just perfect for hanging out at the park and quite honestly, 2 1/2 hours flew by and we still weren't ready to leave.  Perfect weather, good friends, lots of giggles and smiles, and oh, yes, that gold ole tire swing.  How many kids can swing on it at the same time?  Good times.

Flowers from our yard

One of my favorite things to do when I have a few spare minutes in the evening to cut some flowers from our yard.  I go into 'the zone' as I cut and then arrange the flowers.  The colors of the flowers that were ready for cutting today just worked together and I got the most beautiful arrangement out of them.  Roses, hydrangea and alstromeria.  Lovely.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Mark.  You are one great dad, that's for sure.  I love the way you enthusiastically engage with Evan on a daily basis.  The special 'Dadurday' mornings that you share each Saturday with Evan are sure to be remembered by Evan for his lifetime.   How lucky for him that he knows Saturday mornings are such a special father / son time.  Collecting pennies, breakfasts at McDonalds, projects at Home Depot, are all special little memories being made each week.

And, you got your wish...the blog has been updated.  I hope you enjoy reading the many posts I have created this week to fill in much of the time since my last post in Dec.  I will do my best to stay on top of it.  It was fun working on it this week, and the pictures only point out to me how quickly Evan is growing and changing.

Beach trip - Cannon Beach/Tillamook

 This was a first for me...driving on Cannon Beach!  We had arrived for Sandcastle Days 2012 and they allowed parking on the beach until 2:00.  What a great way to see it all, quickly, plus...it sort of feels like you're breaking all the rules!

 Up close and personal with the starfish near Haystack Rock during low tide.  These were probably each 12 inches across.

 We knew there was a chance we'd run into our next door neighbors, and we did.  Samantha, Evan, and Jessica enjoyed looking into tide pools together.

 The sandcastles were pretty good this year.  Mark and I agree that in past years they have been bigger and more detailed.  But, we did have great family time, and did not get rained on.

 Evan finally got the chance to play in the sand.  I think I bribed this smile out of him by offering a few extra minutes to play.  He was almost too busy to smile for the camera!

 The drive along the coast is always so spectacular.  Here were are on our way back to Tillamook where we stayed.  This coastline could transport you to anywhere in the world.  It's so pretty.

 No trip to Tillamook would be complete without a trip to the Cheese Factory.

 On our way home we made a stop at the Tillamook Forestry Center.  This turned out to be our favorite part of the whole trip.  All 3 of us agreed on that.  Daddy showed Evan how to skip stones in the river and Evan got one to hop 5 times. Pretty impressive E!

 This is the view of the Tillamook Forestry Center from the top of the tower.  It really is a fantastic museum!  I learned a great deal about the Tillamook burn that destroyed nearly 370,000 acres in the 30's and 40's, and about the replanting that they did in the 50's.  It really gives me an ever big sense of appreciation of the trees I love so much.

 This is the view from the bridge that goes over the Wilson River at the Forestry Center.  Beautiful.

 I love this one.  This is at the top of the tower that was once used to keep look out for fires.  There is actually a one room little apartment up there with all the things you'd need to rough-it.

 Me and E.  We enjoyed our time in and around the water.

Here's the tower and my two guys are waving from the top.  We'd never have guessed we'd be here for nearly 3 hours, but we were.  We'd go back too, to do some of the hikes.  It's a great place.

End of 2nd grade...

Each year, the kids gather on the hill at school, have Popsicles, and share a smile to celebrate the end of the year.  This picture was taking right after the jog-a-thon and the kids really were deserving of this special treat!  This photo is the 2nd and 3rd graders.  Evan ran 2 1/2 miles and raised money for his school.  Thanks to all who supported him!  Nice job Evan.

Ancestry search in Bellingham, WA

Mark has been very interested in finding members of his family tree.  While we were in Seattle for Mother's Day, we spent the better part of a day exploring Bellingham, Washington. Mark had previously learned this his 3times great-grandfather was buried here.

 Joseph Miller's site with his great, great, great grandson, Mark, and his great, great, great, great grandson, Evan.  Evan might really appreciate this picture when he's older.

Joseph Miller - father of Sadie Miller

Sadie Miller - mother of Edith Peoples

Edith Miller- mother of Kay Stevens

Kay Stevens - mother of Maeve Ross

Maeve Ross- mother of Mark Ross

Mark Ross- father of Evan Ross

(I think I got the all right, not sure of all the spelling though.)

After an hour at Bayview, we headed off to explore the great city of Bellingham.  We found a fantastic park just a mile down the road.  There just wasn't enough time in our day to do and see all that we wanted.  I would definitely want to return to Bellingham again.  Cute city.

Malibu Raceway

 I found a great Groupon for the Malibu Raceway and took Evan and Mark out for a day of fun.  Aside from waiting in line longer than it takes to watch a movie at the theater, we had fun.

 Evan decided to ride shotgun for the first lap or two.  He wasn't sure if he wanted to be the driver all by himself.  I think they went around 2 laps and then he decided he wanted out and got a car all his own.

Hood River - "The Fruit Loop"

 Each year I have wanted to go to Hood River and drive what is known as 'the fruit loop' during their Hood River Fest.  It was a beautiful day and we went this year.  It's a lot of driving, but the weather was perfect and I was with my family so we didn't mind a bit.  The mountain was gorgeous and felt so close.

 We drove from one stop to the next.  Some stops were markets, or bakeries, or lavender fields.  Evan's favorite stop was the alpaca farm.  He is a kid who loves nature and animals.  I wonder what he'll be when he grows up.

Our Cub Scout

 In April Evan joined Cub Scouts.  We'd heard such great things about scouts, so we went to a 'Pack Meeting,' which is a once a month thing where all the different age groups are together.  Evan saw lots of friends from his school and wanted to wear the same shirts and hat they did.  I told him we'd have to sign him up.

Ben, his friend since Kindergarten, helped Evan put on his scarf.  This is very serious business.  Just look at the concentration on Ben's face.  I don't know why we didn't sign Evan up sooner.  He is such a lover of camping, the great outdoors, exploring, etc.  This is a natural fit for him.

 Evan entered the raffle and was the first one drawn.  He got his #1 pick - the flashlight that clips to his hat!   I love this picture so much.  Such sweetness in his face and the joy of having won what he wanted!  There really could not be a more perfect prize for my kid.  I swear he collects flashlights, but this one is the coolest yet!

The next month it was time for the Regatta Rain Gutter Races.  We bought the kit, took tips from other Cub Scouts on Youtube.com.  Evan's painting the boat that would go on to win 3rd place in the pack, and 1st in his Den.  He was other the moon.  He earned a cool pin for his uniform that looks like something you'd wear in the military: a red, white and blue ribbon with a sailboat charm hanging on it.  Very official.

Evan attended his first Cub Scout fishing outting in May.  The place was packed with kids and their families. Evan enjoyed learning to cast and seemed a natural at it.  His very first cast was better than any that I had attempted.  I guess I should hold comments like, "This is kind of tricky."  Speak for myself, right?

In June we were out of town when the scouts had their promotion meeting.  Evan is now a Bear Scout, that's what the 3rd graders are called.  We passed down the gold hat and scarf, and received a light blue one for the coming year.  More good times await him in the next school year.

Early Egg Hunt

 This was an early, early, Easter egg hunt.  Mark had an early flight for business and didn't want to miss.  I think hunt all happened in the 3am hour.  It was early!  It didn't bother Evan a bit, and we did get a nap after we came home from dropping off Mark at the airport.

 Evan always has fun hunting for eggs and finding new places where the bunny left them.

 Later in the day we spent the afternoon with the Pauli's.  Gretchen, Grant and Evan had so much fun finding eggs in the backyard.  Good treats too!

 Grethen is in Evan's class.  Her mom Carol and I have become great friends this year.  I should have a picture of Carol and I, but I don't.  She and I were born the same year and I think there's something to be said for someone who 'gets' things the same way I do.  Carol and I spend a great deal of time laughing.  And we get going, we laugh long and hard.  I think it's a 1967 thing.

Evan's basket is full yet again.  Good times.  The weather was so nice too.  It really was the perfect day.

Easter Eggs and Basketball

 It wasn't planned that we'd meet up with Springwater friends at the Easter Egg hunt, but it really is no surprise.  Great minds think alike!  Evan, Kate, Sophie and Dylan...friends since Kindergarten.  I love that they are building a history together.  Across the field were other friends that found us later.

 I remember Evan's first egg hunt where he stopped at the first foil wrapped candy he found, opened it, ate it, and missed getting all the other treats strewn across the lawn.  Those days are long gone.  He was pleased with his basket full of goodies.

 After still another hunt at the college (which Evan said was the better of the two due to to the candy) it was off to Evan's basketball game.

Coach Mark has been Evan's basketball coach for the past 2 years.  Here they were after the game finding out who one the awards for:  Best Hustle, Team Spirit, and Skills.  Evan was recognized in all areas during the season.  If there was a most improved player, it would have been Evan.

2nd grade darlings

These are the cuties in Evan's class this year.  It's a fair share of 2nd and 3rd graders in this split grade class.  I took this picture for Evan's teacher after she left for maternity leave.  It was so sunny the kids could hardly keep their eyes open.  What a sweet bunch of kids they are.