Camping Trip!

The final hot days of summer encouraged us to take a last minute camping trip! It was such a blessing to spend time with one another.. even Nana came and joined us camp for a day. The boys enjoyed Taidnapam's great fishing bridge and caught a few 'big ones' (but not until the last day!) Being so late in the season, the campground was pretty much empty so it kinda felt like we had the place to ourselves! :-) We met a lot of very sweet people and even made friends with the camp hosts who let us borrow their 'jungle juice' bug spray! The wife and Grady had a sweet conversation about the Lord and her heart for Africa and her mission trip there. We also met a grandma type who was fishing with the boys and who came over to our campsite to see if she could attend our Sunday meeting with us. Our boys' description of what we believe and how we meet reminded her of how she grew up and really wanted to speak more about what we believe. We were so blessed by conversations and wonderful opportunities to speak of Him, both with non believers and fellow pilgrims.




                            

 

 

Since there were not many other campers, we were able to ride bikes all over and allow even Gracie to have free reign on riding. She had such a great time.. riding with both her brothers and her sisters.

Laura had fun riding with Ash

 

The fishing there wasn't so great.. daddy even took the 4 older kids to the falls down the way to see if there would be a great fishing spot... they enjoyed the beautiful scenery but the fish were unfortuantely hiding that day! :-)

 

 

 

hmm.. dad helps determine potential fishing holes..

 

 

After no fish at the beautiful remote waterfalls, they headed to the old stand-by fishing bridge..

 

Can you tell by the expression how many they caught at the fishing bridge??? :-)

 

Meanwhile, back at camp daddy and I took a nice walk with our 4 girls

Despite the bug spray, we were dive bombed by mosquitos the whole time! Here daddy is trying to get them out of his shirt. It was managable and we still enjoyed the lovely day and forest paths

The dutiful 'mother'

Little blessings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wapato Point W/Grandma Bonnie

To celebrate Grandma Bonnie's birthday, we met halfway in Tacoma where we all enjoyed a nice (hot!) day at Wapato Point Park. The boys had fun fishing and the little girls played on the playground.  

Mandy, the little girls and I ran over to the grocery store to purchase lunch stuff

 

Even though it was hot outside, we managed to purchase and eat yummy birthday ice cream!

Of course it was ice cream soup by the time we got around to eating it! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

As Grady and Grandma took the boys to the fishing area, the girls and I walked around the lake, enjoying the diverse cultures represented there.. but at one point Amanda laughed and reminded me that we ourselves were also a culture group! We had folks ask us if we were Christians..I suppose due to the way we dress.. one older gentleman stopped us and asked if he could take our photo because he and his wife were from Moldova Russia and he thought she would be encouraged to see a photo of other ladies who dress in dresses and cover.. We had so many opportunities to speak to people about the Lord! It was a very fruitful day. Spending time with Grandma and time together..

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the Beach

Our family decided to take advantage of some of the last summer weather and head back out to the beach. This is our favorite spot.. at the jetty in Ocean Shores.. the boys like to fish off of the jetty and the taller sand dunes provide protection from the wind..

 

Grant catches a small lingcod!

Grace and Mama head down for some sand castle-making water

 

 

 

Grace and Ashley go on a little walk.. Ashley snaps this photo...

and Gracie snaps this one! (like sister, like sister!)

Gracie finds a claw on their walk

.. and insists Ashley takes a photo of this fellow

As summer ends and we prepare to leave for Belize, Lord willing.. this place will be one that we will miss so much while in Belize. Both Grady and I grew up near the Puget Sounds and absolutely love the beach. Our children have aquired the same fondness for it.. Belizean beaches are pretty nice too though.. We look forward to more adventures there in the near future!