Mt. Rainier from Last Weekend

We went to Rainier last weekend. I took tons of pics; I was pretending to be a photographer. Rainier looking up from the bottom at the National Park Inn.

We stopped to see this stream coming down from ice and snow melt on the mountain. It flows super fast and cold (obviously). The whole family going across the log foot bridge was out of the question but E really wanted to try it so D took him. He did great considering he doesn't even like walking across docks. Cheers to E for trying something new and out of his comfort zone!

A pic of the big kids in the lodge at Paradise. The interior of the lodge is spectacular with all the wood work and hand painted light shades showing the flowers of the alpine meadow.

Last year we tried to hit the park at wildflower time and came just a bit too early. This year we hit it right on time. Terrific! I had the best time taking pics as we hiked. We did two hikes; one to a waterfall and one loop that we did last year past the Nisqually Glacier.

Yes the scenery behind M looks fake-- not sure how that happened except that it really does look too beautiful to be real.

The last few pictures I took are giving me an error message when I try to edit them. This was one of those error pics that I can't edit. The kids were in a rock next to the trail.

I almost forgot to tell you the coolest part. We were sitting next to a trail resting when we heard a sound kind of like distant thunder, but it wasn't..... it was a small avalanche somewhere up the mountain from the snow melting and shifting. Really awesome to hear.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

love and hugs, B

Blackberry Cobbler

Passing on a recipe (a first for the blog). We have all loved this cobbler which the boys call blackberry gobbler and goes perfect with vanilla ice cream when it is just warm from the oven.
Adapted from an allrecipes.com recipe.
1/4 c butter
1 c self-rising flour
1 c white sugar
1 c milk
2 c blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in 8 X 8 pan. Stir together flour, sugar and milk; pour into baking pan. Do not mix the butter and the flour mix together. Drop blackberries into batter. Bake until golden. Delicious, quick and I always have the ingredients on hand. I bet you could do this with blueberries too. I would say we could use the wild huckleberries from our woods, but I don't believe in huckleberries. Who would name a berry huckleberry--- that's ridiculous.
The blackberry jam I attempted yesterday turned out not great with all three kids refusing it after the initial tasting and I was not impressed either. Too sweet. Thinking of experimenting with mixing it into plain yogurt to see if it can be eaten that way.
love and hugs, B
PS The map feature was removed. Seeing where people were logging in from was interesting, but there was also a creepy element to it. Me watching you watching me. Good-bye map feature.

Blackberry Summer

It is definitely blackberry time here and we are in for a long and plentiful harvest. Yesterday I picked 2 big bowls full, yet I kept looking at these just out of reach. They looked so large and sweet, but were always just out of reach. D and I have even been brainstorming about how we could reach these elusive berries. Perhaps we could rig a rope and tie it on to a lucky child and swing them down over to pick.... or maybe we could lay a ladder over the already picked berries and get closer to picking these. For now they remain just out of reach. Maybe I should console my self with thinking that while these berries look delicious, they would be over-ripe and crush in my grasp. What we can pick is overwhelming us. I am learning to make blackberry freezer jam and am freezing some for winter cobblers to cope with the volume of berries coming in.
We also went to Rainier over the weekend. Editing photos is going to take a while because the spring (yes, spring) wildflowers were in bloom and I took trillions of pics. Here is one photo to tempt you.

love and hugs, B

New Family Member Alert!

No, not that. Yuck! Don't even think it. We now are the proud owners of Spike Rainbow Betta, our new fish. Here is a pic of the new arrival:

Zucchini harvest is in full swing; they tend to hide under leaves so they don't get picked and this is what they look like if you don't find them for a while.

G did not pass the vision exam at his well-check in July so it was off to the eye doctor on Saturday. He doesn't need a very strong prescription, but glasses are called for. Here are 2 we picked out. Yes, I am planning on multiple repairs and lost glasses so we got 2 pairs and a pair of prescription sunglasses.
I could use some advice on how to help him keep track of them at home and school and how to convince him to wear them all the time....speak up if you have any ideas.

love and hugs, B

Maui Pictures

Aloha Maui!
The kids loved playing on the beach!


This was the view from our balcony; we could see Molikai and Lanai(neighboring islands).

We found these views while on an adventure one day in West Maui.

This is the banyan tree in Lahaina.

Sunset from our condo balcony.

On the way to Haleakala Crater; east Maui from a distance.

Near the top looking back at the clouds below us.

Haleakala Crater at midday.

E and G hanging loose at 10,000 feet.

Our sunset dinner cruise.

G and M mesmerized by the magic show. E gets to help with the show.

Sunset on our last night in Hawaii.

G ready to snorkel. He liked looking for shells.

Aloha Maui! A terrific vacation though it is good to be home.

love and hugs, B

Friday, August 7 and Saturday, August 8

Friday: So we tried the Road to Hana; I think AC/DC wrote a song about it (Highway to Hana). That's the way it felt. made it 17 of the 52 miles before turning back. M grumpy. E car sick. All muddy due to a "short walk" to see a waterfall on a trail. D drove in and I drove back. We hung out at the pool the rest of the day and enjoyed one last sunset from the balcony.
Saturday: Packed up. One last hurrah on the beach and in the pool. Cleaned up and headed out. uneventful trip home (except for the fact M wouldn't sleep).
Aloha to Maui and maholo for a wonderful vacation! B
PS Pictures coming soon, just not today. Too much to catch up on.

A Day with a Porpoise

This was a day we had planned and were on a schedule. We headed out for breakfast then went to a different beach for better snorkeling. When we got there it seemed like it was going to be a dud--- it started to rain a bit and the surf was rough and we were completely alone(a bit creepy). Then we saw them, the spinner dolphins. Lots of them, maybe 40. And they were feeding and jumping and more people showed up and the rain stopped and what a terrific place. D went snorkeling first and was amazed at how different it was then by our hotel. I tried and stopped the first time (fogged mask, psyched myself out) and then went out later in the morning; thanks to D, my snorkel mentor. Beautiful and interesting fish and coral of many colors. Right before we left I was snorkeling and could hear the dolphins "talking" they were so close. G was scared they had gotten me; M(in the Joe Pesci voice) told him I was swimming with the fishes.
We got cleaned up and headed over to Lahaina to take a glass bottom boat ride. E was hesitant. G was too excited for words. M was actually being good today(we were suspicious and waiting for our luck to end). The boat ride was great. Saw sea turtles and a moray eel. D and I were inspired to snorkel more before we go.
Aloha! B

Wednesday, August 5

Beach. G tried snorkeling and liked it. Pool. Terrific Mexican lunch. Walk along a different beach further south and shopping and a whaling museum.
Interesting side note: E loves to talk about guns and such and talks like he wants one, but when faced with what weapons do (in this case killing whales and dismembering them) he gets squeamish. Guns don't kill people-people kill people; no people with guns kill people. Lets go ahead and admit that if people were in a fist fight it would be more fair and end sooner than death.
Anyways, the whaling museum was not popular with any of the 3. We took a sunset dinner cruise with a Hawaiian singer/dancer and a magician. Food was great, cruise was beautiful, singing and hula was nice, magician was funny. E even got picked to help the magician. Wonderful night!
Aloha! B

Monday, August 3 and Tuesday, August 4

Monday was a beach morning with D snorkeling and the kids and I castle building. D was so excited about everything he could see that he convinced me to try it. WOW! What fun! How creepy to have big fish swimming all around you and know you are totally on their turf... well surf. After fun and a picnic at the pool G was looking a bit pink so we headed out on an adventure. We saw the Olivine Pools and Nakalele Blowhole and lots of gorgeous coastline. I drove up and D drove back (we stopped where the road turned into one lane and you had to back up and hold your breath to let people past; did you know that there are roads on Maui where your rental agreement is void?). The kids were not good; snipping at each other. Quick dip in the pool and watching the sunset from our balcony capped the day.
Tuesday began with beach, D and I traded off snorkeling or castle building with the munchkins. Our castle was spectacular today with an elaborate irrigation ditch to fill the moat. Our adventure was lunch and then the long and winding trip up to Haleakala Crater(volcanic). 10,023 feet above sea level. If you go scuba diving you cannot make the trip because it gives you the bends just like flying would. Strange, beautiful, like the moon. E was speechless. G was too. You don't exactly know what it will be like until you see it. Incredible.
E has been very good about slowing down and enjoying his experiences. He is not pushing us so hard to go, go , go on this trip.
Tomorrow we are renting snorkel gear for G. He is ready and can handle enough swimming to go out a bit and will be in awe of all that he can see.
M is M. He has been really out of sorts today and not as enjoyable and flexible as he usually is. He refuses to wear a life jacket in the pool so we are refusing to let him go in (he is way to heavy to carry around and with 3 in the water it is too much trying to watch all and have him falling out of a floaty thing). Hopefully M will clean up his attitude for tomorrow.

We have seen the sunrise from the farthest point we could to the east(Kiawah) and now the sunset from the west in Maui and both are equally wonderful. Having so much fun and trying to enjoy as much as possible while we are here not just see it all to get it done. I hope the kids are gathering good memories from this and learning the travel can be fun.
Aloha! B

Sunday, August 2 in Maui

Sunday was beautiful! We had an early start due to the time change (kids up at 4:30) but hung out in the condo until later. D and the kids headed to the beach and I went to a presentation (code for selling)about the island and all the activities. Haven't bought anything yet. Thinking of a sunset dinner cruise one night and trying something like the sub ride or glass bottom boat. E wants nothing to do with the boat tours. I went down to the beach when I got done at the presentation. The kids were having a blast doing their usual beach stuff. So fun to watch them play! While M napped D went with the older 2 and picked up one set of snorkel stuff. We found a neat little beach in a cove to try snorkeling today. Well, D will snorkel and we will play and watch him and enjoy the treasures he finds.
Aloha! B

Why?

Mankini? Banana hammock? Speedo? As D put it so perfectly this morning.. unless you have an Olympic medal hanging around your neck, it's a fashion don't.
Aloha, B

Trip to Maui

Saturday, August 1---- Before we headed out from home one of neighbors came out to say goodbye; D came running in from putting away toys whisper/screaming "Bobcatbobcatbobcatbobcat". Apparently he was headed in from hunting and he and D met in the backyard. Luckily bobcats are shy so he didn't try to get in the door D left open.... we might not have been so lucky with a raccoon or the cougar that has been spotted around.
I have to say the trip to Maui (nearly 6 hours by plane) was uneventful. All 3 kids even tried the spinach manicotti meal and E and G finished theirs. Everything was in order on this end and it is really beautiful. I will try to take some pics to post at some point.
Observations on the kids reactions so far are:
E- less scared of water, but still has a healthy caution. He is making a real effort so far to try new things. Our goal for the trip is to get him to slow down and enjoy things instead of rushing on to the next agenda item. He has been so excited about this trip!
G--- no fear of the water. He was body surfing yesterday and I fear getting out the wake boards today. Should have brought him a life jacket (though he does swim pretty well). He rolls with the flow of travelling and would be a perfect island child; just so laid back.
M--- Woke this morning and went out on the lanai (balcony) and said "This ocean is awesome". He was a super traveller on the plane, sticks with the group well, and is too adventurous in the water for my taste. He sat in the waves yesterday and kept getting rolled over by them..... no really. He would get rolled once or twice before he could figure out which end was up and then would run over to us and say (in his strange Brooklyn accent; he sounds like Joe Pesci) "That wave just beat me up! See!" Then he would grumble all the way back down where 'his guys' were in the water and sit and do it all over again.
OK, this is why I am going to try to blog several times during this trip. To remember all the little quotes and looks and everything.
love and hugs and aloha! B