A Weekend with the Grandkids

 

All five grandkids from Enumclaw came up to stay with us Thursday night through Sunday evening because their Mom and Dad were flying to Ohio for a funeral.  One of the first things we did Friday Morning was go shopping.  At Wal-mart we picked up some sun catchers with paint and a paint by number picture for something to do.  Sometimes Grandma’s house can be pretty boring.  They had brought along their X-box and Wii games to play.

As soon as Grandpa got home on Friday we were off to find a place for Taylor to throw a fish hook in the water and catch us supper.

This is right near the Whidbey Island ferry launch.  The water was much to shallow here to catch anything.

They did however have playground equipment.  This next photo shows how 3 of them got sick to their stomachs.

Round and round they twirled.  On our way to the next beach area, at least one was barfing in a used grocery bag!!!

This photo was taken right down by the Navy base here in Everett.  It had a nice pier but no fish!!  Supper was looking pretty bleak.

So with no fish in hand we were off and running to the nearest Costco for Hot dogs, soda and a berry sundae.

On Saturday , Grandpa took Taylor, Caleb and Aidan to Silver lake Park not too far from us.  This is a picture of the kids on the dock.  This park too had a great play area.

However, Grandma ended up with the wet clothes to launder. Sometimes the water is just too much of a temptation not to get into, no matter how cold it is.

They all came home with wet feet.  Wet jeans and the sleeves were wet on the sweatshirts.  But everyone was laughing and having a good time.  Except for maybe Taylor who did not catch anything.

Christmas Holidays

     A few days after Christmas, the Seattle Grandkids wanted to make Gingerbread Houses.  I think Ethan had remembered making them in New York and knew that the Holidays would not be complete without making them.  (Actually, I think he just really likes all the candy we buy to put on them!)  So here are a few photos from that event.  Notice the concentration that is going on!

 

And I have been busy making Christmas pillowcases for all my kids and their offspring.  It’s a fun project and I enjoy all the different types of fabric to choose from.  I made 25 in all and they have been shipped to the family.

And Friday night Jim and I went down to Bellevue Square to see and listen to their Christmas Music Parade.  They do it every night at 7pm.  They even make snow for the event.  By the time we found a parking spot it was almost over but what we did see was festive and fun.

Then we went to the Botanical Gardens in Bellevue to see the Christmas Light Display.  That was amazing.  And most of the pictures didn’t come out to badly.

 

Halloween Pillowcases

These are so fun to make and only take about 20 minutes to do.  There are so many cute fabrics out there.  For directions see my post in January of 09.  It will take you through step by step.

Mt. Rainier

 

     Went for a Sunday drive up into the mountains.  Along the way we stopped along White River to see if we could find any more Salmon, however the water is so murky you could not see them unless they came right along the shore or were in shallow enough water to see their fins.  You can see how the river is very low.  It has been a warm dry summer.

Farther up the route there are pull offs for scenic views and photo ops.  I think I’ve shared a couple photos before of the mountain but now you get to see a few more.

The volcano has not erupted in over a hundred years, but they say the rim is still warm enough that snow does not stay on the rim.  And that there are pockets of steam caves that dot the mountain.

 

Below is a photo I took over near the Middle school here in Enumclaw at a distance.  Up near the top  and on the right end, you can see the form in the snow of an Elk Head.  No matter how much snow the mt. gets, you can see this.  And residents of the area say that even when we have huge snow melts in the summer it is still there.  However, for about a week this summer I could not see it because of all the snow melt.

Salmon are Running

     They say it happens every two years.  This is something I’ve watched on the nature channels before but never saw in person.  Just a mile or so down the road is the White River.  It has many tributaries flowing into it.  Standing on a bridge over one of these little tributaries, where the water is only 8 to 12 inches deep, you can watch the salmon making their way upstream.

My photos in no way do it justice.  However, if you look close you can see at least 4 salmon.  It was almost mesmerizing watching these fish fight against the current and struggle to get to their destination.  You could see some in the water that were exhausted and were pushed back.  Others that had suffered cuts and scraps from the rocks.

There are probably about 8 or 10 salmon in this photo, again I apologize for the poor quality and you may not even be able to see them if you don’t know what you are looking at.

On another note, I have this houseplant that was given to me by one of the clients I had when I worked for Home Instead.  About two weeks ago, it blossomed.  I have never known this type of house plant to produce a blossom but obviously they do.

Isn’t it beautiful?  Just one more way our Heavenly Father has blessed us with beauty all around.

Countryside

     We have been taking some drives around the area to see the scenery.  There is some breath-taking scenery to be seen. 

Yesterday we just went to bridge that is over Green River Gorge.  The river is quite low this time of year.

 

From the bridge you could see the unique little waterfall flowing into the river.  Down stream a little further, during the summertime, a lot of river rafters jump in with all kinds of floating devices.

A couple of weeks earlier we went up rt.165 towards Mt. Rainier.  It was when we were having a heat wave here and temperatures were 20 degrees cooler up there.  We got as far as the foothills of Rainier and there were traces of some snow left.  We stopped along side the road when we saw this tree stump carved into a throne.

Here you can see the snow.

And this is the valley so low!

I just hate having pictures with no one in them!  (And Jim says to add, no guardrail by the side of the road.)

This is the only picture I got with a human being in it.

And now completely off the subject, I have a couple pictures to add that were sent to my phone of some of my grandchildren.

Pretty darn cute, huh?

Summer Picnic at Deep Lake

 

We had a nice summer day and three of the grandkids wanted to come over to spend the night.  We picked them up about 3 pm so decided to go home and pack a picnic supper and go to one of the local state parks for some fun.

The kids went swimming in the lake.  I couldn’t have done it, Too cold for me.  The kid’s skin was like ice when they would get out.  Even Aidan’s lips were purple.

The menu was not all the extravagant.  We had hots and hamburgs, pasta salad, chips, soda and brownies.  But it sure hit the spot.  The kids even helped grandpa do the grilling.

We came home about 8 pm and got into some dry clothes, got the air mattress blown up for the night and are now watching America’s Funniest Home Videos with Grandpa.

We will soon have a bowl of ice cream and then it will be night, night time.  Picnics have always been my favorite!