i hike in skirts

really.. it was just palin comfortable AND I wore shorts under! ;)
Here is our adventure from today.. LOTS more elevation then I thought.. but a good day.. 12 miles in all! I'll let the pictures speak for me because I am READY for BED!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling Crafty

I read somewhere that essential oils can corrode plastic. I use essential oils in my homemade all purpose cleaner so I decided it was time to find some non-plastic cleaning spray bottles .... and this is what I came up with...

 

 

 

I know the clear one isn't that pretty but I've been using this homemade cleaner for 6 years now and I haven't gone back to the store back stuff!

 

 

 

 

I was browsing shops in Portland the other day and I saw these SUPER cute mason jar soap dispensers (it's okay if you don't think they are cute, i'll still be your friend!).. anyway I picked it up to look at the price tag and it said 22$! SERIOUSLY... no way man.. I can do that myself!

 So I did... and it cost me roughly $1.50 to make my own.

 

LOVE IT!!!!!

Cousin time

The boys and I headed to the coast for the day to visit with my cousin and her kids. We spent the day playing at the campground they where staying at and visiting an old fort where the Columbia river meets the ocean. The kids had a great time and it was fun to see our children spend time together!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

where there are boys.. there's bound to be fishing

I was laying in my bed quietly reading when he came in and sat down. He had that look on his face, the one he has when he wants to talk. I put my book down and focused my attention on him, slightly concerned, and i asked what was up. He asked about our schedule for the next few days and then mentioned a fishing day.

 

 I made that sound all serious didn't I?

:)

okay.. I couldn't help myself from being a little narrative there.... we decided to go fishing.

You have to admit that my intro was way more exciting then

 

"We went fishing"

 

okay so here are some pictures...

 

It's hard to tell with pictures the depth but seriously.. this was a steep hill we had to climb down to get to the pool at the bottom on the waterfall where we were planning on fishing.

 

 

one of my all time favorite waterfalls.

 

 

Joshua caught a little fish. Not big enough to keep, and yes despite the blood it survived the catching just fine and was released back into it's fish haven at the bottom of the falls.

 

 

 there can't be fishing without eating chips.. that is a rule in our house ;)

 

Daniel reeling in his fish...

 

and a fish! YAY.. this one as well was to small to keep, but it was fun to catch and let go.

 

And Elijah got his as well...

 

and one last picture for you of a really cool tree... because I think it's cool and the kid in the picture is pretty cute too.

 

Happy end of June!

I believe in the sun, even though it doesn’t shine,

I believe in love, even when it isn’t shown,

I believe in God, even when he doesn’t speak.

The first camping adventure of the season

Boys enjoying the fire

 

 

we camped near some "soda" springs...lots of minerals in the water as you can see! It was crazy to see it bubbling out of the ground!

 



 

We went and explored Chinnook pass... it is at about 5,000 feet elevation so there is still snow up there despite it being in the 60's.

 

Beautiful views for sure! This is the area Matt and I are going to do a "just us" backpacking trip later at the end of summer when all of the snow has melted!

 

 

Silver Creek Falls

 

My favorite boys

 

Mini me! He talks in his sleep like CRAZY... seriously he kept me up most of the night with all of his sleep talking. I'm just glad he doesn't sleepwalk like I use to!

 

Bear tracks... if you look closely you can see the point where the bears claws when into the dirt.. SCARY! Good thing we really only have black bears down in this area and not grizzl

 

Joshua found a frog...

 

I have NO idea what wild flower this is, but I just loved it so much! Any ideas my flowery friends?

 

Remembering for a friend

In honor of a little girl who is still deeply loved by her family...thinking of you today, Joel and Renee, and you remember Emily... and also for all of my friends who have experienced the pain of losing a child...

 

 

Your little one's life, no matter how short it may have seemed, was worth whatever amount of time they where here on earth. No life is wasted, and no child certainly is forgotten or unloved.

May your hearts be at peace today remembering and may God fill you with a spirit of hope.