We started our summer trip with a stop off in Franklin to stay with Chris' grandma Zelma. We went to That Famous Preston Night Rodeo with the Salmons, Eddie and Kayla's family and Grandma Dixie. During one of the events, the bull charged into the stands! It tried to jump over the wall and got 1/3 of the way over! Even though it was a couple of sections away from us, it was still scary! We got to bed late and woke up super early to get a start on our long 12 hour drive to Oregon.
We stayed with Chris' Uncle Lynn and Aunt Joelle in Seaside but we first had a BBQ at his cousin's Skyler's house for his birthday. Then Chris woke up early to play a round of golf with Skyler at the course across the street from Lynn's house. Joelle made us a really yummy breakfast and Josh brought over a bunch of Tillamook stuff from his work. So generous and delicious. Lynn took me and the kids out to the beach. I told them not to get wet.... but that didn't work. Chris got back from golfing and we loaded up the car to drive 3 hours to meet Sarah and German and Tiff, Todd and kids in the Olympic National Park!
Turns out cell service is pretty spotty out here, so it was tricky finding out way or knowing where to park or meet. We explored a little bit of Lake Quinault Lodge and did a short hike to the big Sitka Spruce tree with Sarah and German.
Then we drove an hour or so to Kalaloch Beach to see the Tree of Life. There were some whales in the distance off the shore. We saw some water spray up a few times. It was super windy but the kids loved running around jumping off of drift wood and playing in the sand.
We drove another hour to out hotel in Forks, Washington. I totally meant to introduce the kids to the Twilight books/movies before we left, but never got around to it so they did NOT understand all the twilight paraphernalia. We got dinner at a pizza place. Kids were pretty cranky, the line was long and the food was ok, but eating with Sarah and German was fun! We went to the store to grab groceries to eat the next day since there are no places to eat in the National Park and it was going to be Sunday anyway. Tiff and her family arrived a little later this night so we didn't connect with them until the next day. Chris put the babies to bed and I took the big kids to the pool for the last 30 min of daylight.
The next morning was Theo's 2nd birthday!! We gave him 'breakfast in bed' and had him open a few presents that fit in the car. Theo is such a happy cute kid. He brings such delight to our family. He has got an amazing memory and knows so many songs! He sings a long with us every time we put him down for bed. He's smart, agile, kind, silly, loving and a little mischievous. We went to church in Forks and then drove 45 min to Ruby Beach. It was overcast but not cold and just BREATHTAKINGLY gorgeous. So green and lush, wooded and oceanic at the same time. The kids enjoyed running in and out of the surf, playing in the sand, throwing rocks and exploring the Tide Pools! We saw star fish, and sea anemones in such vibrant colors.
We ate lunch in the car and drove an hour to the Hoh Rainforest. We hiked the Hall of Mosses and another hike nearby. The scenery is so stunning.... pictures do NOT do it justice. The kids did pretty well, but our cries to get the kids to listen and not run too far ahead fell on deaf ears. Gwen, Max, Freddy and even the big kids threw a few fits a few times for various reasons. I could hike here for days and never grow tired of the greenery but we left after a little bit since kids were hungry and tired. We met in Tiff and Todd's hotel room for a birthday dinner for Theo. We had fancy Ramen noodles, popcorn, apples and birthday cake! Theo LOVES birthdays. One of his favorite songs is the Happy Birthday Song and requests that we sing it for various people every day at bedtime, so I was really excited to sing it for real for him. He was so excited to blow out the candles he did it before we even started singing. We had to light them again and block his mouth until the right moment.
Another late night and another semi-early wake up call to get out the hotel by 9:00 so we could meet for a hike to Sol-Duc Falls. Another amazing hike. The big kids are tired of it by now and complain about 'another hike?!' Max is a great hiker, but got tired half-way through this one and I carried him on my back for the entire 2nd half. Chris had Theo in the backpack (that we borrowed from Jess since we left our house without ours.... oh which reminds me that we also had to leave with Alec's new contacts, and his glasses were broken so he had only a few sample contacts for one eye for most of the trip. I think he stretched them out and wore them for multiple days) The backpack was actually uncomfortable compared to the one we're used to. I think it was a user error since it looked like a super nice backpback... but we just couldn't figure out how to customize it well enough to not dig into our hips.
We drove another hour to meet up with our friends, the Talbots for a picnic lunch at Crescent Lake. We stayed for hours and let the kids swim and eat. Then we checked into a new hotel room in Port Angeles and then met up with the Talbots at their VRBO house for a BBQ dinner. It was SO fun to catch up with these dear good friends!
We stayed out late again and woke up early to check out of the hotel and drive up 45 min to Hurricane Ridge for the morning before meeting everyone at the Olympic Animal Farm in Sequim at 10:00. Hurricane Ridge was beautiful and we could see into Canada. The kids fought a lot here as well but I keep telling myself, we're making memories!
The Animal Farm was AMAZING! It was kinda pricy but so worth it. We met up with the Talbots and switched some kids in cars so they could ride with friends. I sat in the back with Theo since he was pretty scared of all the animals that came up to our car windows to eat bread out of our hands.... Wildebeests, llamas, elk, deer, and HUGE buffalos. It was incredible, they would just stick their snouts or tongues or heads into our car windows...whatever would fit to eat the bread that we were feeding them. It was special bread that you bought at the place. Justin and Radene's family met us here for this adventure and we all ate lunch and ice cream afterwards.
Then we said goodbye to the Talbots and drove 2 hours to Lake Cushman to hike the Staircase rapids. Google maps took us on the shortest route which was on rough dirt roads for the last hour! We thought we were lost. It started sprinkling as we parked but never got heavy enough to turn back. It We took the right fork back to the start after crossing the cool suspension bridge.
We drove a few more hours south to the Great Wolf Lodge and checked into our hotel rooms. We were on the opposite wing of the hotel from everyone else but we had a comfortable room with two bedrooms and a little living room. I was expecting a little more of a kitchen to be in the room but I think the hotel prefers guests to buy their food at the various restaurants onsite. At first we were wanting to save money and so got take out from nearby taco bell but the time it takes to do that and be eating warm food in your room isn't possible so we went to the grocery store the first night and stalked up on food we could eat and meals we could prepare giving a sink, microwave and tiny fridge. It might have been cheaper to just buy meals at the restaurants! haha.
The Lodge is really geared towards kids and has so many amenities. Most of them cost extra so we told the kids they could choose one treat and 2 activities to do during their stay. Alot of them chose to do the ropes course, and tokens in the arcade. Some chose mini golf and Freddy chose to get a wand and do their magic quest that has them exploring all corners/hallways and stairways in the hotel looking for 'enchanted' objects/pictures to collect to pass of various mission quest things. It was fun. Mostly the kids swam in the pools and went down the slides, or watched TV in hotel rooms. The Olympics were happening during this time so we had some good times watching whatever sport was airing. It was a VERY different reunion with people scattered and no good gathering space. But we had good small group time as we switched off watching little kids in the pool while 3 or 4 adults would wait in line and go down the slides. The older kids just ran around in a pack. They played this funny game where they would wait in the elevator and when new people got on, they'd ask them, "what floor?" and then push the button for them for that floor AND for the floor just below it. Then they'd get off on the floor below and dash up the stairs to then walk back into the elevator when the people got off on the floor above and see if they noticed. Pretty funny.
All in all, it was a fun experience but definitely geared towards fun for kids. It was exhausting for the adults and I'm sure there were some people I didn't see for more than a few minutes. Like Tiffany... Tessa was sick and throwing up and so she quarantined herself with Tessa in their hotel room for the first 2 days until she started feeling better.
After Great Wolf Lodge, we drove to Anderson Island to hang out with my Aunt Merlene and Uncle Loren and their kids where they were having a family reunion. I got to see some close cousins that I haven't seen in forever! The kids loved the ferry ride and Max and Theo just about scared everyone as they ran around with no concern for any dangers. We arrived intime to watch some cousins clamming at low tide and played in the sand by the fire pit, played soccer in the field, got rides in the tractor train, squeeze in a game on the pickleball court, talk in the game room, eat popcorn, go out on the boat and tube in the sound and have a BBQ dinner/lunch thing. I even managed to pick 3 gallons of blackberries with Carli and Amberly! We left in a hurry to catch one of the last ferries home to stay at the beloved Betteridge Bluff where I lived during highschool. We stayed at Loren and Merlene's house. It was very tiring to pack up our stuff and sleep in a new spot, unload the bags/and sleeping gear unpack the cooler and clean out the car. We put the kids to bed and then went over to my uncle and aunt, Ben and Rachel's house to play some games. The next morning I went for a run on my old running routes along the roads where I used to deliver newspapers. We also picked more blackberries and said hello to other aunts and uncles, cousins and Grandma before heading out on the road towards home. 8 hours to Justin and Radene's in Boise.
We arrived quite late in Boise. The drive had been difficult to say the least. Cranky, tired kids and cranky tired parents don't mix. I got trapped and screamed at by 2 kids, holding a crying baby in the middle of the doorway to one gas station where after dealing with the kids I turned to the cashier and asked for some ice. The worker started to say, "We don't normally..." then trailed off.. maybe because she saw the tears well up in eyes. She then just nodded and said, 'sure.' small miracles. After getting back in the car, Alec wrote his unfavorable opinion of my parenting abilities on a doodle pad and tossed it up to me and was immune in my attempts to lighten the mood with some friendly back and forth messages. His comments were hurtful and I can't seem to keep my feelings to myself and so I found myself at midnight unloading to Justin, Radene, Estefi and Jordan at their kitchen table as we awaited Sarah and German's arrival. Oh...and that day was Chris' and my 17th wedding anniversary.
The next day was Sunday and we all went to church with Justin and Radene. We stayed afterwards for dinner and to give the kids more time to play and avoid loading them up in the car for as long as possible and yet... HOME was calling. We eventually packed up the car and drove our final 5 hours home.
We do it all for the memories and good experiences, right? We'll forget about all the difficulties, right? The kids will one day look back and thank us for our efforts, right?
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