Olympic Peninsula Trip

This Spring Break we decided to take a short trip to the Olympic Peninsula.  Some of it the kids have seen before so we wanted to take them to some of the places they/we have never been.  It was 3 nights packed full of driving (600 miles) and sight seeing.  The kids had a blast!

 First stop was the Sol Duc Hot Springs.  They smelled a little like sulfur but not overpowering and somehow it didn't make US stink.  There were three "pools" we spent most of the time in the smallest.  It was perfect at just shy of 100 degrees.  The largest was around 102 and the medium pool was right around 107.  They also had a freshwater, unheated pool, hanging out around 55 degrees.

Kayda and Daddy jumped in and swam across the unheated pool!  Their skin was bright red when they got out because of how cold it was.  Daddy and Kayda ended up jumping in twice, Dillon and Carson each went in once.  Carson REALLY didn't like it.  I was waiting right next to him and was able to pull him out quickly.  

We were surprised by how many birch trees were in the area.  The kids took to calling them "ghost trees" because of how white they were, especially when they're surrounded by evergreen trees. 

We ended our first day in Neah Bay, well, the ocean side opposite Neah Bay.  It was a perfect evening!  There was no wind and no rain.  The kids played just like they always do at the beach.  Dillon was having a rough day but as soon as the sand was beneath his toes you could see the tension drain out of him. Kayda collected shells and the boys ran in and out of the waves.  We only headed back in because Carson's toes got too cold!

We started Thursday out strong with the Cape Flattery trail.  It's only about 1.5 miles round trip.  It's actually a pretty neat trail!  They have board walks and even wood rounds put in the ground for the swampier sections.  The kids had a great time playing "American Ninja Warriors" treating each section of the trail like an obstacle.

 Cape Flattery is considered the Northwestern tip of the contiguous United States.  The kids really wanted to go to the lighthouse but that wasn't an option.

After the hike we headed south! Well, back inland and then south.  We headed down to Forks.  We got to the hotel too early to check in so we decided to go straight for Second beach.  I had heard that it was a beautiful beach but you have to hike to it.  The hike wasn't difficult at all.  It was another 1.5 mile round-trip trail.  The kids loved looking around at the forest.  A big favorite were the trees that you could see under, through their roots. It was really nice because it actually minimized the number of people on the beach.  It was fairly empty.  The boys played in the sand for the couple hours we were there.  Kayda went between playing in the sand and wandering around with Daddy taking pictures. The weather was about perfect!  It actually doesn't get much better than that on the Washington coast!  It was around 60 degrees with barely a breeze!

 After a couple hours it was getting close to time to head back for food.  But before we left we went and put on shoes so we could climb one of the sea stacks.  The kids loved it, I know I loved it as a kid... but holy cow was I a nervous wreck having my kids up there!

Up on top!  Probably around 50ft high!

The next morning it was time to go to the rainforest!  Of course there were high wind warnings in place for the day and a rare spring storm which meant more rain too!  The visitor center was kind of a let down.  There wasn't any displays or any kind of information about the forest.  After looking at the options.  We decided the two loop trails (2 miles together) wasn't enough.  We chose to go to mineral creek falls.  2.7 miles up the Hoh River Trail.  The trail eventually goes up to the glaciers.

We took off feeling pretty optimistic.  The kids were having a great time looking at the huge trees and the coatings of moss.

What we didn't expect was how swampy it would be.  We were constantly finding ways around or over huge puddles.  There were whole trees downed across the trail to climb over too.  Carson got tired, so we carried him for a while.  Then he started getting cold.  He was done at 1.8 miles.  Daddy took him back to the car.

Kayda and Dillon wanted to try to find the waterfall so on we went.  The farther in we got the worse the trail got.  At one point the entire trail disappeared into a sea of water.  You couldn't tell where it went because it was under anywhere from 6 inches to a foot of water (depending on the spot).  We decide to follow a little trail around the side to see if we could find the main trail.  The agreement was that if it wasn't obviously the trail, we would turn around.  Fortunately, it brought us around the bog to some stairs.  After that we came to the stream crossing the trail.  We got to use the tree bridges, the kids thought it was great fun!

We continued along and at 2.7 miles we found the waterfall.  It was too cold and too wet to stay for long. We took a quick photo and headed back.

It was a rough trip back, the puddles were even deeper, making it harder to follow the trail.  The kids were cold, Kayda had twisted her ankle and they were tired.  They were total troopers.  I had to carry Kayda for a little while toward the end.  After cheering them on, watching how hard they were working to keep going for the last 1.5 miles it was actually kind of emotional when we got to the end. Considering we don't hike often this was pretty ambitious.  That being said, if the trail were drier I think they would've been just fine the whole way.  5.4 miles in the rain and cold is a bit much for most people.  They were both happy that they'd done it and were proud to have made it to the water fall.  It doesn't seem to have put them off hiking.  In the forest we were fortunate and only heard/felt the wind gusts a few times. When we got to the visitor center the storm had knocked out the power.  The further west we drove, out of the forest, the windier it got.  There was all kinds of debri on the road and we had to drive over some freshly fallen, large, branches.  It was a long 45 minutes to get back to the hotel!

The last morning, Saturday!  We treated the kids with a breakfast out, they all thought this bench was the coolest and wanted a picture.  There were a few places we had wanted to see on Friday but were too beat up from the hike to make it. So we decided we'd try to see them on the way home.

We saw a sign for "The Big Cedar" and decided to check it out.  It's dead.  but it has a bunch of other trees growing out of the stump now.  It is basically a group of gnarly roots all wrapped around a huge stump.  A large portion had fallen down which was definitely a bummer.

 Then we stopped by Ruby beach.  The tide was in and the water was all murky from the storm.  You couldn't see any of the rocks that the beach is known for.  We opted for a quick look then took off for the next vista.

 Ruby beach... not that you'd know it from it's current state.

 Next came Kalaloch.  None of the kids have ever seen this beach, I was pregnant with Kayda the last time we were here. Dillon wasn't interested in looking so he and I hung out in the car.

The other two went down to the tiny strip of beach with Daddy.  It was another quick look but they've seen it now!  It was a busy, tiring trip.  We all had a good time even if none of us slept well.  Having two kiddos with colds didn't help.  For the most part the kids did great!  We're trying to work up the motivation to take them on more hikes.  They're all pretty interested, Carson is the only "maybe".

We managed to get all the different weather for the area.  We had rain, beautiful sunshine, a wind/rain storm, we drove through snow between the rain forest and Ruby beach and it was hailing as we got home.  Definitely eventful!

Boomshaka Party

The kids were invited to some a birthday party for a couple of their soccer pals. It was at a place called boomshaka.  The kids had a blast!  It was a warehouse full of trampolines, some with basketball hoops and punching bags, a trampoline dodge ball game, foam pits to swing or jump in to as well as obstacle courses.  The kids have a blast and have asked multiple times to go back already. 

Quick Memories

We've had a pretty unusual winter this year.  It's been much colder than normal and we've gotten more snow too.  The other day was sunny and gorgeous...and 55 degrees.  The kids decided that meant they should jump on the trampoline with the sprinkler!  

We're working hard to gradually complete Dillon's scout requirements this time around.  We went for a one mile "hike" along the old levy.  It was intentionally put into disarray with boulders, trees and stumps every which way.  It actually makes for a pretty neat walk.  The kids had a great time looking for "signs of life" which was the requirement.  They found animal prints, scat, chewed up leaves, a few holes that looked like burrows and such.  I'm glad we did it now, as spring continues it's going to get really overgrown and difficult to traverse.  They had a great time along the river though we had to cut our time short because they weren't being safe along it's edge.  Check out their little "bridge"!

Dillon's First Flag Football Game

The mini flag football season is upon us.  Dillon is the only one who decided to play.  Daddy is his coach which he loves of course!  His first game was on a frosty morning but at least it was sunny!

Touch Down! They were able to win their first game!  

It's great having Daddy coaching.  He works really hard to make sure all the kids get to actively participate.  It's so disappointing watching the other coaches who only engage one or two of their players.  

Kayda's "Ropes" Course

Each year the fourth and fifth graders get to go do a "ropes course" as a field trip.  It is one class at a time.  I was able to go as a chaperone for Kayda's class.  It's basically several "team building" activities that the kids have to figure out.

In this challenge the kids had to be connected to two people (except the very first and very last person) in order to move forward on the log.  If someone fell they had to go to the end of the line.  It took them a while to figure out that they had to squish together before someone stepped off the log at the end otherwise they made someone fall off.  It was a great warm up to try to get them talking to each other.

In this challenge there was a 6x7 grid of ropes.  They has to be connected and if someone stepped in a square without someone else having stepped in it the square is closed.  Each person HAD to step into 6 squares or they would have to restart. It took them three tries to figure out they really needed to do just one long line to keep too many squares from closing.

This was a balance game.  It had one fulcrum so it could shift in any direction.  They had to keep all sides off the ground long enough to sing "row row row your boat gently down the stream.  Merrily merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream".They were finally able to do it by sitting down, leaning their bodies with one person standing in the middle to help.

We all were thoroughly soaked by the end!  The kids had a great time though.

Kayda has had a really hard time with her class.  There are a lot of really rowdy kids in there and it stresses her out.  Apparently the class has been dong a lot better behaviorally since doing the course.

Dillon's Root Canal

Way back, over a year ago, Dillon fell at the hotel in California while we were in Disneyland.  His front permanent teeth took the brunt of it and a large portion were broken off.  We were able to find a dentist open late to put some filling one so at least they wouldn't be sharp.  Well, one of the teeth didn't make it.  

As you can see the one on the right has "closed" meaning the nerve has matured and the root finished growing.  It come to a nice point.  The grey "channel" in the middle is mostly sealed off and protected.  The one on the left (which is actually his right front tooth) stopped growing.  The root didn't mature so the nerve remained exposed.  The nerve died and caused an infection.  You can see the black "bubble" around the top and right side of the tooth in the x-ray.  That's where the infection was. It needed to be cleaned out before it started hurting him and caused problems.  Fortunately he didn't have any symptoms, the dentist caught it at his regular check up.  The nerve and infection needed to be cleaned out to keep the tooth from continuing to deteriorate and allow the bone to grow into those spaces.

We went in expecting a consultation.  I didn't realize it was a "evaluate and treat if needed appointment".  I hadn't prepared him to have it done that day.  He was pretty nervous and cried a little until the laughing gas kicked in to help him calm down.  He was a total trooper.  Unfortunately the inflammation was too bad to complete it on one day.  So after taking out the nerve and cleaning it as best as they could they put in a temporary filling and sent him home with some antibiotics.  A week later we were back in there doing it again so they could fill the entire inside of the tooth.

Here you can see the stages of the root canal.  You can see in the last x-ray that they were actually a "branch" leading to the side of the tooth where part of the infection was.  It got filled at the same time.  Now he could go on to have that tooth for his whole life.

We have a family history of bashing our front teeth.  When I was little we had a community pool across the street.  One day on my way home I tripped on my towel and knocked out my two front teeth (fortunately they were baby teeth) so I went extra time without front teeth.

Grandma G had an unfortunate incident with hers too!  She went head first down a slide.  One of her sisters bumper her which cause her face to slam down into the slide.  One of her teeth cracked but she ended up with root canals for both teeth.  She still has the "original" left front tooth!  So he could have his tooth his whole life even without a nerve!