Solar eclipse

Today was the solar eclipse.  We only got about 95% coverage but it was very cool nonetheless.  I didn't jump on the glasses bandwagon fast enough so we couldn't find any... So we couldn't straight up watch it.  We made a binocular projector but we couldn't get it to work.  So I hastily threw together a pinhole projector.  We had one with a box and one with a "screen" (two separate pieces).  Good thing since we couldn't get the pictures in the box to turn out.  

9:46 am

10:05 am

10:22 am

Grainy pictures but I want them anyway!  The light outside looked really odd.  Kind of like wearing sunglasses but almost more greyish and it got chilly.  We started out there perfectly comfortable and ended up wanting coats!

The kids had a hard time wrapping their heads around the fact that the moon was the dark area.  So we used a flashlight and a cardboard circle to explain it.  I think they get it now.  The kids thought it was super neat!

Packwood Lake Overnight

I've been wanting to try backpacking again for quite some time so Kellina and I planned to go on a one night, relatively easy one.  Kayda is getting big enough that she wanted to go with us.  We packed and planned and kept her pack as light as possible.  We decided on Packwood Lake. It's only a couple hours away, it's relatively flat, and only 4.5 miles one way.

 It was pretty fun walking behind Kayda.  She looked like a backpack with legs and arms.  You could not see any other part of her body.

Kayda was such a trooper!  We hadn'gotten either of our packs adjusted correctly so it was a tough hike in.  By the time we got there we were both having pretty bad shoulder pain.  We took a lot of breaks on the way in simply to give our shoulders a break.

Me being me, I had to set up camp before we did anything else.  The only problem was that by the time we were set up Kayda was hungry and then it was too cool to swim!

Kayda did venture into to the lake to filter water for us.  She thought it was great fun and filled up all our containers, including the 2 liter one Kellina had.

Kellina and I fiddled with the packs before it got dark.  They fit much better.  I still need to adjust them some more but we'll figure that out when we're ready to go again, which Kayda says she wants to do.

It rained most of the night, a summer with barely a cloud and it had to choose this weekend to rain... Can't really say I'm surprised.  Because of the rain, Kayda wasn't too keen on sticking around come morning and Kellina wasn't too interested in coming out of her tent.  I woke up, unable to go back to sleep so I got up, in the rain, and managed to get a fire going.  It was a pretty good fire too until Kayda told me she wanted to go and I had to step away to pack up.

The hike back went much smoother.  We had to take it a little slower than we wanted to because of Kellina's asthma but we still got back a lot faster than we got in.  The packs were resting much better on our hips thank goodness.  It ended up being a pretty good trip.  There are definitely some things I need to do differently to be more comfortable; a couple things I'd like to buy to make being around camp a little more comfortable.  But we had fun and like I said, Kayda wants to go again.  Dillon gets the next trip though.

Sounders game

Since Kayda and I were going on a hike, Daddy and the boys decided, last minute, it would be fun to go to a Sounders Game.  I'll let him write the rest.

We were able to get tickets last minute and headed to the train to ride to Seattle, which the boys had a fun time riding.

Carson didn't want his picture taken in front of Seahawks Stadium, where the Sounder's play.

The seats were 4 rows up in the upper deck and were great seats because all the action could be seen easily.  The Sounders won 1-0 over Sporting Kansas City (the win moved the Sounders into first place over Kansas City in the division).  The boys also had fun seeing and recognizing that what they do at practice, the professionals do as well. 

On the train wearing our new Sounder's shades.

Seahawks Training Camp

Daddy and the boys love the Seahawks.  I am not a football fan and Kayda is impartial... But because Daddy loves the Seahawks so much he wanted to go to training camp.  He made sure to get online as soon as tickets started to sell and got us all tickets.

It's a good thing I went because my phone number was chosen for our kiddos to be able to go to the kid viewing area. The actual practice was on a field too far from the kids area so they didn't watch from there.  They didn't watch much at all... there were booths with free stuff and a bouncy bungee thing for the kids.  They were too busy to watch.

Face painting!

When the practice was over the kids went to the special area (only a certain number of kids get in).  The got their footballs signed by several players.  Though Carson was kind of over it when his ball got skipped once.  The most notable signatures they got was from Russell Wilson, Jimmy Graham, Justin Britt, and John Schneider (the General Manager - Only Kayda and Dillon got his).  The kids don't know many players, so it does not mean much to them just yet.  It's a fun thing for them to have though.

Carson turns SIX!

Carson just turned six! I can't believe our youngest is that old!  We love this kid so much.  He is funny and cuddly, thought he can be really mean to Kayda (something we're working really hard to remedy).  He is a total stinker!  He likes to make jokes and he'll randomly pop up out of nowhere to try to scare you.  He loves wrestling with Daddy and Dillon, despite the many insubstantial injuries he's obtained.  He loves to play outside, if he has a choice he'll be out there all the time, though he doesn't like to be out their alone.  For his birthday he got a new bike this year.  He has the same size bike as Kayda and Dillon (he's so big)!  Now he won't have to pedal twice as fast as them just to keep up.

He got to Skype with Grandma G to open some presents in the morning.

We went to lunch at Red Robin with Grandma and Papa H.  He got to open the rest of his gifts there.  It's fun because Kayda and Dillon are both getting to the age where they want to pick out the gifts they're giving, instead of coming from what we buy.

The staff sung Happy birthday to him, he handled it better than expect, considering how shy he can be.

Carson is so attached to Dillon.  He wanted to work with Dillon to build his Legos and have Dillon read him his card from Grandma and Papa H.  It can be really tough for Kayda that the boys are so close.  He put together one set of Legos with her, she is always willing to help him, it's just a matter of if he'll let her.  He was quite pleased with his birthday.  He does know that a gift from Grandma and Papa G is in back order so he's checking the mail everyday.  Even though I told him it'd come in a package on the porch.

He also got a whoopy cushion, which he popped almost immediately, so we got him a self inflating one. He played with it for a solid two days, all day... He called it his "farty" and thought it was the funniest thing in the world .. and then he popped that one.  I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to buy himself another one!

Paradise

We've been talking about going up to Paradise on Mt. Rainier since spring, when Kayda got her fourth grade national park pass.  Daddy decided this weekend was the time to do it.  It was still pretty hazy up there from the smoke but you could see the mountain.  Dillon got carsick on the way up which makes for a long drive.  I remember getting carsick for most every trip as a kid.  I always feel so badly for him since I spent so much time that way (as did Daddy).  I'm usually pretty good about getting him Dramamine, which helps a lot... But of course, on one of the worst possible trips, I forgot.

We looked at the possible trails and saw the Alta Vista loop, it's supposed to have gorgeous wildflowers and it's only 1.5 miles long.  We figured it wouldn't be a big deal.... We were wrong. We ended up going practically straight up a good 1/2 to 3/4 miles.  By the time we got to the first plateau we were beat and Kayda and Dillon were starting to get headaches and dizziness.

These were Kayda and Carson's favorite of the wild flowers.

These were Dillon's favorite.

We decided to cut over and try an easier trail.  We didn't make it.  Kayda and Dillon just started to feel worse.  The altitude was more than their little bodies could handle.  We slowly made our way back to the parking lot and headed home.

Kayda had read about Narada falls and really wanted to see it.  It was on the way down from the mountain with a really short hike to the viewing area.  It's 241ft high.  The kids thought it was pretty great!

By the time we got home we were all pretty beat.  Dillon and Kayda were especially worn out from getting sick. I don't think it's a place we'll visit again simply because it's overcrowded and most of the hikes are insanely steep.

Family BBQ

Daddy's family always try to get together around birthdays, usually just for cake.  Since Carson's birthday is in the summer we take full advantage of being able to play in the backyard.

Since they're growing so fast... Peyton, Carson, Brett, Dillon, Kayda and Ella.

Jarrett jumped on the trampoline with the younger kids and started a version of dodgeball, which the kids LOVED.

The kids squeezed as many of them as possible on the jumping step.

It was, of course, a great little get together.  The kids always have a great time with their local cousins.  The only thing that was not good was the wildfire smoke that drifted down from Canada.  It stuck around for a couple of weeks.  Fortunately, it didn't really smell by the time it got here, it just made it really hazy and everyone was advised to stay indoors as much as possible since the air quality was so poor.