Halloween 2017

 Can you spot the leopard?

 Stick man is ready to party

 Fruit "candy corns"- oranges, pineapples, and cool whip

Picture time - Summer 2017

 Alia

3rd Grade, age 8

 Avery

5th Grade, age 11

Friend's Backpacking Trip- Greenlake and Echo Lake

 Scott, Francois and Warren headed out to Goat's Rocks Wilderness to do a several day hike on the PCT.  They ended up hiking 24 miles seeing some pretty amazing sites.  They even hiked to Old Snowy Mountain which is 8,000 feet.  That's Mt Adams in the background.  

 Meanwhile, the Mom's and kids decided to take our own backpacking trip.  We initially planned to hike a shorter hike into Sheep's lake but had to detour because of a forest fire that started the day before.  A quick stop to a forest ranger station and a guide book led us to Greenlake and Echo lakes.  We hiked in 3 miles and set up camp by an amazing river.  On Saturday the husbands hiked in and joined us for the night.  

 We hiked many log bridges.

 Finally at camp!

 Avery did an amazing job taking some extra weight this time because Scott wasn't with us.  We had to split up the camp stuff between our bags.  He even hiked an extra 2 miles with me to find a camp site ahead of the group.  Tilly, Jiji and Warren's dog joined us for the trip. She liked to follow us all around in hopes that we would drop food.  Avery did dump some ramen on his shirt after this photo.  He hung it over a log over night and an animal chewed through it. 

 Alia, Kat, Maarten and Avery made up so many games around camp.  It was fun to see them playing together.  

 We got to celebrate Kat's 8th birthday with a scavenger hunt and cake!

 Jiji hiked in 3 pound cakes, sprinkles and redi whip!  

 The gang- Avery, Maarten, Kat and Alia

 Playing with glow sticks, the perfect light weight backpacking activity.

 Kat's gifts were hidden in our dry bag at the end of her scavenger hunt.

 

 Friends since kindergarten

 Avery was all snuggled in.

 

Heading home

A visit home to Washburn Wisconsin

We missed Wisconsin so much we decided to take 2 trips this summer.😂  This time were were able to fly into Minneapolis and drive to Duluth for the day and then on to Washburn to visit with Grandpa and Grandma Davis and Laura, Tony and Lilly. 

 

 Heading to Long Lake.  We are really starting to fill the boat up as the years go by.  This time was a treat because the kids were able to sit in the front of the boat where the floaties usually go.  

 Avery and Alia were able to go tubing for the first time. 

 A trip to Houghton Point.  Scott was able to see Conor and meet his two boys.

 Avery decided to try and splash me but Grandma got him first.

 Fishing off the dock at West End Park

 They both caught perch

 Lilly really loves listening to stories

 Water baby is learning to swim

 A garden tour

 Cousin love!

Playing fooseball

Avery's 11th Birthday Adventure

For Avery's birthday we decided to go explore the Cascades.  We packed up the van and headed to Winthrop WA.  That area has the longest network of cross-country ski trails in the country with back country huts you can ski to.  In the summer the huts are open to either hiking or driving to them.  We decided to rent a hut and camp for a few days.  The hut we stayed in was really remote and had no electricity or running water. 

It was an adventure just to get there driving on forest service roads that weren't all that well marked.  At one point Scott had to jump out and secure our tuperware to the roof so we could get over the large ditches in the road.  

The cabin we stayed in was called Heifer hut.  We had no idea why until we got there.  It was around 9:30 at night and several cows were at the front door to greet us.  The cabin is on forest service land and farmers can get permits to allow their cattle to free range.  

The first night none of us slept well and the kids were up for the day at 4 am.  It was a really long day!

 We had fun playing many games, but connect four was their favorite.

 

 This was after a long hike up a mountain.

 Enjoying the view

 Grandma and Grandpa Davis got Avery a drone this year.  He has been asking for one for awhile and had a lot of fun learning to operate it.  

  Since the kids were up so early we had plenty of time to drive back to town and explore a little.  Winthrop is a neat town that's set up like an old western town.  There is a great museum there called the Shafer museum that shares the rich history of the methow valley.  

 Even the stools are saddles.

 One of the locals we met suggested we hike Tiffany mountain.  It was a 4.5 mile hike with a 2,000 ft elevation gain.  The hike was amazing because the wildflowers were out.  They had one of those super bloom years where the conditions were just right.  

 Even Venus made it to the top!

 Look at those wildflowers!

 Wild dog!

 

 On the way home we stopped at Diablo Lake.  It is a hydro-electric dam that supplies Seattle with power. 

 

 The kids wouldn't cooperate for a picture so Maia volunteered.

 Avery and Banana 11 years

Yearly Questions:

1.  Favorite color?  blue, yellow, red

2.  Favorite toy?  plastic knife

3.  Game?  Life and death in the forest.  They play this at Wilderness school

4.  Favorite animal?  Crow

5.  Favorite book?  Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus

6.  Favorite thing to do outside?  Wilderness Program

7.  Favorite holiday?  Christmas

8.  When I grow up I want to be a scientist inventor because I want to build robots.

9.  Favorite subject?  Reading

10.  Least favorite?  Writing

11.  If you could buy anything what would you choose?  A giant house with secret compartments and  an inventing area.

12.  What do you like about yourself?  I like to learn.

13.  What is your favorite thing to do?  Using my imagination and playing with my family.

14.  Favorite memory?  Seeing the heifers at heifer hut when we pulled up.