Port Townsend

Saturday we took a day trip up to Port Townsend with Uncle Don and Grandpa Tex, one of my favorite places! We started out at the Pygmy Boat center where we all tried out a wooden boat that is next on the list for boat projects. However, we stumbled upon a child's sized wooden kayak and are now considering getting that to build with Holly. When she has outgrown it we will pass it on to Hudson. The boat was smooth and of course very pretty!

After trying out the boat and enjoying the marina we had lunch over at the Point Hudson Cafe, fitting name. The food was amazing, the lunch house was so cute and completely a sea town establishment! Great view too.Later in the day we visited Fort Worden. Holly had her first experience with military bunkers. These are very dark, old, dank concrete structures built in time of war... never used though. They are creepy when you get down into them. I did not do them much justice as I used my flash for the most part while inside them - so you have to imagine them pretty much pitch dark. Holly was not too sure of them. Uncle Don coaxed her into a building and then eventually down some stairs into the bunker... into the dark! She was scared, but strong. She would only enter them with Uncle Don. We have a camping trip planned later in the summer with Uncle Don and she is already priming me that she will only go into the bunkers then with Uncle Don - and that is it! This photo pretty much sums up her reaction to them.... 'Not so sure!'

Now, you really do have to imagine these shots in the pitch dark - not light like I have them. It was pretty creepy! There were kids all over the place playing in them with flashlights. I can imagine where these would be a blast!

We also did a bit of beach exploration, a walk, saw sea lions galore bobbing all over the water just off shore and then visited the Marine Science Center - which is very nice! It is filled with tide pools that you can touch and learn about from the naturalists on site. There is also a natural history museum aspect to it but we never made over there. Instead we drove over to Fort Flaggler and looked around, enjoyed the deer and some park time. Then we headed home. A very fun day together!

Amazing

The two most amazing little people I know!

Holly 5 years old. Hudson 3 1/2 months old.

Anderson Island - photo heavy

We spent another wonderful weekend out at Anderson Island. We spent the morning doing a nice little nature walk and exploration of the gardens, grass field and old structures over at their island farm. This is a fun spot to spend a morning - beautiful flowers, neat garden, birds galore, amazing old buildings and much fun to be had! Deer tracks we discovered.
Banana slug enjoying some breakfast!

Later in the day we headed down to the beach for some beach combing! We found many great treasures and critters. A friend gave us this neat card to help identify beach animals. It was so fun to use and try to identify various shells and such. We did a nice walk that started out in the sunshine however it quickly started to sprinkle and then before we knew it a hail storm passed by. Luckily this beach has a lot of tree cover along the cliff wall - so, we all hung out under the trees for a bit while it passed and then wrapped up our beach excursion. Looking for sea lions that are bobbing about in the water, watching us. Always a fun activity!
The sprinkles start in slowly....
The the heavy rain begins....
Then the hail moves in!

Waiting the out the squall!
Rain & Hail.... Yet it is still so beautiful!

It was a wonderful weekend!

Taddy, Ribbit, Speckles & Hoppy

On Sunday Holly got out her old plastic animal container, one we used for tadpoles last year and the year before. We cleaned it up and filled it with water and started to create a frog habitat. The water has to rest for a day or two so that the chemicals in it wear off or it can kill the tadpoles/frogs.

Once the water has rested she did a quick nature hunt for rocks, sticks and tidbits for her frog habitat. We also washed them off with clean water and then she set up her little tank how she likes. She spent some time making it just right.

Last night we went out and chose four tadpoles to catch and introduce to her new habitat in the house. Their names are Taddy, Ribbit, Speckles and Hoppy. They have settled in nicely. We have one that is a bit larger than the others, but overall they are still very young and little. So, we are getting to observe this from the very beginning. What I think will be fun is that we can watch them inside and outside. I think we will compare how they do - will the tadpoles outside mature quicker than our indoor friends or visa versa?

This has become a fun yearly tradition for our family, one we all look forward to. Normally we only do one or two tadpoles, this is the most we have ever captured to observe. Should be a fun time. Welcome to the family Taddy, Ribbit, Speckles and Hoppy!