Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest I feel most alive surrounded by trees and breathing in the fresh mountain air.
When I am not working you will most likely find me spending time outdoors, volunteering with my church and exploring this beautiful planet with my family.
This is my place to share my passion for life and to encourage you to take time to find the extraordinary in your life.
All tagged Weekend
This past Summer, we enjoyed a spectacular meal at Hama Hama Oysters with Outstanding in the Field. The meal was one of the highlights of our Summer and we were privileged to enjoy Sea Wolf Bakers bread right before their brick and mortar opened. Seven months later, we finally paid a visit to their retail shop and enjoyed a few tasty treats on a slow Saturday.
The one question I get asked the most often is "how do you keep a toddler happy while you are hiking/snowshoeing?" Aside from my amazing husband who willingly carries our little heavy weight around the answer is pretty simple, sometimes we do and other times we don't. Early on we decided we did not want to stop doing the things we love because we had children. That being said we have had to curtail the length and frequency of our hikes in addition to having our moments where we question why we brought him along in the first place.
It has been an annual tradition to attend the Washington State Fair for as long as I can remember. First with my parents, then with my friends and now with my own little family. At the fair, there are so many things to see, do and eat. This year, the thing which captivated my attention the most was an adorable little boy in a pair of denim overalls. Jasper was such a joy to watch as he "carefully" petted baby animals, danced every time he heard music and rode his very first ride all by himself. There are endless pros to being tall (so I am told) and being able to ride all the rides in the little kid area is definitely one of them.
In the Summer, there is one Saturday I look forward to more than all the others- it is the day we go hiking around Mount Rainier. Typically, we visit Paradise in August when the wildflowers are in full force and our chance of having a clear day is at its greatest. So far this ultra scientific method for picking what day to visit has worked out. Over the past several years we have enjoyed a spectacular day on the mountain.
Saturdays could easily turn into just another day in the week. We could spend our time cleaning, doing projects around the house and running errands, but instead Saturdays have become our day to invest in our most important priority-our family. On a typical Saturday, we try to leave the house early and head for the mountains. Depending on a variety of factors; the weather, our energy levels etc. we set out on a hike for the day. On this particular day, we hiked a total of nine miles. We hiked to a beautiful alpine lake called Melakwa. On our way up, while Jasper took a nap, I took time to document just a few of the wildflowers we saw. Once he was awake, amidst cascading waterfalls and scenic vistas we practiced his animal sounds.
While visiting San Juan Island we went on a kayak trip with San Juan Outfitters. What started out as a beautiful day for a paddle ended in the most memorable kayak trip of our lives. We headed out of Roche Harbor and made our way to Henry Island. A couple hours in we stopped and enjoyed a shoreline brown bag lunch and then continued on. Before long we spotted a small clustering of boats and we knew it must be one thing- whales. For the next half hour we watched in awe as the whales swam a mere hundred yards away from our kayaks.
