Olympic Peninsula

One final excursion with the Kerrs before they move to Chicago (tear). They hadn't been to the Hoh Rainforest yet, so we went to see what it is all about.

Then to La Push where the earlier stormy weather had made the beach a rollicking mess similar to our visit last year (apparently not the norm, though).

Then up to the Northwestern most point in the contiguous US: Neah Bay. Needless to say, it was gorgeous.


And a gratuitous shot of our Goose with some geese.

Halloween & a 5 yr old

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

[too thick] Shaggy, [too tall] Velma, [too articulate] Scooby

Squak Mountain in the Fall

Other Halloween Costume- Super Chicken aka El Pollo Loco

Celebrating turning five by actually getting to put coins in the game

Finally turning Five after months of anticipation.

[Note chunk of hair missing from the top of Rune's head- self-cut]

[Note Rune on the counter- he always ends up here]

Vancouver, BC

Headed to Vancouver for the weekend with the Kings.

It rained cats and dogs but we still had to do geo-caches in Stanley Park.

The sun broke through while we were at Granville Island
We ventured to North Vancouver and Cleveland Dam.

It's not to say these guys aren't super heroes, but I will admit appearances can be deceiving.

The Kings were stellar traveling companions. Glad we were able to make the trip.

Salt Lake City

We got to spend the weekend in Salt Lake for Caleb's wedding to Becca. Earlier in the week, though, we visited the EMP for Rune to play the drums-he has been obsessed.

Then off to Utah for an early morning and long day of fun and family. Here are the newlyweds.
My mom ran into a woman my family knew in Japan 30 years ago. You should have heard the joyous exclamations in Japanese when they saw each other.

Rune was excited for Uncle Caleb, but mostly glad he got to see everyone.

We took the scenic route from Salt Lake to the reception in Mapleton. 

By Saturday my family had already scattered, so we hooked up with a bunch of Broc's family and went for a hike. Grandpa Don was quite the trooper!

Made it to Lake Blanche, where the weather was a tad chilly.
But it was gorgeous!
Here are some of the guys finding a geo-cache after tromping up a hill through the snow.

Later we stopped by the Great Salt Lake to check it out, as I had only ever seen it from the air. Pretty cool.

We enjoyed so much being able to be there for Caleb & Becca's big day and were thrilled we got to spend time with family, especially Eric & Hillary\Hilarrie\Hillarie. We owe you a warm bed and a tank of gas!

Sister!

I am so happy Amy and kids got to come visit us last week. The weather was perfect for their visit (the same cannot be said this week) and so we got to do some fun things.

Hiking to Denny Creek was one of the highlights. 

Here we are at the falls.
And the kids could not resist the siren song of the slippery rock.
Cora had a run in with the trail. Look at that face!
Other than hiking, Rune and Calan loved the water taxi to downtown for some Ivar's and a visit to Pike's Place
Always love the flowers!
We splurged one night and got a pizza from Talarico's. Little did we know...
Cute boys, but Grandpa might be concerned that Rune is a bad influence on Calan- what with the mohawks and what not...

One final outing to Seattle Center.
Daring boy down by the fountain!

Loved having my little sister come visit. I am sad we don't live closer, but I am so glad we got to play for a while. And I will see her at Caleb's wedding next week. I am so excited for the wedding of the [family's] decade.

Hendershotts Hit Seattle

We were so thrilled to have Poppie, Grammie, Brig and Brelyn come to visit. Our trip to the San Juans with them was memorable!

The view from Mt Consitution on Orcas Island

Rune adores this woman.

These two make me laugh. This is not the first time they have been found mirroring each other.

Rune doing his best version of the flubber face.

Brelyn and Brig enjoyed trying all the *new* foods in Seattle. Pho was a gastro-adventure in and of itself.

Here is Rune enjoying the same. This kid knows how to eat.

We loved having them here. Rune was giddy the entire time. Come again soon, family!

City of Roses and Mt. St. Helens

We finally got down to Portland and visited the Orrs.

Powell's Bookstore was as fabulously gigantic as advertised. Definitely worth the walk.
The Rose Garden was also worth a visit and our timing was good as it stopped pouring right after we arrived.

Rune thinks that roses' best feature is their abundance of Rhino noses. Stockton seems to agree.

I prefer the flower parts, myself.

These are Barbra Streisand Roses. Love that.

After thoroughly enjoying our time with the Orrs, we headed up to Mt. St. Helens. The observatory was very informative and interesting.
The mountain was a bit elusive, but that made it all the more exciting.

A fun way to spend Labor Day weekend despite the crazy weather.

Coming Soon: A Visit from the Hendershotts