My Birthday Present

So this is what Andy and the girls surprised me with for my birthday.

His name is Parker. He is 3 months old and he is a Beagle. (Snoopy dog) He is now the new love of my life, along with my wonderful husband and awesome kids. I don't think an animal can get any cuter than this, can they? Welcome to the family, Parker!

Mt. Rainier

Although I have been there before, this visit to Mt. Rainier was truly spectacular. On our way we stopped to have a picnic at Alder Lake. We sat down at one picnic bench and set up our meal, only to be swarmed by bees. No problem we thought, we'll go sit at the next picnic bench. Nope, the bees followed us. Ok fine, we'll skip the picnic benches in the woods and go down by the water. We found another picnic area, complete with more benches! Yay! Nope...... the bees had followed us all the way down there too! Ugh! So back to the car we went. We ate our picnic in the car! We had to if we wanted to enjoy it without the sound of bees swarming around your head. This is Alder Lake. See why we wanted to picnic there!

So after we ate, we continued on with our journey to Mt. Rainier. There is a place on the mountain called Paradise. That is where we were headed. On our way we saw a church on the side of the road. It had the greatest sign I had ever seen on a church. More on that later. We found our way to the entrance to the park, and went in. -Side note- I didn't know it cost $15 per car to get in. And that ticket is good for a week! -End side note- We started our ascent up the mountain. First we came to this really cool waterfall. We stopped to take the following pictures.

I think that is our best family pic yet! (Although, Madeline was completely terrified of the waterfall. Hence the reason she was clung like saran wrap to Andy.)

Then as we climbed the trail back up to our car, Sydney came across this cool tree sticking out of the side of the ground, and they all wanted to take this pic with it.

After that we continued on up the mountain. As we were winding some turns we came across a mother deer with her fawn. They were so close to the car and didn't even care that we had slowed down to take these pics of them.

Awesome, huh! So a little bit more up the mountain, and we finally get to Paradise. Yes Paradise! This place was awesome. This is how the place got it's name. -Excerpt taken from the Mt. Rainier guide the park ranger gave us.- " When James Longmire's daughter-in-law Martha first saw this subalpine meadow, she exclaimed "this must be what Paradise is like." Paradise is world-famous for its glorious views and wildflower meadows." -End- I'll tell ya folks, they aren't kidding! Take a look at these pics I happened to capture on our trail walk.

Isn't that truly astounding! That must be why is quote was written on the steps leading to the trails.

So, we hiked around for bit, all the while I was taking more stunning shots of the mountain side. Finally, we were all pooped so we walked back down the trails to the visitor center.

Sydney is such the drama queen, isn't she? Hee hee hee.

While we were at the Visitor Center the girls got some booklets from the park rangers, so they could fill them out to become Junior Park Rangers themselves! Each one had to do a certain amount of activities in said book in order to earn their certificate and badge. Yes, a real shiny one! (Plastic, but shiny nonetheless.) So a fast as their little fingers could, they filled out these very informative and educational booklets. And the best part is that they were age appropriate, meaning Sydney's was harder than Kassie's, which was harder than Madeline's! The girls really seemed to be enjoying doing their badge "homework." After they all had completed the books, we took them back to the park ranger to verify them. He looked each of them over and proceeded to do the paperwork for each of the girls certificates. He made them take the "Junior Ranger Oath" and then presented them each with a badge and certificate.

They were so proud! After that we went to the gift shop and bought a few things. We were tired and hungry from all that walking, so we got back in the car and began our descent down the mountain. Outside the park, a few miles down, we found this quaint place to eat called Copper River Inn. The place was packed! But we waited and it was definitely worth it! Great food! With stuffed bellies, we continued on, until Andy and I remembered a place we had passed on our way up. It was an ice cream place with over 24 flavors of Soft Serve! So we stopped there (of course) and each got a different flavor! Yummy! After that, we got back in the car. I knew I wanted one more picture before we went any further. A few yards down, there was the church I was telling you about earlier. I asked Andy to stop so I could take a picture of it. This sign just couldn't ring more true. Take a look.

Isn't that cool!?! I thought so. Well, that was our awesome adventure this week. I can't believe only 2 more weeks before school starts! I am on top of it though, and have already bought all their school supplies and clothes! Yay me!

Until next time, take care!

Mt. Walker - Olympic National Forest

Yesterday, we decided we wanted to go on a picnic. I said we should go to Dosewallips - a State Park over in the Olympic National Forest. So we packed up our stuff, and set out for another adventure. We drove across the Hood Canal Bridge, and turned onto the road to get there. We were driving for a while, and I happened to remember Mt. Walker and the beautiful viewpoints up there. It was on the way, so I said to Andy we should stop there. He agreed, so up the mountain we went. About halfway up, mine and the girls tummies started grumbling. We were hungry. Andy suggested we should just eat when we got to the top. There were no complaints from any of us!

After lunch, we hiked around a little bit, looking at the different viewpoints. First, we explored the North side.

It was cool. Lots of wildlife (birds, bugs, little creatures, etc.)

Kassie found a little squirrel and fed it. It was not scared, it ate right out of her hand. Then we found this cool plaque thing in the ground.
We searched around a little bit more, and then we headed off to the South side. In the middle, between the two viewpoints, we encountered a family that had run out of gas.

They had not realized the gas light came on while ascending the mountain. Poor guys. So of course we helped them. At first we were just going to let them syphon some gas from us. We tried that, but it didn't work. I guess my car has an anti-syphon thing on it. Good to know. Anyway, they had a gas can, so I suggested that we go back into town and get the gas for them. They were so appreciative. But before we took off, we went to the South side to check out that viewpoint. It was a much cooler view over there. You could see Mt. Rainier, Seattle, Puget Sound, Bainbridge Island, the Kitsap Pennisula, the Silverdale Waterfront, Bremerton, and the Hood Canal all in one sight! It was truly awesome!

We spent some time on the south side with our new friends. We found out that they are from Bainbridge Island, and that we actually have friends in common! Small world! We talked for a while, and then we figured it was time to take off. So off we went back down the mountain. We got into Quilcene, and found out that the three gas stations they had, were all closed. Not closed as in the end of business day, closed like shut down, out of business. Well, that sucked. So we asked someone for the nearest gas station. They sent us up the road even further. They said 6 miles, but in actuality it was 12. We were sent up to Chimacum. Far from where we were and wanted to be. At this time, I told Andy we should have just gone south to Brinnon. I knew there was a gas station there. So anyways, we got the gas, and back we went, up the mountain again. The whole trip was 54 miles. Ugh! But it really was worth it to help someone in need. When we got back up there, an hour later, they started waving and cheering for our return. I was worried that they might have thought we ditched them, you know not knowing us and all. They were excited to see us. We told them of our adventure, and that we wanted to follow them back down the mountain to get to a gas station. We didn't think they would be able to make it into Chimacum (24 miles away), so I suggested we go to Brinnon (12 miles away), where we should have gone in the first place. They agreed, and off we went back down again. We followed them and made it there safely. We said our goodbyes and off they went, safe and sound. It was such an adventure. I only wish that if I were in that same situation, we would find the same kind of help! It was inspiring. Another adventure for the Happy Ketter Family!

Slip N Slide

A Special Thanks to my friend Debbie who bought the Slip N Slide for the girls.

Now, on a HOT day like we've been having, doesn't this look refreshing?

Thought so!

Illahee

Today was a freakishly hot day again. We had to go the doctors to get shots for Madeline, so she can go into Kindergarden next year. Syd and Kassie unexpectedly had to get shots too. I guess this year, the state changed the requirements of the shots kids have to get to enter school. They now need a second dose of the Chicken Pox vaccine. Syd and Kassie didn't have to get them, but to be on the safe side, they got them too. So, as a bribe/reward for doing so good, we went and got Coldstone for all of us. YUMMY! After that, it was still too hot to go home, so we went back to school shopping at the nice, cool, mall. :) (Insert facetiousness here.) I hate the mall. I go there once a year to buy school shoes. That's it. But since it was so hot, I gave in. Amazingly, we found some really great deals! After that, you guessed it, it was still too hot, so we went to Illahee State Park. At least being by the water it was 5 to 10 degrees cooler. (Hey, when it's this hot, I'll take anything cooler!)

Madeline fell asleep in the car, so when we got there she didn't want to play. She quickly changed her mind when we went down on the dock.

(Cue "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay")

Then Andy found some really cool drift wood.

They climbed on that for a while.

I found a tree trunk sticking out of the cliff.

Maddie and I posed for some pics.

Then it got cool enough that we were hungry, so we went home. Fun stuff, this 100 degree weather, I tell ya! NOT! :) Please make it go away!

Beaches

So yesterday it was 100+ degrees outside when I told Andy we needed to get out of this house.It was so hot that I couldn't breathe right. Seriously, I have never been so upset or scared about breathing in my life. So we decided to take a trip to the beach.
Well not just the beach, we decided to do "the loop." (US 101.) We went up to Port Angeles. Hung out there for a bit. Ate some food. Then we got back into the car and drove to Crescent Lake. Stopped there. Hung out by the lake for a bit. Took some pics.






Got back in the car. Drove to Forks. Saw the sign. Didn't stop. Who needs more Twilight stuff anyways? :) Drove some more.

This time to Kalaloch. Stopped. The sun had just set so the beach was littered with bonfires. Totally cool sight. Also, the tide was, about a football field long, out. We walked all the way out. You never know how small you really are until you stand next to the ocean. The moon was so bright on the water, it was awesome. We walked back to the bonfires. Climbed on some driftwood. I got upset because my camera battery had died. But, I managed to squeeze out one last pic of the girls on the driftwood before it did.
Climbed back up the beach, and got back in the car. Drove down the rest of the coast, into the Olympic National Forest, and onto Hoquiam/Aberdeen. Stopped in Aberdeen to get some snacks. Got back in the car, ate our snacks, and proceeded to drive the rest of the way back home. The girls passed out. Finally, peace and quiet. Just kidding :) Sydney was still awake. She kept us company until we got home. A very long, but fun day! I would rather be in the car for X hours with AC, than to be in a hot house. Plus, I love road trips, even if they are short ones.