Summer at Mt. Rainier

We had a gorgeous day on Saturday and decided to spend it in the mountains. So, we went to Mount Rainier. And believe it or not, we didn't see a single cloud in the sky.



We started by driving in through Enumclaw and heading up towards Sunrise. We missed the opening of Sunrise by 3 days though - it doesn't open till July 1. Instead we veered off toward White River and hiked our cooler down to the river bank to have lunch. We crossed the bridge and even got our feet wet a bit to cool off.




We continued our journey by heading towards Paradise.




Along the way we saw several run-off waterfalls. With the long and crazy spring there is still A LOT of snow and it seemed that in many places the spring run-off was just getting underway now that the weather has warmed up a bit (it was 80-90 degrees on the mountain).

We saw one waterfall falling onto the road a bit, so Sierra and I got out to take a bit of a shower.



Reflection lake was still frozen over, so we got out and played in the snow for a little while. Sort of ironic how Sophie's first experience with snow is in June.




We continued to Paradise, where Sierra picked up and began working on her Junior Ranger booklet. With a view like this, can you even doubt why they call it Paradise?

After looking around the visitors center a bit and watching a video about the mountain, we took off to a campground to participate in a ranger activity to complete the junior ranger requirements. The ranger discussed the animals of Mt. Rainier and how they survive and then took the kids on a sort of scavenger hunt in a neighboring campsite. When they were done, Sierra had all of her activities completed and was sworn in as a junior ranger for Mt. Rainier.


We saw some wildlife through the day. We saw a couple of spruce grouse at Paradise. They are very similar to chicken, although as we were looking up exactly what kind of bird it was, the website did say that although it is a game bird that can be cooked like chicken, it doesn't taste like chicken. :) We also saw several deer. Sierra counted 6. The deer in this photo was next to the road eating and we had to slow down quickly as we came around the bend. It looked up as I snapped the picture and then turned and walked away.



It was a wonderful day. It is great to get to experience the wonderful scenery that Heavenly Father has given us and to be in nature. It really makes you feel close to Him. It was also a great time to build family memories. We all enjoyed it very much - even Sophie.

A Lazy Saturday

We had a wonderfully relaxing Saturday this past weekend. The best part (for me anyways) was waking up to the sounds of Sierra cleaning the kitchen without being asked. What a wonderful surprise that was. I understand a bit more why that always pleased Mom. We lazed around the house for most of the day. Sierra had a few friends over - Celeste, Olivia and Jessica. They enjoyed playing in and out of the house and even got the hose out and got wet for a bit. I grabbed the camera when I saw Sierra pretending to pee with the hose, but missed the shot. I got a few others instead. They sure had fun....




Sophie, on the other hand, did not have friends over. She did, however, enjoy playing on the floor with Mom and her teddy bears. The teddy bears are perfect - just enough to hold on to, but not so much that she can't get them into her mouth. There are 5 teddy bears that came in a little beehive, meant for little kids to practice emptying and picking up. While not taken the same day, the last picture is what Sophie managed to do shortly after waking up from a nap while the beehive was in her crib. We found her like that extremely frustrated that she couldn't move her arm. Let this be a lesson - don't stick your arm inside a beehive! :)

Happy Fathers' Day to Brian from Sierra

Sierra wrote a poem for Brian for Fathers' Day. We thought it was very cute and Brian suggested we share it with you.

IF I COULD GRANT A WISH FOR YOU

If I could grant a wish for you,

I would a thrill or two.

May you be a football star,

May you have a brand new car.

May you work out and not be fat,

May you have a big, fluffy cat.

May you have a new, working bike,

May you go to the beach and fly a kite.

May you not have to get up so early,

May you go to Hawaii, surely.

May you have a behaving dog,

May the bathtub not have a clog.

Sierra's Band Concert

So it's been just over a week since our last post and almost two weeks since Sierra's band concert, so I figured I was due to update. Her concert was great. She's had so much fun performing and it's been a lot of fun for me to see her enjoy what I love so much. She played clarinet in the 5th grade band and sat either first or second chair all year. Her music teacher also put together a volunteer drum ensemble. Both groups performed at the concert and it was a lot of fun to see her. Here are the songs she performed.

Her teacher talked about one of the songs, "More Cowbell", which was based on a Saturday Night Live skit. If you're not familiar with it, here it is:

Sophie Update

I don't know how many of you have asked for more pictures of Sophie. I guess I didn't realize how long it's been since I updated about her. She has recently found her voice and has begun chewing and drooling on her hands. And the best news of all is that it looks like we might finally be weaned from the breast shield she's been attached to. FINALLY!!!

Stephanie, this picture has to go in the next calendar. Daddy and Sophie playing at the computer.

We got her room set up and she enjoys laying in there talking to herself in the mirror.

I think she really looks like Sierra in this picture:

She wakes up happy (I wonder who she gets that from) and will usually talk to you and smile at you when you come in to pick her up. However, the morning I had the video camera... not so much. She did, however start talking to the camera when I started changing her diaper. (Happy when the clothes come off. Who does she get that from???)

Honey Gram sent a box of headbands and bows, one of which she wore today to go out to lunch with Grammy.

After Sophie's nap, the girls gave me a card and some gift cards for my birthday. They love me. :)