We went camping at Mt Rainier Nat. Park this last weekend. We got stuck in traffic heading out of town, then had to take a detour on our way there, but we made it and got our camp set up just before dark. The weather was perfect for our weekend - just a sprinkle of rain on Friday night . . . which made it warmer in the evening and on Sat. morning. And we had plenty of sun on Sat. and Sun.
Both girls had a great time . . . sitting by the fire . . .
eating outside (I think they ate better while camping then they ever do at home; Hmm? Maybe we should try eating outside at home.) . . .
and going hiking.
Ken had found an "easy" hike to a waterfall for Sat. morning, but it turned out we got on the wrong trailhead, and ended up on a "strenuous" hike. It was all uphill . . . steep . . . with lots of switchbacks. But Amelia was a super-hiker. She hiked 1 mile up and 1 mile down all by herself, just holding my hand. She loved it! She would tell me she was tired and needed a break, but was ready to go again almost as soon as she stopped.
We didn't go all the way to the waterfall at the end of our "wrong" hike, but we enjoyed the waterfall we saw as we started and ended our hike.
Sophia got a "free" ride and Daddy's rhythm was just right for taking a nap.
That afternoon we drove up to Paradise to get a closer look at Mt. Rainier and go on a truly easy hike. However, the area was packed and we had to park downhill from the trailhead, which meant walking uphill just to get to the start of our hike.
Once we got on our "easy" hike, the flowers and views of the mountains were spectacular. The hardest part for Amelia? Not being able to pick the flowers. She was so sad. I told Amelia we'd take pictures of the flowers, then print them out for her to enjoy at home.
On this hike, I was really wishing I had a great camera. The views of Mt. Rainier were breathtaking, even if it was partially in the clouds, but my camera just doesn't do it justice. (Can you see the chunks of glacier ice on the mountain? - so cool)
Amelia wasn't as happy on this hike and often asked to be carried piggy-back. At one point, when I set her back down, she said to me, "is your back thanking you now?" :) I'm just glad I didn't have to carry Amelia on the "strenuous" hike.
The girls LOVED playing in the dirt around our campsite. And they probably also loved that I didn't get mad at them for getting dirty ;)
Amelia's favorite part of camping was roasting marshmallows . . . and being allowed to roast her own.
The next best part? Eating the s'more!
The s'more was too sticky for Sophia, so she made me hold it . . . and then only ate 1/2 of it. Hhm? I'm not sure if she's related to me or not ;)
Now those are some happy campers!
Ken says you can't go camping without roasting hot dogs. That's fine with me, as long as I don't have to eat one. Amelia wanted to be just like Daddy, and roast a hot dog too - and happily ate it straight off the roasting stick.
We woke up Sunday morning to beautiful blue skies, and a perfect view of Mt. Rainier. Too bad we didn't have time to go back up to Paradise for another close-up of Mt. Rainier.
But we had to hurry and break-down our camp so that we could go ride on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad. The girls were so excited to ride on a train . . .
and to get their tickets punched by the Conductor. The only thing they didn't like was the loud whistle.
The train runs from Elbe, WA to Mineral, WA and then back again. At Mineral, the train doesn't actually stop in the town, but rather at a train museum, of sorts, just outside of town. We spent 45 min. there - to play on train parts - while they turned the engine around.
This tractor on train wheels reminds me of the tractor that my Dad has . . . perfect for photo ops.
I think another reason the girls loved riding on the train was that they didn't have to sit in their carseats . . .
and could stick their heads out the windows ;)
Overall, a successful camping trip, despite my lack of sleep and forgetting my glasses (3 days of continuously wearing my contacts was long enough). The girls had fun, no one got hurt, and the weather was great. Can't wait to go next year (and Ken won't believe I just wrote that)!
Amelia LOVES blueberries, and yesterday we went to pick some. Our friend Jennifer told us about a blueberry "park" in Tacoma, where the blueberries are abundant and free for the picking. I've never picked blueberries before, and neither had Amelia, but she did great. She looks like I just caught her in the act of eating them . . . but actually, she was just asking me if the blueberry in her hand was blue enough to put in her bag.
Sophia helped pick too and was pretty good at it . . .
but it was a little bit harder for her to reach them.
On Monday, Sophia climbed out of her crib at nap time. So on Tuesday we moved her to a toddler bed. I wasn't really ready to do it this soon, and I don't think Sophia was either, but I didn't want her climbing out of her crib again. On Tuesday night I heard a little rustling outside of our bedroom door. I thought it was Amelia, but there sat Sophia - on the floor, outside our door, looking like she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Nap time and bed time have been a struggle all week, but I'm hopeful that it will get better. As it is, Amelia has been falling to sleep before Sophia . . . and that hasn't happened since Sophia was born.
I really like children's DVD's that have no previews on them and start on their own without having to press Play. Kudos to Baby Einstein and Signing Time for getting it right.
The other night at dinner, Amelia and Sophia were eating really good. When I complimented Amelia on it, she said to me, "I can't help it, it's so delicious". And what were we having for dinner? Broccoli with spinach and cheese soup. I love that they love good food.
I love getting a bargain, and I think garage sales, thrift stores, etc. are great, but when you're looking for specific items, it's a little like looking for a needle in a haystack - monotonous and rarely productive.
I have decided that I need training in order to potty train Amelia. I have no idea what I am doing or how to do it, despite having read multiple articles and suggestions. At 3 1/2 yrs old, I'm eager to get Amelia potty-trained. . . but she's not ready, so I wait and wonder and try to be supportive and encouraging.
Sophia is talking more and more and I always feel bad when I don't understand her. Amelia seems to understand her . . . or she's better at guessing.
I LOVE that Amelia and Sophia play so well together . . . and want to play together. They ride bikes, dig in the dirt, play pretend house/camping/etc., and whatever else they can do together. What a blessing it is for me that I don't have to entertain them all the time; they can entertain each other.
I signed Amelia up for a 4-week dance class. It starts next month. She loves to dance at home, and seems excited about the class; I'm hoping she'll enjoy it.
I'm playing the organ at church tomorrow. I practiced this week, but I haven't played in church for years and I'm a tad nervous. I even had a dream that I couldn't get the organ loud enough for people to hear.
Sophia has grown the few extra inches needed to be able to pedal the tricycle on her own. She is in heaven and loves riding bikes.
Amelia's 2nd trip to the dentist was even more successful than the first. Today she happily let the hygienist clean her teeth. Even I was amazed that she sat so still.
We went to the beach this past week for a Schnell family reunion and it was awesome. We had great weather, great food, and fun times. We stayed in Pacific City, right near this beach (Cape Kiwanda), and the girls loved it.
The girls always love playing in the sand and Sophia still likes to lay in it.
But they also had fun running on the beach. The water was cold, as always, but since it was super low tide, there were plenty of puddles and streams to run and splash in.
Cape Kiwanda has a huge sand hill. Amelia wanted to climb it, but we didn't make it very far. Frankly, I'm glad she didn't have the energy to go all the way to the top, because I'm pretty sure I didn't.
The weather was perfect for flying kites - very windy. Amelia got her first chance to fly her own kite and she was so excited . . . you can tell by the look on her face.
She did amazingly well . . . and loved it.
We went to a different beach on another day, but I wasn't as prepared for the girls to play, so it looked a bit like this (in my defense, I misunderstood where we were going - but the girls didn't seem to mind).
We also had a great time playing with Grandma Diane, Grandpa Ernie and our SoCal Schnell cousins.
When you get home from a vacation, it's nice to just unwind for a bit without doing too much - and that's just what we've done this last week . . . a lot of nothing. Ken had to work on July 4th, and the girls are scared of the loud noises that the fireworks make, so we didn't do anything to celebrate and it seemed like just another day of the week. I was a little sad by that fact, because I love July 4th and love celebrating anything patriotic. I tried to tell the girls about why we celebrate July 4th, have a flag posted in our yard, and why people shoot off fireworks . . . but I'm pretty sure most of it didn't sink it. In the meantime, I dressed the girls in Patriotic attire (they wanted their pictures taken next to the daisies and dandelions we had picked in our yard).
and took their picture next to the flag in our front yard - thank you Boy Scouts! But that was the extent of our celebration. Maybe next year will be better.
Meanwhile, in preparation for our camping trip next month, Ken set up our new 8-person tent and we slept overnight in our back yard. The girls loved playing in the tent - what kid doesn't?
Ken spent awhile pumping up this large air mattress, only to find out that it had a hole in it. Which is maybe a good thing, since Sophia kept rolling off of it. It took the girls quite awhile to go to sleep and they woke up with the sun, but they both slept through the night - and that's about as good as we can expect at this stage . . . so I guess we're ready!
We continue to have more flowers coming up in the flower beds. It's fun to see what will come up next. We have lilies (I think that's what these are) of all colors and in very random places in the yard.
And we have these. The leaves are tall and the buds are just now starting to open. And we have no idea what they are.
On our recent trip to UT to visit my parents, we didn't have much planned, but we found plenty to do. We visited the llamas next door.
Helped with the sprinkler pipes
Picked daisies
Did some mending for my mom
Colored with Grandma
Made silly faces
Played the piano for Grandma
Mommy got a break and went out to dinner with her best friends, without kids.
Watched Grandpa fix the toys we broke.
Played in the pool, because it was hot, hot, hot while we were there.
Took turns "driving" the tractor
And waved to Grandma as we went by.
But the best part of the vacation was spending time with my parents. It was a treasured visit.
We didn't get a lot of sleep on the trip, but Sophia often liked to pretend she was sleeping.
In 4 days of driving (2 each way), my girls slept a combined 2 1/2 hours in the car. It was such a rarity, that I had to take a picture of it for proof.
The girls did surprisingly well, despite their lack of sleep, but they did start to get a bit loopy on the way home. This video is of the girl's stuffed animals "talking" to each other.
