Five Days at Brookings with Spouse and Offspring

After a day in the van, we were happy to finally find the ocean.

Soon everything we owned was wet, 

and sandy. 

While there, the kids wanted to see a redwood, so we took a hike.

 

Almost all survived. We lost Ethan at some point due to a wicked sunburn on his feet.

We also spent a lot of time at the tide pools. I have no pictures of Ethan, but many of Alia. We did bring Ethan with us. Alia was just much more likely to humor me.

 

An insane amount of starfish.

 

Lots of beautiful sunsets

with the people 

who were willing to make the hike.

Worth it!

We found a river that was slightly warmer than the ocean. So of course there was more swimming. 

We couldn't go home without some souvenir shopping, which ended in ice cream.

While we waited for our cones, we took a couple pictures.

And of course there were amazing views and hikes.

One hike even ended with a surprise yonic sculpture.

Unpictured: foggy firework display over the 4th, visit to the laundromat, eating fish and chips, the rented yurt, campfires, myrtle trees, and Ethan.

Montana and Emmett

Michael and his sisters headed to Montana to celebrate their cousins wedding. 

They had a great road trip, celebrated a great event, and only did minimal damage to the mini van.

While they were gone, my niece called me to see if I was interested in joining her on a trip to the Emmett Cherry Festival. The venue wasn't as pretty as where Michael was, but the company was mighty fine. And exceedingly energetic. Three nieces, two great nephews, a goofy son, and a barely visible sister were all ready to get the party started.

While most of the party went on rides, my sister, the littlest person and I went to the petting zoo. I have no complaints.

They Just Keep Leaving Me

Despite my unwillingness to let my children grow up, they insist on doing just that.

And they choose to surround themselves with a bunch of lovely people while doing so. Be still my heart. I cry when I see this picture as these people are already scattering across the country. 

They did help paint my shed during Libby's grad party, so I have something to remember them by. Libby will always be mine, but it's hard to see her group of friends scatter. I love, love, love her entourage.

The day after graduation, Libby and Sammy loaded up in the van, grabbed a tent (but forgot the stakes), packed some food (but forgot all the dishes and can opener) and headed to Yosemite to celebrate their new freedom. They had a great time, got in a couple of arguments, and didn't get eaten by a bear. Adulthood is looking pretty good.

Fourteen in May

 How can you not love this girl leaning into her teen years?

So Behind

I have almost given up on blogging, but not quite. Not quite. So what follows will be a lot of brief posts to play some sort of catch up. No promises are being made about future posts. We will see how it goes.