Hike to Lake Minotaur

Kent and I took the kids on a challenging hike up to Lake Minotaur.  It was quite the climb with a restless boy on your back!  We occupied Oliver with a stick in his hand.  Every tree trunk that came by we encouraged him to take his frustrations out on it!  It seemed to work.

Finally, the lake!

Snow, in August!

There is nothing like soaking your feet in an alpine stream.  Pretty amazing experience, for a four year old!

Kent attempted to catch a fish, no luck here.

The kids get dum-dum's on the way back!  What a treat!

Dirty dirty, seems to be a theme this summer.  MANY loads of laundry!

Silver Falls Camping

We headed up the Entiat Valley for a one night camping trip.  Sounds so short, but we did so much in that time!  So worth it!

We had SO MUCH SPACE.  I love this place!

Silver Falls has a great hiking trail following the waterfall up the mountain.  Really beautiful hike for families.

Progress!

The workers removing the roof on the back side of the house.

Oliver and Brooke love helping in the kitchen.  We made treats for the workers.  Oliver likes to say, "Make cones!  Make cones!"  (Make scones)

Brooke took swim lessons at our local pool.  They were wonderful!  Brooke's teachers were both members of Kent's bands and were amazing with the kids.

Kent was super busy this summer too.  He did the finishing touches on the house.  We never had any venting on the roof, so this was a good thing to have done. 

Soon followed by white paint!

New Roof!

Most of the summer was spent working on our house!  The major renovation was a new roof.  Here the guys were taking off the three layers of roofing.

It was a dirty HOT job.

The kids got dirty too!

On a cleaner note, we played up in Chelan at the Bach Festival.  My mom helped watching the kids while we were able to play in a wonderful orchestra.

Our final concert was so beautiful.  You can't beat this location for an outdoor concert.

10 on 10

This is my first attempt at posting a "10 on 10" blog post. Ten photos on the tenth of the month.  I know, I know, I'm already two days late! Here are a few of my favorite photos from our trip to Kettle Falls. Brooke and Oliver had a fabulous time visiting their Grandparents. And yes, eight out of the ten have my darling children in them... I don't think that is breaking any rules, is it?!

Welcome!

The kids loved their "nests" on the floor. Looks comfy!

Kitty + Oliver = Sweetness

Fresh eggs.

Huckleberry picking.

New playgrounds to explore.

Sandy beaches ready to be scooped!

I often forget how small they really are!

Fishing practice.

Lake Chelan

We headed up to Lake Chelan today to calm Caitlin's anxieties about the ChelanMan Triathlon coming up.  I don't see why she can be nervous about it, she has been training on some of the most challenging hills and incredible lengths lately!  But, it was fun to check out the 23 mile course along Lake Chelan.

While we took our 1 1/2 bike trip, Kent played with the kids at the lake.

They made a great sandcastle.

These kids LOVE digging!

Both kids were begging to swim, so we let them get into the water for some chilly floating!

They had constant smiles on their faces!

So did their Daddy!  It did get pretty cold, so we quickly got them out and dry on the beach. We just love Lake Chelan, it's so beautiful and only an hour away!

Hidden Lake Hike

Every year we try to hike to Hidden Lake.  The hike is so short (1 mile total) that it's perfect for kids.  Both kids hiked all the way to the lake.

We stopped and took a short break under a tree!

Kent spotted two snakes hanging out in the grass near the lake.

The kids did some "fishing" at the lake.  Brings lots of memories of my "fishing poles" that I made as a child in Alaska.

Kent promised the kids a fish, so here it was!  A beautiful brook trout. 

The kids got a sucker to keep them busy on the way back to the car.  We had to make up time because Caitlin had ridden her bike all the way to Plain and I was going to join her on the way back to Cashmere.  Caitlin rode 50+ miles on her bike!

On the walk back our conversation went something like this...

Me: "Brooke, do you remember what type of fish Daddy caught?"

Brooke: "... a 'Brooke' trout!"

Oliver: "ME trout!!!"