Backpacking 2015

Ben was beyond excited when we found a little framed backpack that was just his size at the consignment shop in town.  Joe was pretty excited too.  This would be the first year that all four of our little people were carrying their own gear:  backpacks, food, clothes, water, all of it!  Sara and Ben's pack tapped out at 10ish lbs.  Kayte was pretty close to 17 or 18, Will's was pushing 25, which was just about where mine was at.  Joe's was super-light at around 35.  His first year was 60+, because of all the extra kid stuff he added on.  It was a tough haul, even so.  We did 18 miles in 3 days, and one vertical mile.  Two-thirds of that time we were packing.  But it was worth it.  Not just for the views and the conquering, but the lake trout!  So yum!!

Ben says bring it.

First break.  Very hot.

Will is carrying his own fishing gear, better believe it.

A toad, the size of my fist.

Nursing the wounds at the top.

At Wallowa it was still legal to do campfire which was nice.  We never really got cold enough to need it, but it sure helped out with our trash disposal.  This was definitely our warmest, driest trip to date.

The view from my tent in the AM.

The view of the boys bringing home the early morning fish.

We headed out for a day hike and on the far side of the lake was an old mine with lots of outbuildings.  Including this little cabin open to all visitors.

Headed to the top!

We found a patch of snow!!  Dad had koolaid, of course, so there were snow cones!

The lake for lunch.

YES!  This was soooo good.

....and this!  This was soooo cold.  Sara was the only one who could get in without a sound at all.  Everyone else was whooping and hollering!  It just felt good to be so clean.

 

More fish.  And that reflection!!

The crew.  It was awesome to have my aunt Julie and cousin Bobby along for the second year in a row!  Now they are tradition that we can't do without.  An element of fun!

The hike home was hot and fast and we rewarded ourselves with a smorgasbord of hamburgers and wings and pizza and soda and ice cream and candy and chocolate cake.  And we so deserved it!

And a little nap, too.

Dworshak trip.

YES!!  It was that time again!  Family camping trip to Dworshak!  We had the best weather, no bees, sadly, no campfires, and well, a bit of an intermission.

We had a lacrosse game one night that we simply could not miss, so we played real hard all day, and then got back in the car for a little rest-up before our games that night.

The boys both won their games, so it was totally worth it.

We resisted temptation to sneak back to our beds and headed back to the cabin.  Which was good, cause next morning was pancakes in the sunshine!

Oh yes.  We brought the dog.  Pretty sure that was a first and a last.  She's a sweetie, but let's face it, we are pretty maxed out on the boat already.

Cozy cozy!

Dinner!  Man, I love this crew.  Such a fun weekend.



Sara's first time at camp!

Sara talked me into letting her go to camp.  I can't believe it!  She's so little!  She caught a ride down with friends so I had to take her to lunch to get my fill of her first!

What??!?  Such a big girl!

....just a little tuckered out when she got home.  Which was perfectly fine with me.

The many faces of Ben.

The puppy dog.  He works on perfecting this one pretty constantly.

Down the laundry chute.

Studious? Nope, the iPad.  Probably the Adventures of Chima.

Inventor.  He made a donut.  All by himself.

Kayte went to camp....

....again!  She was gone way too much this summer, it killed me!

This one she paid for by doing lemonade/brownie stands with Sara all summer lacrosse season.  She does love a good adventure with friends!

 

 

My occasional running buddy.

She just drives me crazy, though.  Eighty degree heat and I'm killing myself out there, and she plods along in first gear like it's no big thing.  Not a winning quality in a running partner.

Lacrosse!!

Oh my goodness!!!  We wait all year for this!

Summer lacrosse was on the brink of extinction this year, which just simply could not be!  So Joe, our resident hero, stepped in and resuscitated it!  There was a huge turnout this year, and we just had the best time!  Will is my little rockstar, and Ben, the social one, is definitely starting to come into his own.  He's far too friendly to have a killer competitive side, but he might just have some skill to make up for it.  Will on the other hand, is out for the win, every time.  The kid can't even eat before a game.  It's just so awesome.

Joe didn't officially coach this year, but he stepped in to sub in every area...including ref.  It was busy times!

 A little sibling backyard practice.  I just love brothers!

Speaking of fashion....

I cannot even pretend to be this cool.

Game on.

So.  One of my kids tends to be extremely particular about he/she dresses. This particular someone has a fashion sense that I simply cannot get on board with sometimes. 

So.  Occasionally.... if I see a favored accessory lying around I might just tuck it in a drawer somewhere, hoping that it might be forgotten before it is remembered missing.  (Mom of the Year was never going to be mine anyway.  You know it.)

So as I was running around the other day frantically tidying up for some reason or another, I found my own little favorite summer accessory tucked back here:

 

I couldn't stop laughing.

Well played, little friend.  Well played.

Fourth of July...continued.

We never are very good at squeezing in a whole holiday of fun in just one day.  July 5th.  Watched the sun light on fire and then disappear into the horizon.  Started up a few more fireworks.  Movie/date night on the sleeping porch. 

We lived it up this summer.