Ich liebe sommer.

"Deep summer is when laziness
finds respectability."
~Sam Keen

We just can't help it! We took another mini vacation. Sorry that is all my entries seem to be about these days, but alas...it IS summer!

This time we rented a cabin for a few nights near Leavenworth, Washington. It was nestled in the forest with a swift, shallow river right in our backyard.
It was fantastic. We had planned to spend a day visiting the small shop-lined Bavarian town, and maybe rent a raft to take a long float down the river.
Instead we were taken in by the beauty right in our backyard, and spent the whole time RELAXING.
We fished in the morning. The kids spent a few hours in the river, collecting big river rocks to make their own dam. We roasted hotdogs over the firepit for lunch, and spent some time in the hammock. We went inside for a few hours and read books and took naps. We eventually drove into the Bavarian town and got icecream and visited the toystore, but then came right back to the little cabin to enjoy more laziness outside. The stars were abundant and amazing. The kids enjoyed a bubbly dip in the hottub, and then we called it a night.
We couldn't believe we were only there a couple of days, it really seemed like we were there longer.
I love summer.

View from the top

Good news!
Trevor is back from his 2nd Mt. Rainier climb. Didn't I say there would have to be at least one more? Happily, they summited this time. He said it was the most physically challenging thing he has ever done. While doing the summit climb, they had steady, freezing winds that had gusts of over 60 mph. Yikes.
Yes, that is him brushing his teeth at the top. (Had to take that one for the office).
He returned home red-eyed and dead tired, but somehow in his zombie-like state we still drove out to see the new house progress (that update should be my next post), and as you can imagine he dropped as soon as he hit the bed.
I'm proud of him! Thanks for the picts Trev, as I will most likely never go up there to take them myself!

Where was Mr. Broccoli?

Maybe this is one of those things where "I guess you had to be there". I'll share anyway.
My sister and her family stayed with us the week of July 4th. She brought her A&E copy of Pride and Prejudice to share with me since I had never seen it before. While she was here, Monkey A and I watched the first half with her. We didn't get time to watch the rest, so she left it for MA and I to finish.

So the next day MA and I watched it together. When it was over, she turned to me and said, "That was such a good ending! I'm so glad that Lizzie and Mr. Darcy got together at the end."
"But Mom, why is it called "Pride and Produce"?

I am still laughing.

*Just a note - I did not make fun of my daughter, and we both laughed together when I explained her mistake to her. And I do not continue to bring it up to her either. It just pops into my head now and then, and I have to giggle. Out loud.

frog beach

We took a daytrip to Clear Lake, near Packwood. It was beautiful! We enjoyed a pic-nic lunch by the lake, then took a hike through the surrounding woods. We had to take a little detour down the road to get some mosquito repellant, but after everyone was sprayed down, we continued on.

The kids enjoyed trying to count tree rings and they were very excited over the tree we found that had been chewed down by a beaver. MC dug through the wood shavings, and found a beautiful piece of wood that she named "dove's wing" because of it's shape.

We found a bit of beach a little later that was covered with tiny baby frogs! They were the size of small crickets and there were thousands of them. The kids caught them and chased them, and we wondered at the way they would let the waves take them from the sand to the water where they would pump those little legs to try and swim. I've never seen anything quite like that before. There were just so many of them. So after naming the spot "frog beach", we left for home.

One of my favorite parts of the day had to be the drive through the forest though. You just can't beat the strong, heady smell of pine trees. The hint of woodsmoke mixed in added just the right touch, and made us vow that we will spend many more of our summer weekends in places like this.

I am a hamburger.

She is grilled chicken and I am a hamburger.
She is the perfect lemon bar and I am a killer brownie.
She is "Pride and Prejudice" and I am "X-Men".
She is a low laugh and I am a cackle.

We are both tea and toast for breakfast, NOT cereal.
We both avoid apple juice for fear of the same stomach ache.
Miles apart, we both choose the same fabric for our curtains and throw pillows.
We sound the same on the phone.
Family rules for both of us.
Rob Thomas rocks both our worlds.

We both have an incredible sister who is also a cherished friend.