Summer Camp 2015

Whoa nelly, peeps. We just got back from a crazy camping weekend with friends up on the Mountain Loop Highway.

Here are the stats:

-12 adults.
-10 kids (ranging in age from 1 - 4).
-One group campground on the Stillaguamish River in the North Cascades.


Sounds like a recipe for chaotic trip, yes?

Heck yeah.

But in a fantastic, crazy, hilarious way. It was pure, unadulterated chaos. 

I have such fond memories of going camping with my family and friends when I was a little one and am thus determined to recreate this experience for my own children. So we persuaded family friends  to join us on a group camping trip at the end of July.

I was a little bit nervous prior to the trip. We were the common hub amongst all the families; what if not everyone jelled? Six four-year-olds (plus younger siblings) could very well be a recipe for disaster.

What if the bugs were horrible and it rained the entire time?

How many kids were going to fall in the river?

I shouldn’t have worried.

The big kids turned into a roving pack that tumbled through the camp like tasmanian devils.  They laughed, they bounced, they fought, they made up, and then they did it all over again.

And loved it. Wee ones are perfectly suited to grubby camping.

And the adults traded off on kid duties, cooked up group meals, and discussed the finer points of campfire building. 

Another happy little grubber. 

I am a new convert to group meals. Each family was responsible for providing one meal for the trip for the entire crew. You know me, peeps, I’ll do anything I can to get out of cooking three meals a day while on vacation (or at home, for that matter). 

Our camper build-out is 95% complete. We now have shades on the windows, which means I don’t have an audience when using the pot. Yessss.

Emma rolled out of bed the first night, which wasn’t great, but we made a few modifications for Night #2 and she slept like a champ. Which made this mama happy because I didn’t have a kicking, squirming baby that came into my sleeping area in the wee hours of the morning. Definitely a win.

This was our 4th camping trip this summer and I’m finally feeling like we’re getting the hang of it. Baby steps, peeps!

On Saturday, the whole crew did a 4 mile hike, and the kiddos spent most of it running up the trail. Our family did this hike back in March and practically had to drag Ben up the last quarter mile. Not the case this time around. Friends are good for keeping the enthusiasm levels high. Especially for my fiercely competitive son.

I love this picture of K. She’s a glorious little forest nymph. 

Classic four year old boy, right?!

At last, our lake!

The awkwardly named but beautiful Beaver Plant Lake. Still one my most favorite hikes on the Mountain Loop Highway.

Another perk of this camping trip? Having a professional photographer along for the ride!! Bronwen Houck is a fellow mom, friend, and fantastically talented photographer. These photos were all taken by her and you may remember her work from our holiday card last year. That’s her daughter K, down below, striking a pose with Ben and E.

This little baby girl is rocking those shades. Looking good, Em!

A rest break for some wild blueberry picking.

Back at camp the kids hung out and relaxed after the big hike. Two year old C, below, kept everyone entertained as comedian of the group. Emma was enthralled by his antics.

I am now convinced that a hammock is the most import piece of camp gear ever. This thing is like a non-human babysitter. Good for hours of fun.

And then it was time for a little swimming.  Coal Creek campsite has a fantastic water hole. The water was freezing but weirdly bearable after a while. Perhaps we were just numb.

These brave kiddos were totally killing it. Cowabunga!

Everyone was moving slowly on Sunday morning. We had a gradual wake-up, which included copious quantities of hot cocoa and story time. For both the kids and the story-teller (me). 

Emma got milk drunk and fell in the (cold, not lit) fire pit. E is admiring her bravery. Or the fact that the palms of her hands are solidly black from the soot.

I think that Coal Creek might just be my favorite group campground ever. The small stream was perfect for the kids, it was private, there was nearby hiking, and the swimming hole was a nice perk after a sweaty day spent on the trails. 

Love this crazy family of mine. Two days of grubby camping, poor sleep, and way too many smores, yet we’re still having the time of our lives.

The whole gang.

Can’t wait for next year.

xo,

Sonja

PS: By my count, there were at least four accidental river dunkings. :)

A Night On The Town

When my mother offered to have the kids stay at her house for a slumber party, I accepted, as they say, with alacrity. Chris was on the East Coast for work, Emma was teething, and Ben was perfecting his signature “You Can’t Make Me” attitude that infects every preschooler on occasion. In short, I was maxed out, in a way that anyone with young children will immediately understand. 

That afternoon, in a moment of pure serendipitous luck, The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle called to see if we’d be interested in spending the night at their iconic Elliott Bay establishment. 

Why, yes. Will you let me come this minute?

I refuse to use the word ‘staycation’ but given that blissful-night-away-from-screaming-toddlers is a bit verbose, we’ll just settle for ‘exceptional mini vacation’. 

The view from our room. Anyone interested in a dip?

The Edgewater Hotel is where my beloved godmother Laurie was married when I was 10 years old. I was so excited for her upcoming nuptials that I magnanimously offered to serenade the bride and her father on clarinet as they walked down the aisle during the ceremony. In a move that will perfectly illustrate how much I adore my godmother, Laurie graciously accepted, despite knowing full well the extent of my clarinet skills. 

My Dears, I’m quite sure that such a rousing rendition of Hot Cross Buns has never before reverberated through the hallowed halls of the Edgewater's banquet room. 

Fortunately, I wouldn’t know. 

To hear Laurie recount the tale, I called her up a few days before the wedding to tell her that my musical masterpiece wasn’t quite ready, and that perhaps she’d best settle for the traditional wedding march after all. I would be happy to be a flower girl, however.  

 In case you were wondering, I killed it in the flower girl department.

Anyway, suffice to say, it’s been a few years since I’ve been at the Edgewater so we were happy to accept their offer. We dropped the kids off at my mom’s house and made a beeline downtown. 

I had grand plans for our little get-away that included a walk down the waterfront promenade, a trip to the aquarium, a ride on the Seattle Great Wheel, and a mosey through Pike Place. I even looked into Riding The Ducks. You know, all the touristy things you aren’t supposed to do because you live here and have to maintain your local coolness factor. 

That is, until I saw that our room came equipped with an old claw foot tub and a fire place. Ahem. Sometimes the best laid plans are meant to be discarded in favor of a good soak and a magazine. Especially if they’re not going to be interrupted by screaming toddlers. 

By the way, that wee beastie peering out from in front of the fireplace is a faux bear footstool, much better than an actual specimen, in my humble opinion. When we first walked in, I thought they’d given us the wrong room; one that was already occupied by another hotel guest and his pet. But no, it’s thoroughly fake. And they can be purchased in the gift shop, incidentally.

We did make it out to the Olympic Sculpture Park for a nice little pre-dinner amble and you should definitely head that way if you haven't been by recently. But we couldn’t tarry for long as we had reservations at Six Seven and is doesn’t do to be late when food is headed in your direction. 

Being hardy Pacific Northwesterners, we opted for the exterior Bay-side deck. It was gorgeous out and the sun was blazing down behind the Olympic Mountains. Fifteen minutes into the main course however, the sun officially set, the wind came up, and we froze. 

At which point the staff turns on the heaters and brings out blankets (!) for us poorly-clothed diners. Decadent, no?! 

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Chris and I usually lean towards seafood for appetizers: roasted Penn Cove mussels with caramelized onions and smoked bacon, followed by a soft Dungeness crap and shrimp cake. Scrumptious. The mussels were some of the best I’ve had in a very long while.

Chris continued the seafood trend by ordering the seared scallops with wild mushrooms for his entrée.  I opted for an enormous braised lamb shank with gnocchi and root vegetables. It was fantastic...and I had leftovers for both lunch and dinner the next day. Always a win, yes?!

I wish we could say we headed out to party the night away at local Seattle bars and clubs...but a good snooze for a sleep-deprived parent is not to be missed. 

The next morning, Chris walked up the hill to his office while I went off to collect the munchkins from Grandma’s house. A quick but delightful intermission from daily life. 

xo, 

Sonja

My Dears, this post was sponsored by the Edgewater Hotel. As always, all opinions are exclusively our own.

From the Blog O Sphere

My Dears,

I hope you’re having a fantastically stupendous week. We’re aiming for survival. Yep, it’s one of those weeks.

But in great news, Emma is back to sleeping through the night (huzzah!) and Ben started swim lessons. We were at BBQ last weekend with a six year-old who was showing off his mad swimming skills in the pool; Ben was terribly envious. Time to get this little fish back in the water.

[update: I should never ever, ever celebrate when Emma sleeps through the night because clearly she reads those words and is like: “I think it would be fun to mess with her. I’ll wake up three times tonight!”]

Also, remember when I said (months ago) that our upstairs bathroom remodel was going to be a ‘quick project’? Ha. That would be funny except that it’s still torn to pieces and I have nobody to blame but myself. In other words, I want my bathtub back.

Ben, on the other hand, is kind of digging the temporary arrangement.

Here is the latest and greatest from around the web:

Cross-time photos show Seattle past and present. 

Kids' Perception Of Parents' Favoritism Counts More Than Reality

Are you the favorite child? I definitely was. Of course, I was also the least favorite too, by default. Such is the plight of the only-child. :)

I’m mystified by this product (and its official name): NFL Ugly Sweaters. 

Giving Good Praise to Girls: What Messages Stick

My friend sent this out a few years ago but last week when a sick Ben squirreled his way into our bed, I was reminded again of its truthfulness: Baby Sleeping Positions. Can we add “the Marathon”? ‘Cause Ben seriously runs a race (complete with wild arm and leg gyrations) when sleeping. Not cool, sickie. 

The Entrepreneur Who Wants to Save Paradise. I sympathize with both sides of the dispute but from a terribly selfish standpoint, I desperately want to visit this national park in Patagonia. Would it help if I promised to spend $$ in the local town for food and lodging? 

In keeping with the South American theme:  Is this the world’s most radical president?

Advertisers, It’s Like They Know Us. Because my family looks like this all the time. 

The Most Terrifying Thing About Ebola

It is the Year of the Baby! So excited for all my preggo friends. For the science-y minded gals, they need this awesome baby book. 

Sometimes I have a hard time writing a blog about the mundane happenings of our little life here in Seattle when I feel like events around the world are so important (and heartbreakingly awful). I can’t shake this gloomy outlook on humanity recently, especially as I feel like women, here (but mostly abroad) are under attack. Why the brutality? 

I could post a million links here but I’ll settle for just two:

What the Threats Against Emma Watson Mean for Women All Over the World

And, a little food for thought (thanks, P):

Does Islam Promote Violence? 

Peace, 

Sonja

PS: For those people living in Seattle with kids: Tickets for the ever-popular holiday Santa Train are now on sale. We just signed up for the first time; can’t wait!

Also, it’s salmon season in Seattle. We’re planning on visiting the Issaquah Fish Hatchery this month to check out the tasty aquatic beasties. 

Hikes - Lund’s Gulch (Lynnwood, WA)

We decided to shake things up a bit and explore to a new outdoor locale. Unwilling to drive up Highway 2, we instead headed for Lynnwood.


Lynnwood, you say? The heart of Suburbia?



Yes. And this tiny urban trail, while busy, is a nice little gem of a park, complete with forests, streams, a spooky tunnel, train tracks, and a beautiful little beach on Puget Sound.

All in, it’s about 2.5 miles roundtrip. Here are some additional details, including current trip reports and driving directions. 

Morning fog. I was going to title this ‘early morning fog’ but that would be bending the truth significantly: we never make it anywhere before 10 am these days... such is life with kids. 

Passing under the train tracks in the ’spooky tunnel’ according to Ben. It’s made slightly complicated by the fact that the river also runs in the same tunnel.

At last! The beach.

 And trains. A toddler-pleasing slam dunk.

Whoohoo trains!!! (never mind that this one was a much-disputed coal train). 

Baby Emma wasn’t so impressed with the trains.

Rocks? My Favorite!

 Flora! Fauna! Hooray for banana slugs.

Give ‘em a lick and your tongue will go numb (unsubstantiated). Anybody ever tried this? Ten points for you. Hmm. Shall we add it to the bucket list?

The leaves, they are a changing’, my dears. Fall is upon us.

Much love, 

Sonja

If You Go:

Lund’s Gulch at Meadowdale Beach Park

Rating: Easy. 

Distance: 2.5 Miles, roundtrip.

Elevation Gain: 400 feet

Highlights: A beautiful beach, babbling brook, and massive stumps leftover from settler days. 

Dislikes: Fairly busy on a Sunday morning.

Tips:

• Parking is free but the lot does fill up (by 11:30 there were cars waiting for our spot). There is an additional lot down by the ranger’s house (close to the beach) that is also accessible if you’re not interested in the hiking bit.
• You could do this trail with an adventurous-type stroller (BOB) as it’s smooth and wide (with few tree roots), but the uphill return trip would be a slog. I’d recommend the baby backpack route.
• The trail splits near the bottom of the hill; choose either route as both lead to the beach. 
• Save a bit of water (and energy) for the last mile home; it’s almost all up hill out of the gulch.