Christmas in July

Oh wait that's actually July at Christmas time. Yes me the all time slacker is back bringing you an extremely long post about all we did in July. There are lots of pictures so I will try to use few words.

Up first we had a family reunion. We went up to Washington to Olympic park. (I kept a brochure so I could remember the names of all the places we went but I can't seem to find it.) We stayed in some cabins that were right on a lake. It was a glacier fed lake so the water was clear and cold.

Mackenzie loved feeding the duck and her ducklings.

All the cousins were nice enough to let her tag along. She wanted to be doing everything the older "kids" were doing.

We went on a hike through a rain forest to a waterfall.

We went to some tide pools. Thanks Jessie for taking care of Mackenzie. On all our vacations this year Mackenzie really didn't want to have anything to do with her Mom or Dad but would attach herself to some other adult.

We went and relaxed at the cabins. I love the picture of Ethan with his tongue sticking out. Yes Mackenzie did convince me to play in the chilly water.

Mackenzie also wanted to take some pictures.

The next day we went to the top of a mountain. It was beautiful but cold.

At one overlook you could see Canada.

Also in July our Ward went to Martins Cove and did a Pioneer Treck. We did some Caravanning with neighbors and had a lot of fun driving out there. When we got there we set up had some dinner and went to bed. It was a lot colder that night then it was supposed to be. I ended up bringing both kids into my sleeping bag. (that could be the reason I look angry in all the pictures taken of me) The next day we pushed a handcart around and saw Martins Cove. I think that we all felt the spirit of the place. We also did a river crossing which felt good because it was a very warm day. By the end of the day Ethan was tired of riding in the cart so I carried him. He fell asleep and my arms were dead by the time we got back to the parking lot. The next day was cloudy and just a little rainy but not too bad heat/cold wise. We did several river crossings that day and also had a womens pull up a hill (which for me I think was the time I felt the spirit the strongest.) A little side note, I had a camera but never got it out so the majority of these pictures were taken by the Moses family who were our cart mates. I love the picture of the two babies sleeping.

These are the only two pictures I took with our camera. It was the end of the first day and everyone was tired.

Other things that happened Brian took Ethan on his first Motorcycle ride.

Ethan decided to carry things around in his mouth andn refused to take a nap one day and fell asleep at dinner.

Last of all Ethan is just cute and fun to watch exploring his world.