The Wisdom of Daddy: Creative Excursions

It’s amazing what happens when I’m out of the picture and my husband has the kids an entire day or over a weekend. Some of the activities he comes up with are downright brilliant.

Most recently, he took the kids to Oak Creek Wildlife Viewing Area in Naches, Washington. “Huh? Where is that?” You ask? My thoughts exactly…  but boy was I surprised when they returned with great pictures, interesting facts, and lively stories.

Rocky Mountain Elk are the main attraction at this Wildlife Area (though you can go to another part to see Bighorn Sheep as well) and all it takes is a Washington State Discover Pass and calling (509) 653-2390 in advance to make a reservation if you want to take a guided truck tour (these tours are also available on a first-come first-serve basis but it's worth it to make a reservation if you can). As long as you're willing to head to Eastern Washington (near Yakima) in January or February and don't mind waiting around in the cold a bit, you're almost guaranteed to see Elk... and I'm talking about a LOT of Elk, and many with enormous antlers.

These Elk roam in from the neighboring mountains in search of food and apparently there can be up to 1,200 of these massive mammals at the feeding station at a time. Almost 100 miles of 8-foot-high fence was built in the 1940s to keep the Elk from devouring the acres of orchards in this region and every Winter this feeding station supplements the Elks' diet.

Even with two tour jeeps carrying curious folks in to get a closer look, a decent effort is made to keep a respectful distance from these still very wild animals. However, some of the Elk are just as curious as the visitors so there is a chance of up-close viewing. The male bull Elk with their enormous antlers can actually be very territorial (meaning aggressive) so it is essential to follow the rules while visiting.

The free tour even came with a big button displaying an Elk (but please don't call it a button, my kids are quite certain it is a very special badge).

Let It Snow... and Rain and Freeze

Local newscasters dubbed our recent storm “Winter Extreme” and “Slushmageddon.” Call it what you will, our days of snow and freezing rain was a brutal combination.

Like so many storms, it started as a gorgeous Winter Wonderland. A lovely dusting of snow fell on Sunday and we treasured the brightness and muffled quiet it draped over our yard and woods.

It wasn't much snow on that first day but certainly enough for sledding

Daddy gives Sara a boost

It didn't take long for our hill to turn to a slushy, muddy mess but that didn't stop our kids

The girl loves to lay in the snow

The boy loves to walk in the woods

They both love being goofy

More snow came on MLK Day (no school) and we spent almost the whole day outdoors. Bundled up in our coziest gear, we sledded down every vertical surface in the neighborhood.

Despite all of the fun we had on Monday, William cried when he heard that schools were closed on Tuesday due to road conditions; that boy loves Kindergarden. Later, it warmed up and rained, making the streets safe for us to get around. Considering the forecast, I figured we better get out while we could. Sara missed her morning preschool but made up for it by joining William all afternoon in his Kindergarten Enrichment program and I made a trip to the grocery store.

We woke to several inches (and more snow falling) on Wednesday. Naturally, more sledding ensued plus we made more snow angels, snowmen and snowladies, caught snowflakes on our tongues and tried to check them out under magnifying glasses after letting them fall on cold black paper. However, the unusually powdery small flakes didn’t show much shape under our magnifiers… later those flakes turned to freezing rain, driving all of us indoors for hot cocoa.

Aren't hummingbirds amazing? How do these little guys stay warm in weather like this?!

The hummingbird feeder was frozen solid the following morning. When I went out to retrieve the feeder and warm it up, I noticed a shiny thick layer of ice atop the snow and ice coating everything. This is when things started to get interesting…

Rob returned from his morning run (no, this dedicated runner doesn’t let ice or snow or freezing rain stop him) with reports of transformers blowing and flaming power lines down across the street with neighbors hollering “TURN BACK!!!!” as he calmly jogged along. Not that it stopped him from going again the next day, even he admitted, “yeah, it really wasn’t a good morning for running.”

The kids loved walking on top of the snow with their feet only breaking through every fourth or fifth step with a satisfying crunch. And the big sheets of ice were great fun for them to shovel, lift and break and even taste…   

Sitting on a snow bench

He means business

Ice Lanterns (propped three small sheets of ice together and added a votive candle) would have been beautiful at night but so much snow and ice was falling that the flames were quickly extinguished

Sledding on the slippery icy surface would have been thrilling but it was out of the question with the cacophony of thunderous cracks and snaps coming from the woods around our house. We weren’t about to head anywhere near the woods or anywhere with power lines overhead. Crushing weight from the ice was taking everything down.

It didn’t take long for our flickering lights to darken to a total blackout. Silence… no fridge humming, no computer “thinking,” no Pandora radio, no heater blowing, just quiet. Well, all quiet except for the kids shouting their very animated reactions to everything suddenly turning off. 

To be continued (when I'm not rushing off to pick a kid up at preschool)...

Gets 'Em Every Time

Regardless of the weather, all I have to say is “Scavenger Hunt!” to get the kids interested in venturing outdoors.

When they were younger I would make the lists for them and draw pictures for clues since they weren’t reading. They still aren’t reading but now they create their own lists complete with pictures.

I write the words for my 3 year old and she draws the pictures. She added a happy blue version of herself (lower right with wild curly hair) and said "Look! I on da list! We have look for Sara out there!"

My Kindergarten boy carefully sounds out the words and gets the letters on his paper, wonderful practice activity, by the way.

No, we didn't go out in search of bears, he is writing "berry"

They thought I was fooling when I suggested we search for ice but they humored me and wrote it down anyhow. Then, despite my encouragement otherwise, they put on their light jackets (Sara only had on a sundress to start with.... sigh) and we headed outside.

Ice was the first thing they found and of course they wanted to crack it. Fascinated by the bubbles frozen inside and the cracks from the rocks hitting the ice, my budding scientists peered into the bird bath. When they were looking closely, they noticed something special:  rainbows! They were delighted and Momma was impressed.

It's hard to see but several colorful prisms of light appeared in the fissures

Wonderment over the rainbows was quickly replaced by determination to crack that ice. William decided rocks weren't doing the job fast enough so he ran off to find something more serious.

What is it with boys and tools?

Behind that ice there is a grin

We trekked into the woods behind our house, William with his handy hammer, Sara in her sundress and Mom following with her camera (wearing a warm coat and scarf, by the way, it was freezing)!

We didn’t find everything on the list (all of the spiders are tucked in for the winter so no webs were to be found) but we walked in the woods, chased each other, and ran around so much that none of us got cold after all.

Lovely Lovely Leaves

In the deep fall
don't you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
freshets of wind?

~Mary Oliver, Song for Autumn

It’ll be at least another month before the Big Leaf Maples surrounding our house drop their leaves. Until then, we’ll make good use of the golden beauties from the pair of red buds on the side of our house. At least I thought we would…

As I raked these radiant leaves into a pile on this glorious sunny day, I had visions of staging a little photo shoot and capturing brilliant photos of the kids enjoying Autumn’s splendor. They tried, they really did… but the sad little pile I raked up doesn’t begin to compare to the mountains of dried brown Big Leaf Maple leaves we’ll soon see. They each made a few runs into the pile, hoping to create that feeling of being enveloped in the leaves…. It wasn’t happening. Still, we had fun trying and now they remember what we have to look forward to when the Maple leaves start falling.

A Welcome Weekend

Last week was one of those weeks… too much running around, a couple new classes to fit into our schedule, two evening meetings, and constantly feeling on the verge of dropping one ball or another. We welcomed this weekend with open arms and did our best to make the most of it.

September has surprised western-Washingtonians with warmth and humidity that we aren’t accustomed to. Veggie burgers for lunch on the patio on Saturday may have been our last meal outdoors for a while. Simple but lovely to sit outside and enjoy the beginning shades of fall and remaining flowers in bloom (including sunflowers which I never thought I’d be able to grow here).

Look at these beauties lined up in a row, grown from seed in our shady yard and not chomped by deer--amazing!

Then a kind neighbor friend invited our children for dinner so Rob and I could enjoy an evening out. We had early appetizers at a local wine bar then honestly, didn’t really know quite what to do with ourselves … it’s a little embarrassing how long it has been since a “date night” but it was so pleasant to just relax together with no demands or cries for help coming from any direction. Room to breathe and time to reconnect was lovely.

Pancake Sunday started with, you guessed it, pancakes. Then we hurried out the door for a bike ride before the rain came. The Preston-Snoqualmie Trail provided an excellent wide paved path for me and William to ride while Daddy ran alongside with Sara in the jogging stroller. No, he didn't have any problem keeping up, a testament to his running abilities (or my slow bike riding, I'm not sure which). A light wind floated yellow leaves from the trees and sunlight streamed onto our path. Only two miles of mostly flat trail led us to a view of Snoqualmie Falls then we turned right around to bike more--those kids didn't want to sit and look at waterfalls, they wanted the wind streaming past them!

Racer Boy wasn't even biking without training wheels a couple months ago--now he's unstoppable!

Besides zooming in the stroller, Sara enjoyed collecting colorful leaves...

...cruising on her scooter alongside Racer Boy

...and puddle jumping

As we dive into the coming week, my energy is renewed and I feel extremely grateful for all that is going well. Even when we’re busy, it’s alright. I’m adjusting to the reality that having a child in school doesn’t mean extra free time for Mommy, rather I’m busier making sure I’m where I need to be for pick-ups and drop-offs, frantically coordinating schedules and entering dates on our calendar, corresponding with teachers and parents of classmates, and making sure lunches and snacks are packed for busy afternoons once that Kindergartener is home at 11:30. Oh yes, and there is my lovely little Sara Bear, she has big plans for her Momma time while big bro is in school. Relaxing? What’s that?

Preschool has reignited her passion for finger paints

"Dat me...."

"and dat my curly hair!"

Shine On

We celebrated the Harvest Moon with a potluck out at Jubilee Farm Monday night. As the sun set, the golden hued moon rose over the treetops, lighting up the happy scene of Farmers Erick and Wendy surrounded by CSA members, friends, family and neighbors.

Our favorite farmers, Wendy and Erick Haakenson

Hay bales were set up for sitting but the kids decided hay-hopping was a better idea.

Despite my efforts to explain otherwise, Sara says that the gorgeous glowing moon absolutely positively followed us the whole way home. We are rarely out driving after dark so it was a thrilling ride home for her. She kept mentioning that things were "flashing" and it dawned on me that she probably didn't know what else to call the "glow" of streetlamps and other lights in the dark.

Roadside photography, a stop along the way home, appreciating the gorgeous night

Seed Collecting

Like an industrious little squirrel, I enthusiastically collect flower seeds every year. Many years ago I would roll my eyes at my mother doing the same thing on just about every walk we’ve ever taken. Well, I suppose I used to roll my eyes at her for breathing … sorry, Mom. My dear Mother was always on the lookout for pretty flowers and abundant seed heads while I was always on the lookout for Park Rangers to slap our hands from taking seeds from the park. Now, I’ve come full circle and here I am scurrying around (mostly in my own back yard) looking for seeds to collect.

Seed collecting is pleasing on so many levels. I will admit I get some perverse defiant pleasure from by collecting my own seeds. I pluck those plump little seed heads and think about how much money I’ll save the next year in seed purchases. “Ha!” I think, “I’ll show you, $2.99 seed- packet-company, my homegrown seeds are better than yours and they don’t cost a cent!” Don’t tell Monsanto, they’ll be after me…

Mostly, I just love being outside doing something fun and useful. My heart feels full of gratitude for the plants that thrived enough to produce seed, and I look forward to Spring thinking about what new plants I’ll try the following year and where I’ll sow these seeds. The kids love helping too and there are tons of learning opportunities. We look at how each seed looks different and how some have little “wings” to help them float away to a new location while others are “designed” to just fall to the ground. Much to the kids’ delight, a little potty talk gets thrown in when we discuss how seeds can be carried in bird poop. After they’re done snickering about mom saying “poop,” they go back to sensing my attachment to seed gathering and respectfully treat each little seed like a tiny treasure.

Other times they lose interest and decide it's time to bring Mr Potato Head outside to play... that's alright, they let me borrow his hat.

This Moment: In The Woods

A Friday ritual. A photo capturing a simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause, savor, and remember. Hosted by SouleMama. (If you're inspired to do the same, please leave a comment below with your link.)

The Wisdom of Daddy: A “Guy’s” Camping Trip

They hit the dusty trail Friday afternoon for their second annual Father/Son camping trip. “Hey, Mom,” William said with an impish grin first thing that morning, “Guess how many sleeps until I go camping with Dad,” no answer from Mommy…. “NONE!”  Yes, the boy was thrilled (and I was thrilled that he told a joke, sort of, without “underpants” as the punch line). But I digress…

Rob’s excursion with William reminded me of the importance of making the most of one-on-one time with each of our children rather than just viewing those one-child moments as opportunities to do more housekeeping or get errands out of the way. By slowing down, following her lead, and really focusing on my dear Sara Bear we had a relaxed, meaningful and truly delightful time together while the guys were gone. Nothing fancy, just reading mountains of books, playing a couple games, letting her pick what we’d have for dinner (pizza of course), an after-dinner pajama walk (just her, my pajamas aren’t nearly as cute as her new princess nightgown), throwing a Frisbee for the neighbor dog, then finally a big huge bubble bath. And all this without big brother around so she received 100% of Mommy’s attention (and I got 100% of hers)!     

I meant it when I said "big huge bubble bath," (but not pink as the photo suggests, I just tinted it that way because my exposure was awful and this made it look fun and girly, just like our time together)

Meanwhile, William was enjoying having Dad all to himself as well, setting up camp, eating gnocchi with pesto as the little gourmand requested, and experiencing an amazingly bright almost-full moon. Just as he did last year, Rob took William to Mirror Lake, arguably one of the most picturesque and tranquil wilderness destinations within easy driving and hiking distance from our home.  

They experienced a camera malfunction so the only pictures are the ones I took of them heading out but these are moments William (and Daddy for that matter) will hold in their memory forever. Here are a couple shots from last year.

Gnocchi was William's choice last year too

Happy Camper