A week of fun... and now I need a nap

Last Sunday, the kids and I headed up to Whidbey for the annual 3-day kids' golf camp at Useless Bay Golf and Country Club. Our kids adore going up to the island for this camp. They get an extended stay at Bestemor and Bestefar's house (win!), they get to go swimming (win!), they get to have fun playing some golf (win!), and they get to play with Bestemor and Bestfar's dogs for a few days (win!), Conor went trout fishing with Bestefar (win!), we celebrated Annika's birthday (win!), and I went salmon fishing/crabbing with Bestefar (win and win!).

This was (I think) the kids' 4th year at golf camp. Each year, they have so much fun, get to meet new kids, and they grow as golfers. This year was no exception. On Monday, they swam for almost 2 hours and then did golf camp for 2 hours. Whew! Tuesday's weather wasn't as cooperative, so they opted to skip the pool that day. (I was grateful for the overcast sky because it meant sunburns weren't an issue.) On Wednesday, the sun was back, so out came the sunblock again! Conor is a huge fan of hitting balls at the driving range. Annika liked being out on the actual golf course for the first time ... it made her feel like a real golfer!

Entertaining themselves with the "Coca Cola Went to Town" song

Pool fun

Conor at the driving range

Our little golfin' dude 

Annika at the driving range

Great swing!

He hit a 150 yard drive!!!

Bestmor and Bestefar gave Annika an incredible birthday gift ... a scrapbook from their trip to Ireland! For each day, Bestemor wrote a short summary of the day's events, included photos, and a few mementos. Annika LOVED the book and we love seeing her smile from ear to ear as she looks through it and remember her amazing trip with her amazing grandparents. She giggles are things remembered in the book, and tells us so many stories that the photos and write-ups remind her of.

Annika reading her bday card

Looking at her scrapbook

On Tuesday morning, Bestefar and Conor hit Deer Lake to go trout fishing. From what I was told. things started off reallllllly slowly. Not a nibble or a bite for a long time. They wound up catching 2 trout the last half hour (or so) that they were on the lake, though, so all was not lost! (Thanks for catching a future dinner for us, guys!!)

Conor and Bestefar say "WOO HOO!"

 I worked from the island Mon-Wed and took Thur-Fri off to go salmon fishing with Eric's dad. I'm pretty sure it was his life's goal to have me catch a salmon. He's taken me out a number of times over the past few years and the only thing we ever caught were dogfish, a flounder, and rocks. This year, he was determined to change my salmon fishing record.... and we did!! We were up very early both mornings and at the boat launch no later than 5 AM. The only thing we caught on Thursday was a crab (yum, but not exactly what we'd hoped for in the big scheme of things). Friday was our day! We wound up with 9 keeper crabs in the traps. I also caught a pink salmon (hooked and reeled it in myself - boo yah!), and Jack hooked a king salmon that he had me reel in. In addition, Jack caught one heck of a ling cod (40-ish pounds!) that we threw back after taking a few photos.  Talk about a fish putting up a fight!!!

Early mornings

Jack navigating to good fishing spots

That's one BIG ling cod!!!

My king!!

:Look at my pink!

On the ferry heading back home ... with our annual "post golf camp" ice cream treats

After fishing and cleaning up the boat on Friday, the kids and I repacked the car and headed home. We were tired, but in a good way! (I'm sure as soon as we headed up the driveway, Eric's parents were in their chairs with half-closed eyes!) Unbeknownst to the kids and me, Eric sneaked down to Tacoma the day before to bring home our new pup (Huck). The original plan was I'd pick him up on Saturday after Annika's Irish dance competition, but Eric had an even better plan in mind! Talk about a surprise!!!! The kids had NO idea that we were adopting a new dog ... I had no idea he'd be at the house waiting for us! 

Annika and Conor meeting Huck

Isn't he cute??

Huck checking out the back yard

As if spending 6 days on Whidbey and bringing home a new pup weren't enough, Annika had her first feis (Irish dance competition) on Saturday in Tacoma .... AT BELLARMINE!! So, we were (once again) up bright and early so we could check in at 8 AM. Annika had quite the cheering section - Fr. Fred, Troy/Staci/Kat/Ian, Drew/Sandy, and my best friend Kate were all there to watch her dance! She walked away with 2 bronze medals and a trophy for 2nd place. Not too shabby, if you ask me!

All ready to dance!

Annika all ready to jig

After the feis and lunch at The Spar with Troy/Staci/Kat/Ian, Annika and I made a quick stop at Johnson's Candy (DUH!) before driving back home. I'm pretty sure I would have been a lump on the floor upon arriving at home had I not been welcomed home by a very waggy little puppy who likes to nibble on ears that are within reach. :)

Weekend on Whidbey

The Olson Four did something we don't typically do on a 3-day weekend ... we traveled.

Before you compliment us for being brave souls (or shake your head for us being fools), know that we mitigated as much travel pain as possible by staying home on Friday and heading to the island fairly early Saturday morning. That said, it wasn't quite early enough, because we wound up missing the ferry we hoped to catch, but just barely. So, we waited for the next one, not the end of the world. It just let us know other people shared our "NO WAY am I going on a ferry Friday night" mentality. 

Eventually, we made it to the island and could feel ourselves switch gears almost immediately. There's just something about going to Eric's parents' house. It's just calmer there. It's quiet. We can let the kids just play outside and not worry about speeding cars zooming by. 

After we got settled and breathed deeply a few times, we decided to do our belated birthday celebrations. When we were on the island for the March birthdays, the plan was for Eric's sister and brother-in-law to be there for the fun. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and dumped snow on Snoqualmie Pass, making it too dangerous for Kajsa and Jeff to make the trek. They came over the following weekend and left gifts for Eric and Conor on the island. On top of that, Eric's mom's b-day was a couple of weeks ago and we had gifts for her. 

"Pokemon cards! COOOOL!!!"

Eric modeling his new UW shirt

By Saturday afternoon, Conor was getting antsy, so he and I went for a walk while Annika slept off her allergy meds. As we headed up the driveway, Conor's "I'm gonna scooter all the way to the top!" zeal faded and we wound up hoofing it up the hill the old fashioned way. At the top of the driveway, we spotted a deer nibbling on the grass, so we stopped to watch it for a bit. It watched us, too, but because we were pretty quiet and slow moving, it mostly ignored us. Conor and I eventually headed to the meadow to see if we could spot more deer (nope) and so he could ride his scooter around the adjacent paved loop. I never get tired of the view from the top of the driveway/meadow. Even on a cloudy day, it still takes my breath away.

Scooter Boy

What a view!

Conor enjoying the calm of the meadow

Calm done ... time to scale rocks

"Mama, will you please take a picture of me sitting right here?"

The rest of the day was just as mellow. After dinner (both nights!), we pulled out decks of cards and played Deuces Wild, Hearts, and Gin Rummy; dice to play Greed; and  Dixit, a board game we gave to Conor for his birthday in March. Game nights on the island have evolved from "the kids are asleep, let's play a game" to "the kids can be on my team" to "the kids can play" events. Watching Annika and Conor grow into being self-sufficient players has been a really neat evolution to observe. They employ strategy, math skills, and an understanding of rules to now be part of the bigger game-loving group that is our family. (#ParentingWin)

Bestemor and Annika deep in conversation

Conor mastering the wooden block puzzle

Annika learning how to play Deuces Wild

Eric and Bestemor working on her new KenKen math puzzle pages

Deuces Wild
(hands 1-4 deal 10 cards, hands 5-7 deal 12 cards, run = 4 cards in same suit, set = 3 matching cards) 

For weeks, the kids had been hoping that Bestefar would take them fishing soon. Well, first it was winter, not exactly trout fishing season. Then, they had to wait for the lake to be stocked. FINALLY, the planets aligned and Bestefar could take the kids to Deer Lake to do some trout fishing. Bestefar is a real trooper; first he spent a couple of hours rowing Conor around the lake, then he spent a couple more hours rowing Annika around the lake. Both kids had success, which is always a plus. Apparently, Conor had a huge trout get away and learned the lesson of waiting for someone to net the fish instead of trying to hoist the fish out of the water. (Lessons learned!) 

Deer Lake

Conor and Bestefar

Conor's haul

Annika ready to go!

Annika's catch

Bestefar helping her untangle the fish 

To give Bestemor and Bestefar a little break and to give the kids a chance to burn off some energy, Eric and I took the kids to Possession Beach, which is a stone's throw from the house. It offers great views of the ferries sailing between Mukilteo and Whidbey, as well as the Cascades (ahhh, Mt. Rainier), and Everett. The sun was out and the sky was blue. We spent most of our time perfecting our rock skipping skills. The beauty of this beach is it rarely very busy. Yes, we'll cross paths with people now and then, but it isn't like the Seattle beaches on a sunny day. I think more people go there to use the boat launch than to lounge around on the beach.

In order to avoid a long wait in the ferry line on our way home, we opted to (again) hit the road fairly early on Monday. Bestefar took Conor back out to Deer Lake for another round of fishing (Annika opted to stay home citing sleeping in was preferred to waking up early) and brought home  a couple more trout for us. Thanks, guys!!

Conor's day 2 catch

Eric teaching Annika how to clean fish. 

Trout Fishing with Bestefar

Last weekend, Eric's folks were kind enough to (once again) open their doors to our crew for the weekend. The reason for this particular trip was so Eric's dad (aka Bestefar) could take the kids fishing on a lake near their house. He even bought little row boat for the occasion. (Someone needs to get ready to polish his "Grandfather of the Year - 2017" award!!)

Conor posing on the Tilacum

Ferry selfie

Due to Annika's crazy schedule on Saturday (she had 3 places to be at the same time that morning... HELLO!), Conor and I went up to the island early morning while Eric and Annika went to Microsoft for a robotics event her team attended; later, they took a Lyft car to Mukilteo, walked on the next ferry, and Eric's dad picked them up at the Whidbey ferry terminal. Nice!

While Eric and Annika were in Redmond, Eric's dad took Conor out on the lake to try their hands (rods?) at catching trout. We've gone fishing (for salmon) in the Sound for the past few years in Bestefar's outboard boat, but have yet to actually catch any salmon. I was nervous about how successful the kids would be fishing for trout .... boy, was I a fool!! Conor caught two trout and had a few more that got away. Bestefar and Conor had a blast out on the water together; I think they were on the lake for about 2 hours when a speedboat put an end to their fishing excursion.

Conor sporting his fishing rod

The dogs kept putting their ball in the boat so Conor could throw it for them

Bestefar and Conor ... all ready to go!

Rowing, rowing, just keep rowing

Fish on!!

Conor and his trout buddies

Almost as soon as the guys were back at the house, were their haul in the pan and quickly becoming lunch for us! Much to Bestefar's shock, Conor most liked trout with a little mustard to dip it in. (The rest of us opted for plain!) Bestemor quickly pointed out that with our kids now knowing how to catch trout, I'd better learn how to prepare it.... so true!!! (I've been researching trout recipes ever since.)

Between fishing outings, Bestefar went into town for more fishing lures and to pick up Eric and Annika at the ferry. While he was shopping for lures, Eric's dad very sweetly looked for a lure he thought Annika would like... he found a pink one with glitter on it. Shazam!!

By early afternoon, our robotics duo had arrived and it was Annika's turn to go out on the boat. She had barely dropped her bag in the house before she and Bestefar were lakeward bound! Again, I feared she wouldn't catch anything (those elusive salmon have scarred me, apparently) and knowing Conor caught two fish earlier in the day, I was even more nervous. Again, FOOL!! Annika wound up catching three trout!! (The lesson? Never doubt Norwegians determined to catch fish while using a glittery lure!) Annika and Bestefar spent a good three hours on the lake and she would have stayed longer had it been earlier in the day AND had Bestefar not spent the better part of five hours rowing around the lake! (I'm fairly certain his arms felt like wet noodle by the time he was done!)

What a fun (and trout)-filled day!!

The rest of the weekend was filled with playing card and dice games (I'm still working on my Hearts strategy, but seem to be improving with practice and help from Eric and his mom), reading, knitting (Bestemor and me! I was very focused on getting the socks I've been knitting done before my upcoming carpal tunnel release surgery!), and watching the UW football game (Go Dawgs!).

We are incredibly glad the kids had this opportunity to go fishing this weekend! What cherished memories they are creating ... and they're bringing home food. BONUS!!!