Our Kids' First Camping Trip: Battle Ground State Park

Eric and I both grew up in families that camped, so it seemed natural that we'd raise a camping family, too. We took a several year hiatus from camping thinking that tending babies or corralling small children while camping wouldn't be the most fun we could have. That said, this year seemed like a good time to take the kids on their first-ever camping trip.

The funny thing is we originally planned on taking them camping in September at a state park on Whidbey Island, but a scheduling conflict cropped up, so we decided to go sooner rather than later. The only difficulty to planning a more last-minute trip was finding a campsite that was available and one that wasn't closed due to this season's wildfires. Based on those two requirements, we ended up reserving THE LAST AVAILABLE SPOT at Battle Ground State Park. As luck would have it, the campsite was quite ideal for us. It was beautiful, had a lake that was perfect for swimming, and had lovely hiking trails for us to explore.

When we told the kids about the camping trip, they squealed with sheer excitement. That excitement quickly eroded after about the first 30 minutes in the car ... especially knowing there was another 2.5 hours to go. "But WHY is the place so far away from our house?" and "Is THAT the lake we're going to?" were constant questions during our drive. We dropped Buca off at my mom's house for the night (Thanks, Mom!) en route to the park, which was quite ideal, especially considering my brother's dog would also be there overnight. Dog cousin camp at Nana's house!

Once we got to the park, we quickly unpacked the van and began setting up camp. The kids were fantastic and enthusiastically pitched in to help. At some points, it was tricky to find jobs for them to do, but we kept everyone busy. Conor and Annika became expert camp chair setter-uppers, and sleeping bag carriers. Once the tent was set up, Eric got our temporary home in order while I set up the kitchen area and made lunch.

Before long, we were all overly ready for a dip in the lake. It was over 80 degrees and lugging camping gear quickly made us long for cool water to splash in. The lake was about a 10-ish minute walk from our campsite, which was perfect... not too far, but far enough that we weren't perpetually listening to the crowd noise from the other swimmers. We brought two pool floats, which the kids thought were extra fun to play with. (Next time, we'll definitely blow them up when we're near a pump... those things are a PITA to blow up without one!) We splashed, played, swam, and kicked until the kids started to shiver.... even then, they didn't want to get out of the lake, but Eric and I vetoed their pleas to stay in the water and ushered them back to our campsite. Eric started a lovely fire, which quickly warmed the kids, much to everyone's happiness.

Once everyone was warm, we pulled out the Ziploc of cards and games that we brought. We played gin, Spot It, and more. For dinner, we roasted hot dogs and made hobo pouches filled with potatoes and green beans. I had to get a little creative in marking whose hobo pouch was whose (note to self: pack a Sharpie pen next time!), so wound up folding each pouch in a unique shape to tell them apart. Hello, creativity! After dinner, we made the required s'mores for dessert and told "scary" stories around the campfire. I got smart and packed Ghiradelli chocolate for Eric and me to have on our s'mores ... no dummy am I! :)

This was one of the few times when our kids asked to go to bed. They were wiped out and ready for a little down time. They hunkered down on their sleeping bags (it was way too hot to be in them!) and proceeded to wrestle and annoy each other... ahh, sibling time! Eventually, Eric and I decided to call it a night and tucked ourselves in. Just as we were falling asleep, a group of people somewhere in the park or nearby area started making an insane amount of noise. It sounded like fireworks or the like. Poor Annika was so tired, but couldn't sleep because of the noise, so began to sob out of fatigue. Eventually, the noise subsided and everyone was able to (finally) get some much-needed sleep.

Roasting hot dogs

Campfire cooking tutorial

"I'm CAAAAAAAAAMPING!!"

Hobo pouches

View from our campsite

The next morning, Eric and I awoke to the sounds of Conor talking to himself. He usually chatters for a bit before getting up in the morning, which isn't a problem unless we're all within a few inches of each other. After a few failed attempts at quieting him, we got up, so Annika could continue to sleep in peace. Eric begrudgingly lit a fire (he didn't think morning camp fires were really a thing.... WHAT??), which added to the wonderful morning ambiance. The forest was cool and quiet ... a perfect camping morning. Once everyone was up, we made pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs for breakfast. The plan for the day was to eat, pack up most of our gear, and then explore some of the hiking trails.

As Eric and I made breakfast, the kids entertained themselves by playing lemur, which consists of hanging from a low branch, and building nests out of pine cones and leaves. They were covered in dirt and loved every moment of it!

Conor exploring a nearby stump

Hot cocoa and Pirate Booty... the camping breakfast of champions

Eric whipping up breakfast

Annika and her pancake

Fireside breakfast ... what could be better?

Conor playing lemur

Once the chores were done, we set off to explore a bit. I have to say, the maze of trails available in the park was gorgeous. We walked under a tree canopy that had so many different shades of green for us to take in. The morning sun made the tree leaves almost transparent at times... so stunning. We chose to walk along the upper lake trail, which provided us with breath-taking views of the lake. The kids had a marvelous time scaling fallen trees, scrambling up boulders and stumps, and peeking behind hidden crevasses. In some ways, it was the epitome of childhood ... wandering, exploring, climbing, and getting dirty.

Conor and Annika discovered this big
stump and decided it needed to be scaled

Peek-a-boo!

Annika, Queen of the Stump

Panoramic view of the hiking trail

Which way should we go?

See how tall I am??

Hiking, hiking, hiking

Annika and Eric on the Upper Lake Trail

Conor on his boulder throne

Annika catching her breath

Conor ... part billy goat

Annika ... even more of a billy goat

Battle Ground Lake

Eric taking in the view

Eric and Annika... lakeside

Conor.... master boulder scaler

Conor lounging on his boulder

Annika proved to be quite the climber on our hike ... wouldn't
be surprised if she takes up rock climbing one day!

"Annika, what are you doing?"
"Oh, just hanging around!"

Eric hanging around

Forget Where's Waldo! Where's Annika?

Eventually, it was time to head back to our campsite, pack up the last of our stuff, and head home. The kids were absolutely wiped out ... as were their parents. Aside from a few occasional traffic slow downs and moments of the kids annoying each other, the drive was uneventful. As we drove, I asked Annika if she thought the campground was pretty. "No," she responded. "What?? You didn't think all of the trees and the lake were pretty??" "Oh yes! They were very pretty, but the ground was just brown dirt ... that wasn't very pretty."

We picked up Buca from my mom's house on our way home, and then continued heading north. As we approached Tukwila, I noticed the Blue Angels in the distance.... lucky us, we got a few peeks at their air show as we drove north. At one point, four of the Blue Angel jets flew right over our car... bonus for us!!

All in all, we had a very fun weekend and, I think, the kids enjoyed their first camping experience. Eric and I are already brainstorming possible locations to take them next year... perhaps a state park on the Key Peninsula or up to the San Juan Islands, perhaps!

Whidbey Weekend: Pedis, Fishing, and Crabs

Last weekend, we packed up and headed northwest to spend the night with Eric's parents. A trip to Whidbey is always a fun adventure, this trip was no exception. The exception to this trip was how much we crammed into the time we were on the island.

Eric's mom had the brilliant idea of us girl-types getting pedicures while we were together. Originally, she suggested she and I get them done while Eric, his dad, and the kids were on the boat, not realizing I'd offered to help Eric with the kids on the boat. Quick as a whip, she then suggested that we take Annika for a pedicure, too. This was Annika's first pedicure (aside from us putting nailpolish on her at home) and she loved every second of the experience. The salon had two pedicure chairs designed just for kids, and they had DVD players next to the kid chairs. Brilliant! Annika liked her pedicure so much that she asked the gal painting her toenails to paint her fingernails, too. We walked out of the salon incredibly pampered feeling ... and ready to show the world our gorgeous toes.

Many people tend to choose low-impact activities after getting their nails done. Not us! We headed to the water and went crabbing and fishing! Eric's dad (aka Jack/Bestefar) took Annika fishing for the first time last summer and Conor was feeling left out of the "I've gone fishing" group. So this summer, both kids got to go fishing on Bestefar's boat. We geared up, slopped up with sunblock, tried on our life jackets, and headed out to the boat launch.

Fishergirl Annika.. ready for action!

While Eric and Jack launched the boat, the kids and I did a little beach combing and practiced skipping rocks in the water.  The kids found plenty of interesting shells and even more rocks that were happily flung into the Puget Sound.

Annika working on her rock skipping technique

Conor opted for "biggest splash" instead of skipping his rocks

Annika's beach combing treasure

Conor's beach combing finds

Eric waiting for Jack to join us on the boat

Jack and Eric ... ready for a kid-filled, water-based boating adventure

Once it was show time, we boarded the boat and set off to check the crab pots Jack had dropped the night before. Both kids got a turn to drive the boat (much to their great pleasure). Bestefar taught them how to read the GPS display on the dashboard (do boats had dashboards??) and steer the boat in the direction of the crab pot coordinates. Unfortunately for us, the first pot was picked by someone else (the big jerky crab thieves!!), so we didn't get any goodies from that pot. The second pot, however, was teaming with crabs. Take that, you crab swipers!

After re-baiting and re-dropping the crab pots, we started the fishing portion of our adventure. We set out in hopes of catching salmon. No such luck. We did, however, manage to catch two dog fish, so the kids were able to say they caught something, at least. The fish were anything but biting... poor Jack had to work an insanely long time to even snag a second dog fish so both kids could have the bragging rights of catching a fish. 

Without a doubt, Annika's Norwegian heritage shows when she's on the boat with Bestefar. She's intrigued with the entire process and thinks fishing is great fun. She rarely (if ever) expresses boredom. She pays attention to everything Jack does, from prepping the bait and putting it on the hooks, to reading the GPS, to understanding how the water changes based on tides. Conor, on the other hand, was a bit less enthusiastic about sitting still, waiting, and ummmm... waiting some more. He did great when we were crabbing because there was lots going on, but the fishing part wasn't nearly as interesting for him. Maybe next year, when he's a bit older, he'll think it is more interesting for a longer amount of time.

Eventually, we called our fishing excursion a bust, collected the crabs from the pots that we baited at the beginning of our outing, and headed back to land. Our final tally for the day was 2 dog fish (not kept), 8 crabs (keepers... threw many that were too small or female back), 2 pinched fingers (Eric and Jack both got a finger caught by a crab ... this was Jack's first pinched finger in 50 years! Eric's crab got him so hard that it broke through his fingernail!!) 

When we got back to the house, Jack whacked the crabs (when you kill a person, you say they're sleeping with the fishes ... when you kill a crab, do you say it is sleeping with the people??) and then we boiled them up and popped 'em in the fridge. The next day, I spent over 2 hours shelling crab. At that point, I was really glad we hadn't caught any more of those tasty critters. :)

We are so grateful for the fun day, yummy crab, and treasured memories. At one point while we were on the boat, Jack and one of the kids were driving the boat, and I had the almost core-of-my-being desire that the kids hold onto the memories from the day. I hope they store details like how much their Bestefar loves the water, fishing, and crabbing; how he taught them how to bait crab pots; and how happy they were on this day waaaaaay down deep in their memory banks so they can recall a wonderful day. Yes, I got a bit nostalgic that day.... and I hope they can be nostalgic about it one day, too.

Hey kids: Your grandparents are amazing people who love you dearly. Remember that .... always!!!

Conor and Annika ready to set sail

Annika driving the boat

Eric and Annika pulling up the crab pot

The sea's bounty

Eric and Jack measuring the crabs to ID the keepers

We'll call you two "Crab Cakes" and "Tasty"

Bestefar and Capt. Conor, at your service

Bestefar

Bestefar, Annika, and Conor on the Puget Sound

Eric and Conor trolling

Our happy boating girl

"It was thiiiiiis big"

Annika and Bestefar taking us to the crab pots

Sibling Dinner at Morton's Steakhouse

Recently, my sister Suzanne) and her husband (Randy) were in town, partially because he had business here and partially as a pit stop on their way to their cabin. While they were in town, Suzanne, our sister-in-law (Staci), and I celebrated Suzanne's recent birthday (way to be a deck of cards, Suzanne!) by having lunch at The Barking Frog and then sampling some of the offerings from the tasting rooms in Woodinville. It was a marvelous, low-key, laughter-filled afternoon together. We ate marvelous food (although waited an insane amount of time for a black napkin, but oh well) and tried many tasty wines. The three of us shared a tasting at three different tasting rooms, so we got some lovely wines to sample, but not so much that we were stumbling through Woodinville.

A garden by The Barking Frog

Suzanne and Staci

Suzanne and Staci... up close and personal (and at a diagonal)

The slough reflecting the beautiful sky

A big dragonfly statue near the slough

The next day, we had a siblings' dinner out with my brother (Troy), Staci, Suzanne, Randy, Eric, and me. Suzanne and Randy suggested we eat at Morton's, which sounded great to the rest of us. We got all spiffed up and headed downtown.

Morton's is an old-school steak house, and I'm a little surprised we didn't see the likes of Al Capone and someone who goes by the nickname of Bugsy or Tiny Timmy Tuna at one of the nearby tables. Being a Tuesday evening, the restaurant was fairly empty, which meant there weren't many people for our loud, uproarious laughter to disturb... and we didn't have to wait long for our food. We told stories, reminisced, teased, joked, and acted like the goofballs that we truly are. It was such fun to reconnect with each other and just be together for a couple of hours.

When the topic of appetizers came up, we all agreed that a little nibble would be nice. Troy asked if anyone else would like to share a plate of oysters. Umm... nope!! Not a single taker, so he ate it all on his own. For every "mmmmm!!!" that escaped from Troy, an "ick", "blech", or "gag" was returned. As for dinner, everyone agreed that we ordered well. Eric and I both ordered the same thing: a plate that had filet mignon (YUM!), prawns, and bacon-wrapped scallops. Oh my... that's all I can say. Just oh my.... :)

Unfortunately for us (probably a good thing for the employees at the restaurant), our sibling dinner was on a work night, so we couldn't stay out gabbing as long as we probably would have had we gone out on a weekend. It was hard to pull ourselves away, but knowing work and waking up early were around the bend, we eventually said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways.

Due to rather convoluted reasons that aren't overly blog-worthy, Eric and I wound up driving Suzanne and Randy's car to the restaurant, so they could drive it to Idaho the next morning. Not wanting to drive two cars downtown, I suggested that Eric and I just take a cab or the like home. We wound up trying out Uber car and cannot say enough about it. We used the app to summon a car (wow - how snooty did THAT sound?) and a driver picked us up within 5 minutes. We could even see his car approach on the app's map. The car was impeccably clean, the driver was very courteous, and we were home in a snap. All in all, a wonderful experience.

Staci and Troy... so cute!

Randy and Troy ... da photobombers of Morton's

One guess who does and doesn't like oysters!

This is what happens when Suzanne is emphatic about her topic of conversation

What a sharp lookin' group!

Staci wanted in on the photobombing action, too

Troy, aka the peace sign photo bomber, with Suzanne and Randy