Scenes of Summer

In between our wonderful (but not yet blogged about) vacations, we've had some really enjoyable, more low-key and closer-to-home outings.
We started the summer off with quite a few hikes. We live in such a beautiful area!

Often, we explore super close to home.

Sometimes, we venture a bit further.  We finally made it up to hike Franklin Falls near the top of the  Snoqualmie Pass.  It was a chilly day, but the destination was stunning!

It certainly helps to have great hiking buddies.

 

Since the weather's warmed up, hiking hasn't been the preferred excursion. Instead, we've returned numerous times to our favorite summer spot on the river.  Sometimes we've gone with just a couple friends.

 

Other times we've gone with a crowd.

 It's great fun both ways!

 

We've had bigger activities, like the annual week long Mega Sports Camp, which Aubree, Bryce, and Thane all participated in again this year.

The cookies are always Thane's favorite part of the night.

 

Sports Camp runs from 7-9pm, and it just might be the only week of the year that we're super lax about bedtime.  The kids have a great time, even though with so many kids it can get super crazy!

Most of our activities have been smaller, like the occasional birthday party...

and storytime at the Park.

 

Last week we met up with Katie and her kids, and Ashley and her kids, and went to explore the Ballard Locks and Fish Ladder in Seattle.  I hate driving into Seattle, but we've been meaning to visit this destination for years.  

We were hoping to view tons of salmon heading up the fish ladder from the Pacific Ocean back to their fresh-water river birth places.  Alas, we only saw a few, but it was still fascinating.  

 

The locks are also quite interesting to watch.  The kids really enjoyed seeing the boats go through.  Katie, Ashley, and I were most intrigued by the yachts that went by.  Who owns those things?  What kind of jobs do they have?

We explored a little bit around the Locks, including the small Visitor's Center.

It was a worthwhile day trip, but probably not something I'll do again soon.

 

Summers in Seattle are heavenly!