Nov 16
10
Make-A-Wish photo shoot!
Hiking buddy Monica Lau contacted me to ask for help getting the word out about her photo shoot fundraiser for Make-A-Wish. Here is the information. We moved to Japan in August and are having a fantastic time exploring. I’m a little behind on posting trip reports 🙂 but am thrilled to hear of hiking adventures in Hawaii!
FROM MONICA:
The event is Sunday! One Day Only from sun up to sun down.
$99 sitting fee includes mini-session & a beautiful framed photo ornament.
Monica is donating the WHOLE sitting fee to Make-A-Wish Hawaii!
By appointment only. Call to Book: 808-349-5148
Aug 15
29
Camp Last Hurrah
Clearing some additional land so we can put up the BIG 10×14 ten-man tent!
When a big group campout at Fort Flagler fell through due to a big storm, I offered the option of the boys all camping at our house. We have a big tent, had just come back from camping in British Columbia during hockey camp, and I felt like it would be easy…how hard could one night be in a tent with 7 boys? Really? I would soon find out…It was epic fun, though! Great way to close out summer with friends.
Tent is up, ground is fairly level, and we are wiped out! Time for some snacks…
Wolfing down Pirate Booty and playing Magic while waiting for friends to arrive.
After chili for dinner with all the parents around my fire pit, and the most amazing blackberry crumble EVER made by my friend Patricia, it’s time to wind the kids down. This looks all nice and peaceful – cards in the tent by headlamp – but it took some doing to get here! I think I still owe my neighbors an email 😉
Morning came fast and furious with a pillow fight (7 boys in a tent!) and then an expansive Nerf gun war with raids on the home .5 mi down the street where all the girls were sleeping over!
Sam making eggs over my portable propane campfire (the burn ban was in effect).
Such a great time! I was super tired, though, after an epic day riding, then throwing hay bales (110 lbs might be too much for me!), clearing land, setting up camp, cooking and boy wrangling. The next day I took a rare (like every 4 years!) nap for an hour and woke up feeling like a train had run me down! It was worth it, though!
Skating at school with friends…my phone battery died, and I’d like to give a 15 min warning before we need to leave. How to do that with no clock?
I made a rudimentary sun dial! The tiny stick on the right is the baseline, and the larger stick was the point at which I thought it would be time to go when the shadow reached it.
However, I found that shadows creep VERY slowly. This distance from tiny stick to right edge of shadow was 15 min. Glad I tested that out or I’d be at school still, two months later! ;0 The kids thought it was pretty cool to tell time in such a low-tech way.
Jun 15
14
Fort Worden – Port Townsend
Spooky comes to my backyard…I was out clearing trails and smelled something rank. I uncovered a few leaves to find a mostly-decayed carcass. A little research revealed this to be an o’possum. Exciting! It’s now hanging from a stump near the trail so I can hang a candle under it for the annual haunted Halloween trail party 😉
Fort Worden has great history to explore and huge open areas to play.
The Coast Artillery Museum was a hit with my dad, an Army artillery guy for many years.
Sandy beaches, too…
Massive bunkers to explore…
And even some tunnels. I howled like a coyote in here – very loud echo chamber! The kids were pretty embarrassed after getting over being spooked … heh heh heh 🙂
May 15
22
Jogging with kids
Out for a jog at Battle Point Park on a sunny spring day! Ben jogs like a gazelle now.
Sam has terrific endurance. Both boys did a 5k with me.
My friend Ann and I took a bunch of kids for a jog, and then collected more kids and dogs along the way! It was super fun. In the stroller we pushed kids who needed a bit of a break. I had ice cream drumsticks and Gatorade under the stroller – so plenty of incentive to get the “stagecoach” from stop to stop!