Another birthday weekend

The weather has been amazing this past week, so we wrapped up Spring Break/Gareth's birthday week by letting the kids set up the tent in the backyard. It's just cool enough overnight still that you end up being grateful for the sleeping bag. Also, the birds in our yard are really loud in the early morning hours. 

We started Gareth's birthday mid-morning since his big ask was a skateboard. Uncle Daniel came over and they went out to a skate shop and got the helmet/padding needed to prevent a PICU admission. Then we were ready to head to the school blacktop to start practicing.

Dinner was smoked gouda mac 'n cheese with roasted broccoli followed up by chocolate cheesecake. A few very simple alterations to make everything gluten free. I'm 0/2 on getting the chocolate cheesecake to not crack. And I think I might be burning the Oreo cookie base ever so slightly as well. But it all tastes good anyway!

We let the kids sleep in the tent again since we hadn't got around to taking it down. Mal was wanting to move out there permanently, but we said no - such mean parents. Gareth described it as the best weekend ever.

Gareth spent most of the weekend skateboarding, but I got out for a bike ride on Sunday afternoon. It was definitely a sunscreen-worthy afternoon, hitting almost 80 degrees. Lovely day for a half lake loop - 26 miles. We'll gradually work back up to the full lake loop again. We're planning to hit the Iron Horse trail with Ryan in the next few weeks - will have the kids meet us at the top of the trail/Snoqualmie tunnel with a picnic!

Rattlesnake Lake

The weather has been gorgeous here the past few days, so naturally I had to get outside with the kids while off work today. We all decided for another hike, though stuck to an easy one. We had two options at this location - hike up to a ledge for a view or hike a shorter, flat trail along the lake. I want to hike to the ledge at some point, but I'm nervous enough around heights when it's just me. Adding my kids to the picture just amps up the anxiety (even though they are not little anymore I still get nervous), so I was happy to wait on that until I have more adults with me. 

The kids spent some time playing on the rocky beach of the lake, skipping/throwing rocks in the water.

Then we headed to the trail and meandered along, enjoying the various lake views, watching those who were out canoeing/kayaking/paddle boarding. We also found the signage around the lake interesting, especially when we got to learn about how the lake was made (and the town of Moncton that was flooded in the process) and about the old railroad that used to go through the area.

Weekend Adventures

With spring here, I've been itching to get out of the house more on weekends. Getting tired of feeling like we're just sitting inside in front of screens all the time.

Started off with a bike ride with friends last weekend. Weather was gorgeous, but we stuck to a 16 mile ride from Log Boom Park to Lizzy Kate Tea and back. It's been a while since any of us went for a ride, so needed to ease into things.

The next day was rainy, but we got the kids out anyway and went to Kubota Garden. Ryan had never been before, even though it's one of our favorites, so I was eager to get him there. The rain wasn't so bad at first, but definitely picked up as the day went on and we were all quite cold and wet on the way home. There were signs of spring and it was quite lovely despite the rain.

This weekend we met up with Emily and Daniel and went to Twin Falls for a hike, which is inside of Olallie State Park. It's only about 3 miles round trip, but has some good uphill climbs and stairs, so we got a good workout. It's easy enough that it's usually quite crowded. There were a lot of people there this weekend, especially as it's early in the season and the weather was nice. But overall we were able to keep out of the way of others and most people were really good about wearing their masks.

We also had an impromptu barbecue with them in the evening - it was threatening rain by then, but we stuck it out around the firepit and the rain mostly held off until later in the evening. The boys got to enjoy roasting Starbursts - a new favorite introduced to them by Uncle Daniel.

My body isn't quite sure what to make of the sudden increase in activity and was definitely complaining a bit yesterday afternoon. But we've all been enjoying getting out more - hopefully my body will adjust and not feel so tired if we're able to regularly get out and explore.

Elementary schools are starting back with a few hours in-person this week, and secondary schools will get half days a couple days a week starting mid-April, but our kids will be staying remote. Ryan should be eligible for the vaccine in a couple weeks, along with everyone over 16. I'm guessing it'll be a while before we are able to find him an appointment. But I'm hopeful that we'll be able to get him (and Gareth, maybe?) vaccinated before the fall, so cautiously optimistic about the kids going back to school next year.