goodbye to summer

 we have been experiencing really beautiful weather in our neck of the woods. i don't know when the cold will start, but we are trying to get out and enjoy the sunshine while we have it. with chilly nights and mornings, with leaves falling from the trees and with the squirrels frantically collecting food; i can feel Fall. it is coming. the people in our area are quick to confirm that the winters here are bleak. we shall see, but for now feel so blessed to have these warm, bright days with my girls.

crossroads splash park, bellevue,wa

olympic peninsula

 we went camping in the olympic national park last weekend. it was so beautiful. we we so glad we got to go and experience small pieces of this part of the world. camping with kids is hard work and we all came home sick, but it was so worth it! here is a photo log of our journey.

 first we took the bainbrigde island ferry to bainbridge. we had a delicious brunch at the streamliner diner, with our bellies full of deliciousness we made our way to mara campground. our campground was a mile from rialto beach.

 

 we played at rialto beach. the beach was stony and full of huge pieces of driftwood. penelope collected rocks and made rock sculptures. isla cuddled with her baby.

 on our way to the hoh rainforest we stopped by big spruce (the name is self explanatory).

we picnicked at the hoh rainforest. we went on a small hike called trail of the mosses. it seems that temperate rainforests grow quite a lot of moss. also, penelope has learned how to pose, uh oh.

  don't worry, we didn't see any vampires while in Forks.

we took a walk (1.5 miles) up the beach to hole in the wall. there were a lot of really cool water and wind formed rocks there. we were also able to catch low tide and do a little tidepooling.

 hole in the wall.

 on saturday we spent most of the morning and evening at the beach. we took a drive to clallum bay, while the girls napped in the car. it was so beautiful there.

 on our drive home we went up to hurricane ridge. there we were able to see the mountainous views that we didn't see in the rainforest or at the beach.

sorry, i know this is a lot of pictures. it's my blog, though, so i do what i want. boo ya!

penelope started preschool

when did you get the big, miss p?