Hiking Franklin Falls

Before we flew out for our trip to VA we stopped to hike to Franklin Falls in the Snoqualmie Pass.  It always amazes me how driving about 1 1/2 hours from the semi-dessert of Yakima can put us in a lush forested climate.  The hike was probably around 2 miles round trip but with a lot of ups and downs on the trail, so it seemed a little longer.  The boys were troopers and we all enjoyed being able to stretch our legs in preparation for the our cross country flight the next day.

We were pretty far from the falls right here, but really it was much, much bigger.

I loved all the vines on the trees.  After being in Yakima for so long I felt like we were in the jungle.  Too bad it rains too much on this side of the mountain.

On another note, one day Ryan came home from work with cotton candy from a party at work.  It was quite an exciting moment that had to be captured on camera.  Plus, I though Lukey looked especially cute with his backpack on and a backwards hat.  We have such cute boys!

Summer Fun Photo Shoot

 

In Ortho residency Ryan had to purchase a very nice digital camera to use for his patient records.  I have had a goal for quite a while to try to figure out how to use the camera and improve the quality of the pictures I take.  Unfortunately that goal must not be very pressing to me since I have taken the camera out of it's bag about 5 times.  Even though these pictures are probably all wrong with the lighting, aperature, etc. it's easy to see what a difference a nice digital camera makes.  These are just some pictures from one hot afternoon in June.

Tate was trying to go somewhere, fast.

 Grant's bandaid is to keep some fresh stitches he received out of the sunlight to help prevent scarring.  A few weeks after his trip to the ER for his broken arm, Grant got stabbed in the lip by a kid we were babysitting (Grant probably deserved it), with a toy dental drill.  Thank goodness for our oral surgeon neighbor who saved us another ER trip and stitched Grant up in his office that day.  I'm especially grateful now that we've started to receive the bills for the first ER visit, yikes!!

Later that day they snuggled up on the couch to watch a little movie.  Such sweet boys!!

Super Heroes Never Give Up

Back in June Grant participated in Yakima's Gap 2 Gap race with a few of his friends.  It's a relay race (with age groups ranging from six to adults) consisting of running, biking, skating and obstacle course legs.  Grant's team was The Avengers and he was able to test out his new birthday present in the biking leg.

Here he is after receiving the wrist band from his teammate who did the running portion.  It was definitely a high energy scene.  Parents were yelling for their kids to go faster, people were everywhere, competitors all over the course.  I noticed that Grant was getting a little nervous before his turn just because the atmosphere was so hyped up.  Once he got going on the course, he was flying!!

Grant did great and enjoyed being part of the race.  And yes, his left arm is casted.  That was from jumping off the couch and punching the ground Hulk-style one evening while I was at work.  Ryan had to take him to the ER and Grant got his first cast.  Exciting times.

 Tate cheered on Grant and is excited for when he's old enough to participate.

 Grant with his teammates, Luke, Jordan and Micheal.  They had a blast. 

 Later that day, the boys were able to go to a birthday party and came home with this balloon.  I had to work that evening as well but saw this nice piece of art work the next day.  Ryan said Tate and Grant were playing all afternoon and had decorated this balloon as their team motto, translation "Super Heroes Never Give up, by Grant and Tate.  We love this Balloon".  I love the super hero picture drawn on the side.

And this picture is just because The Duke is so sweet!!