Weekend Fun

This blog is for all of you who have been wondering what I have been up to on the weekends.  It will be mostly just a photo blog of some of the fun times I've had with friends and family lately.  I don't really have much to say about these, other than that I had a blast trying to capture some of the joy of childhood that goes on all around me and to share some of my favorite photos from these times.



The first photo is actually not one that I took.  In fact I'm not sure who took this one since I wasn't even there to see!  About a month ago I had visited some friends and accidentally left my camera behind.  I told them they were free to use the camera if they wanted and they managed to take a few photos.  I liked this one so I decided to post it to the blog.



Here is a favorite of mine from two weeks ago when I got to see two very tiny goats that had just been born.  These were the cutest, tiniest goats I have seen and were a great deal of fun to watch as they played around with the older goats.



Speaking of newborns, these two baby lambs think they are goats, trying to play King of the Mountain on a large rock.  They were quite adept at jumping up onto the rock and seemed to enjoy taking great leaps back off onto the grass.



I spent the whole day last Saturday with my cousins and we had some great times playing outside after the rain.  The sun came out just long enough for us to go on a pretty little hike, after playing outside the house for awhile.



This little one can never resist a mud puddle.  As you will see later on in this blog, getting wet is one of her very favorite things to do.



She is also very good at climbing trees.



This is the view at the start of our hike, looking down on Hood Canal near the Hamma Hamma estuary.  I had actually never seen this particular view point.



Here is another view looking north, the bustling metropolis of Eldon in the background.  The main channel of the Hamma Hamma River is in the lower left of the picture.  What an amazing view and what a beautiful place to live.  I am so grateful to live here on the Olympic Peninsula where I can enjoy such rare beauty every day.



This nice old log looked like a good place to take a group shot, so we started lining up the children.  You can tell how much they are enjoying this little outing.



Finally, all four children are posed and ready for the picture.  Actually, they were not quite ready here, but I liked this shot much better than the more posed one later where they are all looking at the camera.



The trail wasn't really this rough, but of course you have to explore every hillside and tree root.



This little girl crafted a work of art out of the red clay from along the road.  She eventually packed this and shaped it until it was perfectly round and hard like a ball.



And of course to protect her treasure she made a pouch out of a large maple leaf to carry it in.  Several other treasures ended up in my coat pockets to be carried the rest of the way home.



At the end of the journey, we take a break and play in the sunshine, which was actually getting quite warm by now.  Here the cousins are making a volcano in a dirt pile.



The most fun however, was playing in the huge mud puddle here, or at least these three thought so.



This was fresh rain water and rather cold, but that didn't stop them from having a blast running and jumping in the puddle.



Those pants are going to be fun to wash out when we get home.



I'm glad for parents who are willing to put up with a little extra work in the laundry to let their children enjoy the delights of childhood.



Don't you wish you could have this much fun when it rains?



Finally, things are winding down and now it is time to just sit and bask in all this wet, muddy bliss.



On Sunday there was an open house at Wilderness Northwest, a Christian camp.



This fabulous tree house is technically not part of the camp property, but actually part of The Refuge, which is a Christian retreat center right next door.



"Would you like a haircut", she asks, holding two play table knives in her hand.  Don't you love the way this huge maple grows right up through the center of the treehouse?



A plastic tool becomes hair spray in the Maple's Tree Salon.



Here is another of the darling play houses on the property of The Refuge.  This retreat center is designed to be a retreat not only for adults, but for whole families and so there are many wonderful places for children to play.



There is even a Dutch door and working latch.



Inside are all the accommodations of home.  What a wonderful place for these little girls to play house.  I have to admit none of my treehouses or forts ever looked quite this nice.



Finally, it is time to check the mail.  I think this leaf is going to be mailed to the other girls, still playing in the treehouse.