Day 205 and 206 - Where are all the boaters?

Day 205 - We started the day at Kyle's 4th birthday party, so lots of running around and playing for the girls.  The weather was looking great, so we planned to spend saturday night on the boat.  Since we didn't get out on the boat until afternoon, we weren't sure where we were going to moor for the evening.  We figured all the popular places like Jetty Island would be full since it was such great weather.  Surprise surprise, Jetty Island was wide open.  We were ecstatic since that meant we had to use little fuel to get there and it is free to stay overnight.  Since the Jetty Island Ferry runs during July/Aug and there was a kite surfing contest, we were not alone on the island like we usually are.  Notice the kites in the background in the pic above.  There was great wind today for the kites.  Fortunately the wind was welcome as it helped to cool us off.  It was hard to find a spot on the beach where someone else wasn't right on top of us.  The tide was super high when we got there so we built a sand castle and then a wall/moat to try and block the water from getting to our castle.  We were sucessful and the whole contraption was still around the next day!  After dinner we caught the tail end of the ranger led camp fire.  It was perfect timing, the girls didn't have to sit through the previous 45 min of the murder mystery themed campfire stiry.  What is that anyway?  By the time we got there, the story was just ending and they were handing out sticks for marshmallow roasting.  What a nice surprise. Haley informed us she saw "two satellite plates" on the island.  None of us could figure out what she was talking about until we looked up on the visitor center and saw a satellite dish! I love that she is still young enough to say funny cute things like this.  We had a beautiful sunset this evening and only two other boats stayed overnight like us.

Day 206 - We hit the beach at a super low tide this morning.  There seemed to be a lot more green kelpy stuff on the beach compared to the last time we were on the island.  It's pretty gross to step on, but you get used to it.  The tide is so far out that you can't help but feel compeled to walk out to the water's edge.  It stays shallow so far even past that, so you can go out quite far and feel like you are standing in the middle of the sound.  It was hot enough this weekend that we were all in our bathing suits and took turns playing in the surf.  The last time we were on the island (Day 177), only the kids swam.  There wasn't enough wind today for the kite surfers.  We were on the beach until late afternoon, then had to go back to Dagmars to clean out and wash the boat. The cleaning is the not so fun part of taking out the boat for the weekend.

Satelite plate

Day 177 - Jetty Island

Another great day at Jetty Island.  We had heard on the news that there was going to be a kite surfing contest on the island that day. We almost avoided the island for that reason.  We thought it's be too crowded.  To our surprise, the passenger ferrry wasn't even running that day and we were one of the 1st boats to get to the dock.  It was a beautiful day for being out on the beach to play.  It ended up being a horrible day to kite surf, the wind never did pick up and they had to cancel the contest.  We spent a good 5 or 6 hours on the island enjoying the sand and surf.  The tide was low for much of the day so we got to walk out really far, it's scary how far you can get out there and still only be in 1 foot of water.  Even Daddy got in on the playtime.  Boat washing with Daddy was, of course, part of the late afternoon activities.

Day 164 - Boy Scouts, Rough Riders and Marathon Playground Session II

We got in a little time at the beach and park in the morning. A large group of boyscouts had descended upon the island the day before and the landing craft from Fort Lewis came back to pick them up. The tide was way too low, so all the scouts headed up the beach and over to the marina. It was quite a sight.  it was a rough ride back.  It took 4 hours instead of the 2 hours it had taken the day before.  Then there was a big back up at the Marina and we had to wait quite awhile before the forklift got us out of the water.  Next is the not so fun part - cleaning the boat.  We did our usual routine of the girls helping John wash the outside of the boat while I cleaned the inside.

Later that evening, we met up with Dawn, Dane, and Brooke again at the park for another 2 hour stint at the park.

Day 152 - Back to Reality

Time to go back home.  This is my least favorite day of boat trips.  Lots of cleaning and coming home to a house that also needs to be cleaned.  The girls always enjoy helping Daddy wash the boat though.  Got a great shot of the Teagan, looking super cute in the life jacket our girls once wore.  The shot below is all I could get of the Denmark sailboat mentioned in yesterday's post.  It is the one tucked behind the tug.  We were cruising out of the marina at the time.  One thing I do love about this time of year is how late it stays light.  I had plenty of time to get in a run when we got home.

Day 128, 129 and 130

Day 128

Boat trip to Jetty Island with Grami to celebrate her birthday.  A beautiful Northwest Spring day.  How the girls can play on the beach in swimsuits while I am so cold I'm in a jacket and wrapping myself in a towel, I'll never know.  The girls got to do one of their Jetty Island favorites - sand jumping.  John and the girls washed the boat.  Back home we had a yummy halibut dinner with mini princess cakes (from IKEA) for dessert.  I snuck out for a 5 mile run. The girls helped me make a homemade ice cream cake throughout the day (layer freeze layer freeze layer freeze).

Day 129

Brunch with Grami and the rest of the F-A family for Mother's Day at Crystal Creek Cafe.  Move over Shari's Restaurants, the girls have found a new favorite pancake place and this one has mini M&M pancakes - top that.  Back home, we enjoyed homemade ice cream cake, I mean really homemade, two kinds of homemade ice cream, homemade chocolate sauce, can I use the word "homemade" anymore this sentence again?  Car washing for John and the girls.  A 12 mile run for me . . . almost a half marathon.  We were loving the sun - what a perfect weekend!

Day 130

Swimming, walk, rest. If you've been reading the blog you'll know which family member belongs to which activity. Time together was enjoying more ice cream cake with Grami.