Loving Books

Can I just tell you how happy I am when I come into a room or look behind me in the car and see Cannon devouring a book!  It makes my heart so full.

Cannon has always been good at reading and has enjoyed many types of books but he struggled to find books that he liked to read just because.  I continued to bring chapter books home and encourage him. And he did read many.  Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, Mouse and the Motorcycle, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, etc.   He read a ton of picture books, which I still encourage, and he loves to be read to...which we still do.

But finally this summer Cannon read another Diary of a Wimpy Kid book and hasn't been able to put them down.  He's read three books in about a month and is almost finished with his latest one.   We are heading to the library tomorrow to find another one in the series for him since I forgot to get one from school today.

Hopefully he will continue to find books that he likes and he'll always have that love of reading!

Enjoying every moment.

Olympic Game Farm Park

One of the top things on our list to do this vacation was to go to Olympic Game Farm Park.  I remember going as a kid and knew that it would be fun and memorable for the boys.

Some cool info about the park is below.  I didn't know they worked for Disney!

Olympic Game Farm worked exclusively for Walt Disney Studios for 28 years, filming here at the farm and on the Olympic Peninsula, as well as on many different set locations.  A few popular titles produced with our past animal actors, are “Charlie the Lonesome Cougar”, “The Incredible Journey”, “White Wilderness” and “Grizzly Adams” television and movie series. In 2012, we had used our black bear “Kitty” and wolf “Brutus” in “Serenity Farms”. In winter of 2013 we used “Kitty” once again in a National Geographic documentary on black bear in the city. Summer of 2014, “Leland” a black tail deer was used in the filming of “Captain Fantastic” as well as Olympic Game Farm used as a filming location for a scene.

After the death of Walt and Roy Disney, Disney Studios began to move away from the nature films that had been so dear to Walt’s heart.   In 1972, with the approval of the Disney Studios for using the Disney name, Olympic Game Farm, Inc. was opened to the public. Our founders Lloyd and Catherine Beebe, retired from the filming industry and focused solely for caring for their animal actors, concentrating on offering “in need” captive bred animals a new and loving home. Olympic Game Farm will continue to accept in-need wildlife, as space permits and with the proper authority approvals. We cannot accept local animals from the wild without proper permission from Washington State Fish and Wildlife.

Lloyd Beebe passed along his trait, his dedication, and his love for wildlife to his grandsons Robert Beebe and James Beebe, who have taken over the daily operations of the Olympic Game Farm since 2008.

We had the best time feeding the animals.  It really is crazy how they just go from car to car and get fed.  They know exactly what to do.  We saw all sorts of animals, many we could feed.  There were two zebras, but they were hiding in the shade.  There were also areas where we could see animals, but not feed them.  We saw a fox, cougars, a lion, a wolf and a few others.  

Great trip and so worth it!  Lots of smiles from everyone!
Enjoying every moment.

Hello Canada!

Victoria here we come!

We were all excited to ride the ferry over to Victoria for the day.  This would be the boys first time out of the country and it had been years since Chris and I had been.

The ferry ride itself was a hit with the boys, especially Cannon.  When we left, he watched everything carefully from the back of the boat.  Then he wanted to go to the front of the boat.  Of course he checked out all parts of the boat in between. When we docked in Victoria, he really enjoyed watching the wench work the big ropes on the bow of the boat.

The boys were excited to get Canadian money and couldn't believe how it looked so different!  Very exciting for them!

We took a double-decker bus tour around the city.  It was a hop on/hop off pass and was narrated the entire way.  It is a great way to see the city and hear about the cool places.  One of the places we stopped was a huge, beautiful park.  In part of the park was a small zoo.  The boys loved petting and brushing all of the goats.  We also saw many peacocks, donkeys, chickens, rabbits, birds, llamas, pigs and a couple more I can't remember!

Look at this huge plant with enormous leaves!  I wanted to get a picture of Colson next to the leaf for perspective but he refused to turn around and look at me.  So now it looks like I have a picture of him peeing on the leaf!

Great weather in Victoria.  Chris got a bit of a sunburn on his face from riding around.  We loved taking in the city from the top of the bus!

Colson finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.  It was a long and busy morning for him!

Silly picture of two silly people.

Enjoying every moment.

Hurricane Ridge

We spent one morning driving up to Hurricane Ridge and taking a hike.  It was a little overcast in Port Angeles but as we drove up in elevation, we found clear, blue skies.  It was so pretty up at the top.  The views are amazing and I could have sat and looked out at them all day long.  (Not possible with two young boys, however!)   We decided to climb up to Sunrise Point.  It wasn't too tough of climb with a nice, wide trail.  But it was uphill the whole way.  Cannon did great.  Colson did great almost the whole way up and then got scared, but refused to hold a hand or be picked up.  The same for going down.  He is stubborn and wants to do it HIS way.

The views from the Visitor Center at the top of Hurricane Ridge.  We should have brought a lunch to have up hear so we could enjoy the views for a longer period of time.

A few selfies and some snapshots taken by the boys.

Cannon took this one.

Colson took this one.

The start of the trail up. It was paved for a short time.  

Truly amazing views.  We could see the town, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Canada and the San Juan Islands.  There were also wonderful views of the mountains, rolling hills and dense forests.

Colson taking his own sweet time coming back down!

I would recommend this place for a visit and a hike or two!
Enjoying every moment.

Family Vacation

This year for our week-long family vacation, we decided to stay a little bit closer to home.  We chose to explore the Olympic Peninsula and booked a week at the KOA in Port Angeles.  We were all excited for our vacation and couldn't wait to get started!

We did A LOT on our trip and I took about 250 pictures!  There were a few big adventures, like the one to Victoria and another to Olympic Game Farm Park.  Those I'll write about in another post.

Along with some of the 'bigger' things, we did a lot of 'little' things, too.

Here are some highlights:

There was a pool at the KOA and the boys went swimming a lot!  Cannon went every day.  Even when the weather was a bit cooler, Cannon still swam.  There were always kids in the pool.  I enjoyed watching the boys swim, making friends, playing together, etc.  Cannon loved jumping in and also finding rings and other things on the bottom of the pool.  Colson didn't swim as much as Cannon, but loved being in the pool.  The life jacket has helped him be very independent.  Chris and I swam the first day, but then just let the kids enjoy the pool after that.

Every night at the KOA there were wagon rides around the campground.  We went on one the first night.  It was Lavender Fest weekend so everyone chose something purple to wear from the box.  The man taught us 9 different waves to use and then we headed out, putting those waves to use!  Simple, but fun!

The boys LOVE boat ramps and playing in the water with their toys.  They were able to do that a few times. This is Lake Crescent.  They would have stayed here for hours!  Chris and I walked along the beach a little and then sat on the logs watching the boys, taking it all in.  It was very peaceful.  

We took a couple of hikes, one to Marymere Falls near Lake Crescent. It was an easy hike, with only the last part very steep.  Hiking through the forest is so beautiful and we had a good time looking at all things nature!  The waterfall was pretty.  Colson hiked the entire way up.  Chris carried him down the steep part, but he hiked on his own again for a little bit before he got too tired (and whiny!) Cannon did amazing and we need to take him on more hikes!

The Visitor Center was an experience in itself. We spent an hour and a half there, checking out the exhibits and letting the boys play in the the kids room.  We also watched the 25 minute movie about the Olympic National Forest.  It was a perfect way to start our morning.

Enjoying every moment.

At The Farm

An afternoon at Ms. Penny's farm.

What a great way to spend the afternoon!  The boys were excited to head to Ms. Penny's.  We started up top at their freshly cleared property.  Of course, the tractor was a huge hit!  Cannon knew just about everything about how to run it!

The garden they have is amazing and Colson helped me pick some fresh beans!  We also got some potatoes, cucumber, peas, and tomatoes.

The boys also checked on the chickens and picked some eggs. They found eight fresh eggs and were so proud of them!

Picking blueberries...and eating every single one!  They have four huge blueberry bushes.  I want some in my yard!

Here's just some of our haul from the afternoon! Thanks, Ms. Penny!

Enjoying every moment.