Ape Caves/ Trail of Two Forests

Last Saturday Paul and I took the boys up to the Mt St Helens area for some fun and adventure. We had been talking about going to Ape Caves for some time, and were finally able to get up there. Rowan had been super excited about going and insistent that we go up until Friday night. Then he decided he might actually be too scared to go in the caves.

When we got there he was very reluctant to enter the caves. We reassured him that we had lots of flashlights and would hold his hand the whole time, and convinced him to give it a try. Within about 5 minutes of being in the cave he was LOVING it, and we had to remind him to stick with us and not get too far ahead. Then he started saying he didn't need to be with us because he's a "man of adventure"! What a nut!

We decided to start with the lower cave, which is the easier of the two caves. Most of that cave is about as big as a subway tunnel, although the ground is rocky and you have to do a bit of climbing over large rocks in portions of it. It is really amazingly cool in there.

We saw the "meatball", and also the 3 meatballs that are lined up together.

Grayson and Rowan were great explorers, and enjoyed looking for neat formations in the cave. They also had fun trying to sneak a little ahead of us, hide, and then act like grumpy cave trolls when we "found" them.

We had planned to just do the lower cave, but even though it was a chilly 42 degrees in there they were chomping at the bit to do some more exploring. We explored part of the more challenging upper cave, but it was clear that we weren't quite prepared enough for that, and at that point we had already been down in the caves for about an hour and half and were getting tired and hungry.

The upper cave is definitely going to require headlamps instead of flashlights since there will be a lot more climbing over rocks which will require both hands.

We will definitely be going back!

We also made a trip to see the trail of Two Forests while we were there.

This is a nice easy trail that shows some of the cool effects of the lava flow.

There are a bunch of neat tree casts, where the lava encased the large tree trunks and formed impressions of the trees.

There is an optional section of the trail called "the crawl" where you can crawl through an underground tunnel that was formed when the lava encased and then burned out a large fallen tree. Paul and I opted not to go through it, since it did require actual crawling.

Rowan was initially scared about going through it since Paul and I weren't going, but after he saw Grayson and Fuller make it through in one piece he went through.

He ended up liking it so much he ended up going through it about 5 more times before we finally had to go.

It was a great family day, and we saw some places we are excited to go back and explore some more. I think our next adventures in the area may be Lake Cave or Lava Canyon.

The Freshman

Last week I took Fuller to register for high school. Sigh. As much as I beg and plead he just won't stop growing up. The fact that he was measured at 6ft at his last check up is evidence of that. This summer he has been running with the high school cross country team three days a week, so I've kind of gotten used to dropping him off at the high school and seeing him there, but it's still weird. In my mind he's still about 6 years old and into playing with trucks. In reality he's a teenager and into texting girls. It has suddenly become very clear to me that my time with this child is very limited. Between school, sports, homework and friends I know I will be seeing very little of him this fall, and as much as he sometimes drives me crazy I know I will miss him terribly.

At the same time I am excited for him. I am proud of the person that he is, and looking forward to good things from him in the years to come. I hope he loves high school and has as much fun as he had in middle school. I hope he makes good, lifelong friends. I hope he laughs a lot and makes great memories. I hope he finds a direction or plan for his life that he is excited about. But most of all I hope he still makes time for us at home who love him. Because I am still the Mommy, and I'm not ready to let go! (just kidding....kind of)

(Fuller informed me that I wasn't allowed to bring a camera to registration. I guess that's just not cool. So I sneaked a picture of the registration sign earlier in the day and got him with his locker using my phone.)

The New Dirt Bike Track

One of the boys' (Grayson and Rowan) favorite new things to do this summer is go to the dirt bike track at one of the local parks. This summer they totally redid the track and it is greatly improved from what it used to be. I was a little unsure about if I thought it was going to be safe for them, especially Rowan, but they have gotten the hang of it very quickly.

Grayson loves that he gets to really test out his new bmx bike. He had one really good fall the first time we went, but has done great since then.

Rowan was hesitant at first, but last time we went we could barely get him to leave.









The only part the boys don't like is the long trek up the gravel hill to the starting line. That gets tiring!

I really hope the city will keep this maintained. It's so nice to have something else for the kids to do in town.

Swimming Lessons

We have just finished up swimming lessons for the summer. I am so proud of these guys and all the great improvements they have made in their swimming. Grayson has gotten to the point that we will be letting him quit swimming lessons for good if he wants to. The only item not marked off on his "report card" was the butterfly, and I'm ok with him never perfecting that particular stroke. The kids both had great teachers this summer and had a lot of fun with their classes.

Cannon Beach and Cousins

Earlier this month we had a visit from Paul's brother and his family, and got to spend some quality time together at Cannon Beach. The kids had a great time lovin' on Uncle Jason and Aunt Barb, and hanging out with Gabe and Elsie. There's a chance they may be moving here soon, so we are hopeful for more frequent trips to the beach with them.

And of course no trip to the beach would be complete without Buster!



It was fairly chilly and windy, but that didn't stop the kids from getting in the frigid water. They played and played until we made them get out and warm up.


There was also plenty of digging in the sand....

And looking at the tide pools.




And of course hanging out and looking cool.

We also took in some yummy clam chowder at Mo's(although our waitress left a little to be desired), and visited the bakery and the candy store.

What a great trip to the beach!

Eleven

Yesterday Grayson turned 11. I can't believe how fast that boy is growing up! Grayson has a crazy, somewhat off kilter sense of humor and can get us in stitches faster than anyone else. He does great impressions and is the master of movie quotes. He loves to be active and keeps busy with soccer, swimming and bike riding.

Favorite food: BBQ chicken wings
Favorite movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Favorite restaurant: La Sirenita
Favorite TV show: Dr Who
Favorite game: Lego Pirates of the Caribbean for Wii
Favorite music: Rap or R&B
Favorite thing to do: play soccer
Favorite toy: ipod touch
Best friends: Olivia, Hunter S, Hunter W
Most important thing you learned this year: How to cook

Grayson got to spread his birthday celebrating out by celebrating early when his cousins from Montana were here, and then with a special dinner with Grandma and Grandpa on his actual birthday.

His big birthday wishes this year were for a bmx bike, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, and a Jamba Juice gift card (what can I say, that kid has a slight addiction to mango smoothies).

It must have been the best birthday ever because all of those wishes came true!

We love you sweet boy! Can't wait to see what the next year brings!