Foster Farms

The kids and I spent the day on Foster Farm. My friend Natalie's parents use to run a dairy farm but now rent out the land to other farmers. The farm borders on the Tolt River and the Snoqualmie River.

Natalie's dad brought down the kayak's. A few for the adults and 2 that are built just for the kids.

 

There is a secret entrance to get to the beach.  You have to go through two gates and across a long field to get there. I told the kids we were going to a secret beach. That only added to the excitement of the day.

 

 

 This is the path off of the field that leads to the Snoqualmie River. It is a very peaceful and slow part of the river. This year was great because it was very shallow the kids could explore almost to the middle of the river.

 

 

 Ryann was showing Freckle Foot how to kayak.

 

Little Loaf was having the time of his life kayaking, swimming in a inner tube and jumping off a log. I got the sunburn of my life. My thighs haven't seen the light of day since Freckle Foot was born. Natalie put sunscreen on my back but I forgot to put some on my chest. It's gonna be a painful couple of days. Totally worth it. Best day of summer ever.

Kelsey Creek Park

 

 I had to run a errand in Bellevue and decided the kids might like to stop by Kelsey Creek Farm.

 Quarter Shorts loved the play area that was built just for 3 year old and under. Everything was just his size.

 We were able to see a few animals up close but most of the animals were behind heavily guarded cages.

 

 

 Freckle Foot couldn't wait to get back to the play area and her brothers were trying to keep up. It is a nice picture of the beautiful barns they have on site.

 

 

 Little Loaf was being difficult and didn't want his picture take but I was able to snap a quick one.

 

 

Freckle Foot climbs on anything and everything. It wasn't quite as exciting of a trip as I had hoped for. I think next time I will take them to the Petting area at Forest Park in Everett, there they get to pet the animals.

Trip to the River

 Little Loaf and Auntie are floating down a short section of the river. Auntie brings fun where ever she goes.

Freckle Foot convinced me to get in the freezing water with her.

 

 

While Auntie and I were floating the short section of the river front. Great Grandma kept an eye on Quarter Shorts. Who wouldn't

 

Quarter Shorts might need a gun safety class.

 

 Someone was pouting and not being a good sport. Which is funny but we still had to have a talk about good sportsmanship.

 

After the girls were dried off they still wanted to play with the inner tubes.

 

We slept in our Westfalia Camper for the first time. Quarter Shorts is sleeping in a hammock Leon and I made. Leon made the PVC pipe frame. I made the canvas cover. He was very happy to sleep in it. I worked better than I thought it would. If I close all the curtains he has his own little room.

A trip to The Cabin

We were planning a to spend a couple days at our friends cabin but our Camper wouldn't start. Turns out it only takes a 20$ part but half a day to take out the steering column. We had to settle for a long day trip.

 

 Freckle Foot and Little Loaf and Leon have been to the cabin several times. However, this was Quarter Shorts and I's first time. The kids loving going to the cabin because it involves taking the ferry.

 I took this picture because this is how I see my children on a daily basis. Strapped in their car seats while I am chauffeuring them to school. Today we are on the ferry so I had time to snap a picture of them.

The kids went straight to the swing upon arrival.

 Ft. Flaggler is just a couple miles from the cabin the kids loved exploring the tunnels and pathways though out the fort.

 As we came out of one of the tunnels we found a birds nest. The mother bird protecting her nest.

 Quarter Shorts is in love he held hands with his new best friend "matew"

 Back at the cabin after lunch Little Loaf figured out how to get into the hammock without falling out.

 The kids spent the whole day on the swing, in this boat or in the hammock. It was so peaceful.

 Around 2pm we started a fire. We had a good bed of coals by the time we were ready for hot dogs and smores. We learned that smores are reallllly good with Reese peanut butter cups.

 This is Cassie, she is a wonderful sweet dog. She has really aged in the last year.

We have another trip planned for later in the summer. Hopefully everything works in the camper this next time around.

Making Strawberry Jam Over 4th of July

My love of strawberry jam was handed down to me from my Grandma Warkentin. She always made strawberry freezer jam.  This year I decide to make cooked jam instead of freezer jam. My freezer jam always turned out grainy and took up too much space in my freezer. This is actually the second batch of jam that I made this year. The first batch I made with Auntie. She is a pro when it comes to making jam and I needed to learn a few tips learn this new process.

I like to make jam in the quart jars because we go through jam quickly. PB&J is all the boys eat these days. Auntie explained that it separates when you put jam in large containers as you can see in the picture. It taste really good but is a little runny at the bottom where there is no fruit. We will see if I can make it last till the end of next June. I only had to buy 1 jar of jam this year because we had run out before the local strawberries were in season.