Mount Rainier Backpacking Trip with the Toft Family

Our 2nd annual backpacking trip to Sunrise Camp at Mount Rainier with the Toft family to celebrate Beth's birthday. Considerably more of a challenge then last year.  Tiger Lily and Rosie were of course a year older and significantly heavier.  Last year we got to the campsite in one trip - this time took two.  And Jodie, rock star that she is, did the whole thing 9+ months pregnant this year! Wow! We had a super fun time as we always do with the Tofts. Click here to see all 35 pictures at once or click the picture for a slideshow.

RSVP A 200+ Mile Bike Ride!

Beth and Merrick went on the Cascade Bicycle Club's annual Ride Seattle to Vancouver and Party ride with their friends Andy and Milo.  It's a 2 day ride; Seattle to Bellingham the first day, then Bellingham to Vancouver the second. Great weather and company.  And we love Vancouver! Granny Janny and Papa came up from Eugene to watch Tiger Lily and they had fun too.  Milo came in first on the second day of the ride!  He's a monster, that one. Click here to see 15 photos all at once or the picture below for a slide show.

Hike on the Pacific Crest Trail and Hunt for Tiger Lilies

This year we went looking for Tiger Lily's namesake on the Pacific Crest Trail at Snoqualmie Pass. It was our first time on this part of the trail.  Very beautiful and not nearly as busy as we expected. We'll be coming back here for sure! Click here to see them all at once or the picture below for a slide show.

August visit fro Meema!

Beth's mother Cecilia visited in August. The weather was beautiful and Tiger Lily was was able to give her a grand tour of all Seattle has to offer in the summer.  We look forward to seeing Cecilia and Trobe again in October!  All pictures at once here, or click the picture for a slideshow.

Olympic National Park Bike Ride - "Ride the Hurricane"

Merrick went to Port Angeles on August 4th to ride in an annual event up the road to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park on the 5th.  The weather was beautiful and the wildflowers were in full bloom.  The ride is almost entirely uphill to the top which was slow an sweaty but quite enjoyable. The ride downhill was fast! Click here to see them all at once or on the picture for a slide show.

4th of July Vacation

Oh boy did we have a great family vacation this July! On July 3rd we drove down to Eugene (our odometer turned over on the way!) and had a great spaghetti dinner prepared by Merrick's Uncle Dennis at Tiger Lily's Great-Grandma Harsch's house.  This was in preparation for the Butte to Butte, Eugene's annual 10k, 5k run or 4.5 mile walk.

The following day, July 4th, the 3 of us woke up early and walked 4.5 mile event with Tiger Lily's cousin Hannah, Merrick's cousins Becky and Heather (their husbands, Sonam and Carl ran the 10k), Heather and Carl's children Evie and Nate and Merrick's uncle Dennis.  The weather was perfect and it was a great opportunity to catch up.  We're looking forward to more family joining next year!

Later that day we went to Merrick's Uncle Marc, Aunt Pat, Shannon and Mike Burgess' wonderful country estate in Junction City for a fantastic BBQ!  We were treated to Mike and Matthew's freshly caught BBQ'd Columbia River sturgeon.  Wow! The kids got to play in the pool, run around in the sunshine and catch frogs. Thanks for the hospitality Burgess'!

After that Hannah and the 3 of us, Merrick's parents and sister Ginny headed to the Oregon coast.  Merrick's parents and Ginny stayed at a hotel in Florence and we stayed in a really nice yurt on the Siltcoos river for the nights of the 4th and 5th. Merrick and Hannah caught the Florence fireworks display that night. We had planned to paddle from our yurt to the ocean (about 3 miles) but as you can see in the photos the portage around the dam was super sketchy and we decided that though we might get down we probably wouldn't get back up!  So, we paddled back upstream to the lake and then opted for a beach hike in the afternoon. The next morning Merrick, Hannah, and Beth did a longer hike along the Siltcoos River, through the dunes and out to the beach. We saw a family of five otters, a giant water beetle, a tree frog, and lots of seals lounging on a sand bank in the surf! The weather couldn't have been nicer. It was our birthday present to Hannah who turned 13 July 9th! Happy Birthday Hannah!

On the 6th we said goodbye to the family and headed back towards Seattle taking the scenic route along the Oregon coast.  We tent camped one night at Cape Lookout state park and had enough time to explore the surrounding area.   Absolutely beautiful!

The Drive to Eugene, July 3rd. 

13 pictures. Click the photo for a slideshow, here to see them all at once.

Tiger Lily chasing ducks at Lake Sacajawea park, Longview WA

Butte to Butte, July 4th.

14 pictures. Click the photo for a slideshow, here to see them all at once.

Burgess BBQ, July 4th

13 pictures. Click the photo below for a slideshow, here to see them all at once.

Florence and the Siltcoos River, Oregon Coast July 4th-6th

Click the photo for a 64 photo slideshow or here for all of them at once.

Cape Lookout, Cape Meares and the trip back to Seattle
July 6th & 7th

Click the photo for a 25 photo slideshow or here to see them all at once.

Granny Janny Visits

Granny Janny Richmond came to visit and helped watch Tiger Lily while Beth stayed overnight in Sequim for work.  The weather was great, and we all had a very fun time!  Papa Richmond and cousin Hannah drove up on Friday and spent the night, and then Granny Papa and Hannah headed home on Saturday.  It was great seeing everyone!  We'll see you in Eugene in another week!

Click the picture for a 35 picture slideshow, or here to see them all at once.