Rest and Relaxation part 3

On May 18, 1980, a five you old Collin stepped outside to what he thought was falling snow. However, it wasn't. It was ash. Ash that was ejected from the earth as Mount St. Helen's erupted over 100 miles away.

In the weeks leading up to our trip, the boys and I learned much about volcanoes. It was pretty cool to be able to end our studies with a visit to the Mount St. Helen's National Volcanic Monument.

This is the new lava dome that is building.

This is one of Collin's and mine favorite hikes. It's amazingly beautiful.

A herd of elk.

Collin and the boys 2010

Collin, Magnus, and Me 2002

Rest and Relaxation

After Collin's summer job (finally) ended, we took a much needed family trip. We needed some time together. We headed north to go camping at William Tugman State Park. It's situated on Eel Lake, just a few miles from the Ocean and dunes, on the central coast of Oregon. It was beautiful!

Seeing as the Oregon coast's weather is unpredictable this time of year and pretty chilly over night, we opted to stay in a Yurt instead of pitching our tent. Let me just say that I may never tent camp again. Collin put it best by saying, "This is nicer than some hotels we have stayed in". He was right. It had a bunk bed and a couch that pulled out into a double bed, a table and chairs, a locking door, electricity, and HEAT! Home sweet home.

We hiked around Eel lake...

Played in the sand at the ocean...

...and the sand dunes...

We also hiked a portion of the Oregon Coast Trail and found this great beach...

...and climbed on the rocks...

...explored tide pools (my favorite thing to do)...

...and watched the sun set...

We also found loads of these guys...

...and caught a glimpse of this guy...

It was a GREAT camping trip. Next up...our visit with family in Washington.

The Birth of a Butterfly

If you'd like to witness the miraculous changes that take place, I'd encourage you to check out Insect Lore. If you'd like to see a fellow homeschool mom's field trip to the Insect Lore company, you can read her blog post here. According to her post, Praying Mantises eat Black Widow Spiders. I think we'll order those next!

Zoo Trip

The weather was great so we headed to the zoo with some friends...

Can You Smell Them?

This is our wall of flowers. It's lovely.

I needed this...

One of our dearest friends, Wes, came to visit us for the week from Cincinnati. It was refreshing to have him here. Coming from the midwest, it was only fitting we spend a day at the beach!

It was really clear and sunny when we got there...


There are a few things I love doing at the beach. Reading, tidepooling and looking for treasures.


Then the fog started rolling in...

Life is good!