Mariners

We try to go to at least one Mariners game every year. Last night was our first (and likely only game) this season. Although it wasn’t the most exciting of games (the Mariners lost to the Kansas City Royals 4-8), we still had a great time and are glad that Grandma and Grandpa Fletcher were able to join us.

This was Jason’s first major league baseball game. I think it’s safe to say he got very little out of the game itself. Instead of watching the game he pointed out each and every airplane that flew over head as well as all the trains the went by. If you know anything about the location of Safeco Field this occupied most of Jason’s evening. In typical Fletcher form it was also all about the food for Jason. With all the kettle corn, candy, and French fries he downed he had enough energy to stay awake until we got home after 11pm – way past his usually bedtime. Jason made friends with a guy sitting two rows behind us and was quite entertained with the silly things he doing to get a reaction out of Jason. Here’s a short clip of Jason doing a little gig for his new friend after the Mariners hit a home run:

When the girls think about going to a game they too look forward to yummy treats. They also enjoy walking around the stadium and playing in the kiddie-area. They even watched some baseball.

Here are the kids meeting the Mariner Moose in his den.

Olympic Peninsula

Justin’s been talking about exploring the Olympic Peninsula for ages and we finally managed to find a weekend to do it. We haven’t done much hiking recently (or really ever) so my hiking boots definitely needed a little dusting off.

On Friday afternoon we went on several hikes at Hurricane Ridge. There was quite a bit of clouds and fog, but it still afforded great views of the Olympic Mountains. I think it’s so beautiful to see the mountains completely covered with evergreen.

The deer at Hurricane Ridge were fearless and we ran across several along the hike.

There was even a family of deer that we were able to watch. Jason got a kick out of watching the fawns jumping through the meadow (they hop much like a rabbit).

We stayed in Port Angeles that night and headed out bright and early on Saturday for an entire day jammed packed with sight-seeing. We hiked around Lake Crescent and found some fun little cabins right on the lake that we’d like to stay at sometime. The lake was crystal clear and so peaceful.

Check out this tree that had been hollowed out by a forest fire.

Next stop was Forks, WA – “Home of Twilight.” In my opinion, if you’ve seen the movie it’s pointless to go to Forks. The movie was not filmed in Forks so nothing resembles what is depicted in the film, but since it was on our way we drove by a few stops on the Twilight Map. Yes, there is an actual map. The Forks visitors’ center is covered in Twilight paraphernalia and they hand out maps of Twilight points of interest. Below are the Forks welcome sign, Bella’s pickup truck, and the Swan house.

We also went on a few hikes in the Hoh Rain Forest. Thankfully we were able to borrow a child pack from friends so we wouldn’t be stuck going at the pace of our two-year-old. Jason liked it as long was we were moving and he had snacks to occupy himself with, but he preferred to walk with the rest of us and actually kept up surprisingly well.

Next stop was Ruby Beach. When we saw this view we knew the hike down to the beach would be worth it.


There were lots of huge logs we had to climb/walk across to get there, but we all made it and had fun trying to keep our shoes dry (Justin and the girls were unsuccessful). Jason and the girls enjoyed collecting some of the smooth rocks on the beach.


Our last hike was to see the largest spruce tree in the WORLD. I thought it would be cool for the kids to see, but really all I wanted was a picture of Justin being a tree-hugger. Justin even got Jason to give the tree a little squeeze.

In the 34 hours we were gone I figure Jason got 10 hours LESS sleep than normal, the girls hiked several miles, we drove more than 450 miles – and EVERYONE loved it. We had a great time and are looking for more local outdoor adventures – any ideas?

Our Week

Last weekend I was sick. Fever, nasty cough, persistent headache – sick. After three days of my miserablness, I woke up Monday relieved to find my fever had moved on, but unfortunately it simply moved down the hall. We kept ourselves confined this week as we each took our turn. We did a lot of this,

and not much of anything else

Today we left the house for the first time since Monday and took a little trip to the library to renew our book stashes. Then before it was off to nap for J and off to play outside for the girls we turned on Grandma’s bubble machine - Man, that little contraption can blow!

Blue Angels - 2009

While Holly was in Tukwila, I decided to take the kids to see the Blue Angels and invited Grandma Fletcher to come along. We sacrificed a little bit of a view to stay cool in the shade and we had a good time right on the lake. Jason was a bit scared at first but caught on after a few fly-bys.