beach time

We went to the beach saturday afternoon. Gramma has to get her feet in. She didn't have her usual comrades with her this year, cause they all had boots on, so were getting soaked as the waves came in, so she just stayed out a few minutes, but she always goes in up to her knees at least and sometimes up to her waist! It is pretty funny...there is a kid in all of us! Kaleb and J are playing lifeguard...ready to tromp if need be, but not quite willing to get soaked just for fun! you can tell we've lived here awhile.....;) and aren't still enticed by those inviting (bitter cold) waves....

beachcombing....

a little way up the beach, we found this bird.

He was there by himself and would not budge.

every once in awhile a wave would come up and he would use his wings to balance, get his footing and stand his ground...I was fascinated, and took numerous photos.
I probably got a foot away, and he stood firm.
He reminded me of an analogy...standing firm, no matter...the waves, big scary giants, distractions... we were there for quite awhile and he kept his spot the whole time.

he did walk, so we knew he wasn't crippled, but he just walked a few feet (of his)

and his wings worked.... he didn't fly, cause he was standing ground, but he wanted me to know he was able bodied. ;)

Elijah likes to dig. Kas was making his hole pretty!

Gramma's treasures! by the way, I figured out how to go to the beach and not pick up treasures......wear new shoes! I did it the other day and was so desperate not to get them dirty, that I stayed clear of the waves, so there was no possible way I would ruin my shoes. ha! I did notice sand in the creases though the next time I wore them.

play

So, saturday of Gramma and Grampa's visit, we took them out on the bay. Their one main request for the trip was boat time! so, we crammed as much of it in as we could....It was hard, but we were willing to make the sacrifice for them. ;) Actually since the kids have been gone most of the summer, they have been dying to get some boat time as well. Saturday promised to be a decent day, not beautiful like we would have loved, but not raining or windy....a good day for us!
We decided to load Gramma up before we launched, which meant everyone would go with her. We didn't want her to have to walk all the way down the dock. Seemed like a good idea, but they had to ride down this ramp.....it really worked out find. I watched, and then parked the truck, and met them on the marina dock. We did a little crabbing. Here's Elijah baiting the crab pot with sardines. We use sardines, cans of tuna, and chicken legs. Dropping a pot. Gramma was having a great time. She loves the water. I don't know if you remember, but we designated that seat, Gramma's seat. And, she didn't leave it the whole time we were out there! Except maybe when we were pulling pots! the kids perched up top!After dropping the pots we went over to westport to show them what a real marina looks like! :\.
Of course I had to take another 10 or so shots of the bird rocks...see all the pelicans? love them....I think half mast was for Ted Kennedy. loved the big flag though! I want one. this will be our next boat! quite a constrast.....eek. but, anyways, we decided to dock and go for ice cream. This is a first for us and I am sure will not be a last.... We arrived the same time as many of the charter boats, bringing back their customers with fish! It was fun watching them clean the fish and the people walking off with their loot. These shore birds were helping to clean the nets..

this sea lion was waiting for guts...

Westport marina. YUM!!! I want some!!!
ice cream.

Back out in the water. Gramma is loving it....she goes from this...... to this......

to this..... on our way back. It was funny cause the spray was getting her soaked. We couldn't get her to come in, and soon she was conked out. I think she only accepted the rain gear cause she was too tired to say no. Good ol Grandpa wouldn't leave her, even though I don't think he appreciated that seat as well as Gramma did.
the kids took turns driving....

We went back, got our pots. they are all video shots, so I can't show you the two measly crab we got. We need to get our technique down. not great crabbers yet, but it was enough to have a taste that night! We had a great time..afterwards we went to the beach and took a tour of some of our latest jobs. I will post that next....

Humidity

So, Elijah has been having more problems than ever with hayfever, congestion, asthma type stuff than ever before. I was talking with someone about it and they mentioned how well the humidifier works for breathing better. We discussed the humidity in our air, and how the humidifier would still work. So, the other day I picked one up while I was in walmart.

Last night we set it up. It was a little different than the one we grew up with so, Jeremy was reading the directions and came across the trouble shooter questions and answers.....
the question was something along the lines of...what is wrong with the water doesn't go down. The answer gave a few ideas, and then stated that if the humidity is over 60 % then the water may not evaporate!!!! that means it is rarely going to be working at our house! I don't know if I should just take it back right now. I think it is a rare thing when we have humidity under 60%! I know today it was 100%!

I think that was a waste of money, but I am still hopeful that it may in some way help. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas?
btw, Elijah might be growing....we'll see. tonight he said he felt taller! which was super cute, cause he is still definitely short.

Last day

I might have mentioned earlier, but Jeremy's parents came to visit at the end of August. It has been a year since they were here last, and their last trip was not a great experience. It was in Aberdeen where Gayle found out she had kidney cancer, after a very painful day before. We had to rush her back home for surgery. Needless to say, they were excited to come, but also having flashbacks of the last horrible trip. We all felt the need to make up for lost time and have a great visit! I am not sure why I did this backwards, but here is the last day. Sunday.....
We went to church, where J and his dad performed a hymn. It was beautiful and so great to see them together sharing their musical abilities. I wish they had more opportunity to do that! but a 10 hour commute makes that kindof hard!
After church we all loaded into the motorhome and headed up to Quinault. We packed a lunch, lots of warm clothes, towels, suits....anything that we might need...
It was beautiful at Quinault. We found the beach and then kids headed straight to the water. Gramma said she was going to change into her capris so she could put her feet in. The adults grabbed chairs and headed down. Gramma comes out with her cute cover up on and said she must have forgotten her capris...and extra clothes and didn't want to get her one set wet, so she just put on her swim suit..yea right, Gramma! We all know how much she loves the water. It was just a few seconds and she was in!

and, then all the way in. In fact I think she was the first one who was brave enough to dunk in!

She found a rock and perched on there the remainder of the time we were there, and told us how crazy we were to not get in. This is as far as J got, and Grandpa ( sorry no photo) and I made it to here.....

ya, we're wimps. What can I say. It was warm though....ha!

So then we went to Kalaloch, parked on the bluff and ate lunch. Well, the adults ate lunch. The kids ran down and played on the beach.

Grandpa and Jeremy went down and Grandpa collected beach goodies for Gramma Jello who couldn't make it down the bluff.

Grandpa being silly..... The kids finally came up and ate...
And then we went over to Ruby Beach. There is quite a hike down to the beach.
We were worried about Gramma making it down, but Kaleb and Jeremy helped her down the trail and over to a good place to sit and relax.

At the beach is a creek going into the ocean. As soon as we got there the younger kids were in the water! again!

Gramma refrained this time. She was layered about 5 deep! I don't think a swimsuit was an option with the great beach weather we usually have.

Right away we noticed all these rock towers all overy any flat enough surface.

There were literally hundreds of them. I am not sure what they represent, but I thought it was some meditation, peace thing. And then I saw this:

which confirmed my thoughts.....but, then I saw this other rock with charcoal writing...these rocks are dumb....well, maybe not peace and karma stuff....I don't know.
and then I saw this....which totally threw me. I really don't know if the same people did it all, or if others came and added to the mix. There were some guys down there throwing rocks and trying to knock down as many as possible. It was funny to see the people who wanted to knock them down, and then the people who was careful around them and tried not to disturb. I really liked them....can't imagine how long it took to make them all. It was an interesting sight.

btw...Ruby Beach is about a half hour south of Forks....

We all love rock jumping and trying to beat the tide.....

There are a lot of rock formations here. It is amazing.

Did I mention our beautiful weather?Gramma with her burka...er scarf... all bundled up. Playing in the rocks. and on the rocks....the fog lifted while we were there....

all of a sudden the island appeared.... love this photo. J loves his momma.

being in the right place at the right time...this was amazing. There were alot of people at the beach watching the sunset. I wanted to call them over to show them what they were missing, but I didn't......

sorry there are soo many scenery shots. I love it there. I love the rustic, rugged beauty. I was glad we were able to show Gramma and Grandpa some of our favorite spots. I love living out here. We got home late. It was a wonderful day, a great way to end the visit. We did cram alot into a short amount of time! more to come......