Weekend Adventures

My Facebook friends have already had a window on the wonders of our weekend. (It wasn't that amazing, I just liked the alliteration) 

We had charge of the grandkids while Jill was off teaching a Mountaineering scramble class.  Friday evening we accompanied them to Isaac's school carnival.

 Isaac has obviously adjusted well to his new school, and found buddies to hang out with.  They were happy to let Irene tag along and she had a good time too.  She will transfer to this school next year.

Irene survived the Hamster Ball.

Isaac did too, but I only got a shot of him tumbling out of his.

Tom and I spent the two and a half hours just sort of hanging out, finding a few eats, and checking in with the kids occasionally. The sun was setting when we left to go home.

Then it was time for a snack and TV watching.  I recorded the D-Day special on NBC so we could watch it delayed.  Isaac is very interested in WWII.

I had a field trip planned for Saturday morning.  We drove east out of Seattle to Snoqualmie Falls.  I gave Isaac an iPhone with Google Maps so he could navigate and show Irene where we were and where we were going.  A little local geography and map reading lesson, you know.  Always the teacher.

 Why is it that at a certain age, kids think it's cool NOT to smile?

 We all took photos, so I'm not sure which are who's.  Irene had the little Canon, Isaac had the big Nikon some of the time, and so did I.  Tom and I both had our iPhone cameras.

 Catching rainbows.

 Oh, Isaac had his phone camera too, an old iPhone of Jill's that is limited to a few functions.

 Isaac experimented.

 He marveled at the tall maple trees.

 The interpretive signs along the trail down to the river level told about possible wildlife sightings, but we didn't find much wildlife this day.

 I guess there are powerhouse tours, but we didn't know anything about them.  Maybe another day.

 The Snoqualmie River below the falls.  You used to to able to access the river at the base of the falls, but not now, unless you want to climb over the security fence and navigate an obliterated trail, a scramble for sure.  The kids wanted to, of course, but that was not for me, as evidenced later on in the day.

 Photos from the observation deck will have to do.

 The climb back up was steep!

 A last look at the beauty of the falls, a stop to check out the gift shop at the lodge, and we were on our way.

 My Google search from the day before misled me into thinking we would find a Subway shop to pick up a picnic lunch at our next destination, either Fall City or Carnation, but that was wrong.  We ended up getting caught in a traffic mess due to a cross country race at Remlinger Farms, where we decided to go for lunch and to see if they had fresh strawberries. 

We got lunch, no berries yet, and finally got unstuck from the traffic.

We had never stopped at the Tolt-McDonald Park in Carnation, and I had read a bit about it, so that was our next stop.  Irene immediately found lawn daises to pick, which we used to decorate the rainbow bracelet she had made me. 

 There is a 500 ft suspension foot bridge over the Snoqualmie River, just downstream from where the Tolt river joins it.

We followed a trail that took us to this little river beach, where the kids had fun hopping rocks and throwing rocks in the river.

 Tom and I decided to follow the footpath along the river to see if we could get farther downstream that way. It was at this spot that I took this photo before handing the camera off to Tom so that I could try to navigate the eroded trail you see in the lower left corner.

I couldn't.  I lost my balance and there I was, rolling down the rocky bank into the cold Snoqualmie River.  

That was a bit of a shock.  I assessed the damage, glad I did not have the camera, decided I was not hurt and extracted myself slowly from the water and back up the bank, where I returned to the sunny log where I should have just stayed earlier, to begin to dry out.

I posted my condition on Facebook, which got quite a bit of attention. My phone was in my little purse, and I got out of the water soon enough that it did not get wet.

 The kids decided to take off their shoes and get their feet wet.  They were happily having fun at the river edge.  I was glad it was warm and sunny.

 We were finally ready to move on.  We loved the view across the valley as we crossed back over the bridge.

Yes, I was wet, and I had a few minor scratches and rock bruises, but not enough to stop us from going on to our final destination, the ice cream shop in Duvall. I moved my chair to the sunny side of the sidewalk.

 It was after 4:00 by the time we got home.  The kids went to their room and got out the Legos and played.  Tom went to pick up the pizza for dinner, and I took a warm shower, got dry clothes,  and settled into my chair to watch the recorded horse race - sorry to see no Triple Crown winner- and then we watched the Sounders match from Chicago.

In the evening there was screen time for the kids, showers, and we looked at the photos from the day that I got downloaded.

We all slept well.

Sunday morning I didn't even try to get the kids going.  I just let them amuse themselves with TV and desktop computer and tablet. I got them fed, I did a bit of housework and the laundry, got through my physical therapy exercises and took a walk.  I have a few sore spots, but there is no problem with my back.  I am fully healed from my back surgery and good to go except for the bone fusing that is still in progress.  The rods and screws do their job until that takes place.

Tom has now delivered the kids back to their home, where Jill will be keeping them busy getting jobs done.  They have seven more days of school left before summer break.

I am going to find my Kindle, and a spot on the patio and take it easy.  The sun has come out and the back yard smells like roses.