Silver Falls, Baseball Camp and Other Summer Stuff

 DeA and I wanted to have a date that was a little out of our ordinary. We decided to hike up to Silver Falls past Entiat. The views were pretty.

 I guess the trees and mountains were pretty, too.

 Meanwhile the kids played at the lake with Grandpa.

 We really missed them. Can you tell?

 Mom and Dad sold their house, and the kids helped by building massive box forts. They called it real-life Minecraft.

 The boys had baseball camp down in Wenatchee. As a new tradition, they stayed in a hotel down there without me. Jens enjoyed some ice cream.

 The boys had a blast at practice.

 Rock made sure that he took every conceivable piece of equipment that he might need.

 

 At least they pretend to love each other.

 Jens had a hard time waking up in the morning.

 SWIMMING POOL!

 The baseball camp was cancelled because of heavy smoke from the annual Forest Service bonfires. The kids seemed ready to come home.

 Ryker lost one of his front teeth after what seemed like a month of wiggling.

 I don't remember where this was or what the boys were doing, but they sure seem excited to be doing it.

 Jens loves changing sprinklers. 

 The street sign showed up for Grandpa and Grandma's new road.

 Jens is always dressed for success, even if I'm not sure what she's doing.

 The sign is up! 

 Rock is turning into quite the little handyman. Ryker and Jens know that he is happy and willing to help them fix their stuff.

Dolphin and Norah the Explorer Come to Visit

Dolphin drove his family all the way up from Utah. DeA rewarded him with spray whipped cream.

 No trip to Manson would be complete without a visit to the lake. Dolphin came prepared.

  

 Rock had to bug out for a day to complete his Hunter Safety Class. He aced his written test.

 He aced the field test.

 And he aced the "Tell Stevie that those earmuffs aren't going to do much good there" test.

 Dustin, Marissa and DeA were waiting anxiously for Rock and I so that they could take me to a Jack Johnson concert. Norah came with us and was ready the action.

 It was a beautiful night, once the temperature came down a bit. 

 We don't have the cute pink earmuffs that Norah had.

   We ended up getting home around 2:30 in the morning. The next day we were able to observe the Judd tradition of sleeping on the couch.

 That evening we took them up to the knoll to show off the fun.

 Grandma and Grandpa came up for the excitement.

  There was just too much excitement for Jens to handle.

 Grandpa Dale had some BBQ certificates to blow through, so we enjoyed dinner together.

 I ditched work on Tuesday to boat everyone up to Stehekin. Dolphin and Rock were ready.

  The lake was perfect, maybe the smoothest that I had ever seen the entire way.

 The kids and Dustin enjoyed the rhythmic jostling of the waves and the soothing, constant sound of the engine.

 Rock announced to the entire boat that he had to pee right then and there. So we stopped and let him do his thing.

  Finally we made it to Stehekin and the bakery. The cinnamon rolls were still warm.

 The next stop was Rainbow Falls. 

  We spent the better part of an hour playing in the water. Jared, Nya and Alan were there with their kids. They taught my kids how to scale the side of the waterfall and get stuck on the second level. 

 Next, we ran up to High Bridge and let the kids spit into the turquoise water running 30 feet below us.

  The lake was still perfect on the way home, and the kids alternated between sleeping in the bow and cuddling with DeA.

 Ryker was glad for the opportunity to take care of Norah the Explorer.

 On the way home the kids begged for the opportunity jump in the water. We found a quiet spot that didn't look too cold and threw them overboard. 

 Ryker was ready to get home.

 Dustin was just happy to be on the boat.

 Funshine was super tired but still loving the ride.