Daniel in the Lion's Den...

Baking Bread with Momma...

The rain is coming down here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest which makes it the perfect day to bake some homemade bread to go with my Rasam soup I am making for dinner tonight.  As soon as Daniel saw what I was doing he wanted to help.  (Please note I don't have the best lighting in my kitchen for taking pictures.)

I tied on his little Starbucks apron and he went at his little ball of dough.  He used his little dough roller.  Later on he asked for a bowl and the whisk and he attacked his little ball of dough.  He's a very noisy bread baker.  :)

Tonight is Bible character dress up at church for Awana and I have his little costume all ready!  His costume revealing will be coming up later.  :)

Have a safe day everyone! 

Naches Peak Loop...

One of my favorite hikes is the Naches Peak Loop.  It's a hike the whole family can do easily and it has everything you look for in a good hike.  There are little streams, water falls (although they were just trickles right now), lakes, alpine meadows, wildflowers in abundance and of course gorgeous views of the mountains especially my favorite mountain, Mt. Rainier.  And not to mention it is a relatively flat 4 mile loop that makes it perfect for Daniel's little legs. 

And yes, this was the hike where I sprained my ankle, badly.  This time last year the spot in the picture was completely covered in snow with a little stream flowing under the snow where Rue is.  Knowing much better, I wasn't paying attention and walked right over the creek and down I went spraining the inside and outside of my ankle.  Rue had all kinds of teasing remarks for me this time.  Thankfully no sprained ankles this year.

Rue couldn't resist and jumped into this little lake.  It was a bit cold.

Dasiy's friend Ciara joined us.  Daniel wanted to hold her hand a lot and she was very sweet to let him.  

Mt. Rainier!

 

I am hoping to get in at least one more hike this season.  I'd love to do another big one with just Rue and me.  I have a couple ideas of where I would like to go. 

It rained a few days ago and I have to say it did feel nice and cozy and I felt like I should be baking some pumpkin bread.  It's back to being sunny and even though it's warm the air feels different and the sun isn't quite so intense, the mornings are starting to be more crisp.  

Now I'm off to bake some cookies for my hubby's little camping trip he is doing with some guys from work.  They are going to camp at Mt. Rainier for a night and do an epic guy hike.  I am a little jealous but the guys do need their guy time and my Gramma is visiting from LA right now and I want to spend as much time with her as I can while she is here.  She is going to treat us to a trip to the zoo so you can be sure I will have a zoo post coming up soon!  :) 

Summer Vacation, Part 3: Glacier Park...

We spent our 8th anniversary hiking to Avalanche Lake near Lake MacDonald in West Glacier.  This is Avalanche Gorge. 

Avalanche Lake

Uncle Frank had to work so only Bonnie came with us on this hike.

The next day Uncle Frank and Bonnie cut us loose in the park and we headed up to Logan Pass just the four of us.  We decided to hike to the Hidden Lake Overlook at Logan Pass.  

There were countless mountain goats with their babies and we saw three big horn sheep.  I had never seen big horn sheep in the wild before and I was in awe.  They are so majestic and they carry themselves as if they know it.  

Here are two big horn sheep.  I tried to enlarge the picture more but it was cut off the blog page. 

Rue found us a lovely picnic spot off the beaten path.  We are used to being off the beaten path in Glacier away from the tourists' crowds thanks to Bonnie and Frank being mountain guides in Glacier. 

Momma and baby goat.

Hidden Lake

My handsome men.

To be continued...

A day at Tahuya...

We had a lovely day yesterday out near Tahuya.  We found a little secluded spot on Twin Lake.  Rue tried out his new fishing pole.  Daniel had a blast throwing rocks in the water and getting good and dirty.  Daisy did a lot of reading.

Daniel, Starbuck and I went on a couple of little walks around the camping area. (Unfortunately camping is no longer allowed in this area which is an absolute shame since it is such a beautiful spot.)  Every time we came across another fire pit Daniel would get all excited and exclaim, "There's another one!". 

A man and his dog.  :)  Starbuck loved to just throw herself into the water and just swim around.  :)

All I wanted was one picture of us together.  *SIGH*  :)

The view from our picnic table.

I wish you could see him swinging his legs in this picture.  There could not have been a happier boy at that moment.  Adventures tromping around with his puppy, covered in dirt and all sticky from a marshmallow, what more could a little boy want?!  :) 

It sure was a lovely day.  I really didn't want to leave.  I hope they will open this area back up for camping again soon!  Thankfully there are other places to camp around there.  Can't wait to go back! 

Chef Daniel...

Daniel was out playing in the backyard the other day and I went out to check on him and he had filled the dog's water dish with grass, rocks and dirt.  He was engrossed in stirring it around.  I asked him what he was doing and he said he was cooking soup.  I don't know about you but that looks like one delicious soup to me!  ;)

Daniel turns 3...

June 12th was Daniel's 3rd birthday.  I can't believe my baby boy is three already!  He is the sweetest, goofiest little goose there is.

 He had "dirt" cupcakes with gummy worms. :)

My parents got him his first little bike.  My dad painted "The Bear" on the back.  He calls Daniel Bear because when he was a baby he would make these cute little growling noises that sounded like a baby bear.

I am looking forward to another year of watching him grow and learn new things.

I had to add this picture of Daniel and his Sissy.  Isn't this just melt-your-heart-to-a-puddle-on-the-floor sweet?!

Here is a link to video my father-in-law took of Daniel blowing out his candles.

Thanks to Mom for taking all the b-day pics!

Oh, and the answer to my last post is that the mountain on the cup is Mt.Rainier not the Olympic Mountains.  Oops, wrong National Park guys!  :)

Daniel's weed whacker...

Daniel loves to watch Daddy mow the lawn and use the weed whacker.  The other day he grabbed my watering wand and started walking around making a buzzing noise.  I asked him what he was doing and he said he was using the weed whacker.  :)  I love the way his little mind works.

Daniel's Boat and Upcoming Posts...

 Daniel pulled this tub out of the spare room yesterday and turned it into his boat.  He put some blankets and toys in it, grabbed his milk and had himself a little cruise. 

Yes, I know my son needs a hair cut.  He's not going to get one.  Well, maybe a little trim but his daddy wants him to have a nice mop for as long as possible.

I have some fun plans for the next week.  On Saturday I am cooking a complete campfire meal for my parents.  My hubby just bought me a tripod for hanging my cast iron dutch oven over the campfire.  Plus he bought me another cast iron dutch oven.  Cooking outside has become one of my favorite hobbies.  Watch out for my campfire cooking post.

Then I am going to make my own laundry detergent.  I am doing what I can to pinch pennies.  The "recipe" I am going to use makes 5 gallons of detergent and each load of laundry will only cost about $.04 a load!  Watch for an upcoming post on that too!

Next I am going to make my own body wash.  The "recipe" will make 2 1/2 quarts of body wash for a little less than $5.  Watch out for that post.

And last but not least Miss Daisy is turning 16 on Tuesday!!  We pretty much can't believe it! When she and Rue first came into my life she had just turned 8.  Where does the time go?!  Watch for a fun birthday post! 

Watch out for some fun posts this next week.  I hope you all are having a wonderful spring and spending lots of time outside!  Ours has been a little soggy the past week but it's suppose to be a beautiful Memorial Day weekend!

Mother's Day...

 

Mother's Day was absolutely delightful.  We stopped at my mom's house in the morning and had breakfast over there and I gave her our family picture from Easter, enlarged, matted and framed.  Then Daniel, Daisy and I headed over the bridge to my in-laws' in Tacoma where we had a big family lunch.   In the Dannells' family there are LOTS of May birthdays. Five to be exact.  So we had a little Mother's Day/May birthday celebration. 

My mother-in-law Bonita's back yard is literally a little oasis in the middle of the city of Tacoma.  There is a plum tree, cherry tree, lots of flowers and a little play cabin she built for Daisy when she was little.  She built it all from scratch. It's complete with a little ladder leading up to loft.   It is the most charming little cabin you will ever see.

Daniel playing with his Uncle Rahmat.  

 

My sweet mother-in-law Bonita.  

 Yes, Daniel did that to Uncle Rahmat's hair.  :)

Daniel wanted his own little chair. :)

I gave George a Washington hiking book.  I have the same one and the last time I pulled it out he was oohing and awing over it so I thought it might be a good birthday present.  :)  

Laurel and Mehron gave Daniel a new backpack and he didn't take it off the entire time we were there.  He even wanted to sleep with it that night.  He and Auntie Ruhiyyih played a little game of hide and seek.  He went into fits of belly laughter when he would find her.  :)

 Daniel brought me some lilacs for Mother's Day.  :)  It truly was a lovely day.