Saturday play day

Saturday morning just after 8am, we went on a family adventure! We drove 40 minutes to the base of Badger Mountain in Kennewick and hiked up it together. The most direct trail is 1.4 miles from the bottom to the top. Morale was thin on the ground for the first half of the hike, but we made it to the top at last in the hot sun. The views were wide and far and as usual, I relished that big blue sky arching overhead. The kids felt pretty good about climbing a mountain, even if it was only 1500 feet high.

Once we descended Badger, we had some snacks, played on the playground a little, and then drove 10 minutes over to our old friend, Howard Amon Park along the Columbia River in Richland. Jeff needed more heart pumping pavement pounding exercise, so he suited up and ran ten miles along the river walkway while the kids and I played at the park, had a picnic, and chased seagulls. Thank goodness for those nice big shady trees, because it was 85 degrees in the sun by the time we sat down for lunch--Jeff was dripping after his run. We all ambled down to the river's edge to dip our feet in the frigid river when Jeff finished running. Two words: ICE WATER! Literally--it's flowing with melted snowpack. Amber wanted to swim in it, but we had to deny her the pleasure. She was rather indignant about the decision. 

Around noon, we packed up and drove home without even stopping at Costco. Later at the weekly White family Saturday night Grampa Dan's pancake dinner, I asked Dan and Leslie "What did you do today?" They said "Worked--in the yard, in the house, etc." When they asked us what we did all day, we said "PLAYED!" Haha, usually we try to get our house and yard work done during the week so we can play on the weekends. And we don't have a garden (insert semi-guilty grimace), unless you count the five feeble tomato plants Rose and I planted this week, so that minimizes our work too. Jeff mows the grass every few weeks, occasionally using the weed eater, and we call it good at that. Sometimes I feel guilty about not spending more time taking care of our yard, but... at least we water the grass? Haha, so far I like the idea of planting green things and harvesting and all that more than the reality. Maybe in five years when all three of my kids are in school I'll feel the urge to nurture tender little plants. Anyways, we played all day on Saturday and loved it.

Saturday afternoon we got out this year's model of our backyard wading pool, and filled it with a couple of inches of very cold hose water. Amber didn't like it--too cold--but Jay and Rose shrieked and splashed for an hour before dinner.

As usual, I manned the camera.

BADGER MOUNTAIN:

 Jay was feeling defiant and anti-camera after the climb.

 Rose took this one. I have needed a sun hat for years, and I finally got one this week--it feels like a sombrero but after one hike in it, I'm already wondering how I survived seven years in eastern Washington without it! Next up: find some kid-sized sun hats to protect my little blondies.

 Pretty sure Jay was faking most of his reluctance.

 Going down.

 Jay was much happier on the way down the mountain. 

 Cute little birdy--I think it's a lark of some sort. A nice Asian lady was hiking near us and told us the names of a few birds, but she was hard to understand.

 My sombrero shadow. hehe.

Predictably, Amber ripped off her little bonnet a few minutes into the hike. Too bad, because she looked like a cabbage patch doll in it! Luckily I smeared sunscreen in her hair before we left.

HOWARD AMON PARK:

 Jeff just happened to be running by when I was taking this picture--that's him in orange and blue to the left.

 Jay tossed a few crumbs to the seagulls and we were almost instantly flocked by twenty big beady-eyed birds. I kept waving my arms to keep them away from my ears. It was not restful to lay on our picnic blanket with sharp beaked seagulls looming nearby! Jay soon took over, alternately feeding and chasing the creatures till they didn't know what to expect.

 Amber imperiously demanded the river, over and over.

 Jeff has really good legs. 

BACKYARD SWIMMING:

 The pool is supposed to be filled up another foot or so, but the water was so cold we thought we'd start off small. A stick has already punctured the bottom! Arg, time to get out the one tiny patch that came with the pool.

 Amber was happier in the warm sunshine, observing the cold splashes from afar. Rose's old 24 month swimsuit was way too big, so I squeezed Amber into last summer's size 12 month suit. The shirt was a tad short. But who doesn't love a round baby belly?? And those thighs--yum! Why can't grownups look that cute in swimwear?

Hooray for a Saturday play day!