Silver Mountain Water Park

We went to the new Silver Mountain indoor water park with the Ruffcorn family.Jackson loved spending time with his cousins (and, though not pictured here, Aunt "Lala" and Uncle "Nyan").The Silver Mountain Village was quaint, though quiet in the summer. Our apartment at the lodge was awesome...as is evident by the claw-foot tub Maggie and Abby are enjoying!And the water park was super fun! There was something for everyone.Jackson loved going down the "big" slide with Mom. The pic is blurry...but you can definitely get the idea.And we all really enjoyed floating around the lazy river.We are definitely making this trip again!

Hanging with Brandon

Cousin Aly and her son, Brandon, came over to play at the Bradford house! Brandon's about 10 months older than Jackson.Jackson thought he was pretty cool. Here he's trying to give him a kiss...Brandon's not so sure about it.But he did go for the high-5 before they left.Too bad these kiddos don't live closer together. They could be great playmates. I guess there's always the summers!

Spokane with Grandma Gena and Grandpa Jack

Cisco had to head back to Prague to start the school year, while Jackson and I spent a month in Spokane with my family. I had Cisco take the big camera with him and figured I could just use my parents' camera. But, somehow, I ended up with only one picture from our time at the Bradford house. I think they all ended up on Grandma and Grandpa's computer and I never burnt them on a disc to bring home. As soon as I get some of the pics or some of the video that we took, they'll replace this blog.

Funnily enough, the one picture I have is of Jackson wearing Abby's shoes :) He really loves shoes...and to be fair, not just girls' shoes! Grandpa's shoes were also a favorite.Activities at Grandma and Grandpa's house included:
Playing on the little tykes slide they bought for him.
Playing with any of the hundreds of toys Grandma and Grandpa have for him.
Swimming in the blow up pool in the back yard.
Running through the sprinkler in the back yard.
Playing at the Shadle splash pad.
Going for bike rides.
Shopping with Grandma and Mom (not Jackson's favorite activity).
Playing with the visiting cousins, aunts and uncles.

But until I get more photos, I'll just say that we had a fantastic time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It is always so much fun to be with them. We LOVE our time in Spokane!

The Walker Camp Out 2010

Because of a late start to the school year, we finally made it to the Walker annual Camp Out. Cisco camped for the weekend with his dad and brother, Dylan. Here's Dylan, relaxing between attempts at slack-lining...a hip new sport like tight-rope walking with a twist. Incidentally, Cisco bought a slack-line after trying it with Dylan. The Bradford clan came up for the Saturday meal, which includes a spit-roasted turkey and beef roast.We got to introduce Jackson to some more extended family members.Also, got to see Aunt Marcia and Uncle Frank again!Grandpa Jack and I even had some down time to play gin.Jackson's working out some strategy.In the end, we think he could get into this camping lifestyle. Maybe next year he'll actually camp! :)

Hood Canal

Finishing up our time on the west side of the mountains, we took a trip to Hood Canal for a few days with the Baines Duo. While they are currently building their home just a mile or so down the beach, they are renting a home with this lovely beach front.They have their own oyster beach, which we took full advantage of while we were there. We enjoyed grilled oysters each day.We had a fun time playing on the beach. (If you zoom in you can see, on Jackson's cheek, remnants of our boy's big injury this summer...he pulled a ladder down on himself...ouch!)The water in the canal was awesome...the perfect temperature! We just had to be careful of all the sharp barnacles.We went kayaking each day. It was so much fun to be out on the water. We even got to see some seals.Evenings were especially beautiful and peaceful.We hung out at the fire pit, roasted marshmallows, and made campfire eclairs (my favorite).What a wonderful time. Thanks Baines Family! We can't wait to spend more time with you at the Hood!

Rietz Family - How Ya Doin'?

The Rietz Family generously offered us a room in their home for 3 weeks in July. We loved it! The kids had a great time playing together...And of course, we always love our time with Kim and Jed. It never seems to be enough. We spent lots of evenings hanging out on the patio.The backyard was a perfect place for Jackson to explore.Mess? What mess?And inside...well...there were Ocea's pink sparkly shoes.And Ocea's yellow shoes with flowers on them.Okay...and TONS of toys for Jackson to enjoy. (But he did really like playing dress up with Ocea. And the pictures were just too great to pass up posting.) We also enjoyed some local parks.The country village had an awesome slide...particularly great for the "troll under the slide" game we played with Uncle Jed.They even had a choo choo train!These daily play times were great, but we also had a couple of awesome big outings. We went to family night at the Mariners.Jackson was sporting his new Mariner Moose hat from Grandma Kathy.The kids all thought the stadium was awesome!And, who am I kidding, the adults thought it was pretty cool, too.Jackson's checking out the players on the field.And he even got to meet the Mariner Moose.We had to leave early to get the kids to bed, but we made it to the 7th inning stretch.Another exciting outing was to the Children's Museum in Everett. The exhibits were really interesting.And educational. Jackson's watching as Leif digs for dinosaur bones.And here's the crew getting ready for some construction.We even did some science. Zoom in and check out the static electricity on Jackson's hair!Another big outing we had with the Rietz family was a hike to Barclay Lake. We always love walking and exploring in the NW forests.
Leif and Ocea were amazing - they didn't have to be carried through the whole hike. They inspired Jackson to get out of the backpack and do some walking himself.Actually, it would have been easier if he would have stayed in the backpack...but he was INSISTENT upon getting out.About a mile and a half in was a big clearing and beautiful Barclay Lake.We got on our swimsuits. (But first, Jackson had to check himself out.)And played in the chilly water.
What a beautiful place!And what fun times!Here's the Rietz photo album cover.And the Walkers.Thanks Rietz Family! We had such a wonderful time with you all!