Seattle Aquarium

We took Allie and Katie to the aquarium today. Our friend, Dick from the dive club, invited us to come and watch him feed the fish in the big dome. He showed us around the place and then made sure and fed all the cool stuff in front of Allie and Katie. They got a very cool show. Thanks so much Dick!!

Ocean Shores

Sorry for the delay in finishing up the posts from our summer vacation. Time seems to have gotten away from me. We spent the last couple of days in Ocean Shores at our friend's property. The weather on the fourth was fantastic. Allie was able to wear her swimsuit and go in the water.

On Sunday, we took Allie to the fun center and she had a blast. We even managed to get in a gym work out to make up for all the practice she missed while we were on vacation :)

Fort Clatsop

We stayed at Fort Stevens State Park and visited Fort Clatsop. Fort Clatsop is a fort built by Lewis & Clark and the gang. We got to go inside the buildings they lived in and listened to a presentation about Sacajawea.

While we were there Allie participated in the Junior Ranger program. She earned her junior ranger badge for completing a workbook about the park. Here she is being sworn in and with her badge:

Still Traveling Up the Oregon Coast

The next day we stopped in Tillamook, OR at the cheese factory. This is the one spot that I really wanted to hit along the way and I wasn't disappointed. Of course watching them make the cheese isn't that cool because it is all automated and there isn't people stirring big pots any more. We had grilled cheese sanwiches and ice cream for dessert.
We left Tillamook and stopped at Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach is a nice town, but not quite our style. We left there and headed to Seaside, which was definately more our speed.

Allie had spent most of the week wondering when she was going to get to play in the sand and the water. She finally got her wish.

Sea Lion Caves and Newport Aquarium

So the next leg of our journey found us stopping at the Sea Lion Caves and the Newport Aquarium. Allie and Chris thought the caves stunk, but I didn't think it was so bad. Chris informed me that it was because they smelled just like the pig barns at the fair. That's what I get for marrying a city boy! :)

The aquarium was very cool. We were able to see all of the things we found in the tide pools, plus some other cool critters. The clear tunnel is very cool. The rays glide right over the top of you (so do the sharks, but they aren't as cool).

Road Trip Day 3

We stayed at Sunset Beach State Park (Coos Bay, OR). We spent the day searching the tide pools and climbing the rocks.

Vacation Day 2

We spent a little bit of time on day 2 checking out Crescent City. While there Chris licked an anenome (sp?), and Allie petted a couple of sharks. . .

...and then we had to save Allie from the shark...

...once we managed to save our child, Chris left me for another woman...

...once I saved Chris from an early mid-life crisis we enjoyed a tasty dinner of fresh steamer clams and fish & chips in Bandon, OR.

Stay tuned for Day 3! :)

Home from Vacation

Last week we spent the week camping along the Oregon Coast. There are too many pictures for one post, so I will just start at the beginning.

We began our journey in Grants Pass, OR for Jace and Jessica's wedding. It was beautiful. From there we headed to Crescent City, CA where we stayed at the Jedidiah Smith Redwood State Park. The redwoods are ginormous and amazing. The Smith River ran through the campground and Allie and Lucie really enjoyed playing in the water. We watched three otters playing along the river.

Schools Out For Summer!!!

Woo-hoo!! It is officially over. We now have a second grader on our hands. Allie had a terrific year with the world's best teachers.

Here are a couple of pictures from the last couple baseball games. She started the season not really liking baseball, but I think at the end she was actually enjoying it. Now if we can just convince her that catcher is the position to play. I think we may end up with a first baseman on our hands (at least she can do the splits to stretch for the ball :)).

As you can see it was a really warm night!

Weekend in Anacortes

We spent the weekend at Washington Park in Anacortes. Chris went diving and spear fishing with the dive club. Allie and I hung out around camp, took hikes, checked out some tide pools, and played games. It was a fun weekend.

31.00 At State!

Allie did fantastic at state this weekend. Her overall score was 31.00, which is her 2nd highest score ever!! She had a lot of fun and the whole meet was a really great experience. Stay tuned for video. I'll try and add her balance beam routine. It was her best of the season.

Opening Day

Saturday was opening day of TBall season. It was a perfect day for baseball. Here are a couple of pictures. I am helping with the coaching and left Chris in charge of photography. I didn't get many pictures to choose from. Hopefully, he improves as the season goes on :). Next weekend is state gymnastics, I will be sure to post the results!

Happy Easter!

The morning turned out pretty darn well for an Easter Sunday in Ellensburg. It wasn't warm, but at least you could stand up straight :)

Allie's Fantastic Bar Routine

I tried and tried to upload her floor routine, but I think it was too long because it just kept trying to upload and after an hour I gave up. Here is the bar routine. Her score was 8.425. By far her best bar routine of the season. It was absolutely beautiful!

ALLIE'S GOING TO STATE!!!!!!!

Today was the Eastern Washington Gymnastics Sectional Championship meet. It is to qualify for the state meet. To qualify you must get an overall score of 32.0. Allie got at 32.225. It was by far the best meet of the season. She was on top of her game. Her highest overall score prior to this was 30.6. She did AWESOME!!!!

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but there is no flash photography in the gyms (you don't wan't to startle somone on the balance beam!). They are always dark and the photos don't turn out. We do have it on video and if I can figure out how to download the camera to the computer I will try to link a couple of routines.

WAY TO GO CAT!!!

Finally, An Update!

We have been pretty busy lately and I haven't had the time to update the blog. Sorry! Here is a picture from Christmas, and a couple from Cozumel.

I'll try to keep this thing updated a little better!!