What a short, but strange trip it's been

It has been a little while now since I have blogged that now I am just going to be playing catch up. The photos are backwards in order because I still haven't figured out how to move them. Saturday, early afternoon, we decided to take off and go camping. I know, spontaneous. I can't help it! We are pros though. We had the entire van packed up in around 30 minutes and were on the road. Nathan's friend Zack joined us so we were pretty jam packed, but they all made it in one piece. After the grocery store, we were on the road around 4pm. We knew it would be a busy weekend, but we had faith that we would find a spot, as we always do. We headed for Sequim, one of our favorite spots, around an hour and a half away. On the way there (and back) I had to stop by my favorite shrimp spot. The Hull family shrimp stand, on their property in the woods. It is the absolute best shrimp you will ever eat in your life. The shrimp are down deeper in Discovery Bay and so they are more muscular which gives them a king crab like texture and just as sweet. There is no place but Discovery Bay to sample these shrimp. The people that live there in their RV's are a trip as well! You've seen Forest Gump right? Enough said. After I got a free jumbo shrimp sample, the rest of the gang hopped out of the van to get theirs. You should have seen Mr. Hulls face. Each shrimp would have cost around a dollar each.......times 6 kids and two adults, you do the math! I bought plenty of the small more affordable ones though, so it all evened out. We hit a couple of camp spots and they were full, so we set out for Crescent Lake, another 45 minutes away. I said one of my good prayers and asked the kids to say one to ask Heavenly Father to bless us with a camp spot, knowing that every other site was booked. We pulled in to Crescent Lake around 7pm and the campgrounds said full. I drove around anyhow and within minutes we found a spot. The kids were wide eyed and amazed. It was the last spot!
Nathan stood outside with his hands out and said "Faith"! Luckily our fellow neighbor campers were LDS (we later found out) and totally dug the enthusiasm. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the campsite was spoken for, but the owners didn't come back until 10pm when we were all in bed and it was a first come first serve campgrounds. They hadn't left anything behind to claim their spot, so we stood our ground and offered the opportunity for them to speak to the park ranger. The guy was like a character from a scary movie. "Secret Window" to be exact. His voice was southern, monotone and commanding. Too bad for him, this mama bear had just gotten all the kids settled and the baby too. I wasn't about to pack up and leave! Saturday morning after a long long long night of listening to the restrooms RIGHT next door and the bright light keeping us awake all night, we very eagerly took off to good old faithful Fort Flagler. On our way there, we decided to stop by another one of our favorite places, which is a berry picking place and fishing hole. Nathans friend Zack had never fished so of course he was first and wouldn't you know it, he caught a 3 pounder! Brennan caught the second, see video below. It started pouring rain about 15 minutes before we arrived at Fort Flagler. Shane and I just looked at each other and laughed. Oh well! We set up camp at a great site ( everyone had left either because of the rain or because it was a Sunday) and actually had a dry spot for the tent. After a couple of hours, the rain let up and we cooked a delicious meal of fresh caught trout with lemon, fresh sweet corn, and red potatoes. Yum! The boys ran around in the barracks (spelling?) while Shane and the little ones hung out around the fire. Today, Monday, we woke up and headed down for the beach. Wouldn't you know it, today was absolutely beautiful. Ciao.

- Myron and his beautiful fort buiding. The kid has talent, what can I say?
Brennan was too cute wearing my baby wrap with Mae.
This kid is way to cute for his own good. His parents must be hot!
Zack and Nathan created a raft using some driftwood and seaweed. Way to go Maguiver!

I just love this photo. Mae is so independent, she just goes off on her own all the time. She rarely turns back to see if we are watching, which we always are.
Amazing tree that this photo just doesn't capture the essence of.
Beautiful Mae. Just look at her.
Picking raspberries, and eating them on the way.

Zack and Nathan, the "net men". Catch those fish boys!
We have been going to this place for years, but each time the owner still has to show our boys the freshly removed heart and how it still beats long after removal, and each time, they are still utterly fascinated.

Brennan's fish to the left, Zacks to the right. Size doesn't matter though, right? Our delectable dinner.


Crescent Lake

As promised, a random photo of Brennan's scout troop. The boys at Lake Crescent and some kid behind Nathan that almost looks like Brennan but more like someone else's asian kid.
The boys pickin' berries.
Mom and Mae again. If Mae gets her good photo, then I get mine!

Missy Mae pickin berries.

Brennan catching his fish!