Chaque annee, le companie de John avait un pique-nique pour les employes.  Ils ont des maisons de rebond, des hamburgers et des cocoa, des glaces, des tours de chevals, une exposition de magie, et quelque chose nouveau pour nous.  Ils ont un taureau mechanique.  John et les enfants l'essayent.  Moi, pas du tout.  Le monsieur est gentil avec les enfants et a donne des consiels a John.  Voir le cou et epaule du taureau.  Lona aime le carrousel le plus.  Moi, je juste pris des photos. 

Avant le match, before the game

Earlier this summer we actually were able to attend a Sounder's game.  Most of us really enjoy soccer.  We play soccer, we watch soccer, we coach soccer, we wear soccer clothes.  We aren't very good at it but we like it.  But there is one child that likes to play but everything else not so much.  so when we had the chance to get four tickets we grabbed them. 

The band, le groupe de musique

Lona spent the night with a friend.  She was much happier that way and we were happy too.  The really weird thing was that one of our neighbors had tickets for that same match.  There were over 36,000 people attending that game and they sat two rows bwehind us and 10 seats over.  How weird is that.

watching the band, regard le groupe de musique

Our friends, notre amis

Cette ete, nous avons achetes des billet pour un match de footballe.  Nous aimons le footballe.  Nous jouons le jeu, nous le voyons, et nous apportons des vetements du footballe.  Mais pas tous.  Lona aime de jouer mais l'autre pas assez.  Alors quand nous avons la chance d'acheter quatre billets, nous le prendons.  Lona reste avec une amie et elle est plus contente avec ca, et nous aussi.  C'est un peu bizarre parce que notre voisins ont des billets pour le meme matche.  Il y a 36,000 personnes la, mais nous sommes assis juste quelques place avant de leurs.  Bizarre.

While the kids are gone.  Another hike into the wilderness.  This year I've learned that there is a difference between a National Park, a National Forest and a Wilderness Area.  It's all government but they have different rules.  Can we take our dog determines to which area we go.  National Parks and dogs do not mix. 
National Forests and dogs sometimes mix.  Wilderness areas and dog definitely mix.  Lake Ann is in the Mount Baker Wilderness Area.
The best times to reach Lake Ann are in late July to September.  It's past the ski area.  We had heard that the trail was all sharp rocks and Skagit needed booties.  Instead of rushing to REI, I decided to make them instead.  A pair of old jeans and my sewing machine and volia, dog booties. 

Skagit with his booties, Skagit avec ses chaussures.

They didn't work and he didn't need them.  Note to self, we needed way more water than 3 liters and Lake Ann was not what I had imagined. 
Great hike because it's down hill for the beginning and then uphill to the lake so on the return trip it's uphill back to the car.  Hiking downhill after a long hike hurts my left knee but hiking up hill doesn't bother it at all.  After reaching Lake Ann, we had lunch and looked at the beginning of the trail to the glacier.
 Oh, it's only 7/10ths of a mile and it looks fairly flat.  On the map it's a dotted green line instead of a continuous green line.  Note:  a dotted green line means rugged - scrambling over rocks - trail.  We didn't make it to the glacier and sat down to rest.  Along come some gals that are 25+ years older than us.  Casually they say, "oh, we are on the right trail, thought we lost it."  About this time it was 4 pm and a long ways back to the truck.  We decided to turn around. 
Skagit and I had a quick dip in the lake and then headed back. (BTW, the lake is really cold.)  It looked like it was going to be 7 to 8 pm when we got to the truck. 
Maybe an hour later those same gals past us and we never did catch up to them.  I thought we were going fast but evidently not. 
The last creek we came to Skagit had enough and just laid down.  He wasn't going anywhere, he needed a rest. 

Mount Baker

Quand les enfants ne sont pas la, nous prennons un randonnes jusqua Lac d'Ann. 

Too tired, trops fatigue.

C'est assessible le fin du juliet jusqu'a septembre.  Apres, il y a plus de neige.  C'est un promenade ou nous pouvons prendre notre chien.  Pour moi, c'est un bon randonnes parce qu'il est en descendant a le premiere.  C'est mieux pour mon genou de marcher vers le haut a le fin.  Quand nous arrivons a Lac d'Ann, nous mangons notre dinner et voir le chemin pour aller au glacier.  C'est presque un kilometre, ce n'est pas un problem. 

the end, le fin

Mais, ce n'est pas tous doit, il faut descend et montre en haut et le chemin est presque pas la.  Apres un peu du temps, nous decidons de prendre un repos.  Quelques femmes qui est presque 25 annees plus que nous, marchent apres nous.  Elles continuent mais nous sommes trop fatigue.  Nous retournons au lac et le chien et moi nagons un peu.  C'est frois!  C'est un peu tarde alors c'est temp de retourne a la voiture.  Apres une heures, les memes femmes nous ont rattrapes.  Nous n'avons jamies rattrape a eux.  J'ai pense que nous marchons tres vite.  A le dernier l'eau qui coule, Skagit juste couche dans l'eau.  Il etait trop fatigue de continuer. 

Picture lake on the way home, Lac de Photo au retour.

John helped all the kids with the kite, John aide tous notres enfants avec le cerf-volent.

Flying kites.  Apparently Cannon Beach has a kite festival each year.  There are numerous kite shops with kites ranging from $15 to $600. 

Job launching the kite, Job jette le cerf-volent en aire.

They were amazing.  We brought our own kite and there were days that it was hard to get enough wind to fly the kite.  Job was such a busy boy at the beach.  He rarely sat down. 
Isaac's thing was building but Job would build, then fly the kite, then skim board then run in and out of the waves, then start all over again.
I think that he actually came back from vacation thinner if that is at all possible.  Lona needed help with the kite and John was very patient with her.  Isaac liked to fly it right above my head. 

Job helping Lona, Job aide Lona

I was sure that he was going to crash the kite on someone.  The other thing we did was rent a skim board.  This looks like a giant guitar pick. 
You run across the sand after a wave goes out and toss the board onto the water and then jump on it. 

John teaching Lona how to fly a kite, John enseigne Lona de voler un cerf-volent.

You are supposed to be able to skim across a couple inches of water for 30 feet or so.  It's hard.  I go ohh  nowhere and look like a dork.  Job became quite good at it.  Isaac was able to do it too but it was Job who was the most interested.


Cerf-volent.  Cannon Beach avait un festivale du cerf-volent chaque annee. 

I love this photo of Isaac and the skim board. J'aime cette photo d'Isaac.

Il y a quelques magasins qui vends seulment les cerf-volents pour $15 entre $600.  Nous avons apportes notre cerf-volent mais il n'y a pas presque assez du vent.  Job etait vraiment occupe a la plage.  Il s'est rarement assis. 

I like the reflection of Job, J'aime le reflection de Job dans l'eau.

Isaac etait occupe avec construire les chateaux au sable mais Job construit, et vol le cerf-volent, et joue dans l'eau, et fait tous encore.  Lona a besoin quelqu'un de l'aider, et quelqu'un est John.  Il a beaucoup de patience avec elle. 
Isaac a aime de piloter le cerf-volent au dessus ma tete.  J'avais peur qu'il frappe quelqu'un avec le cerf-volent.  L'autre chose que nous faisons a la plage est skim boarding.  Je ne sais pas le mot en francais. Mais ca fait dans juste un peu de l'eau.  C'est un planche que tu jets sur l'eau et apres saute sur le planche.  C'est preque comme un planche a roulette sans les roues. Job est devenue tout a fait bon.  Isaac aime mieux de construire et Lona ne l'aime pas du tout.

Note photos are not in order of happenings - I just haven't figured that out yet.  Mes photos ne sont pas en ordre.

The beginning - Le debut

My fashionable hat, mon chapeau du mode

The last time I backpacked I was 9 years old.  It was my mother, my brother, my cousin, her dog and I.  We were somewhere in the Wasatch Mountain in Utah and I got sick.  I mean throw-up headache sick.  Even with that it was a great trip.  I loved it.  My Mom is so very adventurous and did so much with her kids and now with my kids.  Fast forward 28 years.  Can you believe that - TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS!  I am once again hiking through the wilderness to find a campsite so that I can pee in the woods (no there aren't any toilets - not with walls at least), drink very stout coffee (enough to put hair on your chest - even though I don't want that), freeze my tail end off (a few pounds would be nice but no the whole thing) and become main course for the local mosquito population. I think that we missed the turn off to the trailhead twice. 

Glacier Lake - Lac Glacier

It did say that it wasn't very well marked, the book was right.  But find it we did.  John had my pack ready to go when he picked me up at the airport.  I was dropping the kiddos off at my mother's house (she is adventurous).  The weather was cool and the packs were full.  Our first day the goal was to reach Glacier Lake 5 miles in.  No problem - we've hiked that far it should take us with full (at least we think their full) packs about 3 hours. 

home sweet home, notre joli maison pour trois jours

Four and a half hours later we pull into this beautiful little campsite with a creek and a flat stretch of ground just perfect for our tent (thanks the Chris T at John's work).  We had made it! We did run into two gals that had been in the mountains for three weeks and decided that after a 12 hour rainstorm they didn't want to wait another day for their husbands to pick them up.  John and I thought that those gals were amazing but not the average backpacker (ha ha). We were feeling pretty proud of ourselves.  The tent goes fairly quickly and I make a bee-line for the inside to set up house (I was driven by the mosquitos).  John being the gentleman that he is, he carried an extra sleeping pad for me so that I'd be a little more insulated from the cold ground.  And cold it was.  There was a brief and I mean brief time period that the sun broke through the clouds which warmed up the tent but it quickly went behind the mountains. 

A little bit of sun - un peu du soliel

Dinner was ramen noodles with peas and chicken that John brought from home.  He had a spread sheet listing all the meals and snacks that we were to have over the course of the next three days.  After dinner, we hoisted our food ten feet high into a tree (that's to make sure the bear doesn't eat our salami) and being the very late hour of 7:30 we went to bed.

Homeward bound, le retour

 I think that we were awake more than we were asleep.  The clouds had drifted away and we were left with a very bright moon that shown into the tent for a good portion  of the night.  (Note to self - a better hat with earflaps that I can tie around my chin, glove liners and my fleece jacket.) 

another view from the summit, une autre vue au sommet

Thank you for having the foresight to bring my long underwear.  The next morning we could see our breath.  The coffee was the ticket and so were the packets of oatmeal and the sausage.  We were on the east side of the lake so we didn't get sun until the afternoon and stayed in the tent for a good while before venturing out (9:30). 

cute little pica, un joli petite pica

This day we were just going to hike to Pieper's Pass and maybe Deception Lakes but not summit Surprise Mountain.  Plans changed and we did summit. 

ready for dinner, nous sommes pret pour dinner

It was beautiful very much worth the sore knees going down 2000 feet to get to our camp.  We arrived to find someone's tent next to ours.  I think that we arrived around 5 pm and the mystery person was in their tent. 
In fact we didn't see him until 7 am the next moring.  He just hung out in his tent smoking something.  He was headed to Snoqualmie Pass.  Another couple camped near us and they had hiked 15 miles that day.  Their trip was going from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass (75 miles total!).  We were happy with our little 10 mile round trip.  Oh we are not backpackers yet, just wannabes.  This was just the first excursion to try it out.

On the way to the summit (still happy)  En route au sommet ( deja content)

Mon mari et mois avons randonnes en les montagnes pour trois jours.  Nous avons marches en 8.2 kilometers avant trouver notre place.  Nous sommes arrives au Lac Glacier.  C'est marveilleux parce que nous sommes tout seule et il y a l'eau qui coule pres de nous.  Nous sommes reconnaitre deux filles qui etait dans les montagnes pour trois semaine!  Nous pense qu'elles etaient etonnants!  Avec vitesse, nous avons construit notre tente. 

trail marker called cairon (karen)  c'est un cairon

Les moustiques nous trouvent et j'entre le tente vitement.  Apres dinner, le soleil vas derrier la montagne et nous sommes nous coucher toute suite.  C'est froids dans les montagnes et nous n'endormi pas tres bien mais parce que c'est le premiere nuit dans les bois.  La jour prochain, nous pouvons voir notre souffle.  Pendant la jour nous faisons un autre randonnes. 

the view from the summit  -  la vue au sommet

John was always checking the map, John regarde notre carte

Nous avons trimarde au sommet du Mount Surprise. La vue etait incroyable!  Quand nous avons retournes au tente, nous avons trouve un autre tente pres de nous.  Quelqu'un etait dans le tente et nous lui vue le matin prochain.  Il depart vite.  Un autre deux persons que nous parlons decider to fait un randonnes en 120 kilometres.  Pour nous, c'est impossible. 

At the summit of Surprise Mountain - au sommet du Mont Suprise

C'est presque vignt-huit annees que je le fait et c'est le premiere que John et moi faire ensemble.  Peut-etre que l'ete prochain, nous pouvons prendre les enfant pour 3 kilometre.

cooking breakfast, notre petite dejeuner