"Take chances! Make mistakes! Get messy!" --Ms. Frizzle

"Take chances! Make mistakes! Get messy!" --Ms. Frizzle

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Overheard This Week...

When I grow up, I'm going to... steal... kangaroos. --Lavender

Ha! You have three kids climbing on you. [Pause] That's the trouble with three kids. --Geneva

Hey Lali, do you want to play "Dobby"?
Yeah!
Okay. I'll go get the lamp.

For those of you who aren't up on your Harry Potter, Dobby is a character who uses a lamp to bludgeon himself on the head.

Monday, August 4, 2014

First-Ever Complete Zoglman Family Vacation

For the first time in a very long time-- certainly since we've been a family of five-- we Zoglmans went on vacation. It wasn't anything exotic; we drove to and camped at two of the active volcanos in our beautiful state, and finished our trip by visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Portland. It was, as one might imagine when one pictures a car crammed with a week's worth of camping gear and five people, exhausting at times. But oh, was it worth it! So rarely do we take advantage of the beauty that is practically in our backyard. And, so rarely do we spend family time that is ours and only ours, with no other comings or goings, no intrusions, and no obligations to anyone but ourselves. There were moments when I thought we might kill each other. But mostly it was, in every possible sense of the word, beautiful. That may be why, less than 24 hours after our return, I find myself here, overflowing with pictures and words. I can't say "wish you were here," but I can't wait to share our memories with you.

Stopping at Ohanapecosh and visiting the nature trail

  
Settling into our first campsite at White River



Avery, proving that with a lot of friction and a little bit of prying, you can open a can without a can opener.


Just playing




Sunrise, Mt. Rainier



Lunch overlooking Emmons Glacier


At the Visitor's Center


Identifying native plants





"Boop" on Little Tahoma


Not pictured: my panic attack during the drive back down


Back at camp





Exploring the campground




Poohsticks



Old Ranger's Cabin







Rockin' a milk mustache and ready to break camp



White River valley, with evidence of the recent floods


Our handsome chauffeur for the trip


On the trail to Grove of the Patriarchs




Ancient cedars




Snacktime


Daddy showing the girls a classic example of a nurse log



Chipmunk peek-a-boo




Look what we did!



A new campsite near Mt. St. Helens, and watermelon for dinner




The look on Lavender's face when she found a six-inch banana slug


Storytime by lantern light


Morning in our camp


Camping breakfast: cinnamon rolls and cardamom apples in butter


Sibling love



Kindling concert




The nearby playground, which was actually upstaged by a massive dirt hill


Spinning, climbing, and swinging







Mt. St. Helens Visitor's Center at Silver Lake





At the Johnston Ridge Observatory, looking down at the landscape created by the eruption



Wildflowers in the Blast Zone


At Bubbah Jordan and Auntie Andreen's apartment in Portland, after an afternooon of swimming and bowling, and a night in a hotel


Barbecue time




No, he didn't drink any


Bubbah heals all wounds


Morning with Auntie


At OMSI



The animatronic dinosaurs were a little too realistic for comfort



Dinosaurs rule!






... and then a long car ride back home.