Every Day Adventure

Overnight Escape

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

For the most part Team Yeatman enjoys being home and being safe together. But, all 3 of us hit a wall a few weeks ago and decided we had to get away. Sky had a long weekend from school, so Mark took an day off from work and we made a quick, overnight trip to Leavenworth to play in the snow. The best part was the Bavarian Ritz Hotel (https://www.hotelleavenworth.com/) allows dogs, so we were able to take Ruthie with us! We don’t get to hotel travel with her very often, so it was extra fun, and a nice change for all 4 of us!

Enjoying a beverage and waiting for our yummy food. It was cold, but thankfully there were two heaters at our table.

I can’t tell you how much we needed this little trip, and how good it felt to do “normal” things. like eat at a restaurant, they have only ever done outdoor dinning so they had a great system in place and we felt safe, wander through shops, and we even found a winery to do a tasting at. It helps that we were there Sunday afternoon-Monday, so there were way less people which was helpful. While we were eating lunch I realized that’s the first dinning out experience we have had in over a year. Yes, we have done takeout, but this time we actually sat and ate at an outdoor restaurant and it felt so good! Everyone has to make their own choice about what they feel is safe, and I can’t say we will dine out again any time soon, but we sure did enjoy it!

We also found a great hill just outside of town for some sledding, snowball fighting, and snowman toppling as Sky and Ruthie proved to be better at knocking them down than building them. The highlight of the trip was walking through town after sunset….all the Christmas lights were still up and it was so beautiful! We had never made the trip to Leavenworth during the Holidays so it was an unexpected bonus to see the town dressed up for Christmas still.

Now we are just hanging on until camping season! Camping season brings with it a lot more opportunities to get out of the house and have a change of scenery and pace, and we all need that right about now!

P.S. We picked Leavenworth because we wanted to play in the snow and it wasn’t looking like we would get any at home any time soon…little did we know we’d have over a foot of snow at home just a few weekends later!

Food coloring and sprinkles make for a festive snowman!

The Simple Things

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

Sky and I were picking blackberries at the park and all of a sudden I hear “Mommy get over here right now!”

With an 8 year old you really never know what your going to get as you round the corner to the other side of the blackberry bush, had she fallen in and scratched from head to toe, was there a snake, was Ruthie hurt…I was instantly thinking of all the bad things it could be.

Turns out it was none of those things…”I made a new friend, and I think it wants to come home with me, look!”

20190718_151803-01.jpeg

There truly is nothing like a simple, every day adventure, with your kiddo to help you find joy in something like a lady bug.

P.S. I don’t recommend picking blackberries with polarized sunglasses on…they all looked very ripe, and some were, but most of what we brought home was very tart and could have used another week or so on the vine. Lesson learned I guess…also, I guess that’s what a sprinkle of sugar is for.

Biker Chick

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

I think we have an official mountain biker on our hands! She is getting to the point where she wants to ride in the woods and down single track trails. Trails that give me pause btw. But, she’s all for it!

20180817_163238-2993390307.jpeg
She wanted to take on a “hard” trail in the woods. Had to hop off a few times and get going again, but her sense of adventure is so strong!

She still has trouble here and there, had to hop off a few times on the trail in the picture, it was more technical than what she’s been riding on.

Our summer bike rides have been the highlight of summer for me! For one I’m enjoying being on my bike way more than running (although I’m getting back to running as well) it’s way easier on my bad knee. Second Sky has made huge progress from the beginning of summer to now. She’s so much more self sufficient, getting pretty good at her gears, and willing to take on pretty much anything the park has to offer.

img_20180806_101647_547-11837271229.jpg
Mark gets all the bike riding credit…he is the one that has taught her how to ride her bike, and how to adjust to her new bike with hand brakes and gears. 

Now we just have to get her some cold weather gear so we can keep up the skills during fall/winter. I hate to start over again in the spring. The winter wind chill on the bike though…that can be pretty cold. For now we are getting in as many family rides as we can while the weather is still accommodating.

Happy Biking!

Thankful Thursday

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

Today I’m thankful to live where we live. We have mild weather, very few (if any) bugs/snakes that will kill you (in our part of the state anyway), it’s green year round (my fave color), there is a ton of outdoor life & activity to enjoy, and we are within an hour’ish of a mountain and the coast….best of both worlds.

20180527_110129-22088732831.jpeg
Very low tide on the beach = great seashell hunting and tide pools to pear into.

I’m also thankful we had the opportunity to staycation over Memorial Day weekend. Typically we are camping that weekend, but we waited too long to make reservations, and instead of trying to force a camping trip that was going to be difficult to pull off we opted to stay home and enjoy a few day trips instead.

We make a lot of trips over the mountains to the East side of the state, but rarely do we stop at parks/attractions along the way. Our goal is always getting to family at the other end of the drive. So, we took our staycation as an opportunity to explore the North Bend area, which we drive through a lot, but never stop. We wanted to mountain bike part of the Iron Horse Trail, which ended up being a bit advanced for Sky, but we managed 4 miles before she was over it. I mean Over. It. Since our ride was cut short we explored the area and a few parks and pretty areas. I kinda fell in love with the area, and can’t wait to do some camping and more exploring. (No pics of this outing, was too busy enjoying the family time).

20180527_110238-01598677906.jpeg
They found so many little crabs, fish, shells and other random stuff.

Day two we headed to Bainbridge Island, which is only about 1 1/2 hours away, but you would think it’s much further given it’s only the 2nd time I’ve been there. We got lucky with the weather, sunny and warm, but not too hot, and the island was just perfect. We hit the beach, and the forest, and a few of the little spots in town, and of course a winery. I don’t know, there is just something about being on an island that feels so relaxed, like time slows down.

20180527_110252-01262696176.jpeg
Sky is a beach girl. It’s her #1 requested destination for fun and exploring. She would live on the beach if she had her way!

It was extra fun having our friends join us in our adventure. Sky loved having Grace and Kiera to hang with all day, always nice to have other kiddos around for her!

20180527_142844-011319548484.jpeg
Grand Forest is a great spot to hike, and was very family friendly. Would like to go back and explore more!

Here’s to staycations and exploring the amazingly beautiful area we call home. Thankful I have such great friends and family to explore with!

What are you thankful for today?

 

 

The Two Faces of Sky

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

And this is why I take 15+ pics just to get one good one.

20171203_141053-01.jpeg

Seriously I see this look 5,000 times a day, at least. It’s the you don’t know what your talking about/stop talking to me/you are ridiculous look.

In true, I’m a 6 year old and change my mind every few seconds fashion, 2 seconds later this is the look we get.

20171203_141058-01.jpeg

When we go for family walks in the woods we let Sky pick our path, Mark told her this one ended in a dead end, but she insisted on taking it anyway, and she really doesn’t like being wrong, or maybe she doesn’t like it when Mommy & Daddy are right. Whatever, that’s the reason behind the first look.

Love this little munchkin so much, even with her eye rolling and exasperated looks.

P.S. Go for more walks in the woods/at the park!