Wildflower Spring Hike

Ohhh it was such a beautiful day out today! Sammy and I decided we needed to take advantage of this perfect day and go on a little walk with the kiddos and pups over on Ekone (the sacred land trust across the road from us) to take in the views and smells of the wildflowers. I LOVE that we have this gorgeous piece of land right across from our home that will NEVER be developed. Just pristine fields of rolling grass, flowers, and sage brush. It truly is Heaven. We used to go on weekly, almost daily walks down the road and on Ekone with the kids when they were little. As they've gotten older and life has gotten busier, we find ourselves not taking the time. It makes my heart swell each time we DO make the time to go for a walk with the kids. We need to slow down more often. We need to be more intentional with our time. We need to remember what actually matters. Time with family. Life gets so chaotic, the break from responsibilities was so nice.....even if all the kids, at some point, complained that they were hot or annoyed with the dogs, hahaha!

I'm not a huge fan of flowers, but I do enjoy lupine and balsamroot. I am obsessed with lupine in particular and get so excited when I start to see all the blooms, in Spring, especially if I find some on our property!  

I am looking forward to making it a point to go on more walks. 

With love,                                                                                                        Mama Hauck

Enjoying the Spring we were Given

In all the 14 years we've lived in Goldendale, this has been the wettest, coldest, most overcast Spring we've experienced. I'm not entirely complaining.....the grass, trees, and flowers have remained far greener and vibrant longer into the year than they usually do. By now the wildflowers would have already peaked (they usually do in late April to early May!) and started to wane, whereas right now they are just peaking and looking their most beautiful! So being able to enjoy the wildflowers and green longer than normal is a plus. But I am dying for some days in the 70's here! We've had maybe 5-6, sporadically throughout the past month. That's not enough, haha. I'm afraid we're going to go from 60* to 90*+ in a blink of an eye and we won't be able to enjoy those days in the 70's that are the most lovely of days before the heat of summer hits!  

Anyway, on the rare pleasant day we have managed to have, we've made sure to get our butts outside to enjoy them. I decided that even though it's not the typical Spring we've enjoyed in the past, we were going to make sure we enjoyed the Spring we were given. From games on the porch, to playing Captain-May-I with all the kids in the yard, to shooting hoops and playing air hockey in the shop, to picking wildflowers, to lounging in hammocks, we've really tried to take advantage of the few amazing Spring days we have had. 

Looking forward to more warmer days! 

With love,                                                                                                      Mama Hauck

Timothy's Lost Lake Special Birthday Camping Trip

We love being able to take special one-on-one trips with the kids. This go-around, we took Timothy on a special birthday weekend camping trip to Lost Lake Resort!! 

Friday morning we sent the kids off to school, then loaded up the car and camper and headed to the Primary School. We spent 2 hours with Timothy and his class, just hanging out, playing at recess, and celebrating Tim's birthday with his class and teacher with cookies! Then we busted him out of school early and got on our way! 

We were in for a surprise when we arrived.....snow! And lots of it! I don't know why I thought it would all be melted by the time we arrived. Our Spring has been unusually cold and rainy, which translates over to snow up in the mountains, obviously! lol But no worries for us, we did come prepared with lots of warm clothing, and we always have our little heater for our camper. We had to laugh though, because there was so much snow, the workers did all they could to clear the fire pits and tables, but that was all they could manage! All the campsites were completely snowbound except for the tiniest area around the fire pits, hahaha. We had intended to rent a boat, so didn't bring our kayaks, but later learned when we went to the shop that they don't start boat rentals until the end of May. And because of all the snow, the trails were all still covered. AND it started raining literally 10 minutes after we arrived. We hardly got ourselves set up before it started to pour. Sooooo what were we to do!? 

Play games!....all evening! haha We decided we weren't going to let the cold and rain get us down. We got into warm scrumpies, turned on some tunes, stuffed our faces with food, and played game after game of Uno, Checkers, and Connect-4 until bed time! 

Morning came, and the rain remained. But no worries. We ate breakfast, cleaned up the camper, played a few rounds of Checkers, then headed to the showers to warm up and get cleaned up. After our fantastic shower, we spent some time browsing the Lost Lake shop. We stocked up on snacks and bought a couple of ponchos, determined to take a walk and get some outside time despite the rain. 

Wouldn't you know it, all we had to do was buy ponchos to make the rain stop! As soon as we made it back to camp after the shop, the rain stopped. We decided it was now or never! And we loaded back up in the car to head to the day use area to hit the trail. Yes, the trails were technically closed due to the snow, but we were going to see how far we could get on the trail that went around the lake before the snow build up, or the rain, stopped us. I was so thankful for the break in the weather, and so glad we decided to hike! We were granted free pass on the trail for about a half mile before we decided to turn back. So not far, but that half mile in and half mile back was so much fun!! We climbed over snow mounds, stomped in puddles, waded through streams, crossed bridges and fallen trees, and hunted for mushrooms, salamanders, and other wildlife. It was a blast. 

When we finally made it back to camp, the weather was still holding out for us, so we decided now was the time to build and enjoy a fire! It was so cozy down in the camp spot, haha. We warmed up, snacked, chatted and told stories, and played in the snow. Definitely a picture perfect moment. My heart felt so full. 

That evening we again spent our time jamming to tunes, eating tasty camp food, and playing games. We got in lots of snuggle time and really just enjoyed our time with Timothy. 

Our camping trip might not have gone exactly like we had planned, but we had a blast regardless. You can't control the weather, and it's a good lesson to learn to be able to roll with the punches and make the best of every situation. Timothy was happy, and that's all that mattered to me. We had an amazing time. He even mentioned, quite a few times, how he loved just hanging out in the camper playing games.

Packing up Sunday morning was so easy. Since we didn't bring the kayaks or have a lot of gear out and about, we were all packed up and loaded within 40 minutes of waking up! We actually had to wait for the shop and showers to open! After one last run through the shop and a hot shower to get cleaned up, we hit the road for home! 

First camping trip of the year is officially in the books! 

With love,

Mama Hauck