The Electronics Dilemma

They were all reading like Hannah until I aimed the camera in their direction.  Don't let that pout fool you...it's just an ornery one!

If you've been following my blog, you know we just took a three week adventure in the comfort of our van and tent logging over 6,000 miles.  Something happened that we never intended and we LOVED it! 

First, we have never had a DVD player for the kids in any of our vehicles.  Their bags are full of new-to-them books along with some favorites as well as puzzles and little toys they may want to bring - only one bag, though.  I think one took advantage of the one bag rule and found the largest bag available!  I also make sure we have a good selection of things to listen to such as  Adventures in Odyssey, Jonathan Parks and Family Radio Theatre (there are several stories they've done).  Honestly, they would listen to these every second of the 6,000 miles, but we didn't turn it on if we were just driving a mile down the road.  They really do love these.

Second, our original thought was to allow the one child with tablet privileges (due to age) to take a tablet to play on for the normal 30 minutes allowed.  We had also tossed around the idea of getting all three a tablet, still limit them to 30 minutes, but that would be something special for them to do as we go down the road.  However, Chris couldn't find a good deal for those and that one child lost tablet privileges due to going over on the time limit. 

All that to say, the kids had NO electronics for any part of the road trip.  I think one child asked one time to use a tablet, but we said no and that was the end.  Chris and I loved it!  There was no arguing over who got what when or if they could use it.  Those constant questions when they do have privileges ceased.  I don't know that they missed it either since they never asked for it.  Like I said, that was not our original intention, but it was nice.  Did they argue?  yes  Were they loud?  yes  Was it peaceful?  YES!!  Plus, we had much better discussions other than what was the latest Minecraft creation that was built or what was going on in Minecraft world.

Fast forward to today.  We still haven't returned the tablet simply because there is so much more peace and again, it hasn't been asked for.  They spend a vast majority of their time playing with a huge Lego city they've created in the basement. Plus, now that school has started, time is filled with homework, sports and friends. I also don't want to reintroduce something I'll dub the "transition" - the transition from playing on a tablet to playing in real life.  I don't know about your kids, but mine have a terrible time with this.  Once time is up, I often hear...I'm bored, I don't have anything to do (although that one isn't used much once I began giving a chore each time it was said....), can I go on the computer, etc.  They really can't figure out anything for quite a bit of time.  When electronics are out of the picture, they are gone to play somewhere (using their imagination!!)  Again, much more peace.

OK, I obviously like the change this has brought into our home albeit unintentionally.  However, I am also a strong believer in teaching our kids to survive with integrity in our world.  That means teaching them to use the electronics that are and will be such a big part of their lives with discipline and restraint.  It also means we need to allow them to use a tablet/computer now or in the very near future.   What will this look like?  We don't know, but we have a few ideas.  I'm curious...what are you doing in your families to teach them to responsibly use electronics?  What are your limitations?  How do you manage that "transition" time between electronics and normal life?  I'd love to hear any wisdom or insight on this topic that any of you are willing to share.  THANK YOU!

THE Most Important Thing

I'm hosting an online party for my sister next week (yeah!).  It will be fun, but before all that fun begins, she sent me a list of things to do to make it a success.  Here are a few of the items that stuck out to me....

• make it personal - let them know what you think, your pictures and your experience
• be present - be interested, invested and excited
• be positive - not apologetic
• personally invite

The more I read, the more convicted I felt.  See, when I read these tips, I thought this is exactly the way I am to present Jesus to those I love.  Those I love...that's all of you.  Do I do that?  Have I done that?  Before I could promote a party, I wanted to be sure that there isn't any question as to where I stand regarding my faith.

I am a Christian.  I do feel that term is sometimes used loosely in our world today so I think a more accurate description would be a Jesus Christ-follower.  It doesn't matter what church you attend or what denomination.  When it comes down to it, Jesus only cares about you believe about Him.  I believe that Jesus is God's own son and was fully God and fully human when He walked this earth and He lived completely without sin.  Jesus then died on the cross for my sins and every sin that ever was and ever will be for every person that was to ever live.  He was then buried and rose from the grave three days later.  He lives today in heaven where I will see Him one day.  Why did He do it?  Jesus loves us more than we can ever possibly understand.  Jesus took my place so I would not have to pay the consequences for my sins - WOW!

I accepted this by faith as a child, but really grew in my relationship with Jesus (it's not a religion - it is a relationship) later in high school.  God has made Himself more real to me as I've encountered countless life events throughout my life where I can point to no other than Jesus as the one who brought me through.  I think of my high school graduation, my first job, meeting/marrying Chris, Chris going into the Air Force, countless deployments, etc.  Each one is a story where God met us there and grew us closer to Himself.  Let me know and I will be happy to share any of those stories with you.

How do I live my life today...I rely on God's Word, the Bible for encouragement and instruction as I live each day.  Do I do it perfectly?  Absolutely not! I'm a sinner saved only by the grace of God. 

If you want this for yourself and don't have it, let's talk - either on the phone, e-mail, facebook, snail mail.  I don't care the method.  You can also read the Bible.  If you don't know where to start, start with the book of John.  If you need a Bible, let me know. If you want more proof that Jesus is the real deal and the only way to heaven, ask Jesus to help you, but it will also be necessary to accept Him by faith.

Seriously consider what I've said.  This is THE most important decision you will ever make.  It is for eternity.

First Day of School

 Andrew (2nd), Hannah (3rd) and Luke (4th)

Ah, the first day of school has arrived way too quickly.  It has happened and I feel like I could have used at least two more weeks of summer break.  However, the kids were ready and that's all that matters. They were up early and I had to restrain them from eating breakfast too early so they wouldn't be so hungry by lunch time.  Plus, we got to walk to school again, which was nice and gave us a few minutes to be calm and calm nerves...and not be involved in the crazy drop-off line.

My insides always have a hard time on the first day of school or when they return from break.  We keep our options open in terms of their schooling, but for now are fine with them attending public school.  It is a matter of faith and trust. They are going to face situations this year that I'm not going to like and we'll pray and work through those.  God has given us the responsibility of growing our children into adults.  For that, I need to trust Him each day as my three treasures walk out the door into the world.

Meet the Teacher/Open House was last night.  Their packs are loaded with school supplies and you can't see the ones on the floor.  It's always a much anticipated and important night to meet those who I will be entrusting my kids to during the year.  It's also a blessing to say "hi" to the teachers that my kids had last year.  I walked away feeling blessed!

Grand Tetons National Park...the Finale!

 Can't beat a picnic spot like this one!

The Tetons were our last stop of our three week adventure.  I have always really liked the Tetons.  It's just beautiful!  One of my favorite drives in the US is from Yellowstone south in the Tetons.  We did battle morning showers and clouds so that drive was not nearly as spectacular as I remember.  However, the peaks did not disappoint and the clouds just added to the scenery.  We did the driving tour one day stopping at most of the popular places (except one because it is really popular and their was no parking available).  The next day we arrived early at the one popular stop and did a hike around part of the lake to a nice waterfall.  Our time there was just relaxing.  A great way to end our adventure!

 The Tetons

 The Tetons with the Snake River in the foreground.  If you enlarge it, you may be able to see one of the two bald eagles we enjoyed watching catch the wind currents.

 More scenery

 Love the clouds!

 Hiking our last trail (through bear country).  There were several berries along the way.  One looked like a raspberry that everyone else tried.  They declared it quite yummy and we later learned it was probably a thistleberry.

Junior Rangers

Here, they're swearing in as Glacier National Park Junior Rangers

There are many neat and inexpensive things to enjoy in a national park.  One thing the kids really like is their Junior Ranger program.  They pick up a booklet from the visitor center and then have to complete so many pages/activities depending on their age and the park.  When they finish, they return them, get sworn is as "rangers" and then given a badge unique to that park.  On this trip alone, they completed seven to add to their collection.  It's one of the first things they always ask for when arriving in a park.  They are on a mission to see how many they can collect.

The Next Ansel Adams?

I learned something while we were on our trip.  OK, I actually learned many things, but one thing was that the famous photographer, Ansel Adams, liked to photograph scenery from the roof of his vehicle.  He is well known for many of his pictures of the national parks.  It put a smile on my face, when I compare Ansel Adams picture to how my husband likes to take photos at times.  This isn't the first time.  I have also have a picture from 2003 where he's perched atop our car to get the best angle.

 Ansel Adams (1940's I think)

 Chris - Ruby Beach Olympic National Park

 Chris - Grand Tetons National Park

Yellowstone National Park and 13 Years!

 Old Faithful

Yellowstone is a must stop for a trip like ours through that part of the country.  However, it was also a must see location for several thousand of your closest friends.  I understand that this park is for all to enjoy, but the next time we won't be going during peak season.  Campgrounds were full as well as parking lots and boardwalks.  In addition to all the cars, there were tour buses.  As you can imagine, just people everywhere. We even got an early start and there were people!  Despite all of that, we were able to enjoy the Yellowstone "must-see" locations and give the kids a taste of this unique spot on earth.  We drove the big loop of Yellowstone and just stopped at the "high" spots.  We took in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone along with its falls (and steep hike to the top), Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Prismatic and of course, I can't leave out Old Faithful.  Oh, as for wildlife, we didn't see a lot, but we did see, we saw several of that animal.  There were elk and buffalo - a lot of buffalo!  They were beginning rut so they were much more active than usual and much louder.  It was not uncommon for one to be standing in the road.

There was one big event that happened while we were in Yellowstone.  Chris and I celebrated our 13th anniversary.  People asked us what we were going to do special.  My response was that we were taking a three week vacation out west (with our three little treasures!)  We did have a good day and ended it with a ice cream at the little general store near our camp.  I'll take a camping trip any day for our anniversary!

 A little Yellowstone scenery

 Our 13th anniversary picture!

How We Roll

 They were all three reading when I got the camera out, but they decided to act silly by the time I got the picture taken....

So, I thought I'd take a minute a give you just a taste of how we do three weeks of camping (ok, 2 nights were in a hotel and 5 nights we stayed with friends).  We sit the kids three across.  I know that may sound crazy, but I guess we force them to get along.  Does it always look good and sound nice?  Absolutely not!  However, for the most part they do a wonderful job.  If you're wondering, we stumbled on that sitting on your hands is not a fun way to ride for long and makes for a pretty descent consequence of touching those around you when they don't want to be touched.   We were also packed pretty tightly with things to do for the 130+ hours that we were in the van, food to eat, clothes to wear, tent and a few other miscellaneous items.  It is simple and works for us.  Sometimes a RV looks tempting, but I have a hard time letting go of the simple (at least for now...)

 Just a little packed and a bit messy after a couple of weeks of traveling.

Heading East...Slowly

We headed east out of Seattle the next morning....

Our first stop was at the Boeing factory.  Let's just say, it's ginormous at every level.  They took us on an hour and a half tour and we were not casually walking.  We were walking very quickly to keep up and we aren't slow walkers on a normal day.  The building where they actually build the planes is the largest building in the world (by volume) and they are adding onto it.  The building is so large and the planes are so large that it took away from how big everything really was.  The Boeing plant ended up being Luke's favorite part of the trip.  It was quite good!

After a few more hours of driving, we made the final stop of the day at Grand Coulee Dam.  Again, it is quite large:  nearly as tall as a 46-story building (about the height of the Seattle Space Needle), nearly a mile long, and weighs over 24 million tons (three times as heavy as Hoover Dam).  Let's just say, security was tight for this tour.  However, it was for a good reason.  They said it provides power to all of Washington state and I think parts of other states as well. 

We then stopped for another reprieve with friends before heading off on the final leg of our adventures.

Just one plane waiting on the tarmac at the Boeing plant - yes, that's the Seahawk's 12th man plan.  We were hoping to see the new tanker (KC-46), but we didn't get to.  They said it was it out the day prior. We have very few pictures of our time at Boeing because no cameras of any kind (including phones!) were not allowed on the tour.

Grand Coulee Dam

 Just a few of the pumps inside the workings of the dam

 I liked it that as part of the tour they told about the surrounding town and a bit as to how the dam was built.  This large mound of sand was taken from the bottom of the river that they dammed so that the concrete would have a good seal with the rock.  It was built in the 1930's and the mound still stands today.

Seattle Bound

 The Trio enjoying the whole ferry experience!

Upon leaving Olympic National Park, we headed to Seattle via a ferry - so very fun!  As Chris said, the best $17.50 he's spent.  It was neat crossing Puget Sound and seeing downtown Seattle growing larger on the horizon.  However, I think why Chris loved it so much was because we spotted the Blue Angels practicing over downtown Seattle.  We couldn't have timed it better if we'd tried.  It was fun seeing them sore just a short distance from the tops of the buildings.  They're fun any day, but we enjoyed the setting as well!  We did take a couple of hours to walk the streets around Pike Place Market.  Walking the streets of the city quickly gives you insight into the town.  A couple of observations:  1.  I was surprised at how sloped the streets were near the Sound - quite steep!  2.  They have beautiful, beautiful flowers everywhere - loved that!  We enjoyed the afternoon....until we tried to leave.  Oh my word!  We may never go downtown Seattle again.  We sat nearly still for 45 minutes and it took us a good two hours to go about 50 miles.  Everyone in downtown Seattle must live in the same area as we were going.  I'm glad we went, but I don't have to go back for awhile!

Finally, we got to see Mount Ranier.  The following morning, I actually could see Mount St. Helens as well in the distance.

 Downtown Seattle with the Blue Angels flying overhead 

(you may need to enlarge this picture)

 I tried to capture the slope of the roads.  Not sure I did that great of a job...

 The flowers!

Finally, we had to make the stop where they threw the fish.  I don't have a picture of the tossing, but we did see it.

Olympic National Park

 First time the trio saw the Pacific Ocean

The next week we spent at Olympic National Park on the Washington peninsula.   I'd always wanted to go there and had never been to Washington state even though I've been to nearly all 50 states (still missing North Dakota, Hawaii and Alaska).  The most surprising part (to me) was the size of the park.  You had to drive long distances to reach any new part of the park, which was fine, but hard to plan the week.

Olympic is known for it's three distinct ecosystems: beach/ocean, rainforest and mountains.  The kids enjoyed the ocean despite the cool temperatures and the cool water temperatures.  They were fascinated.  They'd been to the Atlantic Ocean, but were too small to really remember it.  We enjoyed chasing waves, walking the beach, being amazed by the giant trees of driftwood and checking out the tidal pools.  It was all fascinating and quite beautiful, but the tidal pools were my favorite.  So amazing to me!

The rainforests included more gigantic trees and many of them were covered with what I call spanish moss.  That was a bit odd to see on the west coast rather than the southeast.  I loved the forests in the park and our campsite was even in the middle of a moss covered rainforest.  However, just outside the park, logging operations have heavily used the area.  Thankfully, they do reseed, but it just wasn't the same to me. 

Our final stop in the park were the mountains.  We didn't spend much time here.  Maybe because we spent time in the mountains at other national parks.  We did enjoy an early morning hike to the top of one of the peaks.  To one side, we could see Mount Olympus (I had no idea they had snow topped peaks here let alone a few glaciers!) and the other side was the strait between the US and Canada - fascinating and beautiful!  As you can tell, I loved it!

 Chasing the waves was one of the favorite beach activities.  Yes, the waves did beat the kids a few times!

 Just a couple of glimpses of the beauty and uniqueness of the Washington coast

 One of the many, many moss covered trees we saw.

 The pieces of driftwood on the beaches were just massive.  Here, Luke is standing on top of one of the logs (it's not a rock!).  Chris parked in front of one as well and the diameter of that tree was as tall as the van.  Evidently, the waves are quite strong in the winter and there are warning signs everywhere about floating logs in the surf (aka giant trees!)

 One tidal pool

 A science experiment.  Someone filled up this empty water bottle at the top of our highest peak while we were in Glacier.  Then, they got to see what happened to it when we were at sea level.  They enjoyed it when Chris opened it as well.

 Mount Olympus behind us - the strait in front of us

A beautiful sunset over the Pacific

Mount Ranier National Park

 One very large tree

After spending a much needed two nights in Spokane, Washington to regroup, do laundry, sleep in a real bed and spend time with friends, we headed to western Washington for the week.  Our first stop was Mount Ranier.  This wasn't in the original plan, but I'm really glad we stopped.  We ate lunch next to a trail head back to a grove of very old and very large trees.  I've seen the Sequoyahs and I've seen the Redwoods, but these were still very large trees. 

This is also the park where we realized we have one child that could have become car sick.  The narrow road surrounded by very tall trees and the winding road did not help matters.  Thankfully, his only symptoms were a tummy ache and a headache.  Lunch and a walk seemed to help.  Plus, we made sure he was drinking water and not reading as we wound through the park.

We did go to the base of Mount Ranier.  Let's just say, this was the most disappointing part.  We could see the trail head, all the hikers headed for the summit and anything else you would like to see while in the park, but we did not see the actual mountain since it was cloaked in clouds.  We knew it had to be just right there!

 Our view of Mount Ranier.  From what we could tell from the map, it looked like we should have been able to nearly touch it at this point...

There must have gotten tired at some point because this is what happened a short time later.

God's Perfect Timing

We spent two and half fun-filled days at Glacier playing and seeing the sights.  On the afternoon of the last day, we were once again playing along the shore of a lake on the east side when we spotted a small fire.  We didn't really think anything of it, but we did notice that it wasn't going away and from what we could tell, getting larger.  We didn't get in a hurry.  We finished playing and a couple of hours later decided it was time to go back and eat.  As we got back to the parking lot, we then decided that this just may be a bit more serious than we thought.  There was no one else in the parking lot and we met no incoming traffic to the park as we were leaving.  Odd...for the middle of summer.  As it turned out, they were evacuating the campground across the road from the lake.  We continued on with our evening plans just outside of the park, but the smoke was quite obvious in the sky and we could also smell it.  By the time we finished dinner, there was ash and pine needles falling from the sky.  We were at somewhat of a quandary as to what to do for the evening.  I really wasn't worried about the fire, but the smoke made me nervous.  We decided to return to our campground just inside the gates of the park.  By that time, the smoke seemed to be higher.  Plus, we were in the tent and lying on the ground so the smoke didn't seem bad.  The same was true the next morning...until there was a brief rain shower.  The smoke immediately descended.  We were planning to pack up and move to the other side of the park, but this just made it a definitive.  By the time we left, the kids were coughing and I had the beginnings of a good headache.  A ranger stopped us and asked us if we had all our belongings because we wouldn't be returning.  They closed our campground an hour after we left.  We then went to the west side of the park where it was very difficult to tell there was a fire anywhere in the park. Plus, they honored our reservations from the east side campground!

This was an interesting experience for us because we were probably within 5ish miles of where the fire started.  First, it was a good lesson for the kids.  We had no idea if one of the times we returned to the camp if our tent would even be there.  The kids were so worried about our possessions making it a good lesson on it just being "stuff" and a good lesson for me to really believe what I was telling the kids I knew to be true.  Second, it was a good lesson on being thankful and God's perfect timing.  We were thankful that nothing did happen to us - except an adventure.  God's timing couldn't have been more perfect.  We literally got to do everything that we wanted to.  In hindsight, that day we couldn't find an empty picnic table further in the park.  We were much closer to the east side gate than we had intended because of this.  It was God's provision of giving us a very full afternoon of fun rather than trying to find a much longer way out of the park.  God provided and these are the ways we are aware of, but I'm sure there were so many other ways as well.

 Leaving the lake where we spent the afternoon.  Obviously, we're still not in a hurry.  We're just chatting away....

Our view of the fire during dinner that evening

Glacier National Park

Wildflowers, Bears and Fires! Oh, my!  We had so many different experiences at Glacier that it is hard to narrow down all that we got to do and even harder to narrow down the pictures.  I did my best.  As for the fires, I will save that for the next post.  

As for the bears....since Chris and I have been married (13 years) and in all of our travels, we'd seen three bears.  Within two days at Glacier, we'd seen 6!  The first one was probably 100 yards inside the gate.  We had been told by friends to take bear spray.  It's one of those things...if you have it, you won't need it, but if you don't, you won't.  All that to say, we didn't need our bear spray, but we were close enough.  We tried our hardest to follow all the suggestions for staying safe (loud noises, hike with three or more, take bear spray, etc)

As for the wildflowers....oh, words can not describe and the pictures are far from the beauty it truly was!

As for playing, we had fun.  We thought the kids might just play on the beach, but I guess it doesn't matter what temperature the water is...it is just too tempting to stay out of it.  So, by the time we decided to let the kids change, they're regular clothes were mostly wet and then their swim clothes were wet.  The temperature didn't seem to bother them.  The first afternoon, this was fun.  The second afternoon, we tried a different lake and it was so very windy, but they still took a few trips out.

As for hiking, we took a few of hikes - one to a waterfall and one to a lake.  It's so fun now that the kids are getting older.  They do a good job of keeping up and are doing a better job of not complaining.  A full water bottle and a promised snack along the way usually help.  We don't go off and do the super long hikes or get off the beaten path, but it is still enjoyable.  Now, if I wouldn't get so concerned about the possibility of bears, it would be even more enjoyable!

Many of you know that I am not fond of being on a large body of water (that's an understatement...)  However, I knew I would regret it if I didn't go out with Chris on the kayak.  I couldn't get over how clear the water was here.  Beautiful!

 Playing in the glacier water filled lake!  

 One of the many, many pictures we took of the scenery

 You might have to enlarge this picture, but it is a very small taste of the beautiful wildflowers.  I just couldn't get enough of them.  So beautiful!

 Hiking trails - this is the start since their coats are still on.  They did end up carrying them.

 Avalanche Lake

 This picture gives just a hint of how clear the water was and how colorful the rocks in the stream