Tulip Fields

This weekend we went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival south of Portland. It was a fun day, although it could have been a little warmer. The tulips think so, too, they are very late in their blooming, you can tell from the fields that they are still waiting for a lot of them to show some color. It was not quite as spectacular as the Skagit Valley tulip farms near Bellingham, the sheer numbers there are incredible, but they had some beautiful varieties. Kadyn enjoyed getting out of her stroller and seeing things up close.As you can tell by looking at Brandon it was a bit chilly. He has been putting on some weight, but apparently not enough insulation yet!
We thought this was a cute picture, and apparently so did a lot of people because random people started taking pics of her! A little weird to say the least.
I really don't know how to explain this one...

Ape Caves

Today was absolutely gorgeous! So we decided to go underground :) We went up to the base of Mt. St. Helens and hiked into some lava tubes called Ape Caves. There are no apes there. It was pretty cool, and dark, and felt great to head back out into the sun and 65 degree weather!
Dad and I on the hike in, it is a little longer than in the summer because they don't plow all the way to the trailhead. Also, it is hard to tell because we are on a well-packed trail, but there is about 4 feet of snow all around us!


The entrance to the cave: also a little more complicated by the snow, in summer it is a staircase instead of a snowslide!


The required pic by the sign!


Proof that we made it all the way to the end of the cave (about 3/4 of a mile each way.)


Back into the light!

Then a relaxing lunch in the sun. It felt great!

Dad Seli's Visit

Although Mom had to stay longer than expected in North Carolina with her parents my Dad went ahead and made the planned trip to visit. We have had a fun weekend so far of hiking and biking, some of us farther than others! Friday we waited for the weather to clear a bit, and Dad got to experience the dog park. Then we headed out for a bike ride, Dad did a 25 mile loop, and stayed dry the whole time, Brandon and I rode up the last 5 miles of the loop with the intention of meeting Dad and riding back to the car together, but we rode in the rain the whole five miles so we didn't wait for Dad, just went back to get warm in the car!

Saturday we went for a nice hike with Jon, Briana, Kadyn, and Briana's Mom Terri (who rode over with Dad.) From there Dad and Brandon rode home and Carole and Smokey drove!