2 Year Pics

While we were away at Olympic National Park, Samantha and Jeremiah watched Landon and Elliot. Landon and Elliot love them and we knew the boys would have fun while we were gone. Not only did Jeremiah and Sam watch the boys, but Jeremiah also took pictures of them while we were away. Sam said they bribed Landon and Elliot with cookies through the whole process. Brooks and I are grateful to have such amazing friends who will watch the boys and throw in a little extra fun too. We love the pictures!

I know I already made a two year post, but I can't finish this post without adding a couple things. In the past month, my sweet little boys have learned a bit about independence. Don't let these innocent smiles fool you. They are both very familiar with the word "no" or as Landon likes to say, "No, Mama." They also frequently tell each other "no" as well. Landon's language has blossomed in the past month. He is putting more and more words together and it is so fun to hear him communicating with me. Elliot is also talking like crazy and has begun the "parrot" stage where he mimics everything I say. He has a great memory and I am constantly surprised by the words he knows. They love to give bear hugs and giggle like crazy when we make sound effects like they are squeezing too hard. One of the latest things they learned is the word "toot." When someone toots, they will announce loudly who tooted. We all get a kick out of it.

Landon and Elliot with HelenAnn, our friend's sweet baby girl

Olympic National Park - Days 3 & 4

On Saturday, we backpacked along the coast to Toleak Point and set up camp. The trail is about 7 miles, some of which is on the beach and some through the forest. It was like nothing we had ever done before. There are ropes and ladders to climb, mud everywhere on the trails and amazing views in every direction. Because the hike is on the beach, we had to plan our hiking times around the tides, which was definitely a new concept for us.

Various rock formations scatter the coast in this area

At the start of the trail before we knew what lie ahead

It was pretty difficult to get lost along the trail. We just followed the footprints.

This mud was thick and covered the trails we walked on. At first, we tried to avoid the mud, but soon realized this was impossible.

After hiking in Saturday morning, we set up camp and then explored the area further down the trail. These falls were a short hike away. We spent a while here taking pictures and soaking our feet in the cool water.

Along certain portions of the trail, we left the beach in order to hike around impassible bluffs. Once going up to the top, we had amazing views looking out into the ocean.

This spot was right in front of where we camped. We watched the sunset from here.

Brooks had fun playing with the panoramic setting on the camera.

These rocks were the view from the beach where we camped. When the tide was low, we were able to walk across some of the rocks and see starfish and sea cucumbers in the tide pools. Sunday morning had the lowest tides of the year and all the rangers kept telling us how amazing it would be.

Saturday was a nice sunny day and these harbor seals came to lay out in the sun on the rocks close to our campground. When the tide was low, we were able to walk across some of the tide pools and observe them from a distance. My favorite was watching the baby seals with their moms.

There were bald eagles everywhere! We enjoyed watching them soar over the beach and land in the trees right on the coast.

This was taken on the hike out Sunday morning. We both look dirty and tired.