3rd annual nusz family camping trip: i think it's a bona fide tradition now.

this weekend we went on our THIRD annual family camping trip. kind of by accident. we were SUPPOSED to go on a road trip to AZ to visit family and friends, but after our recent jaunts to hawaii and san diego, our finances and schedules dictated that we keep it shorter and closer to home. i suggested we go camping and nathan quickly agreed. i got a bit panicky when i started looking a couple weeks before and EVERYTHING was booked, but i lucked out and scored the LAST available spot at Kalaloch campground on the WA coast, in the Olympic National Park.

got an early start friday morning, and were at our traditional firewood spot before too long. poor missy, she had to sit on TOP of the firewood after we had it all loaded....we really need to invest in a small trailer or roof rack.






our campsite.

upon arriving, we quickly set up camp and then explored the beach by our campsite. i was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was; most WA beaches i've been to are quite rocky, but this one was nice and sandy. afterwards we drove up the road a bit to the Kalaloch Lodge and Mercantile. it is a quaint little lodge with a GORGEOUS backdrop. we picked up a couple supplies at the mercantile and then headed back to camp for dinner and an evening campfire.


Kalaloch campsite beach


sam helped by walking the dog.....


while i made dinner.


sam helping with KP duty.


a beautiful sunset.

we had s'mores after dinner (i made mine with Trader Joe's Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. YUM.) then we turned in for a restful night, thanks to the sound of the ocean surf and my discovery last year of WHICH camping pad i needed to sleep on.

saturday morning we woke bright and early. i made some yummy breakfast burritos while the kids got ready and played around the campsite. then we headed over to the Big Cedar Tree.


exploring the inside.

then we went to what i think has got to the the COOLEST washington beach i've been to yet....Ruby Beach. it had gorgeous sea stacks, and tons of driftwood, and super-fine sand, and lots of tide-pools to explore. we saw sea anenome and sea stars and tons of other cool sea critters.


ruby beach.


purple sea star sam found.


playing on ruby beach.

after a couple blissful hours we went back to camp for some lunch. everyone else played around while i slaved away making macaroni and cheese LOL


sam and daddy playing some frisbee


my big tree-climber


my little and medium-sized tree-climbers :)


okay okay....so i wasn't exactly slaving away......here's what i was doing while waiting for the water to boil.....

after lunch we hiked the kalaloch nature trail, and then ventured over to kalaloch beach by the main lodge. the beach there did not disappoint....it was wide and sandy and had lots to explore.


disturbingly bulbous tree on the nature trail LOL


aus and sam flying a kite on kalaloch beach.


missy LOVES the beach.


he is very proud of his "house" that he is standing inside of.


a thirsty seagull pausing for a drink.

afterwards we loaded up the kids who promptly proceeded to pass out in the truck, so we drove around and explored a little in blessed silence. went down to 4th beach, where nathan and i jogged the short trail down to the beach while austin stayed with the sleeping littles.....


me, inside a ginormous old tree root.

when we got back to camp i made dinner and we ate, and then we went to the evening ranger presentation, entitled "salty dogs". it was about the differences between sea otters and river otters. the kids enjoyed it, it was thoroughly entertaining and about a bazillion times better than the ranger presentation that we endured last year at sol duc. then we went back for our nightly campfire/s'mores ritual.


eating s'mores. note the towel/bib required for sam to eat a s'more without ending up covered in marshmallow from head to toe.


my favorite part of our evening ritual :)

we tucked the kids in and then (tried) to enjoy some time by the fire, alone. unfortunately, the sporadic flashlight beams from our tent and the hysterical giggles, interspersed with the occasional "BUTTCRACK!!" or equally hilarious (insert-your-own-juvenile-toilet-humour-here) outcries refused to cease from our sleeping quarters, and we finally turned in ourselves, exhausted but happy.

sunday morning we woke up and broke camp. i use the term "we" loosely, since nathan and austin did pretty much ALL the work while i cooked bacon, potatoes and eggs for breakfast. then we loaded up and headed home. i'm already excited to go camping again, and am thinking that we *may* have to do it sooner than next summer. hmmm, nathan has some time off next month....and lake quinalt is looking pretty inviting....


as always, thanks for looking!!

the second annual nusz family camping extravaganza.

so after my relatively positive experience last year, we decided to make family camping an annual event. this year, we decided to hit up sol duc hot springs. we ready?


kids and camping gear? check.


firewood, from the same seedy "adult novelty" shop as last year? check. (i think nathan must secretly like this place. i better check his pockets for a lighter that looks like a naked lady.)


beverages from our favorite little convenience store on the way? check. (thank goodness vampires are welcome, though i didn't run into edward there.)


beautiful views of lake crescent on the way up? check.

we arrived at the sol duc campground just after 11:00, which was fortunate for us because that just so happened to be check-out time. being labor day weekend and all, we arrived early to try and score one of these "first-come first-served" sites. we ended up getting one, but by a couple hours later our loop was totally full and the other loop was nearly full. after setting up camp and having some lunch, we headed over to the hot springs to check it out.


a pic of the main pool. it was quite the popular spot. you had to really hunt to score a seat in this one sometimes, hence the people hanging out in the middle just standing there.




this is where we spent most of our time though....the little hot spring "wading pool", cause sam was too young to go in the other ones.


katie made a little friend that she hung out with for a couple hours.


austin stayed in the big pool most of the time. it was just regular chlorinated water (and it was COLD!) yes i realize you can't see the pool in this pic, i just thought it was a cute one of my boy :)


ha! silly mommy, thinking she was going to get to sunbathe uninterrupted!

after the hot springs we went back to camp to cook dinner. nathan realized he forgot his ax so he couldn't chop up the firewood. his plan for tin-foil dinners needed revising, since he didn't think the coals would last long enough to cook the vegetables AND the meat. so we browned the hamburger in a skillet. what was that? we forgot cooking utensils too? ah, well, we'll make do with a plastic spoon. after we cleaned up from dinner we went to a ranger presentation on "olympic national park amphibians", which the kids found thoroughly boring. sam proceeded to demonstrate his boredom by falling asleep, while katie just whined about being bored and kept asking if it was almost over. afterwards we went back to camp to roast marshmallows over our campstove, since our fire was out of order til nathan could figure out how to chop up the wood into smaller pieces. then we turned in for the night.



saturday morning: here's a collage of my happy camper faces! well, except for austin. he didn't wanna get up yet. i can't say that i blamed him....i had woken up no less than 27 times during the night, turning over, trying to find a comfy position. i didn't like the camping pad nathan originally had me on; it was a really nice, expensive thermarest pad....that i hated. it is about 95% the width of your body in a sleeping bag.....so if you lay perfectly still, flat-on-your-back centered on it, you're fine. but don't even think about trying to roll over or turn on your side, cause then it feels like you're going to slip off the edge of it. so i traded pads with sam and slept on this ancient blue exercise-mat looking thing....that i could feel every little rock through. gah. i vowed to sleep better the next night, even if i had to go sleep in the back of the truck with the dog.

after breakfast we hiked up to soleduck falls. it was an easy hike, and the falls were absolutely beautiful.






the falls


falls in the foreground, us standing on the bridge spanning them.

after we got to the falls and had a snack, i saw there was a 3-mile trail that took you back to the hot springs, so nathan took the little ones back to the trailhead while austin and i hiked up to the springs. we passed lots of beautiful scenery, but every time i tried to stop and admire something or take a picture, austin would start complaining, "hurry up! let's go!" i did manage to get a couple nature shots though.



when we got back to the lodge, nathan and the littles were waiting for us. we went back to camp and had lunch, and then spent another afternoon relaxing and soaking in the hot springs. then we headed back for dinner and a roaring campfire. no, nathan never found his ax, he had stashed a duraflame log from home under the seat which was more than enough to get some of those big ol' logs started. we sat around roasting marshmallows and enjoying the fire (and i enjoyed some mini-bottles of wine thanks to the convenience store back at the lodge, thank-you-very-much!)


my view of the fire.


fam campfire pic.

i slept much better the 2nd night cause i stole nathan's pad, which i think had a foam center. whatever it was, it was a heckuva lot comfier than either one i'd tried the night before. we all got a good night's sleep and then woke up sunday morning, packed up, and headed out. it was a lot of fun, has cemented my belief that i really DO like camping (with facilities, mind you) and nathan was already discussing on the way home where to go next summer for our annual camping trip. so i'd say, all in all, it was a success.

and with that, my friends, i will leave you with one of my fave pics of our camping trip. when nature called out in the woods, nathan helping our littlest camper answer the call.


thanks for looking!

summer at crystal.

today we drove down to crystal mountain. it is our fave winter playground for skiing, and nathan has always wanted to go down there in the summer and check it out. we rode the chairlift to the top....it was a gorgeous, sunny day for it.


the chairlift ride up.


this made me want to break out in song a little.....oh wait! i DID break out in song, i felt all maria-like and belted out a few strains from "the hills are alive" LOL

up at the top we stopped for a potty-break and had a snack. this little beggar was quite brazen, and ran right over nathan's boot one time.


i wanted to do an animation of him eating the pringle LOL but was too lazy to figure out how to actually do it. and i only had the 2 pics and i didn't know if that was enough :)



there were some women along the way out for a ride with their horses. they told the kids they could pet them, but sam was too scared. those were the BIGGEST dogs he had ever seen :) i had no problem gettin' right up on in there though!


katie and "nugget"


me and "shotgun"


mt. rainier. even through the clouds, it looks majestic.

we hiked back down the mountain. probably not the BEST idea for my shin splints, but the views were unbeatable and we all enjoyed the wildlife along the way.













thanks for looking!