Kirkland Young People's Weekend

The Kirkland Young People's weekend was in May over Memorial Day and you can see tons of fun photos in the Facebook albums of some who attended, but here are a few candid shots I took. I really didn't catch many photos of the Young People, so that's why I directed you to Facebook. My pictures are just random snapshots taken here and there. The weekend was comprised of tons of fellowship and Mr. A. gave a few very helpful talks on the subject of principles we should be putting into practice in order for profitable Bible study to take place. There were games (board games, four square, relay races, tug of war etc.) and tons of yummy food prepared with love by the local ladies. The weekend was very well planned and carried-out, it looked like everyone was having fun and that it was a very profitable time. There was a great group of kids and locals!

I had my crochet along and since this little one already knew how to chain, I taught her how to single crochet. She caught on fast and it was great fun to watch her excitement in building something.

One evening, a Luau was planned but there was no way to open the coconuts. One of the guys just happened to have some sort of saw with him and where there's a will there's a way. Scary! Do not try this at home.

Everyone dressed up for the evening and the cafeteria was laden with decorations.

Table decor.

Even A&J's little one dressed up for the occasion!

Everyone received an "aloha" and a lei as they walked through the door.

Yes, there were tiki torches.

Even Bri's dolly wore a lei!

Pink Flamingos decorated the front doorway.

A plastic palm tree made for an interesting photo.

Bri and her cousin J2, who she adores!

Sunday School Treat 2010

Back in... um.... MAY, Richmond put on their Sunday School Treat and I was just looking back at the pictures. What I came across was a cute video of the kids saying their verses and singing songs. I hope you enjoy it, especially at minute 2:23 when an adorable rendition of "Peter, James and John in a Fishboat" is sung. It's so precious, you won't want to miss it so skip ahead if you must, just drag the slider until you see 2:23 and watch from there. :)

A Sun Dog over the meeting room roof.

Ranunculus (Sounds so much better than Buttercups, or "that stubborn yellow weed.") I think they have such pretty blooms.

Exploring Sucia

The next morning we woke up well rested. Sleeping on the boat usually makes me sleep very heavy, it's great. I started off the morning by making scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese. Together with a package of last-minute-store-bought apple turnovers and Grace's addition of strawberries and French Pressed coffee, a great breakfast was had by all. Tummies were full, dishes were put away in the boat and then we took off for a bit of hiking.

Cooking breakfast on the butane stove in our boat.

Our breakfast spot.

I asked Bri to pose for me, and she was quite the natural. So cute!

Then at the end, she ran to me and I liked this shot the best out of them all.

At the old maintenance building was the most beautiful poppy the size of an orange.

Rosebud. I still haven't learned to tell the difference between the Woodland and Nootka roses, but I think this is the Woodland.

Can anyone tell me what these are? They aren't in my book, but they're pretty!

The sandstone cliffs of Shallow Bay have been worn away by the wind and waves to form the most interesting places to explore.

In some places, the sandstone is completely worn away, and a harder layer of rock behind it is exposed. This section looked like a fossil of some huge prehistoric creature. There are many places on the island where you can find fossils, but this isn't one of them!

I call this "swiss cheese rock" and it can be found in many rocky places along the shore.

The deepest cavern we came across. More like a crack, as it eventually squeezes shut to a size only a spider could go through.

A little crab.

Sallad and Bri looking in a tide pool.

Sucia is a great place for poking around in tide pools. The round shells you see in this picture are limpets. You can also see little crabs, hermit crabs, snails and all sorts of little wiggly things that I don't know the names for.

More sandstone rock formations.

A family photo of Sallad, Grace, Bri and her little brother who was sleeping soundly in the front carrier.

The weather on Saturday (June 26th) turned out SO nice!

Well good morning there little sleepy head... aren't you cute!

We were all sitting in the shade under an overhang of rock when I looked up and around to see something unusual in our "ceiling" - sunlight! There was a hole straight up through the rock. I took a few pictures that didn't turn out, and finally ended up using the night time landscape setting for this one, and you could see that there was stonecrop clinging to the edge of the cliff.

I love the beaches in the San Juan Islands. I never fail to come home with some stones, a shell or a few pieces of beach glass in my pocket. It is easy to find agates, quartz, lava, fools gold and other sparkly stones, but I thought this one was really interesting with it's coarse colorful grains surrounded in chocolate colored stone.

Nodding Onion

A sandy area along shallow bay.

The Mr. "out on a limb." This huge log was balanced up on top of a stone outcropping at the bottom of a cliff. We both sat on it and moved ourselves almost to the very end of the log before we felt it start to move.

Clam shell fossils litter the cliffs on this side of the island. There are places 10 or 15 feet (and higher I'm sure) up the cliff where you can make out clam beds in the stone. What was once the sea floor a loooong time ago is now part of the island. I also saw areas in the cliff that looked like petrified wood- dark and shiny.

An oyster maybe?

Look at the layers and subtle color changes. These are just a few of the Canadian Gulf Islands.

When it was time to go home, the water was just great and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Smooth water and sunbeams. You have to look closely in the photo, but in real life they were so beautiful.

Funny looking clouds..... wait... that's Mt. Baker hiding up there! It's huge.

When we arrived back at Drayton Harbor, we took a little detour to check out the Semiahmoo Marina breakwater and weren't disappointed. There were plenty of blubbery, cute Harbor Seals to gawk at. These two photos were taken in the very middle of Harbor Seal pupping season, hopefully I can snap some pup shots soon! They usually pup in June and July in the Pacific Northwest.

Sometimes it looks like they are smiling. The one in the center looks fat and happy to me. :)

Ahhh, an Evening at Sucia

With all these recent "old news" posts popping up on here, you might think that we've been having a boring, lazy, relaxing summer. Well, I am here to prove you wrong. We've been out and about and here and there and part of the reason why I've been posting old pictures is because it's been easy. We've been having a busy summer, and that's the way I love my summers.

So.... having said that today I am going to post about a recent trip we took! Oh wait.... does that date on the file really read June 25? Almost a month ago? Well I'd better get my act together! The Mr. and I went boat camping to Sucia Island with Sallad and Grace and their kidlets. (If you didn't click on that link, there is a gorgeous panoramic shot of the island on that page you won't want to miss.) We took off after work on Friday, June 25th, from Blaine and headed out of Drayton Harbor and cut straight across the Georgia Strait over some pretty rough waters. The wave forecast had warned of 1-3 foot waves, which often means 1-2 and possibly 3, but this time it was more like 2-3 and possibly 4, the weather had changed on us! If nothing else it made for an exciting trip, I can't help but enjoy the feeling of adrenaline. The waves in this area can get much bigger than what we saw, but we obviously try and stay out of the ocean when that's the case. I did take some photos and a video of the huge waves, but neither turned out, as they were taken through the salt water droplet covered windows of the boat. There was a lot of splashing going on! Once we were across the Georgia Strait, things calmed down a little only to stir up again closer to Sucia. We had never seen such rough water so close to Sucia before, so it was quite a surprise. We were glad to be almost "home."

A shot of the water just as we are leaving the sheltered area along the main land. If it is choppy here, it often means the strait will be hairy!

As we pulled into fossil bay, we knew chances would be slim for dock space, as the bay was busy with boats, either moored on state park buoys, or anchored. As we pulled up to the area of the dock, lo and behold there was someone on the dock waving to us and pointing to a spot! Some nice older gentlemen on the dock had just squeezed over and made room for us, or which ever small boat happened to come in next. There were already some boats along the dock that were rafting (two boats thick in one mooring space) and it was just such a shocking surprise to be able to fit at the dock. I also can't tell you this without saying that it was definitely the smallest dock space we have EVER fit into, and we never would have made it if it wasn't for the seven well practiced older captains that were lining the edge of the dock guiding us into our slot. :) Thanks guys! There are such friendly people out in the San Juan Islands, it always amazes me.

Sallad and Grace invited us to eat dinner with them, and this was no regular camping food! (At least not in my opinion.) They had a dutch oven filled with a beef roast, onions, garlic, potatoes and carrots. Boy was it good! I am getting hungry just thinking about it. (Thank you guys so much.... we'll have to get a dutch oven for ourselves now that you have shown us how amazing it is.)

The kidlets resting in the kid bed. It's the coolest little pop up tent with an inflatable bottom and I think it's a great idea. It's a safe place to sleep or play, and it folds down into the size of a purse.

Sallad and Grace's boat at the dock, through the Madrone trees. This was taken on the path to the other dock.

Madrone

Indian Pipe- my first sighting of this plant for the year. I saw bunches of about 9-10 "pipes" each of this interesting plant.

Stonecrop bloom.

Stonecrop greenery. It's sedum, but wild, and it's everywhere, and so beautiful.

Our view as we ate dinner in a little picnic hut at the State Park. It was a tad windy, but a beautiful evening. Look at that pink sky! It reminds me of the saying "Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight."

Sallad and Grace's spot for the night. Theirs is the navy and white boat with the dingy to the side.

Pink moon.

View looking towards the set sun and the end of Fossil Bay. You can see a tiny part of Little Sucia Island (I think) and Fox Cove on the other side of the island.

Campers enjoying the evening. I like boat camping near tenters, because the air smells of wood fires. Although when you're boat camping and no one on the island is having a fire, there is often the smell of a good thick steak grilling on a barbecue. Quite a few boats have small barbecues mounted to their railings, and steaks seem to be a common weekend choice.

Getting ready for bed.

*Snore* I love the moon's reflection on the water. This photo is so relaxing for me to look at. Wonderful memories of a wonderful evening! What's your favorite camping memory?

Stay tuned for "Day 2" and see if that red sky really did turn into "sailor's delight" or not. :)