Sea Glass Hunt

This morning we woke up and went straight to the beach for a "Sea Glass Hunt". Last Friday, Kate was at a birthday party at T-Street and she started looking through the rocks for glass. Sure enough, there is plenty there for the taking if you are willing to look a little. I started out doing it to "be a good mom" but I have to tell you that it is very therapeutic to dig through the rocks and it brings out the pirate in me and the kids when we find one of the precious hidden treasures.
As coincidence would have it, on Sunday I commented to a friend how much I liked the bracelet she was wearing............guess what? It was made from sea glass and she knows a local artist who will turn our sea glass into jewelry! Anyway, it was exciting to me and don't be surprised if for your next birthday you get a sea glass trinket from us! Happy Hunting!

Carpinteria, Camping Fun!

We just returned from our 2nd Annual Hendrickson Family camping trip to Carpinteria State Beach! We had so much fun last year that we had to go back. Unfortunately we were only able to reserve 4 nights :(For those of you who don't know, it is pretty difficult to get a beachfront site in the summer, so I guess we were lucky to have it). This year we brought our bikes and were able to bike around town to shopping, dinner, Foster's Freeze, etc..... Carpinteria is a pretty small town, so the kids had no problem keeping up. We had a lot of fun, here are some of the highlights....................................
Jeff and Brooke setting up camp.
Baseball on the beach.
Innertubing is fun here, the waves are really gentle and rolling.
The kids were loving it, they got to have their own tent this year!
Jeff and Buzz coming back from town. A bike with a basket just makes me smile :)
Roasting hot dogs on the fire......gourmet camping grub. Everything tastes better cooked outside.Kate became obsessed with boogie boarding on this trip, the water was cold, but felt "refreshing" once you got "used to it" aka "so numb you loose feeling".
Boogie Boarding trio.
As much as Kate became obsessed with boogie boarding, Buzz became 10 times more obsessed with skim boarding. He would literally stand by the water and practice for hours.
more practice.
This is the 2nd year in a row that the girls picked out their backpacks from a cute surf store on the main street. I feel a tradition in the making.
This hamburger stand is called "The Spot", delicious hamburgers and fried foods!
Foster's Freeze :)
On our last day, Kate was so tired she fell asleep for an hour. We called it "The Starfish" pose.
Brooke practices Smashball a lot this trip. Notice "The Starfish" in the foreground.
S'mores....yummy!
We biked to a Seal Sanctuary lookout.
The seals are well camouflaged , but when we first got to the lookout there were roughly 50 or so on the beach and rocks, some were babies with their moms. Too cute!

P.S. I am interested to hear your opinions on camping. Most people that have asked me about the trip say "somebody has to like it" or words to that effect. So I'm just wondering what you guys think. Are my family & I really in the minority for liking camping? Let me know what you think.

Ferry Trip into Seattle

We took the kids on the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. It was a gorgeous Seattle day. The kind of day that makes people move there, and then the months of September-May hit and then they come to an understanding of WHY the summers in Seattle are so beautiful. I personally love the rain, I guess it is in my blood since I lived in Seattle until I was 10.
This is the lineup of cars waiting to drive onto the ferry. I don't know what it is about my family and public transportation (see older San Diego post), but it is just thrilling to us.
This is what the ferries look like on the water.
My sister, Shannon, and I and all of our kiddies. The city of Bremerton in the background.
It was a little windy at the front of the boat. Seattle in the background.
If you look really close you can see the Spaceneedle.
My parents with all the kids.
We ate our favorite fish place, The Salmon Cooker. After, we ate ice cream in front of the aquarium.

4th of July in Richland, WA

On Thursday, July 3rd, we left Seattle for Richland, WA. My mom grew up there and we headed over for a 3 day Allred family reunion with her brothers, & sister, and all my cousins and their kids. It was fun to drive from Seattle and see a good part of the state of Washington.
In the afternoon of the 4th, we took a bus tour of the city. We saw all of the Richland hot spots, houses, and hang outs that my mom, aunt and uncles took part in and were a part of. It was a "history tour" of their family in the city. It was fun and gave us a good feeling of what their lives were like in a small town 50 years ago. I believe that it must have been a great place to grow up and it made me want for a simpler time and way of life.
Kate with her cousin, Ashlyn.
As part of the history tour, we visited the grave site of my grandparents. My cousin planned for the children to do brass rubbings on the headstone. It was a wonderful way for them to get involved a feel a part of their great grandparents whom they did not have the opportunity to know.
After the bus tour, we had a big barbeque at my cousin's house. This house happens to be the same house that my mom grew up in and that my grandparents lived until they passed away. It was a fantastic family party, and it brought back a lot of fond childhood memories for me. I know that my grandparents were smiling down on the festivities and loving that their family was all gathered together in that very place.
Jeff was one of the first winners at BINGO. It was a struggle to pick between the Richland Bombers t-shirt of hat. He went for the hat, sorry no picture, and I hope he doesn't regret the decision :)
After Bingo, it was time for an at home fireworks display. My uncles came prepared with hundred of fireworks. Brooke got to light one of the big ones and my kids thought that it was pretty cool because we've never done them at home before.

The kids got gigantic sparklers to celebrate with.

It's Always Fun at Grandma's House!

Buzzy was thrilled when we got to my parent's house. More birthday presents! I have a feeling that he thinks this birthday thing is going to last all year!
A new light saber from Grandma and Grandpa, and it turns green and red (depending upon your mood you can either choose the "light" or "dark" side. I have a feeling the red bulb will burn out long before the green if you know what I mean). Grandpa was a good sport and let Buzz attack him.
After all the light saber play, and playing with the Wii Fit (which we don't have so the kids were thrilled!) they were all tuckered out. At least we thought they should be, so we sent them to bed..............which turned out to be the biggest party of all.
6 kids in a small den with two big aero beds is a recipe for fun! Thanks to my parents for loving it also!

Off to Seattle!

On Tuesday, July 1st, we left for Seattle. The kids are so easy to travel with now, no strollers, car seats (because I cheat and don't take Buzzy's), so the "getting there" is actually kind of fun. We went to see my parents, family, and extended family. The kids were really excited, they've been looking forward to seeing Grandma & Grandpa and their cousins for a long time!
I am usually a really nervous flyer, but as I got on the plane, I said to myself, "Let it go!!! This plane is not going to crash and if it is what good has it done you all of these years to worry and cry mid-flight? None!"........so after this talk, I actually enjoyed myself. I watched for landmarks out the window. It was great to fly by Catalina and the Channel Islands and not be thinking that I was going to certainly land in a watery grave (which is normally what I would be thinking). I think that I am cured!!!! at least for now...............
Love it when this happens!
This is in the Seattle airport, it is a subway that takes you from terminal to terminal. I had a flashback moment when we boarded this to when I was 10 years old and we flew to Florida and I rode in this same subway and thought how fun it was. Random memory.