A Field Trip and a Date

This week we took our first field trip. My goal is to do one a month. We'll see how that plan goes.
We went out to the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. I had wanted to go earlier in the day, but the clouds hung around for quite some time. The sun finally peeked out at about noon. Once Meg was up from her nap we headed up the road to the refuge. It was gorgeous out.  We saw some wildlife, but not like what we were hoping for. Myles thinks he either saw a river otter or a long tailed weasel. It was hard to tell from a distance.We also saw some sandpipers and a cute little bird with a pretty chirp. I'm thinking it might have been some type of warbler. We could hear it's song before we could see it, as it blended into the tree bark so well. The next time we head up there I think we will do the four mile driving loop.

Here we are at the beginning of our hike. We headed over the bridge. Down below are train tracks.

Myles liked the way our shadows looked.

Meg took turns holding everyone's hand at some point on the hike.
When she wasn't holding hands she was on my shoulders, or I was holding her in my arms.
It made for a great workout.

I'm not sure if Meg was getting tired or if she just didn't want to head back to the car, but she dropped down into a squatting position and would not budge. After several minutes she got up and ran down the path.







There were a couple of trains that we heard while on our hike. On the way back to the beginning of the trail there were two trains passing each other. Meg loved it!


We had hoped the the Cathlapotle Plankhouse would be open. We just peeked through the cracks to see what the inside looks like.

I think we hiked for over an hour, and we were all tuckered out by the end.










 

Meg likes to have us help her wrap her baby doll in a blanket, and then she likes to carry it around, rock with it, or sit and snuggle with it. All the things we do with her. It is quite funny because the doll is practically her size. 

Myles made this sign for the hall bathroom. He is such a funny guy!

Rhaevyn went on her very first "real" date. I say real because there was no parental chaperoning for the first half and no parental driving. Her friend Tanner came to pick her up. They went on a double date with two other friends to get frozen yogurt and then went back to Tanner's house for pingpong.

We've had a great weekend watching General Conference. We've made it an important tradition of watching all four sessions together, and we always try and do something special for breakfast and either lunch or dinner both days. We look forward to this time twice a year for the sweet and uplifting words from our prophet and apostles.
I went all out for "lunner" today. We had chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, buttermilk biscuits, homemade pumpkin pie, and homemade whipped cream. I have not made pumpkin pie in years, but it was really nice to have.

And here we are in October. I look forward to the memories that will be made this month.