Ft. Flagler

It keeps getting harder and harder to reserve a spot at Ft. Flagler every year.

And this year I really dropped the ball...I forgot to mark it on the calendar 9 months in advance!

We still were able to get ONE site during July.

Yep....we would be home for just 2 days before heading out for another 10-day trip.

Because we could only get one site, that meant Gramps wouldn't bring his trailer over.

We would kick the girls out to a tent and he would stay with us.

It worked well...the weather was amazing and the girls LOVED having the tent!

This trip has become very important to our family.

It really begins when we pull up to the ferry dock!

As soon as we got there Annalise couldn't WAIT to get on her bike!

She and Avery took off while we got things set up.

And on the first night....

Because things had been so dry, there was still a statewide burn ban on.

That meant NO CAMPFIRES! :(  

It certainly made the nights feel different, but we ended up playing a few more card games 

and getting more sleep than we usually do!

The weather turned a little, so we decided to take a road trip to an art festival just south in Pt. Ludlow.

Annalise found Smokey the Bear!

When we got back she was DETERMINED to make it all the way across the monkey bars!

And she DID IT!!!!

This just never gets old....

The next day we did the annual museum scavenger hunt.

This year it was Avery vs. Annalise! 

(Now that Annalise is such a great reader she didn't need our help quite as much!)

They actually ended up working together anyway. :)

The sun came back out the following day so Mark and Avery broke out the stunt kite!

And a little throwback to Avery's first kite flying experience at Ft. Flagler....

helping Daddy and Gramps!

Everyone in the campground set up their "yo-hos" (that's a Grams term!)....

Annalise was excited to show Gramps how she had already mastered the monkey bars!

WooHoo!!!

And some time to just sit and enjoy the day!

 

The next day we headed to Pt. Townsend to go catch the ferry to pick up 

Avery's friend Jocelynn for our last couple of nights.

Avery was super excited to have Jocelynn with us!

What a beautiful place....

 

Another AMAZING SUNSET!

  

The next morning there was a CRAZY low tide.

In fact, we've never seen the water out so far!

(I think it took these people by surprise, too!  They were out there for HOURS!!!)

So were the girls!  They spent hours out there digging around looking for clams and other little critters!

 

A trip to Ft. Flagler wouldn't be complete without a trip to see the guns.

Jocelynn needed the full experience!

And a good scream in the battery....

This is definitely a favorite trip for all of us.

Great memories and it's such a beautiful place!

Even after 10 days we all agreed we could stay a few more.

Priest Lake and Camp Reed Pick Up

After we dropped off Annalise we headed up to Priest Lake with Guac and Carisa.

Guac's parents have a cabin on the north end of the lake.

It was AMAZING!!!!

Mark and I stayed in a tent on the beach.

So awesome!

The cabin was up on the hill in the woods.

It's super rustic....

no running water or electricity.

We hung out on the beach and relaxed!

Lori happened to be up at the lake as well, so we got to hang out with her and Jeff on their boat for a while.

Guac's brother Dino (another Camp alum) was also there for a couple of days.

He has a pontoon party barge....

We took a tour of the lake and headed to Upper Priest Lake.

On our way back we noticed a little smoke on the hills above the cabin.

Before we knew it there was a fire plane scooping water out of the lake and dumping it on the fire.

There are pretty strict rules about how close you can get to the fire planes, but Dino (being a firefighter himself) really wanted to see it in action.

It looks closer than it really was....

but it was close enough to see the pilot pretty clearly.

It was a great couple of days that went by WAY TOO FAST!

It's so beautiful there.

Then our time was up and we needed to get back to Camp Reed for the pick up.

I was super anxious to hear all about it!

We got Annalise first....

here she is with her counselors Stega and SeeSaw....

Then Avery with her counselor Racer....

(yes, Avery was just a tad taller than her adult counselor!)

My heart was full.

My girls were so happy.

And we were so happy to see them.

They all had a great time!

Avery can't wait to go back again next year.

In fact, she couldn't believe how different it was from her Girl Scout camp experience.

Both great....but very different.

There's just something so magical about Camp Reed.

She and Emera had a great time being in the same cabin....

And Annalise is ready for the big kid camp next year.

Skyla was a little homesick, but they still had a great couple days being "MINIS"!

We left camp and Avery literally talked the ENTIRE drive to Gramps' house.

We stopped for lunch on our way and we had to STOP her from talking just long enough to order her food.

There are no words to describe how amazing this was for Mark and I. 

Camp Reed was such an influence in both of our lives.

And really....without Camp, we never would have met.

I can't imagine my life without either.

I can't wait to go back to Camp Reed at the end of August for the 100 year reunion.

I can only imagine what amazing stories we'll hear and what memories we'll make together as a family.