Memorial Day

We were supposed to go to Mary and Jay's and stay over there last night. We were really, really torn about it. We wanted to go so badly, but we had started to clean out our garage and we ended up on a roll with it and just wanted to continue purging. So we stayed home last night and purged... and purged. It felt really good. Mike got some shelving to put up in the garage so that we can get more organized. We still have some work to do... namely a run to the dump and a few runs to the D.I., but I think we are well on our way.

We got up early this morning (way too early) and headed out to Port Orchard for Memorial Day. I was excited to FINALLY see Mary and Jay's place. We unloaded some things there and then headed over to Manchester State Park to spend the day with family. We had a GREAT time today! We are so glad we went out there. It's a beautiful park... green everywhere and of course lots of water. We didn't anticipate how chilly it was going to be in the morning. When we got there, the kids didn't want to wear their hoodies, so Wonder Boy decided to use Ethan's... and this was the result:


The area still has a torpedo house on the property which was built in 1901. I found out from reading on the state park website that the torpedo house later was used as an officer's club, a barracks and a mess hall. They don't build 'em like they used to... nothing like good old brick and mortar to withstand the test of time. It was amazing to stand inside the mammoth structure. It had a fireplace in there and the original rail tracks are still in place. As the tracks exit the structure, they fade into the asphalt that covers the ground today. I stood there, imagining what it must have been like a hundred years ago when the place was busy and bustling with rail cars coming in and out. Only an empty shell stands today, but it is fun to imagine.


Here are some other random pictures:


Sierra found a caterpillar that was really cute. That girl is truly "one" with nature! The kids decided to host the caterpillar for awhile. They built a habitat for it and took care of it... all the way up until a mean old crow decided to swoop down and devour it for lunch! HMPH!


We also had fun down on the water. Even though it was cool, overcast, and at times drizzly, everyone had a great time!


Remember I said that Sierra is one with nature... well she found a large and really cool crab once the tide started receding. Oh, did I mention that it was ALIVE? She's so brave... she picked it up and carried it all the way back up to the picnic area. I would have been terrified that the thing would have clawed me!


Me, Mary, Beka and Cynthia enjoyed an awesome game of badminton. It was a ton of fun!


Eventually, we packed it all up. Some people left. I stayed behind with Mike, Ethan, Evan, Mary, Samantha, Sierra, Savana, and Loral. We all went on a hike around the area. We saw some amazing beauty as well as a historical gun battery from the turn of the century. And as we were hiking along, we could hear the seals out on the water, barking away. We had a great time exploring!


When we were all done, we headed back to Mary and Jay's house to hang out and play games. While there, Jay let me try out a 400mm lens he has. What fun! I only took a few pictures but this was my favorite:


We had such a great time today. It was so nice to be able to spend the day having fun with the family. We are so glad that we went out there and enjoyed the beauty of the day and the company!