Boo Boo's first camping trip.

All kids who grow up in the Pacific Northwest must grow up camping. It's a simple fact of life.The woods, the rivers, the mountains, the ocean are all too close to the population centers to ignore. There is simply no excuse for getting out into the great outdoors. And when I say getting out, I don't mean in an RV or something like it. You may not bring your portable television, dvd player, or Internet. That's not camping. The whole point of getting out into nature is to get out into nature. Get dirty. Go hiking. Share your food with the animals. Get pineneedles in the morning pancakes and ashes on the evening hotdogs. Finish your evenings around the campfire. Sit and talk to each other while you swat mosquitos. You know, go camping.

This past week, Seth had a few days off, so we decided to pack up the Boo Boo and go camping. We loaded all our gear and the dog into the Jeep and headed out to the Olympic Peninsula, which is quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth, especially when the sun is shining. Seth has been aching to spend more time on the Peninsula ever since the ferry failed this spring and he had to drive all the way around Hood Canal to meet his submarine at Indian Island. We had several parks that we wanted to try, but we settled on Old Fort Townsend, which is built on the site of an old army fort from the 1800s.

Seth and I are not hardcore campers. We don't load all our stuff into backpacks and head off into the great unknown. We sleep in a tent, but we also sleep on an airmattress. We bring changes of clothes. We hop in the car to go see the '50s diners in cute, little tourist towns and buy novelty t-shirts. We bring regular food in coolers, and we indulge in the occasional camping knicknack, like an egg holder, a butane lighter, or a campfire toaster. We buy our firewood at the grocery store. In light of this, Old Fort Townsend suited us perfectly. The campground is close to Port Townsend, a cute little seaside town in the Victorian style, and full of nature trails that even Boo Boo could manage.

The sites were big and open but still thick enough in the woods that the red squirrels and the wood peckers could be heard in the trees.

We had a great time. Boo Boo decided that she loves camping. It's like a great big backyard with really tall trees, pinecones, pebbles, and Max on a leash accessible at all times. She relished the opportunity to use her newly discovered ability to run. Every time we turned around, she was going for the road. She had a blast on the nature trails, inspite of the roots and rocks. We thought we would need the stroller, but she much preferred to walk or ride on Daddy's arm.

She sat at the table with Mommy and Daddy like a big girl and ate grown up food. All in all, she proved that she is a child of the Great Northwest. The great outdoors suits her to a T.

Time in Oregon.

We spent this past weekend visiting Seth's folks in Oregon. They hadn't seen Boo Boo since February, and ever so many changes have taken place since then -- walking, talking, about three inches of height, climbing, pet chasing. All sorts of things she wasn't doing and didn't have four months ago. We had a great time seeing the folks and the aunties. I wish we could have stayed longer, but it's silage season and graduation season, and neither season translates to time for company.
We had simply spectacular weather. In fact, it was so hot in the car on teh way down that somewhere halfway down the I-5, I bought Boo Boo a push up popsicle to eat. She made a glorious mess of herself and her carseat, but she was content, and anyone who has ever taken a roadtrip with an uncomfortable toddler knows how important momentary contentment can be.

We spent most of the weekend just hanging around the house and letting Boo Boo demonstrate her new skills. She got into Nana's scrapbooking materials and had to show me the less breakable pieces. She had lots of fun with the scrapbook stuff. She also had fun running the length of Pake and Nana's house, especially when Sailor the daschund was running too. She just loved showing off her new skills of locomotion.

On Sunday, we bundled everybody into the minivan and headed up to Silver Falls. Boo Boo nearly fell asleep on the way up, . . . but she was lively enough when we got there. There's nothing she loves more than a big space to run.