First family hike in Olympic National Park

We woke up to another glorious morning our final day at Lake Quinault - 

Collin wrestled with Uncle Alex and Aunt Coady as we waited for breakfast -

And Coady took in the scenery as she sipped the freshly ground and brewed coffee (like it had foam on top which I learned meant it was a good cup of coffee - a far cry from my automatic drip coffee maker at home).

Collin watched from the back deck as Coady kayaked by -

The white dog I accidently cut out of the picture is one of the three Italian greyhounds that Collin was obsessed with and who humored him as he followed them throughout the house -

Alex and Coady kayaking together successfully.  Apparently on the first day, Alex somehow tipped in like 12 inches of water.  And he told me it was from the wake of a speed boat.  So then when Cas and I went kayaking and a boat went by (and boats on this lake are not allowed to exceed 15 mph), I was panicked that the waves were going to knock me over into the icy lake.  Found out after my fearful kayak that he had flipped due to balance, with no boats in sight.

After breakfast, Cas, Collin and I went on the "hike" the group had done on the first day, although we drove to the campsite rather than carrying Collin all the way.  The bald eagle's nest from the road -

Wielding a walking stick for our 1/10th of a mile trek  -

The trail through the forest

Father and tall son on their first hike together -

The magnificent trees -

Our little boy -

Tree climbing and posing -

The lake from the hike -

Nice views from Daddy's shoulders -

Sweet helping hand -

Our happy hiker with a more appropriate sized stick -

It's a good thing we didn't try any real hikes on this trip, as we moved at a snail's pace because Collin would find "his favorite rock" or want to climb "all by himself" or stop to inspect each leaf.  But we had a great first family hike!

Collin Kayaks by Himself

After the beach, Cas was ready for a family kayak adventure.  He suited up (in a kid's life jacket) -

But no amount of love and reassurance could get Collin excited about joining us in the kayak.  He just was not in the mood.

Instead, he wanted to go in the green one all by himself, thank you very much.

And so he did.  With a little help from Brownie.

Floating like a big guy in about 3 inches of water (with my dad and Alex and arm's length away) -

While Cas and I ventured into deeper waters -

This is a posing smile.  I like kayaking like this, in a lake when I can determine the length of time I'm paddling.  Alex and I shared a kayak in Hawaii 3 years ago where we kayaked to this snorkeling spot that you couldn't reach on the road.  We were glad we did it, but it was one of those experiences where I realized 15 minutes in that I didn't really LOVE kayaking, and we still had about a 30-minute one-way trek ahead of us!

Collin and Uncle Walter, basking in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest from the incredible lake house porch

Playing with Mommy before bedtime -

Some scenes from the "fishing cottage" to show how spoiled we were -

Looking from the front door through the living room to the back porch, overlooking Lake Quinault -

Dusk -

Alex and Coady relaxing on the downstairs porch

After dinner, we had s'mores in the outdoor fireplace - I was as happy as can be!  Then we watched the moon rise over the mountains, trying silly poses on the porch.  See Cas' Cars band-aid.  Photographer failure and success, though the failed attempt is a crisper photo.

The moon & lake reflections -

We ended the night with a moonlit kayak ride - an incredible day - though I'll admit the s'mores played a pretty big role in my total elation!

Ruby Beach Rock Throwing

I tried to be selective with photos from our first full day at Quinault, but it was too beautiful to narrow down much.  We woke up to this scene from the back porch - 

Collin and Brownie went for a morning kayak ride -

I don't think my two-year-old fully appreciated the scenery, but he still talks about kayaking at Jan's lake house.

Lounge chair, sippy cup, lake and mountains -

Where we ate our meals - I could definitely get used to these views!

Alex and Coady at breakfast -

After an incredible breakfast made by Uncle Walter and Aunt Cheryl, we headed to Ruby beach, at the south side of Olympic National Park.  We skipped rocks -

And Collin played in the rocks.  He could have happily spent the entire vacation throwing rocks into the water.

Posing for pictures with Mommy was torture when there were millions of rocks just begging to be thrown - 

But sometimes he'll humor me for a kiss -

The foggy Pacific coastline -

Exploring hermit crab shells with Brownie -

Alex and Sapphire worked to build bridges, while Coady with her sandals happily splashed through the water.

Getting sandy -

Playing chase -

Our sweet, sandy guy -

Getting a little dirtier -

I like the Collin trail -

Messy monster -

Mischief in those eyes, coming to wipe sand on Uncle Walter, who fought him off with the classic nose grab

Driftwood = drum sticks as he played the ABC song for us -

Jan spent the time at Ruby beach painting; she's an incredible artist -

Son & proud father -

Posing with Coady & Alex.  My hard-working husband was back at the cabin handling emails on Friday, but was able to relax and join us for the rest of the trip.

For some reason, we took the native Washingtonians advice and wore shorts to the beach - and it was FREEZING.  Luckily we had lots of layers for Collin, but the rest of us found warmth by lying on the rocks which had soaked up some summer heat -

Collin was not happy to leave the rocks behind, and he threw his last few into the pond before we drug him away kicking and screaming.  Luckily, Lake Quinault offered him ample opportunity to continue his new favorite pastime of throwing rocks into a body of water.