port angeles part 2: dungeness spit

fourth of july! we went out and enjoyed a mid-morning beach day at the dungeness spit, which extends out from the northern edge of the olympic peninsula into the strait of juan de fuca. it's five and a half miles long, and the longest natural sand spit in the united states. by which fact the children were, of course, very impressed.

port angeles part 1: getting there

so! we've been there and back again from this year's young family reunion, held in picturesque port angeles. much more to come on our shenanigans!

but first! the wheelers never pass up a ferry ride, so here's a look see at our clan heading over the water to the olympic peninsula at the beginning of last week's adventures.

no one, and i mean no one, loves a ferry ride like afton.

summer, meanwhile, has entered that phase of nearly all eldest children of being afraid that one of her little siblings will injure themselves or fall into a body of water or get lost from the group or be eaten by bears and such. and so is *not* a real big fan of ferry boats right now. (and i am definitely keeping her away from that one grey's anatomy episode).

bryan and his mini me.

the end (of the beginning).

afton is eight!

july 11, 2017

afton is magical. she is pure imagination. she is quiet and delicate. a puzzler and deep thinker. afton is a talented (and prolilfic!) creative writer. she is her father's daughter and loves camping and the outdoors. she would spend forever and a day hiking around a stream and collecting all sorts of fantastical bits of nature if she could. afton loves rocks and minerals and gems. her favorite book series and character right now is seraphina (a girl after afton's own heart).

all of afton's senses are heightened. for her, lights are brighter, sounds are louder, smells are stronger, and feelings are much more tender. quiet as she is, she has a way of drawing people in (especially fellow tender-hearts and creative souls). afton loves art and fashion. she draws the most amazing animals and insects, and her attention to detail is incredible. afton is still our resident silly goose and makes the *best* faces and voices. trust me when i say that this girl gets comedy (ask her about her "darth vader singing in front of a pink screen" bit sometime).

it is a joy to watch afton grow. it is a joy to watch afton create.

for her birthday, she wanted to visit a butterfly museum. she and summer carefully planned their outfits to be sure to attract the most butterflies (and upon leaving the museum, one of the staff members actually randomly commented that the girls had picked the *perfect* outfits for butterflies).

a butterfly enjoying a rest atop afton's head (this butterfly actually stayed with her for more than five minutes while she walked around. afton birthday magic for sure!)

the whole crazy crew.

for her extra special birthday treat, afton went with wheeler family tradition and chose top pot doughnuts. we stopped by thirty minutes before closing, and the kids were lucky enough to each get a free doughnut for breakfast the next morning (in addition to the yumminess pictured above). afton birthday magic strikes again!

we love you, afty bay, and wish you all the best things, with glitter and rainbow sprinkles on top, this year!

life, liberty

and the pursuit of happiness.

luke, summer, bene (benny), derek, dallin, afton, danton, eli, caleb 

finally!

on monday, summer and afton (finally!) finished their last day of school this year.

here's a bit how that went down:

(psst: my camera was having double trouble, and i ended up totally over-exposing all my photos. i wasn't savvy enough to fix it in time and am super bummed--especially about the last photos featured here. but in accordance with a little something i may have heard a time or two: you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. forever and ever amen.)

both summer and afton received their school's CV3 award this year. this is awarded to two students in each class who exemplified the CV3 (make good choices, show respect, solve problems) all year long. afton also received an award for perfect attendance.

these are two remarkable girls!

afton with her amazing second grade teacher, mrs. coats.

summer with her beloved third grade teacher, mrs. rosevear.

auf wiedersehen second and third grades. veni vidi vici!

elementary, my dear caleb

today is the last day of preschool for this officially registered kindergartener.

note: he's got those sleepy eyes because he rolled out of bed exactly three minutes before this pic was taken.

#thatshowwedo

caleb just keeps growing, he just keeps learning, his knowledge of the star wars universe just keeps expanding, and his hair game just keeps getting stronger. 

he's all set for the big K!

at the beginning of the year here:

strawberry fields forever

"quick! there's only one way in the whole wide world to save a red, ripe strawberry from the big, hungry bear!"

"cut it in two."

"share half with me."

"and we'll both eat it all up. YUM!"

"now that's one red, ripe strawberry the big, hungry bear will never get!"

THE END

excerpt from The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear
by Don and Audrey Wood

first lost tooth

i know it's graduation season and all, and people are celebrating some major milestones in their lives (congratulations all around!), but we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming with some fairly big news of our own:

caleb lost his first tooth last night!

(actually, he insisted that his dad pull it out.)

and he handled this life transition pretty much like he handles everything else

(except losing at games; shout-out ken buds!)

like a boss.

brace yourselves

sunshine is coming.

the season's first campout

wherein the children make fire.  and then burn ALL THE THINGS!

and mom forgets jackets (!)

#brothersnuggle

and there is rock throwing! and ninja night hunting! and prickly plant touching!

running list of camping injuries include: caleb coming home with a heat rash, dallin cutting his head on a rock, a mosquito bite, assorted cuts and bruises from unknown sources, and emily's broken nail.

rise and shine: it's morning time!

not pictured: caleb, who is still asleep.

the lady crew (plus anson) in their speed boat showing the rest of us losers how it's done.

um, when will these orange life vests ever not be sexy?

Nature’s first green is gold, 

Her hardest hue to hold. 

Her early leaf’s a flower; 

But only so an hour. 

Then leaf subsides to leaf. 

So Eden sank to grief, 

So dawn goes down to day. 

Nothing gold can stay. 

Robert Frost

a mother

"And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes. Amen."

excerpt from "The Mother's Prayer for Its Daughter" by Tina Fey

night time: assemble!

dallin making some important business calls last night before bed:

he said it was the avengers.

saut de basque

finally, a birthday post for bryan

amidst all our fun and games last week, this guy got older:

bryan lives his life like a love letter to his wife and children. 

he drives an hour each way to work every day so that we can live in the house and in the community that we love. he comes home to bathe his sons and read them their favorite books and then quietly and patiently absorbs all the emotional drama in the lives of his girls (mama included). he cooks dinner on the weekends to ease the relentlessness of household duties. he does, and this is not an exaggeration, whatever i ask him to do. 

there is no one i've ever met in the history of ever who loves to work as much as bryan does. and his work ethic permeates our family with peace and constancy. he's like a giant galapagos tortoise who carries us surely and steadily on his back: giving his children confidence to take risks and courage when they're afraid and a safe place to which they can always return. never giving us a reason to doubt that something strong and steadfast and solid is underneath our feet.

so here's to you, my giant galapagos! thirty-seven years down, one-hundred-thirty-three to go!