Celebrating Elijah

This is Elijah, excited about his birthday. H'es been counting down the days all month!

 

 In St. Louis, we celebrated birthdays with a free trip to the zoo and an all out par-tay! This year, we planned a party, but with no zoo in town, we enjoyed low tide at the beach. We took Dan to Teddy Bear Cove, our new favorite spot.

Below, you can see where the line of water usually is on that giant rock.

The beach is his new happy place. This boy is so brave and will pick up ANYTHING that might be in cool in any way. He's such an explorer, always searching for truth and life. I love his mind.

This is Lazarus taking a break in the middle of our up hill hike.

After resting from our adventure, we set up for the party. This year's theme was Vintage Super Heroes! Everything was "POP!", "BIFF!" and "KERLPOOSH!". Even the cake had pop rocks on top, so the kids were literally POPPING! It was such a fun day!

The "Spider Web" was so awesome. I wondered how long it would last with 14 kids climbing all over it, but is held up! And the kids never got tired of pretending to be stuck and needing rescuing!

In the middle of the party, we got bad news! All of our super hero friends had been visited by Mr. Freeze and were stuck!! The kids were split up into two teams and had to unfreeze their friends with water shooters!

Then, we had cake :)

It was truly a special day, celebrating Elijah and building him up. Sometimes, I can't believe I am old enough to have a six year old. Sometimes, I am SO thankful he's finally six and has more independence. All the time, I am thankful for his life!

Teddy Bear Cove

Teddy Bear Cove is another beach off Chuckanut Drive but it's much closer to town. The hike is completely downhill but is relatively short. This is a beach I can take all 3 kids by myself and is the perfect spot to do homeschool. Once again, it's a thrill walking along the train tracks to get to the beach!

The boys love to listen to trains coming. Makes my belly turn, but I try to play it cool.

Not pictured is the other tiny beach on the oposite side of this huge rock. These boys climbed and climbed till their legs fell off! The other tiny beach is especially fun because it reveals a cave and other marine life that's only exposed when the tide is really low (below -1.0). May in the NW is a wonderful time to explore tide pools. The weather is mild and the kids are aching to get outside again. I think we'll dedicate every May to outdoor exploration homeschool lessons.

The Boy is 6!!!!!

My first born turns 6 years old today. The last year has been quite the adventure for our family. It's been such a joy to watch him grow through all the changes. Moving and traveling, taking him out of public school and learning at home, gaining a baby sisters-he's been stretched in so many ways!!!

Elijah has really grown into his role as older brother, teaching and encouraging Lazarus with new games and skills. Homeschooling has completely transformed their relationship. I've also benefited from our time in the "classroom" together. 

 

He adores his little sister. I love the tender heart he has toward her.

Puzzles and Legos are his new favorite challenge.

Elijah is a great bike rider and does really well riding through the city. We love our adventures through downtown Bellingham.

 He's generally gotten much cooler over the last year and his ninja skills and through the roof!!! HA!

His drawing skills have gotten pretty amazing. He's probably written and illustrated dozens of books!

His winking skills need workin' on though ;)

I love my googly eyed first born son. He cracks me up, talks my ear off and teaches me new things every day. Happy birthday sweet boy!!!

Clayton Beach

Clayton Beach is technically part of Larabee State Park. You can access this beach by driving south on Chuckanut Drive. Like most PNW beaches, it's a hike through enormous old trees and a steep trek down to the water. Oh, and you get to cross railroad tracks. Such a thrill!

We took our dear friends with us to this beach and it did not disappoint.

I know what you're thinking-best family photo EVA!

This sand dollar was alive!!! It's tiny hairs were moving all around. 

Dan was brave and opened a live cockle which had been cracked open by a seagull. After pushing it around, this long stringy thing came out of it's stomach. Ahh!! So gross and so cool!

There are huge gnarly rocks to explore on the edge of the beach.

This place is truly a gem. Although it takes work to get to the beach, it's all worth it. Pack some food and stay a while!