Our Memorial Day weekend was filled to the brim with love. Mostly loving on friends and babies we hadn’t seen (or met yet!) that all live in the general vicinity of Seattle. It was a beautiful time of reconnection and celebration.

We had a couple hours between seeing the Roppos in Tacoma and celebrating a different family in Kirkland, so I googled a local place to explore.

“I found a lake. Wanna go?” I asked.

“Um…sure,” replied my always patient and good-natured husband. Being spontaneous with two grown ups? Whining and panic are usually kept at a minimum. Being spontaneous with 3 kids 5 and under (plus a hungry, pregnant wife)? I know it just spells D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R to him. But he puts up with my ideas, and even quells the inevitable melt-downs..I think it’s because he loves me…

Or he’s scared of hangry-preggo wife.

I like to think it’s the former (this is him digging up generations-old blueberry bushes for me because they were going to be bulldozed for a housing development, if that isn’t love, I don’t know what is).

Lake Tapps it was, a short drive away to our adventure, and only a small fee to get in.

“There’s not much for kids here. No playground or anything…It’s a great place to launch a boat or come on a sunny day for swimming,” said the glum gate keeper as we all looked up at the overcast skies and watched the proud flags whip in the wind.

“Let’s try it anyway! I’m sure we can find something!” I said, in my best chipper/desperate, we’re already here so we’re going to make it work kind of voice.

The kids did like exploring the waterfront a bit,

and an awesome hollowed out tree…

There wasn’t even any whining as noses turned pink and started to water. I “went to go get my phone to google something else to do” in the van, but mostly sat there a minute or five to warm up my cold fingers…

After they were done posing for a super cute album cover

a sheriff drove by and gave the kids Junior Sheriff stickers. Highlight of their day!

We then proceeded to avoid him as we drove the kids around the waterfront, not in their car seats (Gasp!) at 2 miles an hour. Second highlight of their day! That snails-paced 5 minutes reminded us that we didn’t really need to do much to make them giggle and laugh and have a good time.

However, we may have inadvertently taught them to avoid uniformed officers when doing something slightly illegal,

“MOM! I can see the sheriff! Everyone get down! Hide!”- Mo. Hysterical giggling from the back of the van.

Parenting win for the day… not.

I just happened to be looking out the window and spotted a trailhead. In the off chance that the trees would shield us from the cold, and with another hour we needed to kill before a barely acceptable lunch time of 11am, we parked and headed into the woods.

Photo dump time!

We proceeded boldly onto the trail and then stopped every 30 seconds to study all the enthralling wildlife this tiny piece of wilderness had to offer:

Slugs!

Centipedes!

Thimbleberry Flowers!

And lots of lots of green!

The hiking was easy, the kids were entertained, no one fell, got stung or was mauled by anything. The whining only started on our way back. A win in my book!

It does look like a beautiful place to be on a sunny summer day, and I’d say after our hike, picnic lunch and general running around, it wasn’t a bad place to be on a cool spring day either. Thank you Lake Tapps for a fun couple hours.

And thanks Andy, for always agreeing to adventure with me.