So we took the grandkids to my mother’s family cabin this last weekend.  We left on Friday morning.  Here they are waiting for everything to get pack up including William’s motorcycle.

We stopped by Black Diamond Bakery en route for treats.

William picked a maple bar,

and Piper picked a decorated cookie with a kitty face.  Unfortunately I never got a photo of the decoration.  Afterwards she has black lips, a pink nose and lots of cookie crumbles.

And I bought a loaf of their amazing Crystal Mountain bread (like my grandparents often did on the way to the cabin).  I decided it should ride on the dash as we drove through Enumclaw.  It did become a success for peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam sandwiches for lunches.

We did get to see Mount Rainier.  I was worried because there had been a cloud cover all morning.

And we got to the cabin.  Piper immediately decided that she liked the “brown chair”.  And she continued to like it all weekend.

My mom and step dad joined us.  I had sent Tom and William to get crushed ice for Piper.  They came back with cubed ice as that is all the store had.  But mom pointed out that my grandfather had this ice crusher so I used it to make crushed ice.  That was fun.

William proceeded to ride his motorcycle up and down the dirt road to the cabin over and over.  Several generations have done just this.

Piper set up her toys in the living room.

And with the help of Mom they found a large remote controlled Jeep in the loft.  Here they are getting it to work.

I had brought my Snickerdoodle cookies, blueberry muffins, malted bread and Chocolate Zucchini cake to share.  Here is the cake outside of the bundt pan.  Isn’t it pretty?

Mom brought chicken nuggets and fries for dinner which was a kid success.  The cake was not a success with them, however.  But then it was hanging with grampa time on the front porch by the river.  William was not quite sure about calling this porch front rather than the one by the road.  But I said since great grampa build the place, he got to decide, and William seemed to accept that.

Here are the stairs to the loft.  My brother created this rule for his kid that you can go up as many stairs as your age in years.  Since William is 7 turning 8, this was perfect for him.  Unfortunately for Piper (2 turning 3) she did not get to climb the stairs to the loft quite yet.  William thought they were cliffs not stairs, and I tend to agree.  So William and Tom slept in the loft while Piper, Ryeleigh and myself shared a downstairs bed, and Mom and Al got the other bedroom.

For Saturday breakfast, I brought out the blueberry muffins which were not a hit with the kids, but they did like the Crunch berries cereal I brought.  But they only ate the crunch berries.  They were not fond of the “retro” design, but the find-the-hidden-berries game on the back was fun.

Then it was throwing rocks in the river time.  This has happened for at least 5 generations here so was nice to see.  The river had turned muddy from the thunderstorm the afternoon before.

Ryeleigh went for lots of walks in the beautiful volcanic scenery.

 

There was Merganser ducks fishing in the river.

Later Saturday morning we went to a nearby Vintage Trailer rally.

The trailers were great, and the scenery was amazing.

Tom was talking to a lot of trailer restoration people, but the kids and dog were getting bored.  So we headed to the playset in the same park.

Back at the cabin, there was yet another trip to Whistlin’ Jacks for supplies (in this case milk and ice cream for Piper).  The boys rode while Piper and Ryeleigh walked there with me.  Here is the view of the bikes and the vintage sign.

Back to the river for throwing rocks but also with a sling shot this time.

Some geese could be seen on the other side of the river through the front porch screening.

Then came another thunder storm.  It was quite spectacular.  You almost couldn’t see Edgar Rock through the clouds and rain.

Then came a rousing game of Seattle Monopoly with William and I.  No one else wanted to play, but it was great fun.  He won yet again.

Piper was so tired from the day of walking, playing and rock throwing that she fell asleep on the living room floor.

Tom had made pizza dough at home to bring, and I set up a make-your-own-pizza station.  This was apparently something that William used to like to do.  Well, apparently not anymore as he only wanted a cheese pizza, but the adults enjoyed it.

After dinner there was more stone throwing and geese watching.

 

 

This brought the last sliver of sunlight to the ex-volcano Edgar Rock.

And it was hang out in the living room time until bedtimes.

Sunday morning I made my grandfather’s recipe of Malted French Toast, originally from the Northern Pacific Railroad.

It was really good accompanied by maple syrup from our and our neighbor’s trees and our bacon.  The kids had Crunch berries instead though.

Then it was throwing rocks into the river time, helped partially again with a sling shot.

We did yet another walk down the cabin’s road.  Piper liked to bring her scooter, but she basically walked with it rather than scooting.  You can see how tall the trees are in comparison to her.

William showed me a wheelie.

 

Then we drove to Old River Road.  The boys road their motorbikes while Ryeleigh, Piper and I walked.  The river had cleared, and you could see the river rocks again.  The views were amazing.

It was warm, and Piper walked a long ways.  She napped as soon as we hit the truck again.  Then it was play time back in the living room, but she ingeniously used the “cliffs” to station her toys.  I thought it was brilliant.

Tom was tired so hung out by the car port and listened to the Mariner’s game on our truck’s satellite radio.

Piper and I hung out by the river.  She enjoyed her frozen pop, and I enjoyed the tranquility of this river that has been part of my whole life.

 

William and Ryeleigh joined us.

We had a macaroni and cheese with hot dog and homegrown green beans dinner.  The first dish was popular with the kids.  Then it was time to measure the grandkids on the growth chart with now four generations.

Then I challenged William to find the crocheted panel on the blanket where my grandmother made a mistake.  It took him a bit, but he found it.

This morning we packed up and headed out.  Tom and I stopped to pick crabapples from this amazing old tree on the way home.

We also stopped in Ellensburg for gas and then lunch at the Lunchbox Cafe (which was really good).  Unfortunately this meant that we hit the Seattle area at rush hours so the journey home was long.  But we made it.  I think it is safe to say that we are all tired but enjoyed our trip.  I think lasting memories were made for all.