Franklin Falls- 2 miles out and back, 400 feet elevation gain
Pass-Northwest Forest Pass Difficulty-2/5 Rating-3.5/5
Has it already been 5 months? This month FLEW by! Partly because I didn’t realize we’d been here four months already until it was half way over. And partly because we had so much company in month 4!
I honestly LOVE Washington. It is so pretty and so green and SO much to do! I think it was a smart move so far for us and I am glad that both Chris and I were willing to be brave, branch out, and leave our comfort zones!
We are officially in Summer now! So far so good. We had a few days that were making me nervous with the weather. I think we have had a total of 2 or 3 days where I wish we had air conditioning, but honestly if I went outside I was fine. I love that we will still have some cloudy/rainy days as well! So far July has been great! Nothing over 75 degrees. I am a little nervous we will still have pretty warm days, but people tell me the summer is basically from the 4th of July until August if its a great summer than it might stretch into September. So really even if it gets hot it will only be around 2 months. I can deal with that! In Arizona I remember dreaming of October. Not because it was really cooler, but we had the hope of cooler weather. We had Halloweens that were in the mid 90s as we were trick or treating at night when the sun was in bed. CRAZY!
We are still getting used to the sun staying out late here. Way past the kids bedtimes for sure! Its still fairly light come 9 or 9:30 and its messing with my kids bedtime schedules. They play in their room until later, but surprisingly are sleeping in some too. I guess I can’t complain too much. (The rule in our house is in their rooms at 7, but as long as they are quiet and stay in their rooms they can play. its worked out great. In Seattle its harder since it is lighter and they share a room.)
We have loved having visitors. Just missing our married siblings coming and staying with us. We (The kids and I) did get to hang out with my brother James, his wife Lara, and their daughter Remmy in Oregon which was great! Preston and Emma are getting ready to have a baby so we won’t see them for awhile. Andrew and Kerby I think are just busy working and school, plus they have a few trips already planned. We’ll take anyone anytime!
We have loved the hiking and the camping here! We have seen several awesome waterfalls and the kids really love exploring. They do really well for the most part so its fun to get out with them!
Still figuring out the housing market here and what we want to spend on a house and if we even want to do that yet. Its been fun looking at houses though!
Chris is getting more responsibility with work. Hes super busy now, I am grateful he is working so hard for our family. He is learning a lot and growing a lot. I think this was a great move for him. Zillow continues to be a great company to work for!
The kids and I have enjoyed having no preschool (even though they really miss it!) We are trying to keep busy and have found a lot of activities to do that. Its nice that they are getting older now and I can do more things with them!
This past weekend we were able to do a little hike to Franklin Falls. It is a short and easy hike (about 2 miles with about 400 ft elevation gain.) The trail is really nice. It is in the forest and a long a river so it is really beautiful! The cool thing is you get super close to the falls. Its the closest we’ve gotten to a fall so that was awesome! Franklin Falls is a really impressive fall, as well, being about 70 feet high! The downside to it is that is crowded. I don’t think we’ve been on a hike with this many people before. It was hard to enjoy because there were so many people. I would recommend going way earlier than we did (we didn’t get there until close to 2 or 3 pm is my guess.) It was a beautiful hike that the kids loved!
Life is good and we are blessed! If anyone is tired of the heat come our way!
Original Post: July 20, 2016
