Washington - Going for a hike, Graduation Party - 2025/06/08

We're in Washington to celebrate Eli and Josh's gradation from High School. Yesterday was their graduation ceremony, but we've still got a couple days here in Washington before we leave. 

Jon mentioned going for a hike and Ian's ears perked up. Just like Theresa, he loves finding "free food" that people like. He remembers on a previous hike here that we found salmonberries growing alongside the trail. 

Joe - That was in August last time though Ian, so I don't know if any will be ripe yet. 

Ian - I still want to try and see. 

And so, as the rest of us kept a good pace hiking, Ian was always checking bushes then running to catch back up to us. 

But he wasn't disappointed! He found lots and lots of berries growing along the trail. A little tart, yes, but still edible. 

And berries weren't the only thing we could find. Here's a turtle. 

A little snake. 

What a slug! 

I was a beautiful day for a hike. 

The end looks over a flowing river. 

And Ian filled a bag with salmonberries. 

He and Pop Pop ate a few, but they're saving it to make a special present for later. 

Again, I love how wild animals just wander around the property here. Deer statue? No, that's a real deer. 

We've got some time to kill. Where should we go? How about Chuck E Cheese to build up a few more tickets? 

Ian and Pop Pop trying to get that high score in skeeball. 

That side of basketball is definitely busted. 

I had my own cheerleader for when I was playing games. And we've got a hand clap we do after we beat a high score. 

The evenings on the porch were pleasant, just enjoying the fire, and singing along as Jon played the guitar and Theresa the ukulele. 

The next day, we've got a big event to prepare for. Buddy was "helping" with the string by grabbing it and pulling it away. 

Time for your celebration party Eli and Josh! 

Quite the spread! Ian was super excited about the rotel queso. It's one of his favorite foods. 

They've got this great pop-up tent covering a majority of the deck. 

And Jon and I put up water misters around the entire deck to keep the temperature cool. It worked out fantastically! 

Games for the kids. 

It doesn't seem like that long ago that they were this size. 

Getting into these sorts of messes. 

Life moves pretty fast. 

Grab an extra hug or two while you can. 

Two more presents to go along with the graduation cards. 

First is some homemade, can't buy it in stores, salmonberry jelly from Ian and Pop Pop. 
Ian - It'll go great on Aunt Jess' biscuits. 

And second are as many deli pickles as the store would sell me before things got weird. These boys love pickles. Years ago, Uncle Patrick was able to buy them an entire 5 gallon bucket of Chick-fil-A pickle slices. We couldn't repeat it this year, but this will keep them occupied for a little while. 

As the evening wound to a close, we found ourselves on the back porch again, playing instruments and singing along. 

Jon's friend can play guitar, which left Jon free to pick up the banjo he's been teaching himself. I do love the twang it gives to songs. 

Time to move on to our next stop on this big summer full of travel. 

Jess made us biscuits. I'll definitely have to try out this recipe. The drop biscuits I made for my Cheddar Garlic Biscuit taste test turned out too wet. These fluffed up nicely. 

Great with sausage gravy. 

Or even salmonberry jelly. Thanks Ian! 

Off we went to the airport. Thanks for the ride and all the hospitality Jon! 

Gram and Pop Pop are flying out today too. 

Since we'll be flying during lunchtime, we made sure to eat before getting on the plane. Mmmm. Delicious pizza. 

Goodbye Gram and Pop Pop! Have a good flight home! Time for us to head to our next stop. California!