Jumping and Climbing and Throwing

Last Saturday we drove down onto the beach in front of our house. The water in the reservoir is low enough still that we can drive along the beach for quite a ways...until we come to a small "stream" where water drains from the hill into the river. We climbed the rocky hill (the water was at the top of these rocks until about July), explored the beach and threw a lot of rocks into the water.
Last time Tadd and Ezra came to the beach alone this stream was narrow enough for Ezra to get across. This time it was a little wider and only Tadd was able to attempt a crossing. The rest of us walked up and crossed over on some rocks.

And running back to cross the other direction. Isn't he quite the athlete? : )

We climbed the rocky hill (the water was at the top of these rocks until about July), explored the beach and threw a lot of rocks into the water.

As in most cases, going up was easier than coming down and Ezra was quite optimistic as to what he could handle. I remember more than one time climbing higher than I should have in a tree only to cry out loudly for my daddy to help me down. His usual reply was "You got up there, now you have to get down". But don't worry, he really did help me if I actually needed it : )

For those of you worried about the kids proximity to these rocks and the water, don't worry. The house is set back on a hill above all this fun stuff. We drive down to the boat ramp in order to access the beach. We could slip and slide down the hill from the house to get to the water, but the kids do not want to attempt it themselves as it is full of thorns and weeds and not such a fun climb.

The water was this NASTY thick green paste near the shore. I'm not really sure if it's an algae bloom, or simply all the plants that grow while the water is down getting beaten to a pulp and then mixing with the water as the levels slowly come back up. Anyone out there know?

Last Sunday during Sunday School the speaker was talking about the Lake of Fire and how we need to be saved from an eternity there by taking the Lord Jesus as our Savior. He said to Ezra "you live by a lake, what if that lake was made of fire?" to which Ezra replied in a voice loud and clear enough to be heard by all "No, no, that's not a lake, that's the Snake River". Of course, this drew a lot of chuckles. After Sunday School someone else raised in the Seattle area told us he was quite glad to hear that we were keeping Ezra informed..."Lake Washington, now that's a lake" he said, "the reservoir is not!" To clarify...the body of water behind our current house IS the Snake River and it is dammed up (very close to the house) to form a reservoir.

Look at that form, would ya?

The kids like to ride in the very back of the pick up when we are going slowly on the sand like this. I'm afraid that these pick up adventures will have an abrupt end once our family numbers 5.

The afternoon was warm and wonderful and we enjoyed ourselves playing soccer under a canopy of falling leaves in the backyard. Thank you Lord, for the gift of beautiful fall days!

Yes, Ezra was recently relieved of a lot of hair.