Sprung

Spring is lovely, after an excessively rainy winter. We've had some really nice days lately. I have some tomato babies started inside.

We missed our neighborhood egg hunt, but Kate dug out our plastic eggs and we took turns hiding and finding them around the front yard. (She put a pink egg inside a pink tulip and I just wasn't seeing it at all--we had to play hot and cold for me to find it.)

Friday evening Kate and I went down to Olympia to see the Japanese movie Your Name. Peter and Karen saw it a couple of days earlier and strongly recommended it, so I looked it up to see where it was playing. It was quite fascinating and twisty, and the animation was really gorgeous. I was worried, briefly, that it wasn't going to have a satisfying ending, but it delivered at the last minute. The version we saw was dubbed; I realized later that the one showing in Tukwila was subtitled. I'd like to see it that way too, later. Kate said it's her new favorite movie.

I'm in the middle of more opera painting. Busy busy!

Federation Forest

It was Discovery Pass Free Day, meaning we could go to a state park without paying the pay use fee, so we picked Federation Forest (near Enumclaw). It turned out the main parking area and interpretive center (and important things like bathrooms) were still closed for the season, but we parked outside and went in anyway.  There were a few other people around, too. 



There was a ridge overlooking the river, and a steep slope that took a bit of tricky negotiating to get down.



We spent a good long time just hanging out by the river, enjoying the scenery, and throwing rocks in the water. (Anywhere there are rocks, water, and Andy, you know there is going to be a lot of throwing going on.)



Lots of cool rocks along the river!



Scrambling back up the slope.



We knew we were going to be there over lunch time, so I packed some snacks and fed everyone in the car, and then on the way back we stopped at a place called Mr. Jalapeño in Bonney Lake. It was unexceptional but worked out fine for our needs. (The kids' plates were a lot bigger than we were expecting--we should have just gotten one and split it.)

The kids had a great time, just being out and exploring the woods. I'd been feeling the need for an excursion, so I was glad we made it happen. A grand day out!