As duly noted before, April weekends were awesome.  We found ourselves with a soccer bye and a beautiful day.  Joel and I looked at each other; Whidbey Island?  YES!  and the race was on to get out of the house.  We were out by 9am.  By 9:20 am were were at Fred Meyers to get gas for the van.  The only way we had actually gotten out of the house that morning was to promise a donut snack.  The boys and I went into the grocery store to purchase donuts and bananas and because we didn’t want a mess in the van, we sat down to eat them in the store.  By 10:15 am we were in the ferry line and by 10:30 am, we were on the ferry.  So much for our early start……

The cool thing about Whidbey Island is that across from South Whidbey State Park, there is a 0.8 mile flat hike through forrest and a few old growth trees.  The boys were old enough – it was time for our first nature hike.  If you look closely at were the fallen logs cross, you will see a wood pecker.

Sometimes, it is impossible to get a “good” picture of them together so instead, we focus on showing you personality shots.

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Ahhh, my little hikers.  We had forgotten that there could be and was, muddy spots on this hike.

Look – a really big tree!

I’m not sure if Nicholas is channeling his inner Popeye the Sailor Man or a pirate – Argh matey.

OK, not that is a REALLY – BIG – TREE

When do you think the nursery log that this tree began it’s life on, crumbled away as the other tree kept growing?  I have never seen anything like this and both Joel and I were a bit fascinated.

The boys finished the hike just fine.  However, they boarded their pack animals (Joel and I) for the journey back to the van.  Thankfully, this stretch was more of a straight shot.

So, let’s see.  First was donuts.  Then ferry ride, followed by hike.  Back in Kanga for a trip up the island to McDonald’s where the play land was overrun by loud kids.  Thankfully, Dexter and Nicholas were as much of a fan of this situation as Joel and I and back into Kanga we hopped.  Next up, Deception Pass and collecting good rocks by the water.

It was an incredibly fun day.  After all this, the boys passed out in the car around 3:30pm.  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.  We had to stop at the outlet malls in Burlington in order to wake up the boys, eat a banana snack, and shop for clothes for them.  What an adventure.