Kayaking, a dream realized.

When we learned we were moving to WA State the first time, way back in December of '99, I began looking at fun things to do. The one thing that caught my eye was kayaking. My husband and I both love the outdoors, so I dreamed of all of these wonderful kayaking adventures we would share. Enter reality: two very small children and a husband who traveled A LOT. Needless to say, I left WA the first time with the regret that I had never kayaked.

Fast forward to Saturday, and my dream was finally realized. Our friends, the ones we have been living with the past month, invited us to join them for a day at the lake. . . KAYAKING! The clouds had parted, the sun was shining, who could turn that down?

So was it everything wonderful I had imagined? Yes, and more. Picture this: a beautiful lake setting with Mount Rainier prominently sitting in the background. You have to help me with this one, as in the picture below the sun washed the mountain out. It looks far away, but when we were there it was so vivid and close.

The weather was even better than I hoped for, as you can see we didn't bring suits for the kiddos. They started with wading, slowly getting deeper and deeper. You know how it goes, before long it was just all out swimming in their clothes.

Here was the surprise treat:

As one group was out kayaking the eagles showed up. Yes, there were two bald eagles and two American eagles flying around. Swooping over our heads, diving into the water fishing. Very cool.

So that is how I spent my Saturday. Kayaking on the lake, watching eagles soar, and enjoying the majesty of Mount Rainier and the joy of our children. Fun was had by all. In fact my husband, who has been a bit reluctant in my desire to outfit our family with kayaks, replied after our day, "I'm sold! Bubby isn't too young, we can get kayaks." YIPPEE!