Blake Island Camping 2023

After a busy last week of summer, the kids and I headed out on Saturday after Ella's 4- hour gymnastics practice to go camping at Blake Island with Chris' and Eric's families.  This is one of our favorite summer traditions and we look forward to camping on this island every summer.  We were blessed with beautiful weather all of Saturday, but unfortunately, the winds came in while we were sleeping in our tent around 2 in the morning on Sunday.  The winds kept up all day long until late Sunday evening right before we went to bed.  We managed to make it work and hiked to the beach on the other side of the island where the wind wasn't as bad to spend a few hours over there.  We sadly decided that it wasn't safe to boat over to Bainbridge Island on Sunday evening for dinner due to the waves in the Puget Sound, and ended up taking the boat back to Chris' boat launch to eat at a Mexican restaurant walking distance from there.  We then returned back to the island in the evening to play one of the wildest and funniest rounds of Capture the Flag that I have ever played in my life.  Ella was an amazing assistant to me while I guarded the flag and chased after almost every person who dared to come our way.  She really is one of the fastest, little sprinters that I have ever seen and I started calling her my "guard dog" by the end of the game.  After going to bed on Sunday, the rains came that night and so we woke up to a very wet campsite our last morning there.  Luckily, it wasn't raining in the morning when we ate breakfast and packed up, but it sure made for a wet mess that had to be unpacked and dried out when we returned home Monday afternoon.  Even with the windy and wet weather, we managed to have a fabulous time on Blake and thoroughly enjoyed being with family and playing on this beautiful island that has become one of our favorite places in the world!

Enjoying dinner together on Saturday evening, September 2nd.

Although Chris' three oldest were driving to BYU Provo the same weekend we were camping, we were grateful that Vivi and Bryce weren't leaving for BYU Idaho for a few more days.  Here is a picture of the cousins after dinner was over.

Ella absolutely loves Riley and jumps at any opportunity to play with him.  Here she is getting a piggyback ride from her favorite boy cousin.

Our annual, family photo that we take on the beach each year as the sun sets.

The amazing photo I got of Ella doing a cartwheel over a log.  Look at that girl's flexibility!

The kids found a set of wooden stairs that had washed up onto the beach and decided to recreate the Titanic moment together.

The cousin line-up on the log that we have been using for years to take this picture.

Playing on the beach on the other side of the island on Sunday, September 3rd.

Another mommy and kiddo picture next to a driftwood fort the kids found.

Logan and Trenton.  Best friends since birth.

Eric resurrected Chris' hilarious game of trying to trip up the kids while whipping a giant kelp strand around on the beach.  Although it hurts to get tripped by these massive pieces of kelp, the kids still love playing this game.

Ella found a unique piece of driftwood and turned it into the cutest, beach kitchen that I have ever seen.  I helped her collect a variety of items from the beach (including two jellyfishes) to use as food and supplies for her restaurant.

Chris and Eric drew lines in the sand and recruited all of the big kids to play a rousing game of Ultimate Frisbee with the Seattle skyline in the background.

The four younger kids playing on the giant, fallen tree near our campground.

Lia, Logan, Emmett, Ella, and Trenton sitting in the front of the boat as we returned back to the marina after dinner on Sunday evening.