Fall Is Almost Here...

8:13 pm - 62 degrees - smoky...

The nights are getting colder, the mornings are getting darker, the kids have gone back to school, and tomorrow the rain is supposed to return! 

Where did summer go? 

Weeks turned into months in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, the kids were back in school and we’re busy running everyone around to soccer and volleyball practice.

Summer was extremely busy, and we didn’t even get anything done on or around the house. Tony spent the summer helping our neighbor build a 3,000+ sqft tree deck for their daughter’s wedding.  The tree deck and the wedding were both absolutely amazing!!

  

Even though everyone was really busy this summer, we did manage to sneak in some fun here and there.

The kids were constantly catching critters.

We went berry picking several times and canned some freezer jam.

We went hiking, canoeing, camping and fishing.

And we made several quick trips to the Long Beach Peninsula for more fun and surf fishing.

They caught a crab while surf fishing for perch!
The crab grabbed the bait and didn't want to let get.
They let it go after we got a quick picture.

Although I love the warmth and sunshine of summer, and everything that goes with it, I am really happy fall is almost here.  

Off The Mountain Fun...

4:57 pm - 43 degrees - raining...

Every now and then we just need to get away from the daily grind, which sometimes means getting off the mountain to go exploring.  

One of the many reasons we love living in the Pacific Northwest is because it's one of the most ecologically diverse areas in the country. 

Head North and you’ll run into Olympic Nation Park which is home to the Hoh National Rainforest – the largest rainforest in the United States.  There is also the Puget Sound which is comprised of inlets, channels, estuaries and home to the San Juan Islands. 

Head west and you’ll see the beautiful rugged coastline of the Pacific Ocean that is lined with steep cliffs, moss covered trees and enough rainy days to keep it gorgeous and green. You also have the Long Beach Peninsula which is an arm of land that is known for its continuous sand beaches which also happen to be a Washington State Highway.

Running down the center is the Cascade Mountain range that splits the area in two from north to south.  There are also a handful of active volcanoes, along with the remains from the many lahars (volcanic mudflows).

Running across the center from east to west is the Columbia River.  Along the Columbia River is the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area which protects the spectacular canyon where the Columbia River cuts through the Cascade mountain - with cliffs and overlooks of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south.

You want the high desert, head to the east side and you’re in the Columbia Basin which is a dry, open country, rich in stark scenery.

There are so many different options to choose from, a few hours in any direction and you have something beautiful, different and amazing to explore and enjoy.

Still, home is where our hearts are.

The Ups And Downs Of Life...

11:32 am - 42 degrees - raining, foggy...

I haven’t posted in just over a month and there’s a pretty good reason for that...

On Valentine’s Day, our computer crashed, or rather the hard drive did.  We lost all our photos, videos and most of everything else since I only had a very small portion of it backed up.  I was pretty upset.  It was not a good day.  But lessons were learned.

I was also in the middle of our Girl Scout cookie season – yes I’m a Girl Scout troop leader to 25 amazing girls.  Cookie season is already an insane whirlwind, and without a computer it just made it that much more interesting... not it a good way.

2 of the 5 vehicles we needed to haul our troop's 375 cases of cookies.

Caitlyn out working a cookie booth.  It was cold out!

And that whirlwind of craziness was topped off with snow, snow, a little bit of rain, and oh yeah, more snow. 

 

Clearing off the road so we can get through.

Snow and fog.

  

We always keep a handsaw in our rigs
so we can clear the road when needed.

Breaking trail on the county road as we head down the mountain.
Have to get the kids to school some way.

Because we have gotten so much snow this winter, Tony has spent a lot of time in the tractor blowing off the driveway and part of the county road.  Because he does this, we haven't had any real problems getting on and off the mountain.

Blowing off the county road...

...until we met the county plow guy!

Last Monday, while we were all in town, we got 16" of new snow.  So when we tried to get home, we got stuck on the last tight corner on the driveway... well, I got stuck, then Tony got stuck trying to get me out.  

Tony was going to try towing me up, but then he got stuck.

Tony and Caitlyn hiked home, while Jack and I stayed with the rigs and busted into a box of Girl Scout cookies (what else are you going to do when you're stuck in the snow?).  

I managed to rock my rig back and forth enough to get unstuck, before Tony came back with the tractor and towed his truck up while Jack steered - he didn't want to put his chains on.  I don't blame him, I don't like putting my chains on either, they're a pain!  In fact, in order for me to put chains on, I have to be completely stuck-stuck and unable to move at all. 

The last seven miles of our drive home that night only took about 2 hours or so, but we finally made it home.  And Tony once again jumped into the tractor to go blow off the driveway.

Snowy sunset.

Fast forward to today, and we once again have a working computer, I just finish the final cookie season reports (YEA!!!), the last several days of rain has helped to melt out the driveway and life is calming down again... and just in time for the next round of heavy snowfall which is due to start tomorrow.

I'm ready to be snowed in again.  No winter cabin fever here!  Guess where I'm going to be... yup, curled up on the couch with a book!  

Spotted a used book sale the other morning while
running errands and I got all this for $6.50!

Snow Day #8...

1:40 pm - 21 degrees - overcast, 33+ mph wind gusts...

A blanket of fluffy white snow, sparkling snowflakes, moonlit nights, twinkling starry skies... 

...sounds pretty dreamy until reality strikes.  The kids are on day Snow Day #8 and winter just started!

Actually it’s not that bad.  Yes, the kids miss their friends at school and Tony has had to take more days off work for snow removal than he planned... but, we haven’t caught that nasty bit of cabin fever yet!! 

We have just over 4 feet of snow and there have been patches of gorgeous weather so the kids have spent a lot of their time playing outside, sledding, building forts, having snowball fights with the occasional snowmobile ride.  

When the wind gets a little too brutal or the cold starts seeping in, it drives everyone back inside where we’ve been playing a lot of games, and doing a lot of baking.  When tempers start to flare everyone goes off to their own corners of the house to stick their nose in a book, watch a movie, or play in their rooms. 

 

Labyrinth - fun game that everyone can play and enjoy.

Nertz!!!  I love this game so much that I taught the kids how to play.
It's like Solitaire but everyone's playing at the same time.
Caitlyn is getting pretty good, and Jack still needs a little help.

Sequence - Caitlyn and I really like this game,
but Jack can only stand about one round at a time.

So far so good considering we haven’t left the mountain since last Tuesday and they don’t go back to school until this coming Tuesday!