Enjoying the Ride

To walk or not to walk: that is the question....

2010-03-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

Graduation is quickly approaching. In just over a week, I start my final quarter at Pierce college as well as my first class at Central Washington University. In June, I will be graduation with my AA in Social Service/Mental Health. My question is: should I walk for graduation???

Over the last couple quarters, I have made some friends in my classes who are wanting me to walk at graduation with them. For me, I don't really want to walk and would rather cheer them on in the crowd. But, they really want me to be part of the celebration. So, I want your opinion. I have created a poll to see what you think I should do: walk with my friends, or not? Personally, I was going to wait until I got my masters to walk at graduation, but I know this is a big accomplishment for them and want to give them my support.

Please vote and help me decide what to do. Thanks!

First Ride

2010-03-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

So, on Thursday, Terry made an offer on a 2006 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Silverado for me. The week before I took his bike out for a ride and realized that it all came back to me quickly and I started to get antsy for a bike of my own again. Amazingly, his offer was accepted and on Thursday night, we rode up to Renton and rode home separately on two bikes.

On Sunday, it was forecasted to have great weather, so we decided to go for a ride after church. We made the decision to ride up to Poulsbo. Terry had never been there and we thought it was the right distance away for a quick trip. We left after church and arrived in about an hour. The ride was really nice. We had lunch on the waterfront which was amazing. We shared a crab and corn chowder, Terry had halibut and chips while I had the halibut tacos. It was all really good. After eating, we walked around town and looked for the bakery everyone talked about when we mentioned Poulsbo. We found one in town and each picked out a donut. I also got a cinnamon roll that I had for breakfast this morning; one word amazing. The ride home was nice as well and we got great views of Mt Rainier. It did start getting cold though and by the time we cruised off the freeway, my lips were numb and I couldn't easily talk. Overall, we both had a nice day on the bikes and enjoyed the ride. I am definitely happy to be back on two wheels.

Scrapbook Weekend

2010-03-01T23:07:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I joined about a dozen other women at a conference camp outside of Lake Stevens for a scrapbook weekend. I was invited by a couple ladies from our 4-wheel drive club and had a nice time. Due to some stuff I had to get done on campus, I didn't get up there until late Friday night and immediately went to work on some pages. We were up until about 1:00 on Friday before heading to the cabins for bed.

The cabins definitely reminded me of 6th grade science camp where we were all in bunks in a big room. I didn't sleep too well, but that wasn't too much of a surprise. On Saturday, we got up and started scraping again. The grounds provided food for us and the meals weren't too bad. They also had a giant swing that we were able to go on. It was about 60 feet up and I went to the very top before I released. It was fun, but the final hanging around the bottom made me a little nauseous. We worked on the scrapbooks all day and I actually got a lot accomplished. I ended up leaving Saturday night to come home since I wanted to go to church on Sunday morning and was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. Overall, I had a nice weekend and hope to do something like that again sometime.

Elbe OHV Work Party

2010-01-31T06:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, our 4-wheel drive club, the Timber Tamers, hosted a big trail work party to fix the top of our apoted trail at Elbe OHV. When we got there, we noticed that we had a lot of work to do. The top of our trail had become a huge mud hole and a few new by-passes had been created. We had to put rock on the top of the trail to prevent more erosion and sedimentation from running down the trail and into any streams. We also had to try and block some of the by-passes. Luckily, we had a decent show of people with 3 small tractors, 2 trucks and 60 yards of rock to work with.

Terry spent most of the day driving Gary's flatbed Dodge loaded with rock to the trail repair site. I was outside and helped unload truckload after truckload of rock. I think I must of sometime during the day got hit in the ankle by one as it is a little red and swollen today. We were on the trail all day and didn't pack up to come home until dark. I felt like I had worked my ass off during the day until Mark said he still saw it, so I guess that wasn't the case. I do know that we all worked hard and amazingly got a lot of rock moved an the trail looked a lot better when we were leaving then it did when we first got there. Even though it was hard work, it was another great day with good friends.

The morning meeting

Mike leveling the mud at the beginning of the day

Dropping some rock

Getting Mike unstuck

Blocking a by-pass

Winching out Gary's truck

Bringing down more loads of rock

(we did a lot of unloading by hand, but towards the end of the day, the tractors started bringing some down too)

Me at the end of the day (I was filthy)

One of the final loads of 2-minus

Nookchamps Winter Runs 10K

2010-01-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Terry and I ran our first 10k. It was really nice that we were able to run it together. He stayed at my pace, which was quite slow, but we finished under my goal of an hour and a half. We were able to cross the finish line together at 1:25:55.

Overall, we don't have much good to say about the event except we ran it together. We felt like the signage was inadequate as it took us about 10 minutes walking around a college campus to find the registration. Then, there was no direction as to what to do once we got our race packets. Since there the race wasn't chipped and the roads we were running on weren't going to be closed, we decided to start early so we wouldn't have to compete with other racers at the starting line.

When we started the course, the first mile was a gradual up hill. Great, I hate hills. After that, we ran through some farm lands and got to enjoy the smells of a local dairy... I don't know what is worse, smelling car exhaust or country cologne. Also, by now, the sidewalks were gone and there was no shoulder to run on so we are trying to share the narrow road with passing vehicles. After about a mile of that, there was another long, this time very steep, uphill. Once we got to the top of that, we passed the mile 3 marker.

From there, things mostly leveled out and we had some minor hills to deal with as well as roads with no shoulders where the white line was hanging off the edge of the pavement. No fun. We kept going and luckily running together made the time go faster. Right before the mile 5 marker, there was another steep section, this time it was short though, only about a block long. In my head, I thought the last mile would be easy since it was so close to the end. That was not the case though.

The mile marker 5 was right before we cut into a wooded trail. This was my favorite portion of the course as we were running through trees on a sawdust path. It kind of reminded me of being in high school and running in Fall Creek. By this time, my legs were hurting. I wasn't good on my workouts for the weeks prior to the event and by mile 5, I could tell that I wasn't as in good of shape as I would have liked. We kept pushing though, and with Terry's motivation, I was able to finish the race.

We crossed finished the 10k, or 6.2 miles, at 1:25:55. My goal was to complete in under 1:30, but in my head I was hoping for a finish in under 1:20. Overall, I am just glad I was able to jog the entire time. It is amazing to think that just a couple months ago I could only run for about 2 minutes straight and now I can go for about an hour and a half. I do know that I need to get back into a regular workout routine as things of tappered off with the holidays and starting school again.When we crossed the finish line I didn't think I would ever sign up for a 10k again as I was miseralbe, however, things change and as of this morning, our next 10k is on March 20 in Orting.

Trying to Find a new Routine

2010-01-07T17:44:00.000-08:00

School for me started on Monday. That means new classes and a new schedule of daily routines are now in play. I make a weekly calendar and put it on the fridge so my family knows when to expect me at home. Here is the calendar for the next 10 weeks:

This quarter I am taking 18 units at Pierce College. It wouldn't be that bad but one of the classes is Field Experience where I have to put in at least 120 hours in the field. So, in addition to my usual hours spent in class, I also have to add about 12 hours a week for internship. Luckily, I found a volunteer opportunity at Metropolitan Development Council, working in the Community Assitance Resource and Education (CARE) group. I passed the background check today and start "work" there on Monday! I am scheduled to work there from 8:00-12:00 Monday through Thursdays.

So, looking at my schedule, my Mondays and Wednesdays will be quite busy. I have work, then Public Speaking in Puyallup, then have to drive to Lakewood for back to back classes of Abuse in the Family and Law & Ethics. At least I have some free time on the afternoons of Tuesday and Thursday and luckily my Fridays and the entire weekends I have off and can use to catch up on school and house work. I am excited for my classes and hope that they go as well as last quarter. I will try to keep ya'll posted on my progress.

Hangover Run 2009

2010-01-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Terry and I went on the annual Hangover Run with our 4-wheel drive club. This year, we decided to go to Tonga Ridge which is a forest service road just east of Skykomish on Hwy 2. On the way there, it was raining really hard and so I started dreading the trip. I don't mind wheeling in the snow, but I wasn't looking forward to wheeling in downpour.

We stopped in Sultan and picked up Mike Jones who was going to be riding with us for the day. From there, we headed up to the trailhead where we left the truck and trailer and unloaded the Jeep. Greg V. and Wyatt showed up at the same time as us and we all got ready to hit the trail at the same time. As we were leaving, Mark, Mike and Greg S. pulled in and started unloading their rigs. We decided to start up the road and let the others catch up with us.

As we drove, the snow started to get deeper. It was nice being in the front of the group. Eventually, Mark and Gary caught up to us and Mark took the lead. Finally, we got to a point where we were all getting stuck, so the five of us decided to turn around. On the way back, we rescued Greg S. from a little slide into a ditch and eventually made it to where a lot of the Tamers were stopped and relaxing. We hung out with the group there for a little bit before continuing down the hill.

We made it back with perfect timing. By the time we got the Jeep back on the trailer and were heading back to the main road, it was just getting dark. After we dropped Mike off in Sultan, Terry and I decided to stop in Monroe for dinner. We were lucky that we did since when we pulled into the parking lot we noticed a strange noise and it turned out we had blown a trailer tire. Lucky we had a spare. Unlucky for us, we had a slight malfunction with the hi-lift jack. Lucky once again, Terry was able to use a screwdriver to replace a missing bolt and change the flat tire. Unlucky for us, as we were changing the trailer tire, we noticed a tire on the Jeep was also flat. At least that one could wait until we got home for further investigation, so we just added some air to it and so far it is doing good. After spending some time in the rain changing the tire, we headed home. Overall, it was a fabulous day with some great friends. Now, we are just looking forward to our next snow trip to Denny Creek later this month!

First Snow Shoe Adventure

2009-12-29T18:24:00.000-08:00

Today, Terry surprised me by saying that we would be taking our first trip up to Mt Rainier with the plans of doing some snow shoeing. Since last summer, we have talked about going snow shoeing. I had looked online and noticed that Mt Rainier gives ranger led trips twice a day in the winter and even have snow shoes available for use (they ask for a $1-$4 donation only. Check it out at http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/winter-recreation.htm#CP_JUMP_142395 for more information). We had talked about it for a long time and finally, today was the day we decided to try it out.

We left our house around ten o'clock and made it to the ranger station in Paradise in time to sign-up for the 12:30 trip. Terry noticed a sign advertising the ranger led walk and it described it as "moderately strenuous". At reading that, I began to freak out. I suddenly became weary of the walk and wasn't sure that we should be attempting it. However, I decided to give it a try and figured that a 2 hour walk that was only 1.5 miles should be very doable.

I am sure glad that we went. We had such a blast! Since it was ranger led, we stopped every so often and she talked about the area. There was one hill that we had to go down and since I had my snow pants on, I went down on my butt like a sled. The walk took us to the Nisqually Glacier overlook and it was very neat to look down at the glacier. Then, we headed back to the visitor center. We had a really good walk and both really enjoyed it. We can't wait until we are able to get out and try it again!

Christmas Wishes for 2009

2009-12-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, I can’t believe another year is ending. It seems like as I get older time goes by faster. This year has had its ups and downs, but we are still doing well.

The year started off good. Jake, Terry’s youngest son, came up for his 21st birthday, which was January 1st, and we had a good time celebrating with him. He was able to get a taste of the Pacific Northwest weather as we took him on a snow run with our 4-wheel drive club. All year, Terry and I have continued to be active in our 4-wheel drive club. We go on day or overnight events with them at least monthly and have volunteered our time for trail maintenance and repairs. I am going on my second year as club treasurer and as we are around the group more, we are gaining friendships and becoming more involved with the club and community.

Terry and I are also still active in our church, Renovo. It is a good group of people that really focus on how we can help those around us who are in need. We love the core values of the church and have made some good friends there.

During the summer, my mom, dad, Terry and I all decided to start training for the Seattle Rock ‘n Roll ½ marathon in June 2010. So far, Terry and I really enjoy the training and can feel our bodies getting stronger. We completed our first 5k in October and both did tremendously better than we expected.

We also bought a motorcycle during the summer. We had both started to miss riding and came across an amazing deal that we couldn’t pass up. We got a Honda VTX1300, which is big enough for us to both ride, but still small enough that I can handle it alone (even though I haven’t done that yet). We have taken some trips together and with friends and really enjoy it. I hope that next summer we can plan more trips on the bike as I have always dreamed of camping on a motorcycle.

I guess the biggest news of the year came in June when I was let go from my job. Since then, I have decided to continue my education and am pursuing a career as a social worker. I have to start at the beginning and first get a bachelor’s degree in a social science before I can apply for a Masters of Social Work, which is my goal for the time being. So far, classes are going great and I really feel at home in this field.

Terry is still working for the postal service in Kent, WA. We still have the camper and take trips in it quite often during the summer. This year, we were able to take a quick camp trip with my brother’s family and we had an amazing time building memories with our niece and nephew. We also had some friends from France spend a couple days at our house. We can’t wait until we are able to plan a trip to visit them. Jake and Brittany also came up for a week and liked it so much they plan on moving.

Josh, Terry’s oldest son, is still living in Georgia. He is happily dating Jessica and they are looking for an apartment together. He is working as a security guard at a mall and seems to be really happy. Jake has moved up to Washington. For the time being, he is living with us and got a job working for a beverage distribution company. He is hoping to save some money so Brittany can join him up here in March.

Overall, this has once again been a busy year. The weather is getting colder up here as we prepare for Christmas. I still try to keep up on my blog so check it out when you can (http://crawfordcurse.blogspot.com). I hope everyone that is reading this is doing well and we wish you all happy holidays and a very Merry Christmas!

Love, Terry and Amy Crawford

Annual Bellevue Birthday

2009-12-11T18:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon, I met my mom, grandma and cousin Sheri in Bellevue for our annual shopping trip. We meet up around my birthday every year to celebrate my birthday and enjoy the festivities of Christmas. This year we were hoping to do Seattle, but with the frigid temperatures we have been experiencing, we decided Bellevue Square would be a better option as it is mostly enclosed. I had a great time even though I didn't get much of my shopping done. It was cool because we were there at 7:00 when they have a parade of drummers on the sidewalk and "snow". It definitely made you feel like Christmas was in the air.

O, Christmas Tree

2009-12-10T09:54:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Terry went with the Timber Tamers, our 4-wheel drive club, to get a Christmas tree. I wasn't able to go as I had school, so he was responsible for picking out a tree for our house. He took the Jeep and came home with a great tree. We were worried it was a little too tall, but once we brought it into the house, it fit perfectly. It took a couple days to get the lights on (as we had to buy more) and decorated, but now it really feels like Christmas is getting nearer.

We also put lights up outside our house for the first time ever! It was quite exciting for me. Below is a picture of Terry and Jake putting up the lights in 19 degree weather. I will post a picutre of the outside of the house soon, I just have to bear the cold and take one one of these nights.

Denny Creek

2009-12-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

On the way home from Ferndale for Thanksgiving, I met Terry near Denny Creek where we decided to go on a 4-wheel drive trip with some guys from PNW Jeep. The trip was suppose to be a snow run so we started by going up Tinkham Rd on the south side of I-90. However, there wasn't much snow there as the main road had been plowed to allow people to get Christmas trees. So, we headed back down the hill and cut accross to run Denny Creek. There wasn't much snow and what was there was very slick. We made it to the top of the trail and searched for more roads to hit to no avail. We stopped for a short lunch break when we reached a dead end for one road. After that, Terry and I aired up the tires and decided to head home. We were only out for a few hours, but had a good trip. We can't wait until it snows a little more as the snow this weekend wasn't that great.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving, we headed up to my parents' house in Ferndale. Since I had Wednesday through Friday off, I headed up Tuesday after school while Terry and Jake came up on Wednesday afternoon. My mom and I ran some errands on Wednesday and hung out at home most of the day. On Thursday, Terry and I got up early and took a 4 mile jog together. It was nice running together as he pushed me to keep going when I know if I was by myself I would have walked. Once we got back to the house, we had breakfast with the family. As the day progressed we watched football and played some games of Farkle.

For the dinner, we had the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. We also had fresh brussel sprouts from the garden and I made green bean casserole. The turkey was very moist and was probably the best turkey ever. After eating way too much food, we celebrated grandma's 79th birthday. After dessert, Terry and Jake headed home as they had to work on Friday.

On Friday, my mom, grandma and I joined in the crowd of Black Friday shoppers. There were some crazy deals out there and I was able to pick up a couple gifts for people. On Friday night, we went out for dinner at Chihuahua's with Jimmy and Sheri before heading over to their house to watch Dylan's Up With People performance.

On Saturday, mom and I went out again to run a couple more errands around town. It was fun being out as the weather is changing so it is definitely starting to feel more like the Christmast season. I left on Sunday morning to head home. It was a nice time to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family and I am excited that the holiday season is finally here!

Elbe Work Day

2009-11-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

Today, Terry and I headed down to Elbe OHV park to do some trail maintenance with our 4-wheel drive club, the Timber Tamers. The morning started great by breakfast with our friends Mike and Claire Jennings. It was nice to start the morning with a good breakfast among friends at our house. From our house, we headed down to Elbe hoping for snow.

There was a little snow on the grounds when we got to the parking lot, but not too much. There was definately more mud than snow. We had a small showing of Tamers, but enough to get done what we needed to do. Rudi, Dirtball, the Jennings, Greg, Terry and I were all there. We spent the first part of our day doing the usual trail maintenance. We opened up some of the water traps to help drain water off the trail and fixed some by-passes. We also had to fill in some rock in a few areas where the slickness of the trail was causing people to decide to make by-passes, which is a problem. The trail is much easier now than when we got there this morning, but until people stop making by-passes, we have to have one easier route for people to choose.

The trail was quite busy today and we saw a lot of interesting people pass us as we were working. We had to help several out who broke, or had other issues making it to the top.

After some trail repairs, we decided to do a little wheeling. It was really pretty out with a light dusting of snow, but not too much that made the trails any more difficult. After a short trail run, we headed back to try and make it home before dark. Overall, we had a great day and a good start to Terry's birthday weekend!

Fall Sunshine in Orting

2009-11-12T09:09:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, Terry and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather and head down for a walk/jog along Orting Trail. We parked in downtown Orting and then headed up the trail. It was SO pretty. The trail borders a river in the beginning and jogging along the water with a blue sky and the changing colors of fall was amazing. I wasn't excited in the car on the drive down, but I felt really good once the workout was over. We ended up going for about an hour on the trail, but we aren't quite sure the distance. Sometime, we want to ride our bikes there so we can get an idea of how far different landmarks are from downtown.

Quick Trip to CA

2009-11-04T14:40:00.000-08:00

Over the last weekend of October, Terry and I took a quick trip to visit family and friends in California. We were fortunate and got amazing weather and were able to visit with lots of people. We arrived on Thursday night and spent the evening with my cousins, Greg, Debbie & Trinity. On Friday morning, we were able to meet Lola for the first time. She is a cutie!

We headed down to Hollister on Friday morning and spent the day with Terry's parents. That night, the rest of the family came over for dinner. On Saturday morning, Terry and I did a little jog to his sister's house. I was amazed I was able to jog the entire way (5.6 miles) and it only took us about 70 minutes. Not too bad since I felt like we were going incredibly slow. I think running with Terry helped keep my pace up and since we were able to talk the entire time, it made the time fly by.

On Saturday afternoon, we headed into Santa Cruz. We had a nice lunch at Ideal Bar and Grill, at the end of the wharf in Santa Cruz, where we were able to sit outside and enjoy the sun. From there, we headed downtown and did a little shopping. I would have liked to stay downtown longer, but it was packed due to Halloween.

After that, we headed up to Boulder Creek. We stopped first to see Cassie. It was great seeing her and I wish we could have spent more time visiting. Then, we headed up to our friends' house, Robin & Michelle, to help set up for their annual Halloween party. This year's theme was Dead Celebrity Gala. It was nice getting there early since we were able to talk some before things got crazy. We had a nice time at their party and were able to see a bunch of our old friends from Santa Cruz 4-Wheel Drive Club.

On Sunday, we headed home. We were fortunate to get the exit seats on the way home which made the flight more enjoyable. Overall, we had a great trip!

Timber Tamer Halloween Party

2009-11-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

On October 24, Terry and I attended the annual Timber Tamer Halloween party at Gary and Lori's house. We had a great time!

First 5k Race

2009-10-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

**Note: I wanted to post this sooner, but was waiting for the pictures, but they are taking too long so I will post this anyways.**

One Sunday, October 4, 2009, Terry and I completed our first 5k. We both participated in the Walk for Hope 5k Fun Run at Magnusen Park in Seattle. I was so nervous on Saturday night, I actually had a hard time sleeping. I was really apprehensive about doing the race. I had two goals for the event. First, I wanted to jog the whole way and second, I wanted to do it in under 40 minutes.

As I said before, I have never been a runner. I have always struggled at running, even as a child. The thought of running for 3.1 miles straight was quite scary and I was really worried I wouldn't be able to do it. I don't think I had EVER run that far before in one stretch. Amazingly, I was able to do it. I am still in shock that I was able to jog the whole way. There were a few times I wanted to stop and walk a little ways, but I pushed through it and was able to jog the entire course. Goal #1 = completed.

Secondly, I was shooting for doing the event in under 40 minutes. Based on previous workouts, I was pretty sure I could run the course in under 45 minutes, so in my mind 40 minutes was a long shot. I know that I jog slow and kept a slow pace throughout the race. It seemed like all the runners had passed me until I crossed the finish line and noticed there were still a ton of people behind me. I amazingly completed the race in 36:11. I was in tears when I looked at my watch and saw the time. Goal #2 = completed

After the race, I was literally in shock. I was amazed I actually ran the whole way and in under my goal of 40 minutes. I hate the "if I can do it, you can do it" mentality, but that is a little how I feel right now. If I can do a 5k, I really think anyone can with some training. Just a few months ago I could barely run for two minutes straight; now, I can do 36 minutes without stopping and I know in a few months I will be able to go farther. The half marathon is in June and I can't wait to see how I complete that!

Oh, and after the race, they had a huge line of tables filled with samples for us to take. I couldn't believe the amount of food they gave away! I felt a little bad taking it, but they said it was there for us to have. Check out all the food!

Oyster Run 2009

2009-09-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Terry and I headed north to attend the annual Oyster Run in Anacortes. We left our house Friday afternoon and met up with the Yates and Lanes at the casino just outside of town. We planned on staying with Gary and Lori in their RV to save some on gas and not worry about towing the bike so far. After we arrived, we made our way over to the casino for dinner. The food was okay, the service was horrible, but the company was great. After dinner, we walked back over to camp and relaxed before heading to bed.
On Saturday, we got up and decided to enjoy the $3.99 breakfast at the casino. It was actually pretty good. After eating, we gassed up the bikes and headed out for a ride. We first rode up Chuckanut Drive into Marine View Park in Bellingham. It was a pretty ride along the water and we couldn't have asked for better weather. From there, we turned around stopping at Taylor Shellfish Farm for some oysters. We dropped the oysters off at camp and then headed south over Deception Pass, through the small towns of Oak Harbor and Coupville and finally ended up at Fort Casey State Park. We took a little rest there before headed back. We tried to find a bakery for some fresh bread, but couldn't find anything, so ended up stopping in a market in Anacortes for it and some other groceries.
For dinner, we barbequed the oysters. They were really good with the garlic butter I had gotten. We all got all you can eat for dinner and headed to bed full.
On Sunday, we got up early and headed into town. We got there around 9:30 and things were already packed. We were lucky and got to park on the main street in the middle. We walked along the vendors and enjoyed people watching most of the day. Terry and I both got new leather vests and a bag for the back of the bike. Bikes rolled in all day until about 3:00 when things started to thin out. We left around 4:00 and it took us 30 minutes to go the 6 miles to get back to the casino. Once we got back, we loaded up our gear and headed home. The ride home wasn't too bad, but it did get a little cold. Overall, we had a great weekend and can't wait to do it again!

You can see more of the pictures I took over the weekend at my flickr account!

Bad Blogger: September ReCap

2009-09-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

I have been horrible at blogging lately which is weird since we have been very busy doing fun stuff. I do want to do a quick overview of our September this far. So, going back to Labor Day weekend, Terry and I headed out to Lake Wenatchee State Park. We were a little disappointed about the proximity of the lake to the camping sites. We did find one site we would like in the future as it was very close to the lake, however, the loop we were in was far from the lake and day use area. We stayed Friday night there and fell asleep and woke up to rain. So, after one night, we decided to head down to Taneum and spend the rest of the long weekend with the Tamers. We snagged some seats on Sunday for a little trail ride where we encountered snow on the high ridge. It was chilly, but a fun weekend.

The weekend after Labor Day was Team Trophy Challenge-Washington (TTCW) that our club hosts. It was the third year of putting on the event and a ton of fun. We had 16 teams (I think) of 2 rigs and 4 people. The teams spend about 24 hours on the trail completing tasks during the day and looking for punch buckets at night. Our task this year was to a side hill winch task. We were there until about 11:15PM waiting for teams to finish before we were able to head back to camp. However, on the way back down the gravel road, on of the teams took a corner a little too fast and ended up down the embankment. There was a large group of us that helped winch the Jeep up and luckily everyone was okay. As we were about to go back to camp, Dan-O and ScramblerMike drove up on a mission to rescue some Toyota guys who had gotten lost and broke. Terry jumped in with Dan-O to help with getting them back to camp and didn't return until about 6:30 on Sunday morning. We had an exhausting, but fun weekend and can't wait until next year!
Then, last weekend was Operation Shore Patrol (OSP) at Ocean City State Park. Terry and I headed down on Thursday and enjoyed the sunny Friday around Ocean Shores. My parents and most of the Tamers arrived on Friday. Then on Saturday we headed out for the beach clean-up. I was surprised, there actually wasn't that much garbage on the beach. On Saturday night, our club put on the annual steak dinner that everyone seemed to enjoy. After that was the raffle where we won a gift card to 4 Wheel Parts, a ARB hat, and a T-shirt. On Sunday we packed up and headed home, stopping at the casino on the way out to watch the first half of the Niners vs. Seahawks game.
Once we were home, we unpacked a few things and then headed to the airport to pick my brother up. On Monday, Danny and I headed up to Mt Rainier and did the Naches Peak Loop hike which was a nice 3.5 mile hike that gave amazing views of Mt Rainier. It was a perfectly clear morning for the hike. On the way back at the house, we stopped and got tacos from the bus that were amazing. Once Terry got home on Monday, we headed up to Seattle for the Ben Harper w. R7/Pearl Jam concert. We had burgers at Dick's before the show and then walked over to Key Arena for the performance. Both bands put on an amazing show and we were entertained watching the guy in front of us try to pick up the drunk girl who had previously vomited into her purse.

On Tuesday, Danny and I headed down to Ruston Way in Tacoma and took a little walk and had a great lunch before dropping him off at the airport to head back to Texas. The weather was amazing for the first day of fall and it was good to be able to enjoy the day with him. Then, yesterday, I started school. I am going back for my degree and certificate in Social Services/Mental Health. I was a little nervous about starting classes again, but have always enjoyed school and my classes seem pretty good. I guess that is all that has gone on this month. I will try to be better about posting in the future.

Walk for Hope 5k Fun Run

2009-09-09T11:16:00.001-07:00

I just signed Terry and I up for our first 5k fun run. I don't think running has become "fun" yet, but am looking forward to the challenge. It is on Oct 4 in Seattle which gives me about 3.5 weeks to mentally and physically prepare myself. I don't know if I will be able to run (or jog) the whole thing, but will just do as much as I can and hope for the best.

The run is through Walk for Hope, where we will be raising money to support breast cancer research. Any donations would be thankfully accepted and can be made on my personal website: http://nationalevents.cityofhope.org/goto/AmyJo

We have also been batting around the idea of doing the Seattle to Portland bike ride next year with the Cascade Bicycle Club. It is a 202.25 mile course that we will plan to ride in two days. The 2010 date is posted as July 17-18, which is a month after the 1/2 marathon which should be enough time to recover. I just hope my heart and legs are strong enough since I think it would be another great accomplishment to add to my list.

Tree Removal

2009-09-01T17:14:00.001-07:00

While Jake was here, we also removed some shrubs and trees from the front yard. I love the way things look now and have been enjoying how much brighter the tree removal has made our room. Now, I just need to decide what to plant as replacements; maybe a hydrangea or rhododendron?

And yes, we did use the Jeep's winch to remove the trees. It made the job a lot easier.

Jake & Brittany's Visit

2009-09-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Jake and Brittany came up to visit for 10 days from Aug 19-Aug 29. We were very busy while they were here. They arrived on Wednesday so straight from the airport, we decided to spend the day in Seattle. We had breakfast at 5 Spot, saw the Fremont Troll, visited the lochs, walked through Pike Place Market, and enjoyed dinner at the Crab Pot. On Thursday, we stayed local. We drove through Point Defiance Park and had lunch and a walk along Ruston Way in Tacoma. On Friday, we headed to NW Trek and then spent the day at home.

Over the weekend, we attended our 4-wheel drive club picnic at Lake Samammish on Saturday then went to church and Emerald Downs on Sunday.

Then, on Monday we did a 5 mile hike at Mt Rainier followed by a drive through the park and up to Paradise. Then on Tuesday, we drove down to Mt St Helens and spelunked through the Ape Caves. After that, we drove into Portland and had wings at Hooters (and yes, they were good). On Wednesday, we headed up to my parents' house and on the way stopped for wine tasting at Chateau Ste Michelle. Then on Thursday, we took a ferry to Orcus Island. Friday was another relaxing day at my parents' place with lunch at the Bellingham harbor and then a night of margaritas and Mexican food in Ferndale. On Saturday, we left early and dropped them off at the airport for their trip home. It was a busy week and we had a lot of fun.

First Harvest

2009-08-17T09:45:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, before we left for a weekend away camping, I was able to harvest some veggies from my garden. I am so excited things are finally starting to ripen.

Elbe Work Day

2009-08-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Terry and I joined our 4-wheel drive club, the Timber Tamers, down at Elbe OHV for some trail maintenance and a little wheeling. We opted to simply drive the Jeep down since it is only about an hour away and we didn't want to haul the truck, camper and trailer down there for the day trip. We left a little early so we would have time to do a little shooting at pit before anyone else showed up. We both shot Terry's new S&W .357 for the first time and I fired off a couple from my Kel-Tec 9mm.

Most of the group was at the parking lot at Elbe close to 9:00. In the staging area, Penny noticed she was getting a flat tire, so before we even hit a trail, they did a quick tire change. (Notice Penny's Jeep is being held up by a winch line coming from Mark's Jeep to her roll cage.) We started the day by painting the winch point sign on the top of our adopted trail. Then, we put a little more rock on one side of the trail in hopes of it stabilizing the rock that was already there so at the first rain it all doesn't end up at the bottom of the trail. We were lucky to be able to use a small tractor to load the rock behind our Jeep and bring it where needed which saved on some manual work (thanks DNR).

Mark, aka Dirtball, was a big help supervising the trail maintenance

After the trail work, we ran a couple trails. Terry had fun playing in a little rock garden and before long, Mark wound up ripping a hole in the sidewall of one of his tires. Luckily, Gary was good with plugs and they were able to limp it back to the trailer. The rest of us did a few more trails and found a mud hole before heading out. Overall, we had a great day out with friends!

Mt Rainier Hiking

2009-08-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Terry and I decided to do some hiking at Mt Rainier National Park. We live close to the area and have been wanting to do more hiking so decided to go up there to take advantage of the great weather.

The first hike of the day we did Naches Peak Loop. It was 5.0 miles and took us exactly two hours to hike. We parked at Lake Tipoo and started the hike from the trailhead there. There was a small hill at the beginning of the hike but after that the hike was fairly level. I had read that the trail was popular and there was a chance of crowds, but luckily since we hit the trail early we didn't see that many people. The hike took us over highway 410 through fields of wildflowers. Once we were about half way through the trip, we were graced with great views of Mt Rainier. The morning light was amazing and we got lucky with the weather. When we arrived back at our car, we were surprised to see the parking lot full and tons of people milling around the lake. We were definitely glad we hit the trail early in the day and do plan on hiking it again in the future.

After the first hike, we decided to hit another trail since the day was still early. In the book I had, it described another trail in the Sunrise area that looped around the visitor center. It also described the trail as easy and 5.0 miles so we decided to try it out. The Sunrise Loop Trail started at the Sunrise Visitor Center went up to Frozen Lake, across to the First Burrough, down the back side of the Burrough to Sunrise camp then back to the visitor center. The hike was definitely harder than the first hike of the day with some steeper hills. There was one area that still had a snow patch that we had to navigate which was a little scary since one slip and it was a long way down a steep hill. The views of the mountain were amazing! It seemed like we were really close to it and I am sure the pictures don't do it justice. Coming back down the hill, Mt Rainier was to our back so we think if we did this hike again we would do it in the reverse direction to get the views in front of us going up the hill. There were more people on this trail then the first one but it still wasn't too bad. We hope to have decent weather in a few weeks and do this trail again with Jake and Brittany.

More New Paint

2009-07-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

I painted the office in our house earlier this week. I already had the paint purchased when I painted the front room and wanted to get the office painted before Jake and Brittany came to visit. Now, we just need to get the French doors installed.

On Tuesday, I emptied the room. Terry and I were both amazed at how much stuff was crammed into the small room. I am sure you won't be too surprised since it looks horribly cluttered in the pictures (which it probably was and I was just in denial about). After I had the room empty, I did a coat of primer on the walls. Then, after dinner, once the primer had a chance to dry, I painted the room blue. I really like the color, but Terry is having a difficult time getting used to it. I read somewhere you should paint your home office blue since it helps inspire creativity, so I thought I would give it a chance.

Yesterday, as the state of Washington was dealing with record breaking heat, I brought everything back into the room and organized it some. I went through both file cabinets and got rid of old documents and also decided I wanted three separate areas in the office for the different tasks. I wanted the desk for the computer, one table for scrapebooking and the other table with my knitting, sewing and cross-stich (also to house my cookbooks). I had some issues on where I wanted to place the furniture since I did want to move it around some but the position of the cable outlet on the wall limited on where I could put the desk. I think I like how I have it arranged for now, but if I get sick of it, I can always change it again.

Zeus had a hard time with the high temperatures. I felt bad for him and tried to help out by giving him a cold bath. First, he proceeded to drink the bath water when I first turned it on. Then, he hated the cold water. He is normally good during baths, but I use warm water and he definitely wasn't a fan of the cold water (even though he was hot and panting). Well, enough chatter, I hope you enjoy the pictures of before and after (and one of Zeus trying to keep cool).

Fun with Nina & Ben

2009-07-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Terry and I were fortunate to be able to spend time with some friends of my mom and mine that are visiting from France. We drove up to my parents' house on Friday, took the ferry to Friday Harbor on Saturday and then stopped at Snoqualamie Falls on the way to our house on Sunday. Then, on Monday, we visited NW Trek in the morning and then headed up to Mt Rainier. And finally, went to Seattle yesterday. Nina and Ben are staying 3 nights in Seattle and on Friday morning, I am taking the train up to Bellingham with them (Terry will be meeting us when he gets off work on Friday). Then, on Sunday, we are heading to Canada where we will leave Nina and Ben as their flight will leave from Vancouver. Here are some photos I have taken of the last few days (sorry, there are a lot, especially from Mt Rainier where I fell in love with the wildflowers that were in bloom):

Oh, and the best part of Nina and Ben's visist is: now, Terry wants to plan a trip to France!!! I couldn't be more excited thinking of going back. We are hoping for the spring of 2011 as that will give us time to save some money. Currently, we are thinking about staying in France with a quick trip to Venice.

New Paint

2009-07-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

So, I have been meaning to post this for a while...last week, I finished painting the front room. Up until now, the walls were plain white and I really didn't like the room too much. It was just there, but didn't really serve a purpose. Now, with the walls painted and some pictures hung, it looks a lot better and has turned into my favorite room of the house. I still need to get a valence for the window and a new cover for the chair cushions, but even now, the room looks so much better. Here are a couple before, during and after pictures:

Next, it's onto painting the office and getting the French doors installed!

Off again...

2009-07-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

Summers are crazy for us. This morning we said goodbye to my brother and family. They were here since last Wednesday and we had a great time with time over the last week. The week was filled with camping at Birch Bay State Park, spending time with the extended family at my parents' house, tide pooling at Larrabee State Park, swimming at Jimmy & Sheri's house, and a trip to NW Trek. I had a blast getting to make some memories with my niece and nephew and hope now they will be able to remember Terry and I more. It was so great to see them and we can't wait until we get to visit again!

Today Nina and Ben fly in from France. My mom and I met Nina 10 years ago when we first traveled to France. We have gotten to visit with them several times both in the United States and Europe over the years. They will be staying with my parents but I am hoping to see them as much as possible while they are here. However, this weekend will be spent with our church family. We are packing up and getting ready for camping at Lake Easton State Park. It is suppose to be a warm weekend, so we are looking forward to the warm weather and quality time with our friends. Last year we camped at Mount Rainier and got to know the Olsen's more. We are praying that we have another great trip this year and get to know more of our church family better. Wish us luck as we finish packing and head out this afternoon!

I will keep posting about our busy summer and the fun we have planned.

NW Trek

2009-07-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Dan, Jen, Jaclyn, Joey, Mom, Terry and I all went to NW Trek to check out the animals. It was slightly overcast, but I was told that overcast weather was the best time to see animals as more are active when it isn't too hot. Even though it is only 20 minutes down the road, Terry and I had never been there. We ended up enjoying it a lot and even splurged and became members as an anniversary gift to each other so we can go back and visit it throughout the year. It was very cool and we were able to see all the animals on the tram ride and throughout the other exhibits. Joey got tired and ended up falling asleep on the tram ride, but seemed to enjoy it while he was awake.

Happy Birthday Lola!

2009-07-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

My cousin Patricia gave birth to Lola Pearl today. Welcome to the family!
I can't wait to meet her!

Larrabee State Park

2009-07-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning, we headed down to the tidepools at Larrabee State Park with the family. Terry and I had never visited that state park before so were excited to check it out. We didn't get a chance to see the campground, but the beach area was really nice. I can definitely see going back there to camp sometime. Here are some pictures on our trip to the beach.

4th of July

2009-07-08T17:14:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, Terry and I celebrated our 3 year anniverary. It's amazing how quickly the time has passed. My parent's also had their annual 4th of July party. It was great seeing the family. I always liked having family potlucks when I was a kid and enjoy keeping the tradition alive as an adult. Here are some pictures from the barbeque.

Birch Bay State Park

2009-07-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

Since my brother and his family comes up to Washington for the 4th of July, we decided to pack up and do a little camping at Birch Bay State Park for the first two nights of their vacation. The kids, Jaclyn and Joey, had never been camping before so we were excited to make some memories and be there when they got to experience camping for the first time.

Terry and I made reservations for Tuesday through Thursday nights, however, my brother didn’t fly in until Wednesday, so they were only there for two nights with my parents. Terry and Trinity went to the campground during the day on Tuesday and set-up camp. We had decided to tow up the Jeep, so he was able to drive it back to my parents’ house after getting our site set-up. We stayed at my parents’ house until after dinner on Tuesday before heading back to the campground.

On Wednesday, we decided to take a walk down by the beach and ultimately into town first thing in the morning. The tide was out and it was a short walk to an café where we both got a chai latte. After the walk, we relaxed at our campsite for a bit before heading back to my parents’ house. We stayed there for most of the early afternoon before heading back to the campground around 1:00.

When we got back to camp, we got our large tent set-up for my brother’s family to use while camping. Soon after we got it set-up, my parents showed up with Trinity and my brother’s family. The kids had fun exploring the campsites while my parents got their RV ready. We all took a walk down to the beach before starting dinner.

For dinner, we cooked hot dogs over the fire with chili and macaroni and cheese. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and it was fun cooking the dogs over the fire. My parents’ friends, Dan and Kat, came over for dinner as well. As the night went on, we made s’mores before the kids got tired and decided to head to bed in mom’s RV. After the kids were put down, my brother, Jen, Terry and I walked down to watch the sunset. On Thursday, Terry and I woke up before the rest of the family and headed back down the beach for lattes. As we were leaving the café, my brother drove up with his family. When we got back to camp, we had pancakes for breakfast. Trinity and Jaclyn helped make the batter and I tried my best to make Mickey Mouse pancakes for the kids.

After breakfast, we decided to spend the day on the beach. My parents packed up their RV and parked it parallel to the beach giving us a place to get some shade during the hot day. We got really good, warm weather all day and had fun playing in the surf, looking for hermit crabs and playing games on the lawn. Everyone had a great day. I headed up to camp slightly before the rest so I could get dinner started. I made spaghetti for dinner, which was a hit. After dinner, Barbara, Earl, Grandma, Ed, Jimmy and Sheri showed up to spend the evening with us. We roasted marshmallows and chatted before walking back down to the beach for the sunset.
On Friday, my mom and dad made breakfast burritos. They were yummy. After eating, we starting packing up camp. It was sad to have to leave after such a fun trip. I would like to go back there as we had a great time. After loading everything up, we left the campground and spent the rest of the 4th of July weekend at my parents’ house with the family.

Raspberry-Rhubarb Pie

2009-06-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

I always like when I am blog surfing when people post their favorite recipes on their blogs. I also like trying new recipes on my own. I recently started subscribing to the magazine Cooking Light. I will read through the magazine marking potential recipes to try, but until last night, never made anything. Last night, I decided to make a Raspberry-Rhubarb Pie and it was delicious so I wanted to share the recipe here.

Raspberry-Rhubarb Pie

2 TBSP Uncooked quick-cooking tapioca

4.5 C Raspberries

3.5 C Chopped Rhubarb

1 C Packed Brown Sugar

1/4 C Cornstarch

2 TBSP Creme de Cassis

1/8 tsp Salt

1/2 (15-oz) packaged refrigerated pie crust

Cooking Spray

6 TBSP All-purpose Flour

1/4 C Sliced Almonds

2 TBSP Brown Sugar

2 TBSP Chilled Butter, cut into pieces

1/4 tsp Almond Extract

1/8 tsp Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. Place tapioca in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground. Combine tapioca, raspberries, and next 5 ingredients (through 1/8 tsp salt) in a bowl; toss well. Let raspberry mixture stand 10 minutes; stir to combine.

3. Roll 1 (9-inch) dough portion into an 11-inch circle. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray, draping excess dough over edges. Spoon raspberry mixture and any remaining liquid into dough. Fold edges under; flute. Bake at 350* for 40 minutes.

4. While pie bakes, place flour and remaining ingredients in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

5. Increase oven temperature to 375*.

6. Sprinkle topping evenly over pie. Bake at 375* for 15 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is thick and bubbly. Cool completely on a wire rack. Yield 12 servings

CALORIES 248; FAT 7.9g; PROTEIN 2g; CARBS 43.3g; FIBER 4g; CHOL 7mg; IRON 1.1mg; SODIUM 146mg; CALC 65mg

Elbe Father's Day Run

2009-06-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Our plan was to leave early Friday morning and head down to Elbe to ensure we got the area needed for camping with the Timber Tamers. We met Gary and Lori S at Safeway in Graham at 6:30 on Friday morning and started the short drive to Elbe. It started raining sometime late Thursday night and proceeded to rain almost all day on Friday.

We finally arrived at Elbe OHV and tried to open the gate so we could get set-up in the camping area and the gate code didn’t work. Hmmm, déjà vu? Terry and Gary took off and eventually returned with Nancy from the DNR who also didn’t know why we couldn’t get the lock to work since we were trying the right combination of 1-1-1-2. Finally, she decided to try 0-1-1-2 which worked. Once we got the gate opened, we were able to head back and get set-up near the shelter, which meant, we had a place to stay dry.

There were a couple big rounds of wood in the back that Nancy said we could chop for firewood. So, I decided to chop some wood while Terry got some of camp set-up. It was hard work, but totally worth it. After we got some wood into smaller pieces, we were able to get a fire going and warm up. Since it rained most of the day, we just relaxed around camp and tried to stay dry. Terry and Gary took a quick trip up our trail to get an idea of what trail work needed to be done the following day in the afternoon. Eventually, Billy showed up with his tractor as well as Lori Y, Mark, Tom, Penny and Tom’s parents, Art and Mary. For dinner, I made tacos and salad for Terry and me. It turned out yummy. Terry ended up heading to bed early while I stayed up talking with people.

On Saturday, we got up and dressed ready for a day on the trail. Our club has an adopted trail at Elbe, Sunrise, that needed some maintenance. There was a silt trap that needed to be cleaned out and some by-passes that needed to be blocked. With everyone’s help, and the tractor, the work got completed quickly. Around noon, we headed back to camp and I made some lunch for Terry and me. Then, they headed out to do some trail runs. I decided to stay back at camp with Zeus. Midday, I noticed the frige in our camper wasn’t working and the hot water heater was showing an error as well. It turns out, we had ran out of propane in both tanks. Luckily, Lori S had an extra 5 gallon tank in their camper we were able to borrow and Dan-O was around to help get hooked up to our camper (it was heavy and I was a little too short to get it lifted into the storage area). I didn’t sleep well on Friday night, so took a quick nap and got some reading done while they were gone as well.

Terry was excited when they came back that the Cherokee did so well on the trails and the ARB in the front was finally working. They ran the Busywild and survived. When he got back, I made hot dogs, chili and macaroni and cheese for dinner. It was a hit for us and we had enough leftover to feed Dan-O who showed up solo for the night. Zeus even got lucky with his first beef bone to gnaw on courtesy of Gary. Terry and I both stayed up talking with the club members before showering and heading to bed.

On Sunday, everyone slept in and slowly got up and started to get things packed for the trip home. Gary, Terry and Steve (a guest in a black Sami) took one more quick ride out in the morning. I was anxious to get home and out of the mud so stayed back at camp and got everything packed up while they were gone. When Terry got back to camp, there was only minor packing to do as well as getting the Jeep loaded onto the trailer. We finally were packed up and ready to head home around 3:00 and made it home within an hour. It was a fun trip even though we got rain almost all weekend. It’s nice being so close to home and look forward to going back in a few months.

Battle Ground Lake State Park

2009-06-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

In January, I had made reservations for last weekend at Battle Ground Lake State Park. Terry and I wanted to check it out last summer, but since the campground consists of only 35 sites, it was booked up every weekend. We were excited to hit the road on Friday afternoon and check out this campground for the first time. We left our house a little before 3:00 and headed south. We didn’t hit any traffic and made it there in about 3 ½ hours. It was a nice drive even though most of it was on the highway and I even drove for a little while.

Once we made it to camp, we got registered and headed to our campsite, site #14. It was a partial hook-up site, so as we unloaded, Terry also hooked up the water and electric. We decided on just having fried chicken from QFC for dinner since we knew we would arrive late. After getting the campsite ready, we decided to take a quick walk around the campground and go down to see the lake. It was a small lake with a lot of trails going around it. When we got back to camp, Terry made a nice fire and we both enjoyed some s’mores before heading to bed.

On Saturday, we woke up early and decided to go fishing. We found a nice spot on the lake near a picnic table and cast out our lines. Terry caught a small trout that we opted to give away and after about 3 hours of fishing, I didn’t catch anything. However, I did get some reading done. After a few hours of fishing, we walked back up to our site for breakfast. I made sausage and pancakes for breakfast. It was nice having the hook-ups as I was able to bring my electric griddle for the pancakes. They turned out really good. I also got dinner started. I had brought meat for chili verde, so put it in my crock pot on low for the day in hopes of tender meat.

After breakfast, we decided to go on a hike. We started on the upper lake trail and then did a loop on the lower lake trail. It was a pretty walk and since the lake was small, it didn’t take too long. Along the lower loop, we came across and eagle perched on a piece of wood in the lake. It seemed so close that it was unreal. There were also lots of momma ducks swimming around the lake with their babies following. When we got back to camp, I took a quick shower and then spent some time relaxing with Terry. We also took another walk around lake in the afternoon before dinner.

Dinner turned out great. The chili verde was very tender. I also made rice, beans and Terry helped make a salad. After dinner, we decided to head back to the lake. There was a little shop we stopped at along the way and got an ice cream to share. It was fun sitting by the lake, watching people and eating ice cream. There was also an eagle circling around the lake which was neat to watch.

When we got back to our site, I decided to make a fire. Terry really wanted to give me advice and I told him to give me a chance. Amazingly, I did end up with a nice fire. We roasted some marshmallows and had s’mores before heading to bed.

On Sunday, we woke up and decided to try fishing again. We got off to a later start, so the place we were the previous day was taken. Luckily, we found a nice spot along the lower lake trail. There were some rocks we were able to sit on while we fished. We didn’t catch anything on Sunday; however, the eagle had better luck. As we were fishing, we could watch an eagle circle the lake. It dove down a few times and finally came up with a fish in its talons. I had never seen an eagle catch anything before, so it was quite exciting.

When we were done fishing, we headed back to our site where I made veggie scramble for breakfast. After eating, we slowly started to pack up our gear to head home. We stopped quickly on the way out of the park and dumped the tanks before hitting the road. We made it home without incident. It was a nice, relaxing weekend away; however, I don’t know if we will plan another trip to Battle Ground Lake since it was over 3 hours away and not as special as we were hoping.

Ferndale Graduation Weekend

2009-06-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Terry and I headed up to Ferndale for Dylan's graduation from Ferndale High School. It's amazing home much he has grown since in my head, I always remember him around this age:

We had a nice weekend at my parent's house. We arrived late Friday night as we had to head up from Monroe after the Timber Tamer's BOD meeting. On Saturday morning, my mom left early to attend Dylan's graduation ceremony while my dad, Terry and I all went out to breakfast and then picked up a truck load of hay. Terry had been pestering my dad for a few months now about trimming some low growing trees over the driveway, so they took advantage of the pile of hay to do some tree trimming before unloading it.

The afternoon graduation party for Dylan and two of his friends was a success. It was fun seeing my family there and catching up with people. Terry did a good job of mingling and found out my mom's cousin's husband was selling his motorcycle. We hung out for a few hours before eventually returning to my parent's house.

Terry initially wanted to come home early on Sunday and go to church at Renovo. However, after talking to Brad about the motorcycle, we decided to go look at it. In the morning, we searched online to get a better idea of if the price he was asking was reasonable. We weren't really in the market for a bike yet, but had been talking about getting one and this fit our criteria perfectly. After some searches online, the bike was a deal. We couldn't find anything for the price he was asking and with the low mileage. It is a 2004 Honda VTX 1300 with 3542 miles.

It reminds me of my old bike, and sits low. I sat on it and was able to keep both feet on the ground. It is a lot heavier then my old bike, but I can't wait to drive it. Terry and I did take a quick ride around the block at my parent's house and it was really comfortable. I felt like I had a ton of room on the back. Terry rode it home and even took it to work today. I can't wait to go on some rides through the mountains! It is very exciting that we have a bike again and I am glad Terry seems almost as excited as I am.

After getting the motorcycle, we relaxed with my parents for most of the afternoon. Grandma and Ed came over for an early dinner. My mom barbecued bacon wrapped filet minion and I made strawberry rhubarb crisp for dessert. We ended up leaving a little after 4:00. As always, we had a nice weekend with my folks and even came home with a little something special this time.

NW-Wheelers Rig of the Month!

2009-06-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

For June 2009, I am ROTM on NW-Wheelers.com. I am not sure how I got chosen, but I think it is a little exciting. Here is a link to the forum (I am not sure if you will have to register to see it or not): http://nw-wheelers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40230

Carnation Tree Farm

2009-06-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

After a long day in the sun on Saturday, Terry and I decided to head home from Monroe along Highway 203 thru Duvall and Carnation and then take highway 18 to 167 to our house. We like the drive thru the small towns and since we had the Jeep, it was nice to not have to drive it on the freeway. I am so glad we decided to take that way home, or we wouldn't have found the little gem I am about to describe.

Okay, let me start at the beginning. After the event and being in the sun for twelve hours, we found a cute Tap Room in Duvall for dinner. We both had a cold beer and some amazing sweet potato fries for an appetizer. Dinner was great as well. Terry said his blue cheese burger was the best he had ever had and I enjoyed the salmon special. We loved the small town charm of the bar and even ran into people from Operation Shore Patrol there. Recently, Terry and I have talked about the joys of moving to a small town and love to stop in them and relax.

So, after ordering, we asked the waitress, Shelly, if there were any lodging options around. We were both tired and the thought of driving just a couple minutes and finding a cute hotel would be better than driving another hour or two to get home. She didn't know anything in Duvall, but said that the owner of the Carnation Tree Farm, Roger, rents out the loft of his barn. She called Roger for us and it was available so we booked it for the night. We just couldn't resist at $65/night and only 10 minutes down the road.

We stopped at Safeway on the way and got some snacks (and aloe for my legs) and then continued the drive to Carnation. The barn was an old three story building and half of the top floor was turned into a cute loft. There was a full size kitchen, sauna, 3 small bedrooms and a balcony overlooking the tree farm. The building had a lot of charm and I know my description and pictures won't do it justice. We were both so excited about finding the place and plan on coming back for another visit. We were able to shower and relax the rest of the night, and didn't feel rushed to leave in the morning. We did head out slightly early to make church, but felt like we were able to take our time and enjoy the morning as well. It was such a unique place to spend the night and I am so glad we found it!

Million Dollar Dana 30

2009-06-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

We do have some bad news about this weekend: the ARB in the front still doesn't work. We had the axle housing replaced and trussed last week and finally got the thing back on Friday. However, Terry went to test it out on Saturday and the thing still doesn't work. At least the trussing looks great! We are just getting tired of the thing not working and really hope it is a bad set-up or seal that is causing the issue now. It will be nice to get to wheel the thing sometime this summer!

CORE 4x4 Event

2009-06-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Terry and I volunteered to help work our 4-wheel drive club, the Timber Tamers, work the obstacle course at the 2009 CORE Challenge III. The event consisted of a couple different courses (mud, rocks, etc) the competitors had to run thru and try for best time. Our club volunteered to man the big obstacle course. We had 12 club members out for the day. Terry and I ended up perched on a hill in the middle of the course and were in charge of timing the competitors since we could see both the starting line and the finish line from our vantage point.

We had to arrive at 6:00 to get set-up and organized before the competition started at 9:30. Once we got a few rigs thru, we realized since there was only one finish line, we would have to run only one truck at a time in case there was a problem at the end. We didn't want to take the chance of the second racer getting held up by the person in front of him especially since it was for time and the times varied. The quickest person to get thru made it in 1:58. The average was probably around four minutes. About one third of those that started the course, did not finish due to breakage. We did have some vehicles that would help them get un-stuck if needed and they clock would stay running. They only got a DNC if they broke and did not finish the race.

We ran rigs until 5:00 when everyone was able to get thru the course at least once and a couple rigs even got in their second pass for the day. By that time, I could feel that I got a lot of sun on my legs (in particular, the back of my knees and upper calve). Terry and I packed the Jeep up and left the event around 6:00. After being there for twelve hours, we were ready to get a cold beverage and some good food. We had a great time out there and really hope to be able to volunteer again.

Taneum Memorial Day Run

2009-05-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

After some debating, Terry and I decided to spend Memorial Day weekend with our 4-wheel drive club in Taneum. Our Jeep was still in the shop, but we knew there would be some open seats if we wanted to hit the trails and decided it would be fun to go over there and hang out with our friends. There was talk of trails and campgrounds being closed, so Terry had the camper loaded on Thursday night so he could leave first thing Friday morning. He also towed up Mark’s Jeep for him so he wouldn’t have to worry about it on Friday afternoon.

Terry ended up leaving out house at 5:00 on Friday morning. It took him about two hours to get to camp. He was able to find a big area for the club to camp and spent the day setting up camp and hanging out with other club members as they arrived. I had to work on Friday, so rode up with Mark and Lori in their RV. We were able to leave their house in Sumner at 4:00 and the two hour drive ended up taking us four hours. There was a ton of traffic on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass. We finally arrived at camp around 8:00.

I made some quick dinner since I was hungry when we first got there and then settled by the campfire. Terry and I both headed to bed early where he went to sleep and I was able to finish my book.

On Saturday, we got up and started to get ready for the day. Terry made some coffee while I cooked a sausage, spinach and egg scramble for breakfast. Terry decided to ride with Mark and I got to ride with Gary since they both had open seats. Once we left camp, we drove on a gravel rode for a while in order to reach the trails. The area was really pretty and there were some nice views of the surrounding mountains.

When we finally hit a trail, we crossed a wooden bridge thru a meadow and then had a few small hill climbs. We got to the top of one of the hills and then heard on the CB “my front right tire fell off” from Rock. Apparently, something happened to Rock’s front end and the passenger side tire sure enough fell off. The Tamers were hoping for an easy fix, but unfortunately, the part was broken beyond repair. The next best option was to get the rig to a point in the trail where a trailer could reach it. So, they were able to fab up a “skid” for the front hub with a tree branch and were able to drag the Toyota closer to the main dirt road. From there, Dan and Rock drove back to camp to get a truck and trailer to get the broken Toyota home. Once Dan and Rock left for camp, the rest of us (Rudi, Gary and Mark) decided to hit more trails.

Overall, the trails we ran were pretty mild. There were a couple difficult sections but the views were amazing. Rudi hit a tree stump on one of the trails and ripped a hole in the sidewall of his new tires. Luckily, it was a quick fix and then we were moving again. We hit a little snow but for the most part it was warm and dusty. After a couple hours, we returned to where Rock had broke to see there process. Dan-O was back with the trailer and had his rig loaded. We made sure they were able to get the truck onto the dirt road and then decided to find a trail so Dan-O could get some off-road action. Rock headed down the hill back to camp with the truck, trailer and broken Toyota while the rest of us went exploring.

We decided to take a new trail to check the area out and after a half hour or so, hit a dead end. Gary decided to give me a turn driving. His rig is well built and is basically a “point and shoot.” You steer the Jeep in the direction you want it to go and it goes there. It was a mild ride back to camp with a few sections of mud and snow. The funny thing was that I couldn’t easily reach the clutch. So, when it came time to shift gears, I had to slouch way down into the seat, change gears and then push myself upright again. I also learned how to start in gear and avoid the clutch all together.

We arrived back at camp around 6:30. Lori had put out some chips and dip that we snacked on before dinner. Zeus had stayed back at camp with the Lori’s and when we returned, his nails were polished pink. They said he didn’t seem to mind having his nails polished, but he didn’t like the smell. I just know they were giggling like school girls as they painted his nails. For dinner, I barbequed buff dogs and asparagus and also warmed up some chili. The buffalo dogs were really good; I will definitely do them again. After enjoying some dinner, we relaxed around be fire before heading to the camper for showers and bed.

On Sunday, I decided to stay back at camp and enjoy the sun with my book. I made breakfast for Terry and I before he left for the day. We had chorizo and eggs for breakfast. After breakfast, the guys loaded up the Jeeps and headed out for the day. I grabbed my book and laid in the hammock all day working on my tan. The temperatures reached 75 degrees at camp and I ended up with a nice tan. Around 4:00, I jumped in the shower to clean-up before Terry would come home. They ended up arriving back at camp around 6:00 and from what he mentioned, I didn’t miss out on much. It sounded like their day consisted of a lot of winching and snow. I am sure glad I stayed at camp in the sun and didn’t have to deal with the snow.

For dinner, I made some spaghetti with sausage and vegetables. After eating, we relaxed around the campfire for the last time. Zeus didn’t get much sleep in during the day, so as the evening came around, he ended up getting grumpy. We finally headed to bed around 10:00 to do a little reading before falling asleep.

On Monday, we woke up and slowly started to pack up camp. Everyone was loaded and ready to go around 9:30. We all wanted to get an early start for the ride home to miss some of the traffic that would surely come in the afternoon. The ride was going well over Snoqualmie Pass when we noticed Gary on the side of the highway. About 2 miles east of Denny Creek on I-90, his trailer blew a tire. We were able to get to the shoulder and help him change the flat. However, soon after we got moving again, maybe 10 miles, the other trailer tire got a flat. So, again, we found ourselves on the shoulder of I-90 helping change a flat. He did get lucky though. Gary only had one spare, but luckily, we had a spare tire for our truck that was the same size and bolt pattern of his trailer. After a quick stop, we were moving again. From there, we made it home without any other issues. It took us about 3 hours to get home which wasn’t bad considering we stopped to fix two flat tires.

Overall, we had a nice weekend away. I am glad I got a day to relax and look forward to going back to Taneum to check out the trails when there isn’t snow on the ground. We both can’t wait for the Jeep to be trail ready again!

Summer is Here!

2009-05-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know just because it is almost 70* today and not suppose to rain doesn't mean that summer is here to stay, but it is hard to not get excited. This time of year is always fun and busy. I looked at my calendar today and Terry and I have plans just about every weekend until August. At least there will be a lot to blog about.

This weekend we are heading out with our 4-wheel drive club, the Timber Tamers, to Taneum. Our Jeep is in the shop, but we know there are a couple open seats so are going to hang out with our friends. It should be fun and I like going to new places to check them out. I hope that the weather there is nice, even though from what I have been told, there may still be snow on the ground. I am an optimist and packed some tank tops and shorts hoping for a tan. I really hope to get some time to relax this weekend and will stop by the library tomorrow to get some reading materials.

I wish I didn't have to work tomorrow, but I do. Work has been driving me a little crazy lately and I won't be surprised if I am out of a job soon. However, until then, I am working hard and doing what I am told. As long as I keep getting a paycheck, I am trying to not let the politics of sales bother me. Hopefully someday, I will find a job I love.... it would just help if I had a clue as to what that would be. Alright, well I better get back to work and finish packing, at least I don't have too much more to do (on both accounts).

Lake Sylvia State Park

2009-05-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

We made last minute camping reservations at Lake Sylvia State Park on Thursday night. The description of the campsite said “fish from the site” so had Terry sold on that spot as soon as he read that description. On Friday, we left our house at 3:30 and stopped by Wal-Mart on the way so I could get my fishing license. My license was $24 for just fresh water, where Terry was able to get his freshwater and saltwater license for $8 total. Another benefit of being a disabled veteran in Washington. We ended up leaving the Wal-Mart in Spanaway at 4:00 and started our drive west.

We hit minor traffic on I-5 and made it to Lake Sylvia State Park around 5:30. The park was only 2 miles from the highway and the town of Montesano where it was located was very cute. We reserved site 24 for the weekend and as soon as we pulled into our site, we started to set-up camp. We were surprised at how close the lake was to the site and loved the view.

For dinner, I made tacos and salad. After we ate, we walked thru the camp loop to check out the other sites. It was a small campground with only 35 sites. Beside the site we were in, we also really liked sites 5 and 21, however, any of the sites on the outside of the loop on the water would have been nice. We tried to walk to the ranger office to get a map, but it was closed. When we got back to camp, Terry made a fire and we enjoyed the evening before heading to bed.

On Saturday, we woke up around 7:30 and started the day. While we warmed up water for coffee and hot chocolate, we decided to do some fishing. Terry and I both caught fish, but released them. The fish we were catching were all small trout. We enjoyed bringing them in, but due to the size, didn’t want to keep any. I think by breakfast, I had caught 6 trout and Terry had caught 2.

For breakfast, I made a sausage, potato, spinach and egg scramble. After breakfast, we decided to take a walk around the lake. We had looked at a map of the park when we made the reservation and noticed there was a trail that went around the lake to the north. We tried the ranger office again on our way out, but it was still closed. So, we walked across the main bridge to the day use area and then headed north on a path along the lake. It wound north until the lake wasn’t much more than a swamp and then a creek. There, it crossed over and we walked along the east side of the lake heading south until we arrived back at the campground. The second half of the walk was more trail-like than the beginning.

Once we made it back to camp, we decided to relax by the lake, enjoy the nice sunny weather and do a little fishing. The fish weren’t biting as much as they were in the morning, but we both caught a couple. Terry and Zeus took small naps while I read and enjoyed some sun. We definitely liked the lake and know when we come back, we will bring a small boat and spend some time on the water.

As evening came, we steamed some artichokes and barbequed buffalo burgers for dinner. After dinner, we walked around the campground and were finally able to get a map of the park. Terry also got a map of a hiking trail on the south side of the lake, south of the dam. When we got back from our walk, Terry made a campfire while I took a quick shower. It sure is nice to be able to clean-up after a day of camping. When I was finished with my shower, Terry showered while I enjoyed the fire. When he was done, we roasted some marshmallows and made s’mores before heading to bed.

We got up fairly early again on Sunday. We tried fishing while I was making breakfast, but we didn’t have as good of luck as we did on Saturday. I think I only caught one trout and Terry two. For breakfast we had sausage, eggs and English muffins. After breakfast, we decided to try the hike south of the dam. It was very pretty. It was only two miles long and took us just over an hour, however, we did take our time stopping for pictures and reading the highlights listed on the map. The trail was where an old lumber mill used to be so there was evidence of the lumber mill along the trail which was pretty neat.

When we got back to our site, we slowly started to pack up. We did relax for a while and did some last minute fishing and enjoyed the view of the lake before we packed up the last of our gear and headed out. We took one last walk through the loop before we left which was nice because we were able to get a better look at the empty sites for future trips. We definitely plan on coming back. We finally left a little before 3:00 and started the trip home. Luckily, the park was close enough, that we made it home and were even able to do some chores before heading to bed.

Weekend Preperation: Lake Sylvia State Park

2009-05-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last night, Terry decided that we needed to take advantage of the forecasted nice weather of this upcoming weekend and go camping. We searched online for a camp site at a never-before visited state park since we want to eventually visit all the state parks in Washington. There were several fairly close that we were debating on visiting and then Terry found the winning site since it had the description of "fish from your site". So, it turns out we are heading to Lake Sylvia State Park for this weekend. We reserved site number 24. It looks like a wooded park with 5 miles of hiking, the trail goes around the lake, swimming and fishing. Terry already thinks this will become our new favorite! When I mapped it, it appears to be about 1.5 hours away, which isn't too bad, and is situated between Olympia and the coast.

Now, we have the camper plugged in and I am making a list of last minute groceries we will need for the weekend. Amazingly, there are only 3 things on the list so far. We still have to pack our gear, but hope to leave when I get off work at 3:00. Luckily, I don't have any lunch plans, so will be able to get everything together then. I am excited to get away, just the two of us, and hope to have a relaxing weekend together.

Perfect Timing

2009-05-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I walked out the front door to get the mail, I saw this:

I am so excited my Rhodie is starting to bloom, it adds so much color to the front yard. And the timing is perfect, since my tulips have just recently passed.

Veggie Patch Planting

2009-05-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, Terry surprised my by bringing home 4 eggplants for my vegetable garden. Now, I have the entire garden planted except for my basil (which I am told it is still too early for). This year, I did square foot gardening. It really helped when I was planning out my garden and I think I got a lot more planted overall than if I did just rows as before. I had a few extra plants that I put into last year's garden. By the looks of it all, if everything grows correctly, Terry and I will be set when it comes to fresh vegetables this summer. I will keep you posted on the progress on the plants.

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

Terry and I packed the car and headed up to my parents' house to spend Mother's Day in Ferndale. We had an uneventful trip on Friday afternoon. I drove while Terry and Zeus slept. We went out for dinner on Friday night to get burgers with my parents and then went back to their house and relaxed until bedtime.

On Saturday, my mom and I both woke up feeling under the weather. My throat was really sore and she had a sinus headache and sore throat. We tried to make the best of the day and headed out after breakfast to hit the mall, several nurseries and the grocery store. I was excited and was able to find all of my vegetables for my garden except eggplant and basil. Apparently, it is still to early to plant basil. We also both got some annuals for planting in pots and added color to the garden. After the nurseries, we had to head home since we filled the back of her Jeep and had no room for groceries.

After a quick trip to the store, we took the dogs for a walk and fed the ducks and llamas. It was funny watching my mom feed the ducks since the dogs would try to sneak in and eat the bread she was throwing. We stayed up late playing dominoes after dinner.

On Sunday, I had made reservations to have brunch at Semiahmoo Resort with my parents, grandma and Ed. The weather was amazing. The restaurant was right on the waterfront, so we were able to watch boats go by as we ate and had a great view. After brunch, we headed back and helped my mom plant some of her pots (by help, I carried the potting mix onto the deck and watched). Terry and I loaded up the car and headed home a little after 3:00. Terry and Zeus both napped on the way home. We had a great weekend with lovely weather. I am glad I was able to spend Mother's Day with the one that it was meant for!

Mother's Day

2009-05-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

I seem to always get sick before trips, vacation, etc. Even as a kid, it was given that if we had something special planned, I would get sick. That is how I am feeling today. I have been looking forward to our weekend in Ferndale to spend time with my parents for the last couple weeks. I already knew the weekend would entail dividing and planting dahlias, trips to the nurseries for annuals, a special Sunday brunch with my mom and grandma, and more. But of course, I am now sick. I woke up yesterday morning with a headache, sinus pain and a sore throat; it is even worse today. I am praying it is feeling better tomorrow, but who's to say. At least there is no fever, so I am not thinking I have Swine Flu... oops, I mean H1N1.

I do want to wish all those mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day! I am fortunate enough to be able to spend the weekend (not just the day) with my mom and I can't wait. I pray that one day I will be able to spend Mother's Day as a mother, but only time will tell on that one. So for now, here is an early Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, you gals deserve it!

Orchid

2009-05-05T10:10:00.001-07:00

Since moving to Washington, I have had horrible luck with my orchids. The move overall was a hard adjustment gardening wise. I am finally getting used to the fact nurseries are not open year round, you can only buy whatever flower is in season, just about everything dies back to the ground in the winter, our veggie season is incredibly short and plants that were full shade in California tend to be full sun in Washington. But anyways, back to the orchids.

I had two and ever since we moved, they have gotten sadder looking by the day. Finally, I got tired of looking at them, but didn't want to toss them, so put them in the corner of my office. It's like having an old pet, I didn't want to put them to sleep, so I just tried to make them as comfortable as possible in a sunny window to live out their last days. I figured death was inevitable.

Yesterday, I was doing some rearranging in my office and I remembered I had orchids. They hadn't been watered for a LONG time, so it wasn't surprising one was barely holding on to its last green leaf. I brought it over to the sink to give it some water in hopes that maybe it will come back to life. I figured the other orchid would be in the same dehydrated, deathly state, however, I was wrong. As I picked up my second orchid to water, I noticed there is a small stalk of new growth. Amazing! I knew they always did better with a little neglect, but I would never have guessed the thing was actually alive enough to produce new growth. I gave it a little water yesterday and will try to keep it neglected for a few months in hopes of the growth ending with a flower. It is back in the same corner as before, however now, I have hopes that it may come back to life and that I won't have to put it to sleep for a long time.

Friday in Pictures

2009-05-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

Moses Lake Clean-up

2009-04-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Terry and I decided to join our 4-wheel drive club, the Timber Tamers, at Moses Lake for the annual dune clean-up again this year. On Friday, Terry took a half day from work so he could finish packing the camper for the weekend and getting the Jeep loaded on the trailer. We were able to leave our house at 3:15 and headed east. We hit a little traffic in Puyallup and from there, had an uneventful drive over the mountain. We stopped at Indian Jones rest stop outside of Cle Elum and met up with Ann Typer from the Tamers. The view from the rest stop was amazing. We arrived in Moses Lake around 7:00 and decided to fill up on gas and stop for food before heading into the dunes where our camping area was located. As we ate dinner in Burger King, we saw Tom and Karl drive by with their Jeeps.

We got to camp around 7:45 and started getting our camp area set up. It was nice not having to worry about making dinner. Most of the other Tamers had already arrived by the time we got there; they included: Mike, Claire, Tom, Penny, Karl, Ruth, Dan, Julie (and kids) and Ron. After unloading some gear, and grabbing a sweatshirt, we made a fire and chatted with the other club members until it was bed time. (Sometime during the night, Darren showed up and set-up his tent).

Terry and I were able to sleep in until about 7:00 on Saturday morning. The clean-up started at 9:00, so that gave us sometime to make breakfast and relax. Terry even hooked up the generator to the coffee pot and made freshly brewed coffee for him and others. For breakfast, I made breakfast burritos, which were very yummy.

At 9:00, we headed over to the dumpsters to sign-in for the clean-up. We grabbed some trash bags and headed out. I ended up walking most of the way with Zeus picking up garbage while Terry drove alongside. Towards the end of the day, we found a huge pile of buried garbage. Luckily, we had the rack on the back of the Cherokee and were able to stack up the trash to bring it back to the dumpsters. We also enjoyed watching Ann drag Darren in his Samurai across the dunes. He had broken his transfer case, so she was literally dragging him (his back wheels weren’t turning on the sand).

After a couple hours of picking up trash and 3 full bags of garbage, we headed back to camp. Zeus was exhausted and napped while I made lunch for myself and Terry. I had pre-made tuna for sandwiches, so it was quick and easy to put together. The sun was out for most of the day, however, it would occasionally get cloudy and drop a few rain drops. I was never sure if I wanted to be wearing my jacket, or a tank top.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at camp hanging out with the Tamers and watching people. Dan-O had brought a little quad for his girls to enjoy (still not sure how he fit it in the minivan) and all the guys took turns riding it around camp as well. Some of the club candidates showed up (Greg and Wyatt) with quads and a dirt bike. Karl took one of the quads out and came back a few minutes later after rolling it. Luckily, there wasn’t much damage. Some people took a drive into town for ice cream, but we opted to stay back at camp and shower instead.

For dinner, we barbequed ribs and had salad. Since we ate out on Friday night, we cooked hamburgers for Greg and Wyatt so they wouldn’t have to go into town for food (however, they did opt to stay in a hotel and not camp). After dinner, we sat around the campfire again telling stories and explaining motor-boating. Terry and I headed to bed a little before 10 o’clock and were both tired after a day in the sun.

On Sunday, we woke up and slowly started to pack. I was in charge of breakfast and made sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches. They were good. We finally headed out around 11:00. We decided to stop for lunch in Ellensburg and found a great place not far from the highway called The Roadhouse. I would definitely stop there again when passing thru. We made it home around 4:00 and unloaded the Jeep before deciding the rest could wait. We had a nice weekend away and are both excited about camping season being here again!

Weekend Yard work

2009-04-19T17:33:00.001-07:00

This weekend was the perfect weekend to get caught up on some yard work. We had fabulous weather both days and I think I may have gotten a little color from spending the days outside pulling weeds, digging up ugly plants and planting new ones. On Saturday, I focused on the front yard and on Sunday, I did some weeding in the back. Below are some before and after pictures taken on Saturday afternoon.

Front from street:

After:

Tree Rings in the front, before:
After:

Front Entry way before:

During:

Front Entry After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

While I worked in the front, Terry did some work on the Jeep and Zeus supervised. It was a great way to spend the day with the family.

And last but not least, some pictures of the back yard blooms:

Elbe Camping Trip

2009-04-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

Terry and I spent the night at Elbe with some other Timber Tamers on Saturday night. The plan was to meet up Saturday morning, do a little maintenance on our adopted trail and then spend the night in the camping area. We ended up getting a late start as one of the members from our club, Ann, hit black ice soon after she left her house and ended up with her truck, trailer and Jeep in a ditch. Luckily she wasn't hurt and there doesn't seem to be any major damage on the vehicles. Some of the Tamers were able to head up to Monroe and help with the recovery so she was able to limp home. So, instead of meeting at 9:00am, we were a couple hours late.

Terry and I left the house around 8:00 and met up with Mike Jennings for breakfast in Eatonville. By the time we were done, Rudi, Karl, Chad, Penny and Tom were only about 15-30 minutes behind us. We arrived at Elbe first and unloaded while we waited for them. As soon as they arrived, we realized no one had the gate code to get into the camping area. Karl had tried to contact Nancy with the DNR earlier in the week to no avail. Chad and Karl drove into Elbe to see if anyone knew the code. We also tried the "there is only 10,000 options, just start and 0-0-0-0 and work up to 9-9-9-9 and we will find it." After meddling with the lock for an hour or so and putting some calls into the DNR and friends, we decided to hit the trail.

Terry and I haven't really wheeled Elbe before and weren't too sure as to what to expect as there was still some snow on the ground. We started with our adopted trail first, but with the snow on the ground, we couldn't do any work so decided to wheel on. We didn't have too many issues, but did pull out the winch once to pull the Jeep away from a tree to prevent the roof hitting hard against it. Luckily, the winching worked and the Jeep just got a little kiss from the tree and no body damage from it. After a several hours on the trail, we stopped for a quick break around 4:30 or so. From there, Terry and I decided to depart the group and head back to camp and relax for a bit. We realized while on the trail the rear shackles hit the new back bumper and were getting annoyed hearing the clank.

A flexy section

Zeus watching the action

Where we decided to winch and prevent hitting the tree too hard.

A sticky spot on the trail.

The group (minus Chad & Karl)

To our luck, as soon as we got back to camp, a guy approached us asking if we could help recover his truck. Apparently, a Toyota truck got stuck on the top of one trails (coincidentally our adopted trail) so this guy backed his 2007 1-ton Ford down the trail 100 yards or so to try and recover the Toyota. However, in the process he slid off the trail. So, Terry and I hopped into the Jeep to see what we could do to help. We were able to get the Toyota our of the way first with some winching. Luckily, I was able to get a hold of fellow Tamers on the CB and by the time we got the Toyota out of the way Tom was there in his CJ-5 to help with the Ford. We snatched off a tree and hooked up to the front of the truck while Tom snatched off a winch point and held up the rear. After a few minutes, we were able to get the Ford back on the trail and onto the main road. From there, Rudi drove his Jeep down to the Toyota to help plug some tires and air him up as the rear driver tire on the Toyota was flat.
When we got back to camp, we decided that the locked gate wasn't going to ruin our fun. Rudi headed home, but the rest of us stayed the night. Terry and I had planned on sleeping on the bed of the truck under the camper shell. So, he found a level spot and I got our bed ready. In the meantime, we also carried our firewood into the camping area to the nearest fire pit and got a fire going. We also set up small kitchen area on a nearby picnic table so we could BBQ some T-bones and asparagus for dinner. After we ate, we all sat by the fire and chatted until bed time. Zeus was exhausted after the long day and fell asleep inside my jacket until we headed to bed.

On Sunday. we woke up to a beautiful day. We took our time making breakfast and packing up our gear. I made too much food for breakfast so was able to feed Mike, Tom and Chad (well, Tom and Chad had already eaten, they just had a little of our food as a snack). We had all our gear loaded and the Jeeps on the trailers around noon and headed home. Terry and I stopped for a quick bite to eat in Graham and got home around 2:00. He is now doing some maintenance on the Jeep and cutting where the shackles hit the bumper. We had a great time with our club and can't wait until the next outing in a few weeks!

Spring Weekend in Ferndale

2009-04-01T17:21:00.000-07:00

Terry and I spent the weekend at my parents' house in Ferndale. We had a great time up there and had amazing weather on Sunday. My mom decided to get more chicks this year and they were adorable. On Sunday, with the sun shining, we spent the day outside. Terry's back was hurting, so he supervised as we filled raised veggie beds with compost and soil. I also helped my dad sink some posts since he has to fence the new garden area. We had a blast over the weekend and can't wait to go back for Easter.

Rear Bumper Install, Day 2

2009-03-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Terry was able to finish installing the rear bumper. He ended up using a grinder and cut off the bolts that we couldn't reach. I helped him position it into place and tighten some of the bolts underneath. Now, we just have to finish up the tire carrier and install the mud flap brackets. Once that is complete, I will be able to drive the Jeep again.

Reiter Run Report

2009-03-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

Karl posted a run report onto our club website. I loved one of the blurbs, it describes what happened perfectly (I bolded what was going thru my mind as I lay on my side):

"Instead of getting warmed up on some easy stuff, Tom and I had conspired to head straight for the stair step. I hung back in the group and helped get folks psyched to try it out. I watched many a folk try it, but the majority of the group ended up winching. Amy seemed a bit worried about the obstacle, but after some words of wisdom from myself that went something like “I’ve only seen two rigs roll on this obstacle, one was an ass over teakettle to the bottom, the other was a mild flop. If you follow Tom’s direction you will be fine.” Amy seemed a bit timid but I assured her it would be fine. After getting the main group up, I moseyed my Jeep up the first part of the stair step and walked back down to help others with their fears. As Amy started into the obstacle, I was confident in the brief tutorial I gave her that she would pass the obstacle with flying colors. This was not to happen. As I was mingling, I heard Terry SCREAM: BACKUP! BACKUP! And I looked up as Amy’s Jeep came to rest on the passenger side. Whoops. Now it’s cowbell time as there was no way she was driving out of it. I do have a good point here. Most folks in the club tell everyone not to listen to my spotting advice, and also not to follow me. As I had not driven up it the rock yet, and also I was not there to spot. Therefore I am in a no harm no foul status for this particular portion of Reiter Trails. I drove up as the main winch to Tom’s expert rigging advice and we got Amy back on her feet. Amy’s Jeep came away with a broken mirror and also a little wrinkle in the passenger door. Due to some expert rigging by Tom and Ruthie, the rig was righted quickly and efficiently. Though to Amy it probably seemed like a lifetime. On with the fiasco, the group on top of the stair step we moseyed on with hopes of flatter ground and greener pastures. "

If you want to read the entire events of the day and see some more pictures, go to: http://timbertamers.org/reports/2009/3_21_ReiterTrails/Report.htm

Rear Bumper Install, Day 1

2009-03-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today, the rear bumper arrived for the Jeep. Terry and I spent the afternoon starting the install. We removed the original back bumper without much of an issue. I had a custom made skid plate covering the gas tank that we had to remove and will have to get it custom fitted again once the new bumper is on the Jeep. We hit our first issue when trying to remove the factory tow hitch. There are two screws that we have to remove, but there isn't much room between them and the gas tank. I am just praying we won't have to drop the gas tank.

The old bumper

Removing the old bumper with Zeus supervisor

The new vs. the old

The three impossible bolts. The gas tank is in the top of the photo and the hitch receiver is pictured in the bottom of the picture. The bolts are hex head, so we can't even get a wrench around them. Any ideas??

Carnage

2009-03-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Luckily, the Jeep wasn't too damaged from my flop on Saturday. You can see some dents in the door, the mirror is busted and the door handle itself is gone.

Reiter Run

2009-03-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Terry and I did took our first 4-wheel drive trip to Reiter with our club. We got lucky with the weather and about 12 rigs made it out for the run. The first trail we did was called the Stair Step and after about 8 years on wheeling, I finally managed to lay the Cherokee on its side. It was scary and I am glad that no one was in the Jeep with me. Also, there was relatively minor damage once we got back on all fours; the passenger side mirror broke and the door got a little dented. Luckily, someone from our club has an extra door to give us and a friend at church works at a body shop so can get it painted to match the rest of the Jeep.

After the flop, we hit some more fun trails and didn't have much issue. The front ARB, which we were having leaking issues, seemed to be fixed. There seems to be a small leak when the front is flexed and they seem to think it could be due to the front flexing too much and actually flexing the axle housing. So, our option is to truss the front and luckily if that is something we decide needs to be done, we know a great fabricator.

Overall, we had a good trip, but in all honesty, I will be a little skittish in any off-camber situations for a while. I did get back in the Jeep after the roll and continued driving for a few hours. Finally, I wanted to enjoy the fresh air and walked a little bit of the trail with Zeus.

We stopped with some other club members in Sultan for dinner and a beverage before heading home. The Jeep is now in the garage where I want to get the inside cleaned out and hope to get the new door on before our next run in April.

To see the rest of my pictures at Reiter, click here!

A Break in the Rain

2009-03-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

Today started cold but ended up being a nice sunny day. Zeus and I both decided to take advantage of the weather. After work, I did some minor pruning and then mowed the back lawn. I also put down some Moss Off as we have been having an issue with moss growing in the lawn. While I mowed, Zeus relaxed in the sun supervising. I loved how he decided to bring a toy out with him to lay in the sun. It was hard to believe that we had snow earlier this week, but there is proof of that still on the ground in the shady spots. I am definitely ready for spring to be here!

Swap Meet Weekend

2009-03-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was our annual 4x4 swap meet that our club participates in every year. It is normally a crazy, busy weekend. It starts on Friday night with our monthly Board of Directors meeting. We met at Mark & Lori's house and had spaghetti dinner and our meeting. Then, on Saturday morning the trucks and trailers are loaded and brought down to the fairgrounds and set-up begins. Terry went and helped set-up while I stayed back with some of the other wives and chatted. Normally, there is a club run on Saturday night, but this year only Mark and I were ready with our Jeeps, so it didn't happen. Terry and I did hang out and have burgers with the club on Saturday night before heading home.

On Sunday after church, Terry and I headed back to the fairgrounds. I stopped at Costco on the way and surprised our club with some pizza for lunch. They all seemed to appreciate the food. Terry and I didn't spend much at the Swap Meet. We did get my dad's Father's Day gift and Terry found some little things for himself.

The spending started after we got home. I have been wanting a rear bumper for the Cherokee for over 5 years and once we got home, I got the okay to order one. The one I originally wanted is now discontinued, but I did find a similar, if not better, one from Rock Hard 4x4. I can't wait to get it on the Cherokee. I also ordered some bolt on mud flaps so I don't have to worry about getting pulled over every time I hit the highway. I can't wait to get my parts and will post some pictures once they are installed.

Veggie Build

2009-02-28T18:04:00.000-08:00

Today Terry and I got my new vegetable garden built. It turned out perfect. We bought the lumber yesterday and worked on building it all morning. Then, we ran into town and bought a 50/50 mix of top soil and compost. We got 3.5 yards of soil and it sure did make the back of the truck sag. We hauled in about 12 wheel barrels of soil into the garden tonight before calling it a day. We still have soil to move and I can't wait until the weather gets a little nicer so I can start planting.

Getting the Lumber

Before

Terry putting in the last screws

Almost done just need some soil

Buying Local

2009-02-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

With the failing economy, I have tried to become more aware of where my money is going. I want to be more responsible with my spending and support local or US business whenever possible. My mom and I made a New Year's resolution to not by any products made in China for a year. So far, to my surprise, I have been able to keep this resolution. I have found that most products that are made in China, I can find an alternative product. For instance, I wanted a case for my camera so it doesn't get scratched since its home is in my purse. All the camera cases were made in China. Terry and I then shopped some more and were able to find a PDA case made in the USA that works perfect for my camera. Not only did I not buy from China, I also was able to support the United States. Perfect!

Now, I am focusing on buying our food locally. I would rather support a local farmer even if it may be slightly more expensive. We have been buying the majority of our meat from a local butcher shop where the meat is grain fed, free-range, has no steroids and from a farm in northern Oregon. And, as of today, we are getting out milk and eggs delivered (yes, delivered to our doorstep) every other week. It isn't that much more then buying from the grocery store and the milk is organic, and the eggs are free-range and not bleached. I also like the idea of supporting the local farm that delivers and will purchase other necessities from them as needed. They deliver everything from cheese and yogurt to ice cream and cookie dough.

I also have started my seeds for the vegetable garden I have planned. Terry and I hope to work on it this weekend. My plan is to build a fairly large garden on the south side of our house where there is currently gravel. My ultimate goal would be to get a rain barrel next to the garden for watering. Last weekend, I started my broccoli, cabbage, peppers and tomatoes indoors. I have plenty of starts peaking out of the soil already and hope to share the extras with my mom and friends. I am excited to grow our produce this year and hope the growing season is better then last year. It will be rewarding to eat our home grown vegetables knowing they are pesticide free and hopefully save some money during the summer.

I hope I am not sounding like too much of a hippie. I am just excited to eat healthier and keep pesticides out of our bodies. And, I love the idea of doing my part to support local businesses and farms. My plan is to purchase as much as possible from the United States since it is an easy way for me to do my part in helping the economy.

Denny Creek Run

2009-02-23T13:45:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, Terry and I loaded up the Jeep and headed to Denny Creek to go on a snow run with our 4-wheel drive club, the Timber Tamers. We got amazing weather with blue skies and just a slight wind. It was very pretty on the trail with a creek running on one side that it was hard to believe that we were actually on a trail between east bound and west bound I-90. Everyone had a blast and we can't wait until our next run. Now, here are some pictures which I know you have been waiting for.

To see all the pictures I took, click here.

Valentine's Day Weekend

2009-02-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

Terry and I had a nice weekend away. We left right after work on Friday and headed to our cabin on American Lake. We packed up the Jeep and as I was merging onto I-5, I got pulled over. Great, just how I wanted to spend the weekend! Luckily, I just got a warning for no mud flaps.

We made it to the cabin and unloaded our stuff and then decided to go out to dinner at Black Angus. Grandma had given us a gift card and we decided to go a day early to beat the Valentine's Day rush. Dinner was good and afterwards we headed back to the cabin with no harrassment from State Patrol.

On Saturday we woke up to sun. We didn't have any plans so decided to take the day slow. We headed over to the main part of Ft. Lewis and walked around the commsiary for a while. We thought bowling would be fun, but the bowling alley on post was closed for renovations. Oh well! We also went to the MWR and checked into boat rentals for future summer trips. That night we decided to head up to Club North for some drinks (otherwise known as Club Chub). We thought walking was safer than driving.

The club was fun and we quickly found out why it was referred to Club Chub on post. We had a few drinks and then decided to have walk back to the cabin. Soon after we started back, a MP pulled over and asked if we needed anything. He was nice and ended up giving us a ride back to our cabin. Once we got back, I laughed about getting pulled over one day and the next ended up in the back seat of a cop car.

Terry woke up sick on Sunday. Luckily, it was also raining and to our surprise, there was a TV in the cabin. We spent most of the day relaxing in the cabin. On Monday, we had to head home. We stopped on the way home and picked up Zeus and then came home and unpacked the car. We had a nice weekend and would do the cabin rentals again since they were very reasonable.

Weekend Weather

2009-02-13T07:38:00.000-08:00

I saw this headline today and loved it! It's from a paper in San Jose, CA; which is close to where Terry and I moved from when we moved to Washington.

South Bay weekend weather forecast: Think Seattle!
By Lisa Fernandez

Mercury News
Posted: 02/13/2009 06:39:41 AM PST

No, you didn't dream those raindrops pounding on your rooftop last night, and you didn't wake up in Seattle this morning.

The wet weather we're experiencing right here in the South Bay is ours for at least five more days, according to the National Weather Service.

There's even a 90 percent chance of a thunderstorm today with highs in the low 50s. There's a chance of showers from Valentine's Day all the way past President's Day.

Ironically, Seattle's weather forecast reads more like a day in San Jose: partly sunny all through the weekend.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11697189?source=rss

Weekend Getaway

2009-02-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

I am getting very excited about our plans for this weekend. Terry and I rented a cabin on the shores of American Lake in Fort Lewis. The rentals were VERY reasonably and I am definatley excited about having a long weekend with just the two of us. We will have no phones, no computer and NO DOG. We don't have anything planned for the weekend but will be bringing our bikes and possibly some fishing gear. I can't wait until work is over tomorrow so we can head out.

Quick Update

2009-02-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

On Friday, I went in for a laparoscopy. Terry and I have been trying to have a baby, and since it hasn't happened yet, the doctor wanted to do some testing. The doctor's thought I may have endometriosis and wanted to do a dye test to make sure my tubes were open. Previously, my blood test came back normal so she moved onto the next typical cause of infertility which is tube blockage and endometriosis.

The surgery went well and I felt great on Friday night. I got more sore over the weekend and today am fine except for where to two small incisions are (one in my belly button and one about 6 inches lower). The good news was that there was no endo and my tubes where open. I was a little disappointed since I was hoping if there was endo and they were able to remove it, it would increase our chances of pregnancy. But, really, I couldn't have asked for better news. I was very glad to hear my tubes were open and at least we do know now I am healthy. Thanks for all the prayers!

There is one minor concern though. My doctor said she did find a small red spot that she took off and sent to have biopsied. I asked where, and she just said we would discuss it more in my follow-up that I wouldn't remember anything she told me at the time. She didn't think it was anything to worry about, but how do you not worry when someone finds something to biopsy? I will be anxiously awaiting my follow-up on Feb 24 and, until then, will continue to pray and trust in God's plan.

D-Day

2009-02-06T07:01:00.003-08:00

Today I am going here:

To have something like this done:

In hopes of someday having one of these:

Wish me luck!

Walker Valley Work Day

2009-02-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Terry and I headed up to Walker Valley OHV to do some trail work with our 4x4 club the Timber Tamers. The club had committed to hours to help with a grant from the state and we wanted to do our part. Once we got there, we were assigned to help build a new sign for the DNR. I put up some before, during and after pictures from the day. It was cold, but a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday Dad

2009-01-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

Today is my dad's birthday, so last weekend Terry and I headed up to Ferndale for the weekend. On Saturday, my mom and I went into Fairhaven while my dad and Terry stayed home and worked. We had a great trip, but as we were walking in town, I could feel my throat starting to get sore. Luckily, the sun was out so the day was quite enjoyable.

Grandma and Ed came over for dinner where we barbecued some HUGE T-bone steaks and chicken for dinner. The beef came from Butcher Boys and the two steaks weighed 3.5 lbs total. The meat was so tender and melted in your mouth as you ate.

On Sunday, we took a drive into Blaine and checked out some future camping sites at Birch Bay State Park. We had a relaxing day and headed home after having an early dinner of hamburgers.

On a bad note, I am still quite sick. For the last two days, I have had a sore throat, cough and runny nose. I feel slightly better today and pray that tomorrow is even better.

Weight Loss Tip

2009-01-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

I had a scheduled workout with Heather today at the gym. She is great and definitely pushes me beyond what I think my body is capable of. Luckily, she is right most of the time and is able to help me get past the mental block to achieve the daily workout. Today's workout seemed easy enough: 1000 meter row followed by 400 meter walking lunges.

The row went great. I did it in under five minutes and even pushed myself for the last 200 meters to go faster than the pace I was keeping for the first 800 meters. Then came the walking lunges. Walking lunges aren't fun. I didn't realize how far 400 meters was until I was 50 meters into it. Imagine a football field, to do 400 meters would be to cross the football field 4 times. It was definitely hard, but I know it will be worth it and as Heather said, "It's great for the butt."

Okay, here is what I wanted to share. We do the lunges outside on the sidewalk of the strip mall where the gym is located. There are a few restaurants, a couple nail salons and some other generic stores. About 125 meters into it, we passed a salon where two ladies getting out of their car asked if we were stylist at the salon. By this time, I am sweating and Heather, who decided to do the lunges with me, was also breathing hard and wearing her Graham Fitness Trainer T-shirt. We replied me saying, "No" and kept on with the lunges. One of the ladies then responded with, "You know Green Tea helps you lose weight."

Heather and I both thanked her for the information and then had a chuckle between us. We found it quite interesting that this lady felt compelled to tell us this as we were both doing lunges. It's like, ya, we know, working out also helps lose weight. We both know the benefits of green tea and do drink it regularly, but it's not some miracle weight loss solution. It's not like you can say, you know I want to lose weight, maybe I will just drink green tea. Working out and eating healthy the key to being a healthier person. I still think it was a little funny and almost as bad as the guy that asked me on Wednesday as I was jogging around the buildings if I had a cigarette.

Geek Squad to the Rescue

2009-01-15T16:04:00.001-08:00

The Geek Squad came today and set up a wireless network in our house so now Terry and I can use my laptop more often. After the chaos of loosing all our personal documents when my work system got a virus, we figured having the personal computer set-up would be a good idea. I also splurged and got an external hard drive. So, if I stay current on backing up our system every month or so, we won't have the issue of lost data in the future.

I Hate Computers

2009-01-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

Most people that know me, know that I strongly dislike computers. I don't really understand them and what I don't understand I chose to also dislike. Anyways, last week, I had a virus on my work computer, which was also the computer that Terry and I have been using as our primary system for the last 2 years (well, since we moved and I started working remotely). So, I was forced to send my system to Austin to get it fixed. I was excited when I got it back on Saturday since being without Internet for 4 days was weird.

I didn't get it hooked up until Sunday evening and was having issues. I got up early today and have been on the phone for the last five hours trying to get it booted up and back to normal. I have talked to my phone company, my Internet company and 3 IT guys from my work to try and get my log in and network connections up and running again. And guess what?! It still isn't working. I can at least get online now, but am still unable to connect to my work network which is what is really important.

Oh, and to top it off, I lost my hard drive in the process. So, all of my work documents, personal documents and pictures that I had saved on my trustworthy computer are all gone. Right now, I am pretty much emotionally spent and once I get back from the gym, I will be physically spent as well. I hope this afternoon goes better than this morning has. Please pray for me.

Hangover Run 2009

2009-01-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

On Jan 1, our 4-wheel drive club goes an its annual Hangover Run. This year they chose to run the Tonga Ridge which is a little east of Skykomish off of Hwy 2. Terry, Jake and I got there with the first group to hit the trail. I wanted to have a little adventure for the day so jumped into the front seat of Tom's CJ5 so Jake could ride shotgun in the Cherokee.

Let me tell you a little about Tom's Jeep. It's a 1963 CJ5 with 36 inch tires. We were running with no doors and a bikini top. Oh, and on my side of the Jeep, there was no windshield. We were in the lead the majority of the day and as we broke trail, the snow would come through the windshield hole and up over the door jams. It got a little cold by the end of the day. He also got stuck a couple times, so I would have to jump out into waist deep snow to fetch a winch cable from the Jeep behind him so he could get a little tug.

Terry had fun in the XJ and was able to try out the new ARB. He even passed us and was in the lead breaking trail for a while. It was a ton of fun. Overall, about 11 rigs were with the group. After the run, we stopped in Sultan at Bubba's so Jake could order a beer at the bar. It was his 21st birthday. He ordered a pitcher of beer before Karl had to recommend to the bar tender to card him. With that, the day was complete. With a full belly and wet clothes, we headed home.

The group getting ready to hit the trail (Penny, Terry, Chad & Tom)

The tree that fell across the trail as we were about to leave

Looking back at Chad, yea, it was a little deep

Terry

Chad got a little too close to the culvert

Chad & Tom (I was in the Jeep on the right)

Me just a little cold

My XJ

Terry breaking trail

Gary making his way to the front

The view from my seat

Zeus had a long day so took a nap while we were loading up to head home

Jake and Terry at Bubba's

Jake's first legal shot in a bar since turning 21!

On a side note, Jake thought it was bullshit that this was called the Hangover Run, yet he was the only one hung over. At least he is feeling better now.

Preparing for 2009

2008-12-31T08:24:00.000-08:00

Today is going to be a busy day... well, actually the next four days are going to be busy days. Today we are preparing for Jake's visit. He is flying up from CA to spend his 21st birthday with Terry and me. It should be fun. Terry will pick him up from the airport this afternoon. Then, we are headed out to a New Year's Eve party. Tomorrow morning we are going on the Hangover Run with our 4-wheel drive club. It should be fun and with the recent weather, we are expecting a lot of snow. I still have so much to do to get ready for these next couple days, so I better run!

Chistmas 2008

2008-12-30T17:41:00.000-08:00

We woke up on Christmas morning to more snow. About an inch fell over night. I went in the house and visited with my parents first thing in the morning while Terry called his family to wish them a Merry Christmas. Once Terry was inside, we opened presents. It was fun to try and take time to see what people received. Terry and I surprised the family and had family pictures taken while we were at Eagle Lake over the summer. Everyone seemed to enjoy them.

After presents and breakfast, we went back outside to play in the snow. We did some more sledding. My dad brought out the 3-wheeler and my mom even came out and tugged my dad around the front yard for a little bit. After getting tired of sledding, we decided to build a snowman on the back porch. It turned out well. We also took all the dogs for a walk in the snow and made snow angels before heading inside for dinner.

Overall, the day was a lot of fun. It was nice waking up to a white Christmas and we had fun playing in the snow all day. We will have to get a bigger sled for next year though as ours finally did break.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-30T17:31:00.000-08:00

Terry and I headed up to my parents' house in Ferndale on Christmas Eve. We got lucky and even though hit rain and snow on the drive, made it up in record time with NO traffic. It was a Christmas miracle! Once we arrived, we headed into town with my parents to see the frozen Nooksack River. When we got back to their house, my dad tied a tow rope to his quad and took turns pulling us around the yard on the sled. It was a lot of fun and a good arm and ab workout.

Once the sun set, we headed inside and relaxed before heading to Jimmy and Sheri's for dinner. After dinner, Terry and my dad headed over to pick up Grandma and Ed. They came to spend the night at my parents' house so they would be there bright and early Christmas morning. As I headed to bed, it started to snow so we hoped to wake up to a white Christmas.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

2008-12-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

Terry and I are preparing to head north to see my parents for Christmas. We hope to leave this early afternoon and head north. Right now, it's raining here, but snowing elsewhere. I just hope we have a safe drive and that it doesn't take us all night. We will just have to take our time and be patient on the highway since we know there will be lots of stupid people and accidents. I just look forward to being with my family on Christmas. And I am still praying for a white Christmas!

Life with Snow

2008-12-22T11:56:00.001-08:00

There has been snow on the ground for over a week now. I think we got another 4 inches last night; it's amazing. The novelty of the snow has worn off and now I am trying to face the fact that life must go on. I don't want to have my life come to a halt because there is a little snow on the ground (well about 8 inches of snow on the ground to be exact).

I didn't want to miss my workout with Heather today due to the weather. So, I cabled up the car and headed to the gym. The roads weren't that bad, but I was glad that I had the cables in our subdivision where the roads aren't maintained and getting into our driveway. I may shovel the driveway this afternoon just for an additional workout since I haven't been able to walk. I miss the fresh air.

The snowy roads

Zeus is hating life. Terry tried to shovel a pee strip for him along the house on Sunday, but with the snow last nigh, most of it got covered. On Saturday, we had snow and then freezing rain so when walking outside, you would crunch through the top level of ice when you first stepped before falling through to hit the powder. It wasn't that hard to walk in, but poor Zeus kept falling through. His pounds per square inch were right between the staying on top of the snow and falling through.

The forecast for this week isn't going to change much. We have a chance of snow everyday with highs in the mid-thirties and lows in the mid-twenties. It looks like we will get a white Christmas!

Snow Update

2008-12-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

We have had snow on the ground since Sunday. This is definitely the most snow Terry and I have seen at the house since we moved. Last night, another storm came through and dumped about six inches of snow. I tried to take a couple pictures of Zeus in the snow last night, but they didn't come out too well.

It was also cute watching Zeus help Terry light the pilot light on our fireplace. We had it off for the summer, but decided with the chance of another storm coming this weekend and with the forecast of high winds, it would be nice to get the fireplace ready so we would still be able to get heat if needed.

Zeus and I went out this morning to take a couple pictures as the sun was coming out. The poor puppy can't even walk in the snow without his belly dragging. He would prefer to stay in the house, but he doesn't really like me out of his sight. At the moment, he is cuddled on my lap and moaning since I won't let him rest his head on my arm.

Snow Day 3

2008-12-16T09:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's high was 30.4 degress. The low today was 12 degrees and right now it's almost 18 degrees out. I think it is suppose to get above freezing today though. More snow is in the forecast for tonight. I am excited, but poor Terry is having to work major overtime. I am still enjoying it as I have the best view from me office that money could buy.

White Christmas ??

2008-12-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

When Terry and I got home from the Christmas party on Saturday night, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. It was exciting waking up on Sunday morning to snow on the ground. Since it stayed cold during the day, when we were driving home after church Sunday afternoon, there was still snow on the trees and ground. We both thought it was really pretty and hoped for more. We got lucky. As soon as we got home, it began to snow. We got about 2 inches and since right now, it is only 12 degrees out and we are suppose to get a high of 25 degrees today, it appears the snow will be around for a while.

Tamer Christmas Party

2008-12-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

Last night, Terry and I went to the Timber Tamer's Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. We dropped the Jeep off at Tom's before the party to have the new front locker installed. During that party, we sung wheeling Christmas carols and had a gift exchange. Santa even showed up and brought presents for the younger kids. Terry and I both had a good time at the party. It was fun driving home as it snowed the whole way.

Taking the Jeep in for surgery

Me & Terry

Moose leading the caroling

Getting ready to head home

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

2008-12-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

Terry and I finally got the tree up and decorated. It's our biggest tree yet and I love it. Last night, I even got most of our presents wrapped and under the tree. It's finally starting to feel like Christmas, which is good since it's only 2 weeks away. My mom also got me a beautiful poinsettia for my birthday which helps add some color and holiday cheer to our house.

Another year older

2008-12-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my birthday and I feel another year older today. Terry surprised me by bringing home a beautiful bouquet and then we went out to a nice dinner at Anthony's in Tacoma. He had the ciopinno and I couldn't resist the picture while I had the halibut. It was amazing! They have the best seafood. We even splurged and shared their blackberry cobbler for dessert. It was definitely worth it.

It is amazing how fast time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was turning 16 and getting my license to drive. Now, I am in my late twenties, I don't even think I can pull of the mid-twenties anymore. Pretty soon, I will be hitting the big 3-0. At least I have a couple years left to prepare myself for like as a thirty-something.

Pre-Birthday in Bellevue

2008-12-09T06:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after work, I met my mom and grandma in Bellevue for a pre-birthday celebration and Christmas shopping. It was fun since the streets were all decorated for Christmas and luckily, it wasn't as crowded in the mall as last year. We had dinner at Cheesecake Factory before strolling through some stores. It was nice getting to spend the evening with my family and enjoy this tradition that has been going on for the last couple years.