Boy did we have a fun summer! We bought a National Park pass in June and we've used it 9 times! It paid for itself the third time we used it!

Today we are off on a new adventure....
To The Olympic Nat'l Park. 

My handsome hubby!

  The view of the Olympic Mountains from the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center is really an amazing sight to see.

 

My honey and me on top of the mountain

                      

Here are some of the tree's in the rainforest, all mossy.

These trees crossed the road to make an "A" frame.

This cedar tree was huge. It was six trees that grew together.

The coast was amazing with all the huge logs that have been taken out  to sea by the waves, then washed up on the shores.



It was such a fun quick trip. We are so blessed to live in an area with such beauty so close.



 We went through an artsy little town called Port Townsend.

...Sorry, I just can't help myself. Oh, and while on this street, in this very block...there was this ped. xing sign, and .....

If you need to cross a street anywhere in the world, this is probably the most safe place to cross!

Ugh!

I'm cleaning out all the old drafts of posts and I just accidentally deleted my last post (that wasn't a draft). It was about 9/11, and I don't have the emotional energy to write it again. Wah Wah Wah.

We are sitting in our bedroom watching a Mitt Romney video on Ron's computer. Suddenly we can hear the beautiful sound of two angels singing "I Like to Look For Rainbows" coming from the bedroom down the hall. It's bedtime for two little boys. Angels I tell ya. Angels.

...and so he did!

He said: "Where would you like to go?"

She said: "Take me someplace beautiful, I've never been before."

He said: "Watakushi wa chodo subarashi tokoro ga arimasu."

                                       ...and he did.

Ron took me to Kobayashi Park. I was thinking...green grass, playground equipment,,,nope. There is a cool Mid-Century Modern house on the property, probably originally belonging to the Kobayashi family. We looked thru the windows of the abandoned house, to find a tiny kitchen that looks like the last occupant had some kind of a fire. I love that era of architecture, and could imagine myself ( and a small army) gutting the place and bringing it back to it's former late fifties glory. The back of the house over-looks the joining of Chambers Creek and Leach Creek, with tall cedar trees and overgrown brush lining the foot path along the creek. It is beautiful....
except for these guys...

 

 

 

 

and these guys................

 

 

 

 

...and they were all over the place, and spiders FREAK.ME.OUT!   

 But other than that, I could totally live there...after I called the Terminex man.

P.S. After I posted this on my blog, an article came out in our local paper concerning this very house. I was wrong about the Kobayashi's being the original owners. And the home was built in the early 60's, not the late fifties.( But I was close).

Read more here:

 

How exciting, the first day of school!

All of our school age (and pre-school age) grandchildren have started school. We wish we could be with each one of them! Here's Cole on his first day of Kindergarten (can you say 'deer in headlights'?) with his big sister Ella, who started 3rd grade in Utah.

Next is Logan on his first day of Kindergarten, with his little brother Landon who started preschool in Washington.

Next is Nathan, ready for his first day of Kindergarten in Utah.

...and Nathan's brother Tyler going to his first day of 2nd grade in Utah.

Next is Elly, starting Kindergarten in Arizona.

...and Elly's brother Owen, who started preschool this year.

We love all our granchillun's! And want them all to "have the day they're going to have!" :) (I have no idea what's up with Tyler and Elly's picture size! I'll have to figure that out!

An outing to the cemetery

I took my cute little Primary Activity Day girls to the cemetery this week.

We talked about our ancestors and did some rubbings on some pretty cool headstones. And they didn't seem to be the least bit freaked out that we were in a cemetery.

Each girl chose a headstone and did their rubbings. They turned out pretty cool too! (let's only use that "pretty cool" term once in this post, shall we? They did turn out awesome!

Afterward, we took Brooklyn to her soccer practice, and celebrated her birthday with big chocolate cupcakes. She will be leaving our group and moving up with the 10 and 11 year olds. :(

It is so funny to drive in the car with these girls and listen to all six of them chattering away with each other. They really are good girls, and this has been a super fun calling. I'm going to miss them when we leave on our mission.

Fall

This has always been my favorite time of year. I love everything about Fall. I grew up with the mountains literally out my back door, and I miss seeing them changing colors. I love the crispness of the Autumn chill in the air, the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet, and the tartness of biting into a fresh picked apple. I love the smell of ditches being burned by farmers, and roadside pumpkin stands that have a bucket and a sign that says "honor system". I love shopping for new school clothes and shoes. I love the smell of a brand new box of crayons and freshly sharpened pencil shavings. I love bottling fresh peaches, then proudly standing back, looking at the rows of gleaming golden quart bottles on the shelf. I love that smell the first morning the furnace kicks on, and wrapping up in the ugliest, but warmest crochet afghan made by Grandma. I love it all. What do you love about Fall?