Hitting the Trail Again

November 05

Ever since we hiked the Canyon Creek Forest 3 years ago, we said we would return. At the time the trail was not finished and crossing the "raging" creeks without a bridge was quite traumatic for Ethan. I guess if you were his size, it (the creek), would have looked a little like Niagara Falls. The trail is now completed, but we still did not make it all the way to the top. This time we were racing against the clock. When you start a hike after 1pm in the winter, you don't have that much daylight left. We did make it to the old growth forest, but no one minded turning around, everybody was looking forward to great pizza at the North Fork Beer Shrine. So many people have raved about their pizza, but to us, no pizza was ever worth about a hour wait, specially after you have hiked or skied all day. This time, probably due to "shoulder season", we found empty tables right away. The pizzas are really good, where else would you even attempt to eat a pizza like the "monster", with toppings like jalapeno, anchovies, pineapples and a bunch of other weird combinations? (You do end up paying the next day if you are brave enough to attempt it). We were joined my our friends, the Mchughs, and had a good time hiking, chatting, eating pizza and even had a surprise chocolate cake to celebrate Shawn's birthday.

November 08

Time to Gather . . .

. . . LEAVES

And leaves did we have! The sun was out, the leaves were all down and dry and we also had strong and healthy boys. What a great combination! The task was done quite quickly. Even our friend Ethan, who came over to play with the boys, joined in for the hard work. The one thing I found out, is that gathering leaves by the bundles, will stain your sleeves and not even good old bleach will get those out. Good thing the boys were wearing their war clothes. A few more stains will only add to the character.

I believe that some hard work in the outdoors also adds to the character!

Happy Birthday to my Dear Husband

What a blessing to have you in our lives! I could not have dreamed of a more loving and thoughtful husband. I could not have wished for a better father for my kids. We love you pray that God will bless us with many, many more years to celebrate. Here is to a great man! Happy Birthday!

Treasure Hunt

Today our pirates went out in search of treasure (aka http://www.letterboxing.org/). We had some nice, rainy and relaxing days over the weekend, but today it was time to get out and move again! With Christian being off school and Shawn taking a vacation day, we claimed this day for family fun. We were successful in finding the box, plus some more treasures and curiosities.

We spotted an interesting claw mark on this tree. It gave some of us a chill in the spine and made us be a little more aware of our surroundings. Could it be a cougar? Or a bear? Maybe Sasquatch is alive and well after all.

This is beautiful Beaver Pond, where there was evidence of a lot of beaver activity, but no beaver sightings this time. Can you find the last of our treasures? At least it's a big treasure for the boys. as for me, I happy to keep my distance (behind the camera)!

Time With Family

Memories are something we can give our children that is free, yet priceless at the same time. I believe that the memories with grandparents are even more precious. This was one of those weekends, where the boys made some good memories with their grandparents as they listen to them talking about their childhood. I remember so many stories my grandparents told me, and I'm now passing them on to our kids. I only wish I had heard and retained even more!! So I really treasure this time the boys can have with their grandparents. I'm sure that playing krokono with grandpa and grandma will also always stay with the boys as special moments, especially since their grandpa made this board for us. It's one of our favorite games to play, so great for all ages. and this board is already a family heirloom!

"The Experience"

This year our boys wanted to experience the real "trick or treating". Our streets have never been the best for this activity, having no side walks, street lights and being very curvy. We have gone to a couple neighbors in the past and then headed to safe indoor festivities. So this year we went to our friends, the Davis's, new house in a new neighborhood just perfect for trick or treating. I really don't know who had more fun, the dad's or the kids, and at the end, they came home with plenty of sweets. Nolan even showed me the educational value of all the candy by building a symmetrical structure.

A week before Halloween I told the boys to think about what they wanted to dress up in so we could find the props. I refuse to buy ready made costumes when we have so much "dress up" stuff around the house, and besides, what a great opportunity to get creative. The boys kept changing their mind up to a few hours before we left. This is what they came up with, Christian as "the shadow warrior", Nolan as "Davy Crockett", Ethan as a "sheriff" and Shawn as a "hobo".

My all time favorite costume was when the boys went out as the "Three Amigos". Even back then I had to persuade them this was a great and creative prop. I have not been able to convince them to try it again.

Our Next Taekwondo Master

Today Nolan told me he thought about something else he might want to be when he grows up. It had been a firefighter helicopter pilot until now, or anything else to do with the environment. So that's the direction my mind was going, but not his. " I want to be a Taekwondo Master". It really did not surprise me since he loves Taekwondo. After asking for a while, he finally started taking classes this fall, and I have never seen him as focused and dedicated to something as he is in this class. He also has a great role model, since Master Choi, the studio owner, is a world champion and a very nice man who really loves the kids. So now that we have one black belt in our family, we are starting the journey all over again. Not that it ends at the black belt level. Do you know that there are nine more degrees and six levels in each degree after black belt? Yeah, I did not know it either until Christian got his black belt and I asked, what's next!! And that's only the beginning of your training to become a "master". So how is that for a long term goal? All I can say is, just keep on smiling!