The last day in Oregon

Our last day with Gary and Chris was a wonderful one even though we just stayed near the house.  There was a small breakfast for everyone because we were still recovering from all the excitement and fun from the day before.  The dogs must have known we were staying "put" for the day because you could tell they were anxious for a walk with the girls.  So one more trip was made out to the field to burn off all the excitement they had.  Afterwards, plans were made to go get some yummy chicken for a picnic and then do some exploring near the house.

We made our way up to Bald Peak State Park, not too far from the house.  Beautiful views from the top of that big ole' hill.  On a clear day, when looking east, one can see 5 of the biggest mountain peaks around the area (Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier).  That doesn't happen often though from what we hear because of the constant cloud cover and the rain that moves in.  So if you are in the area on a bright, sunny, clear blue sky day, run up to Bald Peak to see the mountains.  We saw 2 on the day we were there.  On the west side of the peak you could see Tualatin Valley.  Very pretty and green.  That is when Gary and Chris had a wonderful idea to head over to Hagg Lake and have the picnic and walk the trails for a bit.  Great idea guys!  It turned out to be much better than fighting the wind at the peak.

So off we went to devour the yummy KFC that was bought and to discover new things.  After all the food was eaten there were rocks to be thrown into the water.  It is well known by now that anytime you have Brenna around those two items (rocks & water) there will be some throwing to see how big of a splash can be made.  There was even some rock skipping lessons further down the trail.  5 was the most skips we counted, can't remember who accomplished that though.  Too many rocks being tossed to really pay attention.  A few more good skipping stones were found and put into pockets to be saved for another skipping area, then off to another part of the trail to be explored.

Down the trail a bit another spot was found off the trail.  Chris and the girls had to throw their last precious stones out in the lake but the waves did not cooperated for excellent skipping.  Better luck next time they decided and off for more hiking.

You must know that another thing the girls always do when hiking is the search for the perfect hiking stick.  Very few hikes end up with the same stick throughout the entire hike.  Too many choices out there to test out.  Em found hers first and was pleased with her choice.  Brenna then felt the pressure to find one for herself.  There was a moment on the trail when all the adults turned their backs for just a quick moment and then we heard Em squeal "oh my gosh!".  When we turned around we saw Brenna trying to wrestle with a "tree" that she had picked for her walking stick.  The limb was so heavy for her that it was throwing her around where she stood just from trying to lift it and balance it.  We laughed so hard it hurt.  That girl is determined.

As you can tell in this pic we convinced her that the "tree" would not be a good choice and she picked another, much smaller version.  The compact model.  :)

It was a beautiful day down by the lake.  Very pretty scenery.  The boys were enjoying the day with sharing common interests in hiking, exploring and just anything to do with nature.  We caught them in a "Lewis & Clark" moment down by the lake.  Too funny!

After our bit of hiking we were off to see a different spot of the lake where there is a pier where you can walk out over the water and see another pretty view of the lake.  The girls thought that was cool to be up over the water.  There was a gentleman and his wife who were fishing off the banks and showed the girls what they had caught so far.  Brenna thought that was cool and wondered if there were sharks or whales out there.  Isn't funny what is just sitting in those little minds, just waiting to pop out.  I love it.

I was able to catch a wonderful moment with the girls adoring each other.  The two of them love each other to no end, even though some days you would wonder.  Usually that is only when two little ones get tired.  I always try to hit home to them that they need to be kind and loving to one another because one day there may be a time when all they have is each other.  I do see where teaching them to like, love and depend on each other has hit home for them and can only hope that it is forever.  Brenna says Em is her best friend for life.  I'm feeling a tear coming on.  Okay, it's gone as I hear the two of them disagreeing about something in the other room.  Gotta love it.

So after another wonderful afternoon, back to the house we went past the twisty turny road.  It was nice to see that there are other not so freaky options for getting to the other side of the hill where the house is.  It was hard getting thing together for our trip home.  We didn't want to leave Gary and Chris.  The girls told them to go ahead and move now and they could stay with us.  After packing all of our stuff in the truck, we cleaned the "bus" out so it could be brought back to Bill.  Gary said he was shocked about that and didn't expect that.  He was just glad to help us have a great time together.  You are awesome Bill!  Then there was baths to had and then some serious snacking and scrounging to had be had for dinner.  It was funny to see some of the choices that were being made.  No one is picky in this group.  Sometimes those are the best dinners.  Especially when there was a game of cribbage to be played.  All I can say is that the girls did not get doubled skunked.  Sorry Chris because I know I'm not the best partner in this game.  But it was fun!  At the end of the evening Matt, Gary & Chris' son, made it in from the 2 hr. drive from Fort Lewis.  He wanted to see us again before we left early in the morning.  It was nice to see how much he had grown also.  Especially since he decided to go into the military.  Very proud of him!  There was another game to be played and then it was off to bed for everyone since we were leaving early.  I don't think anyone wanted to the trip to end because the four of us stayed up late yacking when we should have been sleeping.

It rained hard during the night and it had slacked off a bit in the morning.  It took forever to get in the truck and back out of the driveway.  But finally we were headed down the road, back for home.  We thought about stopping at the falls again but it was raining too much.  The storm that had come in over the night was dealt with for the entire trip back home until about the last 1 1/2 hrs.  At least it wasn't as windy and Glenn didn't have to hang on for dear life to keep the truck on the road.  I wasn't impressed when we had to go back up Deadmans Pass.  The clouds were so thick all the way up the road that you couldn't see 3 or 4 white lines ahead of you.  I tried not to focus on that and was reading the map even though I knew where we were going.

It was good to get home.  But that was short lived as we were bringing things in the house and I made my way downstairs to the computer room.  The leak was back and it was louder!  My stress level went up and I was sick to my stomach for a few days until we FINALLY located the stupid leak and got a plumber in to fix it.  And yes, it was under the slab foundation of the house.  Luckily the new water line did not have to go under the house and it was run through the walls of the furnace room.  So now I am noise free and I'm not asking everyone "what's that noise".  At least not as much.  The only noise I have to deal with now is the rock tumbler that had to be started as soon as we got home.  :)  Love it.

The rest of the week that Glenn had off was spent exploring areas we have never been around our house.  That is a goal of ours to make sure we are not wasting days sitting at home when there are places to be seen and explored.  It seems that there are different priorities around here for the last couple of months and we are liking it.  Glenn and I are making the most of things and making sure the girls are growing up with some wonderful memories other than sitting in front of the boob tube and playing video games.  Life is not all about work but spending as much time together as possible.  Em said it's sad to think of all the other people who put petty material things at the top of their list and don't put family first.  YES!!  I'm so proud.  So off we go for some exploring that will be remembered forever.

It's going to be a scorcher here today and the girls are itching to play in the sprinklers.  I've got to go find something easy for dinner that doesn't include the oven.  I'm trying not to use the A/C until the very end of the day.  I had all the windows open at 6am to let all the cool air in the house.  Hope everyone has a FAB day and I will be in the shade with some lemonade finishing the latest crochet project I started.  Hopefully today.  :)

Toodles!!