Fall

We have enjoyed many atypical sunny fall days here in our area. As we prepare for our big trip, we have just been having fun close to home.

[a walk in the woods outside our home]

We went for the grand opening of the 

NW Ski and Snowboarding Museum at Snoqualmie Pass...

a bit too crowded to see much but a lot of cool people from the history

of the pass were there.

[first cotton candy, at the fair]

[pumpkins at The Nursery at Mt. Si]

[catching raindrops]

[hiking Little Si; friends helped carry babies]

['car wash' fun]

[leaf crunching]

We're Finally Doing It!

Two of our goals in moving to a full-time RV life were to simplify and to travel. It took awhile to get to these goals, much longer than expected. Repairs were needed, a parking spot needed to be found, more repairs were needed, my pregnancy became high-risk, our baby was born, and so on.

Last week, we took a trip to Eugene, OR to get solar installed. After the install, we headed to Waldo Lake, where we got to enjoy a beautiful, quiet lake, warm temps, some mountain biking, and campfires. We also got to test out our new solar system and found it worked great.

throwing rocks

muck monster

on my 6-week post-c-section date, 

I hit the trail for a lakeside jog...

the boys out on the paddle board

testing his mtn biking skills 

Both B and I managed some actual mountain biking on a trail that went along the lake. It was a perfect ride to get back into the groove after a long time off the bike.

The Halo of Light Around the Moon

Ayla Mae ('Ayla' means the halo of light around the moon) was born on 8/16/2015, healthy and cute. Due to her position, she had to be delivered via c-section but momma and baby are recovering just fine. 

As far as babies go, she seems pretty easy going...so far. She eats, poops (a lot), pees on daddy when he changes her diaper (every time), and cries occasionally. She makes a lot of noises and we are trying to decide if she sounds more like a chipmunk, mouse, dinosaur, or pig. Big brother votes 'pig' and he might be right.

Big brother is making the adjustment, slowly but surely. He is going to be the best big brother ever! Speaking of big brothers, my brother and I are three years and four days apart (July) and so are Kye and Ayla. Weird coincidence!

A bunch of pics won't upload to blogger so you get only a few here. Technical difficulties!

Local Pleasures

We are not very good at hanging out inactively in our hometown area in the summertime. But since baby could come at any point (really, come on now!), we have been doing just that, trying to enjoy local tourist spots and events.

The Big Wheel on the pier

Nice views but a bit slow, you know.

We picnicked and watched the Blue Angels from a park in downtown.

Blue Angel Kye

Grange Fest at the Nursery, with Anne M.

Enjoying watermelon at our favorite river spot, Olallie State Park.

And here, our big boy on his 3rd birthday.

The Best RV Park Ever!

Doctors orders were to 'avoid travel', so we cancelled our trip to Glacier and the Bitteroot area of Montana. We decided a nice compromise was to hang out at the RV pad at my dad's place in Coeur d'Alene.

80 acres, panoramic views of the lake, and loads of quiet except for the noises of various birds, honey bees, grasshoppers, frogs, and the occasional elk bugling. Plus some time with grandma and grandpa. Not too bad, right?!

My amazing hubby surprised me with a birthday present of a 'spa day' at the Coeur d'Alene Inn: a pregnancy massage, facial, and pedicure. I've never done a true 'spa' experience and it was pretty awesome. That evening, we enjoyed a nice dinner on the back patio with a lovely sunset. I'm looking forward to another great year.

While in town, we got a couple visits in with my best childhood friend and her fun family. Here, we enjoyed playing and swimming at the Mica Beach.

[K is pretty sweet on this little girl]

[the clan with K & I...me looking ridiculously huge and uncomfortable
(did a little too much that day).]

[K thought it was awesome to have a bunch of kids in his Airstream room. 

Five kids in one tiny space!]

[The kids get a lesson on honeybees from Grandpa Dale.]

We also enjoyed an evening kayak and paddle board session at Loff's Bay, unpictured as we don't have dry bags for our camera yet.

Paddling around the marshy ends of this lake are some of my best memories as a child. I sat in the middle of my grandparents' large aluminum canoe while they paddled. I imagined myself to be a little 'Indian' girl (that was the term we used back then). We were quiet as we looked and listened for birds and wildlife. Thirty-plus years later, K sat quietly in front of me, while we dipped our paddles in quietly and looked and listened. We saw a little turtle, a heron, some geese, and a few fish.

On another day, B went fishing on the St. Joe (also unpictured...sorry). It turned out to be quite a long drive but he enjoyed himself anyway. We will try to go back there to camp and fish more. While he was away, I played in the shop with the router and scroll saw, making a sign for a friend's yard.

[K occupied himself with a 'construction project'.]

[the almost finished trail sign]