Apple Cup 2017

This was a special day and a special game because this was Colson's first time attending a college (or Pro) football game!  And what a game to be going to:  The Apple Cup! 

Both Colson and I were excited to go, thanks to the neighbors, Greg and Brenda who gave us the tickets. I love football, but I was even more excited to take Colson, who LOVES football, to his first game. 

We rode up on the Link, which is so nice.  Drops us off right at the stadium. 

We were there plenty early to hang out on the practice field, buy a football and play catch.  Then we headed to our seats. 

The Huskies dominated the game.  It was loud and exciting (and a little sad for the Cougars)!  We had a great time and headed out before it got too busy on the Link.

Great memories! 
Enjoying every moment. 

Double Digits!

October 2017

How can this be!?
Cannon is turning 10.  Double digits!  This is a big birthday!

Cannon decided to have his birthday party at the property.  He invited just a few friends out to ride quads and dirt bikes around.  They ate snacks, had birthday cupcakes, and roasted s'mores.  The day was perfect for late October.  Sunny skies and just the right temperature.  The boys had so much fun riding.  They all would have stayed longer if they could have!

What a great day celebrating an amazing and wonderful young man. We are so proud of what he has accomplished.  Cannon is a great friend, an amazing student and positive role model.  We love him more than words can express!

Enjoying every moment. 

Halloween

October 2017

It's that time of year again. Mountain Meadow's Autumfest.  Thank goodness Chris is creative.  He got the boys all ready to go.

Enjoying every moment.

Home Grown Pumpkins

October 2017

Last year I threw the small pumpkins we had in the raised beds out back.  Well, we had some little sugar pumpkins grow, as well as some other types of decorative pumpkins.  It was so fun to see all of them growing.  The vines were huge, covered the box and grew all out around it.  

After Chris cut some of the pumpkins, we arranged them out on the front porch.  They make me happy! 

Enjoying every moment.

New Kitten

September 2017

I decided Harley needed a friend to hang out with.  I didn't want another dog, so we decided to get a kitten. 

Enter the cutest little kitten ever! 
After a lot of discussion, we decided to name her....I mean him, Quinn.  At first, we thought the kitten was a girl.  Then realized she was a he.  Sigh. 

It's so fun to have a kitten in the house.  Quinn was scared at first of both DC and Harley, but now Harley and Quinn get along great and they play a lot.  It very entertaining watching the two of them together. 

Enjoying every moment!

Oyster Run

Oyster Run 2017                     September 23-24                     Anacortes, WA

We have enjoyed the Oyster Run for the last few years.  This year was another beautiful weekend.  The views from our RV spot are amazing.  By this time in September, I am happy for time away to do a bit of relaxing.  This year, I was working on Gonzaga papers, but it was still nice to be away from home.  

The view from our RV. 

This year, Mindy looked up an apple orchard that was close by.  It was fun to do something different and we had so much fun walking through the rows and rows of apple trees, trying each type of apple.  We ate A LOT of apples! 

The boys were all tired from our trek through the orchard. 

Great picture of Cannon and Colson!

Another new adventure this year.  We went up to a look out in Anacortes and did a tiny bit of hiking.  The boys loved climbing on the rocks and we enjoyed a new spot with amazing views. 

Donuts for breakfast!  It's so hard to choose! 

As always, I enjoy riding and walking the trail that goes along the water.  One of my favorite things to do! 

Some small seals were coming up on the rocks to sun themselves. 

Enjoying every moment.

PLC Conference in Seattle

We had a 2 1/2 day PLC Conference in Seattle the middle of August, 2017.  It is a long conference.  But there is a lot of learning happening.  It's also kind of nice to be staying in a fancy hotel and enjoy the sights.  I stayed in a room with Jen and we did some walking around town.  We had beautiful days and evenings.

It was also Chris' and my anniversary.  He had flowers sent to me at the hotel.  They were beautiful...and it was a wonderful surprise!  

Enjoying every moment.

Solar Eclipse

A huge event in August 2017 was the solar eclipse.  People all over were flocking to areas of the "path of totality" where they would see a total eclipse.  In Sumner, we didn't see a total eclipse, but it was close.  It definitely became darker (not like at night).  We watched a lot of news on TV and were able to take it in from the TV as well as outside. 

 Here is a picture from outer space.

Colson, with Chris' welding helmet on, looking at the sun.

Another photo I took from the TV.  This was from down in Oregon.

Enjoying every moment.

July 2017 Road Trip

Cannon was reading all of the Little House on the Prairie books.
I had read them all when I was younger.
My mom had read them.

So of course, we needed to take a trip to visit some of the places in the books.

Mom, the boys and myself headed off on a 10 day road trip that took us to Desmet, South Dakota.  We traveled through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota.  It was a great trip and we got to see AMAZING sights.

One great stop we made was a tour of a mine.  The boys got to pan for real gold and then we all entered the Broken Boot Gold Mine.  It was interesting learning for all of us!

We spent a few hours in Deadwood, walking through shops, eating ice cream and watching a pretend gun fight. 

One of the highlights of the trip was time spend at Mount Rushmore.  It was totally breathtaking and amazing to see in person.  We loved the video telling the story behind the making of Mount Rushmore.  The museum was awesome, as was the wonderful walk around the grounds.  Totally worth it and we would go again in a heartbeat. 

We found an adventure park after our visit to Mount Rushmore.  Cannon went zip lining for the first time!  We rode the chair lift up to the top and then went down the slides. 

Another stop on our trip was to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is still under construction. 

One of our favorite parts of the trip was our two days in Desmet where we were able to take in an outdoor play based on one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. 

We also visited the Ingalls Homestead, which is on the very land that the Ingalls family homesteaded.  This was a big hit for us all.  There was a lot to do for everyone and we spent a number of hours here. 

We also went to the cemetery to see the graves of most of the Ingalls family. 

We took a tour of the surveyors house that the Ingalls family lived in when they first came to Desmet.  We also toured the house Pa built in town and one where Ma and Pa eventually lived out the rest of their lives.  Such history!

It was a wonderfully amazing trip! 
Enjoying every moment.