Help, It's Melting!

Thankfully the rain didn't start to early, so the kids had plenty of time to play in the snow before it started to melt.

 

They did quite a bit of snow plowing with their heavy equipment.

Good times and great memories; and then the snow turned into rain.

Fun During Our Snowmageddon!

First thing in the morning they were both out playing.  Running, jumping and squealing around the yard.

Then while Clayton took a nap, we were out again playing.

This was the perfect place to dry our boots and gloves.

 

 Hot chocolate was a tasty way to warm up our insides.

Then it started to snow again......

 

 

 Time to go out and play again!

Snowball fight!!

 

 

They were back out again after dark.   I think they were in and out about 7 different times throughout the day.  And we got about 6 inches of snow, which is totally unheard of for this area. 

Everything was so beautiful with the snow, and we feel very thankful and blessed to have been able to enjoy  this rare storm.

 

 

But alas after our 6 inches of snow, the forecast turned to endless days of rain..... ok, not quit endless.
Our fun was about to be washed away.

Field Trip to Hood River (part I)

Thursday is Andy's day off and we usually try to do some sort of family activity after Carson gets done with school.  But this week we decided to have a field trip day and spend the whole day adventuring.  We decided to explore a little of Hood River- it is about 3ish hours from us.   

We left the house around 8:30am.  The kids were so excited!

Here all three of them are entertaining themselves with their own personal computers.

We took a couple of pictures of Multnomah Falls as we breezed past.  Promising to return someday soon and explore.

We stopped for gas and ran into an Idaho friend of ours.  It was such a surprise to walk into the gas station and see her, and so wonderful to chat for a few minutes.  She suggested we stop at the Fish Hatchery.  Just like she said, this hatchery is so very cool!!

There were big fish...

and tiny fish...

and lots of room to run and  explore.

They had well-done landscaping and beautiful fall flowers.

Meet Herman, the ginormous sturgeon.  He was huge!

While we were there, a man was re-painting the fish on the pavement.  I was trying to help the kids do a little critical thinking and was in the process of asking why they thought the cones might be there.  Before the words got all the way out of my mouth, Kenzie started to weave in and out of the cones. I quickly halted her progress and Andy helped her clean the paint off her shoe so we didn't track white paint.  So much for critical thinking.

They had so many fish ponds...

For a quarter you could buy a handful of fish food and feed these fish.

Lunch was a peanut butter sandwich picnic.  These three jumped and ran while they ate. 

Within walking distance of the hatchery was a Oregon trail historical marker.  Of course we had to check it out. Thankfully there was no Chinook wind blowing so we didn't hear the wailing of the unhappy Indian maiden.

Beacon Rock

My littlest man taking a nap.

We also drove through the Bonneville Dam area.  It would be really neat to be there when a big boat would come through.

Then it was on to the beautiful town of Hood River.



Please stay tuned for part II.

Sand And Sun And The Little Red Car That Got Stuck.

Recently we spent a little time playing in the sand at Pacific City.   The sun was mostly shinning and it was almost warm.  We are trying to take advantage of the sunshine, because the rain is coming!

 



This guy loved the sand. 

The waves were high and before we left, the clouds and fog had started to roll in.

Much to our amazement and our amusement, this small car cruised out onto the beach, like it owned the place and preceded to drive right into loose, dry sand and get very stuck!   It is possible to carefully drive on the beach and not get stuck , you just must use wisdom.  But I am guessing this may have been a new-to-sand- driver.  Even more interesting was the fact that 5 people and a guitar were jam packed into this tiny car. 

I guess it's all about the adventure and the making of memories.

Unfortunately we had to leave before their very small car was free from the sand.