Couple of Road Trips

Two weeks ago, last monday, I made a last minute decision to take a trip south to California. We had a great drive south and the kids did very well. There were only a few complaints along the way. All the kids had their jobs: Bowen was the navigator; Jimmy was in charge of safety; Emma was in charge of silliness; and Andrew was in charge of sleeping (which he did VERY well).

These deer ran across the road in front of me...it was a beautiful site during the daytime. Later that night as I was driving in the dark along I-97 through Oregon, more deer ran across the road in front of my car. I was darned lucky that the deer decided to move out of the way, as I had decided not to swerve to avoid hitting it.

All the kids enjoyed seeing their grandparents, and we were very busy on several outings during the time we were there. We went to the park, went to the circus, went to another park, went to Costco, went to ride on the Sunol to Niles Canyon train, and probably some things I am not remembering at the moment! As it turned out, the kids were able to see all of their cousins in California, which made me really happy. It was really fun seeing the little kids find a common bond with the older cousins by putting money into the gumball machines at the pizza parlor! (okay, I had fun doing that too!) I have a few 'charms' hanging from my purse and my cell phone.

Along the drive to and from Washington, we stopped at several Dams: Rocky Reach, Rock Island, John Day, Shasta, Bonneville, The Dalles, and Wanapum Dams. I also was able to stop at the Crooked River Gorge in Oregon, just as the sun was setting. I tried to get a picture of the kids there, but they weren't very cooperative during that stop!

As it turned out, most of the dams had little parks where the kids could stretch their legs and use the restroom. This trip was much easier on Mom--maybe the kids are getting better at doing road trips!

The kids also enjoyed visiting some family near Portland, OR...here's Emma petting the doggy. The kids are really liking any time spent with dogs and cats. It helps to bring the kids out of their shells.

Thursday evening, when we were nearly home, I had to stop for gas in Quincy, WA. That's where I heard a little noise and sensed that I was being watched....I looked down on the ground a saw the little albino praying mantis there on the curb next to the gas pump. So, you know me...had to get a good picture of it! It's getting harder to find interesting creatures to feature in the 'sitings' section! Funny--I haven't seen a praying mantis since I was a little kid...Then last Tuesday evening, my sister-in-law and her husband showed me a picture of a praying mantis that they saw in Oregon. The, low and behold, I see one in Washington!

So, I said that we made a couple of road trips....well the second trip was to a wedding in Western WA...I'll have to leave that story to my next posting...Lots more pictures to sort through!

Long Damned Dam Outing!

Today we took a pretty long day trip to see some dams that we hadn't yet taken the kids to. We left Entiat, and traveled up 97A to Wells Dam. This dam has extensive fish spawning areas and fish ladders. It also has a nice small park with restrooms and viewing area. No tours available as far as I could tell, but a nice place to stop.

Next, we continued up 97A and then headed East on 173 which eventually brought us to Chief Joseph Dam. Boy, I didn't realize how BIG this dam is! Since 9-11, security at all of the dams tightened, and it is less accessible to visitors. However, Chief Joseph Dam was offering a tour, which we made it just in time for. No cameras (damn!!!), no purses, no cell phones....the tour guide was from the Army Corps of Engineers, and she tolk us all about the dam as she drove us across the section with the turbines. As we drove, we passed several members of the Colville Indian tribe, who are the only people allowed to fish from the dam. There were about 20 tribal members fishing. Chief Joseph Dam has no fish ladder, so the salmon and any other fish going up stream are at a dead end, so to speak. To my knowledge, the Colville tribe was hurt badly when the Grand Coulee Dam was built...they relied so heavily on the fishing on the other side. Anyhow, the tour was FABULOUS at Chief Joseph Dam. The kids did pretty well, too. I did get a shot of the dam from an outside viewpoint, though no pictures are allowed to be taken inside.

Next, we headed to Grand Coulee Dam. First we stopped at a view point, and I was able to get a pretty good picture from far away. Grand Coulee is the largest concrete structure in the U.S. Very impressive to see. But, after going through the previous tour, we didn't have the energy to do much walking in the visitors center.

The other dams that we saw today are Dry Falls Dam (small dam at the base of Coulee Lake), Lake Chelan Dam (which is actually on the Chelan river, not the Columbia), and the one we see all the time: Rocky Reach Dam.

I'm glad we did the trek today...we won't need to do that again for a long while!

Bowen has taken to map reading, and he loves to pour over maps to find the dams and airports. He's reading very well, and if he's not reading a map, he's drawing one of his own!

On the home front, our house in CA has closed, and we've finally placed the order for our new house. It could take up to 17 weeks to be delivered and set up....around Thanksgiving, but with any luck it'll happen sooner. Lots of work to do in the meantime, and we're hoping to get a garage built before the home is put on the property.

I could write more about all the things we've been up to, but I'm too tired! Enjoy the pictures!

Snake Eyes

Today is the first day that the kids are to help feed the local dog, Shelby, and the local cat, Smokey. So, I took the kids over and watched as the dog and cat were fed. Afterward, I sat and watched as the kids played outside on the swing playset and in the dirt with the trucks. After about ten minutes, Bowen hollered, "snake!" so I went over to take a look. Hiding under the dump truck was a small snake....making a distinctive 'rattle' sound. I knew immediately that I had to kill this snake... Quickly looking around, I spotted a small garden shovel with a long handle. Getting into a good position, I yelled "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH OMG!" as I whacked at the snake with a small shovel! After 3 good whacks, the snake's head was 'removed' and I could relax and try to think of what to do next!

Needless to say, we didn't stay long after that! Since the dog and cat seemed extra interested in the snake parts, I felt that I had to take it all with me. Plus, (you know me!) I wanted to get some good pictures of it. So, there you have it. My first, and hopefully LAST rattle snake kill! And I like this picture of him SO much that I won't be bothered if I never get another chance like that!

Summer's Here...So is Fire Season!

We have a small troupe of chipmonks that like to steal food from the bird feeder out on the back porch. The kids have affectionally named them, "Chip-monkey Goodness", and they get rather excited when they are at the feeder in the mornings. I finally got a decent picture of one of them, so here it is.


Well, I suppose since the temperatures were up so much on the 4th of July, it shouldn't be a surprise that we have a nearby wildfire. The Easy Street fire started around 2pm on saturday, in the hills north of Wenatchee. I've heard it was started by pyrotechnics, but also heard it was someone 'breaking' the burn-ban by trying to do a controlled burn. Don't know what the truth is, but that person has been charged by the authorities. Today, I drove up highway 2 and could see the blackened hills, and it was pretty clear how close the fire came to some of the houses on the hill. There was no visible smoke today, and the spokesman on the radio says it is now 80 percent contained, and hope it'll be fully contained by tomorrow evening. So, a little excitement, but it is far enough away from us that we need not worry.





I have to say that I had such a good time going to that last quilt show (alone, mind you) that now I want to go to a show every weekend! Unfortunately, there isn't a quilt show being held every weekend....I'd be luck if I could find one per month! I have a few on a list that I plan to go to. If you know of a quilt show anywhere in Washington (shoot, even Northern Idaho), please tell me about it! I just may go!

I had a blast from the past...When I was in fifth grade camp, the counselors had us all singing a tune called "I've Got the Malathyon blues." The jist was that it was a 'bad' thing for the spraying back then. I recalled this recently, as there are a couple of guys spraying up river here to spare us the bad mosquitos. THANK GOODNESS!!!! We're quite thankful for the relief (really, it was so bad that they could drain a cow dry in about 5 minutes!). Anyhow, it made me remember back in the day when California areas were being carpet-sprayed with Malathyon (targeting the mediterrainian fruit fly) from teams of helicopters flying overhead. I can remember the rumble of the windows as the helicopters flew over. All I knew is that even though it was fun to watch the helicopters, it was bad to be outside when they flew directly over our house. One time, I got caught outside, and was so scared that I didn't know which way to run...A neighbor man ran out in the middle of the street, grabbed me under his arm, and ran us both into his house. Like he was saving me from poison...it was dramatic. Anyway, I don't know what the concentration was back then, but the spray they're using out here is quite dilute, 'not enough to kill a fly, just a mosquito!" So the kids are enjoying watching the tracter come through, spraying for mosquitos. It has helped tremendously!

Where Does the Time Go?

I can't believe that the fourth of July is just around the corner! The past few weeks have been very busy for us in the home selling/buying process. We should close both our property purchase and our CA home sale by the 12th of July. That will mark a huge hurdle for us. Shortly after that, we'll be making final decisions about the layout and look of our new home that will go on the property. It is SO exciting to know that we'll finally have the huge kitchen we've wanted, plus plenty of bedrooms for the kids and anybody who decides to visit.





Recently, we've had the excitement of eating some things from the garden (like I said before--it's not rocket science, but it's the very first garden that the kids and I have ever grown ourselves). The radishes grew pretty fast and easy, and during the past few days we've gotten enough lettuce to make a salad that the kids and I have all really enjoyed. One of the pea plants survived and it has a few pods growing on it. Several of the bean plants did well and should be ready pretty soon. The carrots are growing, but may be too close together to really get big. I guess that's what happens with the planters are all aged 5 and under!

Something very exciting that has happened here recently is the resurfacing of the main road in front of the house. It was a grand parade with a rock layer, tar sprayer and six or more bright red dump trucks. The kids were absolutely thrilled! And there was Bruce, riding on the rock layer, looking like a cowboy! The boys think Bruce has the best job on the planet!





A few times, we've gone to the local dam and the kids have had a wonderful time playing at the park there. It is such a beautiful park...the trees are gorgeous there.

Great News!

Well, were very excited to say that our offer on the 5 acres of property just outside of Ephrata has been accepted. Now comes the task of getting through to closing, getting septic & well installed, then finally a house. And all of this needs to happen before school starts in the fall! Yikes! We'll be extremely busy, but I'm looking forward to the process.

In addition, we may have a buyer for our house in California. So, by the end of July we may be closing both ends of our move! We're more than ready!

Is it Summer Yet?

We had a couple of days where the weather was 100 degrees, then it pummeted down into the mid-70's the next day! Big change, but I'm glad that we aren't in full-blown summer yet. When it was hot, the river raised up pretty high (mosquitos came along with it), but now that it has cooled down, the river has gone back down. What was interesting was seeing the kid's reaction to mosquito bites. Jimmy's arm, eye, and forehead puffed up so bad that I thought he was needing medical attention. Emma has a bite under her eye and it swelled up pretty bad, too. Thank goodness for Benedryl and Calamine lotion!





Mom and Monte drove out here, arriving this past Sunday. They mainly needed to get the trailer on the upper property in good enough condition for Monte to live in. That meant removing the rat evidence (to put it nicely) and getting the other things in order. They left this morning to head back to California, but hopefully we'll see them again soon. The kids really enjoyed seeing them both! The crazy thing about their visit was that those Grosbeak did not show up at the feeder AT ALL while mom and Monte were here. Good thing I have pictures to prove their visit!

Jimmy found a HUGE dandilion (maybe they are always this big here, but I've just never seen them), and made his wish--to be Bob the Builder! Then later that day, we saw cousin Bruce (who works for the County maintaining the road here) working out in front of the house, so Jimmy quickly dressed in his 'safety' gear, and showed Bruce how his clothes look just like Bruce's clothes. After that, Jimmy says he wants to be Bruce when he grows up! The boys LOVE that Bruce works with construction equipment.

Finally, Dad found this critter outside one evening. He says it's a gopher snake (I personally don't know). The kids are really excited about all the new animals they get a chance to see here!