I'm terrible about updating this

We've been busy, busy, busy. School is in full swing. Campbell is in the junior class at Garden Patch and goes on Tuesday and Thursday. Elliot is going MWF to the pre-K class. And some times it feels like I'm in the car more than anywhere else.

Ellie turned five last month. She was very excited about that. The evening was spent playing Princess games. Right up until bed time, she was acutely aware that she was the birthday girl. And she milked it for all it was worth.
Campbell was psyched about starting school. She fit right in and has enjoyed every day so far. Ellie was awesome about encouraging her and helping her get ready. Both girls really love going to Garden Patch and everyone there is so great.
Me, I'm trying to get up to the Mountain as much as possible. I went up two weeks ago to Mt. Fremont and then on Saturday I got up to Comet Falls...
With cooler temps (and the rain), we'll start hanging out closer to home. But we'll be plenty busy.

A great way to spend a morning

We went up to Rainier on Sunday with the girls. After about an hour of trudging up hill they were more interested in going back down to Paradise Inn and seeing what was on the lunch menu. We talked them into going up around the eastern edge of the Park and stopping off at Sunrise where the view shows even more glaciers.

So yesterday, I went back up by myself. Left the house about 4:30 and was at Paradise about 6:10. Within a few minutes, I had my gear together and was on the trail...


This is the view looking back to where I was had come from. The Paradise Inn and Ranger Station are about a mile back down from here. I had aspirations of being on the trail before the sun came up but I am very, very glad that I wasn't. It was about 50 as I set out and temps didn't change until I was on the descent of my hike, some 90+ minutes later. Not getting on the trail until the sun was rising turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I caught some elk grazing on the summer grass several times along the route.


The trails on this part of the mountain start at around 5400 feet above sea level. As the crow flies, the jump off point is only about 75 miles from our house. It takes about 2 hours to get there because the last 30-40 miles is winding roads with severe twists and turns. When the road signs say "20 MPH" on the curve, they mean it. Once you enter the Nisqually entrance, there's a significant elevation change up to Paradise and it's the kind of road Ferrari owners dream of.

And then you get up to Panorama Point at about 6900 feet above sea level...

Mt. Adams is off to the left in the background. Barely visible about 1/3 of the way from the left in the extreme distance is Mt. Hood way down across the Columbia in Oregon. Mt. St. Helens is the small bump in the distance on the right. It was an absolutely glorious morning. I'm already planning my next few hikes. Don't know if I'll take the same route again because the Park has miles and miles of trails. But I do know that I'll be out there again within then next few weeks.

If anyone wants to see some of my photography...

Check out the link to Zazzle on left (under "This is how I entertain myself".) It's not going to be a huge money maker but maybe I can make some spare change selling some of my better shots.

I'd love to upgrade my camera and spend more time taking pictures but I can't justify the expense and time right now. Some day...

Happy Birthday, Crash

Well, our baby is 3 years old now. My oh my, how the time flies. As I update pics on our Photobucket account each month I move the ones from last year to the "year" folder and it's always a hoot to look at the girls and how they change each month/year. Campbell's still stubborn, funny, goofy, a challenge and all around handful. She was a wired 2 year old and there is not doubt that she'll be just as full of energy this year. And we love it. Sure, there are times that she drives us crazy but all that craziness is fun, fun, fun. Her personality is so different from Ellie. That's great. We love having kiddos who are unique and full of vigor and vim. But their differences are what make each of them so much of a joy to be around. Campbell gets to start pre-school this fall and she's looking forward to it. She tells us quite often that she's a big girl. Doggone it, she's starting to be a big girl instead of a toddler. But she'll always be our baby.

Nana and Papa Rausch came up for Campbell's birthday. They love seeing their granddaughters and the Monkey Twins love having them here too. Ellie, in particular, loves to sit with Nana and read books or tell stories or just watch a cartoon. Campbell is more likely to want to play, constantly. At the end of the day, I'm not sure who is more worn out, Nana and Papa or Funky and Crash. I know I'm ready for bed time when the clock strikes. Everybody gets a good night sleep, that's for sure.

We're doing a combo birthday party this weekend for the girls. We do a smaller party for each on their birthday and then one big one for friends and family. Ellie's thoroughly ready for it. She's been asking every day who's coming and how many more days til the party. We're still prepping for it but it should be plenty of fun and if I'm not too lazy, I'll get a post up on it within the next month!

What we're up too...

I'm lazy. I'm not going to post any pics right now. But I will give an update to our lives...

Ellie: Whoa. Her last day of school is Tuesday. Our little girl has finished a year of pre-school. She loved it and is going back next year to the same school. The teachers at Garden Patch were amazing and Ellie looked forward to school every day. She's a bright little kiddo and we're thrilled that she's enjoying school. She's made some new friends and we'll see some of them throughout the summer.

Campbell: She's still a handful. But she's finally sleeping past 6:00 am and so now I don't have to be up so early! She'll start school in September and be at Garden Patch too. She has so much energy. 11-12 hours a day, she's 100% damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

Jennifer: Well, she gets to have surgery again. When she had abdominal surgery in 2006, they fixed one thing and screwed up some others. After almost 3 years of telling her docs that something wasn't right, they are finally going to do something about it.

Me: I'm going to too my own horn. As I do every so often, I decided to get in shape, eat better, exercise, etc. Except this time I actually did it. I've lost 30 pounds and yesterday ran a timed 5k. I wont win any races anytime soon. But I also didn't finish last in my age group and did it in a respectable time for someone who, until March hadn't run more than 100 feet in 10 years or so. And last night as I watched a movie, I googled other races in the Seattle area and signed up for a couple already. What is wrong with me?!?

As a family, we'll tool around the area on day and overnight trips. We're not sure if we'll take a big family vacation this summer but even if we only stay local, there's plenty to do up here this time of year.

Spring has sprung

Well, kind of. We had a strange and weird winter. Colder, snowier, rainier than normal. But we're starting to get days in the 60s and that is very nice. We'll still see a little too much rain but at least now it wont be cold when it rains during the day.

The Monkey Twins wanted to be Mighty Knights so we made some "armor." Campbell thought it was more fun to go Incredible Hulk and rip it off minutes after putting it on. Ellie wanted a knightly name so she was known as Knight Train.

How often do you have that ridiculosuly awesome day...

And it really wasn't based on a single "great" event?

Maybe it was the day you got married, the day your children were born or a graduations.

But sometimes, a great day isn't based on a single event. And those days are often the ones that really make it all worth it.

The girls wear me out some days. Every now and then, I can't wait for them to go to bed because I'm ready for some peace and quiet. Today, we had a full schedule and yet, despite being together for 12+ hours straight, it was one of those ridiculously awesome days without being based on something we hadn't done before.

Jennifer's mom had come up for a visit in late March and planned on spending 3 weeks with us. Two weeks in and she started feeling crappy with a terrible headache. Three ER visits later and she was admitted for a luxurious 4 night stay at a local hospital. Jennifer decided to fly home with her.

The girls and I dropped them off at the airport and headed up to the Seattle Aquarium and the Pike Place Market. A couple hours of running around and then we had a fantastic meal at Etta's right down the street from the Market. A chef named Tom Douglas has a string of restaurants in downtown Seattle and they are all exemplary. The girls chowed down on a very good quesadilla with home made salsa and I had what may have been the best crab cakes I have ever had. Heck, even the asparagus was tasty. Of course, the girls were in the mood for a snack 30 minutes later so we hit up the pastry counter that's right next to the guys that throw the fish. As we sat there, we got to watch a street musician play his fiddle and sing. Ellie and Campbell danced and clapped along while enjoying a fresh fritter.

A trip to the playground wore them out something fierce and by the time we got home, both the girls were ready for dinner and bed. Quite a day. Quite a nice day.

Hoh Rain Forest

Pictures can not do this place justice. Even the drive into the area is spectacular. It's only 15 miles or so from Highway 101 but due to the winding curves it took 30+ minutes and we really got some great looks at huge Western Cedar and Sitka Spruce trees. The girls were pooped after a couple of hours at the beach so Jennifer offered to keep them in the van while I went and did the Hall of Mosses loop. It's just under 1 mile and a really easy walk so I took off and did it in about 25 minutes. One could spend hours on that trail. I took probably 100 pictures but due to the weather, not very many were winners. It was raining something fierce and with all the moss and trees, I would have gotten soaked if I wasn't wearing a good rain jacket. There are a couple of other trails here as well including one that winds along the Hoh River up to the glaciers of Mt. Olympus.


There are fallen trees everywhere. At one point, there is a sign giving you details about the size and it tells you to count off your steps (assuming about 3 feet per stride) to the end of one that is laying along the path. It was easily 250 feet long.

Yeah, that's a ball cap hanging from the tree.
We're going back up there sometime this summer when the weather is a little warmer and hopefully a little more sunny.

"National parks are the best idea we ever had...."

"Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst." - Wallace Stegner.

About 10 days ago I was reading online where someone was asking advice for where to stay near Olympic National Park. Suggestions were made for lodging along with activities. As a kid, I'd been up near the park but never in it. It has always been high on my list of National Parks to visit. After googling for a bit, I was sold on a quick weekend trip. Jennifer was in and we originally planned on going up for just one night. But after a day of planning, we decided to make it into a full weekend. And that was a fantastic idea.

The first night we stayed at the Lake Quinault Lodge. The Park Service owns quite a few lodges around the country. There are three in Olympic. This particular Lodge was built in 1926. FDR visited in 1937 on a fact finding mission before creating the National Park a few months later. They've added some additional buildings since then but the main lodge is still going strong. With the exception of not having a large ball room this place is right out of the Poconos and Dirty Dancing.



We got in a little early on Friday and the weather really cooperated. The girls loved running around the grounds. The grass expanse leads down to the lake. It was good for skipping rocks but a bit chilly for a swim. That is a giant rain gauge on the chimney. They get 100+ inches of rain per year. Yeah, 100 inches.


The lobby of the Lodge has plenty of room to sit and watch people, look out over the grounds, play chess on the giant board or sing along at the piano. While we explored the Lodge, there was an older couple sitting by the big fireplace. As Ellie started plinking away on the keys, I asked if it bothered them. The woman just beamed a smile and said "children should always make joyful noises." That piano survived a fire that burned the original Lodge in 1924.

Back outside, the girls found the croquet mallets. It was pretty funny watching them try and play. Ellie was obsessed with getting it right while Campbell was more interested in getting every ball out and rolling them around the grass.

On Saturday, we drove up the coast and the weather cooperated enough for us to hit Ruby Beach for a bit. The tide was in so we didn't get to check out any of the tidal pools but the girls were content to look for shells, explore the beach and search for agates among the rocks. But the real highlight of the day was driving into the Hoh Rain Forest...

Crash and Funky say "Hi!"

We've had some really weird weather here in the past few weeks. Decently heavy rain (instead of the typical western Washington 'drizzle') and some March snow. But temps have stayed north of 40 for the most part so we can live with that.

This weekend, we're heading north to the Olympic National Park. I have wanted to get up there my whole life and last week, I was talking to Jennifer about it and I just planned it. Originally, we thought we'd just go up for Saturday night. A few hours later and I realized that two nights was much more preferable. Even with late winter/early spring conditions, that is really pushing it. The Park has a huge array of beaches and hiking opportunities. I realized while looking at things to do that Campbell's "early to rise" mentality works in my favor. Ellie and mommy can sleep in while Campbell and I get out in the quiet morning hours to check out some things in advance of everyone else. I'll report back later with the results.

Keeping warm and dry.

The weather had been kind of cruddy for the past month. Snow in late December was fun for the girls but it stayed cold after that and then the rain came back. We're finally seeing temps back into the mid and upper 40's. It was so clear yesterday that Mt. Adams was visible to the south of Rainier. Adams is about 60 miles SW of Mt. Rainier and I had never noticed it on the horizon before.

The Monkey Twins have been busy though. Grandma Linda (my mom) has been knitting the girls various things over the years and they got these sweaters for Christmas. We've been keeping them busy with trips to the YMCA for gym and school. Heck, between those two things, we're busy 4 days a week. And they both love going up to Seattle and browsing the Market. It's a fruit and veggie field day for them both. And it's nearly impossible to get out of there without buying a huge bundle of flowers for some insanely low price. I'm ready for the Proctor Farmer's Market to crank back up in April. Besides getting some really great local produce, there's live music and when the strawberries come back in season, the BEST strawberry short cake ever at Knapp's Diner.