Oh Sunny Day

Check out what I have to look forward to!  This is what we live for around here... but why did it take so long?  We usually have amazing Septembers weather-wise.   Remember when it hit 70 degrees in Western Washington in November last year?  I could definitely go for an Indian Summer again.

Looks like we'll be at the beach this week.

Hair CHOP!

Not long after her last haircut, Bethelle saw the movie Tangled for the first time.  She then informed me that she would never cut her hair again.  She wanted to be Rapunzel.

A few days ago, I suggested that it might be nice to have a fresh haircut for the new school year.  Bethelle reminded me that she was never going to cut her hair again.  So I reminded her how cute it was when it was a bit shorter and wouldn't it be nice to have a change.  "OK," she said.  Really?  It was that easy?  I held back my shock and escorted her to my bathroom/salon.

This blog is full of "before" shots, like here.  So, without further ado, the "after":

Amazing how a little haircut can add five years.  What is she, twelve?

School starts in just a couple days.  She only went to kindergarten for the first four months, and she was home by eleven every day even then.  I am now going through the whole grieving process all over again.  Now she will be gone for seven hours every day.  What will I ever do without her?

Rigby assures me regularly that he will take care of things when Bethelle is at school.  And I must say, I am looking forward to his opportunity to be the leader around here.  I can imagine him blossoming.  In a manly way, of course.  Do men "blossom"?

Anyway, I will do my best to get by.  I'm going to get out of bed every morning; breathe in and out all day long.  Then, after a while I won't have to remind myself to get out of bed every morning and breathe in and out.  And then, after a while, I won't have to think about how I had it perfect for a while.

We'll miss you, Bethelle.  I know you'll do great!

Hiking with Heart

Two years ago, my dad informed me that he wanted to spend his 60th birthday at Big Heart Lake with his kids.  To those of you who think this means a drive and some camping, let me assure you that it is not that simple.  Ten miles up, and ten miles back down.  I remember saying that it sounded like a great plan if I wasn't pregnant or nursing (which has made up most of the last seven years of my life).  Dad replied, "That's why I'm telling you now."  The man was serious.

The birthday arrived and so did the hike.  These two fellas stuck with me, the slow-poke, for the whole hike.  My sister-in-law, Alyse, also walked with us most of the way, until we caught up with my brother, Troy, and their son, Asher, who had gotten an early start the day previous.  A great group.

I am not a very experienced hiker, but this is my dad's favorite hike, so I think I've done Big Heart at least  four times now.  At the point along the trail pictured below, we pause every time to look up the waterfall (that white stripe going up the middle) and say, "That's where we're headed."  It always looks so high and far.  Even more so than in the picture.  And guess what?  That's not even the end of the day's walk.

We cross over a few falls on our way.  See that bridge behind my brother?

This is me on that same bridge.

And here's the view from it!

Isn't that beautiful?  I think that landscapers try to recreate that kind of thing in unnatural places, but they will never pull off what I saw on the hike.

Here is a view of the valley we hiked through from the top.  The car was way, way out there somewhere.

After arriving at the lake, we set up camp, ate, and went to sleep.  Nick does not think much of hiking because he doesn't like sleeping on a skimpy pad on the ground in a tent.  As I lay there trying to sleep and thinking that the pad I slept on reminded me very much of a rock, I realized that NO ONE likes sleeping on a skimpy pad on the ground.  But we do it anyway.  It's part of the cost that buys you the rest of the experience.

Here we all are, a little more chipper the next day.  That's Asher on the far right.  He is only five years old!  What a champ to hike all the way up!

If you can overlook my lack of access to a shower and mirror, isn't this a beautiful picture?  They call this area the Alpine Lakes, and for good reason.  It reminds me very much of my travels through Switzerland eons ago.  The weather was perfect, but getting in that water past my waist took more courage than I had that year.  The top twelve inches were really cold and the rest of the lake was positively hypothermic.  There are patches of snow all around the lake, keeping the fish happy, the water clear, and the people out.

On the second day, we always day-hike around the lake without our heavy packs.  We like a particular trail (if it can really be called one) that takes you to your hands and knees, climbing and crawling up a rocky mountain face.  As Jared, Dad, and I were struggling to determine the best route, I happened to look around and Asher had simply floated up to where we were.  Kids.

You can't tell from this picture, but we're standing on a large rock far above Big Heart Lake, overhanging the water.  It has been ten years since we were here last, but things really don't change much.  This is one of the greatest view-spots I've seen.

In this picture, I am looking down at the lake from our camp.  If you look very, very closely, you will see Alyse and Asher in the middle of the logs on their way back to camp.

I can see why this is my dad's favorite place.  And I am resolved to get him to Switzerland.

The hike up had been laborious, but bearable.  The hike down was soooo much easier.  We woke with the sun (no one even had a watch), and made it to the car by 12:30.  Upon seeing our escape vehicle, my brain must had told my muscles that they were done, as I was in quite a bit of pain before my dad had even found the key.  Although I got through that within a few hours, my legs were pretty sore for the next three days.

Would I do it again?  Already planning on it.  See you in a couple years, Big Heart.

When Dad is also Mom

I recently scored a few days off from my normal life to do something much easier.  A spa retreat?  A Caribbean cruise?  No.  A backpacking trip with my dad and brothers.  More on that adventure soon.

Nick took a day off work and spent three solid days as both the dad and the mom.  He even took pictures everywhere they went.  If he had only blogged about it before I got home, his maternal coverage would have been complete.

They played at parks.

They caught reclining frogs.

They went out to eat.

They washed both of our cars.

They prepared for soccer season.

They played fetch with a random dog at a pond.

And they topped it all off at church.

Nice work, Daddy.  Let's do it again some time.  Some time soon!

Slip Slidin' Away

Thanks for the relief from the rare moments of heat, Grandma!

Staycation 2011 - Chinook Pass

Driving out to the pass, I took a little nap to recover from the 3 am games the night before.  When I opened my eyes, this was the first thing I saw.

Definitely time to wake up!  Check out the other scenes I captured as we drove.

See?  I told you we were driving.

Trees.  I know they'll never love me back, but I just can't help it!

This one does love me back, so it's all good.  Not the mountain; the silhouette.

Does it look like we went to the beach up in the pass?

Nope.  Not the beach.  Have you ever been in the hot August snow?

You might not know it, but this was the hottest day of our summer so far.  Rolling around in that snow seemed like it might be a good idea.

Sorry, Pabby, you're not to the top yet.

Trisha and family, looking good as usual.

The greens were even greener in person.  And the blues...  Oh, the blues!

Nick's 'rents and brother, Kyle.  This whole outing was the brain-child of Patsy.  Sweet idea, Grandma!

I'd want to live here if I was that pretty, too.

Rigby, looking a bit like Paul Bunyan next to that tree.  For the first and last time.

Somebody told us that this part of the trail was "totally do-able" for the kids.  That person has never met a kid.  Curie rode in a pack on my back and basically screamed whenever I was on the snow.  I think she felt the mortality of her life and her complete helplessness all in one.

But the hike was well worth these views.  Seriously, don't you want to go?

I couldn't quite get the mountain to show up in the pictures, but it was incredible.

See how the mountain disappears?  It's actually in that blank area between the trees.  Oh well, the people are incredible, too.

Kyle, looking good.  Who wants to bet that this will be his facebook profile pic in the next 24 hours?

Hiking up was tricky, but hiking down was impossible.  Fortunately, the way out had already been blazed.  I wasn't sure what Curie would think of our path, but when she saw the first person slide down, she exchanged the screams for, "I try?  I try?"

Bethelle ran back up for a second go.

Grandmas can have fun too!

That's a picture of elation.  Rigby has never been able to hide his.

At last, a picture of the whole crew.