We decided to go river tubing at 10pm the night before we went. We got up at 6am, packed our things and hit the road. We made it to Wenatchee at 10am and found out the tube rental place (Let's Go Tubing) was booked for the morning and we had to come back at 1-1:30 to go. Ah man, let's make the best of it. We headed to Lake Wenatchee State Park where we discovered, although beautiful and inviting, the water is FREEZING!! I thought I had somehow managed to get gritty sand on my legs because it was scraping me but when I looked down, it was actually my ginormous goose bumps! I did get used to it. Not so used to it I would actually swim, but I could stand up to my navel. Ryan, of course, was swimming and splashing around. He was impressed the water was sooo clear and there were lots of "wands" to be found on the bottom. We played around on some rocks, Ryan tested big ones out as potential slides and we enjoyed our time before going back to the tubing site.
When we finally got on the river, the outside temperature felt soooooo hot. I think the gauge said it was in the 90s but there was no breeze and it felt like 110 degrees. The water was nice and refreshing. Here are our pictures:
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sunrise at Mt. Rainier
Today I could have died. Here is my story. Or, because I am a bit dramatic at times, skip to the bottom and enjoy the pictures:)
Bruce had a job at Sunrise on Mt. Rainier. He was saying how beautiful it was and that I should go hiking up there while he worked. Although I had a lot to do, I decided to go because (1) if Bruce says it's beautiful, it must be a sight,(2) I needed to get away from the things I "need" to get done, and (3) I could spend some time with Bruce and that would be nice :)
When we were driving to the top and almost at Sunrise Visitor Center, we turned a corner and "Aaaawwwweeee" (the musical sound you hear when you think of the clouds parting to reveal the sun). Beautiful is an understatement. Giant snow-capped mountain in the distance, green meadows and blue-blue skies made an amazing contrast in colors. The air was fresh and crisp. It was awesome.
Bruce suggested the hiking trail to the left of the parking lot because it looked like more my type of scenery. He was right. It was shady, sunny, lush and varied. I walked down the hill into a small valley passing blooming wildflowers, butterflies, chipmunks, streams, waterfalls, wooden bridges, patches of snow, and a lake. I was so refreshed and happy at this point.
When I got to Sunrise Camp I had to make a choice: I could have taken the short, easy trail back or take a more difficult, longer trail back. Guess which I chose. I had the time and the energy so why not take the longer trail?
I had to ascend again but it wasn't too bad. I had to cross some patches of snow and mud the higher I got. I finally made it to the First Burroughs, which meant the landscape was turning Arctic Tundra-like (I know this because the sign said so). This means lots of rocks and almost no vegetation. Although not a beautiful path, I had some pretty great views of the mountain range. After this sign, things got steep.
About 1/3 of the way up the really steep, like only for Moutain Goats steep, and I was sweating and cursing! I don't know if it was the elevation or just the steepness of the hill but it was kicking my butt. I asked the mountain to level off, just a bit so I could have a rest. The mountain said "no" so I continued on. I was getting so miserable I started running up the hill just so I could get it over with, but it was so far.
It finally did level a bit, but that was probably so a snow pack could form in the middle the trail and further deter me from reaching my destination. Sure, the snow made it so I had to climb up it about 15 feet on a tiny ledge someone had created at some point, but I trucked on. Freezing my hands and my side because I didn't realize I would be practically laying on the snow as I walked so I would plummet down the rocky hill without vegetation to catch me. I made it. The hill went up some more, of course, but not quite as steeply. Either that or my body was numb and didn't realize it was still so steep.
When I made it to the top it was like Julie Andrews was singing "The hills are alive with the sound of muuuuuusic". If I had the energy I would have pranced around twirling. 360 degree views and bluest blue skies will do that to a person, I guess. After some time to take it in, I had energy again. I looked at the Second Burrough route and said "No Thank you" - it was a longer way back and there was more up-hilliness to do. Yeah, no. I chose the route that was flat and headed back to my destination in a shorter route. (insert foreboding thoughts here).
As I walked, I came to another snow pack covering the trail. Of course. It's really high up and snow is scattered about. It looked a little longer than the one I had to cross earlier and it had less of a ledge, but why not. I was feeling invincible-ish.
(more foreboding) I just kept my head down, looking where I was stepping and as it got a little steeper, I would crouch a little lower. Something stopped me after a couple of minutes.
Not only was I no longer standing at all, I was practically laying on the mountain in the snow again, but my hand was gripping blood-covered snow. I looked up (remember, head down, just keep moving) and I saw blood marks all over- up and down from where I was crouching/laying. Then I looked around and I realized that snow can play tricks on your eyes. The snowpack now looks 5 times larger than when I was standing on solid ground because there were dips into the mountain that I didn't see. Also, and perhaps most importantly, there was nothing under the snowpack. I couldn't see where I would land if I slid off. This is becoming a distinct possibility because, at the same time I realize this, I realize this is more ice and I can't dig my fingers or my shoes into the pack anymore and I keep slipping as I try to get a grip. Now I know where the blood came from.
As I imagine it at that moment. The same thing happened to a person earlier. He decided he could go no further so he stopped and was killed by something more agile in the snow. His bloody bits were strewn about so nature could do away with the evidence. I couldn't let this happen to me. There was no way I could have gone further, but turning back was a scary idea as well. This was the only option, though. (I have no pictures of this part because people who may die if they make a wrong move typically don't take pictures of their ordeal. If they did, then they were dead).
Carefully I maneuvered my way back, but not before dropping down into a 3 foot hole in the snow. It was softer there and nearly under a ledge that I had to go around. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." I made it.
Now that my life was no longer in danger, I was disappointed that I would have to walk back the way I came. Remember how steep the hill was coming up, you would think I was happy about going down but, no, it was rocky and crumbly and when it's that steep and you could plunge off the side of the mountain into nothingness, you need to be careful.
My legs were like rubber when I got back down to the little valley where I had to make the choice earlier in my hike. I was exhausted but I had to carry on because Bruce was finishing his job by lunch time. I somehow managed to make it back where I collapsed on a park bench and wouldn't move for 20 minutes. Exhausted but mentally so much better than i was just hours earlier. Totally worth it.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
White Trash Bash 2010
Bruce's co-worker, Stephanie, does a White Trash Bash every summer (so I hear). We were invited and it sounded like a lot of fun. Bruce and I haven't dressed up in ages so, of course, we wait until the last minute (the morning of the party) to get a costume.
I had been doing research for about a month (thank you www.peopleofwalmart.com) but couldn't decide what kind of white trash I wanted to be. Poor and not caring, young and think I look good, Peg Bundy-ish, redneck....the options are really endless when you think about it. After some shopping around, for me we found tacky star earrings, a stud cuff, a giant fake diamond with chain detail, the shortest shorts I've ever worn, a see-through lace top, a hot pink bra, a long cross necklace and a cowboy had with feather detailing. I was ridiculous looking.
For Bruce, it was a little easier. He found a Budweiser cap with a can opener on the bill, torn work pants, dirty old sneakers and the grossest shirt that could possibly be made. We actually saw this exact shirt on peopleofwalmart.com and we were mortified and mystified that someone would actually go out in public in this shirt. I won't even write here what it says. We debated on buying it for something like 10 minutes because it was so inappropriate. We thought there may be a contest for best dressed so....we were in it to win it and bought it. Bruce also had some Dewalt safety glasses for "sunglasses" and he had to cut the sleeves off his shirt. He was so trashy!
While at Spencer's (a gold mine of trashy materials), I found a playboy cap with a free matching t-shirt for 50% off for Brittany. What a deal! The shirt was little tight. What would a trashy person do about that? Well, she would cut the shirt in the front to accentuate her assets of course! Details included a fake pink, matching ring and giant silver hoop earrings. She had shredded some old pants and threw on some flip flops.
We put on some fake tattoos and gaudy makeup, grabbed some cheap beer and ciggs and we were ready to roll.
The party was out in Maple Valley. There were mattresses and tires randomly thrown about the yard. There was a lot of trashy food, of course, all provided by the Dollar Store: cheese balls, 7lbs of Nacho cheese, jalapeno corn chowder, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, beef jerky, etc. It was a lot of fun and we met some really trashy people. Of course, since I haven't ever met these people before, they could have been acting like themselves. Who knows.
There were a lot of redneck games to be had, also: plunger darts, trailer trash search, corn hole, badminton, pie eating contests and a sack race. We were split into two teams, cleverly named Team 1 and Team 2.
Team 1: Bruce, Britt, Stephanie and Mike, a lot more guys and only 1 or 2 really really drunk girls.
Team 2: Melanie, Jessica and her husband Ben, and really drunk girls. Really drunk. And only one other guy. Hmmmm, who do you think is going to win. NOTE: there is nothing inherently wrong with being drunk at a party on the weekend. It was the unequal distribution of drinkers/non-drinkers and male/females that I am complaining about.
First Game: Plunger Darts. Team 1 wins. Did I mention all the drunk girls on Team 2? Ok, it was 1/2 the team. Half. And Team 1 was closer to the "special target" where you can get an extra 50 points. Not fair, but it was fun.
Second Game: Chicken Toss. Team 1 again won. Team 2 was cheating and still couldn't win. That's what happens on the drunk team. All we had to do was toss chickens to the other side of our team who catches them in a pot. Yep, that's it.
Third Game: Sack Race. Sacks provided by Les Schwab, thank you very much.
Here are some pictures to enjoy. Bruce annihilated this one. He won it 3 times. Three times!! There was no hopping involved and everyone broke their bags because they weren't potato sacks. Bruce was so fast I had trouble trying to take pictures of him.
Fourth Game: Pie Eating. Bruce took 2nd, I think. It looked yummy. Britt was a complete mess. They had trouble getting Team 2 to participate. I'm still not sure where they went. That's what happens when you get drunk, though. Priorities.
Fifth Game: Trailer Trash. We had to look through plastic pools of trash for specific redneck items like a broken nail, Spam, a shower cap, etc. This one Team 2 actually won. Probably because half our team declined to participate(ok, we didn't know where they were, but those who were left were serious about this). Team 1 was polite and patiently let the most inebriated of their group look for the hardest thing to find in the trash all by herself (like they were supposed to do): the broken nail. Poor girl took forever! Oh well, we needed to win something!
It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures:
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Ryan's First Try at Watersports
We went to the lake because it was supposed to be a beautiful day. Ryan was up and ready to go by 9:30 am (unbelievable for him). We got out to the lake around 10:30 and it was already warm enough to swim. Ryan surprised us by saying "I want to kneeboard." Shocked, we asked for him to explain since we couldn't believe our ears. We begged and pleaded last year and he staunchly refused all summer. He loves the water so we weren't sure why he would not do it.
He actually wanted to wakeboard, but I brought out the kneeboard just in case he wanted to get all crazy and try some other water sports.
We weren't prepared for his brazeness, but we managed. He wore a life jacket that was slightly too big and we had to adjust the boots on the wakeboard so that he wasn't doing the splits.
First for some lessons.
1. Dry land practice.
We were teaching Ryan the basics about most water sports:
a. Knees bent
b. Hips to the boat
c. Shoulders back
I have heard these three things so many times I'm sure could recite it in my sleep by the time I was 5. I wouldn't have tried it when I was 5 because I was afraid of the outboard motor, but I could tell you what to do anyway.
When he was trying it on land, he was having trouble remembering to do all 3 at once. Whatever he did, I didn't want him to face plant so NOT leaning forward was the number one goal. He couldn't do it, couldn't do it, couldn't do it and then my dad came out and he just had to do it right for him. He did it perfectly. He looked ready. I quizzed him :)
2. Getting the safety gear on.
3. Into the water we go!
Ryan looked pretty happy to be in the water at 11am on a Saturday. Great day for being on the lake. It was perfect - no other boats, calm water, no wind, we had the gear. Yes! This is what summer is about!
4. Let's go!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Fourth of July Weekend
Bruce is so wonderful. He woke up Saturday, the 3rd, and told me to get dressed because he had a surprise for me. The surprise was a trip to Quinault. Bruce had been working in Quinault for something like 6 weeks. He kept saying how beautiful it was and he was staying in the hotel right on the river. I wanted to go but couldn't for various reasons. He's done with the job and I finally wasn't busy, so off we went.
We went to Lake Quinault where we started our day finding the Worlds Largest Sitka Spruce. It was something like 1000 years old. It was huge. We then took a drive to North Lake Quinault where there were roadside waterfalls and then, eventually, the road gave way to a single lane dirt path with blind corners and hills. I was a wreck going up and Bruce was enjoying the scenery not caring that we could fall into the river at any moment if a moose or bear or deer jumped out in front of us. We could also have had a head-on collision if someone wasn't careful coming down the hill! He just doesn't think of these things while he's driving along singing merrily away to 80's music. I sat petrified with thoughts of our death or the aggravation of calling a tow-truck driver ran through my head. It didn't help when we happened upon a Toyota 4Runner with the passenger wheels off the road balancing precariously on the edge above the rocky river! They were lucky to be alive! The truck could tip and fall into the water at any moment! There was no one there so we drove on.
When we finally made it to the top it was fairly busy but it had a bathroom and the road was over, so I was cool with it. The hike was to be about 6-6.5 miles. The brochure didn't say that it was practically all up-hill, both ways! It started at a bridge and the view was already stunning. We almost just turned back there, but decided to see what else this hike had to offer. The blue-green water was amazing looking and there was a rocky waterfall covered in moss. Beautiful.
The hike itself was actually really boring, but Bruce and I got to talk a lot, which was nice. Did I mention that Bruce wants to be the World's Greatest Speed Hiker. I looked it up, there actually is a thing called Speed Hiking! Needless to say, we booked it up the hills. It was ok with me since the scenery was boring due to it's repetitiveness.
We passed a lot of backpackers who offered us their packs. We said "no thanks" and laughed at them for backpacking :) The last backpackers we came across looked a little tuckered out. I asked them how much further it was to Pony Bride and they said "Straight down the hill" with wide eyes. When they passed I expressed my concern to Bruce: the way they said it didn't sound good. It was straight down on wet rocks and slippery mud. We were walking in the bushes at points so we wouldn't sink in the pit of muck in places. That's ok, it went straight up again but, of course, we had to go straight down again, as well.
We finally saw a beautiful gorge with mossy rocks and the clearest bluest water. It was stunning. Of course, Bruce needed to experience this sight from a mossy fallen tree dangling on the edge of the cliff. Heaven forbid he do this on his own so he dragged me out there, too. Why enjoy the view from the safety of the trail?
We finished at Pony Bridge where we hung out a bit enjoying the scenery. (and for me, catching my breath. Bruce is a challenge to keep up with. Now I know that that I take 1.5 steps for every 1 step Bruce takes.)Then we speed hiked back up the hill. I'm glad I go to the gym or I wouldn't have kept up. Then down the treacherous one lane dirt car path.
Remember the 4Runner? Well, we were lucky enough to get to see the tow truck driver pull them off the cliff edge. Hippies. That's who had been driving. Bruce and I were coming up with stories about how they could have possibly ended up in that balancing act. Rocking out to 80's music while head banging his pouffy curly hair? Smoking pot? Spooked by an animal? Trying to let someone pass in the wrong spot? Who knows. But they quickly pulled the car out and we were on our way where we could stop on the bridge over the river so I could do cartwheels on pavement! The view was spectacular. Blue skies, clear aquamarine water, green mountains with snowy tops. Stunning.
Back on the road we discovered the pavement was just for a moment. Back onto dirt roads even higher on the hill/cliff with smaller corners between trees. Scary. Scary. Ok. We made it alive.
We stopped to see the World's Largest Red Cedar. More speed hiking but even faster than before because there were lots of stairs to climb and boardwalks to cross and roots to push off from. We got to circle this tree and see it from the inside. I was disappointed there was no signage to tell me about age, AFA points or anything else interesting. I like to read signs. We wandered around a bit inside and out and then we were back down the hill. Even faster than before. I was running and not keeping up with Bruce. I lost him at one point and almost went the wrong way. Where was my guide? I finally caught up and some older couple let us by and said there was no way they could descend that quickly on their old knees. Uh oh, will my knees be bad from jumping, running, hopping down the hill? It was fun, though.
After Lake Quinault Bruce surprised me with a beach visit. I had never been to Ocean Shores even though everyone else had and I wanted to know what the hubub was about. We went to Pacific Beach and walked along the beach collecting sand dollars. Bruce kept finding whole ones that were newly dead or dying. There were a lot of them. I forgot how cold and windy Washington beaches were. It was beautiful but we didn't stay too long because it was cold and we hadn't eaten all day. We finally made it to Ocean Shores. There was a lot of activity. Shopping, cart rentals and people all over the place. We drove out onto the beach and parked the car to watch the people starting their weekend celebrations and enjoy the view of the ocean from the windless confines of our car. The police were constantly patrolling and the firefighters were standing at their truck ready to jump into action.
After some time we decided to finally eat. Now where to eat. So many places had signs that said "Kites!" "Rentals!" "McDonald's!" but I wanted real food! We ended up at the Home Port and had a delicious seafood dinner. Bruce ordered some drinks without thinking about how I had an empty stomach. Instant buzz for me made good laughs for him :) As we left I saw a sign "Good Luck to the Gays" I was too slow with the picture taking, but had to share. I agree ~ Good luck Gays! We left for home feeling good about our mini-adventure and slept really well.
We went to Lake Quinault where we started our day finding the Worlds Largest Sitka Spruce. It was something like 1000 years old. It was huge. We then took a drive to North Lake Quinault where there were roadside waterfalls and then, eventually, the road gave way to a single lane dirt path with blind corners and hills. I was a wreck going up and Bruce was enjoying the scenery not caring that we could fall into the river at any moment if a moose or bear or deer jumped out in front of us. We could also have had a head-on collision if someone wasn't careful coming down the hill! He just doesn't think of these things while he's driving along singing merrily away to 80's music. I sat petrified with thoughts of our death or the aggravation of calling a tow-truck driver ran through my head. It didn't help when we happened upon a Toyota 4Runner with the passenger wheels off the road balancing precariously on the edge above the rocky river! They were lucky to be alive! The truck could tip and fall into the water at any moment! There was no one there so we drove on.
When we finally made it to the top it was fairly busy but it had a bathroom and the road was over, so I was cool with it. The hike was to be about 6-6.5 miles. The brochure didn't say that it was practically all up-hill, both ways! It started at a bridge and the view was already stunning. We almost just turned back there, but decided to see what else this hike had to offer. The blue-green water was amazing looking and there was a rocky waterfall covered in moss. Beautiful.
The hike itself was actually really boring, but Bruce and I got to talk a lot, which was nice. Did I mention that Bruce wants to be the World's Greatest Speed Hiker. I looked it up, there actually is a thing called Speed Hiking! Needless to say, we booked it up the hills. It was ok with me since the scenery was boring due to it's repetitiveness.
We passed a lot of backpackers who offered us their packs. We said "no thanks" and laughed at them for backpacking :) The last backpackers we came across looked a little tuckered out. I asked them how much further it was to Pony Bride and they said "Straight down the hill" with wide eyes. When they passed I expressed my concern to Bruce: the way they said it didn't sound good. It was straight down on wet rocks and slippery mud. We were walking in the bushes at points so we wouldn't sink in the pit of muck in places. That's ok, it went straight up again but, of course, we had to go straight down again, as well.
We finally saw a beautiful gorge with mossy rocks and the clearest bluest water. It was stunning. Of course, Bruce needed to experience this sight from a mossy fallen tree dangling on the edge of the cliff. Heaven forbid he do this on his own so he dragged me out there, too. Why enjoy the view from the safety of the trail?
We finished at Pony Bridge where we hung out a bit enjoying the scenery. (and for me, catching my breath. Bruce is a challenge to keep up with. Now I know that that I take 1.5 steps for every 1 step Bruce takes.)Then we speed hiked back up the hill. I'm glad I go to the gym or I wouldn't have kept up. Then down the treacherous one lane dirt car path.
Remember the 4Runner? Well, we were lucky enough to get to see the tow truck driver pull them off the cliff edge. Hippies. That's who had been driving. Bruce and I were coming up with stories about how they could have possibly ended up in that balancing act. Rocking out to 80's music while head banging his pouffy curly hair? Smoking pot? Spooked by an animal? Trying to let someone pass in the wrong spot? Who knows. But they quickly pulled the car out and we were on our way where we could stop on the bridge over the river so I could do cartwheels on pavement! The view was spectacular. Blue skies, clear aquamarine water, green mountains with snowy tops. Stunning.
Back on the road we discovered the pavement was just for a moment. Back onto dirt roads even higher on the hill/cliff with smaller corners between trees. Scary. Scary. Ok. We made it alive.
We stopped to see the World's Largest Red Cedar. More speed hiking but even faster than before because there were lots of stairs to climb and boardwalks to cross and roots to push off from. We got to circle this tree and see it from the inside. I was disappointed there was no signage to tell me about age, AFA points or anything else interesting. I like to read signs. We wandered around a bit inside and out and then we were back down the hill. Even faster than before. I was running and not keeping up with Bruce. I lost him at one point and almost went the wrong way. Where was my guide? I finally caught up and some older couple let us by and said there was no way they could descend that quickly on their old knees. Uh oh, will my knees be bad from jumping, running, hopping down the hill? It was fun, though.
After Lake Quinault Bruce surprised me with a beach visit. I had never been to Ocean Shores even though everyone else had and I wanted to know what the hubub was about. We went to Pacific Beach and walked along the beach collecting sand dollars. Bruce kept finding whole ones that were newly dead or dying. There were a lot of them. I forgot how cold and windy Washington beaches were. It was beautiful but we didn't stay too long because it was cold and we hadn't eaten all day. We finally made it to Ocean Shores. There was a lot of activity. Shopping, cart rentals and people all over the place. We drove out onto the beach and parked the car to watch the people starting their weekend celebrations and enjoy the view of the ocean from the windless confines of our car. The police were constantly patrolling and the firefighters were standing at their truck ready to jump into action.
After some time we decided to finally eat. Now where to eat. So many places had signs that said "Kites!" "Rentals!" "McDonald's!" but I wanted real food! We ended up at the Home Port and had a delicious seafood dinner. Bruce ordered some drinks without thinking about how I had an empty stomach. Instant buzz for me made good laughs for him :) As we left I saw a sign "Good Luck to the Gays" I was too slow with the picture taking, but had to share. I agree ~ Good luck Gays! We left for home feeling good about our mini-adventure and slept really well.
Friday, July 2, 2010
100 Days!
Oh my gosh! Only 100 days away and we'll be getting married. Breathe deep. HooHooHaaah HooHooHaaah There's so much left undone. We can do this. Right? Oh my gosh, we'll be getting married.
Husband and wife. Weird, foreign concepts that I don't think we really considered when we started down this road.
This is more of a Bruce thing than a me thing. He sees the immediate future so it's not a shock for him to be surprised I'll be his wife.
I, however, am a future planner. For instance, I was already thinking of placement of the future toddler's play set in our back yard. OK, so what's up with the freak-out factor knowing it's only 100 days away to get married!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
June-uary
So, this has been one crazy weather month. We have had high temps with dry weather, abnormally rainy weather and everything in between. One day it hailed so much it looked like it had snowed. It was hard to feel like it was spring and summer was starting when you are depressed because of the rain. Even within a day the weather went from promising to depressing or even when driving from one city to the next!
We managed to get some fun in but not a lot of yard work. It's really hard to do yard work when you are busy savoring the few bits of sunshine that occurred. This month we went to Multnomah Falls, the Pacific Science Center, the Buckley Log Show, Long Lake and Putt Putt. We got a Cornhole game, celebrated Father's day a few times, and took care of wedding things. Here are some pictures of the fun!
Multnomah Falls is always fun to me. It's a bit challenging so I feel like it's worth it, there's lots of water in the spray, falls and river, and it's beautiful. I was shocked that Ryan didn't complain and powered through to the top even when he didn't look like he would. Bruce has amazing stamina and can be kind of annoying like Des with the running ahead (I still love them). I like slow and steady. It was the busiest I've ever seen because it was a nice weekend but we still had fun.
At the Pacific Science Center the Circus was the main exhibit. There are pictures of Ryan walking the tight rope. I got a standing ovation for the simulation of tight rope walking with a pole. Ryan and I squeezed ourselves into a contortionist box and we were both pretty weak in the strong man contest. Bruce did really well with the grip test ~ it said "ouch!" and Ryan played with a back-hoe type machine. We all LOVED playing with the fun mirrors.
At the Buckley Log Show it was really slow. They didn't keep the action going and it was just tooo hot (I know, I can't believe I'm complaining either). The people watching was terrific. I wish I had taken pictures of the people that were walking around. It really gave me some inspiration for the White Trash Party we're going to in July. The only pictures I took were of the Tree Topper competition in which they men had to climb up 75feet and top the tree and come back down.
We were also able to find bridesmaid dresses! Yay! Britt posted pictures on her blog which you can find on the right side of this blog:) Britt looked amazing in the dress but the picture doesn't do it justice. I didn't think I would be so excited about a bridesmaid dress but Britt had been really hard on herself and self-conscious (as all women are) about parts of her body. She had tried on something like 30 dresses from David's Bridal and Benita's in Silverdale. It was the very last dress she tried on and it was a total fluke that I pulled it off the hanger right as she was getting ready to get dressed. None of us looked at it and thought anything of it until she put it on. It was great. I don't think I would have been so excited for Britt if it hadn't been that she had tried on sooooo many dresses. We ordered it right then and there.
The rest of our summer feels like it's booked already. I hope we get some down time to spend at the lake and that the weather cooperates so that can happen!
We managed to get some fun in but not a lot of yard work. It's really hard to do yard work when you are busy savoring the few bits of sunshine that occurred. This month we went to Multnomah Falls, the Pacific Science Center, the Buckley Log Show, Long Lake and Putt Putt. We got a Cornhole game, celebrated Father's day a few times, and took care of wedding things. Here are some pictures of the fun!
Multnomah Falls is always fun to me. It's a bit challenging so I feel like it's worth it, there's lots of water in the spray, falls and river, and it's beautiful. I was shocked that Ryan didn't complain and powered through to the top even when he didn't look like he would. Bruce has amazing stamina and can be kind of annoying like Des with the running ahead (I still love them). I like slow and steady. It was the busiest I've ever seen because it was a nice weekend but we still had fun.
At the Pacific Science Center the Circus was the main exhibit. There are pictures of Ryan walking the tight rope. I got a standing ovation for the simulation of tight rope walking with a pole. Ryan and I squeezed ourselves into a contortionist box and we were both pretty weak in the strong man contest. Bruce did really well with the grip test ~ it said "ouch!" and Ryan played with a back-hoe type machine. We all LOVED playing with the fun mirrors.
At the Buckley Log Show it was really slow. They didn't keep the action going and it was just tooo hot (I know, I can't believe I'm complaining either). The people watching was terrific. I wish I had taken pictures of the people that were walking around. It really gave me some inspiration for the White Trash Party we're going to in July. The only pictures I took were of the Tree Topper competition in which they men had to climb up 75feet and top the tree and come back down.
We were also able to find bridesmaid dresses! Yay! Britt posted pictures on her blog which you can find on the right side of this blog:) Britt looked amazing in the dress but the picture doesn't do it justice. I didn't think I would be so excited about a bridesmaid dress but Britt had been really hard on herself and self-conscious (as all women are) about parts of her body. She had tried on something like 30 dresses from David's Bridal and Benita's in Silverdale. It was the very last dress she tried on and it was a total fluke that I pulled it off the hanger right as she was getting ready to get dressed. None of us looked at it and thought anything of it until she put it on. It was great. I don't think I would have been so excited for Britt if it hadn't been that she had tried on sooooo many dresses. We ordered it right then and there.
The rest of our summer feels like it's booked already. I hope we get some down time to spend at the lake and that the weather cooperates so that can happen!
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