Mount St. Helens; one of our favorite destinations

We've been here about four months now and have made three trips to the Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mount St. Helens. I think we'll head to Windy Ridge next time, but the drive up the North Fork of the Toutle River and the observatory at Johnston Ridge are really incredible introductions to the mountain. The fun part for us has been how it has changed each time we've been up there. The first time was in May, just two days after the 30th anniversary of the big eruption and there was just a ton of snow on the ground. The second time we went, in mid June, it was like a typical spring day with sun and then suddenly so much fog that you couldn't see the mountain any more. The last time was on July 5th and the sun was blazing, summer had arrived at the mountain.

The Garden is Growing!

After a really wet and gloomy spring, according to NWS there were only three days of sun between the end of March and June 20th, it looks like things may be turning more plant friendly. We've had nearly a week of sunshine and warmer weather- I actually had to water twice! The garden plants that have been sitting nearly dormant out in the big garden are finally starting to grow and the little garden plants are just going crazy- lettuce and radishes anyone?

Here are a few shots;

The View from the Healy

Every morning and every night, and maybe a few other times during the day, I check the Healy's website. My first stop is at the weekly updates to see if there is a new update, there usually isn't. My second stop is to take a look from the camera atop the aloft con, click on the link if you're interested, it's updated hourly. It's kind of odd, but the kids and I check back all the time just to see what Jon is seeing. David is waiting patiently for icebergs and whales. Kathryn just wants to see Daddy.

I wish I could talk to him and hear about what he is seeing and doing. But, alas, technology only gets you so far. So, I'm happy with daily, usually, emails and the view delivered via the camera. I can see what the temperature is, I can see that the sun never really seems to set for very long, that it has been cloudy for a few days and that the sea is a bit lumpy. I think about him doing his job or just sitting in his stateroom, looking at almost the same view that I am.

It's not much, but it's something.

Nothing beats spending time with friends

My good friend, Theresa, was here with her girls. We enjoyed a grand trip to the Grand Floral Parade in Portland- totally awesome, a trip to Mt. Saint Helens and lots of playing and chatting. We found an amazing burger place on highway 504 on the way to the mountain- 19 Mile House - make sure to stop and enjoy a cowboy burger and a nice piece of cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Almost as good as time spent with friends, is time spent with friends in beautiful weather! It was a sunny 82 degrees on Saturday, we deserved it!

I think it's time to take this thing a new direction...just not sure where yet. .

In the meantime, enjoy some pictures and pretend you hear pretty music. I'll be back to work on this tonight...hopefully with inspiration as my co-pilot. These have all been taken in the last month ... even the snowy one.

It sucks to be the runner up...

I just got a phone call from a very sad little boy. David was the alternate for his schools spelling bee. He has been just beating himself up for misspelling the word "audible" during the qualifications and missing out on one of the two coveted positions on the spelling bee. But, for the last two weeks we've been studying the spelling list hard in the event one of the two spellers came down with some unnamed contagion and were not able to fulfill their role. David had started giving me reports on a daily basis, of the two spellers; "she looks kind of pale," "I think he got sick at lunch," "she missed a day of school, maybe she'll be out another week,"...

But, the call confirmed his worse fears; the spellers are healthy and he's still the alternate. His participation in the bee will be relegated to cheering. He sounded so bummed out and I feel horrible for him.

It is tough when you don't do as well as you had hoped.

Love you, David, and I'm so proud of you!

Follow up:

We just returned form the Spelling Bee and it was really cool I'm very glad I went! The kids all did a great job, they should be proud! The alternates all got certificates and a round of applause, so David still got to have his moment in the spot light- it was nice! BUT, a word of advice for anyone considering attending a spelling bee in the future; if you take your 4-year old daughter, and you've taken a movie for her to watch, don't take a Barbie movie that has any sort of physical contact between Barbie and the Prince....Kathryn (with earplugs on) yells, "Ew gross! They are kissing!" Of course it was mortifying and everyone in the entire (extremely quiet) gym turned to look at us.

Happy Wart Hog Day

Er, I mean Ground Hog Day!

Kathryn has decided to refer to it as Wart Hog day, though, and for some reason I find that quite amusing. So, Wart Hog Day it is!

And as I'm prone to do, I will be dragging out a tradition I got from my mom...Ground Hog Soup. This little tradition will give more insight into my mom's personality then many others, she's pretty twisted. Okay, I'll share the secret but you have to promise to try it out on someone you love, preferably gullible little children!

What is ground hog? Think literally. I didn't ask "what is a A ground hog?" I asked, "what is ground hog?"

It's sausage!

So, yep, we're having soup with italian sausage. Evil, huh?

Reading List for 2010

If you look to your left over on the side bar there is a list of books. That is where I'm going to post the books that I've read for 2010. I've decided I'm going to set a conservative goal of 1 a week. I'll update the list as I finish and if something really reaches out and grabs me I'll share details here in the blog. If you have any suggestions, please share! I like everything. I try to mix it up and follow serious books with pure trash. LOL.

I think that so far out of the seven titles that I've read I'd encourage everyone to read both Where Men When Glory and The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor. Krakaur did a fantastic job intertwining the policy details about Afghanistan with the human interest story of Pat Tillman; this book just really grabbed me and made me angry. And, I'd recommend the Shipwrecked Sailor because I think it's a great read and a good introduction to Nobel Prize winner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

AND! I can't believe I forgot The Road by Cormac McCarthy. What a really amazing book. Stark, scary. Definitely at the top of my list for best books.

Happy reading!

Time is flying

Just a few weeks ago I said goodbye to my job here in Eureka. Now I'm concentrating on THE move and keeping it all together. In just a few more weeks we'll leave Eureka for good and settle full-time in Rainier. I wonder how much I'll cry when that day comes? There is just so much going on in our little family right now, I occasionally feel like a cross between a mad scientist and a magnet....I can make all kinds of crazy things happen and still keep us stuck together.

But, this move feels like it's trying to break me. I'm so excited about our forever home, but I wonder what forever will feel like? Will I want to move again in two or three years? What will we do without Jon for six months? He'll miss the fair and the first day of school. Will he have good email on the ship? Will I keep everyone happy or will we all fall apart without his stern reassurance to keep us together?

I have a vision of what life will be like in the coming months and years. I know it won't always be easy. But, it will be the life that we chose and someday there will be no more boats and underway schedules. Then all of this will be worth it.

Hiking in the Redwoods - Happy New Year!

We enjoyed a beautiful winter weekend with sunshine and warmth by hitting some great Northern Humboldt trails: Lady Bird Johnson Grove and the Trillium Falls Trail. Both were great for the kids, but no dogs allowed on either one, so they had to hold down the fort while we were gone.

Tall trees and filtered sunlight on the Trillium Falls Trail

The kids at Trillium Falls- Kathryn wasn't really sure about it, but she loved the hike to it, she kept telling us that we had to be quiet or we may wake up the dinosaurs.

The view from the Redwood Creek Look Out about 7.5 miles up Bald Hill Road, a bit further to the right and you can see the ocean.

Kathryn and a Redwood at Lady Bird Johnson Grove

David at Lady Bird Johnson Grove