School Daze

Ever since we got back from visiting Trevor and Michelle (it was a great visit), I've been running around like a chicken with it's legs cut off (think about it).

First there was the state-wide YSA Conference, then school started with all that it brings, and finally trying to keep up with all of the projects we have going.

We really don't have any cool pictures to post. So I'll cheat just a bit and include a link to Todd Hall's blog. The reason for this is that he and his wife had a baby boy this past week, and named him Peter. That makes three Peter Halls in the family.

Todd has done a good job of explaining his lack of judgement, so follow the link and enjoy.

http://coursemaychange.blogspot.com/

More from Port Angeles

One  morning Mom got up early and started working in the overgrown flower beds at Trevor & Michelle's. Shelly has since been able to fill some of the cleared off land with berry bushed, which should do very well in that climate.

So the twins got up and I placed them both in one of the big window sills that face the front of the house. They got such a kick out if it, and stayed there quite a while watching Mom.

Below are the birthday girls eating away at the massive cake Michelle made for them. Well, and for me. I cajoled her into doing a repeat of the 1st year B-Day cake.

The Masterpiece

Another day we went into town to see what was left of a sand sculpture contest. It was actually about a week old, bu mostly still intact. David makes a good live model next to the still life sculptures.

 Still later, we walked up through the downtown district. We stopped at a donut place that was selling day-olds for $2 a 1/2 dozen. What a deal! So we bough a bag and some mild, and scarfed them all down pronto. The best part was watching Lizzie and Jane-o each work their way through to the bottom of  a chocolate covered delight.

In the end it was a good day of window shopping and sightseeing. Atticus is a great kid to have along. He's always full of wonder and has next to no bad temperament. Jane and Elizabeth both have their (fairly regular) moments of temper tantrums, but they never last more than a few moments and then everything is good again. It was a blast being there.

A Couple of Days with Chris, Lorna and the Clan

As part of Mom's Family Reunion plans we stayed a few days in Kaysville with Chris' family. They are all growing up and really doing well, as you can see in the pics Mel posted a week or so ago. One of the events of the reunion was to go to the Pioneer Museum in Salt Lake, up by the capital. 

A highlight for me going there when I was young was looking at the replica of the Golden Spike that they keep there in an exhibit about the meeting of the Eastern and Western Railroads. Ian and Kayla had fun pretending that they were on the tracks waiting for a train to run them over.

The statue out in front is of one of the greatest ladies in the early history of the Church, Eliza R. Snow. She was good friends with Patty Sessions, who Melody descends from (5th great grand daughter). Ian makes a good addition, being a 7th great grandsons. There may well be thousands like him. 

The BIG event while we were there was celebrating Chris' 33rd birthday. Lorna and Mom made a spectacular cake layered with chocolate, ice cream, more cake and some kind of special filling. There were mint Oreos crushed up throughout, and a few stuck in the top. There would have been more to put on top, but SOMEONE kept eating them. (Not me, I'm not a big mint lover.)

On to Washington

We left Utah and drove as far as Middleton, ID and stayed overnight with Melody's sister Colleen. That was a real nice break. Then we headed over to Port Angeles and got there in time for dinner. Jane (on the left) and Lizzie knew just what to do with the bench I hauled all the way from California. It makes a great addition to their bedroom.

David loved being so close to the beach and he and I ran in the mornings the half mile down to the ocean, then a 1/4 mile along the beach, and back up the trail that follows Morse Creek to Michelle's house. Twice for three miles. Every evening David would walk down to the beach. Sometimes Mom and I would join him.

Going the other direction, we drove for 40 minutes up into the mountains to a place called Hurricane Ridge. We stopped at an overlook on the way up and let the kids climb on rocks. This is as close as we could ever get to a photo with all three kids posed. Call it two and a half - not bad considering. . .

There were several paved trails, beautiful vistas, and plenty of deer. The deer were so used to having people around (but they were not tame) that you could be very close, often within 4ft of them and they wouldn't flinch. 

However, the hit of the day was the snow. Everybody got into the act of throwing snowballs, which was pretty fun - until the kids started throwing them at strangers too. Hmmm, where did they learn that? Okay, maybe it was inherited from one of their grandpas.

In short, Trevor and Michelle live in this amazing little enclave of houses  in a  little swale between two ridges as you enter Port Angeles. More to photos follow.