Califoregon Living

We decided to take the long way back to Seattle and detoured to see the SnoqualmieFalls. 

A herd of elk we encountered on the road from North Bend to Snoqalmie.

The falls are running strong right now.  They are also currently remodeling the platform and it is no longer covered…

Can you see the vertical rainbow to the left?  Also, the Salish Lodge is the luxury hotel that you see at the top of the falls. 

It’s almost Maui….

It was a lovely afternoon, and quite warm.  We enjoyed a few hours with our friends, the Carters, at their home.  Lisa, and her fiance, Dave, came by for a visit as well!  We finally got to meet the man that swept her off her feet and restored her heart.  It was great spending time with you all!!

Here is Christine and Steve.  She was lamenting at the poor shape of her plant.  To which I say….whatever… 🙂 (it is GORGEOUS!  She has an amazing green thumb…)

‘T’ playing ball.  Please note the back up batter…

Lisa and Dave.  (This is the picture I took, BTW…;)

Heading home, we decided to make a quick detour and visit Rob, Lacey, and the babies one more time.  Lacey was out, but we played in the yard for a bit with everyone else.

This is ‘R’s favorite yard for harvesting huckleberries.  He spent much of his time picking them for himself and the little ones.  Imagine hearing four little mouths beg for “bewwees”…

The boys and I met up with friends at a local park.  We spent four hours visiting and the kids enjoyed playing together.  My heart was overflowing with gratitude over the blessings of friendship.  Thank you all for sharing your afternoon with me.  This was a special day and I will never forget it!

My “inked for life” sisters, Liann and Lacey, with the rare shot of having all four  quadruplets together!

Carol and Me…

Kristen and Linda…

Lacey and Kathy…

This is my “sister from another mother”, Michelle, and her beautiful daughter, Buttercup. (That’s her real name; I’m sticking to it ;))

Sweet Amy’#1 and Sweet ‘A’ #2…

It’s a party!  Heather, Julie, and Liz!

Megan and three of her four fine sons.  #4, Baby ‘E’ is in the picture below this one…

Megan and Me…

Kirsten and Robin…

One of our fun traditions is to meet up with our friends, John and Ann, at Qdoba.  We were able to enjoy dinner outside and get caught up on each other’s lives.  Always a treat and something we look forward to…

We were able to spend an evening with my “little”  brother.  We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant in North Bend, El Caporal.  Our friend, Jessie, recognized our car in the parking lot and, yay!,  joined us for dinner…

After dinner, we went to see my brother’s new home.  He is renting a fabulous cabin out on Christmas Creek!

My “little” brother on his commute home…

Doesn’t this cabin just scream “Devin!”?

I had to have Devin model this.  This is his kitchen and that is his refrigerator.  This is all ONE long piece!!  I have never seen anything like this before…

Back at my mom’s house, the boys enjoyed playing hide and seek.  ‘A’ could not find ‘R’ and after a while he had to tell us where he was….brilliant!!

A definite highlight of the trip was an afternoon with our two nieces.  They are growing up sooooo fast!  We had a nice lunch, then a visit to a local business park and bookstore…

I love these two precious cuties! 

Perfect weather.  Quiet days.  Delicious food.  Special moments.  That’s our time in a nutshell…

Playing with Luke the dog…

Our country boy…

Going for a walk…

Exploring the jawbone of a deer or something bigger…

These cows were funny.  The first time they saw us, they startled and ran away from us, watching us the whole time.  We continued on our walk for another half  mile or so, and when we returned, the cows saw us and ran up to us like we were family!

Another walk on Grandma and Grandpa’s almost five acre property…

This is a good sized ant hill!

A campsite that Grandpa has set up…

Looking toward their house…

OOOHhhhhh!  A deer skeleton.  COOL!

Shucking corn with Grandpa…

There are deer everywhere…

We went for a special dinner on our last night.  It was great eating outside, and there was nice, live Jazz music.  But, the restaurant was pathetically understaffed and overbooked.  If this was our first time here, we would not return.  But, we have had a wonderful experience previously.  It was in winter, though, so maybe we need to make this a holiday destination instead.

Our parting shots…until next year!

On the drive from Sandpoint to Issaquah, we encountered an incredible sight that we had not seen before.  Wind energy was set up just east of Ellensburg.  One section of a hill was covered.  It was pretty impressive!

The drive from Chelan to Sandpoint afforded us plenty of beautiful country views.  (Side note: we had a little drama.  ‘A’ developed an infected finger and we had to detour to the ER in Spokane for treatment.  He is improving…)

Our family tradition is to spend the 4th of July  at my aunt and uncle’s house on Lake Chelan.  We have a theme costume party based on a state.  This year, it was ‘Massachusetts.’  The weather was unseasonably colder than normal.  This did not dissuade the kids from spending the day swimming, although they spent much more time in the hot tub as well.  (The  precious girl in the photos is my niece, ‘K’).

Playing in the water…

David at the wheel…

The kids love “tubing”.  The house in the background is my aunt and uncle’s…

My gorgeous (and oh-so old) cousin, Katy!

An extremely unusual view this time of year.  The hills are never this green!!

The ultimate party barge.  Notice the couch??

Fishing for trout and bass…

‘A’ caught a small mouth bass.  When Charles tried to get him to hold the fish through the mouth, ‘A’ said, “no, that’s disgusting.”  Then, ‘R’ immediately jumped in and said, “I’ll do it!!”

Uncle Artie, working hard…

I love my auntie, hubby, and mama!

Uncle Art and baby ‘H’…

Costume time!  The cranberry farmer and Boston Red Sox…

The tea bag from the Boston Tea Party and the Salem Witch…

The lobster and the fisherman…

The Pilgrim and Native American…

Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard…

The family shot…

Mama and me…

“I will get you, my pretty….”

The next door neighbors were kind to invite the kids over for face painting.

Next year: Theme ‘FLORIDA’!

We managed a short visit with my grandfather and aunt.  They both live in different units of the same condo on the waterfront of Puget Sound.  It’s a lovely place to live and to visit.  I wish we could have made it longer, but I am glad we were able to see them for a little bit.

Our gang, with Grandpa/Great-Grandpa…

Grandpa, Auntie DeeDee and the boys…

Their lovely view…

Bye, Grandpa!  We love you and look forward to seeing you sooner than later!