Wildlife Hunt

G and I (and M by default since he is in the van) like to take the long way home to go on wildlife hunts. We look for deer, ducks, etc. but usually just see the horses at the horse farm. Today we hit the jackpot. I saw 2 deer, but G missed them since they were behind a big evergreen tree. As we drove by the water we saw a big "family" of ducks (buffleheads actually) and then a hawk. On the way up the other side of the hill I decided G needed to see the deer so we cut across the horse farm road and there HE was in a field: coyote. We heard them last summer but never saw one. Not the size I thought. Larger than I thought. Like the size of a German shepherd. All summer I was thinking that if the kids saw one it wouldn't go after them because they were too big----- wrong. M is well within 'catch' range for this guy. He was sniffing around like he was looking for the deer. We found the deer again and then had to drive back and see coyote again. I stopped and had G take a good look and we talked again about how when any strange animal comes in the yard they should not go near it. Even G understood this. Seeing this totally creeped me out.
love an hugs and keep an eye on the kids when you live in the wilderness,
B

Saturday was beautiful here. Warm and sunny. We went downtown in the morning to the art museum because it was free. D and I had a great time seeing the David Macauley exhibit (The Way Things Work) and the kids always love the open art studio for making their own creations. Pic of kids at open art:

We ate lunch down on the water and then headed home. I walked the big loop down to the water and then back up the hill and past the horse farms. The road is open again after mudslide clean up (finally). Two pics of Rainier (one by water and one from the top of the hill) and then one of a friend from the horse farm. He ran right over to see me.

Thanks to D for keeping the monsters in line while I walked. It was very refreshing.

I also have to give a quick shout out to the very best shoes in the world.

These are my new Nikes.

Not only are they too cute for words but they make me want to run---- I ran three of my laps at the Y today as a matter of fact. I always said I would only run if someone was chasing me--- that is no longer true. These beauties are like running on a cloud. Yes, I do sound a bit crazy so I will stop now.

love and hugs and make sure you have the proper shoes,

B

PS--- we are going to get ice cream today which means AAAAAAAAAA 97.84 to be exact. Yippeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Owed You Some pics

Here is a pic of G after passing his swim lessons; he is now an eel, but we already knew that:

Also adding pic of E missing his top front tooth. He bumped into someone at the pool Thursday and now the other top front tooth is quite loose as well. He really looks like a hockey player. He was so pleased that he pulled it by himself.

Hopefully we will get out and about this weekend and do something fun for more pics.
love and hugs,B

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=astISOttCQ0&feature=related Click this link to see part of the kids favorite song on youtube. Hilarious! Even funnier to watch them watch the video.

Out of School!

For now.... actually we all are out of school or as D would say: we have no class. I think he is projecting.

E and G are out for President's Week break. It has been quite nice here so we are getting out to play. All are anxiously awaiting my grades because I promised a trip to Dairy Queen if they are good. E would do an hourly check for them if he could--- who knew he could be so desperate for ice cream.
E has lost one of his front top teeth so he looks like a hockey player-- I would put a pic in here, but he is being rude about having his picture taken. E is the LEGO master of the house. Before Christmas we had not a single LEGO in the house and now the playroom is literally covered.
G is loving preschool. Sometime in the last 3 weeks (while I was missing) I made him miss a day because it was snowing so hard I wasn't sure I would get back to school to pick him up. He cried like his heart was broken. Two weeks to K registration!!!!! We are all excited about that.
M is M. He is cute and smart and into everything. He is very polite. I think my reminding the older two about being polite is rubbing off more on M than them.
That is it. That's a summary of three weeks lost. I am trying to decide if I should take the other class in March or wait until April. I think I want it over with.

love and hugs,
B

Mudslide Pics

Saturday was beautiful so I escaped class and soup making (for Soup-er Bowl) and walked down along the water where the mudslide was... and I remembered the camera. They have been working (slowly) to clean it up so it doesn't have quite the impact that it had when I saw it even a week ago.

First of all here is the way the cliffs usually are right next to this road. You can tell they are just sand and rocks. Also a pic of the other side of the road with guard rail intact.

Now here are a few pics of the slide area, what's left on the sea wall where the guard rail post was, and the slide itself.

Also the debris left on the beach. The root balls and tree trunks were not there before the big slide. There is also a tree (yes, looks like the whole thing) out in the water. What you can't see is that this area is covered in 1-2 feet of water at high tide so some of the debris has already been washed out over the past few weeks.

It was a beautiful day for a walk though and so good to get out of the house. Two final pics from the walk of the Fox Island bridge and a farm I pass on the way down to the water.

love and hugs, B