Delayed Catapiller

I had 6 children laughing and playing in my house today. Wonderful. But, it helped me realize that 5 is still an manageable number of kids, 6 starts getting a bit tricky. How my Vavo' did it I'll never know. I had my 3, Noah, and I watched my niece and nephew while my sister ran to costco. Everyone had so much fun playing together!

Tomorrow is Isaac's birthday so  today I had to put the cake together. It did not turn out how I hoped, but it seems cute enough. I decided to make it out of fondant, and I tried marshmallow fondant (a beast I've never used) so there was one hell of a learning curve. I just hope he likes it tomorrow.

Rosie's Chorizo

I am so pleased we spent the night! This morning Rosie made her 'famous' Chorizzo! Cliff has been telling me ever since we met about how she makes the best chorizzo he's ever tasted in his whole life and today I finally got to taste it for myself. He was not exagurating! My tongue was in paridise!

Last night I spoke with Rosie about how things have been in our house and some of the challenges I've (we've) been facing. It so comforting to know people who went through, what I'm going through now, and how they've stayed in one piece. This morning at breakfast they took the time to talk about how their family is similar to their own. The kids love them and I hope that it was helpful for Isaac to see other families are like ours as well. Even better, the dynamic of how the kids spend time with their parents in the seperate homes is very similar to our own right down to having a child (in my case Evelyn) who never leaves. It re-affirms my belief that what I do is the right thing for our family.

Cliff teaching Isaac how to play chess with Tony

We had to head out in time to make it back to town for the inspection on our new home, but sadly we were misinformed about what time we should be there and the inspector called us to say he was leaving while we were still in Modesto. Bummer. Tomorrow is the pest inspection and we'll be there for that one.

When we got home I just didn't have any energy left and I fell asleep on the couch. I needed that nap. Considering our very busy weekend filled with many late nights, I was super proud of how well the kids did. Everyone was sent to bed a little early because tomorrow will be another fun filled day.

Before we left Tony gave all the kids a ride in the wagon. He even humored me with a photo op.

Pictures Here

Double Graduation

Today was the last REI used gear sale, this time in Folsom. At least in Folsom it's random entry so I didn't have to worry about getting in line early and camping out. What I didn't understand is that it's random, RANDOM entry. They pass out raffle tickets and the last number is all that matters. In my case I was 2-score. Bad news, they then draw another random ticket and THAT number becomes the first group, in this case 5. Crap!

I found somone nice enough to trade tickets with me (every ticket admitted 2 adults and 2 children) moving me up a few digits. I was pretty bummed to learn that they let people in only as others exit, not in the timed fashion that Roseville does.

Trying to get the puppy's attention

I did a good deed and let another single woman (who showed up at 7am not knowing it was a raffle entry) come in with me, but by the time I got inside the only trekking poles left were $50 and there were no more vibram fivefinger shoes left. I found a bike trailor (the kind you put two kids in) in perfect condition for half off. It took me awhile to get ahold of Cliff to see if he wanted me to get it (no) and I'm gratful for that since by the time I went to leave a pair of fivefinger shoes was placed back on the table at less than half price. The exact pair I found most comfortable the day before in my size (I'm a 39/40) and returned because the size was wrong.

I got home just in time to apply my makeup and head out the door for a double Graduation party in Modesto with Cliff's buddy from the Army. The party was a lot of fun for all of us and we ended staying up talking with Tony and Rosie until the wee hours of the morning. They may not be related by blood, but they are family in every sense of the word.

They played ping pong until the wee hours of the morning

Pictures Here

Tea Parties and Full Houses

Today felt like a dream. Okay, so the migraine sucked, and the baby-who-refused-to-sleep-last-night-resulting-in-grumpy-baby-AND-Mama wasn't too fun, but otherwise the day was perfect. This week has been terrible it seems. It's like the second school let out appropriate behavior flew out the window. Somehow, after countless threats I can't follow through on, and a bedroom with NOTHING in it my well mannered children returned.

Not one fit, tantrum, fight, yelling match, etc happened today.

My day was overbooked (some days I feel like that may be the only thing I'm truly successful at) but it managed to work out quite perfectly.

A slide, AND a play house. Evelyn had a blast!

This morning Juliana had a tea party for all the kids (9 to be exact- not counting the baby). She had dress up clothes (Evelyn wasn't interested), tea and crumpets (Evelyn wasn't interested, only wanted strawberries), and plenty to do and play with. Evelyn was super tired so she was not too sure about playing with that many kids her size, but she seemed to have a good time. Assuming of course, that I was never more than a foot or so away from her. *sigh*. We had to leave after just over an hour because she was so tired she just couldn't take the excitement anymore. She was asleep before I reached the freeway. More pictures from the successful tea party here.

I picked up the boys from Cliff's work (I gave them the option to attend the tea party but not suprisingly they chose to sit in the office at work and watch a movie) and we got home literally minutes before Tasha arrived with my beautiful niece and nephew. I was dissapointed that even with 4 kids running freely through the house Evelyn remained asleep and missed the fun but it all worked out.

The boys played Prince and Princess being chased by kidnappers; hide and seek; tag; chef; and several other games and yet they were still dissapointed when their mom returned. It was the first time they've ever really been to my house. I'm dissapointed that I'll be moving further away from them and making future play dates more difficult but today was a dream come true. My house was filled with the sound of playful giggles and my children got to spend time with their cousins.

Turned out to be a good thing because I didn't anticipate it taking that long to get home and made it home literally  minutes before my sister dropped off her 2 kids for a play-date while she got some mommy work out time. I was in heaven! 4 kids playing happily (and wonderfully loud) together. Evelyn didn't make a peep from her crib. A part of me wanted to poke her awake so her laughter could be joining in the fun as well.

After my niece and nephew left and Evelyn eventually woke up I took all the kids to get my favorite gelato and watch the fountains (at The Fountains. Very original name). Alex got smores, Isaac went for classic chocolate, and Evelyn surprised me and was in obsessed with coconut. Who would of guessed. When the gelato was melted we got up close and personal to watch the 'waterfall!'.

45 minutes, standing in the sun, still fighting off my headache. It may not be my best description off fun, but the kids had a blast. Just wish I had remembered my camera. And my sunglasses, come to think of it.

I also managed to get shopping done at 2 stores with the kids (and 4 without!), dinner ready and on the table when Cliff got home, 2 boxes packed, and some lite cleaning.

My treat to myself, I ended my errands at REI to check out lamps and try out the fivefinger shoes. Crazy comfortable, but a b*!ch to put on. If they have my size (my feet are two drastically different sizes- 'cause I'm a freak like that) at the sale tomorrow I may actually get a pair.

 It's so far past my bedtime and I'm suffering from such severe sleep deprivation that I didn't even notice as I  gave up several hours of my life to reading snarky mommy blogs. Day=productive. Night=questionable.

Sacramento Zoo After Hours

This whole running a day behind thing I'm doing, shame on me. Improvement to follow.

Today had it's challenges that's for sure, but none the less I ended the day with a bang. My dear friend is a member with the Sacramento Zoo and they were having a member appreciation night.  I didn't know if Alex would enjoy himself or not but I was pleased that he wanted to come with me. We got to go with my friends to the zoo after normal closing hours. We got to be around during some feeding times and since the temperature from the hot day started dropping the animals were more active.

They had their educational animals out for us to see and pet. There was a *tragically blind* hawk to see and a very large boa that everyone got to touch. We ventured into the reptile house and Evelyn desperately wanted to hold the frogs that were clinging to the desplay glass.

They had a show about animals from around the world and I found my new favorite pest. I love the kookaburra! It mates for life (always a cool thing in the animal kingdom) and it's unique song I actually enjoy (I'd rather hear it outside my window then the dreded nightengales we currently have). It's a pest in Austrailla becasue it's extrememly territorial and if it attacks, it knows to go straight for the eyeballs. Maybe I will happily deal with the annoying nightingale and it's song- at least it doesn't try to blind me.

We had one more pretty awesome surprise while checking out the large cats. The tigers were playing and eating their treats, the jaguar was walking circles, and the lion roared at a duck that flew to the top of it's enclosure. What a bone rocking experience! Evelyn was scared at first, then after she was 'safe' in Mama's arms she didn't want to leave. She wanted to talk about how loud the lion was.

Unfortunately, we failed to get our tickets for the train or carasel before they closed, but Cliff gave Alex and Evelyn each $10 to get a souvenir and with the 25% discount they were offering on everything they were both able to get decent gifts. Evelyn fell in love with a stuffed jaguar (as she thinks of it, Diego's Baby Jaguar), and Alex got a fan/spray bottle combo to help battle summer's heat.

Alex had a great time and took a ton of great pictures. I got a few taken, but it was past Evelyn's bedtime so it became rather difficult rather quickly. 

Duck, Duck, Duck, Crumb!

What a beautiful sunny day! I personally hate the heat, but I welcomed the sunshine and any heat it brought today because I got to take my kids to visit a pond with ducks. Even better, there were geese with goslings too! So cute!

I made plans to get together for a play date with my sister since we didn't have our boys for the family game night last weekend. It's great having kids of similar ages who all love to play together! I was so excited this morning that Evelyn let me put her in a pretty dress (she loved the stars on it) and let me put her hair up into a couple of bows. Noah had his sunglasses today, so of course Evelyn had to have hers on too. She looked like such a little starlet.

For whatever reason Evelyn would only bounce if
Alex was holding her in some way

The kids and I headed to my sisters house (next to the pond park) and let the kids get some energy out bouncing on the trampoline and running around the generous yard she has. When playing at home lost it's glamor we all walked over to the park and down to the pond.

I'm grateful that I only had fresh bread to feed the ducks because both babies were eating about as much as they were throwing. I'd give them a piece to throw and they'd eat it. I'd give them a piece to eat and they'd throw it. It got really humorous when they would put their arms back like they were about to throw the bread and then pop it into their mouth instead. A few times they would even start to eat the bread, chew it a few times, then change their minds, and then throw the soggy lump to the birds.

Alex had a great time taking pictures of the animals and he got some really awesome pictures of the different birds.

When the bread crumbs ran out the goslings went to playing across the pond and our own kids headed up the hill to play on the park. Evelyn climbed the wall all by herself for the first time today (still chanting subir the whole way up). I was super proud of her.

Just before we had to leave to take Noah home my other sister and her kids showed up. It was a little sad leaving when there were so many cousins to play together, but I know we'll get more chances to play this summer.

All the pictures from today

Birthday Jungle

This is how birthdays should be spent. Awesome day. Awesome. Nothing too serious or over the top, just a couple of kids doing what kids do best-having fun.

Climbing everything. Even the windows in the play house

Off to Wacky Tacky with 4 kids in tow.  He played with the big boys a little bit, and him and Evelyn made some little friends in the little person area but he is not one to have limited choices. He wanted to explore and he was off!

Birthday hug

Evelyn and I went with him (Evelyn wasn't sure what she could do and I wasn't sure what HE could do. I also wanted to make sure no bigger kids could pick on them). My worries were misplaced, he was having a blast. Evelyn still wasn't feeling 100% so she was nervous to be more than 2 feet away from me but she tried to follow Noah wherever he went. He's really fast at climbing and has no fear. They have a rather large slide and he went to the top of it and came down no problems. He also managed to make it through the bounce house obstacle course solo.

After almost 2 hours of non-stop running both babies were getting a little cranky and didn't want to share with each other

She was unsure in the ball pit but still had fun throwing balls

.



The other pictures here

Cracked Out on Coffee

Let it be a lesson to NOT drink multiple cups of regular coffee past 10pm. Bad choice. Tasty, but bad choice all the same.

Needless to say I could NOT fall asleep last night after our family outing. I was up until 6am and only then did I manage to sleep because I knew I wanted to wake up at 7am so I could go to the REI used gear sale.

The new hole feature cools your feet
and  allows water toescape.... and enter.

Unfortunately I didn't make it awake until 7:30 and by 7:50 I was in line with 50 people in front of me. Well, actually about 30 were in front of me but they had friends who joined them before they passed out place markers.

Not his first choice in color, but he likes them so far

I was FIRST... in the second group. Bummer. After the 10 minute head start the first group got the place was picked clean of any packs, tents, trekking poles (one guy took all 20 or so sets), sleeping pads, and sleeping bags. Also, no clothing worth my time. I did find my exact hiking boots brand new (not even any creases-they bought the wrong size) for $30. However, they were size 9.5- my perfect size until I put hiking socks on.

Which pair would you rather trek with?

I kept looking and I found two pairs of waterproof hiking boot possibilities for Cliff (his shoes got a hole on our last hike and were NEVER water proof). I called to find out what size he needed and I was able to score a $265 pair of boots for $50. Thank you to the other REI shopper that got home and didn't like the fit.

I also got to visit my beloved Big Agnes sleeping bag that I returned because I needed one just a little longer. Priced half off. I hope someone loves it at much as I did.

I managed to stay awake until the baby's nap time, but then she wanted to snuggle with me. Warm baby body on me, soft inviting couch under me... I didn't have a chance.  

The Inventor of a Beautiful Frog Farm

My Fandango dollars were expiring on Monday so Cliff and I used them to go see Thor this morning. We took Evelyn and she was actually pretty good, although bringing the ipod for her was a mistake because she wanted the volume up loud and was a little chatty with it. No big fits or anything that might ruin the movie for anyone (we went to the first showing so we wouldn't disturb many people). I wasn't expecting to like it very much when I heard it didn't have very many action scenes but I actually thought it was pretty good. My bottom line is I don't like feeling like I wasted money and in my mind, that was $9 well spent.

This is after our show and naturally Evelyn took the pretties out of her hair so her bangs are in her face.

Before the final
cheese layer

Jared managed to plan an impromptu family game night (one our elusive sister could actually join!) so I made a Modified Vavo' Lasagna for everyone and we brought Balderdash to play. That game is craziness with 9 people (especially with how chatty me and my sibblings are!) but it was hilarious and everyone made so many hilarious (correct sounding) answers! The game has been changed forever though, I can't believe I never thought of putting the answer in my own words when applicable to help it blend in! Good idea.

All the kids had so much fun playing together! Evelyn even got over her issues of being scared and not liking Auntie Lissa.

One more very funny moment when Drew was telling us his name. I'm still not sure how he made "I'm Drew" sound so crystal clear as "Athshole" but several of us heard it. I'll be working on getting that one on film for sure.

After Auntie Lissa had to leave the rest of us stayed and played a couple games of "You Don't Know Jack" on the Wii. I forgot how funny that game is, we used to all play it as kids! That about when we realized it was getting really late so we started packing up and saying goodbyes.

During this time poor Drew starts crying (making Evelyn very curious) and we find out that he was bit by Maxie who really wants to cuddle, but apparently not with him. He wasn't bleeding or anything and Evelyn then realized how much she wanted to pet Maxie too, so she climbed onto the bed and started stroking him gently. When my oldest brothers daughter entered the room intending to pet the cat as well his protective side came out and he started trying to get the kids to leave the cat so they wouldn't get hurt. I told him that I felt it was good for Evelyn to experience a cat and if she get's scratched or bit she'll learn even more from it so I wanted her to stay with the kitty as long as she wanted. My poor brother, I torture him so.

The White Lady's Proof

After a very trying day I found myself facing a growing pitbull in my own backyard. Lots of drama followed with my poopy-diaper-throwing-neighbors and animal control. The point of today, I am VERY grateful that I keep my camera handy because they tried to deny and turned it into a reverse racism thing saying the cops were believe the white lady over a mexican but the cops knew the truth because I had photographic PROOF. 

That's right, those are MY flowering green onions and a dog that I don't own in the same picture!

My full unnecessary complaint/story about this is here

Smoke Another One Bro

Today was actually really exhausting. Since yesterday was the last day of school we rented the boys a movie, made pizza and popcorn, and let them stay up until 9 (meaning they didn't go to sleep until 9:30). Normally, they are pretty good about sleeping in but Isaac woke up early and did everything in his power to get his brother to wake up and play with him. Jumping on the bed, throwing things, jumping on his brother.... exhausting. Needless to say the day was filled with MANY challenges and made dual nearly 2yo tantrums look like a walk in the park. 

Kim picked up the boys early and Evelyn was sleeping so I decided to check out Zediva and watch a movie on my computer. I glance out my window to find my neighbors pitbull in my back yard! I run out the back door assuming I was seeing things and I get greeting by a growing dog, then run back into my house before he tries to eat me.

I'm not afraid of dogs, and I have nothing against bully breeds, but this one is growing at me, has access to my backyard, and I frequently allow my children (including my 1yo!) to go into the backyard by themselves! 

The neighbors weren't home (not like I could talk to them without them trying to pick a fight anyway) so I called animal control. They were not able to come by until a few hours later and then all hell broke loose. The dog went back and forth between our yards a couple of times and luckily one of those times I decided it was a good idea to take a picture of it. 

That's right, those are MY flowering green onions and a dog that I don't own!

Turns out, taking a picture was a VERY smart idea. The neighbors denied having any pitbulls (told the cops it was a terrier and in regards to the other one the cop should figure it out for himself) so I told the cop to take a look over the fence for himself and sure enough he saw both pits. When the cop confronted him he kept saying he wasn't home all day (although he kept yelling at me that I should have knocked on his door, not called the cops), the dog isn't a pit, and it wasn't in my yard. Thank goodness for my picture, the cop told him (and I showed him) that I had PROOF. 

Very long story short, the neighbor yelled at the cops for being racist because they believed a white lady over the mexican; the neighbor picked fights with me every chance he could in front of the cops, he lied to the cops, pissed them off, and they said that if it happened again they dogs were getting taken away. 

The cops left, I heard pounding on the fence and rocks getting thrown around (and what sounded like dogs getting kicked) and then yelling. And more yelling. It's a very volatile family so I assumed they were screaming at each other until I started listening and I  heard words and sentences like "You better watch your F*ing back, I'm going to get you, you F*ing B!T@H" etc. I opened my door to see the tall fat wife from next door standing behind her shorter fat (sister?) with her arms spread out acting as if she's holding her back. I calmly asked if she was trying to say something to me (our doors look at each other) and she continues yelling out that she already did, and I should of talked to her-not called the cops, and I should go back to smoking my pot because she's going to get me. 

Can someone please pass me the joint because this house has complained about me from day one that I smoke weed all the time and how dare I use my upstairs bedroom light when it's dark. They don't like how it shines into their room (my blinds are drawn, but light is visible, try drawing your own blinds retards!).  The funny part of this (besides the point that using your household lights is considered normal) is that NEVER in my life have I ever smoked weed. I AM the anti drug. 

Needless to say I called the cops again (who hadn't even left the street). The neighbors denied it all (big surprise) and claimed I was taking pictures of them. Drama, drama, drama!

Search and Rescue

Cliff and I have both received calls from Fresno County Sheriff about what we found in the hole and I realized I haven't yet recorded the tale of what we found....

On the way to camp Wednesday afternoon we came across a hiking boot. Then we noticed a belt buckle, boxers, and a jean jacket with a wind breaker. Then dickies and the other hiking boot. We're a 2 hour hike from the closest area a car could possibly drive to so one complete outfit is completely out of place.

Cliff stopped to check the pockets of the jeans and found car keys. Who would leave without their keys?! Then, he checked the other pocket and found a wad of paper (what looks like papers and money from a wallet after it's been in a washing machine). From that wad all we could make out was the center part of american money and an insurance card that was 7 years old.

Everything was within 15-20 yards of each other and because it was almost 4pm and we weren't at camp yet we didn't spend any extra time looking for bones or more pieces. We also failed to remember to take a picture of the items and only took a snapshot of the insurance card in case it didn't survive the week in our packs. We kept the keys and belt buckle to help identify the person, and the card to figure out who they belonged to. I'm thinking now he won't be needing these items anymore and sadly he's probably became kibble and later fertilizer. It dawned on me only after I gave the local PD the items that I should of taken a picture.

I might have thought to take a picture on the way out or perhaps look around a bit more on the way out but we were chased out a day early from the inclement weather.

Fresno County is taking Cliff up on the help he offered to lead a team to where we found the items. They were going to drive in and check out the area but Cliff explained to them it's not something drivable, and how it was covered in 8 feet of snow when we left. They kept thinking we found these things just off of a trail.

The basic story as I understand it was that Enrique went missing in early 2005 March 2006 during a pretty nasty storm. His car was discovered at Black Rock Reservoir (a very difficult hike North from his car to where we found his clothes) and the case was filled with several possible suspicious-who-done-it's. The fact that we are positive there was money in his pocket makes it much more likely that he was lost or unwisely exploring.

There is a chance he washed downstream and won't be recovered ever, and there is a chance that maybe he's just a bit further up the hill. I hope that at the end of this his family has some closure and peace (although they will probably never know WHY). I also now know, that when something seems so out of place that I know I need to take items to possibly identify someone I should also be taking pictures of the area.

Jewels in Life

I have the most wonderful friends ever!
Juliana is my best friend and yet because of our crazy schedules (mostly MY crazy schedule) we never get to see each other. I'm hoping to change that this summer, but in the mean time this was such a great treat to have her come visit us! I haven't seen her daughters in what seems like forever. Were it not for facebook I'm sure I wouldn't have recognized them at all!
It made me very sad that Evelyn was being so shy about playing with her old friend. It was only for an hour but it was wonderful! Evelyn was a pain for a picture, but as usual Juliana's lovely daughters were more than happy to stay and pose until I got a usable photo with all the kids.

Juliana also came bearing a Dora play hut present for Evelyn and she absolutely ADORES that thing. She's spent every minute in it that she can. She pulls any toy she wants to play with inside and has a blast poking her head out the door and giggling.

Bone Hunt

More cleaning from our trip. I had to bring in the tent, pack, and shoes from the rain and I put the gun (unloaded and locked thanks to me) out of reach of little hands. Getting back into a full swing wasn't as hard as I expected, but I still had a lot of stuff that needed to be done! It was good to see the boys again, and Evelyn was super excited about them being home. Speaking of Evelyn:

The Monday before we left we took Evelyn to the Dr. because she was running a really high fever all weekend. He said she looked fine and it would run it's course. Tuesday, Mom came and picked her up so we could leave on our trip. By Thursday she had to take her back to the Dr. and discovered she had a raging double ear infection! My poor baby. It was actually really great that Mom had her because Evelyn was able to get all the individualized cuddles that she wanted and needed. Evelyn is back to acting mostly like her normal self again.

In my down time I finally started making the appropriate phone calls to attempt and track down info on Enrique from the hole.  The first several people I called didn't care less. Just told me it was 7 years old and not their problem. One lady from State Farm actually tried to help me and sounded concerned but they don't keep files that long. Just as I'm about to give up (he's not listed in the national public registry for missing persons) I get a hold of Fresno County Sheriff and they take my message (not sounding like they care either) and just a couple hours later call me back asking for more information.

Turns out, there is a missing person with that name, from that time period, in that area. FREAKY!

I gave them all my information and what I knew and also Cliff's info since he knows the area so well. I don't know the whole story yet but this is getting interesting!

I actually spent almost the entire free portion of day on the phone for one reason or another (bills, sheriff, etc) or dealing with the last week of school and I have no pictures.

Fail.

Case of the Mondays- To Go!

I'm not doing anything. I'm tired. We put the laundry from the trip in, washed all the dishes (and the camelbak), set out the tent, packs, sleeping bags, and boots for drying, then did nothing. Glorious nothing.

Penne San Remo. It was good and Evelyn loved

it, but we should of stuck to Penne Cardinale

We were still in our robes when Erin stopped by to return the house key (thank you for watching the house and keeping my plants alive) and phone and brought us a bottle of wine. Bogle Petite Syrah! Yum! This of course, inspired us to use my $10 off coupon from Alex's birthday (I completed a survey for it) and get take out food so we could continue doing nothingness.

Since Cliff didn't want to have to go anywhere I decided that I would order from Buca, run to REI and return the lamp and pick up another hammock (love that thing!), and then back to Buca when the food was done and bring it home.

Only one problem to my brillant plan my car seat was busted and wouldn't adjust forward from Cliff's positioning. So Cliff had to drive me to the car parts store to get a fuse, then drive me to Buca and REI. Bummer.

Dinner was divine and afterwards Cliff changed the fuse and moved my seat forward for me (unfortunately not enough for my short legs so it's still too far back and sadly it's broken again).

 I decided to run out one more time while REI was still having their awesome sale and exchanged my beloved sleeping bag for the longer version. Petite was just not enough space for my liking when it's actually cold. Of course REI is the best store ever and exchanged it with no problems. Hurray!

I Put it Away When it Stopped Being Fun

My camera captured the colors beautifully, but it's also snowing pretty hard right now. This is the view from the tent

It rained all night long. Hard. Cliff woke up to snow and yet somehow still managed to get a roaring fire started. Maybe last night's marshmallow madness wasn't a bad thing after all. We had a cup coffee and then headed out without breakfast a little after 8am. No time to make food- the ground was a mud pit and that means that the granite face was going to be 'slick as snot'.

I'm slipping while finding my way up

We had a couple of slips, but luckily we all managed to stay *mostly* upright and on the rock where we belonged. It was scary at times, but we made it to the top of both granite cliffs in one piece. The bigger one, was only accomplished with the assistance of the rope Cliff so expertly tied before we left.

Our reward after each major obstacle (first granite face, large granite face, top of the mine tailings) was celebrating in some way. Group hug!

If we stopped for too long our limbs and digits felt frozen so we kept moving and kept our breaks short. Navigation was difficult because the fog was so thick we couldn't see past the trees that were right in front of us. Again, Cliff's experience got us to the top in a direct route without backtracking. I love him!

Staged photo, but it shows the crazy weather on the road

We were all so soaked from the rain and snow that when we finally reached the river crossing we didn't bother to change our shoes and remove our pants we just forged right on through and then kept hiking for the next hour to keep our bodies warm. It was still about an hour and a half from the car, but it certainly made all the other puddle crossings easier. We we stopped trying to find a way around them and just plodded right on through.

It really was a beautiful sight and I probably would of enjoyed it much more if we not in such a hurry to hike up the 2000 foot elevation change to reach our car.  Bert commented about his camera and how pretty it was but that "(he) put it away when it stopped being fun". It was lovely, but the kind of experience you don't go looking for. It was very stressful at times but luckily for us the three of us make a great team.

Traditional Group photo on the way out....this time while it was snowing  in front of the weird lake....
No practice shots this time just take one and keep hiking!

We got to the car by 2pm (holy speedy hiking boots, batman!) and stopped to feast for Brunner (breakfast/lunch/dinner) at Perkos Cafe. Delicious!

We made it home before 8pm, drove up to and got the baby, then came home beyond ready for a real bed.

All the pictures from today

Marshmallow Rain

With a bag of egg powder left over from the corn cakes we turned it into breakfast burritos with the help of our extra onion and the leftover tortillas. Excellent (eggcelent) way to start a morning! The eggs were a little more rubbery than fresh eggs, but still tasty. I just wish I had brought a little salsa, then it would of been perfect!

Today we finished hiking upstream searching for somewhere to cross and fish at the upper pool. We got really lucky and found a fallen tree to cross over on so we never had to use our water shoes or get wet. The fishing wasn't very good though. Bert caught a fish on the first cast but the fish's skill in aerobatics got it free from the hook.

The upper pool. 3 years and I finally got to visit it. I prefer the lower pool...

One of the bigger falls

The noisy falls just out of sight from the pool

The day wasn't a complete bust for me though, I ventured up the hill a little ways for a beautiful view of one of the bigger waterfalls and a closer look at at the one we were fishing from that was making all the noise.
Near the upper pool we came across a very well set up camp. They had rock benches made, a good fire pit with many grates, a stick to hang their pot of water from, and a full size shovel. At first I was really freaked out because I didn't want to run into  other campers that might be thinking they were all alone and getting myself accidentally shot (crazy things happen in the woods).

Once we looked in the fire-pit though we could tell no one had been there in a long time. Turns out, they hadn't been there in many years and they didn't take any care in preserving any of their equipment, just shoved it on the dirt, next to the rock. To be honest, I was surprised they even took their tents down. They had good quality equipment and they left it all just to rot. Camping chairs (and a camping chair turned potty), fishing pole (no reels), sleeping bags, The North Face tent, food, water shoes, mining pans... the list goes on and everything was just left to rot. They didn't even have the decency to burn their trash. It's hard to go to a place as beautiful as Hell's hole and see people who've come there before you and trashed. We have no respect for our land anymore.

With the way it was left we didn't feel bad about swiping one of the (many) camping chairs and the smaller hatchet. Nobody is coming back for this stuff and chances are it will be us who cleans this campsite on another visit.

Always one to look for the best places to hang my hammock I found the perfect location. Two trees on either side of the stream at the base of the waterfall. Sadly for me, I couldn't quite reach that second tree so I had to settle for a nearby location. Beautiful, and peaceful sounding, but boy howdy is it chilly having all the water blow on you as you try to lounge. We stopped just long enough to take some pictures then pulled the hammack down and headed back to camp.


Heading back to camp we only had 2 fish but Cliff is never one to fail us (or our tastbuds) he managed to catch the biggest fish of the trip off the waterfall next to our camp. Three large fish for dinner!

We decided that it was our last night before hiking out (the weather was starting to look very threatening) so we feasted on our remaining food (and marshmallows) and did our end of trip cleansing fire. Of course, the sugar high from the marshmallows just started the wackiness. I started sacrificing marshmallows into the fire just to watch them explode and that started a marshmallow spitting contest. How far (or high) can you spit it? After all the marshmallows were gone Cliff went into productive mode and he broke down all our wood and stacked it even though we only needed enough for a fire for the morning.

I was so tired on the hike in I knew I needed sleep to hike out so I went to bed early and the boys stayed up playing cards. When it started raining they didn't run into the tent and hide, they made a makeshift fort (they hid under a tarp) and finished their game.

Unfortunately, it never stopped sprinkling. It did however, turn to total downpour and those clouds just opened up and dumped rain on us. I'm very thankful for Cliff's expertise because earlier in the night (when Cliff said he didn't think it would storm, just sprinkle a little) he decided that it was better to be safe than sorry and he tied our tent rainfly down (bad things could of happened without it) and dug a trench around the tent so we didn't end up a soggy mess. Needless to say, it was a VERY good thing he prepped the camp so well.

All the pictures from today 

Sweet Corn Cakes

Late start this morning but somehow we still made it up the hill in time to find fish for dinner. Mother nature got up close and personal with us this trip. On the hike up to the river we came across a pair of alligator lizard and as we picked our sections of the river to fish from Bert nearly stepped on top of a water snake.

You could see the fish in the water, but they didn't seem to care what we threw in the water, they weren't about to bite. Bert had a HUGE fish chase his kastmaster lure once, but it never bit and it didn't chase a second time. I was successful at catching 2 fish, but they were both small and we threw them back. The second fish almost didn't get off the hook and I decided I was done picking on baby fish for the day so I moved on to picking on other wildlife.

It's hard to see the small picture, but his tongue is out

Cliff came across another water snake so I made my way up close to it and took it's picture repeatedly until I was able to capture it with it's tongue out. Small victories.

Since it was already late in the day we decided to head back to camp and hike to the upper pool tomorrow.

Another delicious meal of fish, rice, and fresh steamed broccoli followed by a new treat from Cliff: sweet corn cakes. Oh my, those were YUMMY! They didn't even survive long enough out of the pan to cool, we were gobbling them up so fast. We will be hiking with that recipe again!


All the pictures from today

Dutch Oven Bear-ey Cobbler

Big scary clouds in the sky had us prepping for stormy weather today. It never came, but we were ready for it if it ever did.

 We were all still a little tired from our hike down so we chose today to be a lazy day. Cliff made a glorious fire-pit and then made a shower for us. We live in luxury down here! I adjusted the hammock and gave it a good tryout and Bert was messing with his fishing gear. Great lazy day.

Eventually we had to get dinner so we ventured down stream, just to the rushing water pools looking for fish. We had a few possible bumps, but nothing biting so we had to find our fish at the main pool by camp floating worms.

On the way back to camp I found the perfect place to set up my hammock. It was WONDERFUL! Right at the edge of the pool, in front of the waterfall, super peaceful! We all took turns relaxing for a bit, enjoying the gentle motion of the rocking hammock.

Good news for us- we caught enough fish for everyone meaning another tasty dinner of rice, fish, zucchini, and onions.

As an extra surprise Cliff made us blackberry cobbler in the dutch oven I hiked down. Cliff tended to the coals the whole time and it was such a wonderful smelling treat when we finally got to open it. Cliff, as usual, finished first and went to the 'kitchen' to wash his plate only to come crouching back telling me there was a bear across the river- I should get my camera. Camera?! Get the gun!!!

Needless to say I stood there useless, Cliff and Bert got cameras and took a few pictures, then grabbed their guns and fired a few rounds into the air scaring away the bear. It was actually pretty funny, the first fired shot scared him so much he fell onto his butt in a daze. By the second shot he was back to his feet and running up the hill (away from us) faster than Cliff was able to empty the chambers (again, to scare, not injure). Last years rattlesnake hill, this year a bear.



All the pictures from today