Snowshoeing at Crystal Springs Sno-Park

Brandon and I went snowshoeing today at the Crystal Springs Sno-Park on Stampede Pass with my sister Jenny and her family. Alden, our 3 1/2 year old nephew got a chance to try out his new mini snow shoes! He did a great job keeping up with the big kids. Click on photo below to see more photos of our snow day.

Foggy Day on Cougar Mountain

 

Saturday we went hiking on the De Leo Wall trail loop on Cougar Mountain. It was a beautifully strange day, full of lots of fog and sunshine. Moss seemed to cover everything and icicle pellets sparkled everywhere. Enjoy a few photos from our hike by clicking on the photo .

Peaceful Sunday on Vashon Island

It’s official..we are moving to the Eastside and this was our last weekend before we have to get to work and serious about packing. We decided to spend a lazy Sunday exploring Vashon Island. On our way to the Fauntleroy Ferry we stopped at one of our favorite coffee shops, the Java Bean, for some yummy coffee and eggels. Once on Vashon we visited Point Robinson Park for a short hike down to the beach and up to the Pt Robinson Lighthouse. We found a cute swing at the far end of the beach where we took a moment to swing in peaceful silence. The day got increasingly more chilly and dreary and so in town we found the Vashon Tea Shop where we relaxed and read the newspaper with a pot of delicious Rooibos Tea. It was a good day.

Camping on Olympic Peninsula

Sept 5-7 we joined my side of the family and some friends Camping at Dungeness Recreation Area on the Olympic Peninsula. Dungeness Spit is the longest natural sand spit in the United States. Extending 5 miles into the Strait of Juan De Fuca. It was a relaxing weekend of hanging out, playing with the kids and a little hiking. Brandon had a hard day Saturday (little sleep on Friday night) with some stomach issues, headaches and fatigue so after a leisurely brunch he took a nap in our nice new, spacious tent while the rest of us headed down to the beach. We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather all weekend and on Saturday night we witnessed a breathtaking sunset that seemed to go on hours. After s’mores and some bedtime songs and snuggling with the kids, Brandon and I had a very restful sleep (one of his first good nights sleep in quite a while). On our way home we stopped at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center to view the artwork and then took a slight detour to stop in the town of Seabeck on the Kitsap Peninsula. Enjoy more photos by clicking on the photo of Brandon and the girls.

Bear Lake Reunion

Labor Day weekend we went to a Family Reunion for Brandon’s Mom’s side of the family. We flew into Salt Lake City early Friday morning and first thing met up with Meggan and Luie to visit Grandpa Dan and Grandma Luene. We enjoyed a nice lunch then got a chance to see their new place. We then drove about 3 hrs to  the Reunion at Bear Lake, Idaho 1.5 miles from the Utah border. It is a beautiful place and the weather was perfect! It was great to see the family and for me to meet a few of the cousins I’ve never met. There was lots to do, Swimming, ATVing, Waterskiing, Caving, Hiking. Brandon and I explored the Minnetonka Caves on Saturday and went hiking at Bloomington Lake on Sunday. We had so much fun and feel truly blessed to have such a loving family and look forward to next year’s reunion!

Harmony Hill Cancer Retreat

Monday, Aug 25th we were invited to join Harmony Hill Retreat Center in their course “Tools for the Journey: Living with Cancer”. Tools for the Journey is a one-day mini-retreat that taught us breathing and stress reduction exercises; basic Yoga and Qigong; Guided Imagery; and provided cancer resource recommendations. For lunch they prepared delicious organic vegetarian food. After lunch while Brandon took a quick nap I participated in their labyrinth orientation and walked one of their labyrinths, which was very therapeutic. The center has 3 labyrinths, one lavender labyrinth, one garden labyrinth, and one made from oyster shells. The overall experience was very beneficial and we look forward to attending their 3-day retreat soon. Click on photo to see photos of their grounds of Harmony Hill located in Union, WA on the south shore of Hood Canal.

Art in Tacoma

On our way to the Olympic Pennisula for our mini-retreat we planned a day of art viewing in Tacoma. It was a perfect day to spend indoors because as soon as we got to downtown Tacoma it started raining. We first visited the Glass Museum where they had exhibits that ranged from teaching you an introduction to glass art to displaying Italian art pieces and our local yet world known Dale Chihuly’s art. We then walked a short distance to the Tacoma Art Museum where we saw more glass exhibits as well 2 of their touring exhibits. The Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible presents the only handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned since the advent of the printing press more than 500 years ago. Also, my favorite was The Forty Part Motet, by Janet Cardiff where eight groups of five speakers arranged in a large oval allow visitors to experience the choral composition from the vantage of individual performers. The piece performed is Spem in Alium which was written for a forty-voice choir in 1573. It was very meditative standing in the room and almost put you in a trance state of relaxation. We then checked into our hotel where we got a great weekend rate at the beautiful Murano Hotel. It is almost an art musuem itself! Every one of its twenty-something floors has a different artist and they display over 45 pieces of international glass art. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

Hiking at Olallie State Park

Today we went for a short hike at Olallie State Park (“Olallie” is the Chinook Jargon word for “berry” and park is rich in huckleberries).  It was a warm and sunny day and we wanted to get outdoors and enjoy it! Jenny, Alden, Gavin and Katie joined us. When we arrived at the entrance we found a cute self-serve raw honey stand. I couldn’t resist and promptly picked up a pound for us. Once on the trail our nephew Alden did a great job of keeping up and entertained us with his singing and questions about the sites and sounds on the trail. Brandon’s fatigue, headaches and stomach aches are still hard to handle but he kept good spirits the whole way. After about 45 minutes of hiking we were getting tired so Jenny, Gavin, and Alden continued up the trail to the Falls and Katie, Brandon and I headed back home. To view more photos of our hike click on photo link.

Radiohead @ White River Amphitheatre

Wednesday night we went to the Radiohead Concert. Brandon was really excited since they are one of his favorite bands. I would have to say it was one of the best live concerts we’ve ever seen! The light show was done with LED lights to save energy. This tour Radiohead is trying to reduce their carbon footprint so we got VIP parking for carpooling, they sold t-shirts made from organic cotton and recycled plastic. Although we were sitting in the lawn section and got rained on the last hour, the acoustics were amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed the show!

Another walk in the park

So today I woke up to find that my wonderful husband had prepared breakfast in bed for me. Along with extreme fatigue, at times Brandon has anxious energy from the interferon, which makes it very difficult to sleep and so this morning he woke up very early, went for his first jog since his surgery and then made breakfast. We then decided to go to the Fremont Sunday Market to find some birthday gifts for friends and family. After some pizza for lunch we went a few blocks down the road to Gasworks Park. We heard there was a Peace Music Festival and wanted to check it out. It turned out that there were two music events fighting to be heard. Also, there was a very eclectic crowd which made things very interesting. Everything from a bride and groom and their wedding party taking photos to Medieval Knights practicing their fight moves in full steel armor! Click on mountain of metal for more.