Random photos from the last few months of 2021

Well, here are some random goodies.  The kids' favorite things to take pictures of are their pets.  We had plenty of good time that I can't justify as separate blog posts so here's a bunch. 

Ozzi decided he should be a driver's ed student with Kayda.  He got up on the chair like this by himself.  He has NEVER sat on one before.  It looked pretty funny. 

Buddy is the most chill pet ever.  He was falling asleep on Carson's back while we were playing board games.  Carson even started crawling around and Buddy just sat there. 

Dillon hates hugs and snuggles.  Every now and then I still manage to trap him though. He pretends to hate it but secretly I think he likes the attention. He's just a teenager. 

One evening we came home to this.  The boys cleared off the table and played ping pong on it using plates and a bouncy ball. They also tried Carson's mini volleyball.

I stuck Buddy in Dillon's hood while we played board games.  He didn't like how he had to hold his head so he wanted Buddy out.  Buddy was content though. 

Carson was given access to a math game called prodigy for school.  He logged on unprompted and played for a couple of hours at home. 

Kayda made this timeline for a class project.  

We had a door decorating contest at school.  Kayda and a few of my students worked with me to decorate.  We had a really good time...and even did the walls near the door.  It was obviously a Grinch theme.  There were several of them, but that's what the kids wanted to do. 

For the month of December we decided to watch a Christmas movie a day until Christmas.  Daddy and Kayda are the only ones that managed it.  One was playing every day but sometimes the boys would stay the night at a friend's house and some days I just had to sleep.  My body has been crashing hard and when I hit the wall that's it for me.    We watched some of the "classics" ..."A Christmas Story", "It's a Wonderful Life", Disney remake of "A Christmas Carol" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" .  We hated them.  Absolutely awful.  We watched a lot of our favorites though "Klaus", "Arthur Christmas", "Christmas Chronicles", the "Santa Claus" series and of course the "Prep and Landing" series.  We also spent a couple days watching cheesy Christmas movies, playing board games and doing other activities.  

 

COVID crazy part 2 - Ozzi

First came the bearded dragon.  Then came a puppy.  We looked and looked to adopt a rescued puppy.  Unfortunately, we didn't qualify for a lot of the places (we have no fence and no intention of fencing).  We did qualify at one place and they had a constant supply of puppies...but they were adopted faster than you could blink.  I started looking for puppies to buy, it was hard though because we are firm believers in the superiority of "mutts" and most every dog being sold is a purebred.  Then I stumbled on a post about pit bull, lab, plus more puppies in Oregon.  I contacted them and arranged to come see them.  We aren't ones to buy a pet without meeting them in person and I'm so glad we hadn't arranged for a specific puppy.  There were ELEVEN puppies.  Some were blonde, others black, some brindle.  Some had white spots on them, others didn't.  They were all super sweet when we went to meet them.  The dogs all ambushed Carson waiting for pets and sniffing him out.  They lost attention quickly and wandered off.  Except one puppy.  He waited until the rest left and then went to cuddle with Carson.  That was it.  Carson had a puppy and the puppy had a boy.  

We followed the same process with names and the whiteboard.  Carson chose Ozzi.  We often just call him Oz but it definitely suits him.  

We let him explore the long grass in the pasture (longish I guess).  He LOVED it and would have to bounce around instead of running. You'd randomly see this tiny dog head pop up over the grass.  

Ozzi is probably our most photographed pet now, despite Kayda jamming up our photos with Tido over the years.  Since he's out and about there is more opportunity for him to do things that the kids simply can't resist photographing.  Here are some as of August 2021.

COVID crazy - Buddy

Quarantine is kicking our butts.  Carson especially has so much energy that none of us can keep up with him.  He has been asking and asking for a puppy since Hank died.  The answer was always a hard no.  Then COVID came.  Daddy and I talked and talked about it.  Despite knowing it was going to make travelling complicated in the future, we decided we could get a puppy.  But...that means Kayda has a pet, Carson has a pet.... that would leave Dillon out.  Turns out, Dillon has desperately wanted a bearded dragon.  We decide to pull the trigger.  We found a tank with some supplies we'd need on craigslist.  Then went and got a dragon!

We were able to get the bearded dragon before we could find a puppy so we got him first.  We all added possible names to a whiteboard and Dillon would erase them as he decided against them.  We came up with some pretty fun ones but Dillon decided to go the traditional route.  So we have Buddy the bearded dragon now. 

I'm adding to this from August 2021...

This picture is when Buddy had been with us for about a year.  Dillon got a harness with dragon wings from Grandma and Papa H for either Christmas or his birthday.  

After having Buddy for over a year we have discovered he is SUPER chill.  I've wandered around with him tucked into my vest, he'll just sit on you for a long time.  Every now and then he gets energetic and he will jump off the couch and go explore every nook and cranny he can find.  Ozzi makes him nervous for obvious reasons but there haven't been any problems between the two.  

We've taken Buddy outside a few times.  He hasn't been a real big fan.  He'll puff up his throat and turn black.  We're working on that.  Our friends that have a bearded dragons would take him to soccer practice in November!  I won't take him out then since it's so cold then, but he should be able to go with us most anywhere.  

Unfortunately, we can't bring him with us on ANY trips.  Our neighbor is really cool about swinging by every few days to give him water and some munchies, and he really likes Buddy too! 

Losing Hank

The day after Christmas Hank was acting a little strange.  He was struggling to get up on the couch and didn't want to eat.  He would put the food in his mouth, but wouldn't chew or swallow.  So Daddy took him to the vet.  They did an ultrasound and an x-ray and discovered he had a tumor on his spleen that was bleeding.  They gave us a few options: He be put down, he goes home with medicine that will either work or not, he stays over night to be monitored, or he has surgery.  After doing some reading and considering that he was 9 and a half.  We decided to bring him home.  We didn't want to put him to sleep.  He wasn't hurting, just very tired.  So he came home late Wednesday night.  We tried to give him medicine but he didn't want to eat so we had to force it, then he threw it back up.  We sat with him, pet him and talked to him throughout the day.  Nobody really left his side the whole day.  Later in the day he started to occasionally whine like he was hurting.  Then he would stop.  When he started the second time around that evening we decided we were going to take him in, let them put him to sleep.  We didn't want him to hurt.  As we were getting ready to go we noticed he started to start breathing differently.  We gathered around him a he stopped breathing.  It was terrible to watch and I seriously regret letting the kids watch the last minute.  It did not look easy.  We're so grateful that it was quick, that he wasn't miserable for long.  It happened quickly and while it was terrible it was so unexpected I'm glad it was a short time.  Of course, everyone was and is, devastated.  Kayda is having a particularly hard time, she is very sensitive.

He was a really good dog.  There is no way we could ever find another like him so I really don't think we'll ever get another one.  He was about as perfect a dog we could have for our family.  He only ever wanted to be with us, no matter where we were going.  There are plenty of regrets, for trips we took without him, or not taking him out a lot, but in general I think he had a good life with us.  He will be missed terribly.

Mount St. Helens

Tuesday was the start of our last summer camping trip.  We finished packing up, had everyone go to the bathroom and get ready to pile in the car...  The last step was to get Tido to his cage in the car.  I knew putting his cage in was a pain so I decided to put it in and bring him out to the car by hand.  Keep in mind I've had him outside with me before.  He would just hang out and even cower on my arm.  Well, this ended up being the worst possible decision.  For whatever reason, Tido decided that that day was the day he would really fly... Boy did he.  He circled the house and several of the neighbors' houses.  We called, held our arms up, did the standard things that would normally get him to come to us in the house.  Instead he decided to go land in a tree in the greenbelt, near the river, behind our neighbor's house.  

Fortunately we are friends and I was able to go through their yard and in to the green belt.  Daddy had seen him land in the tree and Kayda (with THE most obnoxiously high pitched screech a human can make) got Tido to occasionally make some noise.  We knew he was in the tree, but it turns out he is perfectly colored to blend in completely with that tree.  We could NOT see him. So Daddy and I took turns climbing up the weedy tree, with limbs of questionable strength, attempting to find the bird.  After an hour and a half it got too hot and we were really frustrated.  So we stopped and sat outside eating lunch.  Hoping the bird would chase us down for food, which he normally would do at home.  It didn't work.  So we climbed again.  

This time Daddy climbed even higher until it was absolutely too dangerous to go higher... and he saw the bird.  Way out on one of the branches.  He called to Tido, who of course wouldn't budge.  Daddy was able to get another branch and get Tido to climb on to it.  Then he got Tido on to his shoulder.  Keep in mind he's WAY up in a tree.  He had to get down.  I had tried climbing with the bird carrier earlier and the branches were so tight that it made it nearly impossible to make progress, but we were going to try again.  Before we could, Tido climbed up Daddy's arm and hopped out onto a branch again.  Daddy got a branch to reach for him again.... then Tido was gone.  He blasted out of the tree, circled the houses nearby, went to the other side of the street, circled houses and then flew off into the hazy afternoon.  Kayda and I ran out, jumped in the car and followed to the best of our ability.  We wandered around, Kayda with her obnoxious screech and me pausing at every sound.  Daddy and the boys walked the neighborhood.  We thought we heard him once but couldn't get him to make his noise again. 

 At that point we really didn't know what to do.  We went home, pulled his cage out back and sat.  We were sure we would never see that bird again.  We decided to make some arrangements, just in case, and head on our trip.  There are SO many hawks and eagles near where we live that we didn't think he would make it.  

So we headed to Beaver Bay Campground.  Kayda, of course, had a really hard time going to sleep that night.  We had no cell service so we had no way to check and see if he had been seen.  So first thing in the morning I drove in toward town to find reception.  Tido had been found!  Some local girls had been able to coax him in to his carrier (which Cassie brought to them).  So Kayda and I headed back him to get him.  The boys ended up stuck at the campground for the day since we had the car.  They played in the lake, and on the playground, and generally managed to stay entertained.  

 The boys were playing "American Ninja Warrior" on the playground.  Daddy would give them different ways they had to do things, for example, they would have to do the monkey bars doing 360's.

They found a couple of rocks to jump off of. These pictures were right after Kayda and I made it back.  Carson had been jumping early but I didn't get any pictures.

Here is the bird, safe and sound in his travel cage.  I am so angry with this bird, so is Daddy.  He's getting his wings clipped ASAP.  I'd been putting it off.  I learned my lesson, I'm not dealing with that again.

The kids had a great time with the hatchet.  They were constantly finding logs to try to chop.  They also used their pocket knives to saw the smaller branches.  All under supervision and with rules in place, of course.

Thursday we finally go to do what we had set out to do.  It was supposed to happen Wednesday but we were retrieving the bird.  So we headed up to Ape Cave.  After talking with the kids we decided to do the Upper passage.  It is longer and requires some climbing and scrambling, it certainly sounded like more fun. It is the longest known lava tube in North America so why not do the longer portion?  Our kids are pretty sturdy and adventurous so we thought we'd try it.

 Carson had a hard time with the cold and wanted to turn around for the first 30 minutes or so.  Daddy kept coaxing him to keep going.  Kayda and Dillon were set to go and we frequently had to have them slow down to wait for us.  Eventually Carson started to enjoy the challenge of it.  He'd hold our hands and tuck his into his sleeves then follow along beside us.  After quite a while he decided to hold his own flashlight again and started finding his own paths through the rock piles. There was a place with an 8 foot wall.  Everything I had read indicated there was a rope to help you scale it... there was NOT a rope to help you scale it.  Fortunately Daddy was able to help the kids and then we were able to get ourselves up.  There were a couple parts that were too high for the kids so it's good they're still small enough to boost.

 Dillon was trying to find the hardest possible routes so in one place he went through a side you could only crawl through while the rest of us went around.

 Finally found the skylight!

At the end Dillon decided he wanted to go to the "natural end" of the lava tube so he and Daddy headed off.  It only took them a few minutes to get back to us though. 

Then we had to hike back to the beginning.  It started out all well and good, no big deal.  We had all enjoyed ourselves and we had lunch waiting at the car.

Then Carson decided that his legs hurt.  We were able to coax him along until he started a tantrum.  I sent Daddy, Kayda and Dillon ahead.  Carson wouldn't budge.  He cried and he cried HARD.  Multiple people passed us and I kept showing him the other kids saying "hey look at them, I bet they're tired too."  I refused to carry him, he is six and still thinks he should be carried everywhere whenever he feels like it.  Well, I'm done with that. So I half dragged him down the trail.  Finally, after about 15 minutes I got him to start moving again.  The deal was he just had to get to the parking lot and THEN I would carry him.  It was a LONG hike out.

Since we were supposed to have two full days I had planned two hikes.  Ape Cave was kind of unimportant to me.  Where I really wanted to go was the Lewis river falls.  There are three portions, upper, middle and lower.  The entire hike is about 9 miles round trip so I knew we wouldn't make it the whole day.  But I had REALLY hoped to see the lower falls.  It was decided we would go straight from Ape Cave to go the the falls.  Carson and Daddy could hang out in the car, Kayda and Dillon would hike with me.  Turns out it wasn't much of a hike.  To get down to the water of lower falls wasn't even a quarter mile.  Though you do have to go off the main trail (which I normally try NOT to have my kids do).

  I had brought swimsuits, but thinking Carson and Daddy were staying in the car (so we wouldn't have time to swim), I left them there.  I really should've just gone back to the car to get them.  We were able to cross the river and get right up to the waterfall and the water was BEAUTIFUL.  

Kayda was almost surprised she was getting wet when she was standing there.

She had slipped on the way across so she was going to dunk her shorts, she was cracking us up.

If there is a log, it MUST be climbed. 

Back on the main side of the river you can walk along a little cove and there is water coming through the rock and out the plants.

The pictures don't do it justice.  The pool was such a vibrant color.  Unfortunately it was getting later in the evening and the shadows were starting to take over the area.  I easily, and happily, could've spent an entire day just in this one location.  It's definitely one we'll come back to, and hopefully explore the other two as well.

We played a lot of board games this trip.  Turns out the kids are much more easily entertained when other kids are around!

You'd think this kid never had a smore before.  He was a sticky mess by the end.  It reminded me so much of when the kids were really little.

Friday we packed up and moved to Seaquest State Park.  Basically the opposite side of Mount St. Helens. We spent the day Saturday going to all three visitor centers (there are four but one was closed).  The kids did great with the drive and we were able to watch a few of the films and a junior ranger presentation.

All three kids got to be volunteers for part of the presentation. Kayda was representing Johnston Ridge in the reproduction of the eruption.

The boys got to use alka seltzer tablets to shoot the tops off film containers.

The kids got junior ranger badges and certificates for participating in the presentation. 

If you can see the mound of dirt along the valley they are called hummocks and are parts of the top of Mount St. Helens when it had the triggering landslide.

It was really interested to read and see everything about the eruption.  There were a lot of things I didn't remember from my last visit.  This map was particularly interesting to me.  Everything started in March of 1980 when there was a shallow, 4.1 earthquake directly under Mount St. Helens.  They set up extra monitoring and watched while the earthquakes became more frequent.  They watched a crater begin to form, and then a bulge on the North side of the mountain.  The "bulge" grew 450 ft over the course of 3 months.  The scientists saw the development of "harmonic tremors" which are basically one non-stop earthquake that typically proceed an eruption.  Finally, a month later (April 30th) they set up hazard areas... the red and blue zones seen in the map.  Not even a month after that (May 18th) the eruption happened.  It started as one major landslide, the entire north face practically melted off the mountain, it was the largest landslide ever recorded.   The landslide (yellow)  reached as far as 14 miles away.  The first part of the landslide went 8 miles in 12 seconds, the second part went 11 miles in 5 minutes and the last slide went 14 miles in 12 minutes.   Then came the lateral blast out the newly exposed side of the mountain; its scorching gas and debri blasted down trees and tore some right out of the ground (light green).  When it started to slow it created scorch zones where it basically cooked the trees where they stood (dark green).  There were no fires because there wasn't oxygen for fires.  Then the pumice flow came out, finally some magma.  Apparently, it would trap pockets of water, then, because it was so hot, it would cause a mini eruption and create a crater in the pumice stone.  These little blasts happened randomly for weeks, months and in one case a YEAR after the initial eruption.  So the new pumice field was littered with craters.  All the heat melted huge portions of the glaciers and of course caused lahars that reached as far as 50 miles away.  The eruption formed an ash cloud that reached about 12 miles vertically.  The ash coated Washington and fell as far away as Oklahoma.  One of the things they didn't expect was that wet ash is an amazing conductor of electricity so it was causing problems with power lines everywhere it fell.

All of this was fascinating to me but it amazes me that the majority of the area closed by the government for the safety of the public was SOUTH of the mountain, despite the fact they were watching the bulge develop on the NORTH side.  Of the 57 people that died only 3 of them were in the restricted zone.  The rest were all where they were considered "safe".  The government did lower the water level on the dams anticipating flooding which helped some with damage control...  As much as you can control the damage of a volcano.  We also found out that the mountain continued to have eruptions throughout the summer of 1980.  There was regular activity and growth in its lava dome in the crater up until 2008.

Kayda and Dad walked up to a higher viewpoint hoping to see more of Mt. Rainier.  The were disappointed.

More card games... and board games right up to leaving Sunday morning.

The kids were troopers with all the driving we did.  Kayda and Dillon are quite the adventurous kiddos.  They're ready to do most anything you put in front of them.  Carson just gets tired.  I don't think he has figured out how to enjoy hiking just yet.  I'll keep working on him though!