What to do.  We've hiked so many of the trails around Chuckanut but the Mount Baker area isn't ready for hiking yet.  We pulled out one of our absolutely favorite books:  "Hiking Whatcom County" and started leafing through it.  It's dirty, dog-earred, and written in.  We were given this book by some friends when we first moved into the area and still use it today.  We've hiked about 40 - 50% of the trails.  Still more to do.  Last weekend we tried Pyramid Lake.  It's actually off of Highway 20 and believe it or not it's in Whatcom County.  It is far far far down Highway 20 to Lake Diablo and the dam.  Right away we could tell that it was a different area, the smell was different, hotter almost and dry, like hiking in Montana.  Most of the trails around here smell moist with lots of ferns everywhere.  There weren't any ferns until further up towards the lake if you can call it a lake. Finding mustaches to wear is always a must as well as identifying plants like huckleberries. I have been wearing a brace around my left knee.  It seems like I've had tendinitis for a couple of years.  I've been to physical therapy but they kept trying to fix my knee.  I told him that it feels like it's in the tendon behind my knee and not my knee cap.  My doctor suggested the brace and I can hike pain free.  So excited about that. I've just kept going because I didn't want to be left behind.
The hike was nice but the drive was beautiful.  I want to explore this area more. We stopped at the Gorge to take photos but couldn't get Job to venture out onto the bridge. Isaac spent a little time behind the wheel and now he knows what it feels like to drive into the sun.  He's getting better.  It works well to have John take him out driving, I can just feel the tension radiating off his body as soon as he slips into the driver seat.  I think he drove all of 40 minutes maybe less.

I just love this sign.  Not what you see everyday

The light was beautiful.  I need another evening like this one.

Having fun in the back seat while Isaac drives us home.

Where do your feet take you?

Since Lona has been done with school, John has taken her to do things Friday mornings.  This time I went too.  We started at Memorial Park by the elementary school and biked to Whatcom Falls park then over to Blodel Donovan and back to Memorial Park.  At Whatcom Falls Park we watched the fish guys catch trout and load a truck up for a fishing derby in Sumas.  I wasn't the photographer this time - it was all John with his phone.  That's kind of nice.  I'm actually part of the activity.  I have to say that I'm loving our Friday outings now that Lona is done with school.  It's been nice to have just one kid and do something fun. I'll enjoy having both boys at home too, but its a way for me and John to spend some one on one time with Lona.  We're at that point where friends have a larger roll and influence.  I'm trying to keep that to a minimum. 

It's always interesting when we go visit Grandpa Parks.  You never know what part of the house is in middle of construction, what new project he has embarked on, what new idea has entered his mind.  We decided to brave the bridge being out and head to Grandpa Parks' house memorial weekend.  We woke up early and were on the road by 7:30, preparing for up to 1 hour extra drive time due to the Skagit River bridge being out.  It took us all of 5 - 10 extra minutes both ways.  Not a problem at all.  When we arrived we noticed the the trailer on the lower portion was gone.  It had been there for years.  When I first came to visit there were apple trees growing over the road and the petals were falling on the car as we made our way up the drive.  Those apple trees have been gone for around 15 years.  There have been some changes made to the place since the property has been incorporated into the city limits.  There have been officials that came in and made a list of what needs to be done.  I'm sure that it's for the good.  I wish I had photos of the property throughout the years.  The kids seem to look at the property as a great big treasure hunt and this time Isaac came away with a chain saw motor that he's working on for his small engines class.  I'm not sure if Grandpa Parks sees it as a good thing that the kids go "treasure" hunting on his property.  On the way home we were discussing Grandpa Parks' age.  He's 81 or 82 years old, but you'd never know it.

a view of the house from the back

The front of the house

the lower garage

the upper garage.

Job went on a field trip to Birch Bay State Park and I tagged along.  I'm not sure that I was really invited but I saw the opportunity to take photos so Lona and I joined the class.  The girls were wondering who Lona was and her answer, "I prefer to remain anonymous." Their response was what does anonymous mean.  She laughed and said "I'm Job's sister, Lona."  What a smart Alec.  We could only show up for the afternoon part of the program so we learned about  omnivores, herbivores, and carnivores.  The kids played this game where they were divided up into the three groups and they had to find food and water.  Some of the food were the other kids.  It was very well done.  The bandannas were colored yellow, green or red.  They determined what kind of animal the kids were.  They also had rubber bands around their wrists that represented their lives.  If they were caught on the round around the camp, they forfeited one of their rubber bands since they were road kill.  They had a piece of paper to write down a code for the kinds of food and water they found.  It was really well done.

Well, it happened.  We have a teen driver, permit only.  It was a relatively painless process.  Fork out a bunch of money, find all the official paperwork I have for the child who thinks he's an adult, fork out some more money, and spend time at the Department of Licensing.  He went to the counter to receive his number and then wait for his number to be called.  Once called he had to bring all of his official paperwork, including the online application number, and money.  I learned that under pressure, he can't remember how to write a cursive "r".  Hmm, and they readily agreed to give him a permit.  Oh joy.  Then wait some more to have his picture taken.  Actually we were in an out in about 20 minutes.  Not bad.  I pulled into Cornwall Church so Isaac could "practice" in their parking lot before heading out on the street.  After 20 minutes in the parking lot  there was no way he was going to be able to drive on the street especially at 45 mph.  It really didn't take 20 minutes to figure it out, it was just that 20 minutes was all I could handle with him behind the wheel.  The parking lot was mostly empty, thankfully.  He had to learn to turn both left and right, if there would have been cars in the lot he would have taken out 10 of them turning.  Then stopping on a hill wasn't the best idea.  The car started to roll back when he let off the brake and he panicked by stepping on the gas.  There was a brick wall directly in front and he slammed on the breaks.  Finally it was time to go home and drove through a stop sign.  I am so happy that it was just a church parking lot.  I drove on the actual road home.  It's going to be a long year.  I think I should apologize in advance to his teachers.  Can he do this?  Can I do this?  I think I may need to see my hair stylist more often during this process.  A day of mixed blessings.

Lona started as a Cubbie 8 years ago and just completed her 3rd year in TNT.  She has one more year left in Awana.  In all that time I've been part of the Awana program except for 1 year.  This was my last year.  I'm moving on to help with something else.  It has been such a great program for all of our kids but for Lona she absolutely loves it.  She bonds with her leaders and the other girls.  She tries to go all out on the theme nights, which is every night. Some of the themes were crazy hair night a couple of times, dress like your parents, hearts night, wheelie dealie night and lots more. Sometimes she would get frustrated when I reminded her to work on Awana but other times it seemed as though she was driven to finish.  She finished her book and worked on both Gold and Silvers but ended up finishing her Silvers only.  The Gold and Silvers are extra work that kids can do.  Some of them are activities and some are memorizing more verses.  For the last three years or so we brought other kids with us and this year was no exception.  It is always fun to have more kids in the van than just Lona and I.  Every Awana night, they play games, say verses, listen to a story with a messge, say the pledge, and sing.  Sometimes she gets up with the other kids and helps lead the songs.  For awards night, she  led the pledge to the American Flag and the Awana flag.  Her friend Nate said the opening prayer.  Next year will be our last year ever.  Sad and happy thought.  It takes a lot of work   each week for the whole school year.