We’re on an Adventure!

Last weekend was supposed to be the weekend for me to walk in the Portland to Coast Relay with a bunch of friends. However appendicitis happened and despite being six weeks post-op the surgeon suggested skipping that level of activity (especially since I was recovering and not training). Therefore we took advantage of the change in plans and went on a road trip/adventure.

First stop was to my parent’s house as originally scheduled. Dad’s 59th birthday was the day before we left so when we got there my sister hosted a birthday party dinner complete with German Chocolate cake covered in frosting made from scratch (Dad’s favorite). Usually I avoid coconut in dishes but this was sooooo good that the coconut could be overlooked.

The next day we took a short trip up towards Longview to visit one of my oldest friends. She and her family took in the kittens we fostered this past spring. Add to that fact that the last time we saw each other in person Emilie was under 6 months old and her youngest two weren’t even in the picture. You could say the visit was long overdue. It also was too short in my opinion (I think she’d agree too) and we’ll definitely have to wrangle a longer get together next time one of us is in the same vicinity as the other…hopefully that’s not another five years.

 

 

Part of the reason we couldn’t linger longer was due to the fact that my Mother, sisters, and I had planned a “Ladies Night” (another long overdue occurrence). Dinner a La Pellah down off Highway 14 near Fort Vancouver (Not sure what the area is called now as the county has grown so much, and that shopping complex didn’t even exsist when I lived in Clark Co.) and taking in The Lion King, Broadway Musical, at Keller Auditorium in Portland.

It’s been ages since I’ve seen a play and this one was well worth it for the costuming alone! Plus the company wasn’t too bad either…

After that it was off on the adventurous side of the adventure. Many years ago we discovered we work much better without a plan. A basic idea of where we want to end up when, yes. A detailed plan, no. So we knew when we headed out Thursday afternoon we wanted to try to land in Moses Lake that evening, we also wanted to avoid the main freeways if possible.

Dad suggested taking the old Lewis River Highway around the back side (south side) of Mt. St. Helens. The drive is scenic (takes you past Merwin, Yale, and Swift reservoirs, you get great views of St. Helens and some nice glimpses of Mt. Adams too) the road is paved all the way through, and you come out at Randle, WA on Highway 12, and from there you can pop right over White Pass into eastern WA.

The drive was gorgeous. The road itself, however, left much to be desired. Once we hit the Forest Service maintained road there was pretty much a 35 mile stretch where the road had buckled or slid and been poorly patched if patched at all. With all the shade from the trees you couldn’t even see some of the dips until you where half way through them. It was truly and adventure. I felt for those riding through on motorcycles or pulling trailers. Not sure if the problem is unstable terrain, low maintenance budgets, or some combination of those factors, or what, but Kevin came through it feeling a whole lot better about the maintenance and upkeep he does on the forest roads here.

After we bounce or way around the mountain and stopped for milkshakes in Yakima we cruised up to Moses Lake just in time for Chico’s (aka the best pizza known to man) and a dip in the pool. Turns out those swim lessons are paying off as both kids were able to paddle across the deep in of Grandma and Grandpa’s pool without too much difficulty.

From Moses Lake we aimed the car toward home but opted to head for Walla Walla and Milton-Freewater instead of the usual trip through Tri-Cities. Of course we stopped at the Country Mercantile on 395 and while Emilie sampled her way through various salsas, Jack discovered a new love of Dilly Beans. Not too surprising as he loves dill pickles. I canned 25lbs of pickles last year and he’d eaten them all by February (did 30lbs this year).

Our intent had been to try and stop at the Whitman Mission outside Walla Walla, but if you recall what I mentioned about us and planning… By the time we reached the turn off for the mission the kids were wasting away from hunger in the backseats. There was no food to be had until Walla Walla proper so we thought we could always go grab something and come back. But as we drove through town we saw the Fort Walla Walla Historical Museum and it looked pretty neat and  wouldn’t require much back tracking so…change of plans. We grabbed lunch at the Ice Burger Drive-In (Highly recommend this to my burger/shake loving crew) drove back to the museum and ate at the park next door then went and toured the museum.

What Fun! The museum covers history from the early days and Indian Wars up to WWII. There are also huge displays of farming equipment, a penitentiary display, and a little “town” of buildings the historical society has moved to the Fort from the surrounding area and staged with period items.

There truly was something for everyone. Kevin and I were most impressed by the early harvesting displays for harvesting wheat on the Palouse. Can you imagine driving 30 Mules at one time? Quite the undertaking. Makes using a combine harvester seem like a cakewalk in comparison.

Enough history for one post…back to current events. Though I do recommend getting over to visit the Fort Walla Walla Museum if you’re in the area.

As I mentioned before we were on the scenic route. From Walla Walla we headed south through Milton Freewater and popped out at the Travel Plaza just east of Pendleton right before you head up Cabbage Hill. Here Emilie took the liberty of dumping her just purchased icy-cold beverage on my feet in the middle of the store…ahhh memories. Once I washed all the orange stickiness off my feet (thank goodness for small favors and I was wearing flip-flops at the time and not my sneakers…much easier to clean) we headed on over the Blues and stopped in Nampa for the night.

The next day we finally made good on our promise to take the kids to the water park. We’d picked up a couple of passes at the school carnival this spring and were going to go after swim lessons concluded in July. Once again, foiled by the appendix. This was about our last chance to squeeze it in before school started. Both the kids had a blast! I only have one picture as water and cameras don’t really mix but I will say both kids rode the slide in the background of the picture. Both kids were fearless…me not so much. Normally waterslides to bother me but I fret about my novice swimmers. Emilie was so small compared to most of the kids on the slides and while she was too short for some of the bigger rides Jack made the cut…barely. Seems he is precisely 48” high…so precise that we had to take him to guest services to get an “official” measurement and wristband so he wouldn’t be turned away from any slides for being too short. I was hoping he’d be under, but his excitement at being a “big kid” made up for my lack of enthusiasm. Fortunately Emilie adored the lazy river so she and I spent most of our time there. Though, my thighs were sure to remind of how many laps we made the next day.

After three or so hours of swimming the kids were both exhausted so we went and got a late lunch at Yard House (And yes, we did have the Mac and Cheese Squared) stretched our legs with a quick tour around the Zoo and then headed for home.

It was a fantastic way to cap off the summer. We’ve had a great one, but I’m ready for school to start and for us to be back in a regular routine!

Baptism and A Miracle

Two weeks ago we had the pleasure of meeting this little guy.

Wyat is the newest nephew, and yes that is W-Y-A-T. Don’t go thinking his parents are into generating unique names just so their kid has one no one else has. Truth be told it’s an acronym of sorts in honor of his great-grandfathers. Walter, Delvin Fay (for the Y), Alvin, and Ted. Pretty neat if you ask me.

Anyway, we went up to Spokane country for little Wyat’s baptism on the 22nd. We took the Montana route hoping for a change of scenery. I understand the country around Dillion is very scenic, and I’m sure that’s true. The valley bottoms were very nice and I’ll take people’s word that, beyond all the smoke, there were some gorgeous hills and mountains. I think I may have even glimpsed an outline a time or two. So much for the scenic route.

Wyat’s baptism went off with out a hitch. He was surrounded by adoring fans…aka grandparents. After the ceremony we had lunch at Wyat’s paternal grandparents place. Now understand that Aunt Julie and Uncle Cory and his folks all farm together so that means farm equipment. Translation: Jack was in heaven, especially since Uncle Cory was willing to take him for a couple of rides. He rode in the Stiger, and got to plow a couple strips in the crawler. He declined to ride in the combine though, stating, “The field is already harvested.” I mean, what’s the point in riding a combine if you don’t get to harvest anything?

Emilie was pretty excited too (yes, she rides the tractors as well), especially after she realized little bunnies rest in the shade under the equipment. She just had to find one! He only disappointment was being unable to hold Lola, Cory’s Mom’s Cockatoo. Lola is, shall we say, selective in her ‘friend’ choices. Even after explaining to Emilie that the bird can bite hard enough to take off fingers she was still bummed to not be able to give her a cuddle, but satisfied herself by sitting in a chair and talking to Lola across the room. Lola does like to be part of the conversation. Jack has dubbed her, “The Grouchy Bird.” By the end of the visit both kids were happy, tired, and absolutely filthy, so we loaded them up in Grandma and Grandpa’s van and sent them off to Moses Lake.

This is where the miracle comes in. Kevin and I also went down to Moses Lake for a day, but then we took a trip over to Leavenworth & Cashmere…. kid-free. We were trying to figure out the last time we had an overnight without kids. It would seem that last occurred when we went to Plain, WA the night before a cousin’s wedding and Kevin’s folks watched Jack (Emilie was not in the picture). That would mean we hadn’t had a night without kids in over 5 years. This really was some sort of miracle and long overdue.

We enjoyed the sights of Leavenworth. Marveled at how every other shop there seems to have turned into a wine tasting room. Enjoyed sampling brew at the Icicle Brewery, took a little walk around the National Fish Hatchery nature trail, dipped our feet in the appropriately named Icicle River, enjoyed a quiet dinner on the patio at Gustav’s, then had a rousing game of Mini Golf followed up with a trip to the convenience store so the loser (me) could purchase ice cream. We were in bed by 8:30pm. Yep, wild and crazy in our no-quite-old-age.

Next morning we were up with the sun and took a nice long walk along the Wenatchee River. Then we tootled on down to Cashmere and explored their massive antiques galleries, took the Aplets & Cotlets factory tour, and visited the Cashmere Museum & Pioneer Village. Then we mosied on down to Pasco where my Dad was doing a NASDA training for his next set of NASDA surveys and took him out to dinner before heading back to Moses Lake. It was a wonderful whirlwind trip.

When we got back home the following Sunday we found the Garden bursting at the seams with beans, tomatos, raspberries and carrots. There is even a decent crop of parsnips, which is fantastic since we didn’t even plant those this year (all volunteers from last year’s plantings) I planned to have this posted sooner, but vegetables don’t keep and canning took priority. Now that everything I picked last Monday is put up I have a little time. That said we picked another box of tomatos yesterday so I return to being a slave to the stove for another day or so.

How To Entertain You Dragon….Uuuuuh Children

I’ve been keeping a low profile in the online world for the last week or so. We decided to go up Moses Lake and visit Kevin’s family for Thanksgiving and I generally abandon e-mail, internet, and phone (save for emergencies) during that timeframe. We left Friday after school was out and came back Friday after breakfast. We were going to stay until Saturday to help cut/wrap hogs but the weather across the Blues was calling for rain and temperatures below freezing so we bailed, and so did the California crew, in order to beat the storm.

With four kids and six adults in residence together for a week it is important to stay entertained. While the adults are content to sit around the table, chat, and eat (it’s no wonder we all gain weight whenever we go home) the kids get bored with that. So here are some suggestions….

1) Launch a Rocket. – Okay, we’ll be honest, this is good for entertaining the ‘big’ kids as well as the small. Chasing down the rocket post launch is almost as exciting too… especially when it lands in a tree.

2) Practice your magic Skills – Four was the max she could ‘float’ at one time.

3) Have a party….with cake – It doesn’t have to be any special occasion, but in this case it was Jack’s 6th Birthday. I made my very first ‘pull apart’ cake, a fire truck (I still can’t write in frosting by the way) and it turned out alright. Jack got downright spoiled by his Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. I think he now has a John Deere Shirt for every day of the week and a Farmall one if he ever gets tired of green.

4) Re-grout the patio -  Is that what they call it…grout? I know that’s the term for tile, but I’m not sure if it’s the same for pavers, but that’s not the point. Get those kids out there with some gravel and a miniature construction fleet and those pavers won’t be going anywhere in the near future.

5) Play board games – This seems obvious….the trick is to get the kids to play them by themselves though. With ages ranging from 3.5 to 7 it takes some work to find a game they can all play and they have to have patience for people who ‘count’ rather loosely or say things (while playing Guess Who) like, “Does your person have wiggly arms?” Sorry, Life, and Guess Who were favorites. Closely followed by War….mostly as an excuse to use the card shuffler.

6) Smash some cans – Not an obvious choice, but it entertained them for ages. One of the nephew’s also collects the pop-tops for school so they had the added pleasure of removing all the tops before smashing them.

7) Hunt Squirrels – Don’t want those little critters thinking they have free range of the walnut grove you know. It was really cute to see the kids lined up with binoculars scanning the trees. Uncle Erin had to have lots and LOTS of patience with this hunting party.. we’re talking saint-like levels. Still he managed to whittle down the herd by five over the course of the week (oddly enough those all occurred when the kids were otherwise occupied )

8) Blow some air up your skirt – Because it’s fun and you know it.

9) Get your Turkey On – We were there for Thanksgiving after all. While I somehow neglected to take pictures of the actual bird I did manage to capture these Turkeys…..

And there you have it folks….ways to entertain your dragons/kids during a week long vacation. Enjoy!

Going Home

It seems we’re going to a family reunion this week. Not under the best circumstances, but to see a group of people I always love to see. Kevin’s Grandma was called home to be with the Lord. She made an excellent pie and was a great gardener (still hoping my sweet potatoes produce half as well as hers did). She had her quirks and a lot of ‘home remedies’ for this or that which were probably best not followed, but she was also full of good wisdom and stories. I will always remember her sitting at the dining room table reading the Obituaries in the Omak Chronicle and noting…”Did you see so-and-so passed away? Old age? Why, she was younger than me!” Kevin and the family are probably better with the stories as I, comparatively, only knew her a short time.We’ll miss her here we rejoice that she’s now where she’s wanted to be for some time.

Maurine A. Steinbach, 87, a Moses Lake resident since 1993 passed away Friday, August 1, 2014 at Columbia Crest Care Center. Viewing will be held from noon to 7 p.m., Friday, August 8th at Kayser’s Chapel with family greeting friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, August 9th at Guarding Angels Cemetery, 2595 Road L NE. Please sign the online guestbook or leave a note for the family at www.kayserschapel.com Arrangements are in care of Kayser’s Chapel & Crematory.

 

Maurine was born on May 25, 1927 in Molson, Washington , daughter of August and Gertrude (Babst) Mundt. She was married to Alvin A. Steinbach on May 6, 1950 and they lived in Seattle for 14 years. In 1964 they and their four daughters moved to the family ranch in Okanogan County near Molson where they raised beef cattle, hay and grain along the Canadian border. They retired to Moses Lake in 1993 to be close to family. Maurine was a member of Grace Lutheran Church.

She is survived by four daughters, LeAnn (Frank) Duchow of Moses Lake, Jan (Ken) Roach of Tacoma, Carol Macro of Winnetka, CA and Diane (Greg) Paul of Boxford, MA, nine grandchildren and eight great grandchildren, and two sisters, Irene and Mary.
Besides her parents, two brothers and one sister, Maurine was preceded in death by her husband, Alvin in October of 2013.