Camping on the Columbia

Camping on the Columbia River is the vacation I look forward to all year. It is the most relaxing week of my year. We boat in and camp right on the beach where the boys play all day and we can do whatever we want: swim, read, eat, play games... It's perfect!

Now I admit that it is a little unpredictable out there with the constantly changing water levels (thanks to the dam). And with last year's mishaps: the boat getting beached, running out of gas and the motor not running, but I still love it!

Unfortunately this year was no exception. We had hoped to leave first thing in the morning, but due to circumstances beyond our control (somehow the dog got fleas)we got a late start.

When we got to the boat landing the water was low but we got the boat in the water with little trouble. Will, Zack, Betsy and I waited with the last of the gear while Chris and Andy went to find our spot for the week.

Still waiting...

Well the water was a bit lower than we had thought and once out of the shipping channel they had to do a lot of pushing. Two hours later they returned to the dock soaking wet and unsure of the place they had chosen. Thankfully the water was going up again so we were able to park a little closer to shore for unpacking the last of the stuff. We were also thankful for the light of a nice full moon to light our way while bringing things in from the boat to shore. After a quick supper we headed straight to bed so we could get up at 2am and see the lunar eclipse. It was beautiful and we had a perfect view from the door of the tent!

The boat from camp

Camp from the boat

The next day was gorgeous and we had a great time doing all the things we love to do on the river...

Andy tubing

Sand Island from where we anchored the boat

Climbing the cliffs on Sand Island

William getting ready to go tubing

We were also looking forward to Grandpa and Grandma coming out for the day in the morning.

At some point in the night I woke up and could hear waves lapping up on shore VERY close to the tent. Sure enough, the water had come in A LOT and was now much closer to our camp. The next time I woke up the waves were much louder (due to the fact that the water was a bit closer) and the wind had picked up. When I mentioned this to Chris he said he was a bit worried about the two backpacking tents he had set up for our upcoming trip over the weekend. I got up to look out the door just as one of the tents blew by us into the river further downshore. I also noticed in the full moonlight that THE BOAT WAS GONE!!!

Thankfully we had both anchored the boat and tied it to shore, so while it had moved downriver, it was still tied to the log. So Chris and Zack braved the wind and the waves to bring the boat back to its original location and added a second anchor. The rest of us "battened down the hatches" on the rest of the camp so it would not blow away while we slept.

Needless to say, Chris and I didn't get much sleep. The wind howled the rest of the night, the water was creeping up ever closer to the camp and an hour later the boat had floated back downriver.

the water is getting closer

When we finally got out of the tent, it was miserable. The river looked like the Pacific Ocean, the wind was constantly blowing, sand blew into everything (including the tent). Eventually the boat broke its anchor line, the boys dug a moat to protect us from the water and we ate a rather sandy breakfast inside the very stuffy tent (it got up to 90 that day).

Digging our moat

Enjoying a rather gritty breakfast

After a few hours we decided to call it quits. The forecast called for more wind and we had had enough. Grandpa and Grandma came and helped us pack up our stuff and we headed home early.


This is a video of us packing up in the wind after it had died down a bit.

It wasn't what we had planned, but we had one glorious day and a real exciting adventure!

And just to make the trip a little more exciting the boys found Mario's cage door open when we got home and Mario was gone! (For those of you who don't know, Mario is our rather large pet rat) Thankfully (yet again) he had not gone far and William found him hiding under Zack's dresser. Now Mario has two large rocks on top of his cage door!

The Rainforest

William has always wanted to go to the Amazon and see the rainforest. Because that really didn't seem feasible and we wanted to take a trip with Chris' mom for the weekend, we chose the Olympic National Forest instead. I had never been there before and it was beautiful! We didn't have time to see even a fraction of the park so we will have to go back again someday.

It was hard to choose pictures (there were about 300) so here it goes...

Our cabin

Moss doesn't grow on the north side of a tree

There were some REALLY BIG trees!

This is the sign for the tree in the video

Ruby Beach

The Sol Duc River- we decided it was so pretty that we should go swimming. It looked like so much fun that even Mom went swimming!

Yes, it was cold!

Roasting hot dogs in the rain

Sol Duc Falls

Salmon Overlook

Lake Crescent

Home Improvement

Chris is on vacation and there is no better way to spend it than to catch up on all the projects that need to get done around the house. The past three days I feel like we should be on some home improvement reality show on HGTV.

This week on "You CAN Do It Yourself" the Leingang family has 4 days to complete numerous projects around their 1972 split-level home. They are finishing the schoolroom remodeling project, installing the remaining 13 new vinyl windows, and completing a patio drain. Can they do it all before their vacation is over? Tune in and see. "You CAN Do It Yourself" is brought to you by Peterson Brothers Contracting: "You could do it yourself, but really, why would you want to?"

In all seriousness, the projects went really well. The boys have been LOTS of help with painting, hefting windows, holding ladders, cleaning up, everything! We got up every morning, ate, worked, showered and went to bed exhausted. There is still little things to do here and there but the hard parts are done.

We should all be proud of a job well done! Here are some pics of what we have done so far...

The upstairs windows were the trickiest!

Out with the old...

The schoolroom just before we started the job

It's almost done and really blue and cheery

This is the boys' side of the room. The dark blue strip above the desks is painted with magnet primer so that we can stick pictures and timelines to the wall. Pretty cool stuff!

Mom's side of the room. I now have more workspace and we painted the steel door with dry erase paint. We'll find out if it works tomorrow afternoon. (If not it will become gray again)

Youth Convention '07

Zack and the gang got back late Wednesday night from Colorado. They had lots of fun! I wanted Zack to write about his trip, but he wouldn't. So he chose the lesser of two evils and made a quick video about the convention. Here it goes...


I also am putting on a few of the pictures that he took while he was gone, along with a video tour of their room at the convention done by his friend Peter.

Our group

The group they traveled with

The main lodge

The auditorium

The campus

The dining hall

The playing fields

The Frog Bathroom

We finally finished the upstairs bathroom after a rather long break. When I told people that I was painting it, almost everyone would ask, "is it still going to be the frog bathroom?" Yes, it is still the frog bathroom. The walls may be peach now, but you can't have a bright green sink, toilet and tub and not have it be the frog bathroom.


I found the "before" pictures and I really forgot how dramatic the change is.

Here is the before picture. Note the dark cabinets with the daisy stencils.

After!

No More Daisies!

Tub before

Tub after!

It's amazing what a little paint, wood trim, and some new hardware can really do!

Relay For Life

This last weekend was the Relay For Life. A family in our church has a team for the Relay so we went to walk a few laps and visit for a bit. We wandered around the stalls and had some ice cream bars for a treat. The boys bought all day passes for the bounce house and stayed at the Relay after Chris and I went home to get some work done.

We had never been there for the luminaries, so we went back after dark to pick up the boys and walk the track. The lights were beautiful and it is a very nice memorial to those who lost their battle with cancer.

Is It A Phone Or A Candy?

Today we picked up our new phones from Verizon. They are the new sweeter LG Chocolate phones. So far the reviews are better than the old Chocolate but I couldn't get it in lime green. I was so bummed. :o( Just kidding! The only good thing about a bright green phone would be that it would make it easier to find in my purse.

Afterwards, while I was at the store Chris gave me a call to test out the phones. Only I didn't know he was calling me because I had no idea that the cute little song that I could hear was my phone! When I finally realized that the music was coming from my purse, it was too late. I had a voicemail but I had no idea how to check it. The outside of the phone has no buttons and I haven't had time to tackle the "War and Peace" sized owner's manual. Make that 3 owner's manuals. I suppose it takes a lot of pages to explain how to wire it to remotely start the coffee pot in the morning. It does do that, doesn't it?

I am sure that after I sit down with Chris for my "lesson", the boys will be able to help me when I need to make a call or anything like that. :o) I am sure that in time I will be able to figure it out.

Now where are the boys, I need to figure out how to turn on the dvd player...

Colorado Or Bust

We did it! It seemed impossible, but we did it! Or more accurately, God did it because we could not have done it on our own. Our church raised enough money for the kids to go to Youth Convention with very little out-of-pocket expenses for each family. We are very excited and feel very blessed!

So yesterday at 6:30 we packed up everybody's stuff into the truck, prayed for the group, and sent them off to meet the rest of their group in Seattle. And then they were off bright and early this morning on their way to Estes Park, CO! Needless to say, they were all a little excited about the trip.

We sent Zack with a camera and orders to say hello to everyone there that we know. Hopefully he will come back with lots of pictures to share. Hey, maybe I'll even get him to write a bit about his trip. (More likely that he will dictate to me what to write about his trip. LOL) Two months ago I couldn't even imagine going to Youth Convention, but now we are feeling a little jealous that we are not going. It would be great fun!

Have fun Zack! We'll miss you when you're gone!