Someone Please Buy Our House!

The big story of this fall has been the attempt to sell our house so that we can begin building on the land behind my parent's property.  Weekend after weekend has been spent cleaning, organizing, decluttering, etc. to get it ready.  At the same time we're trying to maneuver a construction loan and plan for the building of our new house.  After a sale, and a renege on the aforementioned sale, we're back on the market and living in a bit of housing flux.  However, we're not going to let it slow us down.

In the midst of all of this drama, Siena turned 10!  She asked to celebrate her birthday at the Portland Aquarium, like Mason did a couple of years ago for his birthday.  Many of her friends from school came, including her pal Emerson (below left) and of course her big bro Mason.

 Yaya came to help Siena celebrate.  She had never been to the aquarium before.

 I think she's a little uncertain about all of the live animals, especially this iguana...

 The other friends and cousins were more adventuresome.

 Siena with her friend Maddy and Mason.

 The other kids find the iguana much more approachable than my mother did.  From left, Amy Jo, Tristyn, Gracie, Emerson, Felix, Mason, Yaya, and Joel.

 Siena in a box.

 Luis was egging on the bird...apparently the bird isn't a fan of guys.

 Enjoying donuts instead of cake...birthday girl's choice.  Note the blue cast on her left arm - during our first open house, Siena and I went roller skating at Oaks Park.  Unfortunately she took a bad fall on the wavy back section of the rink and broke her arm.  She was a little trooper though!

 Somehow she got frosting all over her face!

 And a bag on her head.

 Shark and a spider web.

 Needless to say the party was a success.

Halloween also came!  It was the rainiest Halloween any of us can remember.  It didn't slow us down though.  Trick-or-treating involved Luis and I following the kids around the neighborhood with umbrellas.

So with our house back on the market, we occasionally have to leave when someone wants to see it.  Since there were a couple of visitors yesterday afternoon, we decided to make an outing out of it and went to Hood River for the day.  

 We were more in looking - not buying mode but still had to check out the snowboarding gear.  Especially since it looks like there may actually be snow on the mountains this year,

 Siena's ready for her own snowboard.  As soon as she stops growing, we'll talk about it.

 After visiting the shops in town, we went to a cool new waterfront park recommended to us by a shop keeper.  Luis made his entry in style by sliding on his rump down the slope!

 Siena playing Deck the Halls on the big xylophone.

 A little drum action!

 Chilling in a tube!

 The coolest part of this park was the climbing wall.

 Mason obviously has zero interest in helping his sister up the wall.

Spinning - with a beautiful gorge view in the background.

 We topped off the visit with some hot chocolate.

 As of now, our house is for sale.  Anyone want it?

Roslyn, WA

Our big vacation for this year may have been our California trip during Spring Break, but that doesn't mean we're not going to have some adventures this summer!  A couple of weeks ago, we headed up to my favorite town, Roslyn, WA.  I'm not sure I can articulate what makes Roslyn so special to me, but I think it's the combination of the history, the family, the adventures, and the quirkiness.  As such, I wanted to try to capture all of these elements.

The Sights

Outside of the Ronald general store.

Ronald General Store - your source for soda, antiques, and used puzzles.

The Outhouse.

Roslyn, as seen from above.

Presbyterian church

Back of Catholic Church

Red sun

The Brick -Washington's oldest operating bar

Tree hugger

She wasn't scared of us in the least.

Inside the power house at the #8 mine.

Looking into the shaft of the #9...imagine going down there every day...

Outside the #9 and #10 mines

My great grandparents Herman and Anna Swanson's home in Roslyn.

This home is on the National Register of Historic Homes.

The City...again.

My Great Uncle Clarence's grave.

The Cemetery in Roslyn is separated into different societies and ethnic groups.  Below is the Fraternal Order of Eagles section.

Mt. Olivet - the African American section of the cemetery.

City Cemetery - the oldest section of the Roslyn cemetery.

My Great Grandparents grave - Herman and Anna Swanson.  Herman was a coal miner at the #3 and #8 Roslyn mines.

Outside the Roslyn Historical Museum.

The statue honoring Roslyn's coal mining heritage.

The Adventures

One of our favorite places in Roslyn is "The Rocks".  This is a set of boulders atop a hill above Roslyn that kids have been playing on for generations.

Ellia tries her luck on the tall rock...this is the one that took out the seat of Papa Ron's pants during his last visit.

Siena catches her breath after the long hike up the hill.

Coming down Sliding Rock!

She made it!  Siena's down and her britches are intact.

All the kids stuck in the Dancing Rock crack.

Mason with Sliding Rock in the background.

Get a room guys!

Smelly flower...

When the weather's in the upper 90s, nothing feels better than a cool mountain lake (Cooper Lake to be exact).

Miss Rory having fun.

After Cooper Lake, we found a great spot to swim and build a dam along the Cle Elum River.

Luis, Yaya, Papa Ron, and Cousin Dave spent the earlier part of the day in Leavensworth but came to the river to cool off with us in the afternoon.

Ellia and Berren helping to build the dam.

Pure joy.

The next morning we headed up (literally 2 miles uphill) to the #8 mine.

Cousin Dave, as the official family historian, lead the way up the trail.

The kids take a break on the trail.

Checking out what remains of the #8.

Siena checking out the power house at #8.

The kids atop the #10 mine entrance.

Looking into the #9 entrance.

No trip to the #9 would be complete without the kids on top!

Mason learning some coal mining history.

Siena is too!

Checking out some power house ruins at the #9 and #10.

Mason and Berren found some original glass from the power house buildings.

Mason found some more mining equipment.

He also found an old wagon.

The next day, the Johnson's joined us for the historical Roslyn town walk and another trip up to the rocks.

This includes the dogs and little miss Cora.

Joanne looks a bit tired after climbing up that hill.

Travis and Tyson using their combined muscle to get that stroller up the hill!

I guess Travis wasn't too tired because he made it up the tall rock!

Mason, Cora, and Joanne check out Sliding Rock.

The kids instruct Travis on proper sliding technique.

I can do it!

Uh oh...how are my britches?!?

Tyson navigating the Dancing Rock gap.

Papa Ron dismounting Dancing Rock.  Luis waiting to, uh, catch him?

Mason break dancing on Dancing Rock!

Sometimes it takes a family to get Mary Lou to the top!

Checking his zipper...

Cousins piling up on Travis while Cora gets a ride on Remy!

"It's the Circle of Life!!!"

Mason in front of the Masonic sign!

Kids checking out coal at the museum.

Mason getting a taste of how it would feel to ride the mine cart.

More cousin Travis rides...

Sometimes an old dog needs a ride so the baby gets the boot!

Mason at the #5.

Topping off a wonderful several days with a family dinner.

Family Times

Six monkeys in a pickup - Ellia, Siena, Jocelyn, Mason, Rory, and Berren.

Goofy kids with Bruce and Mary Lou.

Me with all the kids on top of sliding rock.

Me and my boy!

Heidi and her kids!

My family...

Mason with Cora.

Amanda, Tyson, Cora, and Remy.

Cousins and more cousins!

The other generation!

The kids (Travis included) on Dancing Rock.

The whole family outside of the museum.

Swanson grandchildren - Joanne, Dave, Mary Lou, Larry, and Ron (aka Dad)

We had a blast on our Roslyn trip.  Now vacation is over and we're getting our house into ship shop shape to put on the market.