The Wedding We Could Have Had...

As most of you who read this blog are aware, Sarah and I were wed at the Crystal Mountain ski resort.  Like every bride, Sarah had hoped for sunny skies.  We and our guests would ride the chairlifts to the top of the resort and have a beautiful ceremony with Mt Rainier as a backdrop.  It was not to be.  The wedding weekend was exemplified by typical Pacific Northwest weather; clouds, fog, and mist.  As such we went with the indoor backup plan.

In August Sarah and I returned to Crystal Mountain to celebrate our 3 year anniversary.  Grandma watched Grace while just Mom & Dad took a parent's weekend apart from the baby.  The weather this year was nearly cloudless, warm, and spectacular; everything our wedding could have been.  We enjoyed some hiking in and around the resort area and dined in the Summit House Restaurant with the sun setting behind the Cascade Mountains and Mt Rainier staring us in the face.  The food was descent, but the view was stunning.  We left our table four times (with food on the table) to go outside and enjoy an unobstructed view of the true beauty nature has to offer.  The photos cannot begin to demonstrate how amazing out location truly was.

Sarah riding in the new gondolas.  What?  No ski lifts!!

These gondolas were nice.  And I don't mean nice like a low milage rental car;
I mean nice like a brand new sports car.

Mount Rainier coming into view as we reached the summit.

Mt Adams was also visible in the background...

 Sarah glowing in the sunset.

The Sunset pose.  Remember to never give your camera to a 

stranger - they always cut your head off... or in this case,

the giant mountain that was suppose to be the backdrop.

It was also a full moon that night.  Amazing!

See all of the photos from our Crystal Mountain Anniversary trip at Picasa.

The next day we hiked in the NW corner of Mt Rainier National Park in the Sunrise area along a ridge to an old fire lookout tower.  The views were even more dramatic and the hike was a perfect end to a wonderful anniversary weekend.  We finally had the wedding weekend we had hoped for - but without all the family and friends.  

Start of the hike, just above Sunrise parking lot. 

Our lunch spot, near the Freemont fire lookout. 

A look back at the trail along the ridge 

The end of the trail with the fire tower & a fog covered Puget Sound in the background. 

I could live here...

The Reading Boat

Grace has a few baskets full of books laying around the house.  Lately, she had taken to removing all the books from the baskets, placing herself into the basket, and then proceeding to read one or more of the books.  If I hadn't seen it myself, I don't know if I would have believed it.

Dahlia Garden

The beautiful weather in the Pacific Northwest continues and we have been taking advantage of it regularly.  Point Defiance has a Dahlia and Rose garden which the whole family visited this past Sunday for a nice little photo cession.  Grace continues to demonstrate her love of all things outdoors whether it be flowers, rocks, or birds overhead.  

Check the link on Picasaweb for 54 photos! - Dahlia Garden


I don't mean to brag (too much) but this is one of those albums you want to put full screen and watch the slideshow...

Sherpa

On Friday, the weather was amazing, so Sarah, Grace, and I hopped in the car and rode up to Mt Rainier National Park. We had borrowed a kid-carrier from our neighbors (thanks Kevin & Cindy) so that I could be a modern day sherpa for Grace, and planned on hiking around the Paradise Lodge area.  Paradise is the step off point for many climbers intending to summit Mt Rainier.  I have been there many times in late July and found the trails near there quite nice.  What I forgot was that we had a La-Nina year, so lots of snow - and even though it's nearly August, Summer has barely peaked it's warm head into the Pacific Northwest.  This resulted in the trails at Paradise being still covered in about 5 feet of snow.  We were in need of a quick plan B.

As it tuns out, our plan B worked quite well.  We stopped by Reflection Lakes, which weren't reflecting much that day, seeing as there was a nice breeze. 

 After the photo shoot, we headed down to lower elevation where the snow had melted clear.  From Cougar Rock Campground, we hiked along the Wonderland Trail for over a mile before stopping for lunch and then heading home.  

 Grace seemed to love the kid-carrier, as long as she was on my back.  Once I set her down, she quickly grew frustrated and wanted out.

This was our first (that's right, FIRST) time hiking sine Grace has been born.  It was a delightful experience for all and I think we all look forward to doing it again sometime soon.  

A Walker is on the Horizon

When Scott brought home a walker toy for Grace a couple months ago she didn't seem interested at all in it. She'd stand, holding onto the bar, but the second you tried to push her to take a few steps she either fussed loudly or simply sat down and crawled away. It's lived in our basement on the carpet, and Grace hasn't had much practice since we are never down there. Recently she started walking with us holding onto only one of her hands but is still rather wobbly and slow. Well, the other night I had Grace downstairs as I was loading and unloading the endless laundry and decided to give the walker another try. To my surprise, she took two laps around the couch and furniture. For those of you that haven't seen our basement or our couch, it's a pretty large space. Over the past couple of days she's really gotten a hang of it and frequently lights up and giggles at her new ability.

Water Park Fun

We spent this past Sunday afternoon after I got off work at Wright Park and its new water attraction. First time we took Grace and she was a bit overwhelmed. I think it was a combination of hoards of screaming kids and splashing water. She got used to as we were there and we are excited to take her back...if the sun will ever come out around here longer than a single day every couple of weeks. The Pacific Northwest has certainly had a poor summer, although compared to the rest of the nation's heat wave I suppose I should be happy. But I can't help it, I love the hot sun. The trip to the park would not be complete without Grace having a turn in the swing...her favorite. I also included an updated pic of the baby bump. Sure shows much sooner the second time around! I'm now almost 15 weeks pregnant and feeling really great for the most part.

Un-breaking

Just how did Grace get those in there in the first place?