There are no real words to understand this. . .

There are things I don't understand. Why there are mosquitoes - that makes no sense to me. Why they have interstate highways in Hawaii. And why we have a new and expensive traffic light to no-where. Feel free to go - but there is no road and there are trees in the way of the unroad!

Don't go! The red light warns you that it's not safe to drive on the unroad!

Kentucky - Home of the Derby and Chicken

Kentucky is a pretty place. We rented a car, drove around, got in trouble with the car's GPS and generally enjoyed our trip to Kentucky. We stayed near the capitol city of Frankfort, it's an old city that is working on renovation. I'm happy to say Ron got turned around a bit driving through the city; which means we saw the capitol building at least three times. Once from the front, the second time from across the river, and the third time when we drove under it through the parking garage. Capitol parking is under the Capitol grounds - interesting.

Unfortunately, only the restaurants were open. I guess the holiday just lingered for them.




















Our trip was enjoyable, there are few words to explain leaving Seattle in the snow and going to a place where it was warm, breezy, and dry. We were not really ready to return to the snow. To
be honest, we both groaned when we flew into the Seattle and saw that there was still much snow on the ground. Ick. I used to like snow - no more!

























About the GPS - it was a weekend special and came with the car rental. We would never have chosen it, but since we had it, we used it. We set it up on the dash, and programed where we wanted to go and watched it. It was better than a computer game or video game. You were signified by a cool truck with big tires and every move you made was mimicked on the GPS. The only thing is - it's real time driving which means you should be watching the road, not the toy. Ron almost ran a red light before I took it away from him.

Brandy's Wedding in Kentucky

Going to Kentucky to be with Brandy for her wedding was a dream come true for many reasons. It was so wonderful to see Brandy, Steph, and Andrea again. I missed them so much and now so much more. Another reason we enjoyed Kentucky so much - it was like a heat wave there, temps in the 60's and NO SNOW!

SNOW still

This was not the final total, but I found it fascinating to try and see how much there was at the half way point. The difficult part of snow in Western Washington is that it doesn't stay long. This did stay longer than usual, but it still has to rain. And then the snow puffs up with moisture before going away. We still have snow in our front "yard" but most of it is gone - FINALLY!

Snow and pictures of snow

Walkin' in a winter wonderland. Wow, the last thing I ever expected here in Washington was to have a mid-west style December. Cold, very cold and snowy. Not that typical sloppy wet snow, no the dry type. The type that doesn't go away. The type that cuts through your clothes and numbs your bones. The type that makes a mockery of Western Washington emergency preparedness. Maybe it will leave in time for Christmas - I'm NOT dreaming of a white Christmas - how about you? To see more - many more pictures - check on our web album. You will find it at http://picasaweb.google.com/daltons1980 .

Let it SNOW!

It's a winter wonderland! This is before the second snow!

Molly and the tree

Molly is staying close to the tree, and is in Ron's slipper. I just want y'all to know, she stripped the tree the minute we left the house. UGH! I have now decorated it two times. I will let you know if she learned anything from this experience.

After taking all the ornaments off of the Christmas tree, Molly needed a nap. She is napping in Ron's slipper - isn't she strange? Having this little kitty is constant entertainment.

WARNING!

Isn't this great? It's on every picnic table at Staircase. It reminds me of that trip to Yellowstone National Park when we were reprimanded for having our dog off the leash, he could have attracted bears! We told the ranger that was why we brought the dog, Bear Bait! They threatened to ticket us! So remember all food/spices and any smelly items - kids check your socks - can attract wildlife (specifically the wild Blue Jay, Racoon and dreaded Bear - assumed because they are pictured here)!

And probably this is just for the National Park system - protection against the potential lawsuits when a bear attackes little Johnny's smelly socks and the parents sue! Even bears know what to avoid!

Autumn

Fall in Washington is beautiful when it isn't raining. This is a picture at Staircase in the Olympic National Park. We love going to staircase in the fall, because of the great memories we have of this place. When Matt was two, we came here and he walked with Ron and I holding both hands and "swinging" him through the leaves! And later, as the boys grew, we would come here and they would charge through the leaves yelling "toot toot" for us to lift our held hands and form a bridge to go under.

Part of the campground washed away in the previous winter, so the changes were pretty obvious. It's amazing that a river can so easily reroute itself and not wash away the memories that go with it!

This year has been exceptional, with sunny days and cool nights. The trees have turned slowly and with a great display of colors. We had a few windy days since so there are no longer leaves on the trees.

I started a new job, Ron loves his job and our lives are pretty simple. Oh. . .did I mention we have a kitty? Molly is doing well and growing a ton! When she was tiny she would climb up on my shoulder and rub my face with hers and then would take a nap. She still does this, but she is getting heavy! I can't walk around with her on my shoulder asleep anymore, she is too heavy! And occasionally, she slips off due to gravity and her weight!

Facebook, MySpace, etc.

Okay, here is my opportunity to vent. What is the deal with Facebook? I have one friend, she signs up and boom! I have fifteen emails from people who want to be my "friend". UGH! I like friends, I really do, but it was a lot! I just seems easier for me to post once, here, then move on. Know what I mean?!

So, today I'm working in a few hours, I'm blogging with a cat sleeping on the back of my neck and I'm waiting for daylight!

Mt. Rainier

The picture is just so you read the blog. It is used to get the attention of the reader so that the reader can know something more about the writer. Usually the picture and the words match, but this is a test of your cognitive skills.

This is Mt. Rainier from a hike off of Sunrise. Its a different place for us to hike. These a great pics taken while I was resting and Ron was finishing the hike.

The real reason for the post is to update the world on our lives.

Life is good. Let me restate that: Life is very GOOD!

Every day Ron goes to a job he loves with benefits I love. We drive the two most economical cars in the world that don't need solar power to charge or an electrical cord. I am no longer a Target employee (didn't I mention that life was good) and things are going well. Maybe even if things didn't go well, we would still be saying that life is good. We are so blessed to live in this peaceful place. We had a storm this weekend and we just sat and watched the wind blow! I thought a power outage would be exciting, but no problem, it stayed on. We watched the shaggy dog and ate popcorn and chocolate chip cookies.

We have a cute new kitten and are just enjoying settling in here. We are looking forward to the holidays but think our Christmas tree will have to go outside on the porch. Hmmm. Details.

Ron is reading and I'm doing sudoku puzzles. Did I mention life is good? It is.