Mount Si

Mt Si is about uphill. switchbacks.  not a lot of passing room.  lots of people coming up and down. so it's not really beautiful or fun, but our hiking companion Ms. K was both! 
we lucked out with sunny weather, so brilliant me.... i left my rain jacket in the car.  turns out that bright sun melts the snow, so we got drenched from all the dripping snow the last quarter of the uphill journey. 

 the last quarter uphill was hard.  for me.  hence my red face.  not so for pretty Ms. K.

 we actually didn't make it to the true summit.  got to save something for next time.

 we made amazing huge sandwiches that tasted so good!  probably should have stopped and eaten them for a bit of a break and energy boost instead of waiting till the top.

 next sewing project: pack cover.  and stuff sack.  thanks Mr C for inspiration!

Little Si again

 i got way too excited about Vietnamese food and ordered both a sandwich and pho.  yum.  full belly before fast sunday.

the fun part is putting together the top.

the much less fun part is basting, making the quilt sandwich.  but we got thru it!

 we had a day off school for Veterans day.  had an opportunity to build with legos and skype with cousins.
and hike little si with much better weather than last time.

 we spent a few more minutes at the top this time.  eyed Mt. Si summit next door, gauging the snow for next weekend.

 back at home, we had a big windstorm.  the tall pine cracked and landed in the neighbors yard.  damaged their outdoor grill area as well as their car, but neither of our houses.

halloween

 father and son carve pumpkins.

 awesome neighbor shared homemade cinnamon rolls.

 morning commute after daylight savings time ends.

 monsters inc healthy avocado pudding dessert.

 red cat KEY, work colleagues.

E put in a lot of hours on his Reflections entries.  he wrote a poem copied here.

Peace poem

Fairies flying everywhere

Clouds floatng by

I fear not to go

To the mysterious land

Of the great tiger beasts

With claws like kitchen knives

But forty times stronger

And ears as sharp as a thunderstorm.

But here in fairy land,

It is safe. With all the safeness there could be.

The lovely fruits, oranges, apples, and plums.

So now we’re safe, I’ll practice making freedom and peace.

I can make peace

among the fairies and the mysterious tiger beasts.

So now, too-da-loo. Goodbye, farewell.

Goodbye, goodbye.

Goodbye.

The end.

He also created this 3-D paper mache ball.  the theme was "Within Reach".  the poem on the ball is called:
The Reach Machine
Practice, practice makes you
Better.  try something new. 
Maybe Try riding a bike, art,
or peel a fruit.
what what would you do?
take pictures of a pig.

The picture of a man with thought bubbles:  I want cartwheel.  no, maybe I do catch.
He wants to do cartwheels, which he knows how to do, but then he decides to do something new like play catch.

getting out

 We hiked Little Si for the first time as a family.  in a lot of rain, such that the trail often resembled a stream. 
 we got some good gear for good prices, (though not close to C's Goodwill finds) at the REI garage sale.  this is normally a super popular hike, but due to the rain and late afternoon hour, we only crossed paths with 4 or 5 other groups.  we didn't look around us much due to the conditions, (spending about 20 seconds at the top) so we'll have to do it again in the sun!

 e was an awesome trooper.  he appreciated this red color on a tree root in our path.

 he created this poster and entered it in the school challenge:  Healthy eating, exercise, and more.  love it. love him.

 Q's 3 yr old bday.

 yum!  fresh salsa from Ms. C.  awesome. and cute little gifty idea for vteaching? in a jar.

 driving over the bridge (new Duwamish waterway sign on the post), clouds and (whats the pc word?) pollution from the factories.

 sunrise over the bridge.  days are getting shorter. 

 yum.  i took spaghetti squash and turkey meatballs to the B's for dinner.  C watches the boys while N and I (and the dog) run.

 trader joes has fantastic dried banana and pineapple too!  (of course apples and mangoes are old favorites)

 the west seattle monster dash.  e and i ran the 5k.  he finished before me. we lucked out with good weather.  and we found old neighbor friends to run it with.

 then, after the 5k, e and r ran the 1/4 mile kids dash. chasing the monster (next pic).

 spent several hours working on paper mache balls for E's reflection entry.  hope they dry quickly so we can paint and finish them before the deadline.

 ward halloween party.  good turnout with lots of great costumes.

 R's chili won 2nd prize. this couple is T and C. they were so nice to sit with us and talk.

trick or treating at the church house for the kids was the first opportunity to wear the costume.

SAWS and ranch retreat

 E is working hard on two school art competitions, explained further below.  it was a good activity for taking it easy on a friday with no school (teacher in-service) before we headed out for an adventure weekend. 

 Teacher T hosted a studio retreat at the Flying Horseshoe Ranch in Cle Elum.  we were unprepared for the below freezing temperatures on Friday night.  nothing like a little bad weather to help build relationships :)  We had studio mates stay in our cabin with their newly purchased space heater.  with our toe heaters and extra sleeping bag (R and the dog left), we were warm and comfortable!

Our schedule for the Suzuki festival featured 3 workshops, including reading notes (I loved to learn the violin string map above), a master class, parent talk, and 2 concerts. 

 this is the first stage of the FUGA competition.  "Healthy eating, exercise, and more" - a poster illustrating how to be healthy!  we'll finish it up this weekend with collage pictures cut from magazines.

had to pull over when driving in to work to capture this sunrise.

 parking along the park/driving range is lovely this fall.

 we attended a workshop for E to brainstorm ideas for the PTA Reflections contest "Within Reach".  My mom says me and my siblings entered this contest 30 years ago.  wow.  At home, he's been drafting a poem.  At the workshop, he used paint and words.  maybe he'll have two entries.

 fall foliage in the PNW.