Zoo Snooze

Ellis spent the night at the zoo with her Girl Scout troop.  (Mom did also :)  We had so much fun.  We got to go behind the scenes and see the vet hospital, the animal kitchen and a giraffe eye to eye!

The troop made treats for the sun bears.

We all slept on the floor in this conference room.

Here is the sun bear enjoying the treats the girls made.

Here is the newest addition to the zoo.  The baby elephant is 3 months old.  Soooo cute!!

Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree....

It started to snow on our way to get a Christmas tree.  The girls were so excited!

Jingle Bell Run

Ellis ran her first road race today.  She did the Jingle Bell Run.  It was a 5K run.

Ellis warming up on the stairs.

Ellis was a little nervous before the run.  

Ellis trained for the run with a great group called "Girls on the Run".  What a wonderful program!

Ellis and her running buddy.

Ellis and her buddy approaching the finish line.

Ellis looking strong.

Ellis finished the race in 42 minutes.  Way to go Ellis!!!

Yeah!  They did it!!!

Mt. Hood

On Saturday we met some friends up at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to decorate a tree with bird friendly decorations, go sledding and do a snow dance.  We have not had any snow yet this year and are really itching to go skiing.  So, we are praying for SNOW!

As you can see, not much snow on the mountain.  However, we had just enough to enjoying sledding. 

We decorated this tree with cranberry and popcorn chains and pine cones coated with birdseed.  Then we went into the lodge for hot cocoa.  It was a beautiful day on the mountain (even without snow!) 

Ellis and her friend Isabel.

Farewell to our Friends....

Clay and Zeba were such an important part of our family.  We lost Clay at the end of the summer after he had lost the use of his back legs and his quality of life had deteriorated. We miss him terribly as did Zeba. I had taken to walking Zeba a lot more to ease her own loss. We enjoyed it but one day she could not make it around the block. We learned that she had cancer and was in a lot of pain and there was nothing that could be done. The veterinarian said that cancer gets a lot of old dogs because they are well taken care of and their bodies just give out. It has been many, many years since K and I have not had dogs. We miss them very much as they added a lot of fun, happiness and love to our family. We have all had a good cry (or two) and it has been a teachable moment about losing someone that is very dear to you in the circle of life. When we miss them a little too much, we just remember that they had long and happy lives. 

The Princess and the Native American

Brock and the girls carved the pumpkins this year.

Sarah Palin and her Security Guard.  

Our princess had a long day and needed some help getting home from trick-or-treating.

80"s Day for Ellis

Ellis has Spirit Week this week in school.  Today was 80's day.  Wow, that brought back some memories.  

Here is Ellis and her two friends, Hannah and Kate.

The Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch today.  What great weather we had!  It was sunny and 68.  We usually have cold rainy weather this time of year.  It was nice not to have to slop through the mud today.

A Weekend At the Cabin

Brock and Ellis enjoying a peaceful afternoon on the deck of our new cabin.

The salmon were running.  It was amazing to watch the huge salmon swim up the creek and jump over the rocks!

The cabin was cccccold when we arrived.  It took a while for the wood burning stove to warm us.

The next day we went on a beautiful hike around Trillium Lake.  

What a beautiful view of Mt. Hood reflected in Trillium Lake.

A bluejay joined us for lunch.  He was big and not afraid of us at all.

We did another hike that ended at a beautiful waterfall.  However, I forgot my camera on that hike.  So, I just got a picture of the girls at the sign.  Kiley was cold, so Brock gave her his coat.