I’m sooooo bad

…about updating my blog!

You would think that life would slow down during the summer and the hockey offseason. I don’t know how I juggle it all during hockey season. I’ve about decided that it’s because I get lazy during the off season and as such don’t get as much accomplished.

We spend last weekend at the ocean and visited Westport for Pirate Days. We did a little geocaching, beachcombing and kite flying. I took some new photos of Washaway Beach . We took a family photo at Grayland Beach on a giant stump that washed up onto the shore and had fun just hanging out with our friends. It turned out to be a great weekend weather wise and this coming holiday weekend is supposed to be another great weekend. Weather should be in the high 70′s/low 80′s which will be perfect for camping and enjoying fireworks.

Since my last posting we have acquired a 5 month old, female German Shepard. We named her Hemi and she is cute as can be. I had my doubts about a “big” dog but she has actually done very well adapting. No fights between the dogs/cats and no “accidents” in the house. Which is pretty impressive considering she was a “farm dog” the first 5 months of her life. The upside 0f her becoming part of our family is that I no longer have backyard “poop patrol”. After 17 years of being the main member of that patrol (the guys mulch it with the mower instead of picking it up) I was tired of doing it. So they agreed and we picked her up two days later. I will admit that she must of known that I was the one she had to butter up to when we went to see her the first time. She pretty much ignored everyone else except me that afternoon.

The kids are getting ready to gear up for hockey season. We traditionally take the month of May off and then in June they start Skills&Drills and add some Drop-in sessions in July so that by August they are ready and in shape. This year they both decided to take May and June off from hockey. They are excited because for the first time in four years they are looking forward to having the same coach as last year.

A Weekend Away

Several times a year we escape to the ocean. Our favorite place to go is to the “South Beach”which is what they call the coast between Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay. One of the most famous sections of beach there is called “Washaway Beach“. Every year a huge sections fall prey to the ocean forces. A couple of weeks ago a huge storm aka a “Pineapple Express” came through at the same time that there were some of the highest tides of the season. We were blown away with some of the changes to the area. “Evening Magazine” filmed a segment about the beach in 2004 which you can see here. One of the biggest changes we noticed this month was not at Washaway but just before it. The southern most “Beach Access Road” was closed because the end of the road was washed out and it was a good 6 foot drop from the old road to the beach itself. The northern most access road (by Twin Harbors State Park) to the beach was closed last year. This now leaves 3 of the 5 permanent access roads open which should make things rather interesting come Razor Clam season.
The weather couldn’t have been better considering it is the middle of January. NO RAIN at all this trip. We spent most of Saturday in Westport, Westhaven State Park and hanging out on the South Jetty watching the surfers. It was sunny and mild (high 40′s on Friday and Saturday) but when it’s clear skies that means it gets cold at night. It frosted both nights but Sunday was actually warm and in the high 50′s. Thank goodness we have a warm and toasty camper to sleep in. After 12 years of tent camping we most definitely appreciate the fact that there are no more midnight runs to the nearest bathroom in the rain.
Alex had fun this weekend because Mike let him practice driving out on the beach. This now means that we can pretty much count on the fact that on June 18th he will be dragging us to the DMV for his permit so he can legally drive (as long as we are with him) to his hearts content.