Last game of the season.
F was psyched to score 10 goals, he did, although 9 were in pre-game training.

Do something wetter.

H was insistent. Haircut please, Mohawk style.
Dad did his best with the clippers.

Fay’s up next…

Another entertaining game with a few goals and some great action on the pitch.

Mum & Ewok missed some of the action.

But F managed to see just about everything

Good game coach :-)

Mum went shopping (not a frequent thing) so the boys went walking.

This time taking the Cedar Run trail – a one-way adventure into the unknown depths of Paradise Valley.

Parts of the trail have been recently replaced, with sections of raised walkway

as well as specialized balancing logs for bikes.
Can’t wait to ride it

Mum reading F a bedtime story last night.

This week in the Ewok house, Ewok has…

1. Been left out in the rain
2. Eaten H’s homework assignment
3. Graduated from puppy kindergarten (puppachino)

Clever boy.

Fay’s new dog walking boots.

Jeff found these little chaps hiding under a rock at the top of Garland Peak.

My feet ached after this one.

Up early on a dark and misty morning to cross the mountains to the east side.

It was a tad chilly – 19 degrees in old money (or -7 Celsius if you prefer).

The hike up was tough (to quote one guide “The first half of this trip is a brutally steep, brushy at times, curse-inducing slog”) although Chris and Jeff appeared to dance up.

But the views of peaks, including Glacier, Rainier and a hint of Baker, the autumn colours, and the pumice field that exploded out of Glacier 10,000 years ago left me speechless (or maybe that was just the lack of all round fitness)

A couple of warming brews at the top (7525 feet) before the obligatory summit photo…

…and the longest shadow of me I think I’ve ever seen.

Thanks guys. Awesome trip.

[More on flickr]

An evening stroll with Ewok was nicely interrupted by Tommy and Henry who wanted to play. Their mum & dad kindly invited us older kids in for a glass of something, lovely.

Good job F had a head torch to light the way back home.

A close game this weekend. Fun was had all round.

The spectators enjoyed it too!

Mount St. Helens erupted almost 30 years ago, with a 2.9km³ debris avalanche, a large portion of which ended up filling the North Fork Toutle River.

Given that everything else was buried under several feet of ice, snow, rock and ash, I’m not sure how this tree ended up on the ridge by the Johnston Ridge Observatory, but it made for a pretty pic.

Unfortunately, the summit and post-eruption lava dome were hidden in some cloud, through which some sunlight occasionally peaked. 
At least this time there was some sun.

But a great family day out all the same.
Thanks Fay for organizing & Steve for the tip.

The first stop on the road to Mount St. Helens, Silver Lake.

Dogs are okay here.

Which pleased Ewok (he’s considering moving to a larger crate, although he’s waiting to be sure that the market has bottomed out to ensure that any purchase would be a good investment).

Nice walk and pretty views of the marsh land too.

Heading down I-5 the boys had fun with night-time snapping from the back seat.
This one was my favorite – not sure which of them grabbed it.

Manor Inn Motel, Longview.

The trees are turning and fall color is on the march. Feels very much like Autumn Colour, only different.

It’s U6 but you still feel the pressure

Finn does soccer too.
Finn’s Big Brov was quoted as saying “He gets more excited over one goal than my team does over the whole season.”
There’s something in that. Happy is as happy does.

[Mum adds: nice pics but where’s the ball?]

A post-school post-work de-stress stroll in the woods.

All the cool dudes were there.

And the boys got some x-country running practice in at the same time.

Wizz.

Harriet did a stellar job yet again, this time making amazing ice cream to top off the brownies. Yum yum & thanks much!

Not content with riding the ~10 miles to our house, James insisted that he drag us all off into the dank dark woods for some more two-wheeled exercise.
Actually, we had a metric tonne of fun, with H’s trail reading especially entertaining.
Instead of Robert’s “tight right downhill, large rock stay left” we had “yikes”, “yeeks” followed by a “whooooaaaaa”.
He jumped right back on again though, made his Dad proud (they’ll be a slight delay while I go and tell him that).

 

Having some hi-tech gadgets in hand for the ride meant that this time we didn’t get lost (and the jolly interweb knew where we were even if we didn’t).

The saucers are back for the new season. Some great fun games already and some new moves too.

 

Some seating from a little walk in the woods garden, a more frequent delight now that Ewok provides an incentive to get out and about.