Butt Out!

Maybe you have come to our blog looking for an update on all our recent travels. That will be coming soon. I promise. I'm still in the process of going through our 450+ pictures of east coast scenery, friends, and family. So, while you are forced to wait, here's something to ponder. Chris was perusing the Cabela's sporting goods magazine and happened upon this little gadget:

Want to take a guess as to what it does? Here's your only hint:

Look again at the title of this post. Are you intrigued and/or disgusted? Here's an official description of this orange wonder-tool from Cabela's website:

The new Butt Out! is an extra 2" longer making it easier to maintain a firmer grip. It makes the unpleasant chore of field dressing big game simple.This ingenious tool is the fastest, easiest way to disconnect the anal alimentary canal from deer or similar-sized game. Immediately after harvesting game, insert the Butt Out! into the anal canal and twist until it grabs the membrane. Continue twisting another half turn, then steadily pull the Butt Out! out of the canal. Extract 10" of membrane, tie the membrane off and cut. Its time-saving and easy to use.

Aren't you glad I shared this with you? You know you can't live without one now. I just wonder who ever thought to invent such a thing.

Desaparecidas?

No, we haven't disappeared off the face of the earth--yet. The girls and I are still out visiting friends and relatives while Daddy's holding down the fort at home. I hope to get some blogging and pictures up real soon.

Father's Day Fun

We thought about taking Daddy out for a special treat on Saturday night. We were going to watch these hot women skate around in tight clothing while trying to take each other out. (I wonder if they glow in the dark?)

By 1 pm, we were too tired for such an exciting adventure, so we opted to stay home. We made some yummy popcorn, sat down on the couches, and watched this instead. Then we went to bed around 8:45pm. It was a great substitute activity. We must be getting old.




Ally made a special card to go along with her thrift store finds that celebrate her Daddy. She also decorated Cora up all nice and fancy on Sunday. I think Chris really appreciated the gifts. Happy Father's Day.
We love you!

Mount Rainy and Mount St Helens-a-lot-of-fog

We figured when we started planning our Memorial Day Weekend excursion months ago that the weather probably would not cooperate-- 'cause that's how things tend to go. We just weren't expecting it to rain literally the entire time during our 4 day excursion to the Cascades. At least Chris had booked us a cheap hotel with an indoor pool rather than going with our original idea of camping.
On our way to Kelso, WA we drove through Naches and onto the White Pass Scenic Byway. We got to see rolling foothills covered in vibrant evergreen trees. I still can't believe the brightness and variety of color, even in the gloom of the rain. We passed by a few glistening lakes, waterfalls, and sparsely-snowcovered ski hills as we went over the mountain. Near the end of the byway we stopped at the John R. Jackson house. In 1844 old JohnBoy decided to build a cabin in the area, making him one of the first permanent settlers north of the Columbia River. (History is so young out here.) While at the cabin, a man told Chris a wild story about the world's largest egg, so naturally we had to drive to the next town over and have a look-see for ourselves. Welcome to Winlock, WA. Population: around 1200. I may be making fun, but it was pretty much the most exciting part of the day.

On Saturday we set out to ride the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad. It was scenic, just not in the way we had imagined when planning the trip. But, unlike one lady who complained and wanted her money back because she never saw the mountain (what did she expect on such a rainy day), we felt the adventure was still worth it.

They were having a steam engine weekend, so Ally and Cora got to ride the special train over the rivers and through the woods, past some campsites, and out to the lake. We even got to see them switch out the engines before returning to the depot.

Here is a great shot of where Mount Rainier should've been looming majestically high in the background. You wouldn't think Mother Nature could hide something so big!


Here's a pic of my most memorable scene. Why would you build your outhouse right next to an active train track, with the door facing outward? Then again, I'm questioning the judgment of people who were sitting out by a campfire, chugging more than a few beers in the rain.

On Sunday we tried our luck at seeing Mount St Helens. Again, it was a pretty drive up the scenic highway but visibility was limited. Every now and then the clouds seemed to lift a little, but it was usually just to taunt us. We stopped at overlooks and spent time at the four visitor centers along the way. We saw movies about the eruption 30 years ago, as well as before-and-after pictures of the mountain.
The most interesting part for me was Weyerhaeuser's reforestation efforts. Did you know that thousands of employees spent several years replanting trees by hand in order to insure their roots were in the soil and not the 6+ inches of ash covering the ground?


When we arrived at the observatory at the end of the road, the view looked like this. We watched another movie, and the fog lift enough to reveal Helen's snow-brushed base. As we were leaving, very small windows of clarity appeared over the mountain, and we started to realize just how massive Mt Saint Helens still is-- even without her top. We stayed an additional 40 minutes in hopes that things would shift enough for us to see the volcanic crater. This was the best view nature would provide for us that day.

On Monday we slept in 'cause we were on vacation. Well, that and it was still raining. And both our girls seemed to have slight temperatures, runny noses, and congested coughs. We had toyed with the idea of visiting Kalama, WA, home of the Twilight high school and Edward Cullen's June birthday bash, but we weren't in the mood for sparkling vampires. (Chris and I have never read the books or seen the movies, so that's about all we know.) It was time to go home before our little ones turned into werewolves. Vacation was over.

Sleeping Beauties

I went downstairs this morning to sort some laundry and edit our pictures from this weekend's rainy adventures. After about 15 minutes, I realized the house was eerily silent. I ran upstairs to check on my little munchkins, and this is what I found. I strongly disagree with the people who say children must be up to no good when they're left unattended and everything turns quiet. I cherish those moments of peace.

Bananas, but No Rotten Tomatoes

After months of looking at food that was kept just out of her reach, Cora finally got to try some. We proudly present Cora's eating debut, followed by her first post-gorging stupor and nap.






Who doesn't love resting on a soft, comfy belly when your own belly is full? Can you blame her for passing out like that?




As for Ally, she's still telling everyone how she'll start doing beauty pageants when she turns four. Here is her on-stage debut, leading off the recent Primary talent show. (You'll need to pump up the volume.) She also threw a ball and conned all the other little ones into doing a group somersault routine with her. Although she's the one that chose the outfit, I think our princess really did deserve the crown that day.

Lip-Smackin' Fun

Here is a rundown of our children's newest tricks and habits. Some of these talents are totally appropriate and expected, some are questionable in their normality and/or usefulness:

1) Cora can now sit up for short periods of time without toppling over. When she does topple, she usually laughs and laughs and laughs. . .

2) Cora can now purposely roll onto her belly and lift her head up. Ally calls this position "being a dolphin". Cora tolerates being on her belly much better than Ally ever did; maybe it's because she's more patient and content overall. She's feverishly working on flipping back over on her own to avoid Ally "helping" her do so.


3) Cora has discovered more body parts. She chews on her feet, sticks out and rolls her tongue, and smacks her lips.

4) Cora has learned to be very tolerant of Ally's attempts at breastfeeding her. Ally says she understands no milk is going to come out until she's a real mommy, but she still likes to practice with Cora.

5) Cora loves giggling, especially while watching Ally throw a ball. She makes us giggle, too.


1) Ally can throw a ball back and forth.

2) Ally has perfected her somersaulting technique. Thank you, Ella, for inspiring her.

3) Ally picks out her own clothes. Sometimes the colors match, sometimes the type of pattern match, rarely do both match. She's never liked socks and had always refused wearing tights-- until it started getting a lot warmer here. Yes, she went to church that way. Yes, I let her ride that trike in the house.

4) Ally is finally tall enough to turn lights on and off without her green chair. She can reach the switches only if she stands on her tippy-toes and stretches really far, but that's progress.

5) Ally is learning to read. That wasn't my idea, it was hers. She was very adamant that I teach her, so I asked my sis-in-law Erin and got the book she recommended . So far, she's mastered the a, m, s, t, e, and r sounds with me. I'm not making this venture a top priority, so we're only on lesson 10. But when I'm busy with Cora, Ally keeps grabbing the book and skipping ahead. She's figured out sounds and has read words we haven't covered yet. Sometimes I think my child is reading the book on how to teach your child to read so she can teach herself to read. Hopefully her love of learning and the I'll-just-do-it-myself-then attitude will continue in a positive manner.



6) Ally can write her name. Here was her very first attempt. I loved the backward L's. They no longer show up that way. She writes them "rightward" now.



7) Ally has become an expert baby popper-outer. To date, she's been "pregnant" 8 or 9 times. When asked how she got pregnant, it's either because she ran out of diapers or (and this is Chris' favorite) she must have taken too many pills. She knows how to hold her enlarged belly when she walks. She knows how to use the excuse of being pregnant and not feeling well to get out of doing things. She knows you need to go to the doctor for check-ups and ultrasounds. She knows how to lie down and push the baby out. Each baby has been a girl, and each baby has been named Cora. Apparently, her labors are very quick and easy. The first baby came while I was taping Cora's laugh, and I didn't even know it had happened. Ally says her next baby is due this weekend.