Yay for remembering to take the family pic!
Twenty-eight years later, it still looks like a foreign landscape. These are remains of trees that were in the blast zone and just ripped apart when the mountain blew.
I just thought this sign was kind of funny...
And this little guy is making sure that he's following the instructions.
The kids wanted to hike off the main trail, so we did. However, Jim and I both ended up hiking back with a kid on each of our shoulders. Not the easiest of tasks at 4300 ft elevation but we survived to tell about it and burn off some of that fast food that we grabbed before getting off the freeway!
We all loved the visit to the mountain. It hasn't changed a lot since Jim and I were there 8 years ago except for now they charge you - $8 for adults, the kids were free - to step foot on the grounds at Johnston Ridge Observatory and they've closed the Coldwater Ridge Observatory. Anyway, we made sure to get our moneys worth and spent a few hours there. The kids could have listened to the story of the eruption for hours, watching the little lights flow across the model of the mountain and surrounding areas. Karleigh was very much into learning about the volcano and asked a lot of questions. It was fun to watch her take it all in. She and I also watched the 16 minute movie about the event just before we left. She did ask, as we were leaving, "What about all the animals? The deer and the bears and the chipmunks..." So I had to explain that sad part of it but no less than 5 minutes out of the parking lot, a little coyote pup ran across the road in front of us so I was able to explain that even the animals were able to move back in. Phew!
When we returned home, I had a few of my own mountains to face but I have managed to scale those too. Like I said earlier, there was LOTS of baby news waiting for us when we returned home and continued to come for the next few days.
Yesterday, the plan was to either hit the coast or the gorge but the weather was yucky and we didn't really get moving very soon so we decided that, as Karleigh had suggested, the park was it. Then we went out to eat at Red Robin and took the kids to Build A Bear. Interestingly enough, we still haven't built a bear. We have a cat, a monkey, an elephant, a bunny and a puppy now - but no bears. After that, I decided that I needed to buy something for one of the new babies. This in and of itself was a pretty big thing being that yesterday was 7 months since I delivered Eli. It was actually a big hurdle and the gift is for the baby boy whose shower I just couldn't make myself go to. I'd show you a pic but I know his mommy reads - so ha ha! - She'll have to wait until she moves back to town in 9 days - WOOHOO! Anyway, it was very therapeutic to get that purchase made and do it with joy in my heart. We'll see how holding him goes...
And yah, this really does make everything easier...
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 comment:
Amen!
The mt pixs are great. I have been all over this planet and never made it to St Helens. Love the fam pix, I always forget that one, lol!
-h
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