Beautiful northwest scenery

There is so much beauty to look at here in the Pacific northwest and I'm always snapping photos so here are a few to share...

 

Fog in the valley

Sunrise

Sunrise

Gig Harbor

Mick chasing the waves, I was trying to get the snow covered mountains in the distance.

I really like this one.  Love the fog in the valley.
 

Sunset

Christmas tree

After three years of having to wait in line to get a Christmas tree out of a shipping container (see JapanJournal posts for more on that), we had the priviledge of going to cut down a Christmas tree today.  Since we were first married, Stevie and I have tried to cut down our own tree whenever possible (not possible when we lived in some places) so we were exctied about taking the kids this year.

When I looked online to find a farm, I discovered oodles of them around us (not surprising since most trees around here look like giant Christmas trees).  I picked the closest one, entered the address in the GPS and we headed off.  This was a small, family run little place, but unfortunately, it was also sparsely populated with trees.  We wondered around a bit and came to the conclusion that our beautiful tree was not going to be purchased here.  I felt really bad handing the saw back to the man (OK, really Stevie handed it back because I was cowering by the car in embarrassment).  But a Christmas tree is an important purchase and I didn't want any Charlie Brown tree gracing my living room.

So we moved on to the next closest tree farm and had much better success.  After wondering all over the farm, we found our winner in the far back corner.

Going for a ride on the tree cart.

Chop, chop, chop

Timber!

Hauling it back to the car

 

I am laughing here because right as Emmy is about to take this picture, Christmas music starts playing from some loud speakers.  She looks up and says, "Whose phone is that?"

 

Decorating

Emmy trying to put the star on - can't reach.

Stevie trying to put the star on.  Can reach, but the star is too heavy and we're reminded of the Grinch's tree.

So we opt for an angel.

Olympia and salmon

To round out the "all things northwest" tour, we headed down to Olympia and the surrounding area today.  I had read in the paper about a place where you could see the salmon making their way upstream for spawning.  When I read the article, my mind created a scene probably similar to one in a National Geographic special.  You know: healthy, vibrant salmon jumping up raging rivers only to be caught be a bear lingering on the shore?  Well, that wasn't exactly what we found...

One thing those National Geographic specials don't clue you in to is the smell, no stench, of the area.  Think about it, there are a lot of fish that don't make it up that stream but die trying.  And then there are the ones that made it, layed their eggs and lay around - dying.  Well, my friends, that's a stinky situation.

And it wasn't exactly a raging river, but a running stream.  So those rather large fish are sticking half out of the water trying so, so hard to wriggle their way up to where they were born.  It was a very admirable thing.  And those poor fish were working way harder than most people do to accomplish their goal.  Go salmon!

So it wasn't exactly the picturesque scene from my mind, but it was a really interesting trip to learn more about the wonders of nature.

Cool trees, huh? (And girls too)

Those lumps are the salmon working their way upstream.

Go salmon, go!

After our nature lesson, we drove back into Olympia for lunch and a look around.  This was the first time we had visited Olympia and I have to say, for a capitol city, it was really small!  But quaint, in a good way.

My artsy photo of Emmy

Olympia waterfront

Cousins!

Being goofy

The capitol building

Driving back into Gig Harbor, we stopped at the archery range so the girls could try it out.  Cannon had been wanting to take his cousins here so we stopped in right before it closed.  All the girls were good, but I do have to say that Hannah was a natural at it (and she even kind of looked like Katniss!)

Hailey, Emmy and Sydney

Hannah

Our final evening together was great for hanging out, doing nails and playing Wii together.  Gotta love Just Dance!

Chopped - Part 2

This post was written by a guest writer: Cannon!  My mom asked (read: forced) me to to do this.

Okay, so here's the run down:  Chopped is a TV show that my grandfather and I have had many a good night watching.  It basically starts with four chefs who have to create a meal for a panel of four judges using a basket-full of four strange and bizarre ingredients.  After the first round, one person is eliminated, or chopped, and the rest of the chefs keep going at it until there is one person left: the Chopped Champion.  The winner then receives ten grand and ultimate bragging rights.

 

We had already had our own Chopped episode this summer in Hilton Head, and we had a follow-up: leftover edition!  The competitors were originally meant to be Sydney, Hailey, and Aunt Nicole, with London, Mom, and Hannah as judges, but alas, times change.  As Hailey got sick on Thanksgiving, we thought the competitors were going to be Hannah, Sydney, and Aunt Nicole.  On the actual time of the competition, and after much worrying and fretting on poor Sydney's part, the roles were then placed as Hailey (who made a miraculous recovery), Hannah, and Sydney, with Mom, London, and Uncle Brian as judges.

 

All three competitors were raring to go when we called them into a very clean kitchen (thanks Aunt Nicole)!  We gave the command to open the basket, and what they found inside was: baking chocolate, ground turkey, left over green bean almondine, and raspberry yogurt.

Time's up!

After thirty minutes of frantic, yelling, and tense girls, they presented us with their creations.

 

Hannah made a killer turkey meatball with green beans mixed into it, and a chocolate raspberry drizzle with a raspberry dressed fruit salad.

 

 

Hailey made a turkey burger with beans mixed in and couscous with a raspberry chocolate sauce.

 

Sydney made a turkey burger, and a salad with yogurt dressing and chocolate chunks.

 

The judges took a grand 15 minutes, a very agonizing 15 minutes to the chefs, to decide on their verdict.  Poor Hailey was eliminated as she had put way to much sauce on her couscous, and her burger didn't hold together very well. 

Who's dish is on the chopping block?

It's ok, Hailey!

The judges had also decided that Hannah's entrée was the best as her meatball was delicious.  We gave the remaining chefs the command for a second time to: Open the basket!  The dessert basket contained: seaweed, leftover stuffing, bananas, and CoolWhip. 

I don't think they look too excited about the ingredients.

Both chefs went before the clock was even started, and were very busy down to the last second.  The time (30 minutes) passes quicker than you might think.  Hannah and Sydney worked as hard as possible, and after the time was up, they brought forth two very different dishes.

 

Sydney made a leftover stuffing chocolate chip cookie, which all three judges said was tremendous, and a fried stuffed seaweed ball, containing a banana and CoolWhip mixture.  The whole thing was coated with sugar.

 

Hannah made banana sushi with pink chocolate CoolWhip and stuffing croutons.

 

Hannah was eliminated this time, but she was no sore loser.  Both sisters clapped each other on the back and gave each other a large hug and lots of praise.  Though long in preparation and though it has a high stress level, Chopped is always fun!  Congrats Sydney!

 

This is Cannon, signing out.