Pacific Crest Trail & Mitchell Point

On Friday Bob turned a 38 years young. I had to work that night, so we decided to celebrate his birthday on Saturday. We ended up walking for a hot minute on the Pacific Crest Trail and then went to the Hood River area to hike up to the top of a mountain called Mitchell Point. (There is awesome Netflix documentary about the Pacific Crest Trail if any of you are interested in watching more about the it. The trail basically runs from Mexico all the way up to Canada through California, Oregon, and Washington. It is similar to the Appalachian Trail. We were only on the trail for a hot minute, but I would love to go back and hike more of it. Heck, when the kids are all out of the house I would love to hike the whole thing with Bob.)

We had a great day. The day was sunny the whole entire day with big white (non-rainy) clouds dotting the sky. I honestly cannot remember the last time it was sunny for an entire day out here. No joke.

The hike was steep up to Mitchell Point. Sarah, once again, proved that she is a rock star by making it to the top despite some pretty scary, narrow, steep points on the hike. Although I don't think I will ever hike this trail again I was glad I did it this once.

For a portion of the trail up to Mitchell Point there really was no trail...as seen above with these rocks that we had to climb across to get back on the trail. 

As he gets older Andy reminds me of my Uncle Ricky in terms of looks. 

Halfway up to the top.

The trail was definitely steep.

The river that you see in the next few photos is the Columbia River. It the natural border between Oregon and Washington. So most of the pictures while actually taken on Oregon soil are of Washington. (At least those pictures that show landscaping across the river.)

Josh hating life right now because he is in nature.

President's Cup - Week 1

One of my most favorite things in this whole wide world to do is to watch Josh play soccer. And although I do have my favorite teams (CF Black and Rio Blue) and my most favorite coach (Coach Boorman) it doesn't really matter too much where Josh plays or what team he plays on. All that matters is watching him play the sport that he is so passionate about it consumes him. He has a gift and a vision as a player that amazes me. Each place we have lived in has taught him a different part about himself as a player and each team he has played on and each coach he has had has added a different element to his game.

I have seen the most growth in him as a player in the last 6 months. He has gone from being a solid player content to allow others to lead and dishing the ball out to other players at every opportunity he has to a player who commands the field and takes ownership of a team. While he still is a very unselfish player he also no longer gives the ball away if he knows he has the ability to do something with it. This led to him being the leading scorer on the team he played with this last season. He is truly coming into his own as a player and it is so cool to watch. His stepped level of play has also earned him a spot as a guest player on a club team here in town for the President's Cup competition.

Last weekend was week one of the competition. The team he is guesting for definitely is not one of the strongest teams he has ever played on. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is one of the weakest teams he has played on in terms of talent and team cohesiveness, but with Josh and the two other guest players on the team they have added some balance and skill which should help the team to win at least a couple of games in this tournament.

Josh started the game and played all but 10 minutes of. He scored the lone goal that ended the game in a 1-1 tie. It was a beauty. And he scored the third and final penalty shot to win the game for the boys with another beautiful shot in the upper 90.

I love listening to the parents talk about Josh on the sidelines. This team of parents seems to have already fallen in love with his skill. He has been asked to try out for their team in May, but is going to decline because he has his heart set on another club team in town. The reason it makes me feel good to hear the parents talk about Josh so glowingly is because I know that this is a sport that he loves so much. It is nice to know that my perspective on his soccer ability is actually valid and not just a parent seeing their child's skill through rose colored lenses.

He has two games this upcoming weekend which is nice because my mom and dad will be in town. Behind Bob and I my mom is his biggest supporter. I know she misses watching him play, so it makes me happy to know she will get to see him.

Huddle right before the game.

Taking the field. 

The game came to a stop as one of Josh's teammates broke his ankle during this game because the goal from the opposing team slide tackled the kid. (This is EXACTLY why I hate slide tackling although legal.)

Getting ready for the game to restart. 

Staring down the goalie before he heads down to the field to kick his PK to win the game.

Running down down to the spot where he is going kick the PK.

Success! Game won on Josh's PK.

Celebrating victory. 

Cape Meares

Last weekend our family headed out to Tillamook to try and find a spot in a bay that would remind us of Cape Cod. We were sorely disappointed by what we found on the bay (no shells, sinking muddy beach, little to no wildlife), but we ended up finding a beautiful stretch of ocean connected to the bay via a trail that seemed so much like Cape Cod I thought for a split second that perhaps I was indeed on the shores of Massachusetts.

It was the kind of day where it would be sunny one moment rainy the next, but that sure beats constant rain and clouds. Our family is to the point now where even an hour or two of sunshine is cause for celebration. We are also getting a good understanding that, as spring ever so slowly shows its face in the Pacific Northwest, the rain will most likely give way to clouds or even a bit of sunshine most days so we can still head out and know that for part of our trips anyway we won't be in the rain.

We had a lot of fun on this desolate stretch of beach. It was a nice surprise that we found the path as it wasn't evident that it was there when we first parked to head to the bay. It was a good family day.

Elizabeth had had it by this point. It was so muddy that your feet would sink down and the mud would be up to your ankles if you stayed in any one spot for too long. 

Josh who would rather visit the dentist than be in nature had also had it with the bay by this point. 

Beach grass!!!

Competing to see who could roll down the hill faster. 

Andy won.

Running away from the waves before they get her.

Wrestling competition.

Even I got involved.

Bob showing Josh that he still has it. 

There was a driftwood fort that Elizabeth found and improved upon it so that not only could she enjoy it, but the next person who comes to this beach could as well. 

As the rain clouds moved in we moved out. Until next time...