Happy First Birthday Hops!

Happy, happy first birthday to our pup!  We didn't have candles so we had to put an umbrella on her "cake" - which was chicken!  She didn't care!

Camp Shoes

After backpacking all day you are so happy to take off your boots and put on camp shoes.  But camp shoes add weight to your pack, so you want to make sure they don't weigh very much.  Normally I bring a pair of water sandals, but in Washington I don't thin they will be warm enough - and I didn't want the weight.  So I found a super light pair of slippers and had Jim coat the bottom with Shoe Goo to make them waterproof.

They turned out great!  But then...Grace decided they were hers!  So we went to Target and got another pair that had a sole on them that we waterproofed.  We are going to look like hillbilly backpackers!  But our feet are going to be sooooo happy!

A day at work with Dad

Hops went to work with Jim today and played with Breeze all day.  She was so tired that she fell asleep sitting up on the way home.

Backpacking Dinner

One of our backpacking dinners is going to be burritos.  Last week we did a test run at home cooking it all on our jet boil stove.  We started with pinto smash above which is like refried beans.

Pinto smash - just add water and stir

Then we cooked rice and added dried corn - above.  Next was to put it all on a tortilla and add some Taco Bell taco sauce.  They turned out yummy!

16th Birthday Week

Drew and Amanda sent Grace a birthday package filled with goodies.

A coveted camo hat!

New clothes!

Favorite candy!

We threatened to send Ahi back to them in AZ!

Family Update

We have all been so busy that I have not had much time to blog.  Here is a quick update:

G:  G just got accepted to go on a Mission Trip with her school in Spring 2016 to South Africa!  This is a tremendous opportunity to travel to another country, to learn about another culture, to help people in need and experience personal growth.  I am super proud of her for wanting to do it and for getting chosen out of all the kids that applied.

Drew:  Drew is all settled into school and enjoying having his own place.  Thanks to technology, we get routine tours, including getting a view into his fridge!  Saturday is ESPN Game Day at school so he will be up at 4am to wait in line and then go back to bed for awhile before waiting in line for the football game in the evening - U of A vs UCLA.  BIG game!  Oh - and somewhere between that he has to play in a Cornhole tourney!  This week he also met the two boys that he is mentoring for a class.  They are two 8th graders and he is finding the experience to be really interesting.  He will meet them every week thru the semester.

Papa Chach:  Jim is completely buried in getting ready for the new crab season.  Yesterday he got a delivery of 50 new crab pots that are in the backyard and earlier in the week he had us putting reflective tape on buoys (see pics below).

Mama Chach:  I have been busy getting ready for the the backpacking trip - specifically I am on a quest for new boots after mine started coming apart last week.  There has been a lot of stress around this since a good pair of boots is critical on a backpacking trip and I was having a hard time finding a pair that fit.  I finally had a pair overnighted to me and got them last nite.  I tried them out today and they seem to be pretty good.

Chico

We went to Chico this weekend for a soccer game and showed Grace all around.  First we stopped at the dog park (above) where she had her game so Hops and Ahi could run around.  Then we met up with a friend I went to college with, Stacy, and her daughter, Abby and had a picnic lunch.  They hung out with us while Grace played and we got caught up.  Her daughter was selling raffle tickets for her sports team and we bought one  - one ticket was $20 but you can win a car!  FINGERS CROSSED!

Waiting for the game to start

In our tour, we took Grace by my old apartment, The Bear, 1 mile, 5 mile and the campus.

My college apartment

Meeting Henry

We went to Uncle Brian and Auntie D's this weekend and met Henry.  What a goofball!  At first he was afraid of Hops and kept hiding behind Uncle B.  But by the morning he was playing with her.  And even wanted to play with Ahi!  (Daisy stayed home with Murray)  Henry has got to be the springiest and most bendable puppy I have ever seen!

Ahi thinks she owns the place!

Auntie D's new baby!

Clyde

                                                        Welcome Clyde to our family!

Music Minor

Grace was accepted into the Conservatory of the Arts Program as a Music Minor at school.  That means when she graduates from high school she will have a minor on her official transcripts.  The data collected by the school has shown that students with a minor get higher college acceptance rates!  She also will get a special diploma and a cord to wear at graduation.  Overall, it's just a nice focus on her interest in music.

10 days out

We are heading to WA in 10 days!

I am starting to back off on my work outs so my legs and feet are not worn out.  Grace is starting to do a little more because she has been a slacker and has not done enough testing of her gear....live and learn!

The good news is that we are just about ready!

The bad news is that there is snow already in the area where we are heading!

Backpacking Food

We are spending a lot of time planning our food for our backpacking trip. I just got the cheese and hummus above.  The taste test of the cheese is two thumbs up!  We will try the hummus this week, but I expect it to be good because it calls for a 1/4 cup of olive oil!  We will do hummus, cheese and pita bread for lunch one day.

This is a lunch for another day - wheat bread, almond butter and honey.  Delish!

Sanborn training hike

Are we ready to go????

Grace and I did a long training hike today - 6.8 miles in 2 hours and 23 minutes which was a nice pace.  The hike we did was on a brand new trail in Sanborn Park.  We went 3.4 miles uphill and then turned around and came back down.

I felt awesome during the hike but my "dogs" are barking a few hours later. 

Grace's pack was bothering her so we went right to REI and have them adjust it.  While I was waiting for G and sitting outside of REI with Hops a woman came up and asked if she could pet Hops.  Then she told me she had a 2 and half year old lab who looks just like her but is darker yellow.  Come to find out, she is from the same breeder as Hops!  Her pup is named Rebel and lives in Napa.  Small world!

Hiking partners

A new bench on the new trail

 The trail was nice and shady but it was a humid day - so weird for us.

My bandana fell off my pack and landed on Hops!

It was a long hike for Hops - she came home and had a BIG nap!

Lemon Basil Potato Salad

This one is a keeper!

LEMON BASIL POTATO SALAD

1 24 oz bag of baby red, new or purple potatoes (or a mixture)

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup of lemon juice

3 TBSP of olive oil

1/2 cup mayo

salt and pepper to taste

1 TBSP of prepared pesto* 

fresh basil leaves

Boil whole potatoes in slightly salted water until fork tender.  Drain and cut in half.  Put in a large bowl.

Toast pine nuts.

Mix lemon juice, olive oil, mayo, salt, pepper and pesto until creamy and smooth.  Adjust seasoning to taste.

Poor half of dressing on potatoes and toss to coat.  Add more dressing as you like.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours.

Sprinkle with fresh basil and pine nuts before serving.

*  I made my own pesto and ended up adding more than a TBSP.

Henry the Naughty

My brother had me rolling with laughter today with a story about his naughty puppy!

Apparently he is a stealth sock eater! 

Recently, he scarfed down a sock at bedtime.  After some quick internet research they decided to give him some hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting before having to commit to taking him to an emergency vet.

Great quick thinking on their part.

They gave him the peroxide, waited 15 minutes and up it comes!

Everyone was standing around watching...and disgusted!

But before they could get to the barf...he ate the sock again!

Bahawahahaha!

What a dopey pup!

So out comes the peroxide again.  He barfed it up for the second time and they got it this time.

Having a puppy is so much fun.

Oatmeal Breakfast

I found this yummy oatmeal for our backpacking trip.  It is especially great because it has higher protein - 10 grams instead of 4 grams - then the regular oatmeal.

Test Meal - Noodle Roni

We did a test meal tonite for our backpacking trip and it was GREAT!  We used noodle roni, powdered milk and sun dried tomatoes.

We cooked it in the jet boil and it was done perfectly.

I was especially curious to see if the sun dried tomatoes would be soft enough and they were.  They added a nice little flavor boost.

The final product was quite yummy!

Labor Day 2015

We had a big crowd at the cabin for Labor Day.  It was a lazy weekend of games and boat time.

Mari and Kine

William and Dough

Dice on the boat!

Not Again!

Hops got the famous eyebrow treatment - but luckily it was only eye shadow and came off within a few days.

TNDC Hat Nite

 No further description required!  Renee won for best hat choice!

Smith Peak Practice Hike

My hiking parter

Smith Peak

120 fire in the distance

Jim and I went on a practice hike to Smith Peak.  It was about 1.5 miles up followed by some wandering around and coming down which made it a 3.5 mile hike.

We saw those perfect BIG bear prints on the way up.  Once at the top, we could see where the 120 fire was from about a month ago.