Ape Cave and Bear Grass

Yesterday I had the privilege of hanging out with my long-time friend, Suzanne. We spent the day in the Mount St. Helens area, hiking the entire length of the 2+ mile long Ape Cave and checking out the St. Helens area. It was beautiful and full of wildflowers, and it was wonderful to catch up with Suzanne again!!









Touching the end





Suz told me to frolic among the wildflowers. So here I am, frolicking... ;)






















Right before descending into "The Crawl," a 35 foot lava tunnel formed by three interconnecting tree molds


Doin "The Crawl"


The flowers were prolific. And magnificent!








At the Main Entrance of Ape Cave


Oh, Suzanne, you're so photogenic! =)

The Stuff of Life

Yesterday, the forecast called for record high temperatures and nothing but sunshine and blue skies. So naturally, I opened up my calendar, picked up my friend Beth, and jetted up to the Mountain for some late-season snowshoeing. Twas a wonderful, wonderful day, filled with great conversations, laughter, warmth, encouragement, and refreshment. Twas a day of delighting in the promises and goodness of our God.


















































































I completely got sunburned, even though I sunscreened twice! And it was SPF 30, not SPF 4, thank you very much! =) So I'm continuously slathering on the Ocean Potion Aloe with Lidocaine, generously donated by BJ&Melis.

After we got back from the Mountain, I quickly showered and headed off to Girls Group with my Jr. High girls. We went to get some ice cream, laid a blanket out in the day's last rays of sunshine, and thoroughly enjoyed discussing the stuff of life. I have been greatly blessed by each of my girls. They have snuck into my heart in ways that I never expected, and I am so privileged to be able to share in their lives.

Then, I was off to the other Koning's for some 24. I love my monday nights with Brian and Melis! Being able to share the victories and hardships of Jack Bauer with people I love - well - it can't get much better than that!

Snow and Sunlight

On Wednesday, the whole world was working.
Well, everyone except me.
And the forecast showed nothing but warmth and sunshine.
And I had been dying to get out of town and into the mountains.
Simple solution: I went snowshoeing.
Solo.
And let me just say, it was a sweet day!!

The snow had a tiny, trace layer of ice on top, and powder beneath, and with every step I took, a delightful crunch filled the still mountain air. And whenever I climbed, or walked side-hill, or descended, every piece of snow that I dislodged succumbed to gravity and went scurrying down the thin ice layer, creating a sliding, soft swooshing sound.

The sunshine filled the crisp air with warmth, and I spent the entire day in complete freedom from the weightiness of a coat, hat, or mittens. The sleek snow intensely reflected the sunlight, and sunglasses were a wonderful necessity of the day. The scent of the mountain was sweet, refreshing, and simple, filled with hints of melting snow and subtle pine swirled about by the light breeze.

I love spending time with God in this way, surrounded by the largely untouched portions of his beautiful handiwork. I love praising Him in this way, my own awe of Him complimented by the declaration of glory given to Him by His creation. Life is crazy sometimes, and I often don't understand what His purposes in my life are. But He is Good, and I will choose to rejoice and delight in Him, together with the mountains and hills and trees (Isaiah 55).





































































































































































































































See the Sundog?

Storm Story

Let me tell you...it's been one crazy week! Mostly due, of course, to the unusually wintery weather that's been continuously hitting western Washington (and, apparently, the rest of the country as well). Transportation has been pretty bad, and I realize I completely take for granted going to the grocery store for 'just a minute' or taking a 'quick jaunt' over to a friend's house. The only thing that's 'quick' these days is the rotation of your tires as they spin out, trying unsuccesfully to navigate through the snow!
It's snowed over a foot up here on Tumwater hill, and Sunflower Lane has not once been plowed! I know that full well, because as I was trying to get to Matt&Amanda's house last night, I got very stuck about 15 feet from my parking spot (even though I was trying to go downhill!). I tried to put on chains with a couple guys in my apts, somehow got the chains stuck in my axle (i know, i know: not the smartest thing I've ever done!), realized I couldn't even move my car without the risk of breaking my brake line or whatever else is around there, called AAA and was told nobody would be able to help me cuz they were all too busy, and called a few tow truck services and was told they were refusing to go up Tumwater Hill because it was too dangerous. I ended up leaving my car right where it was for the night, hoping nobody would slide into it, and was so very grateful to be rescued by Tom and Matt, who safely transported me to Matt&Amanda's home for a night of adventure.
This morning, after being driven back up the hill, I called AAA again and they sent a tow truck out for me...finally! He couldn't make it up Sunflower Ln, but walked up, magically got my chains out of my axle in about 10-15 min and helped me get down the lane. Problem solved - thankfully!
It's really cool to see how everyone comes together to help each other out at a time like this. There have been so many people stuck, but people are so willing to stop and take time to lend a shovel and some strong pushing muscles for the cause of anti-stuckness. Yep, it's definitely a season of giving! =)


















































































































































Michelle and I live in Apt building 39. The foreground damaged carport occurred around a week ago when the icy conditions caused a huge RV to slide right into it.




































I thought I'd conclude this storm story with a contrasting shot of dryness and warmth: here's the first fire that Michelle and I had in our fireplace, taken around a week ago. It was wonderful!