One More Day on the Farm

We are getting ready to head back to Virginia next week, so we are getting as much time in with the family before we have to leave.  Today we went out to the farm to make dinner with dad and spend another afternoon on the farm.

A sunny afternoon calls for a nice walk.

Home made pasta...yum...

A look into the pines.

Baby insanity!

We're trying not to overexpose Kylie on the internet and thereby alienate all of our friends and family, but I just couldn't resist a few more random, cute pics!

 What is happening to me?!?

Squeaky clean!

Tiny baby in a big hat!

 Halloween outfits galore!

Cuteness overload in the car seat!

Bigfoot! Sasquatch! Oh my!

As Sterling recently pointed out, we are currently living in the home of BIGFOOT...aka SASQUATCH!!

Ever though we grew up here, I never really gave Bigfoot much thought, but he's EVERYWHERE!!! I didn't know this at the time, but he was even the mascot of my community college!

 Official spokes-squatch for Kokanee beer!

 Larger than life purveyor of fine food and spirits.

(Next door to a Rancho Chico...sister restaurant to our favorite Rancho Chico in Colville!!)

 More evidence!

 Squatch is even the purveyor of preserved meats!  The evidence is overwhelming!!

Even at the grocery store. Squatch is watching...

Emergency!

Today's Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the East Coast reminds me that it's never too late for emergency planning...in Colville. This is clearly evidenced at our grocery store here, where emergency supplies are readily available all the time for the mountain people that only come to town once a year!

 Mayday Emergency Drinking Water, available on aisle 12 at Super One...

...EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!

 Please note the industrial grade 5 pound cans of other illustrious items in the background including:

Powdered Cheese
Brussels Sprouts
Instant Butter

Please note that this is just a REGULAR DAY...not related to the hurricane!

Great Pumpkin Ride!

After breakfast at the Beaver Lodge, we trekked onward to Ione, WA to take the North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club Train Ride. I went on this train ride with my grandma and cousins when I was a kid, and it was just as fun today as it was back then!

 Welcome to Pend Oreille County!

 Me and Miss K in her homemade candy corn costume!

 Happy Halloween!

 Say spooky cheese!

 The train!

 Our little family!

 Grandma Julie & Ron

Grandma Cathy, Kylie and Addison

 SWEET!

 View from the train!

 Autumn enjoying the ride

 View in the tunnel! Haha!

 

Oh no! A witch and the Cutter Gang boarded the train to rob us!

(and pose for pics!)

 Like taking candy from a candy-shaped baby!

An authentic bullet hole from the robbery!

 

 One last view from the train!

Breakfast at Beaver Lodge

This morning on our way out to Ione, WA to take the North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club Train Ride with Kylie and our moms, we stopped for breakfast at the Beaver Lodge Cafe & Store!! Ron and Addison joined us too.

 Views of the Beaver Lodge!

 Kylie's second day of snow...

...oooh that's cold!

 Spooky moss on the frozen trees!

 

The restaurant was decorated in taxidermy-chic! 

Fig. 1 - A Hawaiian Beaver (right)

Fig. 2 - A Jackalope, Mini-croc and a Fur-fish (inset)

Fig. 3 - The dried foot of El Chupacabra! Que horrible!

 View of the Lake Gillette! 

Maybe we'll come back in summer!

PRESENTS!

Thanks to everyone for all the the super-duper-cute presents for the baby! 

We may not be able to fit it all in the car to get back to DC!! LOVE IT!

The re-donk wrapping from a box from Jacq & Jude! Thanks guys!

Game Night!

Tonight, Autumn's step-siblings came over for martinis and game night! The boys team dominated our trivia game in a last minute victory.

 Cute decorations by Julie!

 Mix-master Julie and OMT (Official Martini Tester) Autumn!

 Jeannie Dip!

Recipe:

1 box Velveeta

1 can Nalley No-Beans Chili

1/2 ziplock bag of frozen New Mexico Green Chili

Add all ingredients to a bowl, microwave, and enjoy with Frito Scoops!

Oh no!!! Jillian is teething!

Voting Day!

Tonight we had Ron & Julie up to VOTE! We hadn't had a voting party in years, and a good time was had by all!

Thanks mom for the post-partum champagne!

Voting fun!

Seriously?? Snow???

Today was the last day Tiffany and the kids were visiting, so, of course we spent the day together!  The plan was to go on a family hike...but there was a rather unpleasant surprise.  Snow.  Accumulating snow on the trail.  !!

Ugh, that is one frosty car!

Dad & Lynn (who are well prepared for a snow walk) & me (who is not).

Eric and Kylie in snowy wood.  Can you spot Kylie??

The snow is so pretty in pictures...not so much in person.

The snowy forest.

Family portrait time (minus Eric & the babes...Eric was our illustrious photographer)!  Everyone say cheese!!

The march forward continues through the snow and all.

My niece picking up moss.  She says she collects it (in her pockets) in case we get lost and need a fire.  Smart kid!

Weird mushrooms in the snow.

Here's my nephew in a hollowed out tree trunk.  He could totally wait out the storm in there!

Yet another weird mushroom in the snow!

The sign marking the trail head.  We were on the Kettle Crest trail, which would have been a really awesome hike had the weather not been so awful...

 At the top of the Pass!

Fall colored forest.

I think winter is coming....