The MIDDLE SISTER!

Yikes! If I had any idea what I was in for, I don't think I would have said yes to this hike. It was pretty intense for me. The other mountaineers pictured below weren't phased, but I am happy to be alive today. It was crazy, but really fun to hang out with these guys and camp on a mountainside. I would do that part again in a heartbeat. From base camp to the summit was a different story. No trail, climbing rock walls, and crossing glaciers to get to the top. Wow!

Here's the crew we went with...the Fords and Liddells. It was great to spend time with them! I loved this part of the hike, even if Eric took the scenic route (adding a couple miles) to base camp.
Lovely picture of me with the pack, but check out the scenery!

The picture below is one of the sights we saw on the scenic route...Obsidian Falls. The picture is dark, but it was beautiful!

This is the Middle Sister from a meadow we came across about an hour before we got to base camp. We hiked straight up between those two humps of trees. It was steep and I was ready for dinner and bed by the time we got to camp.

Gathering to check out the map Nyle was tired too. He hadn't eaten lunch that day, so he was really hungry!

Some of the rocks we climbed!

Taking a break and checking out the view.


Check out the "trail!"

That's Trisha sitting on the "saddle." That is where we sat while the guys summited. From that point on was pretty sketchy. Cliffs on both sides, and you had to pretty much climb on your hands and knees. Not for me! I made my goal!

Here's Nyle and Jodi
Some views from the top!

Nyle said there was nothing on the side of this rock, just a drop off! Scarey!

Good job Nyle!

Nyle, Eric and Barrett

This is part of the glacier we crossed to get to the top. Just remember, we had to come down it too! How do you think Nyle would attempt that? Yep, just ski down with his shoes! He had to pull me down by my ankles, while I slid on my butt. I screamed all the way down. I was very wet and sore when we got down.


Finally, headed down...on a trail.
Gorgeous meadows with streams, views of the mountains and lots of wildflowers were everywhere! It was beautiful!
Wild Lupins everywhere! Where else can you see that? It smelled amazing!
Bye bye mountain! Maybe we'll see you next year. Anyone want to join us? I think I will stay at base camp next time.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

This is a recipe that everyone must have...Mom made these when she visited and the kids scarfed them! She found the recipe on smittenkitchen.com, which is a really cool site. Check it out!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Adapted from AllRecipes.com
Recipes like this make me wonder why I don’t use AllRecipes.com more. After seeing a blueberry crumb bar on another site, I immediately wanted to make them but the first recipe seemed overly fussy. I knew there was a simpler way to do it, and lo and behold, All Recipes had it. Once I swapped the shortening for butter–of course–and dolled it up with some lemon juice and lemon zest, they were just as heavenly as the 176 commenters promised they’d be.
I could imagine easily swapping another fruit or berry for the blueberries–I’m especially thinking something tart like sour cherries or cranberries in the fall (I’d use orange instead of lemon with cranberries). But if you have blueberries on hand, do not miss a chance to make these.
These are easiest to cut once chilled, and store even better in the fridge than they do at room temperature–something unusual for cookies!

Yield: I cut these into 36 smallish rectangles
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (This took an extra 10 to 15 minutes in my oven.) Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Lava River Caves

At the end of 3rd grade, all the third graders came to this cave, only to find it still closed because of winter weather. So, to make it up to our kids, a bunch of us got together and went to the caves. It was awesome. I didn't care much for the part that gets so narrow that you have to crawl, but the rest was really neat!

The opening of the cave.
Olivia, Sharri, Tammy and Debbie

Some crazy boys

A lot of crazy boys! Tyler is the one hiding behind the flagpole!?
Jonathon ducked out of my picture, but I still got him!
The crawling part! It gets really tiny!
Tanner in the caves.
Tyler and a bunch of friends.
Tumalo State park for some water fun after the cave! They are having a towel fight!

I just look at this and think we have trouble on our hands! Not only now, but in about 7 years!!! They had a blast being with all their buddies for the day. We are ready for school to start now!

Mom's Visit

Most of you probably already read her blog, but just in case you didn't...here are some of my pictures of my mom's visit last week. It was a blast (except for my birthday, spent in bed, throwing up!). We cooked, made jam, did a little hike, shopped, and played in the boat. We even got to hang out with Brett & Julia! Come back soon mom! Love you! More pictures to come...my drive is acting funny!

Tumalo Falls

Julia is the skier in the picture!
Brett w/my life jacket on. Does it fit?

Smiley Syd

Tumalo Falls Hike

Nyle and I are getting ready to hike the Middle Sister, and Rick has a 50-miler starting today, so we thought we would take a little hike to get into shape. It was a 7 miler to the Falls in Tumalo. It was beautiful, and not too painful. I am sore in my shins and Nyle's heels are killing him. It could have been worse!

The troops behind me.

Sydney up ahead of me

Nyle overlooking the river, and the outcropping of rocks. On the way back we saw rock climbers hanging off the side!

Wildflowers along the way

The falls!

Everyone on a deck that actually hangs out over the falls.

The Trammel Family...Mackenzie actually wore flip-flops for the entire hike!

Our family

When we got to the end, we found a place beyond the falls where we could all dip our feet in. It was cold and refreshing. I'm glad there isn't any sound that goes with this picture, because I was telling Syd to keep her shoes away from the water...it wouldn't be any fun to hike back in wet shoes. She does actually get them a little wet 1 second after this picture, but she didn't say a word after I had warned her!

Overall, it was a great hike! You wanna go mom? We can actually skip almost all of the hike. We found a lot of cars parked when we got to the falls and the boys were wondering why we didn't just drive there?!