Christmas Vacation part 3- yup, back to the snow again

It was a beautiful day: slightly cloudy, soft snow falling, the sun peaking out every now and then, a cool 20 degrees. It was perfect conditions for a snow shoe hike. Jason and Jennifer Lee decided to come along this time despite our nutty Christmas day escapade. We drove up to Trillium lake this time, a place Elisabeth and I love to frequent during the summer. This time, we decided to leave the dogs at home.














The Trillium trail was packed with people. Apparently it's a very popular snow shoe/cross country skiing spot. Going there was easy, it was down-hill the whole way. I thinking to myself this was going to be an easy little hike, and it was... until we took a wrong turn. We turned a bit too soon and got into some heavy snow. Luckily someone had blazed a previous trail. On the way, we stopped to take some pictures.














We arrived at the lake a quarter of a mile from where we wanted to be. So we trudged around the lake, sometimes on the ice, to our destination.






























There we sat and snacked. It was a badly needed rest. As we headed back, I was thinking to myself " well the way here wasn't bad, the way back will be even easier because of the route we will be taking". I couldn't have been more wrong. The reason the way down was easy is because it was down-hill, down a very steep hill.















And after 3 miles of shoeing, that last hill seemed insurmountable to climb back up. Poor Jen was having difficulty with her asthma acting up. I learned that altitudes and cold air are actually bad for someone with asthma. Who knew? She was a trooper though, tougher than I would have been in the same situation. With her sense of humor in tact, and with her husband's encouragement she made it the last mile to the car. That was rough for both Elisabeth and I, I can't even imagine how hard it was for her. What a trooper!

(Pictures below: the left picture was taken during the summer, on the right Elisabeth is standing in the same spot mimicking her fishing stance. As you can see she is standing on the ice. )

Christmas Vacation part 2- A hike, a flat, and heavy snow

After a wild Christmas day, after a couple of days of rest, we were itching to get back up the mountain to do some good 'ol fashioned snow shoeing. This time it was just Elisabeth and I with the dogs in the Subaru. Thinking I was all too clever, I bought a set of used studded tires with rims for $75 on Craigslist. Well there is a reason they were only $75. I put the studded tires on the day before we left and kept a good eye on their performance. They seemed fine. So we made our way back to Clear Lake. Half way up, we stopped at Government Camp to use the restroom. When I got out I noticed one of our tires was a little low. So I put some air in it thinking we probably had a slow leak, after all the tire had been on for 2 days by now and it's just now showing some air loss. So I aired it back up and headed 15 miles up the mountain to Clear Lake road.

It was beautiful, and just like Christmas day, it snowed from beginning to end. We put on our shoes and started our 3 mile round trip hike (sound easy, doesn't it? You would think...). Taking our new Magellan GPS navigation... thingy (I don't really know what to call it) for direction we set off with our destination being Clear lake. The dogs LOVED it. They went nuts in the snow. Zena especially loved to bound and romp and dig her face in the snow. She went crazy. The first mile wasn't bad, it was down hill. The Second mile was really rough, because we were in 10 feet of really soft snow (not an exaggeration, we actually looked it up when we got back). Snow shoeing is not easy, especially in deep soft snow. We hiked in a single file line, trading off leaders every now and then. The dogs got smart, anytime we hit deep snow, they stayed behind the leader allowing him/her to blaze the trail. This was fine, except when they got too close and repeatedly stepped on the back of our SHOES!! Grrrrrr.

We made it to the lake, and began the last mile back. This was rough because it was the last mile and it was slightly up hill. We loved being outdoors and loved the beautiful snow accumulating on our beanies and jackets.

We arrived at the car to find an almost completely flat tire. Uh oh. The spare I had was not a studded tire, AND it was a space saver donut tire, not a good thing to use in the icy mountains. Luckily a couple miles down the mountain was a gas station, surely they would have air. If I could fill up the tire again, the leak was slow enough that I would have enough time to get to a tire repair shop at the bottom of the mountain. Well... the chevron didn't have air, it had a station labeled air, but no hose for air. Nuts! They did have a fix-a-flat spray can. So I used that, the can only had enough to fill the tire to 15 PSI, which is half of the 30 PSI needed to have a fully filled tire. That's okay, that would get me down the mountain the 15 miles to the place I used to fill the tire up in while coming up the mountain. Traffic was horrible, it took us 2 hours to go 15 miles. We spent A LOT of time at a dead standstill. With air still leaking and a almost flat tire to begin with, I was sweating it. I was in traffic with no shoulder, there was no way I could change a tire here. We limped into Government Camp and I filled the tire with air there. Whew! It took us another hour or so do get home, but the fix-a-flat and air combo did it's job. We made it safe and sound.

I had to shell out another $50 to replace that tire. Apparently the studs were loose and when I drove on them some wouldn't stay upright and they would actually be smashed sideways into the tire, one of them puncturing it. Good to know. When you buy studded tires, check to see if the studs are loose. Loose studs = bad. Lesson learned. And that's why there were so cheap to buy in the first place.

A Great Christmas Vacation- what were we thinking

So you wanna know what we did over Christmas vacation? One word... snow! We spent A LOT of time in the snow up on Mount Hood.

During thanksgiving we went snow shoeing at Clear lake with Will (Elisabeth's younger brother). We just got a taste of the fun snow shoeing can bring and we wanted MORE. Well Santa brought us snow shoes and poles for Christmas so on Christmas day we headed to the mountains with some friends Jason and Jennifer Lee. This is part one, this portion of our adventure we will entitle "what were we thinking?"

Christmas day snow adventure started great, we took the Durango with both Magnum and Zena along with some sleds and some leftovers from Christmas Eve dinner and the snow shoes. Jason and Jennifer were in their '80s Dodge Ram 4x4 diesel with their dogs Otis (a VERY sweet pit bull with a head bigger than Magnum's, but a body smaller than Zena's) and Winston (a very young Chow/Lab mix).

We began with some good 'ol fashioned sledding. It snowed on us from the minute we got up there to the very end of the night. It was really nice. So things were good... until Jason got the bright idea to try to take his Ram down a trail covered in snow. I, of course being the supportive friend I am, said: "Do it. If you get stuck, the Durango can get you out". What were we thinking. Jason started down the trail and within 20 yards was stuck, unable to reverse out. At this point he was still close enough that the Durango could pull him out with no problems. But (and here is the "what was I thinking" part) I suggested that he drive further into the trail to get a running head start in order to get out of the really heavy part he was in. Well... he listened to me (what was he thinking) and went further down the trail. After 5 minutes of back and forth he managed to get his Ram stuck in some pretty deep snow. The situation was worse. Because he continued into the trail at my encouragement, I had to drive the Durango into the trail in order to get him back out. Uh oh. I managed to get the Durango stuck in a matter of seconds. The situation was a lot worse. What were we thinking?!! Well, at least I had chains to put on the Durango in case of such an emergency.

But wait... the chains didn't fit my tires correctly. UH OH! So we did what any man would do. We tried to put the chains on anyway, using a McGyver-esque technique to secure the chains. But we were not McGyver - we were Josh and Jason. After a couple of failed attempts with the chains we started to panic. The situation was beyond bad. As daylight started to fade and the snow fell harder we continued to dig and rig in a hope the chains would stay on. God is good... a nice man happened by with some extra tire cables that fit the Durango. So in one attempt the Durango was out of harms way thanks to that man, and God. There was NO WAY we would risk getting the Durango stuck again. So we had to come up with another plan to get the Ram out.

We started with the same approach: get the cables on the Ram and we should be good. But the problem was that the Ram was in such heavy snow on the drivers side that it would have taken at least an hour to dig it out enough to put the cables on. The situation was bad for Jason's Ram. After several attempts with only the tires spinning he now had 4 large holes in the snow. Then the situation became dire. Jason had turned on the Ram in an attempt to warm the snow that was so deep it was touching the undercarriage of the Ram. But the diesel exhaust was getting to us while we tried to install the cables. So after a bit of whining from me, he turned off the vehicle. That put the nail in the coffin. As we began to dig out the snow under the Ram, we noticed it was really icy. In fact, it was basically a block of ice under the Ram. The heat from the engine had melted it just enough so that it froze again quickly. The truck was now high-centered on a block of ice and the front drivers side wheel wasn't even touching the snow. So with daylight almost gone, Jason shaking and turning blue because he was in jeans and a fleece all day laying in the snow, and the girls and dogs tired, cold and hungry we made the decision to leave the Ram overnight and return tomorrow with a winch and a prayer.

So we headed down the mountain in the Durango, Me, Elisabeth, Jason and Jennifer with their dogs in their laps in the back seat, and Magnum and Zena in the very back with all the stuff. On the way down as a way of apologizing, Jason and I bought our wives some hot coffee at a gas station 15 miles from the place Jason's Ram was stuck. While we were stopped we happened by a tow truck. With a quote that was half as much as anyone else he called, Jason decided to employ the tow truck. We drove the 15 miles back in REALLY heavy snowfall and in the dark with the tow truck following. As we headed back up, noticing the heavy snow fall I said a simple prayer: "God we could use a break from the snow for the next few minutes". God answered my silly little prayer. The snow all but completely stopped as we arrived at the trail. Within 30 minutes, the Ram was free! Of course to top off the evening, as the tow truck was backing out to leave, he accidentally ran into the back of the Ram. It gave us all a good laugh, even Jason.

Did we snow shoe? Elisabeth did for maybe 10 minutes. Did we have fun? Yes, but not the kind of fun you'd think. Did we learn a lot? Yes, Jason learned not to listen to me and listen to his better judgement, and I learned that I don't know what I am talking about most of the time when it comes to snow.

(picture: Above on the right- Jason and I trying to fit the cables on the Ram, notice the Durango in the top left just 100 yards away after we had gotten it out; above on the left, the drivers side of the Ram covered in snow up to the door jam, with Jen (Jason's wife with a snow shovel). The snow under the Ram was actually up against the frame and after a few times of starting the Ram and shutting it off, it turned to ice and the truck became high-centered; below- Jason shelling out the bling to pay the tow truck, just before the tow trucked backed into his Ram while leaving)

OSCE's, FINALS, and then a break. God is good.

It's that time again. Time for me to crawl into my office cave and only come out for food, a little cuddle time with the wife, and to go take a final. Tomorrow is my last final. WHEW!

This week of finals started with a BANG. Monday afternoon I had to take a set of exams called OSCE's. I have no idea what OSCE stands for, but I know what it means to us students. It means long hours of studying everything we have learned up until this point. Anything was free game on this test. There were 20 stations, I had 5 minutes to complete each station. This year the test ranged from performing exam procedures on real people while a clinician watched and graded (beleive me, lot's of writing was a bad thing), to multiple choice questions, to interpreting X-rays. Chalk another one up to God coming through for me. He is so faithful.

Before the exam we were sequestered for one hour. We had that hour to sit and wait while the group before us took the exam. There we were, 20 or so students in our white coats cramming more information into any available space in our brains. Some crammed, some sat around and joked, but everyone was really really nervous. That was the longest most nerve racking hour of my life. I did A LOT of praying, not that I would pass, but that I would simply remember what I knew and that He would quiet my nerves.

He did, and I did. I passed, thank GOD! I was talking with one of the graders today, she said at my 2nd station I gave 4 answers to one question, all of them were wrong! Naturally I have no idea what I said or what question was asked, I was in a nervous haze at that point. But after the 3rd station, God took control and calmed me. We now joke about how much of a nut I was at first.

OSCE's ended at 3:15. I had to take another written final at 4:00. Whoever planned that at my school is just plain mean. I did well on that one too. See, God is faithful regardless of how I act or how little faith (in Him or in me) I show.

So after a few more finals, I sit here writing this instead of studying for my last final tomorrow. God is good, true. But I know I gotta do some work too. Time to hit the books, one last time this quarter.

Josh

A (tree) Hunting we will go.. A (tree) Hunting we will go...

So it's my turn to post. I guess I have been slacking a bit on the posting, Elisabeth has asked me to do it several times, yet it hasn't been done. She is so patient.

As is tradition, we went hunting for a christmas tree again this year. This time, we had another vehicle to follow us on our trek through beautiful Mount Hood. We headed up to Estacada with friends Cory and Becca in our car, and our other friends Jason with his wife Jennifer, and John and his wife Brandi in Jason's old rusty monster of a blazer. I realize those names might not mean a lot to many of you, but it proves that we have friends (yay).

(Cory and Jason behind him in a BIG mud puddle.. oh yeah)

The conditions were less than perfect, but that didn't stop us. It was cold and rainy (imagine that in Oregon), and that meant a little bit of snow and A LOT of mud. Naturally we just had to play a bit on the way up.

We trudged up the mountain in search for the perfect tree. After a few miles and a lot of mud we pulled off and went trapsing around the hillside. Lo' and behold we found it.

We brought the tree home and after a bit of trimming, we had ourselves a wierd looking tree, but a tree none-the-less.

As you can see, we have had some problems with our garland. Apparently dog tails and garland do not mix.

Merry Christmas to all!!

Josh

Thanksgiving

This is the longest post we've ever written and has 5 videos. Maybe a little excessive, but we thought all of them were worth including and they're funnier with the volume up. So enjoy! We've been having a really fun Thanksgiving again this year! Elisabeth's brother, Will, came down from Missoula. We put him right to work. Josh and Will added stairs on to the back deck. So it's no longer a long, scary step down into the mud!! They worked on the stairs while Elisabeth cooked Thanksgiving dinner and we all finished about the same time. We've been feasting on yummy leftovers for a couple of days now and they're still good! Friday, we shopped, rested and played games. And today we headed up to Mt. Hood to play in the snow. This time we had both dogs and we rented snow shoes. We had a blast! First, Will decided to test out the new circular sled that he and Josh bought the day before. However, Zena thought it was an oversized frisbee and barked until he threw it.

The funniest was when she tried to bring the sled up the hill and it would slide back down along with her. She also tried to fetch the snow balls that we threw for her.

We walked down to the lake and discovered that it was mostly frozen.

This is the same lake that Josh and I camped and fished at this summer. It was amazing to see how different it looked. We stuck to the really thick parts and ran and slid around with the dogs.

Josh and Will had to take sliding to a new level of course!





We were looking for a place to try out the snow shoes, but it was harder than we thought because the snow was a lot lower than it was last year. We found a spot that the guys decided might be good for sledding, but there was too many rocks and not enough snow.



It gets dark now at 4:30, so we had to head back down the mountain. Now we're all worn out and vegging around the house. When we got home, Zena exhibited some strange behavior. She started nipping at Will's legs. We thought this was pretty funny and were a little worried that she didn't like him. But it turns out she just doesn't like his snow pants! The noise they make when he walks made her growl and then nip at them. If you listen close, you can hear her jaw close as she nips at him. Naughty girl!


We let her do it long enough to get it on camera and then let her know nipping is not ok!! But it was really funny! This was a longest post ever! Thanks for reading!

Sleepy Babies!

Josh sent me a sweet picture of the sleeping kiddos. They're keeping him company while he's home sick today. :(

Back from our Sabbatical

Well, we haven't posted for a really long time and there is way too much to catch up on completely. I'll hit the highlights of the last week or so. Josh went to a chiropractic seminar last weekend in Seattle and I got to go as the tag-a-long who just hangs out. Saturday, I went to Pike Place Market with a friend, Nicole, whose husband was also up for the seminar. We shopped all day! Below is a picture of the first Starbucks.

The famous fish market where they throw the fish.

Josh and I at the Rainforest cafe. It felt like being back at Disneyland!And now for the big news... Magnum just got a little sister tonight. Her name is Zena and she is such a sweetie. Right now there is a lot of nervous energy, some growling and we've just had the first potty accident. Zena is 3 years old and looks like a 40 pound version of Magnum. Magnum definitely likes her, but she is a little nervous at her new home. However, she doesn't put up with any crap from Magnum. They had a great romp in the backyard and we all got a little muddy. It was lots of fun!! Here is a picture of both of them together and then one of Zena by herself. We'll keep you posted!

The Most Spoiled Dog in the World!!!

If only we had the audio, so you could hear him snoring . . .

Winter Treat!

Wow, we have been busy! But all with good fun things. Elisabeth's parents came for a visit President's Day weekend. We had such a blast seeing them. It was a go, go, go weekend! On Friday we went to McMenamins pub, a Portland favorite. They also have a movie theater, so we saw The Departed. I have to say the movie could have been so good, but I now regret my decision to stay awake and watch the rest of it. Sleep would have definitely been better! Saturday, we shopped and browsed and shopped some more. Josh took an opportunity to study in the car for part of the day rather than look at antiques. I think Tom would have liked to join him at times. Sunday, we went to church and then headed up to Timberline Lodge for the night. It was so much fun!! The weather cooperated (depending on what you wanted) and we enjoyed 14 inches of snow during the night. Josh had to dig the Durango out the next day for us to go home.

Tom and Ann temporarily lost their minds and slept with the window open, so they enjoyed snow INSIDE their room. I guess people from the South don't get as much winter as they'd like at home, so they get as much as they can elsewhere. The lodge was so much fun to stay in. We played games by the fire at night and had yummy yummy food. For those of you who don't know about the lodge; the exterior was used for The Shining and it was built in the 1930's during the depression by workers in the WPA. Below is what it looks like looking straight up from the second floor window at the Lodge. Notice that the snow is much higher than the window. They have an average annual snow depth of 21 feet and receive about 45 feet of snow a year.

The lodge is about an hour from Portland. The picture below was taken out the window in our room. The corrugated metal thing is what keeps the entrance open in the winter due to the high snow depths.

It is a very cool place to visit year round. Sadly, Tom and Ann left on Tuesday and Elisabeth had to go back to work. We had so much fun during their visit!!! And hope they come back soon.

Last weekend Josh played volleyball 1/2 the day on Saturday and Sunday we had a marathon set of potlucks. We were gone from 9:45 AM to 7:30 PM! Busy times, but we're having a lot of fun. Tonight there is a snow advisory in effect for the Valley (Willamette, not LA), so maybe we'll wake up to snow.

Is there a doctor in the house??

Josh started a soft tissue internship in the student clinic this quarter in addition to all of his other classes and the first set of boards he has to take. It's a load and a half. When he works on one of his patients, Josh has to dress like a doctor. I love it. Today, I saw him in his gear, complete with lab coat and official id tag and I had to share.

I think he's the handsomest chiropractor in the joint. Of course, I may be slightly biased. Magnum was also very impressed by his daddy's paraphenalia.

Anyway, Dr. Josh is now a reality. And I'm so excited he's getting to the fun parts of all this schoolwork - the part where he gets to help people.

January Happenings

Well it's still winter in Portland. It's warmed up to a nice 48 degrees (feels like 30 with the wind chill). In the past few days, we've had some strong winds, which means the low clouds that hide the beautiful mountains have been temporarily blown aside. This is the view at the park across the street from us when I got home tonight. You can see Mt. Hood in the background.

It's now getting dark around 5:20 PM, so I actually get to drive home in the daylight! Magnum has been having lots of fun with a new friend named Blake. He's a 7 week old puppy that our friends Trent and Tiffani just got. He's hilarious and to watch Magnum and this wee pup interact is even funnier. Tiffani and I were in stitchs watching Blake try to jump up on our "back porch" (more like oversized step). Blake would run and jump up, unfortunately clotheslining himself in the process. We sadly did not get that on video, but I did record Magnum and Blake's first meeting. They're a little wary of each other in the video, however, after several meetings they now get along even better. Magnum is tolerant when Blake bites his tail and Blake understands that to touch Magnum's bone is a declaration of war.

Have a great Groundhog's day tomorrow!!

Snow!!!

We've been getting false promises of snow from the weatherman for a couple of months now, but until yesterday we had no snow. When we woke up yesterday, I asked Josh if it had snowed and he confirmed that my hopes for a snow day home from work were just wishful thinking. He went to school around 7:00 and there was still nothing going on in the snow department. Then when I reluctantly opened the garage door to head to work at 7:30, I saw this thick shower of snow coming down outside. I was so excited, that I went back inside and grabbed my camera and took some pictures.

Magnum came out with me. He was so frisky from the snow. He kept tearing around the yard in circles just getting out his energy.

And if you know Magnum, you will realize how odd this behavior is because when it is time for me to go to work, Magnum usually has already got his napping spot comfortable on the couch. After taking the pictures and consulting with an office mate about whether Concordia would be open, I decided to turn on the 4 wheel drive and head to work. In retrospect, I should have stayed at home and waited for the sun to come out and thaw some this first. Despite the fact that I have a big SUV, 4 wheel drive and was driving slow (25 mph or less) and pumping the brakes when stopping; I still spun around some. Another friend of ours was less lucky, she hit a fire hydrant and a wall. Under the fast falling snow, was a thick layer of ice and it was very difficult to drive on. I got to work just fine, but I stressed about going home for most of the morning. So around noon, I went home to work for the rest of the day. Sure enough, it was thawing, but was still really icy in our neighborhood. I took more pictures.

This is the most snow we've had since we've moved here and we loved it!

Christmas for two please...

For the first time in our marriage Elisabeth and I spent Christmas without our families. We missed our families very much, but realized it was a nice change. Not that we are going solo (or duet I guess) from now on, but Christmas for two (or three if you count Magnum) brought us closer. We started the celebration by putting up our tree. The things is, for some reason our tree looked a lot more full in nature, with snow and other trees around it, go figure. So once again we have a Charlie Brown christmas tree and we love it!!
After the decoration came the food. And boy was there a TON of food. Elisabeth was a machine.
She cooked enough food for an army. We were able to give some away to friends and her coworkers. Not only did she cook wonderful holiday snacks like Puppy Chow, Cheeseball, Rumballs, etc.; she also cooked us a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner complete with a Cornish Game Hen, mashed potatoes, gravy, lime green salad, french onion soup and ALL the fixins that rival the best Thanksgiving meals I have had.

Of course I attempted to help. Unfortunately, I take after my mom in the cooking department and my feeble attempt at fudge resulted in a light brown runny mess that more resembled a sugary country gravy rather than a firm melt-in-your-mouth taste of heaven. Yeah, ew! Inside the warm house smelled of food, and Christmas. Outside, the temperature dropped as the days passed. Pretty much every morning we woke to freezing temperatures, frost and ice as in the picture below. One morning we woke to a light layer of snow covering everything. It stuck for a while but melted just in time to freeze at night so the roads were slick the next morning. Walks with Magnum at night on slick roads is very challenging but kinda fun. Not only do I enjoy playing on slippery asphalt, but I also really enjoy the crunch of grass under my boots when I walk on our freshly frozen yard. There is something about the smell of a cold morning, the smoking chimneys, the crunch of frozen grass, and the peace and quiet that brings a smile to my face and gives me a sense of contentment. I love it.



Merry Christmas to all, we miss you and we love you. We are truly blessed to have people who are actually interested in reading what we have to say.

Josh and Elisabeth