December 2018: Mt. Hood, yoga, and cookies

On a neighborhood run one day, I encountered a lovely view of Mt. Hood.

Oliver practiced his yoga.

And, as usual, we made lots of cookies!

Including puffballs ...

... and gingerbread.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 2018

As December advanced, school happenings became more frequent. Maddie's choir sang.

Meanwhile, Anzu Meow Meow was growing.

He likes the kitchen sink.

At school, Oliver's class has worked on sewing. He loves it. His big project before winter break was a mini-Oliver!

Fall 2018: almost winter, O Christmas Tree

As November drew to a close, Nory was able to tolerate (barely) closer proximities to Anzu.

For his part, Anzu continued to be a cuddly darling.

At the outset of December, we hosted a sleepover for the first time! Maddie and her friend had lots of fun, baked cookies, watched a movie, and didn't sleep much.

Next it was Christmas tree selection time. We found the experience a bit perplexing to navigate, and we missed our old place in Tiverton (except last year when they ran out of trees), but it was hard to argue with the beautiful views and flawless trees.

We found ours pretty much right away, and cut it down and hauled it off.

Then we didn't waste much time before decorating it!

O Christmas Tree.

Fall 2018: Majestic Falls

Next, we paid a visit to the Majestic Falls trail in Linn County.

Majestic Falls is one of a few waterfalls one sees along the trail. The first are actually Royal Terrace Falls, which are pretty spectacular.

Majestic Falls are pretty majestic too, though.

After meandering past the significantly smaller-scale Crystal Falls, we found ourselves back at Royal Terrace Falls ...

... before heading back to the parking area.

Fall 2018: Ape Cave & Thanksgiving pies

Not far from June Lake is Ape Cave.

We descended into the dark ...

... briefly, then decided to brave more of the cave another day.

Back at home there were more kitten cuddles.

One morning I saw a buck in our front yard.

We carried on the old tradition from Delaware of making pies for Thanksgiving: one pumpkin and one apple.

Fun!

Aaaand our dishwasher died. Oh well!

Fall 2018: Mt. St. Helens

By mid-November, we were finally settled in enough to begin venturing further out into the northwest. Oliver was very interested in volcanoes, so we figured a visit to Mt. St. Helens was in order. We were too late in the season for the visitor center, but we found a very nice consolation prize in the June Lake Trail.

Views of the summit from the trail were quite nice, especially against the vibrant blue sky.

Although the June Lake Trail runs through an area that wasn't hit particularly hard when the mountain erupted, there are still views of areas where lava and mud flowed down the mountainside.

And there's a lake! With a waterfall!

It was a beautiful day ...

...and it wasn't even over yet!

Fall 2018: interlude

In fall, we had birthday parties ...

,,, kitten time ...

... and fun exploring our back yard.