Pioneer Days Celebration 2009

Another Oakley Pioneer Days Celebration has come and gone. One wouldn't know that my family was celebrating the pioneers because we headed out to the water...
On jet skis...
And more...

We had a blast! Surprisingly, our fun didn't end there.

One went biking...
Others played on the playground equipment...



Many watched morning cartoons...
Another chose to work...
Two ran a 1 mile race... One finished and the other one wearing the yellow shorts stopped halfway. Good thing the route goes right by our house because that is where we ended and jumped on the trampoline instead.

All went to the parade...
Until next year...

Badger Mountain

On Friday night we hiked up Badger Mountain. It is one of the few mountains, or hills rather, that we have around the Tri-Cities. It was a beautiful evening with a great view from the top. Here's Lauren walking up the path...getting a little too close to the edge sometimes.

I'm including some pictures of the area for those of you who haven't made it here to visit us yet.

This is the overlooking Richland, the Columbia River, and Pasco (on the other side of the river).

This is Richland and Kennewick, with Pasco on the other side of the river.

And this is Richland.

Here is another great view... Jason and Lauren.

A Mole In Our Yard

I couldn't decide if I wanted to put a picture of a mole on my blog because they're pretty creepy, but in comparison to the mole we have in our yard, I'd say we are very fortunate. Ours has short nails, blue eyes, is fur free, and extremely cute.

We are in the process of moving our fence, so Jason had to dig some holes to put the poles in. Lauren really wanted to get in and stay in. The hole was even deeper than what this picture portrays, probably up to her forehead. We told her that the hole was her new "time out" place. She was pretty excited about that.

Palouse Falls

I finally have something to post about. We finally adventured out into the unknown. It seems to happen more often when we have family in town. We headed northeast, about an hour and a half outside of the Tri-Cities, to Palouse Falls State Park. The falls drop from a height of 200 ft. and are one of Washington's most beautiful waterfalls.
Jason, Lauren, and I
Elaine and Chris
A view of the upper Palouse Falls and Palouse River.

We hiked down into the canyon to the upper waterfalls. It was less than a mile, so really easy. (I think Lauren was saying a prolonged "Ouch," in this picture.)

I was reading some interesting facts on the Palouse Falls website. I've never heard of the Marmes Rock Shelter until now, but this is what the site had to say. "The Marmes Rock Shelter was the site of a 1968 archeological dig. Geologists unearthed remains of the "Marmes Man." Among the oldest human remains found in the western hemisphere, Marmes Man is estimated to be 10,000 years old. Approximately 1.25 miles upstream from the mouth of the Palouse, a levee surrounds a murky pool below a shallow basalt cave. The remains of at least five individuals were excavated from a fire hearth in the cave."

It pays to adventure out. There is always something spectacular to see and so much history to learn. Washington has around 140 state parks. Our plan is to visit as many as we can.

We are down by two!

ICE CREAM!

Lauren is 2 1/2 years old and this is the first ice cream cone she has ever had. Is Lauren deprived or are we lame parents? Whatever the answer may be, she sure did enjoy it! Delicious!