Memorial Weekend Camping - A Dangerous Activity

Over Memorial Day Weekend a group of us went camping at La Wis Wis. This was the third year of camping at La Wis Wis over the weekend and we knew we were in store for rest, relaxation, and just a darn good time around the campfire. Going up on Thursday were my parents, Andrew, Jessica, Karen, Nate, and myself. We quickly got all the trucks and SUVs unloaded and the camping equipment set up as we knew that the rain was soon to be upon us. Luckily the rain stopped right as we drove into the campsite and stayed away until the last tent was set up. That night we heated up Taco Salad, passed around the drinks, and settled in for some good chit-chatting.

The next morning, after gloriously being allowed to sleep in, we began the days activites of sitting and doing nothing. :-) Well, almost. We started out the day hundled under all the tarps and canopies staying dry while reading books but after a few hours the guys decided that we needed more firewood and that the fallen trees around us would be a great opportunity to get free wood. So out came the axes and manliness. Everything was going smoothly. Girls were reading, boys were doing firewood. Then suddenly a large snap sounded at the exact moment that Nate was trying to chop a limp into smaller pieces. I looked up and saw Nate with his hand to his cheek and taking a few steps rather dazily. Then he took his hand away from his face and blood started to freely fall. I quickly got up (or as quickly as I could since I had Lily, my Mom's Shih Tzu tucked in my jacket) and went towards Nate. Mom got him quickly sitting in a chair while Jessica ran to grab the first aid kit. I tossed Lily to my Dad, or at least I think I did. One moment Lily was in my jacket the next she wasn't. Then I grabbed cleaning wipes and began to clean the blood, dirt, and outdoor yuck off of his face. The wound was probably a good inch gash across his cheek that went several centimeteres into his skin. There were also scrapes above and below the gash where the tree limb had hit, and bruises forming from chin to eye. It took quite a few cleansing wipes just to get all the dirt off his face and out of the wound. Finally, he was cleaned up enough to put a bandage on. Or the first of many bandages. The first bandage was a large piece of gauze with gauze tape across his face. (As shown below.)

After this gauze picture Nate then had a large band-aid, a medium size band-aid, and finally a small band-aid. Each time we checked the wound, cleaned it up a bit, applied Neosporin, and then checked to see if any of his facial numbness had worn off. The rest of the weekend was a lot more relaxful as we made Nate sit that whole first day. :-) Then it was hiking, sleeping in, the Packwood Flea market, and a trip to Miner's on the way home.

Now that we're home Nate still has a gash on his cheek but it's healing nicely. The numbness in his face is still there, but it is getting a little bit better every day. I figure he took such a hit that it may take a while for his facial nerves to fully come back online. Well, he had a cute smile before and he'll have a cute smile afterwards even if it is a little lopsided. :-)

Gang Graffiti

Can someone please explain to me why people feel the need to vandalize other people's property? At what point in someone's life do they decide that they're going to be a blight on society instead of a productive member? Is it an actual decision or just a path that they turn down after one too many times of making bad choices?

Obviously, we got tagged with gang graffiti. It was kind of a scary deal, too, as the night this occurred was the night that Nate was out of town. I'd sent Nate off to his out of town meeting and was settling in for a night of junk food and Lost when I heard a knock on the door. Seeing as it was 8:30pm at night and we don't know the neighbors too well I was a little concerned about who was at the door. Upon opening the door I found this hulking man on the other side. He introduced himself as one of our neighbors (at which time I did remember that we'd previously met) and asked if I'd seen what was done to the side of our fence. I hadn't so I followed him around to the side of the house where I saw that someone had spray painted gang graffiti on our pretty white fence.

The graffiti on our fence

Now I wasn't upset so much about the cost of fixing the fence as it obvious that a can of white paint would do the job, but I was upset that someone hooligan had vandalized my property, interrupted my 'alone' night, and made me nervous about being in the house by myself. Luckily, my neighbor informed me that he worked at the local Justice Center and had a few phone numbers for me to contact to deal with the problem. I felt better just knowing that someone who obviously worked with problems was nearby to help if I ran into a serious one. Well, I contacted the police that night to report the crime (that sounds so, I don't know, intense) and to see what the next steps were in fixing the fence. An hour or so later a policeman stopped by the house and let me know that a lot of areas were hit with graffiti that night, that we have a problem house nearby when the mom isn't home, and to call if there were any future problems. Again, it was nice knowing that help was just a short call away.

The next day, I figured that it would be better for me to quickly fix the problem than have Nate have to come home to it after a long day of driving. With a quick trip to Wal-Mart and a few minutes of my time I was able to paint over the graffiti and no longer be 'that' neighbor that begins the downhill slide of the neighborhood by not taking care of their property. A quick resolution to an annoying problem.

All in all I was pretty proud of myself. I calmly took care of the situation by reporting the crime and fixing the problem. Of course, I still grin a little at the double checking of all windows and doors to make sure every possible entrance into the house was locked up. :-)

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

On May 22, 2010 my Grandmother acheived a rarely obtained goal. She celebrated her 90th birthday!!! The day was extra special because instead of just celebrating with her siblings, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren the whole family got invited. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, First Cousins Once Removed, Second Cousins, Brothers, Sisters, Children, Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren, Neighbors, and Friends. My Auntie Sue's house, where the party was hosted, was brimming with people in every room that you wondered in to. At one point in time I looked around and realized that the 'old' people were sprawled in the kitchen, dining room, and living room eating lunch while the 'young' people were crammed and smashed onto the deck around two tiny tables that fit a third of those that were there. Just funny how everyone segregated themselves.

The day was also made a little more special due to Aunt Genie and Cousins Stacy and Kayla. See, my Mom's side of the family was always known for getting together and playing instruments. Guitar, piano, trumpet, harmonica you name it. And singing was a requirement that everyone joined in on. But as time went by, and especially with the death of my Granfather back in 1992, signing and music has slowly been going by the wayside of our get togethers. Sure, Auntie Sue will occasionally burst into song but there aren't the living room sing alongs anymore. Gosh, I just realized how much I miss those moments. Anyway, back to the point. These three ladies brought song and music back to our gatherings! They created the cutest song and strummed their guitars while they sang about my Grandma, getting older, and being loved. I wish I could remember the exact words but the song contained both sweet and funny moments. I really think Grandma got a kick out of this.

The other special time of the weekend was just getting the family together again. With Uncle Bobby and Aunt Nancy living in Roseburg, OR, Auntie Sue and Uncle Roger living in Kirkland, WA, and my parents in West Richland, WA it's hard to get the entire family together at one time. Between everyone there's my grandmother, three children and their spouses, nine grandchildren and their spouses, and three great-grandchildren for a total of 28 people. That's a decent amount to get around the kitchen table all at once. :-)

The funny part is that this year I'll probably see this side of the family more than I've seen them in the last five years. Between Nate and I getting married, my Granma's 90th birthday party, and Mindy and Derrick's wedding (cousins) we'll have seen each other three times in three months! And that's not including the holiday season, the camping trips, and the graduations. Family is awesome!

Well, grandma, thanks for the fun weekend and I'm looking forward to the 95th birthday bash! I love you!

Auntie Sue, Uncle Bobby, Mom, and Grandma

How Do You Study the Bible?

So how do you study the bible? By this I mean how do you read the bible when you're not at church? Do you just open up the Bible, turn to a page and start reading? Or do you follow a study guide that tells you what to read during certain days and then gives you questions/answers to ponder? Do you follow readings that your church provides? Or do you read so many chapters a night starting at Genesis and going through Revelation until you reach the final verse?

I'm thinking that I'd like to start studying the bible as opposed to just reading random passages, but I'm not sure how I want to begin this and thought I'd see how others do it to maybe glean some ideas. If you're okay telling me how you study the Bible, I'd be very interested to know.