The Racoon Racers and FamiliesThe Belmont-Smith Family arrived Wednesday night after an arduous drive up I-5 and we kicked off the festivities the next morning with the Turkey Trot Fun Run. It seems more and more people show up each year to enjoy a run/walk around the Lake Sacajawea. We met up with several groups of friends and it was a great time to catch up with people we haven’t seen for a while. Jill and Cole were the only two from our group to finish the whole lake this year. Way to go Cole. We headed home to clean up, eat some yummy Thanksgiving dinner and watch the Seachickens lose once again. Sigh. Football in Washington this year leaves much to be desired.
Jill and Cole approaching the finish lineWe braved the crowds Friday morning for some super deals and then began the process of decorating the house. Although not done, the house is beginning to look festive and the mood is starting to feel a lot like Christmas.
Geo-caching
Dan and Jill "working" the GPS We decided to try our hand at a fun activity called Geo-caching. Simply put, this is like treasure hunting with a GPS. We went to http://www.geocaching.com/ , typed in our zip code and found several “caches” right here in Longview. So we downloaded the coordinates and headed out to find the stashes, trade a treasure or two and leave our name in the log books for future geo-cachers.
Hollow tree - one of the hiding places The kids had a blast looking for the hiding places and opening the boxes to find what lay inside. This was a great way to get outside and move around without having to find a place to hike. And it was great for getting the kids to use their observation skills. There are over a half a million geo-caches around the world, so it is something we have decided we can so as a family when we visit places.
We found it!
Lanna showing some treasures Happy Thanksgiving!
Ruiz and Belmont-Smith Families
Turkey Trot - Thanksgiving 2008
Turkey Trot - Thanksgiving 2008
We found out a few days before the actual game that WSU Women's soccer had made the NCAA Soccer Tournament and was playing their first round game in Portland. So we packed our blanket, stadium cushions, dinner and warm coats and gloves, and headed down I-5 to the University of Portland to watch the game. It was so exciting to cheer for a team that actually has a winning record (I will not provide an explanation for the last comment. If you don't know what it is referring too...good. If you do, keep your snide comments to yourself.) It was a close match, but WSU just didn't have enough to overcome a good University of Texas team and lost 1-0. However, it was great to watch how well players at this level play, and Maggie loved watching things develop. Lanna liked when it was time to get hot chocolate. The picture above is of "the girls" at the game. (Dad was there, just not on the picture.)
Lanna was walking around with this basket on her head, I have no idea why, but when I got the camera to take a picture, she saluted me. Ten hut!
Maggie decided to treat her sister to a day at the salon by braiding her hair (as can be seen in the picture) and painting her nails. I hid the make-up, so that is as far as it got, but Lanna felt glamorous just the same.
We went for a walk along the Coweeman River dike on Sunday morning, then stopped at the playground for some playtime on the equipment. Maggie and Dad had a good time on the swings, while Lanna just climbed over everything. There was another dad there with his two little girls, one of which was about 12 months old and in a baby swing. As she came toward her dad, he would say "yeah" and she would laugh and clap her hands. It was so cute, and with her short blonde baby hair and chubby cheeks, she reminded us of Lanna as a baby. This nearly brought tears to my eyes and totally made me want another baby! (See note above about school pictures!) Dan said it was cute, but he wasn't feeling as sentimental as I was. Sigh.
This picture was actually from October, but was too good not to share. 
