Chaoyang 2014

The Season Begins...

So last Friday I picked up Jaelyn from church camp and whisked her to Jeff and Lorrie's for the night. I did not want to drive nearly two hours to pick her up, drive her home, then drive 2.5 hours again the next morning to get her to her soccer tournament.  Since Josh was a counselor at the same camp, he drove the rest of the crew north, while we went south.  We had a nice visit with family and alpacas, then had a short drive Saturday for Jaelyn's 6 aside tournament. The weather was perfect, warm with a slight breeze, and her team ended up taking second! I only had my unsmart phone, so please excuse the photo quality.

If you can't find Jaelyn, she's the short one;)

This tournament is the first of a few more to come, then regular season. Kaia was also back to her sport this week, as she had tryouts for her competitive gymnastics team. She made the team and should be moving up in at least two of the three categories she competes in.  They also have had swimming lessons every day.  So why aren't they sleeping better???

Smokin' Hot Anniversary...

Now that I have your attention, let me explain myself. First of all, if you have been following my blog, you know that my anniversary was last month, but since I was heading to China that day, we held off on our celebration. With the girls heading off for a week of camp, and Josh being a counselor there too, Kellen took care of the dogs and we headed for Leavenworth this past week, a beautiful Bavarian styled town, nestled in the Cascade Mountains.

Smokin' hot you say?  Well before you think that is TMI, I'm talking about the forest fires in Eastern Washington right now. Some of the highway as you descend the pass into Leavenworth was and still is closed. On the upside, the traffic was nearly obsolete, best we have ever encountered heading east.  This photo doesn't do it justice, and this was shot from a moving car, but the smoke caused quite the haze.

But making the trip over was totally worth it. It was warm and beautiful, and again, on the upside for us but not for business, the crowds were smaller than normal. You can see how all the buildings are reminiscent of Bavaria, and the flowers are gorgeous. The ice cream's not too bad either!

Mike had made reservations at a quaint family ran hotel, Pension Anna, right downtown and within walking distance of the action. One of my favorite shops is the Christmas store, Kris Kringle. It reminds me of a Christmas store we shopped at when we went to Oberammergau, in the heart of Bavaria, back in the 1990's.  Since I did not take my camera, this selfie, from Mike's phone in front of the store, will have to suffice.

Day two was much cooler, but that worked for us, since we were going mountain biking. We biked on a newly made trail that had some beautiful views of the area.  Despite the falling rain, we stayed fairly dry under the canopy of the forest.

Our warm summer weather definitely was on a break.  After our bike ride and a quick shower, we opted for a brats and Bavarian pretzel lunch, next to some warm coals.

That night we watched a live performance of The Sound of Music in an amphitheater situated on the same hill we had biked that morning. What a perfect setting for the musical, if it wasn't for the rain! Yep, shortly following the intermission, buckets of rain came down, but the show went on!  Fortunately we had checked the forecast, and purchased the $1 poncho they sold at the entrance. They did their job and kept us dry. Not so much for the performers though, as they were soaking wet. A worker even came out and mopped the stage during a scene change, after one actor slipped and fell. It made the evening even that much more memorable though. No pictures of us in our ponchos, as it was dark by then, but here we are in yet another selfie, at the start of the show...

The following morning, as a much needed rain for the fires continued to fall, we headed home. Thanks babe for a wonderful 26th Smokin' Hot celebration! Looking forward to our 27th...

Ragnar #3...

Friday and Saturday Mike participated in his third Ragnar Race. The first two years he actually ran on an Ultra Ragnar team, which means they are six member teams instead of twelve members. That team was comprised of the same men, and very competitive. This year they decided to take it easy and run on a more relaxed twelve person team. Meet team Schweet and Schweaty...

By the way, Mike is the only male not running with his wife. Talk about pressure! Good thing I had the excuse of having a bad back this spring. Maybe next year???

We Believe That We Will Win...

Yesterday we had to load up two cars to get the entire family +2 girlfriends to Seattle for the Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers soccer game, the first time the whole group got together for anything. It was also the day of the World Cup final game, so a nearby park to Century Link Field, home to the Sounders, was a gathering place to watch Germany vs. Argentina on the big screen, then a pregame rally for the night time rivalry.  Fans then paraded from the park to the stadium. We left ahead of the festivities so we could keep tabs on the girls, but here is a view from atop the stadium as the parade drew near. Mind you, this was just the beginning of the long line of fans..

Nope, not smoke from a riot! It's blue and green Sounder spirit!

All decked out in our gear...

The view from our seats...

The crowd at a soccer game is very high energy! There were over 63,000 fans in attendance chanting "We believe that we will win."  The club section of highly insane fans cheered and played their instruments the entire game. Since Portland and Seattle are such a close rivalry, they had their club section of 1,000 or so, chanting the entire game too.  After the game the band moved outside to entertain the crowd, lots of whom were sticking around. I have a deeper understanding now of the soccer crazed around the world. You really can get caught up in the atmosphere. I am glad to have experienced it without all the hooligans!

Our cheers of "We believe" turned out to be true, as the Sounders dominated, winning 2-0. Can't remember the last time I was in Seattle at 10:00pm, and not freezing cold. It was still in the 80's as the game finished. This is not my photo, and our view from the stadium was looking out at the water, not Mt. Rainier, but just as beautiful. This was taken the same evening...

We enjoyed the game immensely, and are looking forward to taking in the whole experience again before the end of the season.

No, Not the Marines...

Although it may look like Joshua has joined the Marines, I assure you, he has not. Just about a month before he heads back to school. I think summer boredom has set in...

Before

During

Almost

And despite the look on his face, he really does like it, especially in this hot weather we have been experiencing.

A Family Affair...

Want to know the secret to overcoming jet lag and a 15 hour time difference? Re-roof your house! Yep, the first morning I woke, upon return from China, was to the 7 am pounding of hammers on my roof.  And since I was in charge of the cleanup crew, I had to join them.

You see, our roof was the last in the neighborhood to be replaced. Since it was still "working," we hated to replace it just because everyone else had (you know, giving in to peer pressure).  But it was time for the ole' shake to go.  Since we are home most of summer, we have a difficult time justifying paying someone else to do the job (like when we paint our house too), so with the help of a good friend in the construction business, we decided to make it a family affair.

Before...

See the bundles of shingles in the white packages? Josh made 108 trips up the ladder carrying each 45 lb. bag.  Thank goodness for healthy young men in our house! He had two teeth pulled so got out of doing some of the work, but I think he did his share...

Notice the pile in front of our door? It was like this all around our house. This is where the girls, Kellen, and I came in...

When we finished, we had this truck completely filled. I did the majority of the work in this photo the first day...

Progress...

DONE! We are really pleased with the final results, as well as with our savings. We also realize why roofing contractors charge so much. Did I mention this week was hot?....

Good teamwork Crebbin family!