markathbauer: old house early 2012 and miscellaneous pictures

With a new house in such a lovely setting, so peaceful and serene, it is hard to go to work or leave town...few vacations are in the works this year or next. Grandkids are more present than before. Ian and Candace live just up the hill and drop by more often. Kathie still has Cooper and Grace on Thursdays. Easter found us having rubber duck races in the stream; Fourth of July was quite an extravaganza over the water with all the rich neighbors trying to outdo each other for fireworks. We just sat back and watched the show over a bonfire. We found time for quite a bit of kayaking; much easier to step out of the door and onto the water when you don't have to pile the kayaks on the car and drive somewhere. We have every assortment of bird you can imagine, plus foxes, raccoons, lots of deer and two dogs exhausted from chasing the chipmunks in the rock walls (or under the hot tub). There are oysters, clams and geoducks for the harvesting and the neighbors seem to catch salmon once in awhile. Haven't tried that yet. Much more fun to watch the sea otters and seals than try to thread a worm onto a hook. Plans for the future include a little fishing dingy and laser sailboat to join the kayaks.

We had one last visit for the family in the old house. Here, the 5 oldest grandchildren, all boys between 2 and 5, have been rampaging around the darkened house - blinding each other with LED headlamps