It's hard to see, but if you look closely on the horizon, you can see the mountains to our west. Puget Sound lies between us and those snow-capped mountains. It's really a beautiful sight on a clear day.
And on a clear day, we can see Mt. Rainier. You can see it from everywhere around here. I took these pictures in our neighborhood. I have a thing for mountains. I love living near the mountains and never grow tired of seeing them, no matter where we live.
The clear days in Washington definitely make up for the rainy days. The clear days take my breath away.
Jason waited with the 4 youngest children while I took Matthew and Joshua down a trail near our house. We walked for quite a distance before realizing that we were not getting close to the water. No water=no shipwreck. But we did find beautiful pebbles.
And a lot of ice. Matthew took pleasure in shattering every inch of the ice. In some places it was more than an inch thick. It was strangely therapeutic for him.
Joshua eventually fell flat on his bum but he quickly jumped up and started smashing ice again. We spent twenty minutes breaking ice in the woods.
We found a large concrete block. It was covered in moss, just like everything around here! I'm not sure what this used to be, but I thought it was interesting.
The boys thought it was perfect for climbing.
We climbed this ridge and looked out over the field where the coyotes "scream" at night. The boys were disappointed that we didn't see any this time. I was relieved. I think all of the ice-smashing and hollering scared away any deer or other wildlife.
On the way back, we spotted a little trampled trail through the woods. It was covered in a delicate coating of frost. It sparkled like fresh snow. My favorite part of military life is exploring the new places we live. In the last 18 months we have lived in Arizona, Virginia, Georgia... and now, Washington. Each place is so different and there is so much to see right in our own backyard!
What's in your backyard?
