The Keys to Happiness (Today)

1. Opening my blinds to find three giant red heart balloons tied up to the back fence. From whom you may ask? As far as we know, the sky.

2. A new cell phone that will take me hours to figure out how to use.

3. Freshly planted spring flowers (in the neighbors yard...not sure I will be getting to my own yard anytime soon)

4. A big Mexican style fiesta with family.

5. A newly resolved plan to sleep more, read the Bible more and exercise more. Starting next week, I am no longer making plans in the evening after work so I can focus more on resting. This way, by the weekend I will not be so tired from lack of sleep, which furthers my inability to get anything done...

We will see!

The other two pics are of Bryan's head after getting a hole put in it, and Jacob when he so politely took a nap for me after returning from the Children's Museum on Thursday. We can't get over how stinkin' cute he is. Maybe in 5 years we will just make a clone of him...

To die or not to die?

Three years ago we became friends with a lady who was to become our wedding photographer. We had many meetings before the big day, going over ideas, discussing her past experiences, and making decisions based on her expertise. Above all, we liked her as a person and instantly formed a bond. On June 24th she was a different person- obviously distracted though she remained professional and took exceptional photos of our big day. Less than a month later her daughter was murdered. The same girl who stood in Bryan's garage and talked with him while he fixed her car so that we could save money on our engagement photos by her mother. She was also a nice girl who seemed very outgoing. Unfortunately, I never met her. She was murdered because of poor choices she made and she got mixed up in the wrong crowd, and since then her mother's life has fallen apart and I am not sure she has too many other people in her life to keep her going. So Bryan and I started to email her off and on following the murder and the investigation, letting her know we were praying for her and offering any support we could. Bryan took in her daughter's car from the police impound and tried to fix it up to sell, though in the end I think it just got donated. While we lost touch in the last year or two, recent events in the murder investigation led to an arrest (Finally!)and continued media coverage after a long lapse. I dedided to email her again, though I doubted I would hear a response. When I did, she boggled my mind. While she expressed her gratitude towards supporters and her sadness over it all, she wrote this:

"I don't believe in the death penalty but that is what the DA is going for.
It is all such a tragedy."

While the latter sentence is somewhat of an understatement, Bryan and I can't understand more how you can face your child's murderer and not wish for the death sentence? I can see the pros and cons, biblically speaking, to capital punishment but when push comes to shove, I would not be opposed to watching them fry his brains out? Yes? No?

Spring Break Rundown...

Monday

1. Planned all I wanted to accomplish over break.
2. Lunch at friend Melinda's new house.
3. Watched my recorded episode of Desperate Housewives.
4. Went grocery shopping with Bryan after first taking a nap and putting it off for as long as possible.

Tuesday

1. Exercised and showered.
2. Met Bryan at the Tire Factory then we went out to lunch while he got new tires.
3. Came home and did I am not sure what...Oh yes, I looked for jobs online.
4. Dinner with parents.
5. Movie with friend Gillian.

Wednesday

1. Hmmm...
2. Ummmm...
3. (Still thinking)
4. Ohyes...I went to the lab and got some routine blood work.
5. Stopped by my hopefully future place of employment but director was absent.
6. Came home and did I am not sure what...
7. Went to Fred Meyer and bought the new Carrie Underwood cd (well, I am a new fan so it was new to me...)
8. Went to Weight Watchers meeting

Thursday

1. Three little friends came over bright and early.
2. Took 6 year old Adeline to the dentist.
3. Took all three kids to the Children's Museum
4. Went on a walk in the afternoon through the forest park behind us and to the neighborhood playground.
5. Melissa came over to pick up her kids and I got my hair done (cut and highlighted)
6. We all went out to Mexican dinner.
7. Finished up Season 3 of Weeds.

Friday

1. Went to IKEA with friend Liz.
2. Went to our tax preparers office, paid her to tell us we owe the government another small fortune but we walked away with some good advice...
3. Went to another doctor with Bryan and he successfully got his bump removed off his head.
4. Hosted a small gettogether for Brandon and his friends before he leaves next week.
5. Went to DQ one minute before they closed for a Brownie Earthquake treat that used up 18 of my 35 extra points per week on Weight Watchers.

Saturday

1. Slept in and exercised.
2. Spent the afternoon wrapping up loose ends, realizing how much I did not get done, and cleaning.
3. Made dinner.
4. Went to La Center Washington so that Brandon could experience a casino, and we all lost a small fortune between Bryan, Brandon and Melissa. We will definately not be doing that again anytime soon...it was not nearly as fun as the first time.

Sunday

1. Went to Church (another good message about transformation and the Holy Spirit)
2. Went to OMSI.
3. Took a nap.
4. Made dinner and exercised.
5. Sitting here blogging and wishing I did not have to go to work tomorrow. It was a good break, all too fast, not all real productive, but it was a good time with family and friends. Im not ready to face a class of six year olds tomorrow.

Week 1 Weight Watchers

I lost 3.2 pounds!!!!

In the last two weeks since doing the Daniel Fast, my total lost weight could be as much as 7 pounds, based on my Wii Fit balance board, though that is not always the most accurate.

WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!

Fairness

In church on Sunday, the pastor was talking about the subject of fairness which I have pondered a lot before, and began really thinking about and dwelling on since Friday, when I was visiting the home of a good friend whose father is dying of cancer. Her mom mentioned how they initially struggled with anger over the issue of fairness: they had spent their life doing honest work, they were good people, they always took care of their selves/bodies, and then in a matter of a few months, he comes down with terminal lung cancer that has spread through all regions of his body. He is not yet 50 and he will most likely never enjoy the fruits of all his work on this earth.

Flash forward to Monday, as I am driving out to visit a friend I have known since college and thinking. She and I graduated from the same program at OSU and both got our Masters together at U of P, but that is where our similarities ended. Upon graduation, I left with a significant student loan to repay and she left with a teaching job that she just waltzed into before we even got our licenses notorized. She has always been healthy, comes from a healthy family, and she just recently got married and has already purchased a home. Bryan always tells me not to compare my life to others, so I am not going to color between the lines, but sometimes I ask myself, "Where is the fairness?" In the past year I have struggled with my own health issues, there have been significant health issues in my family, I have yet to land the "dream" job or a home we can call our own, and we have so many bills anyways that it doesn't make sense to add a mortgage to it. Im really happy for my friend and would not call myself "jealous" because that goes against one of God's commandments, but I do as Bryan calls it "compare". Guilty as charged. And I don't do it to be negative. I just do it without thinking.

On the flip side, I compare my life to that of a mutual friend whose husband was doing so well, they had a big beautiful house and several other homes that they rented out, and then he lost his job and they are about to lose the fourth out of the four houses they owned and I can't begin to imagine all the debt they are in, and I am so thankful for the modest life that Bryan and I lead. In that respect, the bad economy does not affect us so much because we don't have any investments yet and our jobs for the most part are secure (despite the shop being down 70% in business since last year). But where is the fairness for this couple? I am not sure if they are believers or not, but I would sure be on my knees talking to God if I were in their position right now.

I know that in these times my situation is not much different from anyone elses and I gripe and gripe about money, jobs, and even health (which another friend tonight pointed out as her biggest concerns in life, so I know I am not alone ;-) It must be a girl thing because a lot of us do compare)so I guess my point to all of this is that I do need to stop comparing. And the point the pastor was making on Sunday was that there is no such thing as fairness. You can be a good person your whole life and get pooped on or you can be a bad person and reap all the rewards. In the very very teeny tiny time we are on Earth, we don't understand God's reasoning behind it all, or why we suffer like we do. There is a greater picture here that we don't see.

Christians are not automatically immune to great challenges and difficulties in life. When we "sign up" to be a Christian, there is no "Get out of Jail free" card, and anyone who claims your life will be better once you become a Christian is full of it. In fact, God gives you trials to strengthen your character and make you an even better person, which in the end does make your life better because you have more joy in knowing that God is on your side and you can get through anything. And once we do get through this part of life when we inhabit Earth, if we know Jesus and have accepted Him as our savior, we get to live forever and ever in a much greater place where we don't need to compare because there is no more pain, no more job insecurity, and no more bills! :-)

The fundamental difference between Bryan and I, and Fuz's arch enemy.

Fuzz the cat, as it turns out, is really not a fan of Brandon. I don't know if it is some screwed up sense of "sibling rivalry" or jealousy, but ever since Brandon has moved in he cannot get near Fuz without Fuz hissing or growling at him, or biting or scratching him. It is really bizarre. I don't think it is anything Fuz can sense, because one day he thought it was Bryan petting him as I was holding him but it was really Brandon. The last person we saw Fuz hate this much was the vet...

On Sunday, when Bryan and I went on our drive in our modest car, we went up to the top of the hills overlooking Portland to some really, really nice houses. I noted to Bryan how there were just average cars sitting in the driveways in most of these homes (we saw a lot of Toyota Camrys!). But when Bryan and I were living in our apt, I noticed how there were a lot of really nice cars that people who lived in the apts were driving, like BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus. This made me ask Bryan (though I already knew the answer): Would you rather live in a crap home and drive a really nice car or drive a crap car and live in a really nice home? This is where our fundamental difference lies...who can guess what Bryan said or what I would prefer?

Spring Break...so far.

Spring break so far has been very restful and fruitful. I have cleaned the house, completed the laundry, done some reading, took a nap, went to church, exercised (hopefully twice by the end of the day), went on a picnic and a Sunday drive with my husband to our future neighborhood (Forrest Heights in the Sylvan Hills...ha ha), finished season 2 and begun season 3 of Weeds, ate a DQ Blizzard (more about that later)and visited with family. Tonight we may also go bowling. We were going to go to OMSI today with our friend Melissa and her kids, but Jacob got sick so we are putting that off until next weekend. Bryan doesn't have any time off this week, so we must wait!

I had my first Weight Watchers meeting on Wednesday which was very informative. I found out how many points I get to eat each day, though I am having trouble fulfilling my daily requirement because I am halfway through my Daniel Fast, which is mostly veggies and fruits which are free with the point system (hence, the fatty Blizzard from DQ on Friday night...not a good way to go and I won't be doing that again...for awhile :-)) But I feel skinnier, more energetic and less bloated. I think I have lost at least four pounds, maybe as much as eight!!! Woo hoo!

We had our nutrition field trip to Albertsons on Thursday afternoon, which was a circus because it was the last day of school before spring break. I was so happy to see the kids go and to go to bed that night...Field trips always wear me out! Friday was grading day and then I took dinner to my friend's parents house and visited with her mom awhile. Her dad is most likely dying very rapidly of cancer so we are all praying for a miracle. Along with that bit of bad news, we also found out that we do owe money on taxes, to the tune of about $1500, which is not as bad as last year because we made some changes but obviously it wasn't enough. Luckily, we have this money saved but now I am stressing out about what I am going to do for money this summer. With the economy the way it is, who knows if I will be able to get a summer job or if it is God's will, I may get another permanent, year round job away from teaching for awhile. Im just not sure what that may be at this point. As my friend's mom said (she used to be a Hillsboro school district principal) as a teacher, you are always fighting for your job. I think this is ridiculous, because we are not getting paid the most competitive salaries anyways. Im just not feeling like fighting for a job anymore that drains my hours of free time and pays only pennies. No matter how honorable it may be. Even though districts may be impossible to get into, I know I will always be able to go back to Life, and there is a very good chance I will. I think more and more that I wouldn't mind a break. Im just not sure now is the best time with the economy though...

So, now I am thinking of all I need to get done on this spring break and hopefully I make a lot of good progress! I wish it will be sunny, but it is not looking like that now! Oh well- summer is just around the corner! Better get busy and find that job!

Monday, Monday

Today was an okay day back after the weekend- I was actually looking forward to it since we have Friday off (well, from kids at least) and a field trip Thursday afternoon to the grocery store to wrap up our study on Nutrition. THEN it is Spring BREAK!! Plus, having a rainy weekend makes it easier to come back as well. Though it inhibited us from taking the long anticipated trek around the lawn with our new mower, or a picnic up in the hills overlooking Portland, we did get stuff around the house done (minimal, compared to the to-do list) and got in lots of TV and reading time. We helped move Brad out of his apartment and into a storage unit, and we bought a couple new movies and I bought a brand new plant that makes me happy every time I look at it...it is just beautiful (see above)!

I also updated my resume and cover letter and sent one out to an organization I would LOVE to join, if only I knew for sure they would be hiring in June! Bryan and I also went out to eat Saturday night and I have stuck to my guns with the diet thing. Although, I have been focusing now more on incorporating more carbs like cornbread, a little tiny bit of cottage cheese, and maybe a chicken wing or two here and there. I have lost 4 pounds and feel slimmer in my mid-region, which is great. I start weight watchers in two days and I am excited about that as well. Plus I have a mom who is joining me and some other staff members as well. It should be a riot. Bryan and I heard another good and motivating message on Sunday about listening to the Holy Spirit and we officially love our new church.

I feel like with spring around the corner and big decisions being made, like attending a new church, maybe getting a new job, we already live in a new house, etc, it is a great time for change and I am optimistic.

Tonight, however, I am a little worried with how I feel. There is yucky stuff going around that includes fever, body aches, congestion, etc. Tonight I have started feeling a little achy but I took a nap so hopefully that will help ward off whatever germs. Plus, since I have upped my vitamins via fruits and veggies I should be okay, right? When I woke up, I stumbled upon Brandon and his friend playing their PSPs on the carpet next each other and next to Bryan, who was playing a new game on Brandon's Playstation 3. It reminded me of what we in the early childhood realm call "parallel play" and struck me as cute so I took a picture. Now after this I am going to attempt to go get on the Wii and do the Fit! With the inclusion of Brandon into our home, I think we have just about every gadget on the market.

And then there is Fuz. Poor Fuz, who come Saturday will discover that "his new couch" will be taken away from him. On Saturday, we had the opportunity to go visit Heather, Nick and Lilah up in Washington and we have arranged to do a little furniture trading between some siblings. We are temporarily housing a futon that Fuzzy has been GLUED to since it came. He is so cute the way he curls himself up on it. He is in for a rude awakening.

Have a good week!

Because this could get a little redundant...

I decided not to post a food diary of EVERY thing I have eaten. Especially because everything I ate today was the same as yesterday, just in smaller quantities plus I was less hungry so it worked out well. People have given me lots of good ideas about different foods to try that normally I would not bother with but now Im ready to go.

In Bryan news, he went to go get the bump on his head checked out today. He thought it would be removed and was ticked when he had to make another appt. He is sleeping now because he was grumpy all day so I am not sure when his next appt is. Apparently its an infected oily sack. I call it his second head, but he calls it his dead fetus. You would understand if you have ever seen the episode of South Park where the lady has a dead fetus on her head. In a way its gross but has also become a funny joke.

This week has really gone by fast...I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already but I am sooooo happy. Work was a little easier this week; there were some sick kids so I had to do less crowd control. Plus we are getting ready for the end of the quarter so the work load is lighter. Bryan took our taxes in to get analyzed by a professional so we are praying for great news by next week!

Day 2 Daniel Fast

Okay so I just ate a whole plate full for dinner...its the first time I haven't been hungry in the last two days so that probably means I ate too much? I decided I am going to record everything I eat here so those of you who are mildly interested can watch and I can keep myself on track...

Breakfast: 1 cup Raisin Bran (whole grains and fiber...even though I am not supposed to have dairy. I pour most of the milk down the drain.)

Mid-morning snack: Almonds, walnuts and dried cran-strawberries.

Lunch: Oatmeal, 1 rice cake and fruit salad. "Oh, you poor thing!" said one of my students from last year as she looked into my bowl of oatmeal. She and I talk a little too much and sometimes I admit I forget she is only 8. I told her I was going on a diet yesterday after she offered me some cookies at recess.

Afternoon snack: An orange, cucs, green peppers and celery plus six BBQ flavored soy crisps.

Dinner: Uff-ta. I had more than my fair share of mashed potatos, some leftover gravy, half of a leftover small pork chop, whole grain bread with a dab of homemade jelly, green beans and salad with lots o' toppings.

Thats it for the day. I will do better tomorrow.

Oh, and of all things, Weight Watchers was cancelled tonight due to illness. Hopefully I won't lose this steam by next week.

And I plan to take my sister's advice and excercise! Somewhere I think I also read to take a multi-vit at night and not in the morning, so I am going to start doing that tonight...

American Idol is on soon! My exercise must wait another day :-)

Day 1 of Daniel Fast

So today I started the Daniel Fast, which is my jump off point for eating less and losing weight via weight watchers, which I am going to begin attending tomorrow. I have heard many success stories from fast survivors as well as w.w. followers. The timing worked out well because I started teaching on the book of Daniel at school, as well as a nutrition unit. While I feel silly teaching nutrition to little kids who have accused me of being PG before based on the size of my stomach, I think it will be even greater motivation. I have drank tons of water today and eaten mostly fruit with some veggies and soy crisps and rice cakes. I didn't mind it too much- hopefully I can keep going without getting too bad of cravings for nasty stuff. I just keep praying to God to take away my hunger. The boys ordered pizza at home tonight while I went out to salad with a friend, but instead of eating a piece when I got home (since I was still hungry) I settled for a breadstick and some applesauce. Success! (so far...)

Status Brief

1.) I have a mysterious twitch in my leg. It started in bed this morning and it has not stopped. I wonder if it has to do with my deep tissue massage yesterday? Bryan calls it a "party in my leg" but I wasn't invited.

2.) I was heartbroken on Friday to find out one of my little boys was diagnosed as depressed. Ordinarily, I would question this diagnosis in a seven year old, but I really think he is. It explains a lot of his recent irrational behavior. I just can't believe depression can affect a person at what should be the most carefree time in life...

3.) I am liking the time change...it wasn't as hard to adapt as I thought and I love how it is lighter in the evenings now.

4.) I am REALLY tired of still scraping ice off my car in the morning and wondering if it will really snow...again.

5.) Circuit city is really going out of business. We walked in and the store was empty except for a few used file cabinets for sale. I guess the great deal on a gps will have to wait...at least we are flying to all our vacation destinations this year but I still have to find my way around town. Im what you call "directionally challenged".

6.) We bought our first lawn mower today. It was another of those petty life achievements when you figure out that yes, you really are growing up.

7.) I also went grocery shopping today (ALONE..which also turned out to be a good thing). I bought tons of fruits and veggies and whole grain pastas and bread. I also loaded up on nuts and dry fruit to jump start my diet. I can eat Bryan out of house and home so this will be interesting...I am not a light eater in the slightest so expect some of my own irrational behavior when I am deprived of carbs. On the plus side, I found buying in bulk really is cheaper and saved about $25 off our usual grocery bill. Now I will use that money for weight watchers starting Wednesday...

8.) Business is still slow for Bryan. We continue to get bills paid down but now it is a lot slower. But Bryan keeps reminding me to be thankful he has a job. Next toy he will buy: An RC car (the expensive kind...not the little ones you can buy in the nickel arcade with 200 tickets). Oh, and he is getting trained to take over the shop in a few years from now, which is exciting because that is his dream. I am so happy for him!

9.) It turns out I am not going to Texas for spring break, which is okay. I would have loved to see my family there but there are projects I would like to do at home.

10.) Bryan and I started watching "Weeds" which was recommended by a friend. While the content is questionable and at times dark, it is very ironic and addicting. We love watching it.

11.) I am reading "The Way the Crow Flies". Good book but the longest book I have ever (will hopefully) read.

12.) My best friend told me her dad's cancer has spread all throughout his body and its not looking good. Im not sure how to help her.

13.) My other best friend has inspired me to crack down even more on the savings account. She and I also both learned this week that Portland has one of the best housing markets in the nation currently, but also is one of the "saddest cities" in the nation (i.e. unemployment, depression, suicide rates...etc) See #2 and #8.

14.) We saw an injured cat today who looked just like Fuz and I can't stop thinking about him/her and the sad look in its eyes as it watched us drive by...

15.) We went to Sonrise church today. It was great! Its a nice, bigger building than when Bryan went and I visited years ago. The size of the congregation is a happy medium (I like bigger churches, Bryan likes smaller churches) but best of all the message was very motivating. The pastor talked about listening to the Holy Spirit, which I struggle with because I am a control freak...one more thing in my life I need to manage...

16.) So far this year I have visited my cardiologist, my dentist, my eye doctor and my primary care physician and I am satisfied with my reports. No cavities (none ever), a slight decrease in vision in my left eye, I need a few lab works done (other tests already came back normal), and there is the possibility of a recurrence of the tachycardia I experienced in November. I feel like a car that just passed my 60,000 mile checkup and I am thinking of making this a February tradition...

17.) Im thinking we need to have one more goodbye party for the boys before they leave for Iraq. Brandon started packing in the living room last night...I cant believe the bags and bags of weapons, shields, and helmets he is taking. So sad and so real. I hate war.

18.) I deep cleaned all weekend: for my mom and myself. I feel now like I hardly had time to relax. Unfortunately, try as he did, Bryan could not get the BBQ clean so we will have to go buy another one of those soon. I also want patio furniture, plants, etc, etc....sigh. Spring can't come fast enough. (Side note: coincidentally, this was also the first weekend Bryan DIDN'T have a lot going on so he got the garage cleaned up finally!)

19.) I love my slow cooker. Its like the best kept secret I keep from myself. It was so nice tonight coming home from a long day and having most of dinner already made. I really need to remember to use that more often. Scratch that: I need to remember to cook more often. And invite our parents over for dinner so we are not mooching off of them all the time...:-)

20.) I need more time in my life.

POST 200!!! Yea-uh!

This wasn't going to be the original title of this most current post but since I cannot think of another and it is the 200th (really??? I have bored ya'll with 200 of my various rantings???) I thought it necessary.

If I were to recap the last two weeks, I would call them extremely busy but of the more productive weeks I have had as a teacher all year. When push comes to shove and I have imminent deadlines, I am a machine and it happens. Today one little boy (the brightest of the bunch if I do say so) came up to me and says "Do you know why Im always the first one done?” "No, why?" “Because, I am all about ‘gettn' it done’(with a hand motion)” I guess when I make it my business to get things done, I can finish a lot faster too. But usually the motivation is not there. And now I think I have hit a wall. Usually my days go up and down, but I think I have officially reached burnout levels (no matter how cute the kids are). Is it an early case of spring fever? I wonder...

All I know is, immediately after arriving home from the beach, my backache came back, my nose got stuffy and chest got tight (allergies) and I got a migraine. Lately, stress has had the ability to manifest itself in me with no warning, and then disappear like I have no care in the world...hmmm, mid life crisis? I don't know.But I am definately motivated to revamp my time management skills (if they exist), along with weight and financial management. Even though it is no longer New Years, I am freshly motivated to "get it done".

Last week was spent in preparations for the beach, including at home and for a sub at school on Friday, and this week is catching up on all my usual chores I would do during the weekend. Plus changing to a new month brings a lot more responsibilities and things to do. I am definately looking forward to Spring break coming up in a couple weeks. But before then is report cards...yuck.

The beach was a wonderful diversion, however. It was so hard to come home. My M.I.L. rented a 6 bedroom mansion in Long Beach from a vacation rental place called Bloomer Estates. It was awesome- We had 13 people in all and we had our own rec room, hot tub, bedrooms, etc. We went to the beach (sight seeing...including a trip to the top of a lighthouse which Bryan surprisingly manhandled despite an irrational fear of heights),hot tubbing, bowling, go carting, and played lazer tag. We also had planned meals together and a family devotional time, plus lots of quiet time to read and play games. Bryan also played golf and in the arcade and won 2000 tickets (his personal goal was to win an RC car) Bryan's mom also planned a murder mystery dinner on Saturday night. I was "London Wilton" the heiress (pseudoname for Paris Hilton), which was kindof fun since she was my former idol, but it was hard to be hated and I was the first to die...LOL. Bryan was a butcher, hence the knife in the picture you see.

The reason for the trip is because in just a few short weeks, both of Bryan's brothers are going to training and then overseas as part of the National Guards. Considering we live with one and adore both, it is going to be hard for us to take and I think even harder for them. I thought this was a very special last trip altogether that Bryan's parents planned and I think we all had a very good time.

Question

Why do 3 huge piles of dirty laundry come out of the washer and dryer looking substantially smaller in size?

Throughout the course of folding our laundry (while I happen to be watching "Toddlers and Tiaras" which is quite possibly one of the silliest reality shows ever conceptualized)I have gone back to my laundry closet TWICE to check to make sure there isn't more hiding in some mysterious crevice of the dryer. And this is not the first time I have struggled with accepting the fact that yes, this is all the laundry that I put in...the same amount came back out!

So while I tackle this project tonight, I will update with more pics of our beach vacation later...

Donuts on the Beach

Warning to mothers and mother-in-laws: What you are about to view has been known to cause increases in blood pressure and the occurence of panic/anxiety. You have been warned.

To all else: This is just funny.

Bryan is in my car, doing donuts on the beach (no this is not a picnic), and Brad followed in his rear-wheel drive truck. The park patrol later followed in a truck of their own (not pictured).





How awesome is it to legally drive on the beach? Quite possibly the only thing cool about Washington...

And the next day, I was ordered to take my car for a premium wash of the underbody at a shop down the street- hopefully no damage was done!