Springtime in Plain

Matt, Lisa and Syd came out to spend a weekend at the cabin with us. Lisa and I took the kids down into Leavenworth and Cashmere to see the apple blossoms and flowers while Eben, Matt and Syd worked on clearing and burning tree debris. This is a shot of the Wenatchee River (the stretch we rafted back in the day), surrounded by apple orchards.

We went up into Olalla Canyon, where Lisa used to live. The hillsides in bloom were made us all happy.

 When we drove back to Plain, this was the view of the valley. You can see several homes had their burn piles going - ours was the one in the middle.

 Organizing trees, getting rid of branches.

 Attending to a burn pile - this is at the end of day while we are letting it die out.

A nearby neighbor of ours, Bill, runs a small logging company. He is going to come and clear out the good timber and pay us for it. Cool! This view should look a little different in a couple weeks.

 We've decided that the cabin is the perfect place to learn how to play the guitar.

 And for some reason the kids have started wearing our vests - too cute!

APRIL - Catching Up

We had my mom and that side of our family over the first weekend in April. We are finally all back in the state after they had done a lot of traveling. It was wonderful to catch up.

The kids were overjoyed to be reunited with Nana. She and Aunt Kirstie helped supervise the decorating of the Easter bunnies.

I took home "Otis," our mascot, in order to wash him. Edison immediately was drawn to him and had fun playing around with his head.

 Charlotte has been such a peach lately, and so cute in her new size 4t clothes, that I've had to take a few pictures!

 Sadly, we had to bid farewell to James, Robin, Skylar and Declan. Their family is off to Singapore for a few years while James is stationed at the embassy in Singapore. They definitely have an adventure ahead of them and we will miss them while they are gone!

Easter

We started Easter at the cabin. The kids enjoyed hunting for their Easter baskets.

 Then we went up to Stevens Pass for their Easter Egg hunt in the snow. Once they started the hunt, the kids got shy - Edison started crying and hugging my leg. Charlotte got in for one egg. It ended up being a big learning experience as Edison realized that unless he tried, he would end up with nothing and likely regret not trying.

It was really warm - Eben and I skied without jackets - a perfect day for the kids to practice their moves.

 We made snowballs while we waited for Eben to finish up skiing. There was an adult Easter Egg Hunt on the mountain - lots of eggs hidden by the ski patrol. Eben found five of them and ended up getting a free hot chocolate, free book, and three lift tickets for next season!

 

Then we came home for an Easter Dinner with my dad. Charlotte looked radiant in her new party dress.

 Chocolate bunnies were a big hit!

Charlotte Rides Her "Big Girl" Bike!

One afternoon Charlotte decided she was ready to try out the big girl bike she had received for Christmas. She sat right on it and started pedaling and was off down the street in no time.

 Sidewalk chalk has been a favorite this spring.

 We are enjoying weekends in Plain.

 There is a friendly bunny that lives at the elementary school.

 And amazing views of the mountains and beautiful valley everywhere you look.

 This field is a short walk uphill of our cabin.

Introducing: The Cabin!

We are delighted to have moved into the cabin. We are finding it really well-built and well-insulated so it is really cozy and warm.

 We spent the last month searching Craigslist for the furnishings and especially appreciate the beds given to us by James and Robin and also our neighbors, the Georges.

The galley kitchen is small but serviceable and has great hickory cupboards. Special thanks to Pete and Jennie for the perfect rug.

 We lucked out with a main floor bath and a master.

 

Come stay with us! This will be your room.... ah, so cozy!

 We are turning what used to be the art studio into a kid's bunkroom. Our plan is to make trundles for each of the beds and hopefully contain the craziness of kids to the north end of the cabin.

 The built ins and storage are wonderful - we can't even come close to filling them.

 

We love our master suite and the great views of the woods.

 This is our master bath.

 Eben has spent the last few weekends beginning to clear and burn the branches of all the fallen trees. There were literally about 30 trees that went down on the property in the snow/ice/windstorm of December this past year. We want to clean up the branches before they become a fire hazard.

 Thanks to Matt and Eben's friend, Paul for helping with the intensive work. The 1.3 acres include a small creek down the center with much of the property lying to the south in a wedge shape between two small roads. The west side of the property climbs up a hill from the creek.

 Can't wait for summertime on this porch!

Plain, Washington

The real reason March was such a blur: we closed on our cabin in Plain. We've spent the last few weekends cleaning it up and moving in. Matt and Lisa joined us last weekend for the kick-off.

Pete, Jennie, and Alton joined us this past weekend.

We went for a ramble around Plain.

Just across the street from us is the old bridge into town, which is now for pedestrians only. (You can see the new bridge in the background.)

 

The bridge crosses the beautiful Wenatchee River. In the large eddy next to the rock on river right is the local summer swimming hole.

 

After the bridge, it is an easy meander into town to visit one of three shops: the Old Mill Cafe, the hardware store (also the espresso counter), and the grocery store. What more could you need? Though some people may joke about its name, we think Plain was named for the amazing flat expanse of land in this otherwise mountainous foothill region of the eastern Cascade mountains.

 

After going to town, we circled back to the elementary school that is less than half a mile from our cabin. It has plenty to entertain the kids and a rabbit living in a cage there to boot.