Robin vs. The Caveman

Here are the boys' Halloween costumes!

Lunar Eclipse

We had a lunar eclipse tonight. It was pretty cool and actually happened in the early evening so we didn’t have to stay up to all hours to see it. You can see the moon in the upper right-hand corner of the picture.

An X-File

O.K. I was watching ER tonight and as soon as it was over I was going to let the dogs out. But then came the news teaser. A mummy found in a car in Seattle. Go figure. (I’m not kidding – click on the title above.) I knew I would have to watch the entire newscast before they would run the story. After all, they make every effort to hook the viewer and make him/her endure the entire program before reporting the teaser.

But, wait! It is the first story up. It is just too weird. A person out walking passed by a car and noticed a body slumped over the wheel. When the police came, they said “they knew something was suspicious because the victim was found wrapped from head to toe in some kind of cloth”. Do ya’ think????

Where are Mulder and Scully when you need them? I mean, really, doesn’t this sound like an X-File? We have a businessman with no known problems who suddenly disappears. Then, days later his wrapped body shows up in the driver’s seat of his car. What happened to him? Who is behind his disappearance? Why would someone do this? When was he mummified? How did he drive his car “wrapped from head to toe in some kind of cloth”? ;^) The local police are obviously baffled. They need assistance from the dynamic duo of all things weird!

The truth must be out there!

My Head Hurts

It was not a good day. It didn't start out so bad. I woke up early so I didn't have to rush around to get the boys ready for school. I even took the boys to school and went to the Y with a friend where we walked around the track for 45 minutes.

Then my throat started bugging me. Then I started to feel kind of queasy. And irritable, very irritable. I know, I know. It is SO hard to believe I would ever be irritable with anyone! ;^) So I took some DayQuil (great stuff!) and headed off to do some errands before work.

When I got to work, I helped Charlee, my co-teacher, set up the room. All of the sudden the church secretary (who is quitting after this week) came storming in and gave me her keys saying “I just had a big fight with your husband and I’m leaving! I’m not coming back!” She left the room, leaving Charlee and me in a stunned silence. I mean, really, what do you say?? She came back in a few seconds to give me her church credit card. I asked if she wanted to pray about it before she left, and she agreed. So she unburdened herself. It pretty much boils down to the fact that she and Mike are both nice people, but cannot work together. So here I am, between a rock and a hard place. No wonder my head hurts!

Joshua's School Portrait

Here is Joshua's school portrait!

Cascade Eruptions During the Last 4,000 Years

This chart is kind of interesting. It shows which Cascade volcanoes have a history of blowing off steam in the past 4,000 years.

When Ya Gotta Go....

Click on photo to enlarge.

Well, the boys had Friday off and I toyed with the idea of going to see Mount St. Helens. It poured all day. The forecast for Saturday was also rain. Naturally. However, today was supposed to be a beautiful day. So, what was I to do?

Road trip!! The boys and I headed off to Vancouver, WA on Saturday and had a nice time at the fort. (See yesterday’s entry.) We spent the night in a hotel, and were up at the crack of dawn, thanks to Joshua.

When I turned on the news this morning I saw that Mount St. Helens had already had a steam eruption. I didn’t think we would have much chance of seeing another, but we headed up the mountain anyway. We picked the perfect day to go. It was a beautiful day and the mountain was still letting off steam! I don’t know how long the venting lasted, but we were there from 9:00 until 11:00 and it was still letting off steam! (Update: the steam lasted all day, and it may still be steaming – they can’t tell in the dark.)

The steam cloud was really interesting. I thought it would just rise up like smoke, but it hung in the air. It moved so slowly we had to look through high power binoculars to tell it was moving.

Fort Vancouver

The boys got to try on period coats at Fort Vancouver

The boys and I went to Fort Vancouver to check it out. It was very interesting. The fort was started by the Hudson Bay Company to get beaver pelts for beaver hats which was a must for gentlemen of the era. (Click on the title for the website.)

Jeremy's School Picture

Jeremy - September 2004

Here is Jeremy's school picture! (Do you think the photographer said, “Be sure to slouch and stick out your chin?”) I'll post Joshua's when he brings it home.

The Biggest One Yet!

Tuesday's Action

Well, today the event was an exciting one. Mount St. Helens let off steam and quite a bit of ash for an hour. She seems to favor mornings for her belching episodes! Click the title for today's event....

Another eruption....

Mount St. Helens on Monday

Today Mount St. Helens erupted for the third time in four days. We are told that a bigger explosion is yet to come, or that it will stop and that will be that. “Right now, we’re thinking it’s about a 70 percent chance that it will erupt and a 30 percent chance that it just might go back to sleep,” Pierson told NBC’s “Today” show Monday. There are constant earthquakes, and the dome has been elevated by nearly 100 feet. Oh, the anticipation!!! (Click on the title if you want to see more info!)

Way To Go, Ichiro!!!

Ichiro made history tonight!!! It made up for the lousy season the Mariners have had!!! (Click on the title if you want the details...)

There She Goes!

Mount St. Helens - 1 Ocotober 2004

Well, after days of anticipation, she finally blew off some steam. (Click on the title above for details.)

We were unable to see what happened because when Mount St. Helens blew her top in 1980, she lost 1,400 feet of elevation making her invisible here. The wind was blowing toward Portland, so we didn’t get any of the ash. (See the map below.) However, it looks like there may be more to come...

map