Update from the Haleys

The last few weeks have been filled with a lot of fun and adventure!
The week before Christmas it started to snow and forgot to stop!

We had 15" eventually at our place in Kent!

You can check out a few more pictures at The Homefront.

Christmas was a quiet one for us... We got up late, Cheryl cooked a yummy breakfast and then we went to see TWO movies. We saw Marley and Me that was supposed to be a comedy...but it really is a tear jerker! So while we weren't expecting how the movie played out, it was well done. Then we went to see Four Christmases - OK, but wouldn't see it again. I do not like going to movies - would rather enjoy a DVD in the comfort of my home where I can pause when I need to... So these two years satisfied my year's quota! haha

Then on Saturday the 27th, we visited my sister Diana in Everett. Her son Ben was home from California and she hosted a game night.

Who was there? My sister Debbie and her husband Wes, Diana and Bob of course, my niece Jeanette, Ben too of course, my nephew Colin and his wife Isha and Cheryl and I. Diana served up a delicious lasagna, followed by a banana-split fest! We played Pictionary for awhile (what a hoot!) and then on to Oh Hell! What would a Haley gathering be without a rousing game of Oh Hell? More pictures can be seen here.

Then on Sunday the 28th, we headed up to Marissa's (my daughter) home in Oso where they had over three feet of snow! We normally celebrate Christmas with her on Christmas Eve but the weather made that impossible this year. Thankfully their road and driveway had been cleared before we went up! We had dinner, opened presents and played Guitar Hero. It was a wonderful time! Check out the pictures here.

After a couple of busy days at work on the 29th and 30th, we left for Boise at 5:00 AM on New Year's Eve. This is where most of Cheryl's family lives.

I had a goal of finding my 300th cache in 2008. I needed 4 more. So I decided to find them on the way to Boise. We found three in Cle Elum, WA - all buried under snow of course! haha We couldn't find the 4th one. I needed just ONE more. I had however, obtained information for caches farther east on I-90, forgetting that we headed south at I-82. So on the way in to Boise, I called Cheryl's brother and he gave me information about a cache in Nampa - found it - #300! woohoo A few more pics can be seen here.

New Year's Eve was spent quietly at her daughter Monica's home. Then on New Year's Day, we went over to Greg and Megan's place (Greg is Cheryl's oldest son) for a family visit and chili-feed. And as happens too often I think, Grandpa was scolded for making too much noise with the grandkids. Geesh!!

Friday found Cheryl completing appointments she had made before we went to Boise, Monica was at work and I, Grandpa Doug, left in charge of the kids! Monica's warning as she left for work was, "Doug, if anything gets broken today..." LOL After the kids did homework and we played a little Rock Band, we went geo-caching (found 6 out of 8 we looked for) and then grocery shopping for dinner. Mya managed the cart and Reghan checked off the list. We couldn't find the canned olives. Reghan (9) sees an employee coming down the aisle, who would probably have walked right by this "little kid" had she not stepped right in front of her, looked up and demanded to know where the canned olives were! haha We made individual mini pizzas for dinner - yummy! After dinner, we celebrated Christmas, including Megan's 9-box $1 gift! haha

On Saturday, Greg, Caleb (Cheryl's younger son), Mya, Reghan, Tanner (Monica's three children) and I headed for Bogus Basin for a few hours on the slopes. Reghan and I were the only skiers. The others boarded. It was fun for me to see the kids board and ski - they are doing great up there! Although I must say there were times when I had a difficult time keeping up with Reghan! haha (Thanks for driving Caleb!) I hadn't been up skiing in 3 to 4 years. It was a great time and I can't wait to head up to Crystal Mountain.

Sunday found us relaxing but with an appointment at Greg and Megan's at 4:00 PM for family pictures. We took the pictures (thanks for your help Michael), had KFC for dinner and then watched Mama Mia!

Cheryl and I were leaving for home on Monday morning. We'd rented a SUV for two reasons - one was to accommodate the load we took over and the other was to have the 4WD. We didn't really need the 4WD on the way over. A fact that I complained about. Monday morning found 3 inches of snow on the ground and more falling. Eghads! We loaded up, said goodbye to Monica and her family and headed for Greg and Megan's to say our good-byes and pick up Michael and Marit.

Who are Michael and Marit? Michael is from Germany and stayed with Cheryl as a foreign exchange student 14 years ago! He is now married to Marit - for 7 years. They have been traveling the world and have been in Boise for a few weeks. They decided to come see Seattle too so a ride back with us made sense!

We reached Ontario, OR at about 9:30 AM. There had been snow and ice on the road the whole way. There we learned that the Blues were closed in at least two places - West of Baker and East of Pendelton - with no projections of when they would open. So after conferring with the State Patrol, we decided to head across Oregon on Hwy 20. It was a beautiful drive - a solitary one too! Everything was white! Oh, yes, good thing we had 4WD! haha Our original plan was to drive to Bend then up to Portland and home. Around Burns though we learned that the roads up to I-90 were OK, so we headed north on Hwy 395. Up and down passes ranging in altitude from 3900 feet to almost 5200 feet. What an experience. When we arrived in Pendelton, we learned that Snoqualmie Pass was now closed! So we headed West along the gorge to Portland and then up I-5 to home. (Of course less than 48 hours later that section of I-5 was closed too - whew!) Trip time home? Sixteen hours! But we made it safely and were warm and well fed, so can't really complain!

More pictures of our trip to Boise and the drive home can be seen here.