Crystal Peak Hike

Evan had the idea this week that I should be better at cataloguing our hiking and climbing adventures for those living in the area who want to see where we went. (This is coming from the guy who only reads my blog when I read it to him!) Oddly enough, I got a call from my sister this morning asking about one of the hikes that I had posted on my blog a while back. This confirmed it for me; I'm going to be better about giving tip information for those interested in hiking in Washington!


Hike Name: Crystal Peak
Location: Up Highway 410, near Crystal Mountain (and Mt. Rainier)
Mileage: 7.6 miles round-trip
Time allotted: almost 3 hours (including a snack break at the top)
Elevation gain: 3,100 feet
Rating: Beautiful hike, replete with wildflowers, birds, and mountain streams. It began with long switchbacks for the first 1.3 miles and then was a steady incline for the next 2.5 miles to the top. It had excellent views of Mt. Rainier while it was sunny, but then the wind and rain started moving in! Thankfully, we were almost at the top and had brought our rain jackets. Definitely plan to bring trekking poles and a snack for the top. Also, don't leave your sunglasses in your pocket and then lean on them. You can see the result of this in the photo below!

Our Busy Life

I haven't written on here in 11 days. I apologize for that. To say I've been incredibly busy is an understatement. When I started explaining to my friend yesterday why it's taken me 3-4 days to respond back to her email, I truly began to realize indeed how busy I truly have been. (On that note, I do want to say that I'm really happy. I love my job! I really do.) Here are some things I've been involved in (this week):

• Evan started school again with his last set of prereqs before applying to RN programs.
• I am THE German department at our school, meaning I teach ALL LEVELS OF GERMAN and am in charge of German Club and our GAPP (Germany exchange trip).
• I am running 3 fundraisers this fall for our German program, one of which being a community Oktoberfest that I plan out and execute, including decorating, band, food, activities, etc. I also do all bookkeeping for our 3 fundraisers and for both German Club and our GAPP (Germany exchange trip).
• I am planning an exchange trip to Germany with my students next summer. I'm SO excited! My friend in Germany who I met on my first exchange to Germany is my partner teacher in Germany. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it for me and the students. The German students come here in April.
• We had our first parent meeting for our exchange this week.
• I made lunch for a friend's kids because she had surgery.
• I went visiting teaching to 2 people.
• I had my visiting teachers come over.
• Weekly, I have a RS presidency meeting at my house.
• My sister-in-law had twins and I went to see the adorable little girls. :)

Yay for a busy week! Back to more blogging because hopefully next week won't be quite as busy.

Caffeine & Hyak

Speaking of Caffeine... today, I needed some! We had Open House at our high school last night, meaning I was gone for circa 13.5 hours yesterday at school. When I woke up this morning, I realized why all of my coworkers bring coffee in to work in the morning! I was dead to the world after being home for about 10 hours and heading back to school again. BOO to Monday night Open House on the 3rd week of school.

In other news, I went to a Washington State AATG (American Association of Teachers of German) German teacher convention last weekend where I was BY FAR the worst German speaker there. (A HUGE majority of the 50+ German teachers there were native speakers, but still. I definitely need to up my practice of the German language after teaching English for a year.)

It was a fun time. We stayed overnight in a log cabin overlooking beautiful mountains. We ate German food (some drank German beer), spoke German all 24 hours we were there, talked about how we can teach German better, performed a play in German, and then (SOME!) drove away in German autos. I felt like I was in the alps. It was embarrassing (because of my language skills), but invigorating. I came away with so many great ideas about teaching German and an even more renewed sense of direction with how I want my classroom, German Club, and our German trip to run this year. YAY for teaching German!

P.S. My niece asked me today if I could choose any job in the world, what would it be. I told her I would still be doing what I'm doing. I LOVE teaching German and feel blessed to be in my dream job. How many people get to do what they love and love what they do?

Addicted to Caffeine

So, we've moved onto week 2 at our high school and the caffeine intake has not decreased. In fact, I think it's increased! I am amazed by how much coffee people drink and how often they drink it!

As I was contemplating this thought the other day, I thought about soda as well. Caffeine addictions are not limited to coffee drinkers. SO MANY must get their caffeinated fix in order to have energy to continue going for the day/hour/minute. I think most of us have been there! But, have you really stopped to think about it? Caffeine is kind of like a drug. A legal one, but nevertheless an over-the-counter drug that we use and abuse to stimulate our bodies when we feel like we need a little more oomph in our lives. At what cost, though?

I haven't drank soda in years and have chosen to stick with water as my choice of beverage. I honestly feel better and have more energy. What are your thoughts about caffeine? Has it taken over your life?

Labor Day Extravaganza

Evan and I thought our Labor Day plans of hiking and camping were shot when we found out his grandpa's memorial service was to be held on Friday. However, on Sunday, we received a call from our friends, the MacDonalds, who invited us up to Seattle for a sleepover! We took them up on their offer.

We stayed up late playing games, taking turns holding the 5-week old, ADORABLE baby girl, just chatting, and having fun! The next morning, we headed out to eat a HUGE breakfast at the well-known Maltby cafe. It lived up to its charm and good food (including a nearly 5-lb. cinnamon roll)!

After we were all stuffed, we headed out on a hike. Unfornunately, the weather didn't cooperate so we had to get some ponchos for the two of us who forgot our rain jackets. (I know, we live in Washington... we shouldn't go anywhere without rain jackets!) It ended up being a great hike up to Wallace Falls. The two guys carried one kid and us girls carried the gear (water & diaper bag). This adventure was proof you can go hiking with two small children, even though we all got soaked! The rain started dumping after we started the hike and we decided to keep going. We were soaked clear through (except for the children who were protected), but we all had a lot of fun in the process! Here's to more Stout/MacDonald family hiking adventures. :)

Why do we hurt the ones we love?

I find it interesting that we hurt the people we are closer to more than those who we barely know. How often have you found yourself spouting off to your spouse, family, or children? I know I have! And I've been the reciprocator of that as well.

I've been thinking about this for the past few days since Evan's grandpa's memorial service. For whatever reason, Evan's grandpa was a bitter man towards a few (maybe all) of his children. He held grudges and told the same old stories as reasons why he didn't have relationships with his children and their children. Instead of getting over menial and meaningless situations that happened, he chose to be angry and never forget his grudge.

I found it sad that there were people at his funeral that had such a different view of him than his children and relatives did. Maybe it was due to people seeming to forget the bad things about a person when he/she dies. But maybe it's because he truly was nicer to those outside his family than he was to his own family. Why can't we be nice to our families and close friends now? We shouldn't have to wait until someone dies to realize that we need to be treating others better, that life is truly short. At that memorial service, I vowed to NEVER be like Evan's grandpa in the way that he held grudges. I want to give love to my family and friends while they are there and treat them as nice and politely as I do perfect strangers I meet in the grocery store.

In other news, here are a few pictures from the most unusual memorial service I've ever been to. There was a purple-pink hurse with eyes painted above the front windshield that read in-between them "BE AFRAID." We all passed around a 3 1/2 foot tall horn full of mead that we either drank (NO THANK YOU!) or poured on the ground as we spoke about Evan's grandpa. Evan's uncle (who led the ceremony) is kind of a hippie who hasn't cut his hair or beard in 17 years or something and is a part of a renaissance troupe. He's a great guy! Never a dull moment. We had a good BBQ to celebrate the life of Grandpa Stout. I wish I would have known him better.

Summit Lake Hike

For weeks (maybe even months!), Evan and I have been talking about hiking at Summit Lake. I wasn't even quite sure where it was, but knew that the views of Mt. Rainier were supposed to be excellent. So, last Saturday, we hit it up in between picking up Evan's parents from their cruise and going to a housewarming/welcome back to Seattle party for some friends.

The hike did not disappoint! The views of Mt. Rainier and surrounding foothills was breathtaking. The lake was serene and crystal clear. We definitely plan to go back again to camp and try out other hikes in the area.

Here are some pictures: