First Snow, First Fire

When we moved up to Lakewood we asked everyone what the weather was like up here. We were told that it snows a couple of times a year and gets unbearably hot for a couple of weeks in the summer. Seeing as we are at sea level, I really wasn't sure when we would see snow...well it snowed this weekend. In fact for a couple of hours there, it was snowing bloody well hard! Spc D was surprised that it snowed long enough and got cold enough that the snow stuck, I was just in awe the entire time, having grown up in the Bay Area I have only seen snow maybe a dozen times in my life. To be perfectly honest, I never imagined myself living in a place where it was expected to snow...ever, but here I am.



The first snow brought with it our first fire. Let me tell you, we have tried to make a fire on three other occasions, but this time, like the snow, it stuck! Our apartment is warm and cozy right now, and we have my wonderful husbands made fire making skills to thank for that.

We had a lot of fun this weekend. We did the vast majority of our Christmas shopping, and what we didn't finish, we know what we are getting for those people. We also went bowling last night, we bowled a total of 8 games and with the exception of one we scored over 100 each time, we are going to aim for 150 next time. I have a feeling the bowling is going to become a regular thing for us. I have to say though, I have never seen so many guys in a bowling alley trip oer their tongues all at the same time, as I did last night. The Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders showed up to bowl a few games and sign autographs, even Spc D forgot for a few moments who he was with and ogled over them. All in all we had a great weekend, and are really looking forward to next weekend when my parents come up for the weekend.

Optical Illusion...Mt. Rainier

Yesterday Spc D and I finally made the drive to Mount Rainier, and can I just tell you, from post it looks like it is only 20 miles away, when in fact it is a 2 hour drive (mainly because all the roads have a speed limit of 50 miles per hour or less). We got up around 9 in the morning (later than we intended, but we didn't bother to set an alarm...oh well), and started our day by layering on the clothes. We got in the car, plugged in the iPod and started our journey. When we finally got to the park entrance we were already seeing the tiniest sprinkling of snow on the ground, and for this California girl that is always a treat. It was at least another half hour of driving before we got our first glimpse of the peak itself.


It was a bit covered in clouds when we first got there, but we decided to keep driving up to the Paradise visitors center and observatory. By the time we finished our lunch, the sun came out and we had an amazing view of not only the peak itself, but a second mountain range that we had never seen from post.

The coolest part of the day though, had to be on our drive out of the park when I actually had Spc D turn around on the road because I saw this amazing view of the Mt. Rainier at sunset. What made this especially cool is that on our way up we passed the same spot and didn't even know you could see the mountain from there. We stopped and took a few final pictures.

Today though...Spc D made me the happiest woman in the world, he let me buy a new bed! It is being delivered on Tuesday, and I cannot wait for it's arrival as I am sick and tired of our couches as beds!

PS. After three games of bowling today, I finally managed to beat the socks off him in our final game today!!! I actually broke 120 points (which is a first for me!).