The end of the year Boy Scout Mt. Hood camp out!

I don't know the correct order of the pictures. There are a lot. You have been warned. I love them all!

My guys. L-R Christopher, Russell and Donovan.

My boys at breakfast time. They are looking a little chilly! They took breakfast burritos to warm by the fire.

One of my favorite pictures.

Another favorite.

Our van with 4 inches of new snow which is sitting on 4 feet of snow!

Another favorite picture. I loved this one so much I made it my background on the computer.

The tent where my guys spent the night.

Another favorite shot. Those flakes coming down are HUGE!

Overall - it looks the scouts had a great snow camp out! All this sledding makes me want to camping up on Mt. Hood this very minute! (With lots of hot cocoa in tow of course. ) lol

It can't be the end of the year. Can it?

This year has gone by incredibly fast. Too fast as a matter of fact. At least we didn't have any broken bones this time around. Russell had some heart problems but is doing well. I had lateral epicondilytis which has improved tons. I am not able to hand quilt any more but I can still do bead stuff and crochet.
We had a great time at Christmas visiting family, staying up way to late, eating lots of good food, playing lots of games and enjoying each other's company.
Russell and the older boys left early this morning for a boy scout snow camp out on Mt. Hood. They are expected to get 6-10 inches of new snow tonight. I am anxious to see the pictures I hope Russell is taking. :) This is a wonderful experience and probably a once in a lifetime one for the boys. I don't know if the scouts go every year or not.
When Russell gets home tomorrow I will share what pictures he took. Driving could be treacherous as the Portland area also has snow right now. They have about 4 inches of sticking snow that isn't going away any time soon.
To top off the end of the year....we have a flood watch in effect for later this week on the coast. Aren't we so lucky? Hopefully I can go to work on Thursday and turn my voucher in at DHS so I can get paid.

My least favorite thing about this time of the year...

Mice. And rats. Big or small. I don't care for them. Any at all.
I went to bed last night around 9:30 and fell promptly asleep. I was having a great sleep actually. Until about 11 p.m.
Russell: "Candace....wake up."
me: "huh?"
Russell: "Candace...wake up - there is a rat in the house."
me: "Did you see it?"
Russell: "Yeah it was really huge."
By this time I am thinking we have gigantor roaming in the other room if Russell woke me up. (Not that I would be of any assistance mind you. I would actually be a hinderance. Wouldn't he remember that from last time?) We go out to the family room and Russell said he saw it come out from the kitchen and start towards the laundry room. When it saw Russ it went back to the kitchen - either behind the refrigerator or under the dishwasher...he thought.
So....
Russell starts moving the refrigerator around to see if there is any mouse/rat behind it. Nothing. Next he unscrews the dishwasher from the counter so he can pull it out. He finds a dead teeny tiny mouse. Not the one he saw earlier. By this time the dishwasher is completely out and he has crawled behind it. Slightly insane if you ask me. Russell has his flashlight looking around. No mouse/rat. He does spy a drainpipe though that is big enough for the critters to come and go through. So he says he needs to go to the garage to get some nails and wood.
me: "Don't you dare leave me alone in this house with a loose mouse/rat."
Russell: "But I need to get the materials to fix the hole."
me: "Fine. Leave me the broom then." Not that a broom is any match for a rodent. I start stomping around the kitchen and banging the broom just so the rodent knows it has met it's match. Likely me running and screaming would be most appropriate in such a circumstance.
Around midnight Russell has finished covering up said hole near drainpipe, reinstalled the dishwasher and put out some mouse/rat bait called OneBite. I love this stuff. We have been putting it under the house and it keeps disappearing every day. This is beginning to remind of the movie Ratatouille when all the rats come pouring out of the little old lady's house. EW.
Anyway - we leave a little pile in the middle of the kitchen floor and go to bed. Soon I hear sleeping sounds coming from Russell. How can he sleep with a rodent loose in the house? I guess it doesn't phase a guy.
Me....
I lay in bed and toss and turn. My feet are popsicles. I am too scared to get out of bed to get some socks for them. Every single noise I hear is...
oh - that's just the fire in the wood stove.
oh - Chris is turning over again.
wait....what's that sound? Should I wake Russ up?
all is quiet.
oh - I hear noises again. Oh...just the wood stove.
Repeat noises for several hours. I think I dozed off around 4:30 or so with being startled by every noise this house makes at night.
We get up.
me: "Russ - I need you to check the kitchen before I go in there to make lunches."
Russell: He goes out and looks at the bait. "Doesn't look like anything touched it. Hmmm. Wonder where the mouse is. Guess it went away."
After he gets dressed AND puts his contacts IN....and goes back to the kitchen for breakfast...
"WOW! This is a big mouse! Pretty plump too!"
By this time Michael and Nephi want in on the action. "Can we see Dad?"
So Russell being Russell starts chasing them around with a dead mouse.
Mouse is found.
Caulking for drainpipe is purchased.
Dust masks are purchased so Russell can go under the house and caulk pipe without inhaling mouse poopies and discard any mouse/rat carcasses he comes across. He is the man of the house after all. Right?
The least favorite thing of this time of year is uninvited guests taking up residence in the house. The very chilly temperatures and sunshine sure are making beautiful scenery on the rivers though. How often will I get to see the Tillamook River start freezing over like it is now? Not very often!