Lower Lewis River Falls

So far this summer we have gone on some kind of hike, walk or bike ride every single weekend. This weekend we managed to make it out to two different locations. One (Bridal Veil) we had been to before and the other (Lower Lewis River Falls) where we had never been. The Lewis River hike was suggested by my husbands uncle who drove us out there. Talk about an amazingly beautiful, adventurous hike! For those of you who do not know, Lower Lewis River Falls is located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. LewisRiver.com has an amazing array of information on the falls located in this particular area of the Pinchot.

When we got there we were above the falls and spent a good deal of time looking for a way down. We eventually found it although it tends to be a little steep. If you have little ones you will need to help them down. I recommend going into the water below the falls instead of up on top. The national park service has posted a sign about the danger and inherent death at the start of the trail. Getting down to the bottom is, like I said, tricky, but doable. If you are a more adventurous, laugh in the face of danger type, you can cliff dive from the top of the falls into the pool below. We did see some teens doing that when we got there. Crazy kids. Overall the hike was not so much of a hike as it was a scenic drive topped off by a beautiful location. We were able to see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier all from the roads we were driving on. I have every intention of going back to this location. They do have a couple of large campgrounds in the area so I think next time we will make a night of it.

Family Rating:

Kid Friendly: Yes, to an extent. If your willing to help them get down to the water and are willing to watch them. The water moves fast. Kids can be swept away in the current and there are big drop offs.

Travel Time: 1.5 hours from North Bonneville, WA. Roads are rough in areas, unpaved in some, and windy in others. If your not sure your car can cut it then don't go. Gonna risk it, bring emergency supplies just in case. It is after all in the middle of a national forest. 

Mt. St. Helens from the McClellan View Point. 

2 Birds enjoying the view

 Daddy bird with 2 little birds

Family pic!

Uncle Craig, Grandma Carla and Cousin Josh

Super old swirly barked tree...Phoenix pointed this one out.

View of the falls from up above

Look at that smile! He loves a good adventure.

Eating...as always...

William and Phoenix at the bottom of the falls. Green area is rocks covered in moss, blue behind is a deep deep pool. Steep drop off right there.

The cliffs below the falls

More below the falls

Getting ready to head out...

Mt. Adams from the Gifford

Mt. Rainier from the Gifford


If you want more information on the hike please feel free to contact me. Everyone should see this one at least once in their life.

Rachel B.

Combining Blogs

So for the last couple of years I have managed three blogs. This one, which is the family blog. The R Word, which is about my love of running, and Being Human, which is about my love of Anthropology. As much as I love all these blogs, I figure its time to combine them all into one so that I don't have to worry about constantly updating three different pages. Therefore, 2 Birds will now be my primary posting site. The other blogs will stay active so that people can go back and access that information if they would like. I hope everyone enjoys reading the new stuff I will be posting on here. There should be an uptick in content but you'll have to decide which stories are best for you.

Rachel B.

2nd Grade Math Problems

So we have a 2nd grade math problem in our house. Bird, my ever increasingly resistant 7 year old, is starting to fall behind. Not terribly behind but enough its making me nervous. We have had several talks with his teacher and its always the same. He's lazy. Although, I am beginning to think he is confusing the word "lazy" with down right defiant. Case in point...recently his teacher stated that she was concerned about his ability to do single digit math. Something he has NEVER had a problem doing since he learned it back in first grade. As they are moving onto double digits she is finding that he is having a hard time recalling the single digit stuff. I asked him about it when we got home later that day and he said he was just being "lazy." He also told me that he got his card pulled during class. (A punishment for them.) Next morning I went in and talked to the teacher again (yes, I am a hover parent) and told her about my conversation with him the night before. She stated that it wasn't that he was being lazy necessarily, just that when it came time to do math, he choose to just sit there and do nothing. See, defiant. Not lazy. Growl! I refuse to have a defiant child. Plus, I am sure he is regretting this little foray into the defiant side because he is now being quizzed through flash cards and pages filled with single digit math. I'm sure he's getting sick of it. But I'm not about to let up. Which brings me to the logo at the top of this post.

I cant imagine I am the only one having issues with kids and math. I know math is everyone's least favorite subject (it was mine when I was in school...although through college I learned that it is hand's down the coolest stinking subject ever! If I were crazy, I would have majored in it...but I digress...) This site is super duper awesome for two reasons, 1) math for kids of all ages and 2) its on the computer! Bird LOVES using the computer. So if I can find math fun stuff for him to do on the computer, he's gonna do it. He's not quite smart enough to figure out his mamma is a devious little sneak who likes to trick him into doing things that are good for him. I highly recommend the site if you are having similar issues. I am still looking for a free site that has actual math games for him to play but for now this will do. When I find said, awesome free math game site, I will pass it on.

R.Lynn Designs

I got to say, I am very excited about the start of my year. First off, it just feels like its gonna be a good one. I have no justification for it, it just does. Secondly, I have a lot of motivation right now so I am trying to capitalize on it. Especially since motivation comes and goes like a pregnant woman's mood swings. (I have plenty of experience with those. Sigh*) My pet project at the start of this year is sewing. I sew all year long and I have officially/unofficially had my own sewing business for years. In the past I have focused on things like alterations and repairs but I HATE alterations more than I hate the dentist. Especially on clothes purchased at the store. This year I have decided to no longer offer alterations. Plus, I have finally narrowed in on exactly what I want to focus on sewing wise. I love, LOVE making formal gowns and children's clothes. Its a perfect fit for me cause its what I spend the majority of my time doing when I am not doing alterations and repairs. Given all of this I have set some goals for myself this year. Allow me to lay them out for you...

• Finally put the effort into setting up and running my business. (Including websites and social media) No more excuses. I'm good at what I do so I'm gonna do it. It's as simple as that. 
• Open up an Etsy account to begin selling my formal dresses and children's clothes. 
• Actually make the dresses to sell on Etsy. lol. (That's an important one)
• Market, market, market. (I love marketing, it's part of what I do at my day job so those skills are gonna come in real handy)
• Share my sewing knowledge and skills with others on this blog through videos and tutorials.

Its a simple enough list but I think its a great start. A lot of the stuff is already set up like my website and facebook page but those need some fine tuning. My biggest problem is feeling confident enough to move forward with things. But I know I am good at this and its what I want to do. That's not going to happen if I don't just do it. One of the things I want people to know me for besides quality is the type of materials I use. I want to make wedding gowns that are upcycled and use natural, organic fabrics for anything I am not using upcycled fabrics on. I can't begin to describe how excited I am right now. I feel like I am on track to move forward and I am really, really looking forward to it. Here's to 2013. May your year be as fulfilling as I hope mine will be. :)

The Slob in me....

If there was one word I would say others use about me (besides annoying) it would be organized. Which is hilarious because I am probably the least organized person I know. As a matter of fact, I am a complete and total slob. That's right! Just blew your mind didn't I? The above picture is my desk at work. I have been staring at this mess for weeks now thinking to myself, "man...I REALLLLY need to clean this place." But have I, no. Why? Cause I'm lazy like that. Where people have gotten this idea that I'm organized is beyond me. I can't even begin to tell you how many New Years resolutions I have made to become organized. Yet, it has not happened....alas. So basically, I am now sitting here, making fun of myself for my sloppiness and exposing that to the rest of the world. Maybe that will hold me accountable. I don't know. What I do know however is that when I am done with this post, I AM going to clean off my stinking desk.

But the whole organization thing doesn't just fall to work. Oh no...you should see my house. Its clean (granted) but it is highly unorganized. I would like to use the excuse that we just moved and still have unpacking to do, but that excuse will only last so long. I don't even know where I want my furniture to go. At this very moment there is a couch sticking out into the middle of the living room floor. Why? Cause I really have no where else to put it right now. I guess this whole rant was brought on by the fact that I feel overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed by stuff and lack of organization. This isn't an exaggeration. There is something a lot of people don't know about me, that I am going to reveal...for better of for worse. You know how some people freeze up in a stressful situation? That's me with stuff. When the house gets too messy or packing becomes too much or there is just too much stuff surrounding me, I freeze. It's hard to explain but I will try. Example: when we moved this last summer we piled everything into our new place without much thought for where things would actually end up. We just wanted the move to go as fast as possible. I took a day off work to unpack and got nothing done. I found myself standing in the front room just staring at all of the stuff. I had no idea where to start. Its as though my brain stops functioning for a period of time until things become more manageable. For instance, the mixer was sitting in front of me, but I couldn't bring myself to pick it up and put it in the kitchen because it was just too much. Even though I know that's where it goes. When I get overwhelmed, I shut down. My brain stops functioning and I just stare. I actually had to wait for William to get home and start moving stuff before I was able to function again.

I grew up in places that for the most part were clutter free so I guess I never learned how to cope in that type of situation. I am currently suffering from the freeze syndrome with my bedroom. Which is a cluttered disaster. It's so bad that some nights I go in there and want nothing more than to just turn around and go sleep on the couch. At least its confined to my room though and not the rest of the place. Some days I want nothing more than to purge my house of anything that is unnecessary, and trust me there is a lot that can go. Maybe that is what I should spend time focusing on in the new year. De-cluttering, simplifying and organizing. Maybe then I can finally live up to that whole "your so organized..." that I often hear from others. Cause bob only knows, right now, it isn't true!

Organized Madness

For those select few I actually invite over to my house, you know it can be quite the mess most of the time. Try as I might, I can never seem to keep up with my kids (or my husband). They are slobs and depending on my level of enthusiasm I can be quite slobbish too. Do I wanna have a messy house? No! Does walking into a messy house cause me to have a inner breakdown? Yes! Nothing...I repeat....NOTHING ruins my day more than walking into a house that is a disaster. So how do I overcome this?

The obvious answer would be chores. Yeah...that's right. Chores. (There goes my mommy of the year award). Bird is 7 and Gryphy is 4. They are both old enough to be taking some part in helping out around the house. Not to mention, I absolutely refuse to allow my boys to grow up thinking house work is for women. We have tried doing chores in our house before but the last couple of systems we implemented didn't seem to work. So, what to do? The simplest approach is the chore chart. We tried it before, but I'm gonna try it again. Why would I do that if it didn't work the first time? Here's why. It wasn't the charts fault. That's right. It was mine and Williams. What can I say. We spoil our kids and let them slide by with way too much sometimes. This needs to stop. Especially before they start to think they can get away with murder. I want my boys to grow up to be loving, caring, responsible, hard working adults. This isn't going to happen if we continue on down the path we have started. Yes, it sucks to tell them they cant do something and then have them start crying over it, but that's what parents do. We tell our kids no, when they need to be told so. We send them to their rooms when they stomp their feet and throw a temper tantrum. We do this because it helps them to understand there are consequences for poor choices. I am hoping that with this go around, we can work together as a family to make the system work and that William and I can join forces and be stronger parents. Only time (and a whole lot of patience) will tell if its working or not...

A Mothers Reflection

These are my babies! My two amazing little boys who are my absolute world. Without them I would be lost. I'm not sure I have a right to be affected by what happened in Connecticut, but I am. Maybe its because my oldest is seven years old, the same age as many of those who died. When I read the initial report they were saying the numbers of those dead could change. I was wishing and hoping so hard that they were wrong. That there would be children hiding in cupboards and closets and everything would be okay in the end. But the numbers just got worse. 18 went to 20. 20 small, innocent children who had their whole precious lives ahead of them lost everything. I think what affected me most was being a mom. When I heard the report my first thoughts went to my children who I had just dropped off at school moments earlier. I felt the panic, the sadness, the fear. Who would do something like this? Why would they do something like this? My thoughts went out to those parents they said on the news were being sequestered in a separate location and being notified that their child was dead. I felt the most uncontrollable sadness thinking about how they were standing there waiting for their children to come out, watching parents embrace their child next to them and waiting, hoping, praying...nothing. I felt unquenchable anger. I said it once to people who didn't believe me but I will say it again and know that I mean it. I would do ANYTHING to protect my children. That includes protecting their memory. I hope you get my point. My step father spent many years in the Missouri state pen and spoke fondly of his time there, cable tv, three square meals a day, airconditioning, heating, full library, etc...That is not justice. Too many people talk about moving towards forgiveness. I guess I am not a strong enough person to offer forgiveness because I would never do such a thing if they had killed my child. How do you forgive a person who has taken away your very reason for living? So much sadness and anger. That's all I feel right now and yet I live clear across the country and have never stepped foot in Connecticut. It took every ounce of effort in me to not pull Bird out of class on Friday and when I took him to school this morning I had to fight back the tears. Even after talking to the school about the drills they have in place, I am still not comforted. Why? Because, when I gave birth to my children I was bringing them into a world that I thought was safe. A world that I thought was filled with wonder and excitement and happiness. I have found my world to be lacking. I live roughly one hour from Clackamas Town Center, I know people who work there, I drove by there on Saturday. It was on the 11th of this month that a gunman opened fire there taking two lives. What have we come to as a world, as a people, when we cannot go to the mall or out to a movie or drop our kids off at school without the fear of death? It has gotten to the point where I don't want to take my kids anywhere. Yet that is not healthy, that is not living. To me, it is too soon for a gun debate and since I am ambivilant to the topic you wont find anything on that here. I just needed a space to vent and rant. There are not words enough to describe how horrifically tragic this act of violence was. I can only assume I will continue to be affected by this for many more days to come. Hopefully the pain that I feel will subside shortly. I have no reason to feel anything beyond that because my children are home safe and sound where they belong. There are 20 families out there tonight who do not have that luxury. I feel for them. I wish them the best in moving forward from this point.