Mission Ridge

On Christmas Eve we went to our local ski resort Mission Ridge to go skiing with Caitlin and her friend KC. We had an exciting time on the mountain.

Kent really enjoyed his new telemark skiis. He got a lot of practice, because of Annie's slower speeds down the mountain!

Annie trying to get some speed!

Caitlin, Kent and Annie at the top of Mission Ridge. What a beautiful day!

Leavenworth Christmas Lighting Festival

Annie plays in the Icicle Brass Quintet which performed today at the Leavenworth gazebo.

The Travel Channel was there filming the lighting ceremony, so watch for us on that channel this holiday season!

Kent had a great time dancing the chicken dance with the characters (actually students from Cashmere).

First Skiing of the Season!

Saturday we got out skiing for the first time this winter season. Kent used his new telemark ski's for the first time. He is really excited to get out into the back country and use them.

We stopped for a soup and cracker lunch.

After skiing we drove to Leavenworth and checked out the Leavenworth ski hill. There were many kids and adults enjoying the two small rope tows and the new tubing run. It looked like a lot of fun!

Winter Wonderland!

This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland! We couldn't believe how much snow accumulated overnight!

Cassy loves the snow. She runs around pouncing and burrowing into the snow.

Kent was very happy to be able to use his new toy!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Kent's parents house. In the photo below: Kent's Great-Uncle Bob, Kent, Annie, Kent's Mom Britta.

The day after Thanksgiving we went on a hike. The hike started at Trout Lake which was already frozen over. We enjoyed sliding around with the dogs on the frozen lake.

Our hiking destination was Emerald Lake... well, it's not really a lake anymore. Kent used to go swimming in this lake when he was in high school. Now it is dried up. We walked around the base of the lake and then returned back to the trail because it was very cold.

The hike was 5 miles long and an easy day hike. It was 19* so we were happy to have warm clothing on!

Busy People

We've been very busy this month. We both had fall concerts for our middle school groups and high school groups (about 3 concerts each), band booster meetings, football games, and much more!

So because of that kind of schedule we stopped our weekly outings. :( Tonight is supposed to be the first day of snow in the valley so we are really excited about that! We'll see if it really happens. At least we know the mountains are getting lots of snow and are preparing to open up for skiing next weekend.

Today, my students had their audition for Disney Magic Music Days. They recorded two pieces and then we went outside of the school and took the following photo. These are the students who will be traveling to California this spring break. There are about 5-6 more students in the total program. I'm very excited about having a good photo of the group... it's a lot of work to get high school students to wear the same thing at the same place and the same time!!!

This weekend we are heading over to Seattle to bring our students to the Western International Band Clinic. We'll be staying in the Doubletree Hotel by the Seattle Airport. We're looking forward to another little break. We come back for 1 1/2 days and then we are up to Kettle Falls for Thanksgiving dinner with Kent's parents. Looking forward to some good food!

Icicle Gorge

Sunday afternoon we took a walk around the Icicle Gorge Loop Trail (past Leavenworth). We enjoyed the fall colors, the dampness of the air and the chance to get our bodies moving again. There was quite a bit of water in Icicle Creek from all the rain we have had in the last week.

U of Idaho Homecoming Weekend

Friday night we drove over to Idaho for the University of Idaho homecoming and Vandal Alumni Band. We stayed Friday night at the only available hotel in Lewiston, about 45 minutes south of Moscow.

Saturday morning we drove up to Moscow. It was a beautiful drive up through the fog filled rolling hills.

Caitlin, Annie and Kent all were a part of the Alumni Band. We had enough people this year to have our own parade entry in the homecoming parade through downtown Moscow.

It was also Idaho band day, so elementary-high school bands all participated in the parade and a short halftime show.

The Idaho band bringing in the football team.

Idaho did not win their game v.s. Fresno State, but it was a good game. We stayed until the end of the game and then drove the 4 hours home with a short break in Moses Lake. Overall, it was a very fun weekend.

Moscow, Idaho is so beautiful in the fall!

Icicle Creek bike ride

Today we drove out the Icicle Road by Leavenworth and went on a bike ride with Cassy. The mountains in view are already snowcapped from last week's storms.

Scenes from Cashmere

On Annie's walk with Cassy last night she took these photos of Cashmere in the fall.