April fools day; two soccer games; first is Jaxson’s in Seattle. He is goalie and because his team is short players, mason gets to play with him. Since we were already at Rebecca and Raymond’s in Silverdale, we had to drive into Seattle for the game.
Second game is Mason’s back in Gig Harbor followed by laser tag team party for Mason’s team. So we go to Mason’s game; and decide to skip laser tag & we head back to Silverdale to take care of the three dogs. Both games extremely cold temps. Meanwhile son-in-law Raymond is at Army drill.
Tuesday, 04APR, back home in Sultan we wake up to one inch of wet snow on the ground. Sun quickly comes out for nice weather. Wednesday very good weather; Corrie gardens, Dan starts preparing RV for another volunteer “house re-building” in Omak/Okanogan, WA. Then does some mowing.
07APR daughter Rebecca, husband Raymond & the boys vacation on the shores of Lake Chelan for a few days. Sunday 09APR (easter) not much done, Dan finishes getting RV ready for tomorrow’s RV departure.
Monday, 10APR, early AM departure to Omak/Okanogan, WA. Short route is over Stevens Pass on US-2; but
small possibility of snow, so Dan takes Snoqualmie Pass to Blewett Pass, then
on to Okanogan. Purpose of this RV trip
is another volunteer weekend by Dan’s Habitat buddies like he did in SEP2022. During these trips we assist local relief
organizations in rebuilding homes that were burnt out by the several wild fires
over the last few years. No snow on
drive but lots of rain adds two and half hours to drive.
The
Ryan RV Express: 01-30SEP22 - Sultan, WA (🎂 grandson mason is 9)
Dan set up camp at Okanogan Fairgrounds; then meets other volunteers at Rancho Chico Restaurant in Omak for traditional arrival dinner. Then back to the RV to recover from the drive, before tomorrow’s full work day.
Tuesday join some of the volunteers at the Pope house; Dan works on interior window trim for seven windows; installing grab bar in bathroom; cleaning new cedar deck for staining. That evening is first group dinner prepared by volunteer Joe - lasagna, salad, Texas toast and marionberry pie for dessert.
Wednesday back to Pope house; Dan works on removing all interior
& exterior doors, removing hardware, painting and rehanging. Group dinner prepared by Dennis – chicken
wrapped in bacon/chip beef and baked in mushroom gravy sauce, green beans, mashed
potatoes and assorted brownies for dessert.
Thursday AM back to Pope house; Dan works on finishing door installation; then applying metal sheeting to concrete walls below both decks. Group dinner prepared by Jan with baked salmon, asparagus & baked potatoes with all the fixings, desert was left over items from first two days.
Friday AM, 14APR, full crew off to the Ames House. Where we spend ten hours installing wheelchair ramp and posts/railings on deck from start to finish (plus one set of stairs). Means starting with Sono tube with concrete for footings, installing railing posts; then installing railings. House is not finished so no water, no electricity; means running generator and making vehicle runs for more gas (and more water for cement).
Long, long, day so Dan suggests no showers and head straight to
pizza place in Omak for final dinner. Unanimous
vote of approval since Dan will pay for pizza🙃 Then back to RV for
hot shower and early to bed.
Saturday AM. 15APR, Dan
spends two hours getting RV ready for drive home to Sultan. No one in office to pay, so Dan writes check
and drops it thru door mail slot. Uneventful
drive home, and Dan sees people still skiing at Stevens Pass Ski Area. Dan gets home just in time for light drizzle.
Sunday just a day of relaxation,
not much done - some gardening in between rain
showers & continued tidying up RV. Our daughter Rebecca posts the following on
Facebook --
Jaxson and Mason finished their
first year of select soccer 
9 months of practices and
games. They absolutely loved it. Jaxson’s team finished in first place for
spring league and Mason’s team finished in second place. Both boys had
wonderful coaches. It was fun watching them improve and developing bonds with
their team mates.
Thursday, 20APR, we prep for tomorrow’s departure to the Pitre’s in Silverdale. Today was the “coldest” high temp recorded in Seattle ever. Friday AM off to Pitre’s for Raymond’s b-day tomorrow; not much done there.
Saturday (earth day & Raymond’s b-day); not much done during the day. Late afternoon we head to iFLY in Tukwila, WA, for Raymond’s gift from Rebecca. iFLY is a giant verticle tube with a monstrous fan in the bottom. You put on a special suit and you can “fly” in the hundred mile an hour wind created. Raymond, Jaxson & Mason did very well; Raymond’s b-day dinner was at Olive Garden (one of his favorites).
Indoor Skydiving in Seattle | iFLY (iflyworld.com)
Sunday AM, 23AUG, up early to pack up truck, catch ferry to get
home before lunch. Unpack truck and not
much done rest of the day. Tuesday Corrie
has girl’s day out with Jan Formisano.
Friday, 28APR, beautiful weather with record high temp. After lunch Dan starts pressure washing one side of RV garage/shop metal building. Record high temp (81), but April will be fourth coldest on record.
Saturday more great weather; Dan starts pressure washing small deck. Then Corrie joins in; ten years of inattention to decks has made this task hard. Sunday (last day of April) half sunny/half cloudy; little more deck cleaning and mowing.
