Heeerree's Johnny!

So I'm beginning to feel like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, after being snowed in on the hill for several days! Yes...a bit more snow last night now bringing us to 12" with a nice sheet of ice on the road down.

Good news...no more snow today.

Bad news...too cold to melt, and about 4-6" more on the way for Saturday.

The kids now have some nicely grooved sled runs with berms, jump's, and all kinds of bone jarring fun! They're getting an extended Christmas Break and aren't too bothered by it all.

More snow pics to come later!

It's Still Snowing!!

Okay, I'm all for a cool appearance of snow, but this is getting ridiculous! As of this morning we have 10 INCHES of snow on the ground.


We had a small break in the weather to get a few pictures with semi-clear skies, but the snow has rolled back in again....will it never stop!!

Let It Snow!

And boy did it snow today! Starting at about 8 am this morning, the white stuff started floating down upon our little hill. By late this afternoon, we had almost 7 (yes, I said 7) inches of snow and still going. Here's the proof:


While the snow brings quite an inconvenience when you live on a very steep, long driveway, it makes for a great day of fun for the boys. Here's some photos from the crew:

Drew Dog! Peace!

Spence Diggity!

The snow always brings a visit from the A-Train!
(wasn't Mikey just in that area?!)

Rich & Drew - snow buddies!

Drew on the move!
Spencer!

Even Tracy got on the sled!
The boys in the blizzard!
Spencer, Riley & Aaron

Forecast is another possible 2-4" tomorrow. We may never get off this hill! And somehow we don't think the boys would mind!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The boys went out for some fun last Friday for Halloween! We went to our good friends Steve and Debbie's home for a get together and then some good old trick-or-treating! Here's what the little goblin's looked like!

From left to right:

Drew was Jake Locker (Huskies star quarterback), Spencer was a hockey player (with a black eye, knocked out teeth, and apparently a do-rag on his head), Evan Troy was Steve Erkel (from a TV sit com), Grant Gibb was a hot dog (which if you know Grant, it is a very appropriate costume), and behind the scary mask is Tanner Sweet (the scariest, but goofiest of the bunch).

Here's a few more pics of the Halloween fun!

Rich & Drew carving the pumpkin!

Future Football Star!


Collecting the "loot"


Ummm...I've got nothing.

Another Sports Transition...

Football is over!

Spencer's first football season wrapped up last weekend with a win! Although it was Spencer's first season, he caught on very quickly and played like an old pro.

He gave up soccer for the pads this year and enjoyed the experience. He played offensive right guard and loved to pull on plays where the team tossed to his side. "I love getting outside and leading a block for our half back." Often times he got to block a smaller line backer or safety during that play, which brought a smile to his face!

He also played corner back on defense. He recovered one fumble and stripped the ball from a half back for his two big plays/turnovers!

Next year he plays middle school football for the 7th grade team and is already looking forward to it.

Because he didn't really want his parents to rest, he started tournament basketball practice two days after football was over. We're now practicing 4 nights a week and starting tournaments the weekend of Nov 14th! No rest!

Drew has also kicked off his basketball season playing at the Longview YMCA league. It's already his 3rd season (at age 9!), and he's off to a great start. He currently practices two nights per week and squeezes it in between guitar lessons!

More sports updates to come!

Moving Day!

After much planning and work, Mary Anne and Barrie have re-located! Last weekend, they moved closer to the Best family by moving to Longview. They now live just a few minutes away from the Best Grandkids. Everyone is very happy to have them in town.

Here's a few pics of the new place:

Grandpa hard at work painting the master bedroom!

The new kitchen (with walk in pantry!)
(It's only messy because of the move....sorry Grandma!) :-)

Drew testing out the chairs in the newly painted family room!

More to come while they settle into the new house, but we're very excited to have them in Longview! Drew and Spencer are excited to learn the new card games that Grandma & Grandpa love to play. Tracy and Rich might even try to sneak away for a dinner alone while they're hanging at the new place.

From one to the next...

After the fun at the Husky/Cougar game, the crew headed to Safeco Field to watch what was a slow, painful end to a long, losing season by the Mariners. The highlight of the day was when Drew was pulled off the bench to replace Ichiro! As you'll see from the picture below, he robbed A-rod of a home run by catching a ball before it went over the wall!



Okay, not really. Pretty funny picture though, huh?! :)

Football! The High's & Low's

The Best household has always been a sport home! No surprise to anyone there. These days, it seems to be becoming more involved in football.

A few weeks ago, Rich, Spencer, Drew and Gumpy (Bob) headed up to Seattle for the Washington Huskies vs. BYU Cougars game.

Gumpy is a UW alumni, so over the years, he's gotten his grandson's pretty excited about the Huskies. Now Rich, on the other hand has definitely married and adapted well to the Husky family, but still has his BYU history, so the obvious dilemma in whom to cheer for.


So being the ever good son-in-law, he donned his UW coat and headed to the game with the boys. However, we was seen giving a few fist pumps when BYU did well during the game!


As you may know, the Cougars beat UW in a controversial finish by blocking an extra point to win by 1 point. While Rich came out a winner either way, the boys had a fantastic time at the game.

Our ever present observer in Drew learned much about football. The quote of the day came from Drew (as it usually does) when he asked Gumpy, "how come everybody keeps acting so happy", when UW made a first down.

Gumpy enjoyed teaching Drew about both football and the UW. He still can't figure out why the boys would rather play Nintendo than drive down Greek Row?!?!

And now the lows:

Spencer is on the injured reserve! He's loving the game of football and is doing a great job in his first season. Unfortunately, a nagging ankle injury has him watching from the sidelines. He's off until next week nursing the injury.

Summer Wrap Up 2008

It seems hard to believe, but our summer is coming to an end with the start of the new school year. As usual, we had a very busy summer with the boys activities, travels, and life in general.

Here's just a few of the highlights from our great summer of 2008:

Baseball!


As he's done each summer since he was 8 years old, Spencer entertained us all with a great All Star season. After missing most of the regular season with a broken thumb, Spencer picked up where he left off by having a great post-season. Spencer and his team finished the post season with a 2nd place finish at the SW Washington State Tournament, and earning a trip to the NW Regional Tournament.


Spencer's key positions are catcher, 2nd base, and an occasional relief appearance at the mound (which makes Tracy VERRRYY nervous)! :)

Rich also Managed the team in his "spare time" and enjoyed another fun summer at the ballpark. Drew managed to survive spending his weekends at the park with his Nintendo DS in tow, and special thanks to his buddy Chance Grendahl for having him over so often so he didn't have to watch 5 games a weekend!




Sunriver!

As usual, the Best Family took a trip to Sunriver for a week. As we've done for the past 14 years, we rented a beautiful home. This year, we rented a home on the Woodlands Golf Course which provided for great evening activity. Spencer is becoming quite the golfer, and even played 18 holes with Rich during the trip. One of the highlights of Rich's trip.


The highlight of Spencer's golf this summer was out driving Bob a.k.a. "Gumpy" off the tee!

Drew seems to be following in the footsteps of his Mother. Drew took his first horse riding lesson in Sunriver.

Tracy & Rich were quite impressed with his comfort on the horse and how well he did. A lesson and two trail rides were in order for Drew. I'm sure this will become a regular part of the Sunriver trips in the future!

Now Drew's trying to figure out how to get one for home! Somehow I don't think that will happen with Rich!

The Sunriver Gang 2008!


Gumpy, Uncle Rock, Drew Dog, Spence Diggity, Aaron Gorman "A-Train", Julie Gorman, Jim Gorman, Tracy. Minus Rich...taking the photo!

Here's a few more pics from our great vacation:

Uncle Rock and Drew about to put Spencer "into the wall!"



Spencer and Aaron taking paddle board lessons!



Best of buddies!



Bathing Beauties - Tracy & Julie!

The "BEST" Blog

A little sneak peek into what's going on in the Best world!

Okay, I guess it's time to get in line with the sister's and start this little thing. We'll start posting here as regular as our busy lives allow in hopes to keep in better touch with all!

Just started today, so hang in there with us. We'll have more to come soon!