This is difficult because there are so many stories and memories to draw from. Laura and I were very likeminded. Much could be said without saying much at all. A glance or a nod could tell chapters, a smile or a frown explained what at times words fail to capture. As my mind returns to those growing up days my most fond memories are those of our days living in Leavenworth, Washington. Laura and I would do pretty much everything together then. Hiking, building forts in the woods, building ice forts (experimenting with snow and water in different molds to see which yielded the best brick for fort building) Best of all were the games of chase and hide and go seek. Don’t get me wrong, these were no normal kids’ games. In those days we were living in a fifth wheel trailer on the property that our parents had purchased. Not just any fifth wheel trailer mind you. We built a pole barn right next to the trailer. In the raised part of the fifth wheel, where my folk’s bedroom window was we built a loft where we kids slept. This was like fifth wheel living meets Little House on the Prairie. We had even mixed mud and straw together to act as chinking (the great insulator, filling the gaps between the planks of wood to keep the wind and cold out). Just before moving there I had saved up 100 dollars and bought a 1972 Kawasaki 100cc dirt bike. The thing was ancient and looked a far cry from the fast, loud, ground eating machines on TV or in the stores, but for me it was a dream come true. I was all over that property, trying to make my own jumps, learning how to do donuts, happily ignorant that I had a dilapidated machine. That was until Laura somehow worked a deal on a Yamaha 250 quad! I can’t remember the year or even how much she paid but man could that thing fly. Not only really fast but it looked great to boot! She was incredibly careful with it too. She would scold me every time I tried to break the back end free saying I was going to break the machine (until of course she learned how to do it! Then it was okay!). How envious I was of that beast but how much fun we had together! You have to imagine our property a bit to if you want to enter into the story and understand the fun we had. We lived in the very back of a tight, long canyon. Our driveway headed up the narrow valley of this little canyon with only one other house at the very beginning of it on the right. After “Mr. Ray’s” house it was basically all our property on the right with roads and trails cut out on both sides of the valley. We would come up with obstacle courses, races, tracks, etc. So you can imagine a nice warm summer’s day, one of us in the loft, and the other in the living room of the trailer. Very slowly one would get up and move towards the door in a stealth silence that even the Navy SEALS would be proud of. The idea was to catch the other off guard thus gaining 20 to 30 seconds. The door was difficult to open silently so the next part of the plan had to be done smoothly and quickly because the other sibling would surely be in hot pursuit in no time at all. Once out of the door, it was an all out run to the motorcycle or quad. In the meantime the other sibling would have heard the door and the sound of the running outside. If it was Laura running she would dash for the quad and start frantically throwing on her helmet. Meanwhile I would be scrambling out of the loft, literally diving threw the window rolling onto my folks’ bed landing on my feet, darting through the bathroom and blasting out of the door in an attempt to catch up with Laura. Being that we did this often we usually parked our machines facing downhill helping with the getaway, if it was not the case however I was usually able to gain quite a bit of time on Laura because turning a small motorcycle around is much easier than a quad which requires space. If Laura was the one escaping, by this point she would already have had the helmet strapped on and would be kick starting her machine. As I would reach mine she would be giving it full throttle, kicking dirt all over me and literally leaving me in the dust. This is where the advantage of a motorcycle came into play. Once the helmet was on I could be coasting down the first part of the drive while getting ready to pop start, again gaining a second or two. If I had been quick enough, and let’s say it, lucky enough, I would be able to see her on the drive at some point, if not then the search was on! I would have to try to read her tracks and try to guess which way she went. If not I could turn my engine off and listen for her. This only worked half the time though. If she thought I might start listening for her, she would build up speed and then shut her engine off and coast away. Or pull off behind some bushes with the engine off and hide. Often as I would turn onto a part of the trail or drive she would come screaming out of it, head on, at full speed! HA, the chase was on! With her 250 she had much more power and speed at her disposal, making hard to stay right on her. But my bike was lighter and smaller allowing me to take small shortcuts that were impossible for her. Ideally, if I could force her to turn around then the game was mine. I could turn on a dime with my little bike whereas it would take her a bit longer. This was our form of “tag” and “hide and go seek” rolled into one! The idea was if you could get within 8-10 feet then the other was considered tagged and thus “it”. This resulted in turning around as fast as possible and going after the other. Being that the motorcycle had more advantages Laura started putting a few tricks up her sleeve. Sometimes she would close that window to the loft while she ran to her quad so I would have to wait for someone to open it. Sometimes she would throw my helmet so I had to run after it while she was making her escape.

   Laura and I did just about everything together and went just about everywhere together. Maybe next time I will write about our hijacking…uh borrowing, our neighbor’s car to go Toilet Paper…uhh decorate our youth pastor's house and yard. None of the stories could compare to the one she is writing with her own life’s adventure. Good job Laura, I am proud of you.