Our Summer Vacation around Oregon

Okay, we've already been back for almost a week, but I just now am able to blog about our trip we took last week. It was one of those vacations where you kinda need a vacation to recover from your vacation and also we took TONS of pics, as usual for us, and it took me forever to go through them and make a slide show. There are far too many for me to even post the best ones, but I will post a few of my favs. if you don't want to sit through the whole long slideshow.

We did leave the last day of July and headed south to Florence, OR along the coast. We camped 2 nights there in a the Jessie M. Honeyman State Park, which is a fabulous campground. Florence is not really your typical coastal town like we're used where you can see easily see the ocean pretty much wherever you are. Florence is the northern portion of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and at our campground, we could easily get to the dunes, but to get to the water, it was an impossible 2 mile walk across the dunes. It makes me think of the horrible, torturous movie "Lawrence of Arabia" where the whole movie, they're just trudging across the desert. It would be "Lawrence of Florence" LOL :) Anyway, the kids did love to climb up and down the dunes, although getting up could be very difficult. Hannah, Justin and I actually did one hike up a dune that was SOOOOO steep that my legs and my lungs were burning by the time we got to the top. We did it just at sunset, though, and the view was gorgeous. Here are a couple photos from that excursion. Dale and Owen didn't go up because he didn't think we could get Owen up there. I was proud of Hannah and Justin for making it though.

Victorious!

The gorgeous expanse of dunes

The kids had a great time camping, and surprisingly, I did too. We think we might even be ready to do more camping. The kids loved roasting (or torching) marshmallows and making s'mores, riding their bikes around and just being in the great outdoors. We do need to get a few more things to prepare for more camping, though. We saw a lot of people who are SERIOUS about their camping.

We did manage to find the water at Florence. We had to drive there, and it was a hike up and over the dunes to get to it, but it was gorgeous. Again, the kids loved playing in the sand and also finding all kinds of shell treasures on the shore. Dale and I had a great time relaxing on the blanket just watching the kids.

Heading up the dune with their finds

Justin helping Owen up the steep dune.

Hannah's favorite find.

Our next stop after Florence was a little further south to another Coastal town, Bandon, OR. We just stayed there one night but it was a gorgeous stretch of beach that we had never seen before. There were lots of really cool rocks off the shore. Like Cannon Beach but on a much larger scale.

We loved walking along the beach and finding new shells, rocks, climbing on larger rocks and playing in the driftwood.

The gorgeous (although a little foggy) Bandon coastline

The kids posing in front of a cool sea arch in Table Rock off the shore

Just love this photo of Justin

Dale and kids with a cool giant tree root that washed up on shore

The next day was a long one. We left Bandon and drove about 2 hours east to Winston, OR where we visited the Drive Thru Wildlife Safari. Unfortunately, Hannah didn't feel too good during the drive--don't know if she actually had a touch of flu or just carsickness from the windy roads, but there was a lot of complaining this day. The Wildlife Safari was a little bit of a break, but it took us over 2 hours just to get through that. We did see some cool or interesting things as we drove through. Right at the start we came up to the giraffes and three of them were right in the road next to the cars. Two of them were dancing, or doing the "tango" as the kids called it. They were doing the tango alright. We almost had a little (or should I say big) health education lesson right there on the road. ;)

"It Takes Two to Tango"

This is just out my side window--they were close!

We continued on our drive and saw many other animals and then just as we were coming up on the elk and bison, the entire bison herd decided to walk onto the road and just stay there for 20 or 30 minutes. No cars were moving past them that whole time. Some of them got pretty close to some of the cars, and I was getting a tad bit nervous. Finally, they decided to move out.

Look at the huge guy strolling just a few feet away from our car!

We left the Wildlife Safari, and it was another 2 hours to our next destination, Union Creek Resort near Crater Lake. We stayed in a "rustic" cabin there right near Union Creek and the Rogue River. Dale and camped at the campground there years ago when we did a very similar trip before having kids. The Rogue River there is beautiful, and it is in close proximity to Crater Lake. Unfortunately, when we got there, Hannah actually got sick and really wasn't much up for doing anything the rest of the day, so we didn't do much the rest of that day. Thankfully, after a good night's sleep, she felt much better the next day. Unfortunately, though, then Justin didn't feel so hot. We did go to Crater Lake and got just a gorgeous view of it. You couldn't have been there on a better day with the bright blue sky and puffy white clouds and the gorgeous blue of the water (sorry Sharon and sisters--wish you could've seen it like this). Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at over 1900 feet deep.

Crater Lake with Wizard Island

Last time Dale and I were here, we drove around the entire lake and hiked up to the top of the tallest peak overlooking the lake. Unfortunately, this time with Justin not feeling great and the kids not being quite as excited about the natural wonder as we were, we didn't get a chance to do that. We did a little drive to view a rock in the lake called Phantom Ship (can see a pic. in the slideshow) but then headed back to the cabin. We did do a little hiking back along the river where we saw Natural Bridge where the rushing Rogue River disappears underground in a lava tube and you can see it emerge on the other side. It's very cool. Plus we got ice cream at a cool shop at the resort.

After staying there two nights, we headed north to our final destination, Sunriver, OR, where we have vacationed the last 3 summers. The kids love it there and it was a very relaxing end to our vacation. We were there 4 days and really didn't have much planned besides riding bikes around the extensive bike trails and going to the pool. We stayed in a new place this year, which was extremely convenient right across from the Sunriver Village and a very short bike ride to the pool. And fortunately, the condo came with pool passes since it costs almost $50 for all of us to go to the pool one time. Since we had the passes, we went there all three days for 2-3 hours. We did manage to take one little road trip to see Newberry Crater where there are two lakes, waterfalls, a lava cast forest and some great views of the Oregon Central Cascades. We took the kids on a hike through the lava cast forest, which they thought was cool because they could find pumice and obsidian rocks to take home for their vast collections. Then we did just a short hike to some waterfalls, but by then, they were about done. Hannah especially I think was going to go crazy if she heard the term, "scenic vista" from Dale one more time. Their only concern was getting back to the pool.

So all in all, it was a fabulous trip, but after 9 days, it was exhausting, especially with all the moving around. We managed to pack a lot in that 9 days even with 3 kids in tow. Next year, we might tackle a tour around our own state of Washington or maybe even a trip to Yellowstone.

One last "scenic vista" of the Central Cascades

Of course, I had a ton more photos and here is a slideshow of just my favorites.

Happy Birthday Owen!!!!

Wow, 4 years ago last night we were flying down the freeway to the hospital at midnight when Owen made it very well known that he was quickly on his way. And less than an hour and a half after we left home and only a few minutes after we reached the hospital, in a triage room with no doctor, and after a very short but painful labor, he practically leaped into this world. Life hasn't slowed down since. I cannot believe how fast time has flown by and that my baby is 4 years old.

This past Sunday, we had our annual bbq/birthday party to celebrate our one family summer birthday. Owen has been waiting for his birthday for months now and was beyond excited that his party was finally here. He wanted a Star Wars birthday. Since I had just done that a couple years ago for Justin and did the R2D2 cake, I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this one. Owen's favorite Star Wars characters are Boba Fett and Jango Fett and so I came up with a Boba Fett cake. I had considered carving it into an actual head, but decided to just frost the head on a flat cake. He seemed happy with that.

He didn't really have a lot of patience for all the eating and socializing. He wanted to get to the presents.

One happy boy waiting to open his presents

Seriously studying one of his presents

Then there was even a pinata courtesy of Grandpa Robert and Grandma Pom packed full of candy. At first Owen wasn't thrilled that it didn't break open on his first hit. It actually took many many hits and Grandpa slicing it open with a knife to get that thing to open.

Once it did open, there was a candy frenzy with kids packing their bags.

The 3 youngsters up to no good with their candy loot on the stairs. Grandma Judi spent a long time cleaning up tiny little red candy balls that got all over the stairs.

It's cake time! This was the part that Owen's best friend Evie couldn't wait to get too. She enthusiastically led us all in singing "Happy Birthday" to Owen.

Blowing out the candles with a little help.

So all in all, it was a fantastic party with lots of family and friends. Owen had a great time and probably in a few months will start bugging us about when his next birthday is.

On another subject, the kids have been bugging Dale and I for over a year about building them a play house. Well finally, Dale got this project started. Hannah, especially, is extremely excited about this. The question is whether Dale will get to use any of it to store tools in. He says that in 10 years, he'll finally get a shed, but for now, it will be a great place for the kids to hang out in the backyard, rain or shine. Hannah has even made her own 3D model of it out of paper complete with furnishings and decorations. She has quite the plans.

Here she is inspecting Dad's work.

I have been busily cleaning up after the party, getting Scrapdango kits ready to ship and now we have to get ready for our week long tour around Oregon that starts on Saturday. I will be so happy to get away for a week. I'll be back soon to post about that.

TTFN ~ Ta Ta For Now!

God Bless America!!

Happy 234th Birthday

Happy Birthday also to Grandpa Harold!!

I've been "SUCKED" in

Yes, I have been sucked into the Twilight Saga by my best friend, Annaliese. About a month ago I was as oblivious as I could be about the whole thing. Of course I knew it existed because I am a human living on this earth, but I purposefully did not read the books or see the movies. Actually the two main stars, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson (do they have one of those combined names like Brangelina or Bennifer?) REALLY REALLY annoy me. But Annaliese asked me if I wanted to go see the midnight showing of Eclipse with her and some other friends. After probably scoffing at first, I agreed, mainly as a way to spend time with her, especially since she will be moving to CA soon. :(

So I thought I should as least attempt to get caught up with what has gone on in the first two books/movies. She gave me all 4 books, which I didn't get around to starting for a little while, but I do have to admit that once I started reading Twilight, I got "sucked" in immediately. I actually even liked Bella and Edward, which I totally didn't expect to. My only problem was that I constantly pictured Kristen and Robert in my head, which drove me crazy. I didn't want that preconceived image of the characters--I guess a downfall of reading books after they've been made into a movie even if you haven't actually seen the movie, especially if you don't like the actors that played the characters. I watched the first movie with Annaliese two Mondays ago and it definitely was kinda hokey, but what I did like about it was the local scenery since much of it was shot in this area. I recognized the famous view of the Columbia River Gorge just east of where I've lived most of my life and they even held a prom at the Columbia Gorge hotel. It took me a lot longer to get into the 2nd book. Then I didn't have a lot of time to read over the past week, so I actually hadn't quite finished the book when we watched "New Moon" last Monday. This movie did get a little better and starting setting up the battle between Team Edward and Team Sharkboy, err, uh, I mean Jacob. I really wasn't sure where my allegiance was. Unfortunately I wasn't really able to read hardly any of Eclipse before going into the movie last night, but I actually think that ended up being better. Had I read the whole book, with it all so fresh in my mind, I would've been so super-critical of every aspect of the movie rather than just be able to sit and enjoy the movie. I will definitely finish the books and go on to the final book.

As for the Eclipse movie, it was a fun experience. I have never in my life gone to a midnight opening of any movie. When Annaliese originally asked me, she said it was on June 30th, which I automatically took as Wednesday night. I didn't find out until Monday afternoon when talking with Annaliese, that it actually was Tuesday night at midnight--techically June 30th. DOH! I was actually supposed to teach aerobics at 5:35 am Wed. morning but that wasn't going to happen when I wouldn't be out of the movie until after 2:00 am. Thankfully I was able to get a sub at the last minute. Annaliese's daughter and her friend got there at 2:00 in the afternoon to get in line and they were really close to the front. I wasn't able to get there until around 10:00 pm but just joined them in line. We did get good seats and then just had to wait an hour and a half for the movie.

Here's a photo of Annaliese and I waiting for the movie with her daughter, Shelly, behind her and Shelly's friend, Maria behind me. Maria, by the way did enough research prior to the movie to know the outfits that Bella would wear in the movie and actually purchased and wore the sweater that Bella wore in the final scene of the movie. Now, that's some dedication, or crazy obsession. She did the same thing for "New Moon."

I definitely feel like I was one of the oldest people in the crowd filled with crazy teenage girls. Despite all the raging hormones in the theater, I did enjoy the movie. It was by far the best of the three, and I will actually be looking forward to the next one. Agghhhh! I've turned to the dark side. As far as whether I am on Team Edward or Team Jacob (and yes, I know who wins in the end), I would have to say neither.

I am on Team

When I first saw Jasper (played by Jackson Rathbone) in the first movie, I just thought he was really weird--by far the strangest looking of all the Cullen clan and really not attractive. But in Eclipse they showed a scene of his origin as a vampire (I loved those scenes by the way) and I fell in love with that southern boy.

All in all, it was very fun, and I'm very glad Annaliese asked me to join in. Now, if I could just come up with some idea for a story that I could drag out into 4 books and then have them made into movies. Hmmm

Okay, now I do want to go back and post some photos that I had previously promised. Last I posted, Owen hadn't done his end of preschool program, and we weren't sure if he would. Well, he wasn't thrilled about it at first, but with a little bribery, he did great. :)

Then at the beginning of June, Hannah had her hip hop dance recital. It was a fabulous show and Hannah's class did great. It was wonderful because Grandma Sharon and 4 of her sisters were even able to be there to see it since they were at the end of their trip around Oregon. They had just driven from the Oregon Coast that morning to spend the last two days in Portland. Grandma Judi and Grandpa Mike and Grandma Carol were also there, so Hannah had lots of fans and they all thought she did fabulous. She and her friend Maya, had a great time.

So the kids have been out of school for two weeks now and we have finally been getting some actual summer weather after weeks on end of rain and cold. We haven't done anything too exciting but have just enjoyed not really having anywhere we've had to go. I can't believe that it is 11:59 PM on June 30th and that half of 2010 is over. Before I know it, we will be heading back into school and into the fall, but hopefully we can have a couple good months of summer to come.


TTFN--Ta Ta For Now!!

Programs, Track Meets & Recitals. Oh My!

This is the time of year when the kids have school programs, dance recitals and other events before school lets out for summer. Two weeks ago started the beginning of a very busy month with Hannah and Justin both having school programs, Hannah having a track meet today, Owen having a program Wednesday, and Hannah's hip hop recital in two weeks.

Hannah had her 3rd grade program just over a week ago and they taught us all about the science of sound. For the 2nd year, Hannah had a speaking part and a part in a dance done by a group of girls. She finished the dance with her trademark wide splits.

Last week, despite coming down with strep throat at the beginning of the week, Justin made it to his 1st grade program. They didn't have a particular theme but sang some great songs. This is a picture of him with one of his best friends, Trevor.



And here is a photo of them with their younger brothers, Owen and Trenton, who are also in class together in preschool.



Today, we went to one of our first school sports events. The 3rd-5th graders can choose to do track, which Hannah did this year. They had 4 practices and then there was a meet at the large local high school stadium with Riverview and 3 other elementary schools. Despite being very excited about it, Hannah got very anxious about it this weekend and said she didn't want to do it. I wasn't sure how it would end up, but here she is sitting with all her friends, laughing and having fun. She said the bus ride over was the best part.


Her first event, was the 100m dash. When she passed us she was in 4th or 5th, but she crossed the finish line in 3rd and earned a 3rd place ribbon. So proud of her. Her next event was the softball throw, which she didn't earn a ribbon in but wasn't last in either.


Here she is in her 3rd and final event, the standing long jump. Again, she didn't place in this, but overall, she did fantastic, and we are such proud parents.

Here she is when it's over with her 3rd place ribbon. You go girl!

Next, up is Owen's year end preschool program. We are told that he is participating much more in music and doing better in that, but we will see if he actually goes up there to perform. Hopefully there will be more pictures to share in a few days.

Other than all the year-end school stuff, another typical thing for this time of year is all the tv shows wrapping up their seasons. For the most part, this usually just brings a bit of frustration when the show ends in some cliffhanger that we have to wait until the fall to see the outcome for. But last night, brought about the entire series finale of a show that I have devoted 6 years to. While that definitely wasn't even near the longest run of a show, it was long enough to become highly attached to and invested in these characters and to not want them to leave just yet. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that this show is:

Overall, I was very happy with the finale. It left many unanswered questions, but it also tied up most of the loose ends with the characters, and I was happy with how they ended up. I'm not sure what is going to come along to replace this show, but I am somewhat in mourning over it being over. On the plus side, a hour each week is now freed up.

Happy Birthday Brookie Sue!!!!

This is a bit late since it is after 11:00 PM Indiana time, but I wanted to send a quick birthday wish to cousin Brooke who turned 2 today.

Happy Birthday Brooke!!!

Hope you had a super fun day. Wish we could've been there to celebrate with you.

Mommy Rhapsody

Well tailing on my Mother's Day message, here is a video that shows exactly what it's like to be a mom. If you are one, you will totally relate to this. If not, then maybe you'll have a little better understanding. ;)

Mommy Rhapsody from Church on the Move on Vimeo.