To Oregon For a Visit: Part 1

My heart longed to go back to OR. I loved the weather, the people, the land, the environment as a whole and i missed it all. Dave and i were going to sneak out last Winter/Spring, but when the kids got wiff of it, they said nothing doing! So we waiting until Summer and all 6 of us flew out for 3 weeks. ( spent some time in CA)

We stayed at Ronnie and Nettie for a few days and then at Daniel and Sadie the rest. Both of those couples are super hosts, and they blessed us beyond measure. Things were going so well, that after 2 weeks we were not ready to part ways. Our time was short.

We as a family tried to hit all our favorite spots. My cup is full, so we did pretty good i guess. We also went to new spots that are now a part of my favs. I've waited too long to post and therefore writing is not happening. Enjoy the pics.


We lived near the Alpaca Ranch and never found the time to go til now. It was shearing week and so we watched.
They tie the legs and shear off a 'blanket' of wool all in one piece. Then they continue to shear all the nooks and crannies and fill another garbage bag! LOTS off one animal.
After. Wooless
Sadie's brother Andrew and niece Ashley were with us today.
Tristan loves Georgie and Josiah likes to read. Good buds they are.
Ahh! Bike races in Bend. How do we get so lucky? Twas great fun to stroll around here again.
Here's a spitting contest off the bridge. If a back leg helps i'm sure Dave won. Otherwise i think Meg got it!
A lovely evening out with Ronnie, Nettie, Daniel, and Sadie. Thanks to our teenagers for babysitting all the kiddos.
Anyone recognize this spot? Dave and i have seen so many magazine picture out of Joseph, OR or labeled as being in the Wallowa Mnts/Lake/Valley. And now we see for ourselves why. It was so beautiful in Northeastern OR. The men were elk scouting and begged we ladies to join. We're glad we went!
The town of Joseph.

What more could you want from a place?Just outside of Joseph was this little tourist-y village from where the tram went up to the top of Mount Howard. 8,150 ft.
This cable ride is about 15 minutes long and dangles anywhere from 3 ft to 120 ft above the ground. The view was spectacular, but i guess i used both hands to hang on, rather than take pics.
There's Daniel, Sadie, Tristan, and Renae.
Oh! Is this why i should be wearing shoes instead of my sandals?
Sadie and her kiddos
The guys are glassing for elk. They hope to hunt in the Eagle Caps this fall.
Dave and I.

We spent the night in La Grande, the guys went out in the morning to set up their trail cam and then we traveled the 4+ hrs. back to Terrebonne. Dave and Daniel saw over 300 elk this morning, so this was a worthwhile trip for them and Sadie and I were very glad we joined them. Tristan and Renae were glad to be home again!

Oregon: Part 2

The kids played in the dirt everyday and if they used water, they made these huge mudballs.
On the warmers days they swam and splashed. Tristan loves having friends stay over!

Finally Renae warmed up to us and here she even flirts with Dave. Or is it the other way around?!

Renae gets a ride while the rest of us take a little walk to the canal.
the kids loved to play in the water, but need a watchful grown-up as it is a swift canal.
The water is ice cold, but she begged to get in it.
Josiah
Skipping rocks
One of our last days here we put the kids to good use.....washing the vehicles that Daniel and Sadie so graciously allowed us to use.Megan just washed her hair and she always wraps it up so her shirt doesn't get wet. Hope that works out for her!
Another fun evening at Ronnie and Nettie's. We love playing 'Shoot the Moon' with them. An old childhood game of Nettie's.

And then we watched elk videos! Jackie and Jody watch as if they've never seen them before. Dave and Ronnie watched as tho they'd never see them again!!Brooke watched just because it was time to go home and she was waiting. Oh, how i hope these tutorials help Dave's hunt this fall!

Looks like Ronnie doesn't need any more videos. I can honestly say that by the end of this 2-week visit i warmed up to the beast in Nettie's formal living room. At first i was campaigning for a move, but i now think he looks handsome. He certainly is worth showing off!And now it's time for good-byes. We always wait to go to the Troutmans until the last minute. As if putting it off makes it easier.......

Oh, Lily!! Just the cutest ever. Dave sure has a list of girlfriends here in CO. We love the Troutmans!
Loaded into and onto the biggest vehicle that the little local airport had. Everyone but the driver was unhappy about this arrangement, but we did survive. We are off to California to spend a fews days with E-man, Marcy, and family. An 8 hour drive, i think.

We had a super-duper time here these past 2 weeks. Thanks to our wonderful hosts and also to our fun loving church family. We LOVED the volleyball and kickball games!! ( why on earth did i not take pictures?!)We'll be back for more.

A Few Details

We had our kitchen installed in March, but my under mount stainless steel sink was on back order til who-knows-when. Well, i now know.......mid-June!! I was told that it would be worth the wait and i can now say that it was! I LOVE this sink. ( in the meantime i had my old sink balanced across the counter with a scrap piece of Formica) It is seamless and stream line, no fuss, simple, just the way i like it. I also love the counter-top. Simply Formica with Corian seamed into the front for smooth edges.

It's dark, doesn't show the dirt. It has some texture and a slight shine, that made me nervous, but it's quite nice.
I paid $1 for this little stool at my aunt's auction. Maybe i will re-finish it. I found upholstery pins at an antique shop in Oregon, just now, but they were so inflated that i am considering keeping them for my kids to re-sale. The original price on the little pack was 15 cents, but i had to pay $1.50!!! Do the math! And i bought 2 packs. They could possibly pay for my grandkids' college?
My favorite purchase is this Quartz island top! And we scored 100% on paint choice,too. Love it!!!
This is where i live and breathe. I love baking bread, making yogurt, eating muesli, chatting on the phone, flipping eggs, flipping pancakes, pouring coffee, making strawberry jam, talking with Dave, watching the sun come up, ( that's a joke, but i am told that left window points East and i once read that's where she rises)making smoothies, getting tile to shine, fixing lunches, cooking up dinner, making pudding for Dave when he finishes another major project, ( i define major)preparing snacks for the kids, helping the girls wash dishes, ( yes, we are THERE!)and i love folding laundry on the island counter. It's so smooth and beautiful. Sometimes i windex it just for giggles. I'd love having you over. I'd serve coffee and if you're really lucky, a biscotti! I'm very thankful for my new kitchen. It's not grandeur, just simple, practical, and quite useful. It's so me and i like it.

Bon Voyage

June 7,2010. The Big Day is here! Grandpa and Grandma are going on a European Tour on Queen Mary 2 and we are going to NYC ( Brooklyn) to see them off. Verna planned the farewell trip and invited my kids and I to ride along. It was too good to pass up. The girls were ecstatic about going to the City again and Josiah was excited to go for the first time.

As we were driving to Brooklyn we made one last effort to contact our childhood 'Fresh Air Girl' Luci. We haven't been to her house or seen her since '97. The only recent contact has been Christmas cards. We called to ask if we could drop by her house or could we meet her somewhere. She spontaneously, along with her mom, decided to meet us at the ship so they could also say good-bye ( and hello) to mom and dad.

Verna and i had no idea what to expect in this great city with this great ship. We didn't know how close we could get to see someone off. But as we got closer and closer, we got more and more confident, so we kept right on with the flow of traffic heading for the gigantic ship up ahead! The parking lot was right next to the water and Luci arrived with-in minutes of us. Now where are the sailors? Mom, Dad, and the rest of their group came soon and we were able to spend about an hour together. Of course they were surprised to see Luci and Margie. So much excitement was in the air. These folks were going across the ocean in 6 days to spend 4 weeks touring Europe. And on the largest ocean liner on the water!
We had a grand time chatting, looking out over the water, craning to see the top of the ship from such a close view, and meeting others going on the trip as well.
Verna, 4 of her kids; me and my 4; Luci and her mom; and Mom and Dad.
Ready to say our final good-byes. Gramps and Grand were ready to go explore the ship. The world for that matter.
Emily and Hans. Everything in Hans' life is measured against the Titanic. Is Queen Mary 2 bigger? We sure hope that she won't hit an iceberg!!
She's a beauty!
Lower Manhattan there. ( it still makes me sad that the Trade Towers are gone from this picture.They were incredible to see!) After saying farewell to Grandpa's and bye to our city friends, We 10 went to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island. It was a gorgeous day! We would not have made it any better ourselves, had we been able.
Here's a view of the ship from our ferry ride over to Miss Liberty.
Me, Meg, Josiah, Brit, And Brooke ( Lyn :)
Follow the leader, she's a good one! Verna did a fantastic job driving thru the city ( i sat shotgun as Navigator) and taking us from one place to the next. We learned and saw about as much as one could in one day in one city. We covered alot of ground!
While we were on Ellis Island and touring the museum we kept peering out the windows to keep a sharp eye on QM 2. We wanted to watch her sail and sure enough....a picture to prove it. Dad didn't answer his phone, but we were so excited to watch her go and wave, of course.
8 happy cousins. Troopers everyone!
After seeing countless ice-cream trucks, we finally settled for one and enjoyed a cone.

We also walked to ground zero, drove by Central Park and thru Times Square. What a place that is! The teenagers were leaning out the window with my camera ( around your neck, thank-you!) and here are a few shots.What a great day! We got home after midnight and were so thankful for the successful day we had together. The kids were very patient, just along for the ride! They all loved the city and now my girls can't wait to come back to shop on Times Square. I said MAYBE when Dave's elk hunting. ( and Josiah is at a friend's house) We girls have just have a knack for shopping that my 'boys' do not. We'll see....................anyone wanna join us?!