HUGE and Blue and Really Pretty

This last weekend in August, we went camping at Diamond Lake.  Thielson View campground was beautiful, with large spacious spots and gorgeous views of the lake. As we arrived it turned cool and cloudy, but not rainy! 

We started our trip late Friday evening, driving from Newberg to the Mountain House. We got up on Saturday morning to a light rain, and lots of clouds. This was not motivating us to leave the cozy fire, but we are glad we did!

We arrived at the lake to excited cries of "Cassie and Zoe are here!" While our friends' kids folded the girls into their game, I walked down to help Ben's dad pack up his fishing boat. Fortunately, he was willing to take us out one more time. Unfortunately it became very cold and drizzley.

Connie was disappointed that Peter and I never got a chance to see Mount Thielson from the campground - it was too cloudy. However, we got a great view on our day trip.

Sunday we visited Crater Lake. Drove around the rim, and stopped at various viewpoints. We also hiked down to see "The Pinnacles." Fossil chimneys of hot ash fused into glass by hot gasses were a lot more interesting that it sounded on the map.

This was our family's first Crater Lake visit together, and the first exposure for our kids. They were extremely patient with their parents oooohs and aaaahs.

I want to thank our friends Connie and Ben, Tim and Laura, and James and Lotte for inviting us to join them. I'll admit I was a bit intimidated by the volume of people  - 8 adults and 11 children - but by working together we created a fun time for everyone. Thanks again!!!

Cassie took a video that sums up Crater Lake very well:

August, the Month of Camps

Wow! August has just flown by, probably because the kids were involved in two fund camp experiences! 

The first was Grandma Camp, hosted by my mom. This was a week of staying overnight with Grandma at the Mountain House, doing lots of fun things. There was swimming, and baking, sewing, feeding chipmunks, decorating hats and shirts, and just lots of fun times going on!  Peter and I drove down to pick them up, and helped Mom, Dad, and Becky hack away underbrush and trees on the property to meet fire code standards.

Then there was Circus Arts Camp in Portland, sponsored by Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Norm. Here they learned to walk on Stilts, ride unicycles, juggle, create clown skits, do mime acts, and have a good time while performing!

This weekend we're going camping, to end the summer off with a bang!  More to come. . .

Marissa's Wedding

Here they are, the Photos from Marissa's Wedding! We had a great time, and were happy to help the new couple get their ceremony off with a bang.  The photos start with the rehearsal (July 10th), where everything wend smoothly, despite the heat of the day. It prompted us to wear extra sunscreen and bring hats for sitting in the audience.

That evening we all went to an excellent dinner in the small town of Carlton. It was worth the wait- Zoe still talks about how awesome that food was!

July 11th was Wedding day. Zoe was a flower girl, scattering lavender blossoms as she went.  Cassie was the ring bearer, and carried the responsibility very well. Peter worked the video camera during the ceremony, and spent some time afterwards filming the cake ceremony and the tossing of the bride's bouquet.

Marissa recruited me to help time the ceremony by playing the music.

I had the instructions and the ipod all ready, but for some reason the PA system refused to broadcast the sound past the first few rows during the ceremony, despite having worked 30 minutes prior when we did the sound test.

I turned the volume up to maximum, on all the knobs I could find, but the folks in the back couldn't hear the music. Oh No!

Fortunately, the couple was beautiful, the vows were amazing, and everything else went off without a hitch! Everyone could hear the pastor and the couple just fine.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Photos, Photos, Photos!

In my last post, I left out some major events happening in our extended family, such as the birth of my first Grand Nephew, Alexander! Our niece Leesha is a new mom. While Leesha has a lot on her plate, she is studying to become a nurses assistant. Way to go Leesha! Cassie and Zoe are getting their first new baby experience, and are facinated with watching him grow. We have lots of great photos!

The spring term of school presented lots of photo opportunities, such as the Oregon State Scrabble Tournament, the concert for Cassie and Zoe's parks and recs music experience, field trips, and more! Enjoy the Photo album here!

Here are the photos from our 4th of July Pacific City experience. Yesterday I heard a song on the radio about a couple watching the sun rise over the ocean. How strange! I've only ever seen sunsets on the ocean. The one on the 3rd of July was amazing- check it out!

This weekend we're going to a wedding! Marissa, our oldest neice, is getting married to a wonderful guy and making a shindig of it. Zoe and Cassie will be flower girls for the first time, with matching dresses and everything. So watch for those photos in a future post.

Until next time,

Jen ;)

We're Here! And we've been busy!

Notice the new backgrounds and template design? My goal is to write at least once a week, if not more frequently, to keep you all up to date. So welcome to the new blog kickoff!

Zoe turned 8 on April 26th, and invited her friends and family to the AC Gilbert House museum in Salem. It was a great day for a party, despite the threat of rain. Check out the photos here!

Soon after Zoe's Birthday, the 5th Graders had a track meet. Cassie did the high jump, the long jump, and the 50 meter dash. Lots of fun, noise, chaos, and a chance to meet some of the kids that will be attending her middle school next year.

This May, we helped out at the local Community Festival at Cassie and Zoe's school. This was a chaotic but fun event. There were all kinds of activities, including a book fair, bouncy games, helicopter rides, classic cars, and food! Picassa album coming soon.

Then, what seemed like the very next day, graduation leapt out at us from wherever it's been lurking. Cassie finished her last year at Joan Austin Elementary School with style. She won a Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence- with Obama's signature and everything! This means she had higher than a 3.5 GPA for all of fourth grade and the first 2/3rds of 5th Grade, and exceeded the state standards tests in all categories. Whaa hoo!!!! No, we're not boastful about that at all. . . . (snicker). Of course we are- She is AWESOME! She will start Middle School in the fall with special privileges, like going to lunch early, and attending the honors writing/language arts/social studies classes.

Zoe finished 2nd grade with flair, becoming a Self Manager. This is an award for kids who turn all their homework on time, and manage their workload and behavior with minimal interference from the teacher. She was VERY excited to receive this because, like the certificate says, she's responsible, trustworthy, respectful, fair, and caring. She is AWESOME too!

Peter and I didn't graduate from anything. We are still members of the PTO, working at the school, working at work, and trying to keep our troublesome kids in hand. Actually, that last bit has been incredibly easy so far.

So we took them on vacation for the end of June and beginning of July. We packed up the VW and headed out to the coast - South Beach State park is just south of Newport, OR. There we camped for four nights. It was a very fun relaxing time. See for yourself!

Then we met my Mom, Dad, Becky and Mike at a beach house in Pacific City to celebrate all the July birthdays in my family. Even those of us with birthdays in other parts of the year ended up with cool presents. Watching the fireworks on the beach is the best way to view them. The sunset over the Pacific Ocean is one of the finer things in life. A wonderful trip, and we're sad t o be back home, where it is suddenly hot and summer like for the first time this year.

Those of you who get auto updates will immediately notice a lack of actual photo links in this post. Trust me, more links are on their way. ;)

Fall 2009 Summary

Fall was loads of fun too. Right before school started, we got up early and visited the Evergreen Aviation Museum when they hosted the balloon festival! Besides creating an awesome photo opportunity, this was a very exciting thing to witness. At least 50 hot air balloons took turns inflating and taking off, and we got to watch them up close and far away!

When School started, we were very busy acclimating to 5th and 2nd grades. Cassie had to get used to switching classes for Math and Reading. This will prepare her for next year, where she will switch classes all day long. Middle School is around the corner, lurking!

Zoe really started the year off with a bang, diving feet first into 2nd grade. Peter started parent helping every Tuesday in her classroom, and this is a fun way for him to stay connected with her at school.

Peter and I are involved in the PTO, and helped run the fall fundraiser - the Jaguar Jog! This was a very successful event, and raised a lot of cash for the school. Speaking of cash, Peter is our Treasurer, and so he did all the hard work of counting the money!

October brought my birthday, another visit to the Mountain House, and Halloween! November brought Cassie's birthday, and Thanksgiving at uncle Bob's. We spent the day after Thanksgiving at the Mountain House with my parents.

Summer 2009 Summary

Howdy! I figured I'd better get caught up with this blog before it's summer again! So, remembering back to the summer, there were several memorable events:

For Father's Day, we went camping at Jeanne and Norm's property. Joe was visiting from New Mexico and we got to spend some quality time there around the campfire. We also helped Norm clear space for his trailer, which he brought up and left there. The girls found salamanders in the creek and had a blast!

We re-arranged our house- moved our computer room into the living room, and moved Cassie into the old computer room. Zoe stayed in the same room that they had shared before. This is working out great! However we're still going into Cassie's closet to find our Computer manuals and Cassie still has some of her stuff in Zoe's closet.

We helped my Mom and Dad move furniture into their Mountain House on Willamette Pass. We had an IKEA party, where we assembled most of the furniture. While Peter and I moved the rooms around our house, my mom had the girls over there for a Grandma Camp week! That was really fun for all.

Peter helped his Dad move, multiple times! Long saga made short, they are here in Carlton Oregon, only 20 minutes away from Newberg! This is very cool because we've seen Dave and Sondra more often in the last 6 months than we have in the last 6 years.

We spend time in Pacific City with my parents over 4th of July, as per our tradition. Birthday Party for all the July Birthdays. Lots of fun beach times, and the foggiest fireworks ever! We could barely see 20 feet in front of our faces, so the fireworks were like big surprise explosions lighting up the fog.

We didn't go camping as much as we did the year before, but we did explore the area around the Mountain House- Oakridge, Cresent Lake, etc.