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!