School Shopping

Ah, that new crayon smell! Don't you just love that? New crayons and blank paper- the endless possibilities! Thanks to Jeanne Mom for reminding me to post something new already!

Last weekend, the 15th-16th, we had planned to go the Ochoco National Forest to camp with my Mom's cousin Betsy & family. My Mom's brother Mike and his wife Leigh were able to make it, along with Betsy's son Neil, his wife, and father in law. Whew! Lots of people! It would have been really fun, except. . .

We realized that we've been really busy. Too busy, in fact. Camping nearly every weekend is fun, and makes for wonderful memories. But we just needed a time to relax. Zoe mentioned that she was worried about starting first grade with no crayons or pencils for school. Reluctantly, I contacted Betsy and canceled our RSVP. My Mom & Dad took pictures.

So instead of spending $200 to take Peter to my reunion, we took the kids back to school shopping! We got all the required school supplies, plus a few extras to donate. On Saturday I took the girls to McMinnville where we found good deals on clothes to accommodate growing bodies and changing tastes in clothes.

Meanwhile, Peter went to Oregon City to help friends of ours remodel their house. Tim is an electrician, and he is doing most of the work himself. Ben & Peter joined him to help destroy existing stuff in the attic, to replace it with new stuff. As Peter described coming down from the hot dusty attic in 104 degree weather and walking right into the spray from a garden hose, I was really glad we didn't join him.

Sunday we didn't go anywhere. We read books, relaxed, and sorted all the school supplies.

Tomorrow, August 22nd, we are leaving for a 4 day weekend on Hartstine island. It's in the tip of Puget Sound, near Olympia. We've done this every year for a few years now, and we all look forward to it. We're staying in a cabin with Sonia Honeydew, a good friend of mine from Jr. High and High School. we only see each other once a year, but it's always like we were just talking yesterday. So stay tuned for more amazing photos next episode!

Live Music

Tonight we took the girls to a park near the Newberg library. There was a local band called Billy and the Rockets playing 50's rock and roll; Elvis, The Coasters, Buddy Hollie, Chuck Barry, etc. It was a great backdrop to a picnic. There was even a vendor giving away free snow cones!

Which reminds me, that last Thursday we met up with Jeanne and Norm in Hillsboro for another free concert. This was Marv and Rindy Ross of The Oregon Trailband fame, playing some Trailband songs. In the 80's they formed a band called Quarterflash, and they played songs from those performances too.

It was a very nice, relaxing time to get caught up with Jeanne and Norm, and hear some great music!

Jeanne was able to get better pictures than I did with my phone. Check out her blog and photos! She writes in her blog every day, and has wonderful photos of her garden, and her major art project to create one book a month for a whole year. Her books are really amazing, and I only hope that someday I can motivate myself to create something new every day too.

Working Weekend

Last week the girls were at Grandma Camp with my Mom. They had a blast! Click the link to see photos!

Then Peter & I drove up there to meet them. We cleared some trails and hung out, stayed overnight, and had a good time. I'll write more later!