A 90th Birthday Party for Hope

Grandma Hope had a big birthday and we decided it needed a big celebration.  Dani did a lot of planning with her sister and her mom and it turned out to be a fun celebration of 90 years.  We collected pictures from all throughout her life and compiled them into a slide show.  Dani also interviewed her and typed up a brief life history and family tree.  For a gift Kaci compiled memories from her children and grandchildren and put them in a book with all their family pictures for Grandma Hope to have and read.  Dani was able to fly to help pull off the celebration and be there to celebrate the big milestone with Grandma Hope.  It was fun to have both Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rob come out so all three of her kids could be there. Dani's cousins Stewart and Scott also came and she had not seen them in almost 20 years.  Grandma had several friends and family members there to celebrate.  We had the party outside and for awhile we were unsure that the weather would cooperate, but in the end it was perfect weather for the party and people enjoyed visiting and eating while watching pictures of Grandma's life.  All of the family members got a copy of her life history and the pictures.  Since Grandma grew up on a farm we went with an old farm theme decorating with burlap and ladders and milk cans with wild sunfowers and old mason jars. It turned out great! It was so fun for Dani to be able to plan this celebration with her mom and sister and to learn so much about her Grandma through the process.  She also really enjoyed her time with family members that she sees so rarely.  Happy Birthday Grandma Hope!!!!

A noble attempt

While Dani was in Wyoming, I had the kids for church on Sunday.  I took the easy way out with the girls hair, but I do have to say that all the kids looked pretty good and we got to church on time (though I started preparing myself and the kids for church right after breakfast ended at 9:30... 3 hours before our 12:30 church!).

Gone Camping

While Dani was in in Cody, I decided to join the Schaffers and a bunch of others camping at Silver Falls State Park.  

The kids spent quite a bit of time running around inside the tent - it was funny watching the lumps in the sides of the tent as they ran from end to end and back again.

The kids all played a bunch of different games, including SPUD and ghosts in the graveyard.  Liam was definitely part of the game as well.  Everyone would run away from the tree with all the big kids, then would run back toward the tree with all the big kids.

We had bratwursts and pasta salad for dinner and made banana boats for dessert... mmm!  At one point, I realized I hadn't seen Liam for a couple minutes, so I looked for him for a few minutes, and wound up finding him in the neighboring camp site (just a couple feet from ours) playing with a friendly, but very big, black dog.  The woman that was with the dog was quite enamored with this friendly little boy!

The sunset was pretty to watch through the trees.  It was pretty to watch the sun setting and the moon rising through such thick green trees.

One of my co-workers, Justin, brought his camera and got some great night shots.  I love this picture (of me... Kate, not so much!)

We also played pictionary with an open-exposure camera and a small light.  There were some great drawings!  I didn't realize that the canvas was as big as it was, so my house was pretty small.  There were some very creative people!!!

When it came time for bed, Liam wanted none of it.  I put the babies in the tent first and hoped they would fall asleep.  They didn't, so I put the kiddos in there with them.  A few times I went back to put them back in their sleeping bags.  Once, I was met with Liam, who had opened the door but not the screen, and his forehead pressed out against the screen.  It was pretty cute, but I knew that my adult time was pretty much over at that point.

I finally did get people to sleep, and we slept pretty well that night, though Liam was convinced that my mattress pad was actually his mattress pad.

Claire and Jacob were a little chilly, so they kept close to one another to try to keep warm in the morning.

We had a pretty fancy pancake breakfast in the morning, complete with berry pancakes, different syrup options, and whip cream.  Yum!

In the morning, we went for a hike to see some waterfalls.  There were lots of kids!!!

I had a lot of helpers.  In the end, I went further than I planned, so I definitely needed the help!  There were a few very steep areas that I wouldn't have been able to carry 2 babies up!

Kate and Liam were pretty enamored with one bridge we came across.

We came back a little dirty!  It left quite a ring in the tub!

It was a very busy time, but it was well worth it!

End of summer fresh fruit

We keep pretty close track of which month it is because the you-pick fruit seasons are pretty short.  It starts with strawberries, then when they are almost done, raspberries are ready.  Blackberries, marionberries, blueberries, boisenberries, and other varieties of raspberries join in and are available for a month or more.  When those wind down, the peaches, pears,  and apples start up.

Summer must be getting closer to an end, because Dani and kiddos escaped quarantine and went and picked some delicious apples, pears, and peaches.

One thing that's nice about this variety is that the peaches are ready pretty quickly after picking, but the apples and pears can be eaten for the coming weeks.  That way, we can enjoy our fresh picked fruit for longer!

Quarantine

Kate and Liam must have picked up hand foot and mouth on vacation sometime, because Liam broke out in rashes all over his body, from his ankles to his wrists shortly after getting back to Portland.  It's a big reality check when you go from vacation to being stuck at home!

Traveling home

After a fun-filled week, the house cleared out and we took the scenic way down to Jacksonville on a route that included a trip on a ferry and a drive through some small beach towns.  We ended up at Jacksonville Beach where we took a walk along the beachfront and onto a long pier.  There were lots of fishermen set up, but we didn't see anyone catch anything while we were there.

The planks on the pier gave the stroller a bit of a bumpy ride and we were sure one was going to give way at any point!  The view was beautiful, and it was cool to be above the ocean watching the waves.

We made our way back to Joe's Crab Shack, where we had a crab feast.  Jacob and Claire discovered that they love crab.  It was a little bit of a race against the clock as Jared and Dani cracked king crab legs because (1) the babies were tired and would melt down at any point and (2) there were flies EVERYWHERE!  We had a table outside, and as soon as our food came out, we were swarmed by hungry flies.  They would land on our hands and food - it made the experience a little disappointing overall, but memorable nonetheless.

The kids did a much better job going to sleep in our room than they did the first night, and they were again very good on the airplane.  We must have worn them out on vacation!

In trouble and she knows it

Kate threw a big fit one morning, so instead of getting to go on a bike ride with the family, she got to sit in the chair.  Once she was there, she sat still, not saying anything for quite a while.  She knew she was in trouble by the expressions on her face!

When in Hilton Head, do as the we have done before!

There are some traditions that we have been doing since our first family trip to Hilton Head.  It wouldn't feel like a Hilton Head trip without them!  So, as we've done previously, we:

• Rented bikes.  It was a little bit of a confusion for us and the rental people with the number of bikes in our family, but we ended up getting the right number!

• Rode to Harbour Town to gawk at the yachts and Sea Pines to shop for t-shirts.

• Watched Gregg Russell sing basically the same songs and tell the same jokes under the old oak tree... and still laugh at all of them!  Kate and Liam, meanwhile, played with head lamps.

• Took a picture sitting on the low branch of the tree in Harbour Town

• Played at the Gregg Russell playground.  The kids had fun on the teeter totter.  And Kate was pretty enamored with a frog!