Our First Camping Trip

Whew! We did it! We survived our first camping trip. And, I think it was a success!
So, it wasn't exactly "roughing it", but it was perfect for us. The cabin even had heat and electricity. I was able to bring a little 4 cup coffee maker - ahhhhhhh. Heaven. The kids loved each and every minute of the trip. There were places to ride bikes near the cabins.

We had a campfire in the morning and also at night. (The weather turned a little cool at the start of our trip). The above picture is our first morning campfire. Notice Malia has some 1/2 pajama, 1/2 outfit creation on. :)

There were trails to hike - and I do mean hike. Some were more steep than I was expecting. Good for the legs though! For some reason Ella only seemed to want ME to carry her on the way back UPHILL. I did what I could...but Rourke had to a lot of the uphill shoulder rides with her.

We went to a Ranger talk and then took a field trip to the beaver pond/dam. It was really beautiful. Rourke even spotted a nutria. I didn't even think he was paying attention! I learned that nutria are really destructive animals and can overtake the beaver habitats quickly. Male/female nutria pairs have to be split up FAST!

We even found a playground near the east campground - where the real tent/camper people stay. :)

We had fun cooking over the campstove. We tried to travel light, so I was happy to get home to a bigger selection of ingredients and tools to cook with!

Here is Malia with a few of the friends she and Alex made. It was very kid friendly. The kids were exhausted every night!

After S'mores, we moved on to the Jiffy Pop Popcorn. The kids and "neighbors" from cabin 1 had fun eating and telling spooky stories in the dark (well, next to the campfire and with the porch light on!).

So..........overall it was a great time! I was a little freaked out by the sign that said "You are in bear and cougar country" when we got there. But was almost over it by the time we left...until the guy in the next cabin said he saw a mountain lion on a trail that morning. Great!!

Okay, got to run.

Have a great day!
~Linda

Two Trips - One Week

Hello & Happy Friday!!
Last week was so abnormally hot here in Oregon (about 105 degrees for several days), and we DO NOT HAVE A/C! I decided to take the kids to the beach for a couple of the worst days. The weather there the first day was warm, sunny & beautiful! The next couple of days were cool and by the time we left, misty. I LOVED IT!! I felt guilty for not being hot, knowing how miserable it was back home.


Here are a few pictures from the beach. My sister and niece Kelli were there, along with my niece Kim, her husband Brandon and their son Carson, and my Step-Mom Jan.





Carson is about 3 weeks older than Ella. Alex really had fun playing with him. I think he was happy to get some "guy time". :)









Thanks to Dad/Jan and Kathy for letting us stay at your homes!

The kids and I came home for a quick pit stop. I repacked and we headed out the next day for Riffle Ranch in Madras. It's my brother in law's boss's place (I'm not sure if that's grammatically correct). I was so tired from the first trip, so I wasn't sure about hitting the road again. I'm so glad we did! It was lots of fun, and like a family reunion. The only missing people were my Dad & Jan and my niece Toni.

We had lots of fun, played games, had a bbq, went in the river, talked, laughed and enjoyed the peace and quiet. No tv!





A view from the covered deck/patio (looking out at the Deschutes River).

Alex, Malia, Niece Tara, Carson, and Niece Kim -- Sitting by the sprinkler.

Lots of family in the river. So cold and fun!!

Nephew Kevin fly fishing.

Some of the yurt/tents. Fully equipped inside with real beds!! I think there were 8 all together. We slept in the house, but most of the others slept in these. Maybe next time we can try them. They overlooked the river.

The "barn", which is really a super cool house that looks like a barn on the outside. It even had A/C. Thank goodness!

A family shot - right during the thunder and lightening storms that moved in.

Sunset on the "rocks"(!? not sure of the correct term - canyon?)

One on the many pics I took, trying to catch lightening on camera. No luck. Pretty though.

On the way home we stopped and took pictures by the tee pee. It was hot. No one was in the mood.

Okay, this should have been 2 posts. Maybe more pics later.

Have a great weekend.
Linda

(not sure why all of the white space is showing up between the pictures. I have tried forever to get it right. URGH!)

Vacation Video Clips

Hello Friends!

Happy Thursday to you. Today was a beautiful day here. Sunny and just the right temp. I even pulled a few weeds. Next is the shovel to remove the tons of buttercups that are overtaking our flowers. Ugh.

Here are a couple of short video clips I took while in Grand Cayman. We went to a place where you can swim with dolphins, which was fun to watch. Too expensive for me, especially since I'm not really sure it's on my top 10 things to do list. The last clip is just of a special party they were having on the beach - the portion we could see from our room. I think it was for a private party.

Anywho, I need to get going and work on the 44 greeting cards I need to finish in the next 1.5 days. It's for a "Close to My Heart" card swap. ;O)

Bye for now~
Linda

We're BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Wow! We're back. What a great trip. It's always so amazing to me that 24 hours ago I was so far away, looking at the clear blue sea, wearing shorts. Now I'm home in an icy cold house wearing a thick sweatshirt, sweats and super warm slipper socks. It's nice to be home - but I already miss the island. I wish the kids could have experienced it...but we'll save that trip until they all can REMEMBER it!

I don't have much time right now, I have to pick up the kids (we got in at midnight) so this will be quick. First, I want to thank everyone who helped out with the kids, the cat, the yard (thanks Dad! that was a nice treat to come home to), and airport transportation. We REALLY appreciate all of you.

I had a request for "real" pictures, so Crystal, these are for you! :O) I'll post more later, and give details about our trip, and the nightmare we had getting there.

The real view from our hotel room (above).

Rum Point.

Until later............as they say on the island,

No Worries~
:)Linda

p.s. I'm so excited to get the kids! yippeeeeeeeeeee

Getting Ready to Go

Hello!
I have fallen off the blogger boat this past month. All the kids were sick, we had Spring Break, field trips, Easter, and just L-I-F-E in general.

One big thing that has been consuming my "free" time and filling my head with worry is the trip Rourke and I are taking in 4 short days! We are heading to GRAND CAYMAN without the kids.
Yikes!! There is so much to plan, the kids will be split up for awhile, and staying at 3 different places during the week. I have been trying to pack for myself, and all the kids. Shop for food for everyone, plan who is driving the kids where during the week....and my least favorite thing........writing a will. Ugh. So depressing. Can you tell we have never left the kids before? I have had dreams of the plane crashing and everything! Then there are the medical releases in case the kids get sick or (God forbid) hurt while we are gone.

Anyway, I'm sure once we get there I will be so totally excited. I just have to GET THERE!
Here are a few pictures I just found online to pump myself up! I am really wishing now that I had gotten myself into better shape and tan.




This is a picture of "Stingray City"......where we are apparently going. Hopefully it's safe. :)

This is where we are staying....

I have heard there are internet cafes all over...so hopefully we can check email and keep in touch.

Geez....I can't even imagine all the free time we will have for a week without kids.

Gotta run.....speaking of kids, they are a calling.

Until next time~

Linda

Our Trip to Pacific City - Memorial Day Weekend

We were so excited to get away for Memorial Weekend! We hadn't been to the beach since Thanksgiving......that's just about 6 months!! (I'm sure you can all do the math, not sure why I had to tell you :O)). We stayed with my Dad & Jan and had a great time. Saturday was gorgeous (that's when all of these beach pictures were taken). So many people were out on the beach....which isn't that normal for Oregon. I was feeling huge and hot, but the others climbed the gigantic sand hill (dune?) and got to check out the view from the top. It is really a lot bigger than it looks in these pictures. Poor Rourke, I think he climbed it 2 or 3 times with Malia (part of the way with her on his shoulders). Needless to say, lots of napping happened later that day.















There was driftwood that apparently someone had made into a teeter totter, which was fun for the kids. I never see those anymore!





The huge rock, I think it is called "Haystack Rock", eventhough there is another "Haystack Rock" in Cannon Beach (up the coast)........anyway, I love this rock! From one angle it looks like a Native American Indian head, but from this angle it looks like King Kong's head (profile). Can you see it?? My dad even found the profile of the Grinch on one portion of the rock. I can't see it in the picture, but I could see it when I was there.

The weather turned cloudy and drizzly on Sunday, but we saw lots of deer and rabbits right from Dad's house. The kids loved it!

Hope you all have a great week~
Linda

aNotHer bEacH tRip!!!!!!

Hello~
I thought I would post some (okay, a lot) of pictures from our beach trip at the end of May. We had a great time. The weather was nice (most of the time) and Dad, Janet & the The Derrah's were down too. We flew kites, saw deer (look at how close the deer was to our driveway), climbed up the sand dune, saw whales in the ocean (from the top of the dune/cliff), had a bbq, went to the annual rummage sale at the Senior Center and enjoyed the beach!

I love the pictures of Rourke & Malia climbing up the sand dune and especially the one of them coming down. Oh, and we almost had our car towed for parking in the wrong place on the beach.......

Bye for now~
Linda