Catching up with pictures

Summer volunteer dog walking.

Hike to the top of Wind Mountain in the Gorge.

From the Eco Challenge Summer Camp...

The boys had to come up with solutions to environmental issues using art/architecture/computer projects.

Grandparents and a boat ride!

Onenota Gorge hike...first you climb a log jam, then you wade through waist hike water, finally...

You reach the amazing waterfall at the end.

First day of 6th and 8th grade.

Jackson's Spanish class project was cooking a meal from start to finish.

We had empanadas and flan. Very good!

After school snacking, which is sometimes like Dinner part 1.

Feast PDX food festival. And Portland's newest bridge in the background (Tillicum Crossing).

Introducing Lucy, our new dog.



She's a well loved dog for sure.

Visiting with Jackson after soccer.

Apple picking in Hood River.

Lucy's first visit to the Columbia River.

Riding home from a day in Hood River.

Scenes from the beach and remodel in progress

Nehalem Bay.

Morning beach walk.

Visiting with friends and eating birthday cake.

End of surf lesson.

Oswald West State Park.....great for surfing!

Great day to fly a kite!

House project slowly coming together.

Summer Scenes 2015

Sean heading in to the lake with his usual flair.

Quality time with friends-ha! All phones were taken away after this photo. Talk to each other! Go outside! Read a book!

My birthday cruise.

4th fireworks.

Time with friends after we'd all dropped kids off at sleep away camp on the Oregon coast.

Kids at camp=weeknight evening cruise.

Beautiful Oregon berries.

Summer travels

We finally made it to Crater Lake! We stayed 2 nights in the historic Crater Lake Lodge then drove south to the Running Y Ranch for some rafting, fishing and relaxation. After a stop at the Lava Beds National Monument, we headed toward Ashland. We floated in a natural springs pool, rode bikes all over town and saw "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Shakespeare Festival. We also saw a lot of hippie culture in Ashland but that's a whole other blog post!

Crater Lake!

We drove just over the border into California to visit the caves.

Climbing out of the Golden Dome cave.

Heading into a cave.

This is the nightly free performance that takes place before the plays begin. Our play was inside with air conditioning....important when it's 96 degrees!

The top of watchman peak at Crater Lake.

Catching Kokanee salmon. We caught 15 fish.

Jackson with our guide Darren.

Lovely Lake of the Woods, where we went to fish.

Heavy hearts

We've had Talus as part of our family since before Jackson was born. So many of our memories as a family are intertwined with our sweet, rambunctious, loyal dog. The boys have grown up with him and he's shared in our moves, travels, holidays and so much more. It's hard to put words to the feeling of losing a dog who's shared so much of your life. But, sadly, we had to make a decision about Talus due to inoperable cancer that was threatening his well-being. We didn't want to see him suffer and it was clear he was facing challenges that simple couldn't be fixed with surgery, medications or extra servings of any leftovers he wanted. (Side note: I honestly think one of the reasons he was able to hang on as long as he did was because he was getting a gourmet feast of his favorite foods every day: yummy but oh-so-stinky canned food, hard fried eggs, and copious amounts of leftover steak and chicken).
We miss him every day. But we are thankful for the companionship and love he brought into our lives.

 

One more birthday and hello spring!

A teenager now....seems like yesterday when he was a cherub faced toddler!

Sweet boy and a yummy cake.

Such amazing weather calls for a hike.

Pretty much what I get when trying for a nice photo.