A glance back at summer

Before we get too involved in the school year, I wanted to do a quick note about the last hike of the summer. This hike is in the Columbia River Gorge and has the lovely name "Pool of the Winds". Aptly named because when you reach the waterfall, it is tucked behind a wall of rock so you lean over a railing a feel a gush of wind. The hike continues on to Hamilton Point but we opted to go only halfway up so we could stop and have lunch at a gorgeous view point overlooking the Columbia River. (The second photo of me with the boys is where we had lunch....a truly amazing view!).
I'm continually amazed at the beautiful places around us! This summer we really got out and explored the places that are within a 2 hour drive from our house. And I feel like we only scratched the surface. I think the next step will be longer hikes and finally doing some camping.  Happy Weekend!!!

Another school year begins...

The end of summer went by so quickly, it was hard to believe that on Tuesday it was time to start another school year. The boys were ready and excited and at the last minute, just a tiny bit nervous. Both boys have new teachers this year and we (the parents) are very, very happy with the class placement. I think the uncertainty of a new classroom and new classmates had both boys feeling jitters. However, the moment they got off the bus in the afternoon, they were chatting nonstop about how great the days was and all the fun thing they did at school. I suspect once the real work begins, the enthusiasm may lessen just a bit. But, it's so great to know that right from the beginning, they truly like their teachers and are excited about another year of school.

And with the boys in school, I'm off and running on planning the New Zealand 2013 adventure...finding a place to stay, finding a house sitter, figuring out schools, etc., etc. . We are so excited!!

Outdoor Movie Night

This is something we've talked about doing for a long time. And it was on the official Summer 2012 To-Do List. It finally happened, thanks to one technically savvy husband and equipment borrowed from his office. We watched Ironwill last Sunday night (the trial run to make sure everything was working)  and invited friends to join us for a weekday screening of Tin-Tin (with smores, of course).
It was lots of fun and such a great activity for a warm summer night.

In his happy place....

Fishing at Timothy Lake can't be beat!

More Summer Happenings

August has been busy and full of fun. There was a 5K obstacle course fund raiser, an ever expanding repertoire of cooking skills (crepes!) , a few familiar faces stepping in to be junior judges at a car show and a visit from Gram and Pop. And the month of August isn't even over yet!

More beach photos

Two beautiful spots near Manzanita: Oswald West State Park and the hike to the top of Neahkahnie Mountain.
Oswald West is also referred to as "short sands". It's a long hike in but completely worth it. It's a nice spot for surfing  but we decided to skip surf boards in favor of smaller and lighter boogie boards. We did bring wet suits and the water was perfectly fine for our Oregonian selves. Wetsuits are light to carry in but very heavy once soaked with water. In fact, no matter what we bring in to short sands, the load always feels unmanageable on the way back. As a result, the hike back out always ends with me dreaming of a Dark and Stormy*.
The photo of me with the boys is at the top of the hike and the next photo shows the view below. When you climb to the very top, the view takes your breath away. The last portion of the climb is essentially a pier of large (but stable) rocks and looking down make my stomach do a bit of a flip flop. But after a few seconds, I was relaxed enough to truly enjoy the view. 

Dark and Stormy:
2 ounces Gosling's or Myers's dark rum

5 ounces ginger beer (or ginger ale)
Lime wedge

Adventures on the Oregon coast

It was a great week of outdoor fun! Digging in the sand, boogie boarding, collecting rocks, exploring caves,  playing Monopoly, visiting with friends....most of all, enjoying the relaxed pace of vacation. The Oregon coast has all the rugged beauty you expect to see in the Pacific Northwest. It's not usually hot and sunny (like other beach places) but August is pretty good. Even when we woke to gray, overcast skies, we usually ended up seeing the sun pop out just after lunch. And by now, we know the drill....sweatshirts, jeans, shorts, t-shirts...and , of course, wetsuits if you plan to spend any amount of time in the water.

Hooray for summer!

Beautiful, windy Hood River

We love this little town. The views in every direction just make you happy,. Yes, it is windy but that is what makes it a world class destination for wind and kite surfing. The river is filled with windsurfers all the time! So fun to watch...
We had great pizza and beer (Limonatas for the boys) at Double Mountain Brewery  and had to stop at Mike's ice cream before heading back home. Sean took a turn at the advice booth and shared the wisdom of an 8 year old boy with anyone who was brave enough to step forward.

Saturday

We left home and drove about 2 hours to Mt. St. Helens, heading all the way up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory which is as close as you can get on the north side. We hiked up a trail, saw tons of wild flowers, chipmunks and caterpillars and took in the amazing views. On the way back down we of course, had to stop at the giant Big Foot statue. The 19 mile house was serving Elk burgers but we had a car full of snacks so we keep moving along. Next stop: Stevenson, WA, where we spent the night at the Skamania Lodge and enjoyed smores and an amazing view of the Columbia river gorge. Have I mentioned how beautiful the Northwest is in the summer?

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's....

a flying Jackson! I'm pretty sure I have a photo of him doing this exact same thing 5 years ago. Time to go look in the archives.

Sunday with sand

After a lovely wine country Saturday filled with sunshine and good food and beverages (but sadly no photos) , we woke up to drizzle and cooler temperatures. No worries...we headed downtown to catch the tail end of Yoshida's Sand in the City. It involves 450 tons of sand, 4500 gallons of water and teams of architects and builders creating sand sculputures as a fundraising event for an organization called Impact NW. (The organization supports early childhood programs, teen mentoring and after school programs...lots of good stuff). Fortunately the drizzle never turned into real rain and the sculptures stayed intact until the 1pm demolition began.

Berries

We had our first berry picking outing of the season today and came home with buckets of blueberries, raspberries and siskyou berries. They were all amazing and you can't beat 99 cents a pound.