The Wild Blackberry Pirate...

...pillaged our field last weekend. I caught him "red-handed" but he destroyed the evidence with the hose.

(Suspect: "Soren P. Brown")

However, he was unaware of what was all over his face.

"Arrrr Matey!"

Pics from Newport Trip

So, I finally got some pictures from my Mom's camera from our Newport trip...

Adam missed out on most of the fun, but was with us in the evenings.

Each campsite had a common area...whether it be a field, a playground, or forest. This playground was down the road from us.

The wind was quite horrendous on the beach and the weather was foggy. After our shopping day in Lincoln City, we decided to check out Fogarty Creek beach to see if it would be a great place to go the next day. I had been there before on the trips I used to take with my Grandma Barb and knew that it would be a neat place to take the kids. There was little to no wind...so we were optimistic.

When we got there the next morning, the weather was still foggy (as it had been for most of the trip), but it was warm and there wasn't any crazy wind like on the other beaches. Fogarty Creek beach is different in that the sand is very coarse...but it's fun because the creek runs into the ocean and there are lots of really neat rocks to find!

Soren enjoyed letting his boat float down to Grandpa...over and over.

It wasn't so easy building sandcastles with such coarse sand.

On Friday (the last day) Adam had the day off, so we decided to go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Adam and I went there on our 1st anniversary, so it was fun to take our kids with us on our 7th. I had taken some pretty fun pictures of this day, but...oh well.

Here's Adam, Soren, Dad, and I touching sea annenomes and starfish.

Of course, the last day is often the best day...weather-wise

The kids were fascinated by the sharks...as you can see...

After leaving the aquarium, we went to the little tourist village next to it. We got the kids some pirate treasure boxes that they filled with shells and fake gold coins.

Here they are being pirates...with their treasures.

I Don't Think the Laundry Will EVER Get Done!

No, this blog has very little to do with laundry, and mostly to do with how my family has been occupying their time in the last couple of weeks. Because of the busyness of our summer schedule, the laundry has been piling and if I finish one load in a day, I'm doing quite well.

I'll try my best not to make this entry drag on too long, as I don't have any visual stimuli to keep you reading. Yes folks, I accidentally deleted all of my most recent pictures. It's a tragedy, for sure. I plan to steal some from my mom of our most recent camping trip, and I'll post those as soon as I get them. But, for now, all you get is the boring text.

The week after 4th of July flew by in a flash. My old high school bud, Rachel, came for a visit with her two lovely daughters before heading back home to California. We had a nice time chatting and catching up on some old times. Adam busied himself fixing the Montero and gathering materials for the chicken run that he's now building. I took the rest of the week doing chores and getting ready for our next camping trip that we were to head off on in a week.

Adam had to be at the Toledo mill (don't know the name of it) to help with a safety audit on Monday, which also happened to be our 7th wedding anniversary. Adam was scheduled to be there the entire week, so instead of leaving us home, he brought us all with him! He had the great idea of bringing the trailer and camping out all week...kind of like having a free vacation. My Mom and Dad caught wind of the news and came too! It was perfect!

We weren't allowed to check into the campground till 4:00, but Adam had to be at work around 2:00. So, Adam and I dropped the kids off with my parents and drove our trailer down to Toledo. On the way, we stopped in Newport for a little anniversary lunch at Sizzler. Once in Toledo we had to find somewhere to park (said a big prayer on that one) that was close enough to the mill that he could walk. There's a rule at the mill that people can't park trailers on site. God led us to a public park just up the hill from the mill...woo-hoo! I took a nap in the trailer, and Adam headed off to work.

Meanwhile, my parents took their time driving down the coast, making sure to stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory for ice cream and squeaky cheese. Adam got off at a reasonable time, and we made it to the park 15 minutes after my parents did. We stayed at South Beach State Park which is only 1 mile south of Newport, and like 10 miles away from Toledo. The park was quite nice and looked just like Fort Stevens campground. Campground camping isn't as much fun as camping in Naselle, but we still had a good time. The weather was a bit chilly at times and foggy because of how hot it was inland...but it didn't rain!

While Adam was a work we played tourist. We saw the sights, visited a couple of beaches (South Beach and Fogarty Creek), and went to the Lincoln City outlets. My friend Jessica even came for a visit on Tuesday with Jailey and Josiah. I think the kids enjoyed that...but they didn't enjoy the very long walk to and from the beach. Unfortunately, all the pics I took of that day are lost since Jessica didn't bring her camera. On Friday, Adam didn't have to work, so we chose that day to visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The kids seemed to like seeing all the fish...especially the sharks. Then, we played tourist a bit more and headed home.

Over the weekend I got busy catching up on chores and yard work while Adam began constructing the new chicken run. It's quite impressive. I'll post pics soon. On Saturday night, we invited the Thompsons over for dinner. Good times. On Sunday, my friend Margo came over with her two girls. I only get to see her like once a year (if that) so it was great to catch up with her while the kids played outside making potions out of blackberries and huckleberries. After Margo left, I took the kids over to Fi-Fi's house to see the baby bunnies that Peppermint Patty had birthed on early Saturday. Alice was bunny-sitting our pregnant Patty while we were in Newport. I can't remember the count, but I think she had like 8 bunnies! 4 survived...until last night. I guess Patty squished them on accident and they all died. She wasn't a very good 1st-time mom...maybe next time?

When the Thompsons were over for dinner on Saturday, Alice and I made a plan to take a trip to the Goodwill Outlet in Hillsboro. She hadn't been to the one there, and wanted to know where it was. So, we planned to go Monday. Synnove had swimming lessons that morning and I was busy trying to find a buyer for our portable air conditioner (what a hassle!!). It was a crazy morning. My dad said he would watch the kids while we were gone, so I dropped Soren off at my parents' house. Synnove decided she wanted to go shopping with Fi-Fi...go figure. Meanwhile, I was trying to deal with a somewhat shady character that wanted to buy my air conditioner. He lived near Portland, so we drove it up with us and met him in Scappoose. I could go on a rant about inconsiderate Craigslisters right now...but I won't.

Anyway, we spent a good 3 hours at Goodwill Outlet sifting through "the bins" as people call it. We ended up with 2 cart-fulls for $40. We even got to watch a nasty old lady cat-fight! It's always something at that place. If you've ever been to one, you know what I'm talking about. Here's a link to an article someone wrote about "the bins." After that, we meandered a few other places, and headed to Red Robin for dinner. Synnove was a trooper during our "Girls Day" and I think we all had a good time. I can't wait to do it again!

I'll try to get some pics of our Newport trip up soon.

But, for now, laundry is calling my name....ugh...

My Long Trip Home in the Montero

As you all know, we went on our annual 4th of July camping trip last week. And, since purchasing the Mitsubishi, we have been able to use it as a vehicle to carry Synnove's little 4-wheeler around. We usually take another car with us camping anyway, since the truck is a gas guzzler and the trip from Naselle to Svensen is at least 45 minutes, and we always have to make at least one trip home to check on the animals. The back of the truck is reserved for one of Mom and Dad's ATVs that currently lives at our house... so there is no room for Novie's. Of course, I'm the one that has to drive the Mitsubishi, as I'm certainly not going to be the one towing the trailer! However, I don't so much enjoy driving the Montero as it is loud, smelly, slow, and teetery around corners. But, the trip there was fine.

After a couple of days camping, it was time for Adam to make a trip back home to check on the animals. He and our good friend Jeremy went together. The day was hot and the traffic was horrendous in Astoria. On their way back they were stuck in traffic clear back to the John Day boat landing!! After a while, the Montero started to get a little heated, so they pulled over to let it cool down, and then had a smooth trip back to Naselle from there.

When it came time for everyone to pack up and go home on the last day of camping, we kept getting word that the bridge was backed up clear to Washington! My parents, Adam, and I stayed back at camp for a while to let the traffic die down. Adam and I even debated going the Longview way (twice the drive). Sure, we could go sit in traffic, but Adam was worried that the Montero would overheat on the bridge and there would be no place to pull over. So, we made a little plan and headed towards home. The bridge was clear, so I safely headed to Astoria with no problems.

Adam went to the dump station to dump the trailer, and I left him to head home. Once I reached Burger King, the traffic was backed up, I was guessing, all the way to Safeway (about 2 miles). I didn't waste any time heading up to Bond Street to bypass all the traffic. I was almost to the hospital when I noticed the Montero was sounding a bit iffy. I contemplated pulling into the parking lot, but decided I would stop at Safeway instead. Of course, I had just passed the pull-in when I stopped at a stop sign to pull into traffic...the Montero went ka-put and steam started rising from the hood. Great.

I didn't know where the hazard lights were (lots of faded switches in that little beast) so I just waved traffic for 10 minutes while the engine cooled. Then, I pulled into traffic, only to pull over after going like 50 yards...more steam. I stopped at a spot where it looked like I was ready to pull into traffic, so people kept waving me in. I waved at them to pass and tried to avoid looking at anyone. Adam finally came through waving/honking at me in as well...I waved him passed too.

He called me unsure as to why the Montero would be acting this way since it wasn't hot outside and I wasn't stuck in stop-and-go traffic. He said I should be fine once I passed Safeway and to stay at low RPMs. It wasn't working, as I was stuck behind a slow van. I pulled over just before Emerald Heights (maybe 2 miles??). More steam!!! I sat for 10 minutes and then felt fairly confident I could stay at high speeds/low RPMs for the rest of the trip. I probably traveled 4ish miles when I looked in my rear view mirror at the giant billows of steam that trailed behind me and the cars keeping a great distance. I pulled over to get out and watch the whole vehicle become engulfed in steam. An older guy had even pulled over just in front of me...he got out, got some water bottles out of the back of his truck, didn't say ONE word to me, got back in his fancy truck, and LEFT!

Near tears, I called Adam. He had to unhook the trailer at home and then come and get me. He arrived, put some water in the radiator and began the drive home. I tried to follow him in the truck, but the traffic was too thick and I didn't see him pull off the road just before the Svensen light. From the spot that I had pulled over, there was about 7ish miles left to get home. It took Adam an hour to get home!

On his last pit-stop he was running out of water, so while the radiator steamed, he blew the steam away to find a hole somewhere. He found one! So, he searched through the kids' toy bin that was in the back of the Montero from camping and found a deflated balloon. He used the balloon to patch the hole and used gauze from the first aid kit to hold it there.

He was so proud...so I took a picture.

It's all fixed now :)

Our First Chicks!

One of our hens started "setting" a little over a month ago. That means that the hen will start sitting on her eggs and won't leave them only to eat/drink. Anyway, she had a whole bunch of eggs under her (a "clutch" of eggs) that were likely unfertilized. Our rooster is of a very small breed and can't quite fertilize a normal sized hen. So, after two weeks of "setting" I talked to my Aunt Alice to get some advice. She was pretty sure that none were fertilized and that she would bring over a few fertilized ones from her brood. I think she brought about 6 eggs of all colors and sizes and did a switcheroo. Our setting hen didn't know the difference. We moved her to a large cage 2 weeks later and checked the eggs. One, for sure, was no good...so we were down to 5.

A week after we moved her, we heard a little "cheep" and found that the hen was outside the nest keeping at least one little chick warm. We let her be. There was one egg left unhatched, so we were hopeful that we had 4 chicks.

The next day (yesterday) I took the kids out to show them that the chicks had hatched! Hens are quite protective of their little babes so it took some coaxing to get her to move so we could see how many we had. It was so funny, cause it was like the chicks were stuffed up in her feathers and they kinda fell out. We have 3 chicks, and we don't know what happened to the 4th. There are a few possibilities one could imagine.

The kids, of course, were very excited and wanted to hold them. I took two of the three out. Soren wasn't as keen as Synnove, but they both enjoyed playing with them for a couple of minutes.

At one day old the chicks are quite agile...even jumping over the kids' boots.

Soren, after holding the chick once, didn't want to anymore, and would only "poke" them.

Oh, so cute!! The 3rd chick looks like this one.

I don't know why this pic ended up sideways...that's not how I downloaded it.

Fly to Jesus

So, I was on my way into town this morning to run some errands and Synnove pipes up, as she often does, and says, "I want 'Fly to Jesus,' I want 'Fly to Jesus!'" (Untitled Hymn by Chris Rice). The radio was set to K-LOVE, as it usually is, and I told her, "I'm sorry honey, the people at the radio station are the ones that choose the songs, not mommy." She says, "awe, but I really like that song!" At the time, the radio was in the middle of commercials and talking. A few minutes later a song finally comes on. I got a little lump in my throat as the piano music started and Synnove pipes up again with much excitement and says, "it's Fly to Jesus!!!" We all thanked Jesus for that little gift and Synnove sang the whole song.

THEN, as if that wasn't enough brighten my week, once we got to our first destination, Synnove says, "I can't wait to die and go to Heaven and meet Jesus!" (that may not be her exact words, but really close).

What more could I ask for?

But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

At the Creek: A Short Video

Doug dunking, Sophie swimming, dam building. Just a snippet of our fun.

Thanks to all for being good sports when I forced you all to go down to the creek!! Unfortunately, Chris and Tonya aren't off the hook for day 2...

4th of July Slideshow

Here's the photos of our latest camping trip. The weather was awesome...and I think we all had a great time!

Just click on it if you want to see full-screen or download any of them.