Little Bohemia

On our vacation, as I have mentioned already, we went back to Little Bo. This is where Andy and I got married in 2002 and every time we venture back to the Northwoods, we make a point of heading there for a quick visit.
Some of the history of Little Bo can be found here.  At our wedding, there weren't any gangsters (that we know of) and there weren't any shoot outs either.  Some people did drive away with bullet holes in their cars though (thanks Aunt Cathy).
On these visits, it's all about taking pictures of the girls.  We did go inside (but not to eat, it's really all about the wild rice soup and with new owners it isn't a sure thing...).  The wall that once was covered in newspaper articles about John Dillinger has been cleared - now there are a few articles hanging in frames at the entrance.  And the big stump outside that we set the girls on for a picture three years ago - it's gone.  That's the stump they are on for the header image on this blog. 
It's still the place where we were married and we still love going back.  And the girls make pretty cute subjects for this little spot in the Northwoods. (but I really was hoping that stump would still be there - don't they know that mamas like taking pictures of their kids in one same place year after year?)

about a wedding

When we went to the cabin, a few weeks ago, we made a point of going to church to see Pastor Chips and visit Little Bohemia - the site where it all went down.
At church, we saw Suzanne, Pastor Chips' wife and had a chance to chat with her for a bit after service.  My favorite memory of all of this?  Well, this is what she said to me (and it's been over 9 years)...
"We love getting a card and picture from you every year.  I hope you will keep sending those."
And she also said...
"I remember your wedding.  You are the bride who wore tennis shoes, right?  I thought that was such a smart idea.  It is the Northwoods after all."

Family photo

We have plenty of cameras, lenses, and lighting equipment.  That is not the problem.  Getting our girls to smile at an inanimate object (the camera) with no human behind it so that we can have a family photo - that's the problem.  It's really, really hard to take your own family photo.  But, if you go on vacation with lots of family and dress everyone up for church on the last day, and head straight from church to the site of your wedding - well, you are bound to end up with a nice family portrait.  We are so happy that Andy's parents joined us for the visit to Little Bo, and gave us this shot.  I'm really glad that Andy decided to shave for church.  I'm thrilled that the girls decided to cooperate!

boat + water = fun

Emma's first time in a kayak looked just like this...

On the same day, Emma progressed to this...

Not to be outdone by big sister, Sophie spent a little time like this...

Now if only we had four of those kayaks right here at home so that we could keep playing (best idea ever, Papa Tom)...

Early morning

This is what 6am looks like on Van Vliet Lake.  We have many more shots just like this, and much better than this one.  One will definitely grace our walls soon.

we went to the cabin...

This is where we go...

It's easy to find your way, with all the signs...

Even though the weather is fantastic, there is bound to be one stormy day, so a crafty day is planned...

When the kids look that cute, you know the grandparents will want to be crafty too...

Tie dyed t-shirts for everyone was super fun.  I got in trouble just today because the girls' tie-dyed t-shirts were in the wash.  The day we made these, it was so stormy and awesome (Andy and I really enjoy a good thunderstorm, we just don't get many of those in the Pacific Northwest).  

just another day at the beach

Last weekend was our second camping trip to the beach.  This time we stayed at Nehalem Bay state park and just like our last trip a couple weeks ago, we had fantastic weather.  After last summer, I think we deserved it.  I have a lot of great photos to share, but some are still trapped on my phone so just this one for now.  I love it - thanks for the pic, honey!

That's us girls, and there's a whale

Obviously, there is not a whale in this first picture. This is just the girls, in front of Yaquina Head Lighthouse. You can go inside (we did) and you can climb the staircase (111 steps) to the top to look at the lens closeup (we did). There is a height requirement and Sophie was a little more than an inch too short. But, I explained to the sweet woman in charge that Sophie is tough and can handle it. She let us through, and Sophie climbed every step on her own - right to the top! Back down again too.

There, now you see the whale, right? That's it. We saw several just a bit north of the lighthouse and they were being very friendly with the spouting and breaching and other whale stuff. It was great to see so much whale action.

That up there - that's a tail fin. Cool, eh?

Andy's birthday camping trip

This is the trail that takes us to the beach. It's a pretty cool little spot and the campground was rather lovely. We stayed at Beverly Beach, just north of Newport. This was Monday morning (Andy's birthday) - just after breakfast. It had rained really hard all night long and we woke up in a puddle (underneath the tent) about an inch deep. We ate breakfast in the car, as we decided that we would head out to the aquarium for the day since it was so wet. But then, we pulled out of the campground and saw blue skies!!! It was beautiful and warm and sunny.

We had a great day. I will add more pictures of our special day on the beach soon.

This tree was just a baby.

The trees in the Pacific Northwest can be massive. Sometimes we pay close attention to the trees on our hikes, and sometimes we know they are there but we just keep moving along without much thought about them. So, when we headed to the Salmon River Trail on Saturday for our hike, we paid extra attention to all that we saw. This tree that Emma and I attempted to measure was not even close to being the biggest tree we saw. These old trees always make me wonder about the people that saw them first. Who sat under this tree for a rest? There is a place in Ohio that I used to hike that always made me wonder about the native americans that roamed the land long before the trails were set, long before I ever made a hike there. I have these same thoughts when I hike in the Columbia River Gorge and in the Mt. Hood Wilderness, so close to my home. What events took place in this spot - it would be so interesting to know.

Monday night football - and the house is a mess!

Andy invited our neighbors over for Monday night football - something about him being a Packers' fan and they are too - well, it sounds great. Except - our house is a mess. Hello, we have been outside working on the yard all summer and our house only gets minor touchups here and there. So, today has been a busy day of catch up - seriously, we canned peaches and the peaches, in their nice new jars were all over the counter in the kitchen still. We had a picture on the wall come off weeks ago and it just got repositioned today. Our desk has not been pretty for a very long time. It looks great now, but still. And - it will be fun to have the "neighbs" over tomorrow.

The girls have been outside with the other "neighbs" so much this weekend that we hardly see them. It's a little weird for us since they never knew another kiddo in our old neighborhood but it's great - they play together so great (the boys are five and eight) and the girls were so hungry last night. That was the best part yesterday - Emma ate five carrots, all of her chicken, a bunch of blueberries, three bowls of cereal, about five or six clementines, and a small bowl of pink ice cream with sprinkles. That's our girl! That is just not a normal meal for her at all. We bought a five pound bag of clementines yesterday and there are about 2 pounds left.

Andy is cleaning the fence this weekend. He is going to seal it, the back deck and front porch too. Just, not today.

What else? Oh, here are a couple pictures from our vacation. Sophie still tells me that Papa Tom's cabin has lots of fish. The girls both loved the fishing... And Emma seemed to love picking up anything slimy - frogs, fish, worms - it's nice that my princess can be a little tomboy too.

PS - Black and white images will have to suffice for now. I had switched these for the collage I am putting together and they are the only images in jpeg format right now. This stuff takes time, and there just isn't much of that around here - at least not the spare kind. Not to mention that we took about 1000 pictures during that ten days. Wow!

some things...

Today was a day of hard work.
I finally cleared our bedroom of all of the piles of stuff - some of it was from our trip and some of it was stuff that was waiting for a place to call home. That stuff is still waiting, just waiting somewhere else now. Our room feels good again.
Andy spent the entire day working on our patio. He leveled the soil, used the plate compactor, added some gravel (I helped here, that stuff is heavy and it took about ten wheel-barrows from me and about thirty of them from Andy to move it all), used the compactor again, added more gravel (I didn't help this time - I pulled weeds, filled bird feeders, chased our little birds around, bathed them both, etc.), and used the compactor AGAIN. It is now a beautiful, flat space ready for the next step. You might think this is where we start placing the stones, but - it's not. I don't think that space will see us again until next weekend. But, maybe we can have a picture day by Monday displaying the finished product. That would be nice.
I ran to Fabric Depot this evening to pick up some lacy fabric. Tomorrow morning we are photographing a pregnant woman and I wanted something different. I hope the actual image is as nice as what I have in mind.
Emma has been having a tough time adjusting to being home again. She had 24-hour playmates in her Nana Barbie and cousin Nathan. She was always at the center of attention and now she has to deal with us. We do other stuff too - laundry, yard work, meal prep, clean up - it's tough. I hate that I am looking forward to the start of school so much, but I think she needs it. She does so well and really thrives in that setting. I remember how much I loved school when I was younger - and I can see why she enjoys it so much. Even with the excitement of the return of school, I am a little sad that she will be heading off. We are going to have to fill our days with lots of fun next week.
I don't have pictures for this post. We have a ton still to sift through but just no time. I am in the process of making a collage of pictures from our vacation and the camera is still packed from the trip. I missed a photo op of Andy with the plate compactor today. Since I am on duty early tomorrow, I should have camera out and ready the next time a photo op presents itself.

Vacation in Images 2

Just a couple more...

Vacation in images

For now, it really is just about the images. I will add some stories with more pictures soon. We were invited to have dessert with the couple who purchased our old home this evening. The girls really enjoyed all the great toys (they have young grandchildren) and it was really fun to see the amazing work they have done to our old place. Not much looks the same anymore. Anyhow, they are really nice people and we are thrilled that they love our old place so much.

Missing home

We made it home yesterday from our long vacation (ten days really is a lot) and I have a ton of pictures and stories to share but since the pictures are still on the laptop at this time, I thought I would instead share the short list of why it's good to be home. Here is what I missed while we were away:
*Charley Girl (it appears that she missed us too, even though she got to swim and run all day)
*lazy mornings (not that this first one was lazy by any means, but it was nice to take it slow)
*conveniences of the big city (the Northwoods doesn't have a New Seasons, and it's not a quick trip down the road if you forgot something - I bought a two pack of disposable Bic razors at a gas station on the way)
*the internet (isn't that sad?, it's true though. I missed my blog, I missed e-mail, I got back too late to schedule the girls for swim lessons for fall - all the classes are full already)
*the newness of our home (even if we did leave things messy)
*our yard (it's still green though, that was nice)
*playdates (these aren't just for the girls and I need one soon - although the kayaking with my sister-in-law was awfully nice)
*semi-quiet mealtimes (I thought I was prepared for the noise of 13 people at the dinner table, five of which were under 6)
*Portland weather (you just never know what to expect here - we missed 104 degrees and some good lightning storms, we made it back for a rainy and breezy day that feels like fall)

That's the list. I am sure that I will realize more as the next few days come and go, but that is what I notice right now. What do you miss when you are away from home?