The J's Came And Went!

I had such a fun weekend with my girls! Jen and Janelle decided to come first the first real rain since the beginning of May! It did clear up for them though, and we were able to get out and soak up the sights. Jen's rental car fit all of us! Amya is going to be so bored now that she doesn't have a buddy on either side of her car seat. Janelle, Amya, Bella, Gracie and Jen...posing at Rasmussen Farms

The corn maze is up and running! The girls loved the story of Johnny Appleseed. This is some of the tallest corn I've seen!!

Check out Janelle's ride! We voted her the most likely to be able to get in and out of the backseat without complications! :)

I'll try to post more pictures, later. I'm so sad they left! The only thing that could have made the weekend better is if Cassandra could have joined us!

RAIN!!!!!

Janelle Is Here!

Yeah!

We went on a picnic with our friends Pam, Matty and Zach. The best part of the day was putting the kids on spinner toy, then asking them to walk straight. I'm cruel, I know.

Amya posed next to this motorcycle, because the riders wanted to let her climb up, but this was as close as she was comfortable with. Good girl!

Janelle Is Coming Today!

Yeah!!

(that is Amya when she was just wee little)

Kindermusik!

Amya had her first Kindermusik class yesterday. She was so excited to go**, and even more excited during class! It is a wonderful program encouraging development of music, rhythm, language and fine and gross motor skills. The best part is, the teacher has realistic expectations of kids this age!!

**It helps that her friend, Kailey, is in the same class!!

Guacamole I & II

Guacamole take one **************************** Guacamole take two

Campin'

We went camping this past weekend. Two other families came along, too. It was so much fun. I love family camping!The campground is called Big Cedars. Hmmmmm....

The camper (made my camping experience soooooo much more fun and easy!)

Ahhhh

Bedtime stories
Good fishin'

Space

Have you ever meet one of those people who just don't appreciate personal space?

"I'm Going To Get You Peterson"

as in Michael Peterson

Blue River Mill

I know I've shared this before, but my brother-in-law is such a talented person! He has his catalog up on his website, and I encourage everyone to go check it out. I want one of everything! www.bluerivermill.com

Burning

**Update: Contained!!!!**

One thing the gorge is famous for is it's wind. But when you combine high winds, dry summers, and a random problem with a microwave tower, disaster can strike! This happened last night. Today, it looks like this: This is the town of Mosier (a few miles east of Hood River). If you've ever hiked Cathrine's Creek, this is the quaint little town across the river. The wind is blowing the smoke over the town, but the flames are very close and getting closer.

This is close to where the fire started, then quickly spread. In the lower part of the picture you can see part of the Twin Tunnel Trail. We call it the stroller trail or old highway trail. Some of you who've visited us have walked this. Coincidentally, Amya and I were planning to walk this trail this morning with another friend, but soon realized it was closed.

This is the view looking west from one of our favorite walking/hiking trails. If you walked Sincline or Catherine's Creek, you've seen this view.

You can see a helicopter dumping water on a flame. If you look at the needles in the tree, you can get an idea of how hard it is blowing.

The Little Man

This is our friends' baby, Graham. He is the perfect age to photograph...he sits still!! Plus, he is super cute!

Late Summer Heat

...and an evening trip to the beach...

Yummm!

Dan and I got inspired to make a really nice meal!...together! It was fun. He grilled the most delicious salmon ever! I don't know exactly what he used, but there was garlic, lemon and a cedar plank involved. And I've never eaten better salmon.

We also had corn soup, fresh from the cob, and potato bourek (which I didn't even know existed until I stumbled upon it on http://www.recipezaar.com/) It is basically a really savory mashed potato baked inside phyllo dough. Ahhhh....GOOD!

After a summer with strong food aversions and almost constant nausea, this was a refreshing celebration!

My Girl!

Today I walked into the den and Amya was sitting on a bench all by herself, looking deep in thought. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I'm just talking about feelings." There was nobody else in the room and when I reminded her of that she said (a little bit sassy), "Mom, I'm just talking about them."
My bad!