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!

Bath Time Is Fun

I framed these and put them up in the bathroom. Is it weird to hang up pictures of your kid in a bathroom? (actually, don't answer that...it was a pain in the butt getting those up and they're not coming down anyway)

Big Sister

Hoop-D-Hoop!

Amya is obsessed with Hula Hoops!

She has been feeding the cats and watering the garden for a few weeks, trying to earn one. She finally got enough stickers on her "chore chart", so we went shopping! We ended up getting a few, so she could share with her friends.
"Sharing" is not in Amya's vocabulary right now. So when we brought them to our friends' End Of Summer Lawn Party, there were tears and near panic when other kids touched one for too long! Any seasoned parents have any advice?? (she also had a complete melt down when a friend hugged Dan's leg and said, "My Daddy!")

Shelly made a cake just for the kids. The girls huddled around the pink frosted chocolaty goodness and dipped their little fingers, giggling. Kailey and Sadie eventually lost interest. Amya was still dipping until it was taken off the table! Just look at her eyes!

Thanks Kristen for the pics!

I Love It When Our Friends With Really Nice Cameras...

...let us borrow their really nice lens!

(and yes, Amya does love to pose!)

Decorations!

Thank you Kara, for the cool decorations for Amya's and the baby's room! Amya loved sticking them to the wall!

I Love That Our Friends Have Really Nice Cameras!

Fun Times At The Fair!

We went to the Skamania County Fair this weekend. Going to the Fair is one of Amya's favorite things to do on earth. She was very excited. While we were there, she also saw her first parade! (pictures to follow in a later post...it is funny) When people started throwing candy at her, she couldn't believe her luck!

Her best Emu impersonation!

The best part about the entire day is that she got to ride a pony!!...which she reminded us about all day long, and the next day. Ok, who wants to buy Amya a pony? Grandparents?