Fourth of July in Lincoln City

We joined Ryan and Michelle and their family in Lincoln City for a couple nights at the beach house they were staying in for the week at Olivia Beach. We maxed out that little house. The boys slept in a tent in the one-car garage, their own little man-cave, with all the girls sleeping in one room. Olivia Beach is such a cute little area and the perfect beach vacation spot. It looked more like an East Coast beach neighborhood than an Oregon Coast one. I want to go back. The weather was great the whole time we were there, and we really enjoyed the time together--relaxing and fun!

The day of the fourth, we set up chairs and waited for a few hours to watch the fireworks in Siletz Bay. It was quite the experience (great people watching) but an experience we all decided we don't need to repeat for a long while. Funny memories, for sure--dinner at Moe's on the bay, waiting for three hours for dark, Bailey screaming because she hated the fireworks, Lorelai with her ears plugged for the same reason, the boys LOVING the fireworks, intoxicated people getting their illegal fireworks confiscated by the police, cold wind, counting 60+ campfires on the beach, and doing our own little fireworks at dusk.

The time spent playing on our own beach by the house was definitely much more fun. The last day we were there was warm with very little wind--perfect.

Blueberry picking

We picked blueberries a couple different times this year to fill our freezer (and our bellies). It was a great year for blueberries--big, juicy, sweet, and plentiful. The kids got a little tired of picking after a while the first day and found a tiny frog to entertain them while I finished up. 

Summer Fun

We haven't had much summer weather since school got out. The kids have had a couple days worthy of the slip n' slide, but we're all looking forward to more hot summer days in the next couple weeks. 

They did some extra chores to earn money to buy a bubble machine. Not sure why, but they had fun with it when it came in the mail. :)

Summer isn't complete without a trip to Cold Stone for ice cream. 

beautiful flowers from the farmer's market, just because

Watching the clip after the credits of Finding Dory. They moved to the very front row and were the last ones in the theater.

Kari's friend, Katelin, had the brilliant idea of putting dish soap on the trampoline. They had a blast slipping and sliding all over. I did insist they wear goggles, though, to protect their eyes. They looked awesome! :)

Time with Aubs

It's not often that I'm alone with just Aubrey, but it happened for one night when Kari was at camp, and Greg, Joel, and Grant were at "man-camping." We enjoyed our girl time. We ate what she wanted to eat (nuggets, fries, and a frosty at Wendy's), watched what she wanted to watch (Alvin and the Chipmunks movie), and just had a relaxing evening together.

Trout Creek--Kari

Kari went to camp the week after school got out. She wanted to go with her cousin, Ashlynn, who is a year behind her in school, so they went to the Jr. Super week for kids in 4th-7th grade. Lorelai and her her friend, Ella, also went that week, and we had the three girls at our house a couple days before we took them to camp, to save Ryan and Michelle another trip over the mountain. It was like they got two bonus days of camp, with our house full of seven kids. They all had a great time together.

Dropped the four girls off on Monday, stalked the FB page for photos all week, and picked up our girl on Saturday. They all had a fun week at camp!

I got these from FB. It's like a game of "I-Spy"or a "Where's Waldo" book, scanning all the photos for glimpses of your kid. We saw a bunch that had Kari in them, but these were the most obvious ones.

Weekend with Kari

The weekend after school got out, I took Kari away to Hood River for one night to go through Family Life's Passport 2 Purity material to prepare for these soon-coming teen years. She wasn't a huge fan of these discussions, important as they were, but we got through it and managed to have some fun, too. We ate out at some yummy places, enjoyed some sweet treats, and went on an adventure together, zip-lining at Skamania Lodge. She wasn't too sure about the zip-lining at first, which sort of surprised me--didn't trust the harness and had me go first. Once she realized it really would hold her, she threw herself into the experience, and had a great time.

breakfast at Bette's Place in Hood River

Her face says it all: "I am not thrilled about this get-away, Mom, or this photo."

"Now I'm having fun"

Grandpa "Andy"

Tonight we are gathering at Mom and Dad's house to celebrate the life of my Grandpa "Andy," Bob Freeman. He passed away a week ago. He was a tough Army guy with a gruff exterior but was a true softy on the inside. He always had a hug for me whenever we visited. He's the only one who's ever called me "Andy." I loved it.  As a little girl, I had no idea why he called me that, so I just called him Grandpa Andy right back, and it stuck. He'll be missed. I've been blessed with so many grandparents in my life, and they're all growing older. It stinks saying good-bye to those we love.