McDowell Falls Again

Thursday we went hiking and wading. Clara, John and Margaret got soaked but the water was warm and shallow. Perfect for wading. The huge leaves were fun and Riley did some bench presses. It was very fun to be out with the Greaves in a lovely setting.

Wacky!

 For more then a year Clara and John have talked about The Wacky Bounce in Corvallis. So the Greaves joined us and we had a great time!
Kelly took the photo of Margaret and Ruby!

Rose Garden

While at the International Rose Test Garden Julie let me test out her amazing new lens. That is how good she is to me! I wasn't able to fully get a feel for it before duty and hunger called us away to Subway. I did have a good time and am so grateful for the opportunity. Let do it again soon Julie!

Washington City Park

There is always a lot of fun things to do in Portland. While waiting for my intimate friend Julie to arrive we stopped in at the Japanese Garden. Beautiful. If I could any type of garden for my yard I would make it like that Japanese garden. When Julie arrived we met at a charming park just south of the International Test Gardens. The children played for a while and we started madly chatting. When the children were ready for a change we went and photographed roses!

2nd Day in Lincoln City

We took a fun walk through the woods to Boiler Bay and threw rocks and sticks off the cliff.  Then went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant and ate donuts down by Moe's. After that we took another walk on the beach to spend time climbing drift wood.

Tide Pools

 I remember going to tide pools as a child and having a good time but not grasping that the rock like stuff I was walking on were animals. I am not sure Clara or John "got it" this trip. They did get the star fish! We saw many crabs stuck in the grasp of starfish. Boy, it was graphic and exciting!

Lincon City

 We were so excited to vacation over in Oregon. We drove up Saturday and stayed with our amazing friends the Greaves. They were exceedingly hospitable and generous all week. Sunday we went to our old ward and saw many good friends. Later that evening the Hoggards invited us for dinner. Madaline made Cuban food and a beautiful, scrumptious cake.
Monday we drove out to the coast. It was a gorgeous day to be at the beach. The children dug castles and made a darling tide pool. They ran in the waves and flew a kite. The weather was cool enough to not go deep but warm enough to have a grand time.

Stink Bug Number 3

I have been waiting and waiting for Margaret to reach this little developmental stage. I did not expect it to happen on the beach. I guess it shows you never know when things will happen. I am glad I was prepared. Here is a link to John's and Clara's!

Crown

Zinnias

Some cheery zinnias that are cut from my Mom's garden.

Zinnias
by Valerie Worth

Zinnias, stout and stiff,
Stand no nonsense: their colors
Stare, their leaves
Grow straight out, their petals
Jut like clipped cardboard,
Round, in neat flat rings.
Even cut and bunched
Arranged to please us
In the house, in the water, they
Will hardly wilt– I know
Someone like zinnias: I wish
I were like zinnias.

Horse Barn

Four, Goodness Sakes!

 John had a fun day! We went to the Bannock County Fair with the Downeys as an activity. We saw goats, baked goods, tall sunflowers, horses, produce, a bloated calf, bad photos, Vanessa's beautiful quilt, and a ventriloquist show! In the photo John is eating a bag of ice-cream that he made by shaking it. The fair was darling, free, and we will go again next year.
 John is so many wonderful things. It is a pleasure to watch him grow. I like the things he creates and I like to see him dance. Aunt Non gave him a card that was a "singing four" and John produced a new dance. When he put on his new backpack he did another new little bounce that compelled me to grab him and hug him to mush. While he was putting on the show the little girls were in the kitchen sneaking cake.
About the cake, John wanted chocolate and rainbow so I did my best to make those desires work. We discovered we were out of candles so we used shish kabob sticks.
Later that night at bed time we talked about his birth and his past birthdays and how he has grown and changed. John brings a lot of honor and love to our family. We couldn't do without him.