The Editor's Post

Not many pictures of the Editor get posted on this blog.  Mainly because the Editor is also the Photographer.  What can I say?  We're a low budget operation.  Thanks to time spent with family this summer, that problem is solved - at least for this post.  Here are a few of the Editor's favorites:

(Photo credit:  Aleta)

 (Photo credits:  Grammy and Aleta)

(Photo credit:  Daddy - yes every once in a while the Photographer hands over the camera!)

Swim Lessons

Lane and Morgan happily participated in two weeks of swim lessons this month down at the city beach.  By August, the water has warmed up nicely, the sun is hot and the beach is the best place to be anyway. 

Lane thought his teacher Evan was great (and thought it was fun that he had the same name as his cousin!).  He was so excited to get to swim without a life jacket!  His little group was all boys and they all seemed to have a great time retrieving swim rings and doggy paddling around.

Morgan thinks it's unfair that Lane gets to have a Kindergarten teacher and she doesn't (she's ready to skip 4 and head right to 5 years old), so it was some consolation that she got to have her own teacher for swim lessons.  Her group was supposed to have 7 kids in it but there were only 1 or 2 other kids besides Morgan that showed up each day.  On the last day, she was Levi's only student so he gave her all the stickers and candy - she was one happy girl!  She keeps asking when she's going to go swim with Levi again and is a bit disappointed it's all done.  I was glad they both had fun.

Planes and Friends

Our boys love planes.  They love to drive by the airport just to see if there are any neat planes. Often, there is a Lear jet (or 2 or 3) parked near entrance and Lane gets excited.  Logan is not so particular.  He starts hollering 'ane' when he sees the smallest Cessna.  The annual fly-in has become a must-see attraction in this family.   

The most exciting planes at the fly-in are not Lear jets or Cessnas (unless you are our friend Delbert, a former pilot who can provide details on every last one of them), they are bi-planes.  The louder the better.

This one kept the guys attention.

It was an impressive beast of a plane  It's take-off speed was a mere 40 mph and it was hard to believe it was actually going that fast when it lifted off.  It was s-l-o-w.  But boy did the guys love the sound of it's engine!

Hunters 2012

Growing up, camping was a big part of our summer.  I know there were minor issues here and there because I've heard the stories.  Stories aside, what I mainly remember were 10 endless days playing in the water and basking in the sun.  The tradition has continued (although we've cut back on the number of days) and my siblings and their families all met up at Hunters to spend a few days on the lake.  

This group of cousins made plenty of fun memories playing together.  But wait, is that an injured cousin I see?  This year, it seems like there were enough mishaps that the kids might actually remember the details.  Well, maybe not my kids, but their older cousins certainly will.  Especially Jake.  He'll remember it as the trip he sat through while nursing a broken collar bone - the result of a nasty bike wreck the first morning all of the cousins were together.  Talk about terrible timing!

He had a trusty sidekick though and these two boys kept themselves entertained as best they could.  Hope you're feeling better, Jake!

 

Bumpa brought the Zodiac to play around a bit but this was the only real ride it got before engine trouble sidelined it.  Did I mention there were a few mishaps?  This wasn't the only boat with troubles.  I do believe the men will be bringing a few more tools next year, just to be safe!

Mishaps aside, we really did have a great time and it was fun to be together.  The kids are growing up so fast and it's fun to watch them interact.

Did you know that strollers are great toys?  Logan thought so!

The fishing was successful too.  Pearson braved an early morning to go out fishing with Uncle Ryan.  He was rewarded with his first walleyes.  Ryan even snagged a crayfish which the boys thought was fascinating.

The 'tuber' (as my kids call it - and no, not a potato, Uncle Geoff!) kept the kids entertained.  The adults too!  Mom and I got a very gentle ride, gentle enough to put Maddie to sleep.  However, the boys thought we were wimps and demanded much crazier rides.

Even Logan got a tube ride on the 'tuber' (and loved it!) but I didn't get a picture of it.  I did get this one of him relaxing with Grammy. 

Of course, no trip to the beach is complete without playing in the sand.  The boys put quite the town together!

Logan was getting pretty good at saying Bumpa.  He loved pointing things out to him. 

 Lane loves his cousin Aislyn.  She sure is a sweetie! 

Uncle Geoff and Auntie Jocelyn brought their kayaks and they were a hit.  Uncle Galen gave Lane a little lesson and now Lane considers himself a pro.(:

Lane wasn't the only one who thought they were great fun!  Morgan loved going for rides as well. 

Two of Logan's favorite things:  Planes and water!  

By the last day, I think Morgan was pretty much tuckered out!  I think all of us were. 

We've recuperated some this week and are doing our level best to make the most of what remains of summer.  With a deadline this year (Lane starts Kindergarten!) it feels like summer is quickly slipping by.  The kids were singing 'Frosty the Snowman' the other day and asking about winter.  My only response was a groan.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy winter.  But I'm really enjoying the sun right now!

Swinging through Summer

The swings Ryan installed on the kids' play structure were worth every penny.  They've seen quite a bit of use this summer.   

Lane has figured out how to pump his legs and can get himself going pretty high now.  He's pretty pleased with himself.

This little guy points to the swing and demands "IIINNNG, MOOOOOMMMMAAAA."  Then is quite happy to be strapped in and pushed.

This little munchkin...well, she adds her own flair to the activity!   

Fishing with Bumpa and Grammy

The kids and I squeezed in a few days at Bumpa and Grammy's this past week.  We played in the pool, on the slip and slide and blew gigantic bubbles.  We got dirty in the sandbox, flew the Styrofoam plane and harvested vegetables out of Grammy's garden.  We helped Bumpa on his latest project in the garage, emptied out the toy closet, and read every Berenstain Bears book in Grammy's library.  All this and more.  And every last picture is on Grammy's camera. 

So instead, here are a few pictures from our camping trip at the end of the week:

 Dinner with a view.

The intrepid explorers return!

Lane was very excited to haul in a fish.  We found a good spot full of walleye and kept Daddy busy keeping lines in the water.  Grammy stayed busy netting the fish and Bumpa's pole was the most popular.

Mommy even pulled in a fish.  The fishing came to a halt when Bumpa's phone received an emergency alert for nasty weather.  Nasty weather indeed.  Let's just say we had a white-knuckle trip back to the campground and made it just in time to save the campsite from blowing away. 

The next day the skies were brilliant blue and we kept assuring the kids that puffy white clouds were not storm clouds.  So we headed out for some more fishing.

Another one!  Apparently, this is becoming his signature pose.(:  Our stockpile of walleye in the freezer is getting bigger!

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great week!



10 Years Together

On Friday (yes, Friday the 13th), we marked our 10th anniversary.  It was a lovely day.  The next day was great too.  Don and Darlene very kindly offered to spend the day with the kiddos so we could go for a hike together.  We woke up to the sound of rain and it reminded me of a day almost 11 years ago.

On that day, I groggily answered the phone to hear Ryan on the other end asking if I wanted to go for a hike along the coast.  "Umm...it's raining?!"  Wrong answer.  He assured me he'd checked the weather.  It was sunny at the coast and he'd be by in 10 minutes with breakfast.  True to his word, he arrived on my doorstep a few minutes later with bacon and eggs wrapped in tin foil. 

On the drive across the Coast Range, he seemed especially nervous and he seemed to be getting worse the closer to the trail head we got.  I wasn't sure what the problem was and it wasn't until we reached the edge of Cascade Head and sat down to bask in the sun that it became apparent.  He fumbled in his pocket and produced a lovely watch and asked me to marry him.

"What?  Are you joking?"  I spluttered.  One look at his 'does it LOOK like I'm joking' facial expression and I quickly amended, "I mean YES!!!"  (I was expecting the question, it's just that I was expecting the question a week later when he brought me home to the farm for Thanksgiving.)

Here we are, newly engaged and no longer nervous.  Cascade Head, Oregon Coast - November 2001

And here we are, newly married in my parents' front yard - July 13, 2002.

On Saturday, we woke up to the sound of rain but instead of calling the whole thing off (it's not very often we get an entire day to be together by ourselves!), Ryan calmly added the rain gear to his backpack before heading out to here:

Roman Nose Lake.

Being out in the great outdoors brought smiles to both of our faces.  Hiking has been put on a back burner since the kids have come along.  It's probably been 6 years or more since I've laced up those hiking boots.
 

Lunchtime.  A five star view even if you don't consider ramen noodles 5-star dining - although everything always tastes better when hiking or camping.(:

The rain started up in earnest shortly after we finished up lunch.  We added a layer of rain gear and then continued on down the trail.  As we walked along, the observation was made that in another 10 years we'd have 2 teenagers and a pre-teen in our home.  We decided to not think about that just yet.  If how fast the past 10 years passed by is any indication, it'll be here soon enough!

Then and Now

Five years ago, we met Ryan's family at Fort Peck.  I thought it was fun to compare the family pictures we took then to the picture we took this year:

July 2007

 July 2012

The grandchildren are growing - in numbers and height!

Fort Peck 2012

The 4th of July was a week long vacation for us and it was extra special to spend it with all of Ryan's family!  It was a lovely time and here are a few of the bazillions of pictures we came home with. 

We started our trip out with some time on the farm with Dad.  Out came the 4-wheeler and the trailer and before too long, there was hooping and hollering from kiddos who were overjoyed to be released from their car seats.
   

We checked out Grandpa's wheat crop and the kiddos disappeared into the stand.  That's some tall wheat!  Won't be too much longer and it'll be ready for harvest.

It was nice to be with Great-Grandma Ruth on Sunday and again on Wednesday night.

On Monday, we made it to the campground and the kiddos enjoyed the freedom to ride bikes and explore.  I loved watching how well they all got along and especially the older ones including the younger ones.  They were busy, full days!

Logan doesn't seem to think he's a toddler.  If the other kids were doing it, he wasn't going to stand around and watch!

Near the campground is the Fort Peck Interpretive Center and we spent one morning checking out the dinosaur skeletons and 'digging' for bones.  It is a really neat center and definitely worth the stop if you ever find yourself in NE Montana. 
  

We were glad there was swimming nearby.  It was a perfect way to beat the heat.  And those goggles make me chuckle!  Grandpa Larry got a tube for the grandkids to enjoy, and enjoy it they did!  Morgan wanted me to join her so I even got in on the fun.(:

Logan was all ready to go too, but he always seemed to end up back on the beach.  Good thing he had willing playmates there too!

Good buddies!

Campfires require roasting something.  We had marshmellows, foccacia bread (yummy!), and enormous hot dogs.  The boys didn't mind sharing.(:

When Morgan wasn't looking, Logan confiscated her bike and helmet and Grandpa provided the power.  Melita and Logan were so fun to watch.  They're just a couple months apart and as long as she stayed away from his pacifier, they got on great.(:

This was a special evening - I met a friend I've gotten to know through blogging (Monique - in the purple shirt).  It felt like we already knew each other but so nice to meet face to face.  It was also nice to meet Whitney (far right) who has just moved up to Dad's area with her husband and 8-month old daughter.

  

The kids were quite successful fishing for bluegill.  I loved seeing Josh and Andrea (on the right) and their boys.  They stopped on their way to their own family reunion.  It was great to catch up.  We sure miss not seeing them more often!

The fishing was pretty successful too.  So the guys kept us entertained recounting their stories and the boys enjoyed talking 'shop' with Grandpa.

If this gets any longer, you'll probably feel like you were there with us!  Happy Summer to each of you!