Monday, August 27, 2012

Lately

Sorry there's been so much radio silence here. Lots to do, lots on our minds, less time to think about blog posts!

Here are a few snap shots from the last month of us living in Bend:

Our new place has lots of great outdoor space. Even for painting!

We became members of the High Desert Museum - it is AWESOME

Learning to be a pioneer

She apparently likes doing this kind of laundry way more than the kind we do at home...

Always gotta hug Smokey while we're there.

We got a babysitter! We got to go on a bike ride together! And THEN have COFFEE!! 

Dancing at the bike race. We went to cheer on our friend Dave at the State Championship Crit Races. 

Minor League baseball game (Bend Elks). What's more "America in the summer" than this picture? 

More Americana: eating homemade blueberry pie (courtesy of our builder's family)

We couldn't stay away from Hood River for 3 weeks! Actually we had a wedding to go to. Our dear friends and old neighbors, Chris and Stephen were married on their orchard in Mosier. It was a beautiful wedding. Noella saw the dance floor and didn't go anywhere else the rest of the night until the cake came out. She even met a boyfriend while there :)

 One little weekend trip scheduled for the holiday weekend: concert in Jacksonville, OR (our old stomping grounds) and camping at Crater Lake with friends Aaron, Carrie and Lewis. One week until work for me and daycare for Noella! New beginnings....

Friday, August 10, 2012

Door County Family Vacation 2012

Well, nothing like being a month late to post something. There was something we had going on.... what was it?? Oh YEAH. We moved our lives from Mosier, Oregon to Bend, Oregon. With a 2.5 year old. Immediately after a vacation that took us hours and hours and hours to get to. So, you can see why I've been delayed. Better late than never, right?

And the OTHER thing is, we have been so bad about our camera. Remembering to take it with us, remembering to get it out if we did manage to bring it. I guess you could say, we are enjoying the moment more, rather than obsessing about having the camera on at all times... perhaps? I don't know. We did catch a few. In fact 85% of these were taken by Alex, Adam's brother. Thanks Alex, for giving our fancy camera some purpose!

Before the wedding. My great friend from college, Carrie, was the main reason we chose this area to stay. She got married here!
The beautiful setting where the ceremony took place.

She looked absolutely beautiful. I was so excited to see her, I accidentally broke her dress (it was easily repaired, thankfully).

Uh-MAZ-ing bluegrass band played during pre dinner cocktails.

She did such a great job planning and creating. 
 Next, on to general family togetherness.


Lucy, up to no good I'm sure :) 

Trouble X 2

Ballerinas never take a night off. NEVER!

Look at that focus!

What would we have done without Mary?!

Or Alex?!

A few of the blondes.. Some more real than others..

Egg Harbor sunset

Adam with Noella and our darling niece, Lucy. 

Cousins in the sunset


Down at the harbor. Lucy and Nana.

Trolley ride! OMG!!! Noella saw one of these the first day we were there and continually asked us everyday if she could "ride on one of those red fangs". (fangs = things)


Meems came along.



Papa Tracy, the onion. During some wine tasting.

Meems and the littles. On our way to a free outdoor concert.

No shortage of gorgeous sunsets here! 

Not as many pictures to document all the fun that was had. We went to the beach most days (it was HOT). The girls dug in the sand and splashed in the water as long as we let them. Since our home did not have AC (apparently not usually needed in that climate, except during a heat wave, which we were in), the beach was a perfect choice. The big kids took sea kayaks out on Lake Michigan one afternoon. FUN! Only one capsize (they shall remain nameless). Some shopping, some paddle boarding, some cooking and EATING, a little whiffle ball, some painting (kids and adults), some guitar playing, singing and dancing..... Did I get it all? Probably not.

Since we were in the Detroit airport for what seemed like half of our lives, we did manage to snap some shots of how we passed the time:



This water fountain was mesmerizing 

As was the psychedelic tunnel
Door County is a beautiful place of the country. I highly recommend it as a vacation destination. If it wasn't so dang hard for us to get to, we'd go more often, that's for sure! The water, the weather, the vibe, the art, the countryside - a GREAT vacation!