Camping and Concerts

We had a very fun filled labor day weekend! We kicked off the holiday with a Brandi Carlile concert at the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, OR (we were very nostalgic while driving around the town.... it feels like yesterday Adam and I were living in that tiny apartment: no kid, no dog - seems strange to look back at that now). We met up with lots of friends (including, but not limited to the Patnodes in Portland, Eric, Clarissa, Thom, Kirstie, Bob and Pam from around the Rogue Valley). Carrie and Aaron (the Patnodes) were also brave and brought their wee one, Lewis, to the concert. The kids were soooo good! Noella danced her heart out, clapped, "woo-hoo"ed, bugged everyone sitting around us, played with glow bracelets and ate her weight in summer sausage. Lewis sat and smiled on the blanket and was a charming gentleman the whole evening. He even fell asleep! What a good little boy! Adam bought the latest CD before we departed (yes, I know - WHAT is a CD???). Per Noella's request, we listened to that damned CD the whole weekend (well, we listened to 3 songs on repeat from that album the whole weekend). She tried to sing along as best she could and asked us 15x per day if we like Brandi (yes, dear child we DID like Brandi).

Pre-concert, trying out the sound proof headphones

Aaron, Carrie, Lewis. How sweet is he?!

Sound asleep.

Just tired and ready to go home. She made it until right before encore. 

Next stop: camping at Crater Lake. We have been to Crater Lake several times. We love it - we take almost anyone who's visited us there. It was the Patnodes' idea, and we jumped on the chance. We haven't camped all summer, and this was the perfect opportunity, with great people at a beautiful locale.

She's got the best spot in the tent.

Lewis and Carrie

View of our campsite. You may notice our ginormous budget tent

Staying hydrated.

The Patnodes.

The Holts

Dads and babes.

Move, Dad, I can't see.

Handsome guys!

Checking out Wizard Island. 

The following morning. A brisk 37 degrees. Cold and camping doesn't bother THIS girl. 

The camping chef in action.

The sweetest.

The morning we left. Can you tell we need showers?

Finally, the Patnodes followed us back up to Bend where we regrouped a bit at our house before they headed back to Portland on Monday. What great friends we have! We were so lucky to have randomly met them when they came to tour our old rental house in Portland! This is one of those situations where I truly believe everything happens for a reason. We love you guys!

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....

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!