Larch Mountain

Last Friday, after an appointment in Gresham, we had some free time and decided to go check out Larch Mountain with the kids. They hadn't been up there that they could remember so up we went.

 It's a great lazy day hike as you drive 14 miles up the mountain thru the OR. fir  and hemlock lined road, and then you hike all of a 1/4 mile or less to a beautiful view.

 I enjoyed the chance to get some fun pictures of the "flora and fauna", tho I don't know what this one is called.

 One of those grasshoppers or locust that clicks when it flies. :) It scared the boys the first time they heard its noise as they had been asking about bears and what else might be up on a mountain.

 Fireweed

 ?

 Beetlebug along for the ride

 Wild blueberries in season.

 She was intent on removing all bark from her stick.

 This guy bumbled in and let me take his picture before flying on.

 Are we there yet?

 To the edge and thankfully not beyond...

 cause it's a long way down!

 You can see 5 mountains from this point on a nice clear day, that's Mt. Hood in the background. Since we haven't had much rain in the last month it was pretty hazy but we could see most  of them except Rainer.

 Even the Columbia was a bit hidden.

 Although we had left light rain showers in town it was hot up here.

 A nice Asian lady took this one for us, Jewels is not impressed by the other lady trying to get everyone to smile.

 These little plants remind me of life,  holding onto the ROCK trying to keep sight of the big picture through the haze. :)
  (Mt. St. Helens is out there if u look hard enough)

 All in a row, but hey, one's missing...

there he is, but, all five looking at the camera at the same time would be too perfect. :)

We ended the tour by stopping in at Crown Point, but the camera battery was gone by then. We got to go inside for first time, ever. We have been up there plenty before just to drive by or enjoy the view in the winter when the ever present rain clouds get too drizzly, or to, maybe, ask someone to marry you. :) This is where Mr. Tech proposed to me, in December of 2005. Anyway it was fun to finally see inside and climb to the balcony and check out the gift shop in the basement and the tunnel. Didn't even know it had all that stuff until now. :) Then the kids had their favoritest :) snack of Wendy's frosty and french fries. Not the healthiest I know but it actually tastes rather good together being salty and sweet. Then it was time for prayer meeting in Gresham to end off a fun afternoon. ~ SJo

Lazy Daze...

Yesterday turned out to be one of those perfect lazy summer days for us. I got in a good chat with Aunt Sus while the kids were playing in the yard!  :) Mr. Tech had a slow day and was around for most of it! And Bugs found a large zucchini in the garden that we made into chocolate zucchini muffins, the best!! :) Then Mr. Tech found some bags of water balloons in cleaning up and the fun began!

Beetlebug observed from the stroller.

A picture by Leroy, I believe, of their "fish" they were catching.

 We made a redneck pool with tarp and props to go along with the balloons.

And made balloons and played in water for several hours.

 And then we started trying to get a picture of one popping...

 Watch out!!

 First Bugs did it for the camera...

 Wahoo!

 And then everyone else wanted to try  it too. :)

 They found it quite hilarious to see the looks on their faces afterwards.:)

 After we each had a turn and had used up 200 water balloons and were thoroughly soaked and saturated. We went in doors to dry up and have a snack of cucumbers and chips and  chocolate muffins and wait for Mr. Tech to bring home Thai food for dinner!!! 

 Bugs was very excited to find this lemon cucumber that he had missed until it was quite large.

 Yummy!

 The kids favorite part of Thai food is the chopsticks. :)

 And then we went for a walk

 (our new gate and fence got put up last week!!)

 Leroy brought his stick to look for golf balls in the field.

 Mt St. Helens looming faintly in the back ground.

 My Jewels hunting golf balls.

BeetleBug and I waiting at the stroller

 The guys

 The lazy guys

 ( actually she was up for this challenge and was making protest whenever help was offered) ;)

 Phi discovered this large rock and carted it all the way home (with a bit of help from his brothers here and there) for some project they all seemed to be excited about!?

And BeetleBug trying his hand at bike riding...not really. ;) He just enjoyed sitting on it for a minute when his brother left it. 

Lazy days indeed, which means there's lots of dishes and laundry today but some good times to remember for it all! And we are looking forward to Uncle Hans and Aunt Sus coming to town next week!! Yipee!!  ~SJo

Duck Herding...

And other useful ways to expend energy.

Jewel's loves the goats at Mamia's house.

It cracks me up to watch how she goes in all the nooks and crannies and  comes out with more every time. :) The funny noise in the back ground is turkeys, complaining about being stuck in their pen and missing out on all the fun. ;) On a side note she's not always this crazy, this is a no nap day and it's about 8:30 at night. ;)

Mamia gets lots of stale bread for the animals and drys it in the sun. The boys enjoyed scooping it to put away in some bins to save.

 Mamia also gets old milk from a dairy for the pigs and the kids had a great time helping unload.

 And pour all the gallons into bigger bins.

 :)

 Another load from the car.

Beetlebug took it all in, especially the ducks and chickens running around. He's pondering a duck in this shot.  The kids find it all to be great fun, and after a good bath are in for a good nights sleep and I better get there too!  ~  SJo