The Austin Healy

On our way home from Sunriver, we stopped to meet Grandma Karen and Grandpa Bill for ice cream.  They showed up in their super fancy Austin Healy.  This car is so beautiful!  You feel like you are a 1960's movie star when you ride in it.  We all enjoyed cruising with Grandpa Bill.  The kids thought it was so funny when their hair blew in the wind!

New (To Us) Toys

One of the kids favorite parts about Sunriver was all the "new" toys Joe and Judi had at the house for their grandkids.  Our kids loved checking them out.  It was hard to pry them away, and get them to explore the rest of what Sunriver has to offer!  Kids!

Toad Rescue

On our second day in Sunriver we visited the Sunriver Nature Center.  It just so happened that they were doing a toad rescue the morning we stopped in, and were looking for volunteers to help.  Lucky us!

The Western Toadlets have a hard time surviving as they cross a busy road and bike path on their way to the river.  They asked us to collect as many toads as we could in buckets, then release them in the meadow on the other side of the roads.

The kids absolutely loved it!  They had a hard time saying goodbye to their new little friends. 

Look closely and you'll see piles of toads.  Crazy!

This girl was no help in the rescue, but very good at giving us all play by play with her chattering mouth.

Off to set them free in their new home.

After we did our good deed for the day, we explored the rest of the Nature Center.  We met a Great Horned Owl, and checked in on all kinds of other reptiles, rodents and birds. 

Another great day exploring Sunriver!

Sunriver Wildlife

There were deer everywhere in Sunriver.  Seeing them was one of Ryan's favorite things.  They were so tame, they hardly flinched when you passed by them.  

I could have reached out and touched them.

Sunriver

We made our first trip to Sunriver, Oregon July 17-20 thank to these two people, Joe and Judi Sidey.  Joe is Grandma Karen's cousin.  The idea was to spend the weekend with Joe and Judi at their house, but schedules didn't allow so they let us use their AMAZING house without them.  We did stop in to see them on our way, though.  These two are some the nicest people you'll ever meet.  Love them!

It required a lot of driving to get to Sunriver, but the drive was beautiful.

Mt. Hood

Joe and Judi's house really is amazing.  We loved seeing it and exploring Sunriver.

Our first day was spent at the SHARC - a super fun water playground for the kids.  David and I enjoyed it too.  Our little fish are so much fun to watch.  The kids swam for hours, then we headed home for lunch and naps (all 3 kids napped!).  After we were all rested we headed back for more water fun.  It was definitely a great day!

Kendall loved this blue slide.  She must have gone down it 20 times.

My little beached whales.

Thank You Joe and Judi!  One of my favorite things about the house is the Guest Book Judi keeps.  She leaves her camera and asks that their guest take pictures and leave a note about their trip.  It was so much fun to look at!  Such a cool idea. 

Berry Picking

Ryan, Kendall and I went blueberry picking with friends over the weekend.  Ryan totally got into it.  He was so focused on getting every blueberry off the bush he was assigned to.  It caught me by surprise, and made me so proud.  He worked so hard!  When it was all said and done we picked 23 pounds of blueberries, and found the best place (besides Grandpa Bill's house) to pick blueberries, Canterbury Farm in Auburn.

The next day Ryan decided we should pick raspberries.  He was adamant about it, so we obliged.  The raspberry picking spot, Remlinger Farms, was not so fantastic.  It didn't help that we went towards the end of the raspberry season, but it just wasn't as beautiful of a spot as Canterbury Farm.  In any case, the five of us managed to pick 4 pounds of raspberries which was just enough to make a batch of freezer jam.  If Natalie had not eaten her share, we would have had plenty to make two batches!

 

Dance Camp

Kendall and Ryan attended Dance Camp through the Community Center last week.  I was a little unsure how Ryan would do, but he loved hanging out with his friend Eli everyday.  They were the only two boys in attendance.  I was also worried about Kendall putting in a 9-4 day for a full week, but she held her own and did awesome.  I was so impressed with her stage presence.  Since she is typically more reserved I thought she might not like performing in front of a crowd, but she definitely proved us wrong.  They both had a great week.

Eli, Ryan, Kyra, Temri and Kendall framing their faces!

My dancing duo.

The gang with their fun teachers.

I did video the entire end-of-camp show, but can't get the videos to upload.  Believe me, the kids did an amazing job.

Ryan Selfie

I love when Ryan gets a hold of my camera.  I end up with awesome pictures like this!

Suite Game

Last week Ryan and I got to go to a Mariners game and sit in one of the Suites.  Super cool!

We got the tickets through a donor of RFH, so it was technically a work event for me but super fun that I got to drag Ryan along.  Everyone enjoyed having a little fan in the room.

Mariner Moose even stopped by to say hello!

It was a super fun night that ended with a Mariners win!

Button Teeth

This kid and his crazy ideas!

More Gymnastics

Ryan got a kick out of watching the girls this week at gymnastics.

Slip and Slide

To cool us down on the hot summer days, we broke out the slip and slide.  The kids think it's pretty great and the giggles can be heard from miles around.

A Good Weekend

I'm pretty sure this is a sign of a weekend full of fun.

Such a beautiful view for most of our trip home, as we sat in holiday traffic.

Chowing Corn

Natalie has discovered a new way to eat corn on the cob.

Kendall has decided she doesn't like it.

That's okay.  Ryan will eat enough for everyone.  It's still one of his most favorite things to eat.

Blue Skies and Sunshine

The 4th of July weekend gorgeous as far as weather goes.  Not only did the fireworks put on a good show, the clouds did too.  So amazingly beautiful!