Flashback to Backpacking in August

We started hiking up the trail to Red Lake and Norah started walking!She didn't walk that long, but it saved me ten minutes or so of carrying her.

We found the lake and the perfect campsite. Besides a little smoke in the sky it was a nice, hot day.

Sitting around our campfire, Ben, Jeremiah and Gwyn. Trying to feed some birds.

Noah and Norah. Cute.

MMM, marshmallow time! Gwyn did great on her first backpacking trip.

We walked up the trail to see what the other three lakes looked like. 

Swam a bit in the new lakes, enjoyed a perch on a rock!

It was a good backpacking trip with my nephews, niece, Norah and Brian.

Ecuador time for Brian

After months of waiting, it is time to go to Equador with my buddy Samuel.

On our way down we were in Mexico City when an 8.1 earthquake hit. The best way to describe it was the airport moving like a carnival ride. Everyone was safe and we made all our flights on time.

So first day is in Quito, Equador. We got settled in to our hostal then went for a run up this small mountain for a view. We are at 9,500 ft elevation so I was breathing so heavy.

Then we ran to an old hospital that was converted into a contemporary art museum. It should have stayed a hospital in my humble opinion.

In the mall you can rent animal 4 wheelers for kids. I mean how genius is this? I resisted my urge to ask if adults without kids are allowed on as well.

Tomorrow we have a 5k in Quito and we will be here for a couple days. Adios.

A Random Collection of July Activities

A lovely summer day, enjoying the pool with some friends.

Picking (and eating) cherries with Norah

A fishing cat...

Fun watching the elephants at the Oregon Zoo!

 Daddy and Norah, with a rhino in the background

Berley Lakes with the Stuart Family

Hiking on the Santiam Pass, Oregon. Off towards Berley Lakes with our good friends, the Stuart Family. The beginning of the trail was full of old burnt forest from a forest fire about 15 years ago, but the purple lupine was full bloom and smelled so wonderful!

Norah giving us a smile. 

Here we are! 

Dan, Sarah, Wendy, Brian

Wedley, Gabe, Calvin and Norah

Yes, that is a frog on Wedley's head.

The view from our campsite. Mountain called, Three Fingered Jack

These silly kids! After a long, hot hike out to the car we enjoyed some sandwiches and watermelon!

Other than the nasty mosquitoes, it was a great camping trip.

The Month of June

Benjamen has finished high school! Wow, here he is with his mom. Onward in life! 

We slowed down during the month of June, enjoying home and family.

Having gone to the Agricultural Festival in April, we made these cute "dirt babies" that grow grass out of their heads. Norah is working on her first hair cut. Maybe she will be a hair dresser someday?

We have a pretty nice view from our backyard. 

Picking raspberries and 

washing cars!

An enjoyable month!

The CAT museum

After the wedding, we headed to Peoria for a few more days of family. First stop was the Caterpillar Museum. Really to see this huge mining truck!

HUGE!

I tried my hand at excavating. Wasn't very good in this simulator. Takes a lot of practice.

And a little bowling at this big store called Sportsman's Paradise. 

And don't I always need a picture of my husband hugging a huge grizzly?

Playing catch up on the blogging...This was all back in May, now moving through the summer in a fast fashion.

The Big Day

Generations. Great-Grandma Pat, Grandma Karen, Daddy (Brian), Aunt Sarah and the littlest one, Norah.

Waiting for the wedding to start. Keeping this girl busy so she could walk successfully up the aisle. Which she did so well!

Thanks to the bride and groom for an awesome bubble blower gift to the flower girl. This is one of my favorite pictures of all time.

Fun with cousins who live far away and we don't see them nearly enough!

Michelle and Jonathan. A beautiful ceremony for two awesome people. God graced their afternoon with sun which was amazing since it had been POURING that morning with a little thunder and lightening even. 

The beautiful location of the wedding. Two nights in this huge place!

Allerton Park in Monticello, Illinois

St Louis Zoo

Did you know the St. Louis Zoo is free? What an awesome thing to provide a city and visitors! We took full advantage of it on Day 2 of our adventure last May (embarrassing that we are just now posting these pictures...)

A train ride thru the zoo, since the zoo was free, we decided to pay for something!

Trying their hardest at a "goat face". How'd they do?

The polar bear was active and swimming. Awesome to see an animal so close, with a little glass between us and him.

For all those pregnant women out there. 

Sleeping under the water!

Next up, wedding pics!

St Louis day 1

Hopping into the plane and flying to St. Louis where we spend one day before we drive to Monticello, IL for my cousin Michelles wedding where Norah would take on her most important job of her life: flower girl. 

  Norah hard at work coloring wwwwaaayyy outside the lines. She didn't quite get the idea of a maze yet. That's ok, there is time to learn. 

 Always time to stop coloring for a much needed nap. 

 We made it to St. Louis and we had to go visit "The Arch". The park was being remodeled and I'm sure it will be spectacular when finished. We had a good time anyway. 

This plaza in St. Louis under the arch is the most Russian looking place I have seen in USA since being back. All plazas and squares in Russia seemed to look just like this: big stair cases, and wide open space near a river. Just a random recollection I had 

After visiting the park we went and got Chicago style deep dish pizza that was recommended to us. It was so thick that I barely got 2 pieces down.  Day 1 in the books. Tomorrow it's off to the St. Louis zoo.