Hey Hey come to the Fair.

When August rolls around that means it is time for the Oregon State Fair. I (Brian) always have such a big decision to make mentally before I go to the fair: Elephant ear, or funnel cake? It is really not quite a simple choice for the elephant ears look so flaky and sweet, yet the funnel cakes are so thick and covered with white powdered yummyness. 

We had to sit in the back of the car for about 7 minutes before entering the fair due to a very dark rain cloud spewing out its contents. Who wants to start out at the fair soaking wet?

 Pretty much straight away we went to the petting zoo. It did not disappoint as the cuteness factor was a little bit out of control. 

May it be pigmey goats, tiny pigs, or stubborn llamas, all wanted only what us simple humans had; tasty treats. When they realized that we didn't offer them what their hearts and tummies desired, they moved on as quick as possible. 

No trip to the state fair is complete without some deep fried food. These corn dogs were just the appetizer for the funnel cake for the future.

Norah chose the ice cream cone instead of the funnel cake. 

A wonderful time was had by all at the piggy races. Norah wanted a front and center view of the action. 

Camping at Scott Lake

Our first car camping trip of the summer! And what fun it was! We headed up to the McKenzie Pass close to Sisters, OR. Scott Lake was our destination. We had camped at this lake a few years ago, but the weather had been so bad, we only stayed one night.

Norah is happy about it! This time, the day we headed to the mountains was in the 80's. Awesome!

The kayaks are in the water and Jeremiah and Ike decided to go for a float together.

Even Norah had a life vest and got to kayak with Daddy!

Hiking around with Noah and Brian and Scout. And Norah!

Can you see a faint road? In the 1870's, during the wagon days a road was cleared through a lava bed for horse drawn wagons to get through. Very cool!

The view from Hand Lake.

Nap time! See Norah's little tent? We just stuck a tent in our tent at night for her to sleep in. She did great.

Now for a little lake and mud fun. It was the perfect lake, a small, sandy beach, shallow warm water that stayed shallow for a ways out. Awesome for Norah!

The Three Sisters Mountains

Me. Brian. Gwyn. Abe.

Gardens and Picnics

Our last day in Juneau we headed to a beautiful garden out the road a ways from the city. On the warmest day...lucky us!

Who wouldn't want to live here on a nice sunny day? A bear even came to visit us, we could see his head peeking out from the bushes. Eating berries I'm sure.

I told Norah to hide in the elephant ears here. 

And as you can tell in the picture below, she is well hidden. 

After the garden, we headed out to Eagle Beach for a picnic. The lupine was all blooming on our walk out to the beach.

Brian, Brian and Noah all decided to test out the ice cold glacier river. BRRR, They didn't last long at all!

Trying to get a picture where they are both smiling is impossible! But Norah had fun with Grandma!

I sure love this girl. 

Enjoying the sunshine, food and the best company. 

It was a great trip to Alaska. 

Fun in AK part 2

More fun in Alaska as we had so many people to see and so many fun things to do. 

 Eating dinner at my best buddy Paul's house. His son Oliver and Norah are about 2 months apart so it was really fun to watch them play "together" 

 Hiking up Perseverance trail. Norah got to ride in the nice soft stroller all the way up. 

 This is the end of the trail as you can see the river has swallowed the bridge. Norah and No-Ni were throwing rocks and having a good old time. 

 Dead center on this picture is our close encounter with a black bear. He was young and quite scrawny. I was happy that Noah got to see a bear. Wendy normally has intense focus to see a bear. Yet I (Brian) was the one who found this guy. 

Our customary hike to the glacier to see what fun ice caves await. There is a newer trail that we had never done before and that was pretty cool also. 

This time it was a little sketchy because there were big rocks falling out of the ice ceiling. Noah got hit on the shoulder with a baseball sized rock and he said "uh let's get out of here" I agreed. 

Juneau, Alaska!

It had been two years since we visited Juneau, Alaska! Wow! Time flies. So, we headed up there, Brian and our nephew, Noah first; and Karen, Norah and I a few days later.

Not a bad plane ride for the three of us! Norah enjoyed a nap. Which helped us all!!

The first night we stayed with my good friend, Julie and her family. It was wonderful! Brian and Jesse (mostly Jesse) went out late that night and scooped up a whole bucketful of crab. AHHHHH, I was in heaven. Eating all I wanted. We made some delicious crab cakes.

After that first night at Julie's, we headed to Brian's old home where his dad and stepmom live. Here is a fun picture of Norah and Grandpa.

Norah enjoyed the little dogs at their house.

A few days after we got in, the sun was so beautiful in the sky (it usually rains there a ton), I dragged Brian up a mountain with me. Mt. Jumbo (also known as Mt. Bradley). 2.6 miles one way 3,300 elevation gain. Quite a hefty climb. 

We are about halfway up in this picture. Continuing to enjoy the view.

Almost to the top! Legs burning! Can you see how steep these trails are?? They are crazy!

Brian and I often talk about how my heart "hurts" when I see a view like this. I can't explain it, but this is one of the most beautiful places I've been to.

To prove I was on the top. I had done this mountain way back in 2007 when I first moved to Juneau and it had been cloudy at the top. I'm glad I went back this last week and did it again. Totally worth it!!

A view the other direction.

And yet another view.

After our hike we headed out for a bbq with friends. 

Then the next day, we picked up Noah! He had gone to camp for the week. More to come on our trip!