We started off the month by having a mini family reunion of sorts with my dad and his wife at their new house in Ashland Oregon. The plan was to spend some time hanging out and then some attending several plays at the Shakespeare Festival. Turns out, we had so much fun, we never got to the attending plays part.
Oh yes, and a bonus of going to Oregon is the no sales tax. I finally convinced John that with this discount (it's almost a 10% difference!) we could finally afford the fancy pancy camera I have been coveting for at least 2 years. I'm not sure if you can see the difference on the web, but this lens makes a major difference. Either that or everyone around me is fantastically prettier. I know, now you definitely want to be friends with me, right? I only have pretty friends (and family).
Here is my darling sister, first thing in the morning hanging onto my little man. Now, who looks this good first thing in the morning?
Here is E's closest cousin (both in age and in proximity to our home), Henry. He is the most gentle of souls, and very good at sharing (lucky for Ethan).
A close-up of E. I finally captured the color of his eyes on camera. And it's in focus. Amazing. You even get to see the left over berries on his cheek. Now isn't that why you buy a fancy camera?
The mischievous Mr. Tim. My sister's oldest boy. Couldn't you just eat him up? You could, but you would still be hungry, he is the skinniest kid ever to be born in my fam. Oh, how I do love him though. And, he is a great phone talker, a boy after my own heart.
Outside my dad's new house, there is an amazing park complete with an area that you can claim to plant a garden for your family. I love that Oregon is full of hippies. It makes me feel at home.
This is Maddie, my sister's oldest. She is as darling as my sister, and is just as much a firecracker. And she has a perfect Spanish accent (by that of course I mean she doesn't have an American accent, well at least when she speaks Spanish). This picture reminds me of Norman Rockwell. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it's my favorite shot taken with the camera thus far.
My sister's youngest, Owen. He's turning out to be quite the curious sort, having a fantastic knack for finding things to get into. I love that age, especially when I'm not in charge of the cleanup.
The kids all had so much fun playing at the park. We might have spent more time there than in the house, if you don't count sleeping.
Loves from Daddy are always enjoyed.
Mark (pictured below), John, Jared & Justin all bought really crappy hats to go fishing in. Mark's says "Booyah." I hope he still wears it as much as he did on this trip, although I'm not sure he might wear it where someone might recognize him.
In the Denali on the way to go fishing. We talked to some locals and got some terrible directions on the best fishing area to go to. Jared & Shannon were troupers though and didn't mind the long drive, at least we avoided the logging roads.
So along the way, I made all of us turn around because I knew I had seen a sign for the hatchery we were looking for. Turns out, I was right, it was a hatchery, but not the fishing kind. Only in Oregon do you get confusing signs like that.
We finally made it to the fishing grounds and the long drive was definitely worth it. Here's John's first catch of the day.
I didn't shy away from fishing myself. The only challenge was giving up the camera to document the event.
Grandpa came to play, not to fish. Maddie seemed to be a fan of that idea as well.
Ahh, Ashland, we will come and visit you again.
Here is E's closest cousin (both in age and in proximity to our home), Henry. He is the most gentle of souls, and very good at sharing (lucky for Ethan).
A close-up of E. I finally captured the color of his eyes on camera. And it's in focus. Amazing. You even get to see the left over berries on his cheek. Now isn't that why you buy a fancy camera?
The mischievous Mr. Tim. My sister's oldest boy. Couldn't you just eat him up? You could, but you would still be hungry, he is the skinniest kid ever to be born in my fam. Oh, how I do love him though. And, he is a great phone talker, a boy after my own heart.
Outside my dad's new house, there is an amazing park complete with an area that you can claim to plant a garden for your family. I love that Oregon is full of hippies. It makes me feel at home.
This is Maddie, my sister's oldest. She is as darling as my sister, and is just as much a firecracker. And she has a perfect Spanish accent (by that of course I mean she doesn't have an American accent, well at least when she speaks Spanish). This picture reminds me of Norman Rockwell. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it's my favorite shot taken with the camera thus far.
My sister's youngest, Owen. He's turning out to be quite the curious sort, having a fantastic knack for finding things to get into. I love that age, especially when I'm not in charge of the cleanup.
The kids all had so much fun playing at the park. We might have spent more time there than in the house, if you don't count sleeping.
Loves from Daddy are always enjoyed.
Mark (pictured below), John, Jared & Justin all bought really crappy hats to go fishing in. Mark's says "Booyah." I hope he still wears it as much as he did on this trip, although I'm not sure he might wear it where someone might recognize him.
In the Denali on the way to go fishing. We talked to some locals and got some terrible directions on the best fishing area to go to. Jared & Shannon were troupers though and didn't mind the long drive, at least we avoided the logging roads.
So along the way, I made all of us turn around because I knew I had seen a sign for the hatchery we were looking for. Turns out, I was right, it was a hatchery, but not the fishing kind. Only in Oregon do you get confusing signs like that.We finally made it to the fishing grounds and the long drive was definitely worth it. Here's John's first catch of the day.
Ethan gives everything kisses, including the fish that daddy caught. Yikes!
I didn't shy away from fishing myself. The only challenge was giving up the camera to document the event.
Yuan even got in on the action. If you have a weak constitution, you may want to skip this pic, or just imagine that Oregon has really colorful rainbow trout.
Grandpa came to play, not to fish. Maddie seemed to be a fan of that idea as well.
Here are the boys with all the hideous hats. I wish I could remember what each of them said.
Ahh, Ashland, we will come and visit you again.
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