Camping with the Parsons in OR

Talk about road trips on a whim! We literally decided to meet up with my sister's family in Oregon the night before we left! John, if you have ever read I thing on this blog, or if you've ever met him, really enjoys fishing. He read that the salmon were running on the Klamath river and talked me into a road trip.  Well I decided that the Klamath is just about exactly halfway between our house and my sister's house. When we mapped it, it was about 10 minutes difference in our drive times. So we talked the Parsons into meeting us there!

 We got there just early enough to see the sunset, so we had to set things up fast before we didn't have any light left.

 The kids were really good at staying close by

 Correct me if I'm wrong, but this might have been the first time that my sister's family got to meet Lincoln! That night, we saw a huge black bear come right into camp! That smart bear knew exactly where the fish cleaning station was and how to clean out the gut bucket. The kids were a little freaked out. The big boys were totally pumped. They saw how big those fish carcasses were!

 The following morning, Mark commented on how terribly they had slept because of seeing the bear. We asked him if the kids were still scared and he said that, no it was Jami! She had kept him awake all night with every noise thinking the bear was going to try and get into our tent. The kids seemed to have slept great! We made Ethan super happy with some Mickey Mouse pancakes.

 All the kids were happy. There's something about camping food that makes it so good. Maybe because you have to work so much harder to procure it.

 They had a super sweet playground right in the campground.

 And we spent most of our day hanging out there while John and Mark tried their luck at catching salmon.

 They had a little of everything for everyone.

 Including the sisters!

 That night, who showed up again but that same fat bear cleaning out the fish station. We talked to the ranger and I guess she comes every night to clean the station and then goes back into the woods. Huh, maybe, just maybe, do you think you should clean the cleaning station before it gets dark people? Or at the very least, warn people that yes, there is a giant wild bear that comes into the campground every night?!

 The next morning, the kids seemed to do just as well. I think all in all it was a great trip! We had to change our clothes about 4 times a day because we just couldn't seem to keep dry the entire trip! Ethan got a close-up view of a giant black bear. Unfortunately we missed the fish. Evidently the water was too low for the fish to get upstream and the mouth of the river was inaccessible. But we still had a great time and we always enjoy seeing the Parsons! Maybe we'll try again next year.

 On our way out how could we resist not stopping by the golden bears?

 Ethan was more than happy to climb all over these ones!

 Thanks Klamath, I'm sure we'll see you again!

Time Out for Women and Random Photos from Sept 2010

This year, along with several of my friends, I attended Time Out for Women. Basically, it's EFY for people too old to go. I don't try to attend things in which I know I'll be endlessly crying, but for these girls, I make the sacrifice.

 Lincoln got to come along with the girls too, see him hanging out in the back? It's a good thing he's a good traveler.

 We even met a few friends from our area when we got to Sacramento. And yes. I cried my eyes out as usual. Is there such a thing as nursing hormones? Maybe I just have extras of those...

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We picked a bunch of our apples off our tree this year and made fantastic homemade applesauce. Ethan decided it was more fun to go bobbing for apples during the process. Can't you see from his face how much fun it is?

 I have returned to eating meat again after pregnancy. It didn't seem to take as long after Lincoln as it did after having Ethan.

 Ethan is still getting used to the idea of having another little body around our house. That or maybe we should consider getting him some new toys every once and a while.

My first Triathalon!

Now, don't get too excited, it is a shorter Tri -- called a sprint Triathalon. But let me assure you, there was no sprinting happening. Although I'm so proud of myself for doing it, I certainly wasn't aiming too high in the time department. 

I started training with friends when Lincoln was only 2 months old, and I definitely couldn't have done it without John's support. I had a lot of early morning training happening! He was definitely not a huge fan of that part of it! But he did take care of the boys when I left to run or swim at 5:30 or 6 in the morning. And when you have a 2 month old, that actually means more than just sleeping in the same house as them. Lincoln likes to wake up at about the same time, so that does mean early mornings for John too. We'll just say he was glad to see this day finally come so he could sleep in!

So the morning of the Tri, we met up at 5:30 to get to the race all together.

 Because we had registered as a group, we got to set up all of our stations together. This was awesome!

 I had to get in a little nursing time with Lincoln right before race time, since I had no idea how long it would actually take me to complete the race.

 Here's the group of us ready to dash into the water.

 Can you find me?

 I'm still smiling after the swim portion, so that's good. The swimming part wasn't that hard, it was all the people in the water at the same time that made it hard. I felt like I couldn't get a good stroke at all. I might get one or two strokes and then I was swimming on top of some one else, so I would slow down to give them some room, and then try again with the same results. It was super frustrating. I think the next time (if there ever is a next time!) I would try to get a little closer to the front of the pack when I started.

 Here is the end of the race, and I can't believe it, but I'm still smiling! The one major setback from the event was that I did end up knocking the whole bike rack over when I was getting my bike off -- sorry ladies! That and I had to run a 5k after biking 11 miles. I loved the biking part though. I was over-trained for that part. I didn't even mind the swimming part. But boy oh boy do I hate running. Then to have to do that last, was just really TRI-ing (haha, yes, pun intended!).

 We all really did feel like super women after that though. My muscles were sore but I was completely energized!

 Don't I look like a superhero?

Feliz Cumpleanos Ethan!

 Who woke up with the awesome-est bed hair ever on his third birthday?! Why Ethan of course!

This year Jane brought small presents everyday the week of Ethan's birthday. Talk about doing it the right way! Ethan loved his birthday surprises everyday. We should all celebrate for a week anyway, right?

She got him lots of books,

 puzzles,

and things to color and learn!

Ethan loved all of his presents and kept giving them all hugs.

 He got a bunch of new clothes.

 And movies, including the Thomas variety.

 I think Daddy's favorite was an Ethan-sized fishing pole.

 Ethan definitely enjoyed the giant-sized monster bean bag. I'm just waiting for this bad boy to split open.

 Ethan got all the candles in one breath.

 I can't believe how quickly he is growing up! We love you little man!

Labor Day at Hogsback with the Rossis

I decided I better post this quickly before I'm officially 1 year behind!

Our friends, the Rossis took us and a few other friends out on the delta to Hogsback for Labor Day. 

 Ethan and Lincoln had a good time relaxing on the blanket.

 We got there as early as possible but I think we might have gotten the last spot in the shade. My poor white kids never would have survived if we didn't!

 John and I each got a ton of time on the tube! I specifically remember two fantastic maneuvers on my turn. One of them was when I actually flipped head over heels and then into the water. The second was when Chris whipped the tube so hard I skipped like a rock on the surface of the water for at least 30 feet. I think that's when I swam for the shore.

 This was our little setup from the water.

 Doesn't John look excited?

 If he wasn't, he sure was about now.

 Maybe not as excited for this one.

 But probably as excited here again. Chris definitely enjoys abusing people.

 We even got to take a ride together. Not surprisingly, I kept staying on while John kept falling off.

It was just too much excitement for Ethan. If you look really closely, you can see he actually has a trail of drool headed out of his mouth!

 Poor Lincoln had a blow-out while Chris' sister was watching him (while we were being abused by her brother), and we forgot to leave a diaper with them. So as it turns out, even Lincoln got a little air time on the trip!

Thank you Rossi's for the fabulous trip! Chris, we are sending you our doctor's bills.