September Wrap Up

Jo, what do we say about Jo.  She is unique and hilarious!  Her sense of humor and imagination are so wonderful and sometimes gross.

"Look Mom, I can pick my nose with my toes"

In our house you have to unload the dishwasher with tongs so as not to get finger print the clean dishes. (not really) But this is how she unloaded it this day.  Took a while but she had fun.

Saturday Market w/ Lori

We have not been to the market for quite a some time but our friend Lori was going to perform and so it was a must attend!

Really enjoyed listening and watching her sing and strum.  She is so talented.  I'm hoping she will do more around town so we can enjoy her original music again and again.

Our neighborhood Finch?

No, this Sharp Shinned Hawk (we think) landed on our fence when Oma and Jo could enjoy it for a couple minutes.  Probably hunting the dog next door?

Duck Football, Friends & Fire Pit

Now this is a GREAT way to watch a football game!

Pulled one of our tv's outside, lit the fire pit, tiki torches, food and drinks and watched the Ducks in our back yard.  Very enjoyable and are already planning next summer Movie nights!

UO Science

We took the kids to the science department at the UO for activities.

WOW! The hands on activities they provided were awesome!

Gloving up to experiment with chemicals.

What happened when they mixed?  Hot, Cold, bubbles?

Genetics

Pick two parents and create a child.

On the back of the cards were descriptors that the kids had to chart and then create what the Monster Baby would look like.

Their first child!

Derian & Volleyball Season

Derian has gotten very good at setting and serving.

It was a lot of fun to watch her play.  Might be the only game we see this season but it sure is worth it.

Self Portrait by Jo

"This is me going down a waterfall and I will land in the water on top of the pile of leaves."

LOVE her art!

Circus & Football

Circus Arts

Jo is like a monkey now on the silks as she climbs right up to the top.

Also learning how to wrap herself up to do tricks.

Like this one!

She is all smiles.

And likes to show how strong she is getting.

Flag Football - Game 1

Oma jumped right in to help out.

It was HOT, thank goodness she got a new hat.

Like a true Oregonian I pulled out the umbrella to sit under.  Rain is almost here so I'll be able to put the umbrella away soon.

Cole pulled a few flags on defense.

And got a few caries on offense as well playing Half Back and Wide Receiver.

Busy but very fun fall so far.

Fall Activities

We said Yes to flag football for Cole this year.  To say he is happy is really an understatement.  The Little Man is so happy he is one of the few boys who hustles the whole time at practice.

He runs from the car to the field when the car barley stops.  Water breaks he runs to his water bottle, drinks and runs back to the coach.  He is usually one of the first 5 when jogging for warm ups as well.  His words "Mom, I want the coach to know I really want to play so I run every where."

Oma found this Circus Arts class for Jo and she too is all smiles!  Jo said the other day she wants to be in Cirque du Soleil when she grows up.

This was the second day at class.

 

(You will need to go to our actual blog to view the video)

I watched her fourth class and am so impressed with her progress and how happy she is!  I will have to take the camera again to video and snap some more photos of her.  She can almost climb to the top of the silk already and she does this "Candy Cane" move that is neat.

Piano also started up for Jo and though she said loudly that she did NOT want to play this year she has almost picked up where she left off at the beginning of summer.  Goofing off, playing the songs differently than how they are written.  She is having a good time again and said "I like the piano".  Whewh.

Got an email this evening stating that Cole has his first football game this Sunday.  I turned to let Cole know this and he started yelling and moving around the house with such energy!

No excitement here for football!

Glad he is happy and we are all looking forward to his first game.

4th GRADE!

Me: What happened to dressing up for your first day of school?

Jo: Mom, (will a little attitude) we are in 4th this year.

      It's not like it's new or some thing. 

Me: (my heart gets a tad sad)

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF 4TH MY LOVES!

Mt Hood

Grandma Marie, Derian, Hannah, Jo, Cole and I made it to the family camp-out this year and it was just a beautiful weekend!

Our camp site along White River with the morning sunshine!

The water got very high this winter/spring and washed away quite a lot of the camp sites along with where we usually park. But our site was still perfect.

The kids wasted no time getting into the water and exploring.

Cole took more than one hike with the boys up the river looking for swimming holes and just getting away from all the adults.  The freedom the kids have camping here is just great!

This trip for the boys, however, sent an adult after them when they were gone for well over an hour.  Cole stated he was not going to hike up the river for two days after this trip as he was worn out!  (wearing shoes might have helped him too but he didn't like wearing them this trip)

Mornings were nice by the fire with our cocoa or tea.

Good Morning Me!

Aunt Nancy, Derian (up early two of the mornings) and Gma Marie.

Question: Why does Oma not go to the mountain?

This is Gma Marie sleeping (yes, she looks like me, or I, like her).

From the ground up: Wool blanket, padding, sleeping bag (with Gma inside), another sleeping bag with another wool blanket on top.  Oh ,and she was in sweats, wool socks and a snow hat.

We were all dressed about the same each night.

Answer: Oma does not like to be cold.

Shooting

We drove up to an area where we could shoot safely and taught the kids how to shoot.

Hannah, Jo & Cole shooting Derian's 22 rifle as it fits their hands and arms really well.  Thank you D.

Our 3 shot shooting competition.

Cole: 1 hit, Mom: 3 hits, Derian: 2 hits.

I might have hit the card three times but Derian had two of her shots closest to the center!  She is quite the sharp shooter.

Uncle Todd came up for this day and brought some exploding targets!

Here Derian shot one of them and it was quite the BOOM!

Even Uncle Bob applauded the size of the explosion!  NEAT!

Drove up to pay respects to my Grandma & Grandpa Lovely.

(My Mothers parents)

Our family photo of all the campers this year.

Too many to name, and it's not even close to the whole family.

Had a GREAT time like always and will see you next year.

Happy End of 2011 Summer Groupies!