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!

Vacation days 5 & 6

It's kind of been nice traveling alone like this as we see things of interest we can just stop and check them out, and we did often.

On the way back into Oregon we stopped to check out these Darlingtonia californica plants. Also knows as the Cobra plant which is insect eating. We even saw a bee fly in and not come out!

They live in marsh type land and were everywhere in this area! Kind of creepy in a neat way.

Oregon Caves!

Yes, we took the long and winding road into the caves and like always it's worth the drive.

Young man, Mark gave us the tour and he thought he was quite funny, but so did Jo and Cole which helped Mark go on and on with his humor.

Cole and Jo then were sworn in as Junior Rangers!

Taking the Oath to Protect All Living Things.

The kids were very proud earning their badge and Jo has taken it so seriously that she wore the badge the next day stating that when she turns 11 she wants to earn the “real” Ranger badge.

Bet you didn't know that NAPA has a dinner menu?

Yes we ate out of our cooler again and the kids are getting a little tired of it. Should make good memories for them. Maybe not good but memories none the less.

“Today you are You,

that is truer than true.

There is no one alive

who is Youer than You” ~ Dr Suess

Gotta Love Our Girl!

After Cole and Jo had a pillow fight in the car (yes as we were driving) she put the case on her head and wore it for quite some time like it was normal for her to wear a babushka.

Oregon Vortex

Made the kids and I a little dizzy while in this area, or as the kids put it. “Made me feel drunk, though I don't know what that really feels like but it made me feel that way.” Oma said her chest sort of tighten up and we could hear her voice go up many octaves the longer we were in the area.  Interesting.

Cole is actually standing on the only “flat” surface in the house and is standing straight. Jo is trying her hand at standing the broom on it's own, which she did accomplish.

Oma standing in the door trying to make the door look square.

She made it look easy to do and so I tried and and about fell over trying to get the angle correct, steep slope.

We decided to hang in Grants Pass for two nights as the kids are really tired of driving, there is a pool at the hotel, and by golly this hotel is actually clean and feels a little relaxing compared to where we have been staying.

A little Geocache walk about around town and we posed with the Caveman.

We call him Chuck.

We also looked for a cache in a blackberry patch, sampling them as we looked for the cache.

Oma found the good berries up high and the kids noticed!

And then as much pool time as possible!

Slow drive home the next day or so.

Good vacation!