2nd Grade For Real? Already?

I'm not sure that it is possible that my first born son is going into 2nd Grade this year. It was hard for me this year to swallow the fact that he is getting Older and Bigger. His teacher this year is Ms. Cary. She wore tie dye on the first day of school and immediately Cayden thought of his Nana. Jeff took him to school for his first day which was hard for me but while Cayden is starting his first day I am busy welcoming 240 9th graders to the high school. So, I picked him up and dropped him off for his SECOND day. Jeff refused to be the picture taker so I had to take the picture on DAY 2. Cayden wanted it noted that this picture is not officially his First day of school! Here is a picture that compares his Kindergarten picture to his 2nd grade picture.

Kindergarten
2nd Grade - just a bit taller, eh?

If You Leave Hungry, it is your own fault

Over Labor Day we went with a large group of friends (18 was the final count) to The Cowboy Dinner Tree. Jeff and I first went to this amazing restaraunt when we lived in Silver Lake, Oregon ('98-'00). The notable thing about The Dinner Tree is the size of their proportions. HUGE is the only way to describe it. Way back in the day they only had one item on the menu - steak. Now, they have added a chicken option and the food is better than ever. We had a great time and ate a great meal. It is so big that you have to think about leftovers before you even get dinner.

1st course - Salad family style. Eat as much as you want before the next course.
2nd - Cowboy beans and/or soup. Tonight it was a delicious corn and potato chowder served with warm rolls. Yummm.
3rd - THE STEAK (closer to a roast) or THE CHICKEN. Comes with a baked potato. See photos below.
4th - Dessert. Cake with berries and heavy cream if you still have room.

Roll us on out of there...

The Steak and Potato. Yes, that is a WHOLE chicken in the background.
Cindy and Macee

The Crofchecks and the Slopers

Us - Fat and Happy

Crater Lake

A huge log bridge over the creek by our campsite.

Wizard island at Crater Lake

My summer "to do" list included three things: Olympic National Park - check, Mt. St. Helens - check and Crater Lake - check. Jeff and I have visited Crater Lake, Oregon a couple of times but not since we have moved back to Oregon. Cayden has never seen it and it needs to be seen to be appreciated. We fit it in on one of the last weekends of summer. We camped overnight on the Rogue River in a beautiful campground. The boys love camping and Bryce especially is a different kid when he gets to be outdoors. The ride down wasn't so fun with him but once we got there.... Here are some pictures of us at camp and Crater Lake. Plus, on the day we left Jeff "took one for the team" and let Cayden and I sneak out of camp to do a hike along the river while he distracted Bryce and packed up the trailer. Thanks again honey! It was a beautiful day.

My ride

Cindy on Ty

Cindy's horse Ty (she was not happy with him)

Some of the others in the group

Cindy and Macee (Macee took a face plant and never recovered her pretty hair)

Jeremy with Macee riding Pearl

Stein's Pillar (our destination)

I love riding horses and have since I was a kid. If you asked my mom she might tell you I was obsessed for a time. I believe part of my desire stemmed from never having a big yard growing up and living in the city. In the summer when I went to Illinois I would love to ride and my grandpa would take me to Kankakee and let me ride the horses (even though it was overpriced and it meant he had to get on a horse too). When we moved to Oregon we met Jeremy and Cindy who have a farm and HORSES that they actually ride. I have been lucky enough to go with them a couple of times and have the sore butt to prove it. This last weekend I got to go with them on a ride to Stein's Pillar in the Ochocos. It was a pretty technical ride (for a beginner) but I was sitting atop trusty Tulsa. The only time I got off the horse was to descend the stairs. Everyone assured me that she would be fine but I don't ride enough to do stairs on horseback.

Summer Jam 2010

Our summer has been jam packed with activities, traveling, and events. It is hard to know where to begin (which is why I haven't). I decided this morning while my kids are still sleeping to give it a try while I still have three weeks to go before "real life" starts again. Every year I think about slowing down our summers and staying home more often and every year I throw that out and say to myself, "this is why we have our summers off - so we can go, go, go". And, go, we did. The kids and I traveled coast to coast (almost) and back again. Here are some pictures of what we did during our travels.

Sunny or Not?

Our first night of camping we stayed near the beach and we stayed in fog. I was bummed because I was really hoping for some sun on the beach. However, apparently, my children don't care whether there is sun or not. They will play in the water. Brrrr.

The really odd (or not so odd) thing was that 1/2 mile inland it would be hot and sunny. The minute you were on the beach it was foggy and chilly.

Volcanoes Rock and So Do You

Bryce who said, "the mountain is not going to rock us?"
During the Junior Ranger program

Bryce and Nana. He wanted the flowers in the middle.

Pictures don't do it justice. Amazing.

My mom came into town last week and we took her camping. I decided at the beginning of the summer that I wanted to see three new things - Olympic National Park, Mt. St. Helens, and Crater Lake (I have actually seen Crater Lake but it has been a long time). Well, we took my mom to Olympic National Park and Mt. St. Helens. My favorite part of the trip was Mt. St. Helens. The movie was amazing and Cayden got to go on a Junior Ranger hike and learn a little more about the volcano. He got a certificate and a poster at the end that said "Volcanoes Rock and So Do You". I thought that was pretty cute. Other than the extended time in the car and the overload of children's music coming from the backseat (thanks mom!) I would call our trip a success.