Summer Time Fun

OUR TRIP TO OREGON
We look forward to our trips to Oregon. We usually get to spend a few days with my daughter, Nicole and her family. Nicole is a stay-at-home mom so she has time for us to spend playing with her little ones. Both Jim and I just can't get enough of them and leaving them just seems to get more difficult as they get older.

We also look forward to visiting with Jim's two daughters, Cheryl and Tami, and their families, who live in Eugene. They are usually so busy that we are lucky to catch them both . Cheri has a daycare in their home during the week and Tami works from home on the computer everyday. They usually plan a get-together for all of us. This trip Steve BBQ'd hamburgers and hotdogs and Cheri prepared a wonderful meal for us (alot of it from their first-time garden). Cheri's daughter, Nikki was there. She is working with children for the city of Eugene. Also, Tami's daughter, Tana, who will be in sixth grade was there.
Cheri and Steve are also raising two of Steve's nieces, Ashley and Kelsey, who we are getting to know more and more.

This trip to Oregon we decided to go by way of San Francisco. I have always wanted to go out on Alcatraz Island. However when we got there we were disappointed when we found that the boats were filled up for the next two days. But no trip to San Francisco is wasted, as we enjoy Fishermans Wharf and the other sites in the city.

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge













Jim at Fishermans Wharf













How would you like to have an office in this little wing?














This is the crookedist street in the world - Lombard Street. And of course people actually live in the houses on both sides of it. How they get in and out of their garages is beyond me, especially with all the tourists lurking around day and night.












Here are a few beautiful coastal views along Highway 1 after leaving San Francisco. It is a good thing pictures are digital these days or I'd have taken many rolls of film.

























If you ever take Highway 1, just know you can drive all day and actually go almost nowhere (mileage wise). But if you don't care about time, it is one beautiful drive. Can you see the road wind around the mountian and back?













This picture is of California's Happy Cows I think you see them on televison. If I were a bovine, I'd be happy here for sure!












Here we are in Port Orford, Oregon. This is a beautiful coast. Jim used to take his daughters here when they were small and they would run through the rocks.














When we see Heceta Light House, we know it isn't much further to the little grandkids! This is one of my very favorite places on the coast.














NEWPORT OREGON
We were so excited to finally get to see Nicole, Ivan and their kids, Jessi and Mitch. They live too far away from us! We have to get a lot of grandparenting in, in such a short time! We hadn't seen them since last November and how the kids had grown!


Here's happy Mitchell at age three. He is such a thinker. He beat me at the "Match" game three times. He studies out things so much that I think he will be some kind of engineer!














And here's beautiful Jessi, who is six (almost seven)now. She is sure full of love! She gives us hugs and kisses all day. She can also beat Grandpa at "Fish". She will begin first grade this fall!














They live just a few blocks from the beach. Lucky kids! Here they are with Mom, Nicole.











The kids playing on the beach with the ocean waves.














One of the magnificant sunset pictures that I captured by running to the beach at 8:50 pm. Nicole knows the exact times of the tides, the sunsets, and anything else a costal person knows. She has all kinds of dead things from tide pools. She boiled several dead star fish (to preserve them for decorations) while we were there. (stinky!)














RIB-EATING CONTEST
We all went to Lincoln City where Ivan participated in the "Smoking on the Beach" Rib-Eating Contest. He works with the Parks & Recreation and is busy year around with creating, planning and pulling off a host of activities.













Ivan took 2nd place and the $400 he won, went to the Back-Pack Charity. This charity sends a backpack full of food home with school kids whose parents can't or aren't feeding them on the weekends. Way to go Ivan! He could have participated in the next day's contest with the WORLD CHAMPION eater, Joey Chestnut, but he was pretty well sick of eating, let alone more BBQ ribs. If you want to see a video (which is pretty funny) it is at the bottom of the Blog.












Jessi wore her new cowboy hat to the activities. She's a minature rodeo queen to me!














We also went to the Philomath Rodeo with Nicole, Ivan and the kids. Ivan was very lucky and won tickets via the radio. It was a lot of fun espcially watching the kids reactions to the events - mainly the clowns.












The clowns kept the kids laughing! Oh to be a kid again!














Hang on Cowboy!














Nicole and I took many pictures of whales, just waiting for them to spray or show their tails. I was finally rewarded with a tail shot.














I love the green! Sometimes I wonder why I am living in the desert!












HENRY
We were so lucky to have our Mississippi Grandson, Henry, (who just turned two) spend a couple of days with us. His Mom was doing some hiking with her sister in Zions Park. We had a blast with him. He kept us laughing! What a fun age he is! (And, they say it's the terrible-twos!!) Henry was so funny at bedtime. After lots of stories, getting a couple of toys (tractor & anything else), his sipy-cup full of water and his blanket, we head upstairs to the crib. Van told me that Henry liked songs too. I am not a singer, but he seemed to really like my singing, as I would try to leave the room he would demand "Song!" and I'd sing another tune, making it up as I went along. I think maybe it was a prolonging bed-time tactic, though.

Grandpa reading stories to Henry













Here's Henry with his handsome curly hair












I think Henry likes fresh peas, don't you? He ate them as fast as he could get them out of the pod.

























KYLE
Kyle, who is three, also got to come and spend the night with Grandpa and Grandma. His first over-nighter. You'd have thought he was an old pro at it. We had a great time, prentending to hunt gorilla's and mountain lions. That boy can make up exciting stories like you can't believe. (And we don't, but we have fun trying to) We read bed-time stories for a long time - with "The Three Pigs" as his favorite - over and over again.

A happy Kyle with his new horse-Just his size!















Kyle giving Grandpa some loves














This is Kyle & Henry riding on Grandpa's tractor





























TARA

Jim's granddaughter, Tara, (from Eugene, Oregon) is in Lesotho, Africa in the Peace Corps. She just finished her first year. She is having a wonderful& very interesting experience. Most important, she is making a difference. Here are some pictures she has shared with us.