The Oregon coast

We had planned to go down to my Sister's house and spend some time at the lake this weekend, but we could not get our schedules to jive. So when that was cancelled Eric quickly planned a action packed trip to the Oregon coast for us.

Our neighbors recommended this hotel right on the beach that accepts dogs. Score! It was perfect. 
This was the 1st time we have done a road trip with our dogs, but we quickly realized that everyone has dogs at the beach. I was amazed how accommodating everyone was for dogs. The stores even had treats for dogs, and there were poop bag dispensers next to the trash cans. 

We drove up the coast to Bandon to check out all the cool shops and resturants. We saw some of the most beautiful hand blown glass I have ever seen here. 

We also stopped at a wool shop. The owner showed Haley how to make 3 dimentional felted animals. 

The first day we were there the sun was shining and it was not that cold. We spent  a lot of time at the beach. It was beautiful.

At night we had a fire on the beach and roasted marshmallows and made smores. Then we headed to the heated pool and super toasty jacuzzi at the hotel... Lucy said "This is the best vacation ever!!" 

I hope it was worth it!

They normally do the check out dives on Sat and Sun, but we did not want her to dive on Sunday. So Haley spent two Saturdays doing her check out dives. The first Saturday was not too bad but these photos are from the 2nd Saturday. It was 41-47 degrees outside and the water temp was 61 at 30 feet. I was fully dressed and sitting next to a portable heater and I was cold. 

(Notice her instructor has a DRY suit on)

I told her she did not have to do it and we could wait, but she was determined to get this over with. She did a great job and passed off all her skills.

It's now official, she is a certified Jr. Diver. Her next dive will be with us in 6 weeks here:

The average water temp is 80 degrees, no need for a wet suit of any kind.  

I'm pretty sure she will think it was all worth it... I hope!

When Grandma's in town

(Lucy's self portrait w/Grandma) 

She brings LOTS of candy. We did lots of shopping and exploring the local towns. We discovered some awesome new restaurants. The girls even joined Grandma Bonnie outside for some craft time.

Speaking of craft time, my Mom is a master wreath maker. We bought a plain wreath and some fun stuff at the craft store and my Mom whipped it into a cool wreath in like 10 min.

Check out my beautiful fall wreath... Thanks Mom!

My little scuba diver

Eric and I got certified as scuba divers shortly after we were married. I will admit it was totally Eric's idea and I went along with it so he would think I was cool. The class was held in a pool with like 25 other divers. I felt so clumsy and claustrophobic. Our certification dives were in a geo-thermal spring in Wendover Nevada. Talk about mirky dirty water, I was miserable. I remember thinking "This is torture, as soon as it's over I am NEVER putting on scuba gear again". 

After several months passed Eric and I were in Puerto Rico visiting some friends and they suggested we go out to a little island called Culebra. We did and we decided to do a dive there.

It was life changing. 

I loved it so much and did not want the dive to end. The water was so clear you could see for miles. All I could hear was myself breathing. The slow waving of the coral and kelp was completely relaxing as the fish swam around me... I was in heaven... I was hooked. 

So you can imagine how excited I was when Haley said she wanted to get certified as a diver. She has been taking the classes for weeks and is finally ready to do her open water certification dives tomorrow!

My stomach is in knots. I am worried sick about my little 11 year old doing dives 60 feet under water in a freezing river where it is so dark the instructors bring lights. It will be her Wendover. I just hope she can make it through and pass off everything so we can go on a real dive with her in Culebra.

 

This is a photo of one of Haley's 3 hour long dive classes. They spent so much time underwater I was bored silly and talking to myself. 

My Mom's condo

My Mom seriously has the coolest condo in  Salt Lake City and she is selling it so she can move out West and be closer to her kids. It is on the top floor and has beautiful views of the mountains and the U. If you know anyone that is interested you can view the tour HERE.

Haley's new business

In this economy Haley and her friend Harrison have decided to start their own business. They posted these signs on all the mailboxes. I find it interesting that they don't take dogs or cats.  I wish them the best of luck in this new venture. 

We have the best neighbors

I came home to find these beautiful tomatoes on my front porch.  After a huge mess in the kitchen they turned into to 9 jars of salsa and were canned. I love salsa, but holy cow it was a lot of work!

Our growing family

I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family... Spike.  He is a 6 week old chocolate chip hedge hog and seems very happy in his new home.

Both mother and baby are doing well.

For those that are counting this makes:

4 dumpy tree frogs

2 dogs

1 hedgehog

Some may think we need animal birth control at our house... one of my friends said "do you want me to teach you how to say no".  I can honestly say that our girls play more with our animals then with any toy in our house. I think taking care of something smaller then you, that relies on you to survive has taught them responsibility and kindness. As long as our house does not smell like a zoo, I'm good with it.

The 1st day of school

New State, new school, new friends so scary!

I think I was more nervous then my girls were. I was shocked how relaxed and confident they seemed. They all come home on the bus and said that everyone was nice and they had a great day. Although Lucy was sad that her room did not have a guinea pig like Ruby's room. 

Twas the night before the 1st day of school...

...and Lucy should have been sleeping, but she put her nervous energy into pulling out her loose tooth. Lucy has ben faking having loose teeth for years and she has asked me countless times when one of her teeth would come out. She was SOOOOO HAPPY it came out. I think in her mind this graduates her to the status of a big girl like her sisters! 

Rafting on the Rogue river

Sure it was 10:00 in the morning and only 60 degrees outside (not to mention freezing water), but we decided to do a 3 hour float down the river.

(Dave, Tiff, Jacob and Ruby)

There was just enough rapids to keep it interesting but not so many that the little kids got scared.

(Ali, Lucy, Ryan, Me, Haley, Weston and Eric)

The dog at the rafting shop would howel/ sing if you sang to it. I think this was probably the highlight of the trip for the kids.

Afterwards we went to Phill's frosties in Shady Cove for lunch and shakes. After we got home it was time for my Sister's family to head back to the bay area. Of course a black cloud came over our house and all my girls were super sad that they will not see them until Thanksgiving.

The cousins are here!

We were so excited to have my Sister and her family come visit. My kids have been counting down the days. They finally arrived yesterday evening and the party has started!

This morning we went to Harry and David, hit a sports shop (they wanted to take advantage of no sales tax) and then we went to Lithia park. I watched all the kids while Tiff and Dave checked out Ashland. We had so much fun at the park.

We took a hike

Everyone made it to the top of the rock climbing wall but it was a little scary getting them all down.  

I hope our neighbors still talk to us after this weekend. There has been lots of jumping on the trampoline with rock music blasting. 

Good times!

Pear season

I have always LOVED pears so I am in Heaven. I took the girls to gleen pears from the ground over a week ago and we have used them all. So this morning Eric and I took the girls to pick from the trees.

As you can see everyone had fun and didn't want to stop, so our trunk was full of pears.

What do you do with this much fruit you may ask?

First they go in the refrigerator for 24 hours then on the counter for a couple of days until they turn yellow. My girls love "getting the guts out" and making pear chips and fruit leather.

I have been eating pear chips non stop and Lucy just tried one today and said "these are really good... I thought they were going to be sicko".

My Mom just mailed me all her canning stuff. I can't wait to canning some of the pears and some homemade salsa!

Whaooo!

After trying for several weeks... today was the day 

Lucy did a perfect cartwheel all on her own!

 

Extreme water sports

Our primary end of summer party was a water/ slip and slide party...

but it was definitely not your typical slip and slide. 

It was an extreme water shooter that induced uncontrollable screams and laughter! 

My girls had a blast and were saying that they want to do this for their birthday party(that's the ultimate complement).