The Girl Scouts

In order to suck every last ounce out of Christmas vacation this lot of girls hit the mountains with moms and dads in tow. Tony delighted us with hot cocoa and lemon bars. Yum. Before heading down the hill toward home we visited the little girls room at the lodge. As we were wrapping up a lady came in to use the facilities and said, "Oh, you must be a group of girls scouts or something."

It made me giggle. Nope just God's way to keep Marc and Tony in touch with their sensitive
side.

This picture of Kyndra was so fun to play with in Picassa because there were so many bright contrasting colors.


First graders be kind to teacher tomorrow, it will be the earliest that she has gotten out of bed in two weeks.

THE BEACH!

8 Girls - 3 Moms - 3 Dads
Long Beach Peninsula, Washington

Face painting, the candy store, carnival rides, Dooger's Seafood & Grill

Beach combing



Whole Sand Dollars!

Cuddling in and watching Angels in the Outfield numerous times!

SAND!

This was our second trip to the Nelson's beach house. It was wonderful(again). An added perk to the trip was the 3 boys' success at salmon fishing. We each brought home fresh-clean-freezer ready-salmon. They filled their tags quickly...but not one of them had a camera...kudos to Jody for at least trying to find a camera at 4 am...and kudos to Tony for the furry cell phone pictures to prove you didn't purchase the fish...and kudos to Marc for catching a big one!

Wisconsin - Gambling, It's a Family Thing

The game was Left-Center-Right and we were playing with quarters to begin with, until the game got serious and we pulled out the $1 bills!

Our wonderful hostess Nancy, (farthest back) is only in this one photo. Due to recent knee surgery she was unable to go on our boat, fishing, & geocache outings. But, let me tell you, she wasn't missing out on any gambling, no-sir-ee... She wasn't missing out on any of that!

My mom who is seated between Nancy and Marc was pretty lucky on a few of the nights. She may have even boasted the most wins! If anyone was keeping track... (yeah, I'm talking about you Don... I KNOW you were keeping track.)

Here is a good shot of Marc, complaining about my mom not passing to the left I am sure. To his left is Don, our 'host-boat driver-fish guide-chef-babysitter-and biggest loser'! He did a lot of whining and not much winning. He didn't want ME touching HIS dice when it was his turn... funny though... I am pretty sure I won lots more than he did. Maybe you should have let me rub some of my luck off on those dice Don!

Next to Don is my Grandma, my mom's mom. She rolled with the big guys even when we pulled our dollar bills out. I was a little surprise it didn't scare her off... dimes and nickles would have probably put her in her comfort zone. I am wondering what my grandma documented her wins & loses as in her money journal. She keeps track of her money! Yes she does. I don't think she was a big winner this trip.

Fun times, I tell you! I hope I get back there before another 25 years pass.

Sometimes it works...

• I like to be organized, but it doesn't always happen.
• I like to be efficient, but it doesn't always happen.
• I like to be creative, but it doesn't always happen.
• I like my children to do their share of the work, but it doesn't always happen.

I will keep you posted as to how this turns out!

This is my camp packing list I made for the girls. The plan will be for them to pack for themselves and then have one of their sisters double check their bag and 'grade' them on their efforts. I will be tickled pink if this makes the 'getting ready to go' part of camping a little less hassle for me. I am thinking it will be easy enough to change around for different trips by just copying and pasting the pictures.

We head out for Cousin Camping at Trillium Lake tomorrow morning. The weather is going to be a cool 60 degrees while we are there. I am looking forward to cool after our very hot 4th of July weekend. Triple digits are miserable! Our tent trailer has a heater but no air conditioner so I prefer to be a little cold, rather than being too hot.

Wisconsin: Fish Tales

FISH ON!

During our vacation in Wisconsin we were able to spend hours on the lakes and in the creek fishing. In the lakes we all caught blue gill and a few crappie.

In the creek, Marc and I were looking for
'THE BIG ONE'!

Our wonderful fish guides Don & Cal assured us we should be able to catch a Northern Pike.

We both were skunked the first few days we went out. It took us a while to get the feel of our poles. Both of us spent more time than we would have liked untangling 'birds nests' in our line.

Finally, one evening when I was about to call it quits I got a strike.

I'd like to say I was cool as a cucumber, but I squealed like a 4 year old. Everyone on the creek knew I had caught my Northern.

My fish measured 27" and weighed in at 5 lbs.



See my big muscles?

Now if you think Marc had fish fever before I caught my fish, it only got worse. Marc was diligent in getting out on the creek - taking with him both poles. Heaven forbid I catch another fish before he had caught his.

As luck would have it...he did make a catch on the last day...



His fish measured 30" and weighed in at 7 lbs.
Stinker...couldn't let me out fish him!

See his bigger muscles, holding his bigger fish?

Fishing was just one of the wonderful
adventures we had on our vacation.

DISNEY DELIGHT

Disney Delights

A List

One Daughter

One Mother

One Grandmother

Two Theme Parks & Four Days




Dozens of Characters







Hundreds of Smiles









Millions in Memories

Disney Learning per Reagan

"It really is the happiest place on earth."

"If it goes up, it's got to go down."

Disney Highlights

Princess luncheon & autographs

Rides-Rides-Rides

Key Lime Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory (twice)

Hannah Montana bear from Build-A-Bear

Disney Fireworks

Real Tinkerbell, flying on a zip line, above the castle.

(That little green fleck above the castle is Tinkerbell.)

Heat felt from the fire from our nearby seats.

Disney Downside

I went on this ride...I hadn't seen the sign.

I did quickly notice the barf bags inside the car after the latch was closed.

Trillum Lake

WHO: Cousin Camping

Anne & Jill - Taryn, Grace, Aiden, Reagan & Madeline

WHAT:Camping

WHEN: August 18-21, 2008

WHERE: Trillium Lake, Mt. Hood

(This is a 2007 photo...it didn't look like this with the smoke from the forest fire and all the rain.)

WHY: To teach the city cousins about camping fun.

Day one: I had to tear down camp at Camp Creek by myself. Marc & the Smith's headed home on Sunday evening so they could work on Monday morning...poor things. HOWEVER-I was left to tear down camp-alone-in the pouring down rain. I tucked the kids into the van w/snacks and a movie. The process only took me about one hour. We headed to Trillium Lake where I set up camp-alone-in the rain. The kids continued snacking and watching their movie. We then drove down the mountain into Hood River. I had gotten passes for us from the RAC in Pendleton to use the club in Hood River. We swam and showered! It was a much needed break from camping. Aunt Jill & the cousins pulled into camp right behind us that afternoon. I showed Jill around the lake & the campground, we ate dinner and feasted on S'mores!

The kids were all asleep in bed by 9:00. Wow-that was a big accomplishment.

Day two: Jill ran around the lake twice. I walked around the lake once. We rode bikes. We made nature prints. We played games. We ate lunch. We drove to Frog Lake and played with the frogs and went swimming. We wore ourselves out...we called it an early night...because the rain came!

Day three: Jill & I decided to ABORT the camping trip a day early. There was a total DOWNPOUR. The good news is that this time I had help tearing down camp. We got the job done and Jill headed back to Portland. She is running Hood to Coast this weekend. The kids and I headed home.

We took a quick detour at Rasmussen's Fruit Stand in Hood River.

We bought apples, fresh corn and wonderful sunflowers.

Even with all the rain, we considered our first Cousin Camp out a success.

Camp Creek

WHO:
Marc & Anne - Billy & Torie

SIX Girls:

Keagan, Milee & Kayle

Taryn, Grace & Reagan

WHAT:

3 day camping trip

WHEN:

Friday, August 15-17, 2008

WHERE:

Camp Creek Campground-Mt. Hood

WHY:

To have fun, of course!

You are silly mom.

Dad & Grace fishing (unsuccessfully) in the creek.

Taryn & Mimsy

Playdoh Creations

Taryn & Keagan asleep in the tent...alone...they made it all night.

Day one: Set up camp - Temperatures topped 100 degrees.

Day two: Hiked and explored the campground. Hit Trillium Lake to beat the heat.

Day three: Explored Frog Lake...yes there is a reason it is called Frog Lake.

My favorite part of the trip...aside from spending time with fun friends...was experiencing:

2 Good - 2 Be True Massage

Featuring the skilled hands of Keagan & Taryn.

It will cost me a movie date later this fall.

Can I say...

TOTALLY WORTH IT!