Lava Cast Forest

Lest you think we get out all that frequently and feel guilty that you don't ('cause blogs can be a bit one-sided) :) We are still on our 5 day adventure in Eastern Oregon, that we took in September instead of starting school....

However, we worked really hard at making the best of the rain and clouds... we dicovered the Lava Cast Forest which was extremely fun. There were 12 casts to find/see. They were along a path, and the boys loved the "hunt". So did I for that matter! Chad just enjoys seeing us all run around excited -like. :)

pic. 1 A lava cast: A tree or stump covered over with hot lava during a volcanic eruption....then the tree decomposes or burns to nothing and the hole of the tree is left with lava rock to show where it was. (not a super-scientific description but I do love info..)

pic 2.
J and E are squatting near a stump that we thought looked like a teddy bear.

pic.3 L inside the cast of a log

pic.4 All the boys in the deep cast of a tree.

What to do on a rainy day?

Sleep, read, hot tub, and number one thing to do...
PLAY UNO! I am not typically a game fan, but as the rest of the family enjoys it I join in. This was probably the most fun game I have ever played...and it probably had nothing to do with the game. Kids are funny, Chad is funny. I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time! Levi had his"special" cards that he talked about loudly in my ear "whispering" SKIP being his favorite special card. (Levi and I were a team).
Chad asked Josiah what was in his"hand " and Josiah said "nothing" as he looked at his real hands. You had to be there I guess. J and E were out to get me and Levi (very vicious card playing). And we had lots of snacks, so what could be better, We played ever night.

Rainy camping pictures

Chad is known for his ability to "tarp" :) so we were somewhat dry after it go put up, but it was pouring so we didn't do too much (meaning Chad and I) besides try to keep things dry. The kids were fine, but getter wetter by the second and soon to be very cold. So there is the picture of Chad on the phone trying to find us a place to stay without having to go all the way home! It wasn't bad, just knew we couldn't last several more days like that and be pleasant at the same time.

pretend camping

Ok, so we REALLY wanted to go camping this summer..in the tent.  However we got to Eastern Oregon (place picked for better weather) and in short got rained out.  We camped one night and while the tent more or less held up we still ended up with puddles.  I have pictures of that too, should have them in here too. :)  Even with that we though it would stop and were willing to put up with it all until a ranger came by and said the forcast had changed and now a thuderstorm was coming and extending days out. We found a house nearby to rent.  Our last day in the area turned out beautiful and we found a small river to "camp out" at all day. We felt very happy to have a nice day!
I had other pictures but they wouldn"t post.  Oh well. Might post more later. :)

Josiah is carrying his stuffed animal on his back tucked in his shirt. :)

Pumpkins

Since I don't seem to download my camera pictures until WAY after the event...therefore having no Thankgiving Pics....here are the Pumkin pictures!

We went to Sauvie Island, walked a portion of a VERY muddy corn maze (no one fell, which was amazing!). Picked out our pumpkins, took a tractor ride and all in all was a good way to get out of the house on a rainy day. The sun even came out for a couple hours!

Mom...notice the cape? Best gift ever! (though I was a bit worried it would be covered in mud and unwashable... :)

Warning: this is totally unrelated to the hoildays

These are the pictures of our guinea pigs first birthday (though I don't think they were the age the lady said they were when we bought them last year). Even so, we are claiming the date as their birthdays... October.

 Elijah (our most loveable guinea pig lover) and Levi decorated the cage with Bendables (waxy yarn). Then we sang Happy Birthday and gave them huge plate of veggies...carrots are their favorite!

Mother's Day

Ok, so I am behind again. I am NOT computer smart and couldn't sort out yet ANOTHER computer problem for downloading the pictures. But here are some pics:

We went biking on Sat. with Mom and Dad. We went biking on Sunday too, was a beautiful weekend. I
am glad we made good use of it!
Apparently I only got pics of the Sat trip.  Though the
boys and I did get our pic taken at a big tree by a creek...we went off the main trail and explored, very fun!

pastimes

The boys found a DVD on knitting at the library. It is taught by a 7 yo boy. Anyway they really wanted to try it. But what they really wanted to make at first was guns and rockets! Did you know knitting originated with sailors fixing rope and sails?

This is a soccer class that L and E took. First class J was too old for. He took an archery class instead, which he LOVED.

Random pictures

This is a picture of Josiah, his favorite spot is sitting on our little fireplace (the pilot light keeps it a little warm). This particular morning he was very cold and threw the blanket over too! :) Very toasty....
Next pic is Elijah with his famous Elephant, still the most popular stuffed animal since the velvateen rabbit.
Then we have Levi with his underwear on his head! What more can be said...
Always something new!

Of rain and submarines

No Pictures today, except the ones in your head...

Today is a rainy day with a few sun patches and HAIL!  SO exciting right.  We spent the morning at Bible study and then ran errands.  But the point of this is that now the kids are in the truck.  I was upstairs reading during rest time (which happens here everyday sometime after lunch).  The big hand on the clock struck the 8 which meant rest time was over.  I heard lots of noise and playing with legos then silence.  That is not a regular occurance here and I always have that nagging fear that someone has stolen my children when it happens.  So I went searching, I called and searched the house.  No one there.  Went outside, still saw no one. Happened to look at the truck and saw 3 very excited faces inside it.  With the keys!  After some debate about what they were doing and if it was permissable...I found out they were in a submarine, I believe called the Neptune.  Having more battles with thier legos.  This time underwater.  I have taken the keys and given instructions on touching nothing in the front seat (after many warnings about crashes and death that could happen.....but was then convinced that maybe the steering wheel itself was ok).  It is raining, but NO our yard is not covered in water...there is just a big black sub floating in it. 

Easter Egg Race

Here are a few photos of the neighborhood Easter Egg Race. I don't use the word "hunt" on purpose as they literally throw the eggs on the ground and the kids pick them up. Pretty ridiculous really, but we do get to see our neighbors. :)
We did more hunting at our house, and Chad is such a good "hider" that it was quite a long hunt.

The neighborhood race was one of the coldest days in Portland probably since December. Don't know that we would have gone except I was helping with it. The sun DID come out for about 10 min during the actual racing part though.

Magnolia Tree or Tulip tree?

Don't know which one it is called but is very pretty in the spring and does a little flower in the fall too. This is through our bathroom (upstairs) window. I was showering and that is where the "mist" or "fog" border comes from. When I saw it I thought I should post it, inspired by the rest of the family blogs of beautiful flowers and trees.