The Pirates Life is a Wonderful Life!

Jim and I recently set sail to participate in a Pirate Murder Mystery party. We were so busy pillaging and plundering that we (and by we I mean Jim) forgot to take our camera out of his pocket to document. So I have borrowed some pictures of the event from our amazing hosts. I hope you can zoom in to get a better glimpse of Jim's puffy shirt and dreadlocks.

Yours truly - One-eyed Wanda. I think I would have made a really great pirate in another life. Arrrr!I was able to borrow some sweet pirate garb to assemble our costumes... and well... the pirate fever has continued to the rest of the household ever since. Last night Bridger put himself to bed still wearing an eye patch and clutching his shiny sword. I think he is also holding a hook under his blanket.
Don't worry - Bridger has assured me he is a "good pirate" not a "bad pirate". Thank goodness!

Are you a Warrior?

So... Jim is probably secretly wondering why I haven't bragged about his participation in the NW Warrior Dash. Well here we go!

This unique and totally awesome 5K race included a rappel down a steep ravine, trudge through a waist deep bog and over floating logs, navigating a mossy maze, climbing a cargo net, jumping over flaming logs, crawling through a mud pit and diving into a dark tunnel. Not only did Jim conquer all these feats, but also ran his fastest 5K in a race! I guess all that adrenaline pumping through his veins helped.
Our warriors-in-training were present and accounted for in the cheering section.
Jim leaping the rows of fire logs. His lame photographer (me) underestimated her knowledge of how to use 'burst' mode on the camera while keeping track of two darling pyros... so this is the only decent picture i got during the race.
The aftermath: a lot of mud and a little blood.
I am so proud to have a bona fide Warrior heading up our household. Way to go Jim!
And of course before going home, participating in the warrior communal bath completed the experience.
Who is in for next year?

Awe-dwee

Audrey came for a visit! We had Jim's sister visit from Maryland. The title is how Kacy would pronounce her name. We didn't have the best summer weather to show off the week she was here, but still managed to show off some of our fun Oregon spots.
We visited the Portland Temple grounds, downtown Portland, Powell's bookstore, the Rose Garden, Tillamook Cheese Factory, the coast, Oktoberfest and a sweet tree house.
The kids had a great time playing and being around Audrey.
Thanks for your visit! Come back soon!

What goes in...

Don't be a hater...but...

Kacy has been really interested in the toilet lately. Don't worry... she is wearing her diaper as she sits on the commode. Our little girl will stand by the toilet removing articles of clothing until we let her sit and "wipe" herself. I just really love this picture and had to share.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to share a goal I have for October. I am going to try to post a picture (or pictures) from our summer everyday in October (I know it is September, still, but might as well get started). I currently have a plethora of memories awaiting some type of recognition or cataloging, so this will help me get back into the habit of updating our family blog. In other words... it's time to "go" or get off the pot!

Is it really September already?

This post is dedicated to doing a little catch-up on what we have been up to this summer. This way our family all over the country know we are still alive and when I look back in a year of what we did this summer I will remember that we have been quite busy (in a good way).

The first summer project I took on was repainting my living room and stairwell. No small feat, considering our unusual angles and 20 ft high ceilings. Goodbye gloomy gray walls and weird pale-yellow stairwell! No, I am not sad at all to see you go.

Jim spent a week in central Oregon climbing mountains and mountain biking with the Young Men that he works with at church.
Jim and I participated in the Cascade Lakes Relay. It was 30+ hours and 216 miles of pure running fun!
Our family dabbled in the arts of home-made ice cream. I think our favorite has been Marionberry (which we picked). Yum!
We had a wet and wild time at the LHFP company picnic. We are grateful for Jim and all the hard work he does going to work everyday providing for our family, and for a great company and people he gets to work with.
We joined OMSI! I believe Jim and I will have as much fun as the kids.
My parents came for an adventure-filled visit. Bridger and Kacy LOVED having Grandma and Grandpa around to play.
We visited the ocean.
We hiked to beautiful waterfalls.
We went mountain biking in Bend, OR. Jim is pretty much wants to move here just for the mountain biking.
We went bike riding with the kids.
We had many picnics in the park and ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly.
We participated in the Sherwood Family Triathlon.
My wonderfully talented mother finished the mural in Bridger's room. A-MAZ-ING!
Then she helped me refinish my dining room table and chairs.
I helped throw a totally awesome primary activity (if I do say so myself). We were excited for the great turnout from our ward friends.
We had a last-minute visit from the Griffeth family from Idaho. We haven't seen them since we all lived in Texas 4 years ago.
Bridger and Kacy were initiated into the "Frog town" gang at the Oregon State Fair, complete with matching tattoos.

Last but not least, to finally catch us up on our summer adventures, was our Labor Day weekend camping trip to Crater Lake National Park.

Some of these adventures will necessitate a follow up post of their very own, but this at least makes me feel like I did a little bit of record keeping for our family journaling purposes. Enjoy!