Summer has arrived!

The summer weather has FINALLY arrived in the Northwest, and we celebrated by going camping in Washington!

We explored lava beds and B collected a lava rock. Bridger has really been interested in volcanoes lately thanks to a book we have about volcanoes and earthquakes. He made the connection that Mt Saint Helens used to look like a mountain like Mt. Hood, and is constantly asks when it will explode. I can't tell if he is afraid or fascinated or what, but he really seemed to like exploring this "cold lava".

We are always excited when we get to use our 4WD. We were the only people hanging around this area, so I was really thankful we did not run into any car/tire problems whatsoever. :)

We hiked Dog Mountain - a 7.2 mile hike with a 2850 foot elevation increase - a lofty goal when you are carrying children on your back.

It was really windy on top, but the views of the Columbia River Gorge were spectacular!
We actually turned around short of the top and decided to turn around at the viewpoint. We had about just less than a mile to go and another few hundred feet of elevation to climb. The kids were ready to head back to the campsite and we were getting pretty tired, too.
The next day we did more exploring in Washington. We found a 'natural bridge' in other words a bridge that formed by nature. There was an Indian legend that explained the formation of the bridge by saying that a husband and wife lived happily along the Columbia River until one day when the husband ran away to live with a mouse. The husband and the mouse needed a place to hide from the wife and so created these bridges to live under. It didn't really work as a great hiding place though because the wife ended up finding them and killing the husband and the mouse. Then the wife was sad she didn't have a husband anymore so she decided to live under the bridges until she died. Hmm... Looks like the Native Americans have their own version of the Three Little Billy Goats Gruff. I told the story to Jim and his only response was "Why would the husband run away with a mouse?".

We (meaning mostly Jim) explored Ice Caves

I felt like I was entering Superman's Fortress of Solitude Arctic Oasis Ice Cave. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before, but that could be the desert girl inside of me talking.

This is just the beginning of the adventures we plan and hope to have. I hope you are doing something fun!

Are we grown ups now?

This week we hit - what I believe to be - a momentous occasion. We received an invitation in the mail to attend a wedding reception. The significant part to this event is the fact that our relationship to the happy couple is through the groom's parents. This is the first time I can remember that we have been apart of the "friends of the parents" group at an event like this - having very little connection with the young man of honor. We love these friends, and are honored to get an invite. It just struck me that this may be one more sign that we are actually growing up... or just getting older. Either way, I guess we just keep moving onward and upward! :)

Riders, Racers and Runners

A little update on what has been going on this month.

After a week of REALLY good behavior Bridger earned himself a new bike!

He is SO excited to have a 'big boy bike'. He is already asking to take the training wheels off so his bike can be like mommy and daddy's bike.
Kacy, Bridger and I got new helmets at a bicycle safety fair to celebrate the new bike. Kacy seems pretty excited to officially inherit this super-cool tricycle that plays music. She may not always wear her clothes, but at least she is wearing her helmet!
Bridger loves his new bike and new helmet - a LOT! He wears his helmet throughout the day whether or not he is riding his bike.
The other highlight this month was that I ran and completed a 1/2 marathon! Jim and the kids came to cheer me on. Before the race, Bridger was helping me get my playlist ready.

Helvetia was a fun race along farmland and country roads and we had great, sunny weather - which I really appreciated. I ran my 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 6 minutes, which was an average of 9:30 per mile.
I still don't consider myself a runner, but more and more I see the appeal of the phenomena that is running. Whether it is getting outside, exploring the scenery, setting and accomplishing goals or the treats that you can enjoy post race, this was certainly a positive running experience for me. I loved that my family came to cheer me on, and it was fun running a this race with my cousin and some great friends.

Yeah... she is amazing

Question: Where are we?

Answer: Bridger's room!
This was my mom's project while she was here. We think it looks fantastic. We seem to keep congregating in his room whenever we get the chance. Yeah... my mom is amazing!

Hotel de Schaffer

In the past few months, we have had visitors in and out of our home. Our most recent honored guests were my mom and sister.

We had a lot of fun with these gals! Both kiddos could not get enough of them! Here is just some of the hilarity that ensued...
Admiring the funny mirrors at Oaks park; in the picture above Kacy looked her legs were 4 feet long.
Hiked to the Cathedral Tree in Astoria:
It was a VERY muddy hike, but we made it to the big tree!
We played in the ocean.
We hiked around Multnomah Falls
We walked temple grounds:
We had races down our street. :) Don't worry, grandma really IS having fun.
We toured the fire station:
I LOVED having my mom and sister visit. Time flew by and I had a ton of help. The kids loved snuggling with Grandma, and Angela was chosen as the official bed time reader of books. Thanks for coming to play with us!