Tory, wendy, & boys

Having Tory, Wendy, & co. here was just fun. We played games nearly every night, went whitewater rafting, hung out at the farm, ate out. My nephews loved Oregon: whether it was due to the lack of chores, Riley, or the rafting, I'm not sure. Little Simon asked, "Mom, can we move out here?" Bless him!

 I put Wendy to work their first day here. We canned 18 pints of salsa, thank you. I'm sure it was the last thing she wanted to do, having been hard at it herself on her home turf. This is how hard at it: when the boys came in & smelled the salsa, they said, "It smells like home!" But if you have a nasty chore to be done, there is no one better than Wendy to do it for you:). The rest of the time (aside from doing my laundry & constantly putting away dishes & folding the blanket over the back of the couch & straightening my coffee table) we played.

 We drove to Butte Creek Falls with Riley & let the boys have some fun. It's not a very strenuous or long climb, i.e. perfect for them.

 Then we went over to Eastern Oregon & rafted on the Deschutes River. It wasn't as hot as it had been, & we geared up for a chilly ride. Our guide was very thorough, & when Kenny fell overboard on our first rapids, he knew what to do. It was awesome! Not too scary, but enough danger to get your heart racing. We were all soaked by the end of the trip, though Kenny & Ty were the only ones that ended up falling in.

 We drove a few hours through the dry eastern Oregon landscape, stopping at White Falls (above) & a lookout point (below) to break up the drive.

 Got some ice cream in Sisters, Or. Checked out an antler shop per request (any guesses as to whose?).

 Then we stopped for supper at a Lodge on the way home. It was a lovely setting with the sun filtering through the firs (pines, cedars?) & glinting off the lake.

 This was a pretty typical activity at our apartment. We had many pleas to go out to the farm & hang out with Riley after sitting too long in our little place. We did get into a board game & played every night, had popcorn, etc. I loved being surrounded by the first ones to make me an aunt. Life changes, & they've grown up, but they are still my first nephies.

 We scrounged up a few blueberries for them. Which didn't last very long.

 On our day trip to the Coast, we tried to explain, "Now boys, this isn't Florida. People don't swim in Oregon." They listened just like any 12, 10, & 7 year old boy would. We climbed to the top of a giant sand dune, admired the view, then were entertained by the boys' antics jumping of a small ledge into the sand. No one was hurt in the taking of these photos.

 As the day drew to a close, we started a fire on another beach & made s'mores. The boys entertained themselves as only boys could, with long-stemmed bulbous seaweeds Dar calls "sea onions". The sea onions kept them busy til the sun dipped behind the water.

 One of the things I enjoy most about being married, & I've probably said this before, is blending our two families. They just get along so famously I can't help but thank God everytime I see them interacting. Two families thousands of miles apart, yet so similar. We got together for a shrimp boil, because that's what I always want to do when I have a big group of people I love dearly & the weather is nice. It was polished off, as usual. Then we wandered around the golf course, & basked in the remainder of the day. It just makes me happy to see my loved ones at my house having a good time:).

 Aaaand, leave it to the boys to want to jump irrigation pipe.

It was a blast having them here: I'm pretty sure they enjoyed themselves. Looking forward to the next time they come!