Our first family camping extravaganza - Detroit Lake

We finally made the jump and took our first family camping trip with the kids! We love camping and have been anxious to go, although leery about how the kids would do. This weekend we took the plunge... It was just an overnighter down at Detroit Lake, Oregon - but perfect to get out feet wet (literally). A few days ago we visited the big G.I. Joes Annual Tent Sale (the man-version of Nordstrom's anniversary sale:-)) and picked up some new family-friendly gear, including a three room tent. LOL - when we packed up the back of the truck before leaving, we couldn't believe how much we ended up taking! Needless to say, we used everything we brought - this is much different then the days of Ryan and I going alone. :-) We also brought our niece Hadley along, as she is great entertainment for the kids (and us). Norah, Emerson and Hadley were great and we can't wait to camp again in a few weeks at the Butler Family reunion!

Things to remember...

A truck bed filled with things for just a one night trip

The mess three children can make with a licorice snack

Putting up a 3 room tent larger than our master bedroom

Emerson's obsession with the fire "HOT"!

Norah and Hadley paddling faaar out into the lake

Emerson signing ball over and over, as he pointed out each and every one of the floating markers

Emerson throwing rocks in the lake - and at his family

Ryan only planning on wading in, but then ending up drenched

Emerson's tent suite and port-a-crib

First family hot chocolate from and by the fire

S'mores made with Nilla wafers

Taking a night-time walk with Norah and Hadley - past the lake and with a stop at the amphitheater for an impromptu dance performance

"Scary" stories by Dad, Mom, Norah and Hadley

Cards by camplight with the girls

Jones' very own camp chair

An hour with Norah chattering away in the dark - and Hadley repeatedly telling her it was time to go to sleep.

Waking up early with Emerson and making breakfast over the fire for when the rest of the crew woke up.

The ride home taking a lot longer than the ride there!

James Taylor - Norah's first concert

What a great first concert! Norah and I snatched up last minute tickets to see James Taylor at the Clark County Amphitheater. We had a great mommy/daughter date. :-) She is a bundle of fun! Norah is familiar with several of JT's songs - and I actually had a couple of very sappy mom moments when I held her on my lap and JT sang Sweet Baby James and You've Got a Friend - two of my fave songs. Yes, I teared up. :-) Norah really enjoyed the band, especially the fiddle player. She was out later than she has ever been before, but still managed to stay up a bit longer and tell Dad about her fun time. A warm summer night with my fave girl in the world - I don't think life gets better than this.

Multnomah Falls

This morning we headed out early for a hike up the Gorge - we love hiking there and usually avoid the more touristy (AKA laden with people) spots, but today we braved the crowds and headed for Multnomah Falls. It was as busy as expected, but so beautiful it was worth it!

Whoa, those are big (the rest of the falls are overhead)
Emerson viewing the scenery- he always has his pointer finger at the ready
a little bit farther up the falls

Taking an apple and drink break at the lodge

A little waterfall we spied along the way

Lewisville River

It was an overcast morning, but with forecast for sun this afternoon, so we took our chances out at the Lewsiville River. Just as expected, it eventually warmed right up! We BBQed lunch, then sat along the river throwing rocks - with a few breaks in between for playing at a toy structure and kicking a ball around

Norah was very worried about EMerson falling in the water - more worried than the rest of us. :-) She collected a bouquet of leaves to decorate our area and even poked them in the trees (you know, since the trees never have leaves) for extra decore.

We've found secluded little nook along the river - just right to park ourselves and hang for a while. Now that we've used it a few times, I beleive it is officially OUR spot.
E could have thrown rocks all day! He has a great tecnique - has to crouch and bounce a little before he musters up the actual throw.

Fancy Feet

Shoe time again for Norah - this time around we deviated from our traditional brown Eccos (yes, she had the same model ever since she began walking at a year) and picked out a NEW walking shoe. Norah is as happy as can be, these have sparkles all over the place and are BLUE - and I am thrilled because they are great for her feet. She had to wear them today with her new, blue, sparkly dress that she and Great-Grandpa bought - we brought these pics over for them today.

Build-a-Bear

We brought Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa on their first trip to BAB - whew, was it a doozy. :-) Great-Grandma really enjoyed her final product (a bunny named Ella Fluffy), as did Norah and Emerson.

Grammie Peggy and Uncle Kodiak joined us for the fun, including a lunch break at Orange Julius...mmm, haven't been there in a long time...its yummy...

Mt. Hood Railroad - Grammie's Birthday Excursion

We enjoyed a most fun birthday trip with Grammie this year - her fave local place to visit is Mt Hood, so we took her on a trip all the way around the mountain. We started the day with a ride down the Columbia River Gorge, to Hood River and the Mt. Hood Railroad. The train took us up to a little town at the base to Mt Hood, O'dell, Oregon. Grammie and Emerson loved the train ride the most! After a picnic lunch on the train we headed the rest of the way around the mountain, with stops at Trillium Lake and Government Camp. We picked up a 4,000 calorie (I think that is probably accurate) maple bar at the Rhodendron Inn, as per Dave's instructions. The kids were GREAT and the day was GORGEOUS! Happy Birthday, Grammie~

Washington Park

Uncle David persuaded us to go on an impromptu picnic up at Washington Park. We ate our spread in the Rose Gardens then went for playtime in the children's area (the old Elephant House). It was HOT, so we finished off the trip with root beer floats in the Shakespeare Garden. I think we really added to the atmosphere... :-)

Emerson's first root beer. Yeah, he loved the sugary goodness. I am deteriorating as a mother - Norah hadn't even tried soda by this age. E has had several tastes now. AHH.

Emerson's fave part was sitting in the front seat of Uncle David's Rubicon - he was mad when we made him get out!

Happy 4th Birthday Ian!

Norah and I made a special trip down to Veneta, Oregon to celebrate Ian's 4th birthday. It was so much fun! Amariah planned a bbq at a community park - it was all bat-themed, as per the birthday boy's request. We didn't want to leave the party!I loved these cupcakes - Amariah is a Martha (without the jailtime):-)

Blowing out his very own bat-cake...
...and licking the bat on top.
The Sevey family with Amariah's side of the fam.
A very happy day for everyone!
Ian and his Nana

A bat pinata! This was Norah's first experience with a pinata - and I think most of the other children's as well. They were totally into it! Ian took the final turn (don't worry, he had the first as well!!) and smashed it wide open. Apparently this is pretty intuitive; the children went diving into the candy head first.


Does it look like he is enjoying his b-day kiss??? Someday.... :-)

Princess and the Pea

Grandpa Vern created a beautiful crown cornice board for Norah's bed - now it is VERY fancy. :-)
Here is her bed without all the pillows - a few days after this we went out and picked out some fun pillow additions to the bed, including a pillow that has a feather border. Oh how I tried to talk Norah out of that one, but it was her favorite! It sheds everywhere...

Independence Day with Grandpa and Grandma B!

We had a great week with Grandpa and Grandma, culminating in an Independance day celebration at the Blinn's (Ryan sister and fam) home. We wish G&G lived A LOT closer!
Three peas in a pod ~
Emerson loved chasing around his cousins and playing ball. He is usually surrounded by girl cousins - he had a heyday!

An un-birthday trip to Build-a-Bear with Grammy C.


Norah and Jack