7.31.2009

Camping with kids and great music.

We were worried about giving up our beloved annual Colorado Folks Festival weekend when we moved to Portland. Thank goodness for the Pickathon......

pickathon.com

7.26.2009

Photos by Sam






We went to a concert on Sauvie Island at Kruger's farm. We gave Sam the camera to take pictures of the flowers. This is what he found. Not bad for a 4 year old.

Back to Real Life.....






A week in hot and stuffy Myrtle Beach with 18 people in a house may sound too close for comfort. Not when a bunch of weird Shaffers are involved. We had a great time hanging out with my family for a week. I can't remember the last time we were all together like that....Maybe never? I got to know some new family members and catch up with the old ones (and I do mean old)! I have two new Sister-in-Laws, Amie and Stephanie.

Amie seems to be a perfect fit for Steve. He found someone who knows more about motorcycles than he does and agreed to build the monster-sized garage before building their new house. That's love. She taught us all about the creatures at the beach. She took us hunting for ghost crabs (and found them), taught us all about sand fleas (creepy little creatures that you don't even know are there until you know they are there and then see them everywhere). I also picked up quite the southern accent again from her. Luckily I lost it before we made it back to Portland.

Stephanie seems to be a perfect fit for Jeff. She wanted to take home a stray cat or two found on the trip. I thought Jeff may kill us for egging her on. She is funny and you can tell she adores Jeff. They brought Matt and Brad with them, my new nephews, who I made call me Auntie. It was super fun getting to know Stephanie and her boys better. I hope we can visit more often.

Sharon finally got to meet Jeff (and Amie and Stephanie) on this trip and while out picking up pizza we let them bond in front of a cheesy lingerie store. We went out to eat with Steve and Amie on the last night and had a great time.

We celebrated Mom and Rick's 24th wedding anniversary on the trip and they even got to spend a whopping 4-5 hours out together without anyone with them!!! Amazing. I bet they were bored.

We had a great time and I hope we do it again. It's nice to know your siblings as grown ups.