A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN A DECADE......

10 years is a long time. Or it is just the blink of an eye. I can't believe Carson is 10 already. Moms have learned so many things in the last decade. Carson continues to amaze us each day.

Time for an old fashioned hoedown

Picture of me and Carson taken by my friend, Jack.










We packed up the kids (plus Manu) and headed out to Sauvie Island. Kruger's Farm hosted the annual farm hoe down. Music, dancing, hay rides to the beautiful pumpkin patch, corn maze, caramel apples, and to top it off a GIANT bonfire started by Farmer Don Kruger (with the help of some petrol). We all got pumpkins and even picked out one for Shelby. It must've been a good year for pumpkins because the field was full of perfect pumpkins. Carson got to hook up with Miriam (from the kayaking/canoeing weekend) who came from Hood River for the fun.

Fruit Loop

We took a trip with Sam's old preschool to Mt. Hood Organic Farms to pick Gala apples. The farm is not a U-Pick farm, but they open it up to the Waldorf schools in the area. The apples are crisp and delish but did we really need 45 pounds? We only caught a glimpse of Mt. Hood behind the clouds.

PUPPIES

Why did I foster these puppies? They are up all night like babies. They pee on my floor. They have needle-like teeth.....But they are so darned cute. Everyone loves a puppy. Roxy (brown girl) will be leaving tomorrow and hopefully Yoshi (black boy) will be leaving within a couple weeks. He has no interested parties yet......

Gramma Judy and Papaw Rick!

My parents came to town. A whirlwind tour of the hotspots (even though it was cold and hazy). We even hit the Oregon State Fair. I think they got a peak at Mt Hood on the very last day! Seems like with did eat a lot.

more pics from my Holga.

Ok, I was really waiting for these and only a couple turned out which is good and bad. I had BIG plans for them. I was hoping the multiple exposure hula hoop would turn out better, but....oh well.

I LOVE MY HOLGA!

I know. It is my birthday and I should be talking about how wonderful I am and posting pictures of me, gorgeous me. But, instead, I am posting pictures of Carson. Let me explain. The new love of my life is my toy camera, Holga. She takes 120 film and you have to tape her shut so her film isn't exposed to the daylight. I have taken about 5 rolls now and the first 2 were complete duds. I am starting to get the hang of it now. I took a roll of black and white film at the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls. Most of them turned out all black, but these three were the payoff. I get excited to pick up the pictures at the one place in town that develops 120 film. They scan the negatives so we can be virtual. What a concept. Here are my great shots of Carson. The lady was her "band manager". The band being The Flaming Headphones.

The Making of a Hula Hoop

After a weekend of Pickathon (photos to come....?), we have gotten our Hoop on. Carson got educated by all the true hippies on making and using your own hoops. She learned the art of neck hooping and has a full routine! Wow. If you want to make a hoop....here is the trick.....
1. Buy the plumbing tubing. We bought 100 feet for 17$ at home depot. Carson was super exited to have enough for a dozen hoops of all sizes.
2. Get the connectors.
3. Cut to the length you want. The bigger the better is what I heard.
4. Heat up the ends of the tubing with a hairdryer and shove in the connectors. Tape over seam with duct tape.
5. Decorate with "fancy tape".
6. Hoop!

Here are the how-to photos. And a special one of a lady who was on "something special" wearing a 70s jump suit and hooping away.

Sam's puppet show!

Sam's puppet camp was a success. He liked it much more than soccer camp! They each built a puppet of a Sneech and then performed the play!
Here is the puppet. I will post a snippet of the play after I download it. It takes a while to upload!

Papa Rick should come for this.

Shelby's first Pacific Ocean View! Yay!

Notice there are lots of "Shelby's First" here. Eventually, all this will just be what she does and it won't be so exciting. She is getting a big dose of "family time" this summer.

International Rose Test Garden

How can you not love all these roses? Shelby is pretending to be a Japanese tourist.

Shelby's first bus ride!

First time on a city bus. Glad there weren't too many crazies this time. Sam can show her the ropes!'

For Sharon's Birthday I got......

I couldn't wait to get jamming. So, for Sharon's birthday I got a new canning pot! Sam and I went to Sauvie's Island and picked strawberries and made some "Not My Best Strawberry Jam". I should have waited a week because the berries were still a little sour. No mind. Carson is eating it up.

Even more hiking.

This time we took the kids and Lulu on a 4 miler. Hard for Sam, but he did it with only one piggy back ride. Through a forest and over a butte. We had awesome views of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood.