Pie eating contest

Well, we missed the pie eating contest and the giant prize winning tomato. But, we did see pigs, sheep, goats, cows, chickens, horses, and mini horses. Yes, mini horses. We spent the day at the Oregon State Fair yesterday. Carson loved the animals. Sam couldn't have cared any less about them. We rode rides and played carnival games. The kids had no idea I only let them play the games where everyone wins a prize. We walked away with 7 crappy "made in China" stuffies, a blow-up mallet, and plastic swords. We rode the fair lift (aka....cable cars) across the fair.

We watched the judging of the mini horses. So there are these little horses that pull around a little carriage with a little lady dressed in a little hat. Very funny. Carson got to talk to a lady in a little hat who has a mini horse.

We touched and fed the sheep. Touched them before and after the shearing. The fluffy ones feel like a temperpedic mattress. Carson got to talk to a few teenagers from FFA who were showing their animals. What a city girl with her pink purse, ipod, and big pink sunglasses.

I wasn't too sure of the booth "Are you going to Heaven?" at a fair/carnival....but, whatever. I wonder what the prize was there?

The search for Randoseru (ランドセル)

Back to school shopping.....I remember it well. We went to Hills Department Store and picked out some Garanimals (remember--match the tiger shirt with the tiger pants) that got put on layaway. We got to go to Hartley's and get something great. I remember my first penny loafers that came from Hartley's. The man behind the counter even put a shiny penny in each one.
I loved the pencils and paper and folders and crayons and the smell of new school supplies. Now it is my turn to take my daughter back to school shopping and things have changed. Now, the school sends a detailed list of things that are to go to the classroom. Your child puts it in the 'kitty" and it gets shared with other classmates. The kids don't even get to keep a stash of super sharpened pencils in their desk.
Last year Carson noticed the Japanese children at school carried these wonderful sturdy leather backpacks. (Actually, I noticed too). So I started doing my research and this is what I found.

The Randoseru is given to a child at the start of elementary school and they are built to last through 6th grade or so, but many children will keep them through adulthood. This morning we went to the Japanese bookstore in search of Randoseru. Too bad I told Carson she should have one before I realized they are about 30-50,000 Yen or about 300-500$. Guess we will be sticking with Hello Kitty.............

The Kempens are here. The Kempens are here.

We had 5 days of utter chaos and excitement when our beautiful 5-year-old twin girls and their mama Anne visited. I believe we blew the budget on fun. The highlight of the trip was the Enchanted Forest. Wow. Talk about a place for kids. It was built in the 70s with a storybook fairytale theme. The kids had so much fun. There were kiddy rides, panning for gold, fun caves to go through, fairytale houses.....
For my birthday we hit the walk up waffle window and perused Hawthorne. Everyone under 8 got Totoro and Catbus softies.
Maggie and Rowan taught us the Tarzan song which I can't stop singing. Almost constant fun (except for my bright idea to have all the kids sleep in a little tent in C & S's bedroom).

A visit from the Jacksonville crew.

Wow. I am so far behind. We have been so busy this month. Sharon's brother and family came to P-town for a visit. The week before they were here was a 100+ degree heat wave and then while they were here it was really cool. It even rained.......Now I hear that another heat wave is on the way. We took a trip to Silver Falls and hiked down under a couple of falls. Carson and Sam had so much fun hanging out with Brent and Kenz. It is so fun to get attention from an older cool cousin.
The picture of the hole is the formation that was made from Lava flowing around the trees. The lava hardened and then the trees died and created this hole with fossil like bark imprints inside. Really neat. They are called tree casts.

"Mom, you complained all weekend"

Well, she got me there. It was hot and sticky and dusty and without showers. There were bugs and dirt and Honey Buckets! SURE, we'll do it again next year!

We went to Pickathon on Friday afternoon and pitched the tent by 3pm. We were so sweaty and gross by then, I couldn't believe we had a whole shower free weekend to go.

The music was fun. The kids had a blast. It was fun to sleep in a tent.
Luckily, there was a pirate band for the kids on Sunday morning. Luckily, there was an awesome beer garden for moms.

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

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.

Bu-Bye

We are off to the beach with my family on Saturday. Today I have to get ready and pack and clean and meet with the house sitter. I can't believe I scheduled myself to work 5 12 hour shifts this week. I usually work that many in a month. This will be a much needed vacation. We are going to enjoy 9 days of fun in the sun on the SC coast. We will NOT think about work, but will sit on the beach in the hot sun all day. We are NOT going to think about email, but will think about rolling over every 20 minutes or so. We are NOT going to think about paying the mortgage, but will have another margarita with salt. We are NOT going to think about that letter from the IRS sitting here challenging our 2007 tax returns, but will celebrate my parents 24th anniversary. We will not think about Sarah Palin, Michael Jackson, Governor Sanford, the economy, or unemployment but will stuff ourselves with fresh shrimp and crab. We will not argue over who will put the kids to bed or go to the grocery store, but we WILL take daily walks on the beach without our kids (thanks to a big family who will take them) and wake early to drink coffee and watch the sunrise.

We saw a little stinker....

I worked Friday and Saturday so we had a bit of a holiday today. We drove out to Sauvie Island Beach and the kids played at the water's edge. Should have brought my own suit, but I figure I will be in it enough next week. We picnic'd and sunburned and then on the way home stopped for blueberry picking at Kruger's Farm. The chickens were out and the berries were ripe. As we were making our way past Turtle Pond......out pops a skunk. I know I have seen skunks before, but only smashed dead in the road! This was a real live one with tail up. Thank goodness he didn't spray us. Home for blueberry pancakes for dinner. Yum.

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Norma! It was a beautiful day for a birthday party. The last chance for a party in June. We ate stromboli~ after a few mishaps with the dough, it turned out. We ate cake. We opened presents. YAY! The kids were so excited to give Gramma D. her card with the kissing chimp of the front (and an obnoxious kissing sound when the card is opened). Yes, that is our junkie trailer which is still sitting there, untouched, behind her....

Soccer Camp

Sam is doing soccer camp. It is really funny to see 20 4 year olds trying hard to focus.