The Great Outdoors

We have been spending a lot of time working in the front yard lately. Well, actually Richard has been spending a lot of time in the front yard, my allergies have been acting up this last week, so I have probably not been very helpful at all. Although I do send Joseph out to help as often as possible, yes it is such a sacrifice, hehehe. Anyway, the yard is looking great, with new grass growing and fresh bark. We will be finishing up the front strip shortly by adding some shrubs and ground cover. It is looking great and I am very proud of Richard and Jacob(and Joseph) for all the hard work they have put in. I can't wait to get to work on the back yard as well. We have planted some fruit trees and are getting ready to plant some grass.

Below are two of my hard workers as well as the first peace rose to bloom this year. The mild weather really brought out the color! Again we have Richard to thank. He has the patience and takes the time to really care for the roses. And all my friends think I am the one with the green thumb...well now you know!

Annalina Ballerina

Annalina has been taking a ballet class through the local parks and recreation department. She has really enjoyed it. She wore leggings and a t-shirt to the first class and all the other girls had leotards and tutus. I asked her if she wanted me to take her shopping for ballet clothes and she said, "its ok, I like what I am wearing". That says a lot about her. She is always comfortable being herself and thus far she is not too worried about what others might think of her. I hope she keeps that wonderful trait! For the last class they put on a very cute performance. She wore a little outfit that Grandma and Grandpa Frederick gave her a couple years ago. She looked just adorable and danced beautifully!

On a side note, one day Annalina asked me what rhymes with her name. I had to think about it for a moment before telling her ballerina rhymes with Annalina. She really LOVED that!!

I am including photos from the recital, the one below is of her and her teacher Lisa Robertson.

Ahhhh...Sun River

Mom and Dad invited us down to Sun River for a weekend during their after tax getaway. We enjoyed the hot tub, long walks on the beautiful trails and some rousing games of ping pong. The older kids did some bike riding with Grandpa and the younger kids searched for volcanic rock in the back yard. We also managed to see a few dear during our stay, always a high point! On Friday we spent the afternoon with the Ellis family. Before moving to Bend, they lived right next door to us on Parkside Drive. Rick and Richard get a long nicely, they both love to ride motorcycles and shoot guns. A strong basis for any friendship, right? And Dawn is like a sister to me! I just love her and miss having her close! They have two adorable kids, Jordan who is 7 and Jessi who is 2 and a half. Joseph and Annalina love to play with them. We had fun visiting and find that we really do need to get together more often!

On Saturday we went to the volcano since the sign said it was finally open. For years we have gone down in the off season and it is always closed. Richard has long wanted to drive up and see the volcano for himself. We met the Ellis family there and wouldn't you know it, but the road up was closed due to an uncleared rock slide!!! So we went in the lower visitor center and hiked up the mile long trail to a lovely viewpoint. Oh well, another excuse to get back down there again soon! Annalina was a bit fearful of the trail up, which explains her not so happy face in the first photo below. It is a bit intimidating to be surrounded on both sides by sharp volcanic rock. Especially for one who is used to stumbling! :-)

After that we hiked to Benham Falls. It was another mile and a half hike, but on a very family friendly trail. Our little ones did quite well, though they did get to ride on the shoulders of their dad's! All my kids slept really well that night!

All photos are thanks to my Dad! I forgot to bring my camera along, but he was prepared! He got some great shots!

Lights, camera, action....

I have a new camera that takes small video clips, so I am just experimenting to see if I can get this to work right. Isn't Joseph a cutie??

Inspirtion

Look at me, I am starting a blog! I must say I have had so much fun reading my sister Megan's blog, that I just had to start one for myself. My sister, who I am already very close to, is a very talented writer and I feel as if I am getting to know her even better through reading about her life in her own words! She also posted a lovely entry for me on my birthday that meant so much to me. She pointed out all my strengths while leaving out the sordid details of my weaknesses! Thanks Megan! I love you!

I love the idea of writing in a journal on a regular basis and I used to have nice hand writing, but after years of typing and computer use, I really don't like to read over my own writing anymore. Its become more of a scrawl than I really want to admit! So here is the perfect solution! As if that was not enough, I am happy to be able to share the daily life of my family with our loved ones, both close and far away!