Celebrating Summer!!

Friday was a beautiful day here in our moist little part of Oregon! After rain, clouds and more rain, it was delightful to get out and spend some time in nature. I took the kids and met Megan and her kids and Marella and her kids at the 53rd Avenue Park, which is just a couple miles up the street from us. The highlight of this park is the water feature. The kids have a blast every time we go. Annalina and Joseph just adore being best buddies with their cousins Leila and Nathan. I had so much fun watching Conrad play. He entertained himself, jumping from step to step, then eating grapes. He is such a happy guy and I loved seeing how his big sister Britlee loved playing with him and chasing him around. She will be a fabulous mother someday! It was also fun to see Kathryn play in the water, never getting to close to the spraying, but splashing in puddles. She is adorable with her curly red hair!

It felt so good to be with my sisters. We talked and enjoyed each others company and this was something I needed very much. The sun was out but there was a nice breeze and we sat in the shade of a new little tree. Family and Nature, both reminders of the Lord's love for us! Getting to enjoy them both together was absolutely priceless!!


Conrad, catching some air!!

50% Chance of Rain...Taking that Risk!!

For my Birthday I got a beautiful new bike. She is named Ariel. We have been out and about a lot lately! I heard about the Banks to Vernonia trail, which is about 20 miles long and I have been wanting to try it for over a month now! It has been a VERY rainy Spring, so every time we have made plans to go ride, it has been raining. Well the forecast for today was beautiful, all week long! Then Friday it changed, to rainy! Just my luck! Early in the morning there was a 10 percent chance of rain, turning to 50% later. We decided to just go for it and got up and headed out. We invited the teens, but only Adrienne accepted our invitation and joined us. Jake's allergies have been bothering him, so I don't blame him for staying home!

We got on the trail at Manning and rode two and a half miles to Buxton where there is a long railroad trestle that crosses a meadow about 30 feet up. There was a slight incline most of the way and Joseph, with his small tires, was working really hard to get that far! After the trestle, we headed back, then stopped for a snack. The kids wanted to go back to the trestle one more time, so we went back and then had a beautiful downhill ride on the way back.

Now would be a good time to mention that Joseph is afraid of hills. Not huffing and puffing his way up, but going down them. The slightest decline and he hops off and walks his bike. We have been working really hard with him on going down simple slopes like from the sidewalk to the street. He has been improving, but heading back to the car I was worried he would walk the whole way back. He kept saying, "wow, it looks like a hill" and we would reply that all the trees made it look that way. So on he went! I was very proud of him. We were almost back to the car when he went over some gravel and fell pretty dramatically! He cried for a minute, then hopped back on the bike and off he went.

Adrienne and Annalina stayed together most of the time. Adrienne was armed with her new camera and took lots of beautiful pictures of our trip, which I have added below. It was such a beautiful morning and I had so much fun spending time with my family. We are going to try to get out as often as possible with the kids, staying active and enjoying nature!

Happy Graduation Miss Adrienne

My Adrienne has graduated from High School and we are so very proud of her! It was a beautiful day to graduate, the first sunny warm day in a long time! After graduation we went to her boyfriend Tim's house for photos and food. His mom is always so kind and generous to feed our family!

Later that night Adrienne headed out to the all night grad party with her friends. They were bused to the SW Portland Community Aquatic Center where they had a full night of friends, fun and food.

I have mixed emotions about Adrienne graduating. I can clearly remember her preschool graduation where she dressed up like an angel and sang to us. Can 18 years really have gone by? Have I prepared her for adulthood properly? I started thinking about this very seriously. Figuratively, I have packed her bags over the years, I have given her gifts as well as burdens. What I want most to do right now, is root through those bags and pull out all of the bad and replace it with good, solid advice for life. But as parents of teens know, that time is gone! Did I do enough? I felt some deep depression over this for a couple of days. Then I looked at Adrienne and I saw the strong young woman she has grown to be. I see how she loves her siblings and I see her willingness to serve me by helping out with them when she can. I see her continuing to take part in family activities even though she is not required to. I see her love and compassion for others and I see the great choices she is making in her life. I see how she has learned to work through difficult times and she does not give up. And I know I have done the best I could and she will be alright. I hope she will always feel comfortable talking to me about things and that I can still help to guide her. I know she now has the option to make her own choices, and I may not always agree with those, but I know that I will always love her. I love the adult she has grown into and I love having her around. Probably the main reason I have not completely broken down about her growing up is that she is still home with us. I am so grateful for that and will enjoy the time we have left with her before she ventures out on her own!

Happy Graduation Adrienne! We love you SO much!!

Tim and Adrienne

Grandpa & Grandma Frederick with Adrienne at Graduation
Graduation Family Photo

Our family with Tim's family celebrating Graduation
Post-graduation silliness!!!

Don't they look like the Verizon cell coverage stair step thingy?