Monster Mash

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Adventures with the Lund boys

August 30th- Sept 7th we had the great pleasure of having the Lund boys stay with us. You couldn't ask for better boys! They were so much fun to have around. While I didn't get to take pictures of all our fun, I did get a few.

One day we headed up to Todd Lake for a little picnic

BEAUTIFUL Central Oregon day!
The kids played in the lake
Ethan LOVED being able to tag along with the big boys
And what would a trip to Todd Lake be without some frog hunting??

On another trip we spent the day at Tumalo State Park with our friends the Adams and Jacksons.

What a good sister, helping her brother across the creek

Brighton having a great time teasing the girls

Floating down the creek proved to be a fun time for everyone

Samantha even took this little girl with her one time, as she had been longingly watching the fun, but had no tube of her own

We also had a lot of fun having backyard fires with the boys

and "The Weston" was born. As we were getting out the fixings for the s'mores Weston asked if we could peanut butter on the graham crackers with our s'mores. The result? Perfect deliciousness we now call "The Weston"

It was sad to let the boys go home. We had such a good time with them, and they really became part of the family. We are so happy that Weston now drops in a few times each week after school to hang out with us, 'cause he really is like a big brother for Ethan and a good friend to the girls.

Jacksonville & Oregon Caves & Butte Creek Mill Aug 27, 28 & 29

After our trip to Harry and David we decided to head out to Jacksonville: a pretty historical town just outside of Medford where over 100 buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.

There was a neat museum there with an original Coleman stove... not that much different from the Coleman stove today!The kids enjoyed playing the in the Children's museum So did I :-) The vineyards and fruit orchards around Jacksonville were so prettyThursday night and Friday we took some time to do some back to school shopping atTHE MALL! Wahoo!Ethan got fixated on buying this puppet with his birthday money

"Burt" has since provided many hours of entertainment.Friday morning we headed out for the Oregon Caves.

We plugged the address into our trusty GPS and headed out. It was a beautiful trip into the valleys and farmlands, then up a mountain.... on a dirt road??? We ended up getting lost up on some Forest Road with no satellite service and crazy narrow dirt roads. Luckily we had a travelling companion we met along the way who was just as lost as we were, but he had better maps, so we DID eventually find our way after an extra hour of travel and some frustration.

The van was FILTHY from all the dust on the roads

The cave tour was really cool

It was a 90 minute tour, so we got to spend a LOT of time meandering through the underworld

We took the "scenic route" hike down from the caves and got this cool view of the Siskiyou mountain range

Needless to say, we took the highway home!

Saturday we headed back home with a stop in Eagle Point to see the Butte Creek Mill.

This ended up being a fun stop. Here's a little info:

The mill began operation in 1872, built by the pioneers with double-bitted axes and hand saws felled trees that were already more than one hundred years old. Foundation pillars nearly two feet square, were hewn with broad axes; the beams were morticed together and secured to one another with hardwood pegs; boards for the walls were whipsawed from logs and nailed on with hand made square nails. The mill consists of a basement and three floors.

Water from the dam, a short walk upstream, flows in the millrace to the lower level of the mill where it turns a turbine that powers the wheels, pulleys, shafts, belts, and the millstones that power the whole milling process. Water returns to the creek through the tailrace.

The stones (1,400 pounds each) that do the work were quarried in France, assembled in Illinois, shipped around the horn to Crescent City and then carried over the mountains by horse and wagon and put into service more than 134 years ago.

Here's Ethan letting the water in to start everything turning to grind the grain

At the mill was a cute little store where you could buy their products

and this super cool old refrigerator

Next door was one of the coolest antique stores I have ever seen as well. Well worth the stop.

Great little Oregon vacation!

Crater Lake & Harry and David Aug 26 &27

August 25 our family headed out for a little mini-vaca and checked out Crater Lake (about 90 min. from Bend).

The lake is SO BLUE, it is hard to describe.

At 2000 feet deep it is the deepest lake in the U.S.

It is a caldera filled only by precipitation, hence it's pure clarity.

I thought about packing a lunch, but read there were dining options available.

Um, not next time... we paid 4 BUCKS for a PB & J!!!
So pretty... you can drive all around the rim of the lake

Along our drive on the rim

These were called the pinnacles

Interesting volcanic fumaroles

After Crater Lake we headed into Medford.

Here is the princess travelling light.

She is carrying 4 bags in this pic, and I had to take her shoes for her for our 2 night stay!!

Medford is the home of Harry and David.

Their pear orchard is in Medford as is their production plant, so the next day we went on the free tour they offered. It was really interesting.

EVERYTHING is packaged by hand!!

I'd never seen anything like it... lots and lots and lots of food and candy!

Here is a woman tying bows by hand!

Now I have a better appreciation for and know why their products are rather pricey.

Making "Moose Munch" Yum!!

At the end of our tour we got a little treat. Mmmm!

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and recommend it to anyone heading out to Medford.

While in Medford we were also able to catch up with Brad's colleague, Po, from Boston, and his fiance, so that was a nice treat too.

Abby's 6th Birthday

On August 24th we celebrated Abby's 6th birthday.

In attendance were Isaac, Ethan, Chole, McKenzie, Carson, Kennedy and Taylor Abby helped decorate her puppy cake.

I thought it turned out cute!

The party guests