A GRANOLA STUDY

I've been making Tam's granola for a few years. It's simple, inexpensive, filling, and tastes good. Plus, and this is the part I like most, it's made in the crockpot. That means my house smells good for a few hours and no mess is made when you stir it. I make a double batch and we always have a tub full of it, eating it a couple times a week for breakfast.

Tam's Granola (in really bad lighting)

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Well, as much as I like our regular granola, I thought it would be good to have a couple "fun" granolas to make on occasion. So, I got the ingredients for two new recipes.

One of the recipes we tried was from someone at church. It's called fruity, nutty granola and tastes earthy. I mean earthy in the "wholesome" way, not the "tastes like dirt" way.

Fruity, nutty granola

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The other recipe we tried was from allrecipes. I love that site. I really do. Anyway, this one was called easy cranberry granola. It's sweet and a little clumpy.

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Easy cranberry granola

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You may recall our snickerdoodle experiment from several months ago. Well, we decided the same scientific approach needed to be taken in determining which of the new granola recipes we liked best. Each family member did a blind taste test of both granolas, one bite plain and one in milk. We pretended like the texture of the granolas didn't make it blazingly obvious which one we were sampling.

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We also watched as some silliness between me and one of the little Ws resulted in that kid choking (the "no air is coming in" variety, not the coughing a lot variety) and Tim rescuing the child by pounding his back, which helped the lodged food to come back up. No Heimlich maneuver needed and the choking child, while still crying from pain and a little fear, insisted on finishing their turn before letting the next person go. Never a dull moment at the W house.

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Anyway, reviews were made, scores were tallied, and the final result was ... no result at all. The two recipes were so different that it really wasn't a fair comparison. The kids loved the sweetness of the easy cranberry one, which wasn't surprising, and would probably make it their first choice. However, they all liked the fruity, nutty one too. One liked it more than the other two, but no one hated it. Tim and I thought they were both good, but just totally different from each other.

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I've got all three recipes posted on FOR THE LOVE OF GRUB and their names linked in this post, so go give them a try!

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What's your favorite granola recipe? I'm open to trying some more new recipes!

MORE THAN 100%

I'm walking in Komen's Race for the Cure in a few weeks. Remember me mentioning that? Well, between my blog post that said why I was doing it and an e-mail sent to a few friends and family members, I have reached my fundraising goal. Actually, I've passed it and there's still about three weeks left until the race!

A big thank you to friends I see regularly, family members, friends I've only talked with online, strangers who know one of my donors, and the women who were friends with my mom. I'm grateful to all of you for being part of this with me!

SILAS' BAPTISM

Two years and two weeks ago Silas was at the bottom of a pool and had no heartbeat. For reasons we'll never know, God chose to give life back to Silas' body. A new beginning, physically speaking.

Today Silas chose to make a public statement about his decision to follow Jesus, a decision he made two years ago, shortly before he drowned. Silas was baptized by his youth pastor, with his church family standing by. A new beginning, spiritually speaking.

Praying with James.

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Coming up out of the water.

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My prayer is that his commitment to Christ never wavers. We all make mistakes and sometimes life is just hard, but if he strives to live like Jesus, then he'll be just fine.

MARSHMALLOW GUN WAR - FOURTH EDITION

When we moved to our apartment we vowed to keep the MGW tradition going. However, we totally slacked and summer is basically over, so we busted out our first one of the year tonight. Better late than never, right?

We no longer have a yard of our own, so we headed down to a local park for this battle. We stuffed our faces first, potluck style, then got down to business. I'll post more pictures on our Picasa site tomorrow night, but this post shows you who was there.

The "rapid fire assault" award goes to Noah, who modified his gun to make shooting about 20 marshmallows at a time much easier.

The "bonus grandparents" award goes to Jack & Orma, who hung out with Luke for much of the battle, until Morgen kidnapped him.

The "kick the boss out" award goes to Sheena, Sachi, and Laura, who took over the loading station and camera so that I could participate for the first time. As a sidenote, I have fun doing the loading station and have no complaints about never fighting in previous wars, but it was fun to get out in the battle zone tonight.

The "thanks for the invite, let me introduce myself" award to goes to Michael, who tagged along with friends of friends. Though we send the e-vite out to a bunch of people, it's really an open invitation event, so it's always fun to see who shows up that we've never met before.

The "paybacks are much worse than the inital offense" award goes to Tim, who likes to do close-range, rapid fire assaults with a large lung capacity on girls who shoot one or two marshmallows at him that he can barely feel. Not that I experienced that or anything.

The "wars matter more than sleep" award goes to Mike, who had been up since 1:00am and battled anyway.

The "til death do us part" award goes to the Casey clan, who have showed up to all four battles.

If you want to see the rest of the pictures, then head over here.

I think it would be fun to crank one more of these things out in the next week or two. The battle would have to start by 6:00 to have enough time to play before it gets dark. Anyone up for it? Next Saturday? The following one? Don't think we could pull it off much later than that unless we did it in the afternoon.

GONE FISHIN'

Tim has wanted to go fishing for years, but it's never happened. This year a couple guys, Jason and Jeff, invited him to join them.

Earlier in the summer he and Jason took some of the kids out, but Tim didn't catch anything. Jeff took him out on Wednesday and he caught a steelhead. Jeff took him out again on Thursday, but he came home empty-handed. He went out with Jason today and came home with a salmon.

Happy with his first salmon.

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Jason & Tim showing off their catches.

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BLISS

Check this out!!! Oh, be still, my beating heart!






This return to apartment life is fine and it's serving the purpose it was intended for, but I really miss our yard and garden. A lot.

Well, over the weekend I got a message from a friend telling me to go raid her garden this week. What a treat!!

Silas, who had to choose between me squinting into the sun or being silhouetted with it behind me, took a picture of me during my one time in a garden this year. Not a great picture, but we had to document the occasion!
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The loot.

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Tons of collard greens (the picture doesn't really show just how much of this we have), lettuce, spinach, kale, a bit of basil, and a few strawberries. I've never cooked collard greens, but Tim, being raised in the South, likes them. I've never cooked with kale either, but some friends on the Sonlight forums just shared some recipes with me that I'm going to try. Actually, they shared recipes for kale and collard greens. So, we'll be trying some new recipes in the next couple days.

Bonus points for access to the chicken coop.

I just sent a friend out the door with some of our excess leafy products, which makes the little garden trip even better. Love paying stuff forward!

Anyway, I was in the dirt, harvested produce, have various leaves all over my table, and am really happy about it. Just had to share.

8/26/10 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for Dutch babies, German pancakes, puff, or whatever you call it at your house.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

THE ACROBAT

MENU - SECOND HALF OF AUGUST 2010

I just realized I never posted the menu we're currently working on. This month was just a bit wonky in the menu department because of our camping trips, so you'll see some things we never did the last round. Or maybe I just typed up a longer menu last time because of our trips. I don't know. Anyway, here's what I'm working with at the moment.


BREAKFASTS
oatmeal
granola (crockpot)
dutch babies
banana poppyseed muffins
wheat germ whole wheat buttermilk pancakes
easy cranberry granola
nutty, fruity granola

DINNERS
leftovers x2
tacos x2
teriyaki chicken (crockpot)/coleslaw/rice
manicotti/green beans with feta & dill
summertime orzo & chicken (potluck)
Italian sausage & bowties/salad
birthday party guests
hot dogs/chips/fruit
chicken tortilla soup (crockpot)
new fish recipe (flop)/rice/salad
bbq pie/frozen veggies


DESSERTS
new cake recipe

A GOOD WEEKEND

Friday - Actually, the day had a rough start. I was stressed, the house was completely trashed, and I was in a foul mood. So, I blasted my family on my way out the door to go grocery shopping. Lovely. But things improved later in the day.

About a week ago I looked out Naomi's window and saw a family from church walking up the sidewalk. Turns out they just moved into the complex and when I came back from shopping on Friday they were here. We got to visit a little bit, then I tackled the train wreck of our home and they went to unpack more boxes at their place.

Later in the afternoon I got a message from a friend saying she was on her way to my house. The place was a mess, but Tim had fresh banana bread, so I swallowed my pride, along with the bread, and enjoyed the visit. We even got to sneak in a little walk, leaving the offspring with Tim. Our primary purpose was to be able to talk without listening to Naomi ask questions every 2.5 seconds, but it was nice to get some fresh air along with the uninterrupted conversation.

Saturday - I fled the casa, spending a chunk of the day with a couple friends. I scored a $26 sweatshirt for $3, (thanks to a coupon and sale), found some funky pillows for my couch (though I discovered later one had polka dots and one had polka ovals ... not sure if I'm going to return them or live with imperfection), drank a frapp from Starbucks (freebie with a gift card), and had a good time just being a girl, not a mom, for a little while.

Tim and the kids were at a birthday party when I got home, so I had two hours of silent, uninterrupted work time. Got several random things taken care of, then tucked the kiddos all into bed as soon as they got home.

Sunday - We went to church this morning, puttered around the house and ate lunch when we got home, then watched some kids for a few hours while their parents went on a date. We ended up chatting with our friends when they came to pick up their kids and invited them to stay for dinner, which I'd thrown in the oven before they arrived. I love spontaneous, casual meals with friends.

This evening has been quiet. Devon, who skipped a nap to hang with the extra kiddos, went to bed an hour early. Naomi hung with me for a while as I worked on stuff, then went to bed 30 minutes early. Tim & Silas left to vacuum the van, which it was in desperate need of after three camping trips this summer, then put the van seat that's been in our living room for the last month back into the van. Yeah!

And that's that. The weekend managed to be mellow and productive, with some much appreciated socializing thrown in the mix.

2010 - ANNUAL KIDDO PICS

Picture season is officially over and I thought I'd share this year's batch with you. Ready to tell me how cute my kids are? All righty then, here we go.

The 8x10 - Silas doing his studly smile.

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The wallets - He seems so ... I don't know ... non-kiddish in these. Time flies.

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The 8x10 - My crazy boy cracking up at the photographer.
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The wallets - I'm not a big fan of worn out shoes in pictures, but the picture on the right just captures his personality so well that I had to order some.
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The 8x10 - Our spunky little lady rockin' the pom pom pigtails.
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The wallets - The girl loves her pink boots. A lot. She'll wear them with anything, whether they look good or not, so we had to include them in some pictures.
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"W"

I like the letter "W". It's how we've identified our family ever since I was pregnant with Silas - 2 1/2 Ws then through 5 Ws now. We've slowly started collecting the letter. Random, but fun.

Anyway, I've acquired three new ones in the last week and wanted to show them to you. Since I was loading those pics, I figured I'd just show you all of them. It won't take long. Promise. Feel free to ignore the blinding reflection of the camera flash.

5 Ws - My creative idea for the year, which will get updated every New Years Day.

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The 4-inch W from Michael's.

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The 1-foot W from Kohl's.
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The magnet collection - bottle cap Ws found in Tillamook a few days ago, black & white W from Old Navy, wood textured W from Michael's.
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The custom W, which is in an 8x10 frame, made by my friend Heidi, The Blissful Stitcher. She does all sorts of custom embroidery, so go check out her site!!
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8/19/10 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for a day to lock myself inside and get the house and our lives in order. In jammies, of course.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

CAPE LOOKOUT STATE PARK - 2010

We got back a few hours ago from a few days on the coast.

Sunday - We load up the truck .... wait. Back up. Truck? We don't own a truck. Well, Sunday morning Tim headed out to help with parking at church. About ten minutes later the rest of us got in the van to head the same way. However, the van wouldn't turn on. Dashboard lights came on, headlights worked, but the engine wouldn't start.

We hop out of the van, leave a message for Tim to pick us up, then start walking toward church. We make it more than mile, though I'm carrying Naomi for the sake of speed, when a friend from church drives by and offers us a ride. Needless to say, she was my best friend for the day because carrying the 30 pound Nomes-a-licious up the hill we'd just climbed kinda wore me out.

Anyway, we come home & I post something on Facebook about our little adventure, thanking our rescue driver, and how we're loading up Tim's car for the camping trip we had planned. We didn't want to forfeit our trip, so we opted to cram into Tim's car and deal with the van when we got home. I'm an efficient, minimalist packer and Tim's good at spatial things, so we managed to get all of our gear into Tim's car. Of course the kids knees would have been at their chins and there wouldn't have been enough room for anyone to inhale deeply, but we were still going to be able to go on our trip.

Right about the time we got it all loaded, we got a phone call from a friend offering us their truck. How awesome is that?! So, Tim unloaded the car, took off to swap vehicles, loaded the truck, and we took off for the Cape Lookout State Park. We arrived around 4:00. One kid felt carsick on the drive and puked within two minutes of putting their feet on solid ground. Then we spent the evening relaxing, roasting marshmallows, and walking around the campground.

Monday - From a blogging standpoint, it was a very boring day. From a mental health standpoint, it was wonderful. We did a whole lot of nothing. The boys rode their bikes around our loop countless times, Naomi got one bike lap in, I read a book and took a nap, Tim did Sudoku at the fire, we spent a couple hours at the beach, ate taco bowls with Fritos, and hit the sack at a reasonable hour. It was great!

One reason, but three examples, of why I don't have any great beach pictures of the kids -they're always bent over.

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Tim & I - Yes, I know the glasses are all wrong, but I seem to have an abnormally large head and this is the first pair in years that doesn't crush my skull. Comfort trumps fashion.

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I love this one of Tim!

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Tuesday - After breakfast we head into town for a visit at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Silas has been there twice with the church's grade school group, but it was the first visit for the rest of us. We watch cheese get cut into blocks and packaged, then head downstairs for some samples, shopping in the gift store, and eating ice cream. The bargain shopper in me cringes at buying five cones for the same price I could get three cartons, but it's all part of the fun. Plus, it probably tastes better when you eat it at the factory. Right? Ok. I also find a couple "W" magnets to add to our collection. By "add" I mean "double". We now have four "W" magnets.

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Pistachio

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Coffee

Mint Chip

Orange Sherbet

Caramel Toffee Crunch

After the factory we headed to a city park to let the kids get some wiggles out, then stopped in at the Pancake House for lunch. I think their fries just bumped Mike's down to second place. Maybe not. I'll probably have to have a few more servings from each place to make an objective call on that one. They were perfectly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and not too greasy. I ate way too many!

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Tuesday afternoon was naps for the Tim, Devon, and Naomi, a book for me, & puzzles for Silas. Then Silas and I went on a walk (me)/bike ride (him) and played Rack-O while everyone else continued to sleep.

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That night I ran into a family that had gone to Simple Faith, our church in Ashland, had moved to Portland a few years ago, and was camping about ten spots down the road from us. We hadn't seen them in five years and it was fun catching up!

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Later in the evening the boys & I went to one of the campground programs. This particular one was about the various rocks you can find in the area and the boys were impressed. We wrapped things up with some time at the fire, then went to bed.

The token family picture. The miracle? We got an "all eyes open, everyone looking toward the camera, no silly faces" shot on our first try!!
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Wednesday - The kids woke up about 7:00 and we pulled out just after 8:00. The plan was to visit the Tillamook Forest Center on the way home. The reality is that we got there almost an hour before they opened. We opted to skip it this time and just head home. Bummer.

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The carsick kid didn't get carsick. Excellent.

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We had to pass our old neighborhood on the way home, so the kids ask to drive by the house we used to live in. We see one of our old neighbors and the kids all get to pet her dog, which they've missed doing.

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Then it's home. I get laundry started and give Naomi a bath. Tim & the boys unload. Everyone helps put stuff away. Devon gets cleaned up while Silas makes lunch. Silas gets a shower. All three kids go down for naps. I get a shower. Tim meets the tow truck as it takes our van off to get fixed, then he cashes in his freebie birthday burger coupon at Red Robin. I take a shower, fail at an attempt at napping, and get this blog posted. Whew! What a day!

NAOMI'S BIRTHDAY PARTY - 2010

We headed out to Town Center Park this morning to celebrate Naomi's third birthday. My dad & crew came up last night to join us and we picked up Granny on our way. With temps reaching into the 90s today, we were glad to be partying in the cooler part of the day, though it was in the 80s by the time we left. A few other families joined us at the park, the kids spent a couple hours splashing around in the water, hot dogs & chips were consumed, gifts were opened, and cake was eaten. This was the last year for me to choose Naomi's cake, as the kids choose their own once they hit four years old. She really likes Hello Kitty, so here's the cake she got.



We're all having a mellow afternoon of blogging, reading, and napping. This evening will include Subway sandwiches, a park for the kids to run around in, ice cream at home, bedtime for the kids, then a movie for the adults. A fantastic day!

I took a few more pictures at the party, which I'll load on our Picasa site another day, but my dad took a bunch. Go check out his blog post about Naomi's party and the one highlighting Naomi's lesson in treating others as you want to be treated, complete with pictures of the resident drama mama.

HAVE PLANS FOR 8/28?

If not, then come join us for a potluck and marshmallow gun war. We no longer have a yard, so we'll be doing it a a park this time. If you'd like more information, then let me know and I'll send you the e-vite!

8/12/10 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for a sister who will tell me what I need to hear.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

NAOMI'S BIRTHDAY WEEK - 2010

Day 1 - Naomi check out a Care Bear movie from the library and I make a batch of kettle corn. Family movie night!!

Day 2 - With three of us using a gift card and two printing out their free birthday ice cream coupons, we head off to Cold Stone ... for dinner. The weather was beautiful, so we sat outside to enjoy our less than nutritious, but very delicious, meal.

Naomi with a mouth full of cotton candy ice cream and sprinkles.

Day 3 - Naomi gets to choose a couple new books from the library's bookstore.

Day 4 - Appreciation night! We all take turns giving Naomi pictures that say or illustrate things we like about her or stuff we enjoy doing with her.

Tim makes a giant Uno card, as she loves the game and is the only one who consistently beats him. She loves it!
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Day 5 - After dinner we load a Pyrex with a gazillion freshly baked peanut butter cookies, then head over to Landover Park for a cookie fest and some time to play.

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The girls scarf some sugar.

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Day 6 - Everyone hops in the car and we drive through farmland until we get to the Canby ferry. It only takes about two minutes to cross the river, but the kids have never been on a ferry before and think it's cool. We hop out of our car and another passenger snaps a picture of us.

Crossing the Willamette River.

Day 7 - Tim and Naomi head out in the morning for the traditional "Doughnut Date With Daddy", then we spend the bulk of the day relaxing. Granny comes over in the late afternoon and Naomi opens up gifts from family. Next on the agenda is Naomi's birthday dinner. She really wanted cake for her meal, but finally realized she had to pick non-dessert foods. Her choice was scrambled eggs, cinnamon toast, and yogurt. "Little yogurts" to be exact. We never buy single serving foods and when I was buying the yogurt she specifically requested that we get the little ones. So, that's what we did, as it's the one meal of the year where she gets to be bossy about the food that's served. After dinner we take the annual "birthday outfit" pictures, then the festivities are over.

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The girl loves sprinkles. A lot. She also loves to eat all the sprinkles off the doughnut first, then eat the bottom half.

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Having fun opening presents.

Ready to eat her birthday meal, particularly her "little" yogurt.

Evidently this isn't the year that the outfit fits perfectly.

MY JUMBLED MIND

I cried in church this morning. If you'd asked me what was wrong, I really don't know what my answer would have been. I guess it was everything and nothing, all at once. I know that doesn't make sense, but that's how I feel - like so much is on my mind and my emotions are all over the place, yet nothing specific happened to start the tears. Ever feel like that?

I'm trying to change some of my attitudes and behaviors. I'm trying to accept some people and situations as they are. I'm trying to find solutions to some problems. I'm reevaluating some things. I'm letting go of some dreams. I'm reprioritizing some things. I'm setting some goals. Basically, I'm trying to do the right thing.

It's exhausting. It's humbling. It's discouraging. It's going to take a while. It's hard for me. Really hard.

I don't know that I'll share any of the specifics here or not, but an online vent makes me feel better, hence this post. My thoughts are so jumbled that I don't think I could type a coherent post about it anyway.

I think I'll spend some time with a pen, paper, and my Bible while the kids are down for naps. Maybe that will help.  Or maybe taking a nap myself would help.  We'll see.

THE CEMETERY

I mentioned in yesterday's post that we took our kids to the cemetery a few days ago so that they could see where my mom is buried. I hadn't been there in several years, probably since I took Tim when we were dating. In high school, though, when I lived in Brookings, I went every month or two. Sometimes I went because it was a "mom day", something significant like a birthday or just a day that I was having a hard time dealing with her death. Other times I went when I was just stressed about something totally unrelated. Cemeteries are quiet, peaceful, and if anyone happens to be there, then they leave you alone. Sometimes I wanted that solitude and I knew I'd find it sitting in the grass near my mom's grave.

A few years ago Ben took his son to the cemetery. After their visit he e-mailed a picture of Hunter at our mom's grave and titled it "an introduction". It was simultaneously really sad and very sweet. It was then that I realized I didn't have any pictures of my mom's grave, so I made a point to get one on this trip.




The phrase "HOME FREE" came from a song with that title. I'll share the lyrics at the end of the post, but first I want to share one more picture.

As we entered the cemetery the boys decided to see if they could find Grandma Barbara's grave on their own. Seeing flowers on some graves, they asked if hers would have any. I told them no and sent them on their way. Imagine my surprise when I came upon my mom's grave looking like this.


Flowers. There were flowers on her grave. Granted, they were fake like all the other ones in the cemetery, but they were there. And they were "fresh", neither faded from the sun nor beat up from the wind and rain. You guys, my mom's been dead for well over 18 years and none of our family lives in Brookings anymore. That means someone, and I have no idea who, has gone out of their way to acknowledge her life nearly two decades after her death. I don't know if it was a random occurrence that I just happened to catch or if it's been going on all these years, but it blew me away. Totally made my day and I've smiled each time I've thought about it since. And sometimes I tear up while I'm smiling.

Anyway, I just wanted to share these pictures with you - the first because it's part of my life and the second because finding those flowers on my mom's grave meant a lot to me.

I'll leave you with the lyrics to the song I mentioned above, which was sung at my mom's memorial service.
Home Free, by Wayne Watson
I'm trying hard not to think you unkind
But Heavenly Father
If you know my heart
Surely you can read my mind
Good people underneath the sea of grief
Some get up and walk away
Some will find ultimate relief

Chorus
Home Free, eventually
At the ultimate healing we will be Home Free
Home Free, oh I've got a feeling
At the ultimate healing
We will be Home Free

Out in the corridors we pray for life
A mother for her baby, A husband for his wife
Sometimes the good die young
It's sad but true
And while we pray for one more heartbeat
The real comfort is with you

You know pain has little mercy
And suffering's no respecter of age, of race or position
I know every prayer gets answered
But the hardest one to pray is slow to come
Oh Lord, not mine, but Thy will be done

Let it be...

Chorus
Home Free, eventually
At the ultimate healing we will be Home Free
Home Free, oh I've got a feeling
At the ultimate healing
We will be Home Free

Home Free, eventually
At the ultimate healing gonna be Home Free
Home Free, oh its more than a feeling
At the ultimate healing
Gonna be Home Free

HARRIS BEACH STATE PARK - AUGUST 2010

All righty, here's part two of our getaway. We headed west on Sunday and spent three nights in Brookings, my hometown.

Sunday - We arrived at Harris Beach about 4:30 and set up camp. After a nutritious dinner of barbecued hot dogs, we sat around the fire, walked through the campground, and hiked up Harris Butte to watch the sunset. The good part about that little hike was that we remembered to get a family picture at the start of our visit, rather than right before hopping in the van to come home. The bad part was that we headed up too early and the kids got bored. So, Tim took them back to camp and I stayed to watch the sunset. Next on the agenda was roasted marshmallows, then bedtime.

The 5 Ws on Harris Butte - Silas with a real smile, Devon with a crazy face, & Naomi thinking it's funny to put her hands in her brothers' pockets

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Monday - It was totally foggy in town, so we headed up river for some sunshine. First stop was the Redwood Nature Trail, which took about an hour with the little legs we had in our group. Then we crossed the street and ate lunch at Loeb. It was a weekday, so we had the warm & sunny place all to ourselves. Our swimsuits were down at the beach, so we just spent some time skipping & throwing (depending on the person) rocks in the river.

We opted to let the nappers stay awake and headed to the beach when we went back to town. It was still cloudy, but relatively warm out. We stayed down on the beach for about five hours and it was wonderful. I miss the beach a lot! A family we knew from our church here (Amy R. & her boys, for you Creekers), who moved to Medford about a year ago, happened to be at Harris Beach. Ironically, Silas had asked if he could see one of their kids when we were at my dad's, but we hadn't had time. Needless to say, the boys were excited to run into them and spent the entire time playing together.

Maryanne, whose family went to our church in Brookings, happened to be visiting from Texas and met us at the beach. It was fun to hang out with her, but even more fun when we realized random connections we had with Amy's mother-in-law, who was at the beach too. Small world stuff is always cool.

Tim & the kids in a redwood tree.
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A little perspective (though a lousy pic in terms of lighting) on the size of the tree compared to the people standing inside it. The tree is about triple what you can see in this picture.
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The parental units, as photographed by one of the offspring.
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Naomi, minus her legs.
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Silas having fun with his buddy.
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Devon being his crazy, wild self.
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Tuesday - My brother-in-law, Josh, happened to be in town while we were there. He'd flown in from the Philippines for his brother's wedding and offered to make breakfast for us one morning. We headed over to his mom's house Tuesday morning and spent a couple hours hanging out with him and chatting with everyone else who was there. It was a great way to spend a grey morning.

We headed back to our campsite for lunch, followed by naps & downtime for everyone. I snuck in quick trip to Freddy's, where I got to visit with Nancy, Maryanne's mom, for a bit. Tim and Silas headed to the beach for a little bit.

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After naps we headed to the cemetery so that I could show the kids where my mom is buried. They hunted for her grave marker, learned some lessons in cemetery etiquette, and asked a gazillion questions about burial. The sun broke out while we were there, so we headed to KidTown to get some wiggles out once we were done at the cemetery. Next on the agenda was Pizza Deli. I realize the name changed quite a while ago, but it's still Pizza Deli in my mind. Scarfed some good pizza & chips. Ran into the mom of a guy I'd known since kindergarten & graduated with (Sharon G. for you Brookings folks). Then it was back to KidTown, per the kids' request, for some more running around.

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Tuesday night was "fire night", which means the boys get to stay up late (I think they hit the sack at 11:00) hanging out at the fire, so we went back to our campsite after the second round of KidTown. Silas & I headed back up Harris Butte to catch another sunset while Tim and the other kids got a fire started. When we came back to our site there was another family there. Long story short, the wife of the family camping next to us was someone Tim recognized from high school. They hadn't really known each other back then, but the family ended up visiting with us for a couple hours around the fire that night. Nice couple with a cute little boy. Random, but fun.

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The 5 Ws with Josh - Beep & I were laughing at the lack of thought put into where we were all sitting in the picture and, as Beep said, it looks like Josh & I are the couple, Devon & Naomi are our kids, and Tim is our Nigerian friend visiting with his son.
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A pathetic sunset, but a post about Brookings wouldn't be complete without a sunset picture.
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Wednesday - We woke, loaded the van, and headed home. I hate leaving and really want to come back for a longer visit to see more people and do more stuff. Someday. The elk were out in Reedsport, so we stopped at the viewpoint for lunch and got home mid-afternoon.

Part of the herd
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The boss
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