Bend - Smith Rock - no kids

Dave and I were able to make to Smith Rock for our adults only adventure.  It involved following a path called Misery Ridge.  Although it was completely manageable (though sweaty) we learned it was called misery ridge because it is VERY steep for a LONG ways.  It was a fun hike an most likely a new yearly tradition.  

At the bottom, ready to go.

About two minutes in we heard a chooka chooka sound and I looked down to see a rattle snake right next to me.  I moved backward fast.  My knees went week and my heart raced.  And we hadn't even started the intense uphill part yet :).  Fortunately 2 men who were not afraid of rattle snakes (and who had a long hiking/walking pole) came along behind us and moved the snake out of the path.

Mr. Rattles



At the top of picnic lunch wall...just entering into misery ridge

It was really hard to capture the essence of it all in a photo, but we tried.

See that white arrow.  That's the people ahead of us.  They weren't actually all that far away but it is basically straight up.



And here's looking back down.



Monkey Face Rock??

Climbers actually climb this....nuts....see those huge houses down below....I take one, thanks.

Once we made it to the top and saw Monkey Face we got to go down the other side....also steep.

Looks a little more like a monkey face from this angle.

Thanks mom for watching the kids while we went on our adventure.

The change

I posted this picture of Hailey in Bend a couple of days ago.  Her bright blue eyes reminded me of a picture from 3 years ago.  I thought it might be fun to compare.  Same eyes....but boy has she grown up!

Thank You Costco

Well, our first Halloween costume catalog came in the mail last week.  Seems a bit early but the kids certainly didn't mind.  In fact they have spent a long time pouring over every page.  I gave my lecture....this is the first catalog, there will be many more, Halloween is still a long way away, yada yada.  It all fell on deaf ears of course.  So the kids started out wanting to be power rangers (interesting choice since up until yesterday they hadn't even seen anything power ranger) Hailey red and Tyler blue.  Then they changed their minds about 5 times and ended with Tyler wanting to be Jack Sparrow and Hailey wanting to be Spider Monkey.  An interesting choice on Hailey's part.  I must admit I don't have any idea who spider monkey is other than he is some character on Ben 10 (whatever that is).  Hailey however is sold on the fact that he has four arms.  There will be no princesses or cheerleaders for this girl.  I'm hoping that more catalogs will come and she will get inspired by something else.  But there is a chance we will have a spider monkey in the house.  Jack Sparrow was a whole other issue.  It's hardly surprising that Tyler wants to be Jack Sparrow, I mean he's been practicing his sword fighting to the Pirates of the Caribbean sound track for months now.  But the costume in the catalog is $45.  Now I know he'll wear it more than once (the kids are pretty good about that) but $45 is still too spendy for a Halloween costume in my book.  On the other hand a good portion of Tyler's life this summer has been pirates, specifically Jack Sparrow.  How could I deny him the costume that would make the world complete for him.  Well, cue the music and confetti, because today we ran to Costco on our way home from some other errands because we needed napkins.  That's right, we stopped by Costco to just get one thing (that never happens).  We snagged our napkins and as we were walking to the register we saw a rack of Halloween costumes.  And there were 4 Jack Sparrow costumes on the rack, 2 in Tyler's size.  Price $16.  Sold.  Now I have one happy boy.  Question is, will the costume last until Halloween or will it be worn out by then?  Hailey thought is was awesome that Tyler got his costume today, exactly what he wanted, and she got nothing.  I told her her day would come.  Obviously that didn't help at all.  She is 4.

More Bend posts coming tomorrow.

Bend - Hailey

This is the vacation life, drinking lemonade with a pancake and whip cream on your arm and a fork for eating the beloved watermelon.  Life is good.

Oh, those blue eyes

Bend - Kitty love

Hailey was a huge fan of Grammy's kitties, the animal girl that she is.  Since we have two boys with cat allergies, it's the closest she'll come to having a cat.  Boy did she loves the kitties.  Thankfully, Franky was kind enough to let Hailey hall him around, not an easy task when he's almost as tall as she is :).  Even Tyler was loving Franky by the time we had to go.  And now Hailey is having kitty withdrawals.  At least we'll have these pictures to make her feel better :).

Bend - Grandpa John's Birthday

Last Friday was Grandpa John's birthday (Happy Birthday Dad).  My dad is certainly not one for birthday celebrations but we did have cupcakes after dinner.

Dinner on the back deck with Grammy

Happy Birthday to you....



Dad/Grandpa John turned one years old :)



..and needed help blowing out the candle.

presents

Bend - Deschutes County Fair

Well we are back home and it's cloudy and cold again.  So, it's good time to finish up the Bend posts and reminisce about the hot sun!  I have a few more posts to do so let's get to it.  Last Thursday our daily adventure was to the county fair.  The fair is always a good time right?  I think the kids had a lot of fun.  There were some fun things in the kid's zone, we went through the animal barns and then threw away some money on the rides :).

At the kids' zone there was a animal pen large enough for a bunch of kids and inside were goats, bunnies, and chickens for the kids to pet/hold.  This was a huge hit with the kids.  And right next door were free pony rides. 

The first pony ride



And now she also loves chickens



And bunnies



Even Tyler thought holding the chickens was pretty neat.

 After the mini petting zoo we headed over to the animal farms and saw more bunnies, chickens, ducks, sheep, pigs, etc.  Then it was time for some rides.

After rides we headed back to the kids zone where Tyler did his fast pitch and beat the 6 year record hitting 36 mph.  Finally Hailey got to do what she wanted...."the hampster balls" as she called them.  They had these inflatable balls that kids got into and then floated/rolled around on top of the water.  Never seen anything like it but the kids had a blast.

 The kids needed to visit the animals one more time before we left.  So it was more bunnies and chickens.