Picture Post of Pumpkin Patch Play, Summer Lake Soaking and Crack in the Ground Crawling

Another picture post here.

The pumpkin patch we go to every year is up near Terrebonne, Oregon, about half an hour from our house. The backdrop is the Smith Rocks State park, home to some world famous rock climbing. The farm is very well done with a farmer's market and pumpkin patch, corn maize, food stuffs and pumpkin cannons. The pumpkin cannons are basically huge versions of the potato gun Boston and I made a few years ago for St. Patrick's Day. We still haven't actually paid to shoot the pumpkin cannon.




Syd eating some delicious corn on the cob.

Look out goats!


Sommer smuggling a pumpkin. Oh wait. . .

A couple weeks ago we drove out about 2.5 hours southeast of Bend to the Cowboy Dinner Tree and Summer Lake Hot Springs.
The drive out was beautiful.


Kids ready for bed in the cabin after soaking in the hot springs.

We got to the cabin after dark so waking up in the middle of the "Oregon Outback" was amazing.
This is the old bathhouse. Inside is a big concrete pool and changing rooms, very very rustic. Kind of like soaking in a chicken house. Nice and relaxing though.


The next morning we soaked in the new outdoor pool. Still a work in progress, there will be a three or four outdoor pools all together.


After our morning soak and some breakfast we headed out to Crack in the Ground, near Christmas Valley, Oregon. It was so amazing! Way more fun than it sounds.

Picture Update!!!

So, instead of fumbling for words to describe the wonderful times we've had these last couple months, here are the pictures to prove it.


Well, here's how that fourth baby bean is coming along. It's a girl, Juniper Clare (or Claire.)




On the way to Portland for Season and Lee's wedding we found Lost Lake. We stopped for coffee and a snack.








We bring our coffee kit everywhere we go. It lives in the van under the seat. It includes:

Stove/Propane
Saucepan
French Press
Mugs
Fresh Roasted Coffee
Fresh Bend, Oregon Water
Matches




Eliot was tired after her snack and playing with all the frogs.


We met my parents for lunch and the kids left with them, heading up to Astoria. Sommer and I went to the hotel and got all dolled up for the wedding that night.




After a day to ourselves in between involving a haircut for Sommer and delicious food with great music, we went to Astoria to meet the kids and hang out with my parents.


Boston entered himself into an oyster-eating contest.

He managed to get one down and that was that. The goal was 24 total. Oh well, he did a great job just swallowing one raw, slime-ball oyster.


Hanging with my Dad.




Wait, they might actually be friends!?

Here's a Westy Vanagon, Turbo Diesel named Mellow Yellow. I thought I took a picture of the name on the rear left of the Westy top, but I can't find it. Sweet trailer set-up. Oh yeah, they're from Nova Scotia. Note the Burning Man sticker on the side.




Eliot posing for the camera at Cape Disappointment.


The driftwood shelter my Dad and I made.



Pumpkin patch pictures possibly popping up posthaste. Stay tuned!

An Update. . .

Well, here I am! It's been a while since the last post on here and I thought I'd give an update.

Portland was fun, the wedding was great. We headed up to Astoria to pick up the kids and visit with my parents for a couple days. Totoro ran great, though when we headed home we went through Seaside and over HWY 26. This way was much more mountainous than HWY 30 over to Longview. Totoro had a bit of a hard time on the long long up hill stretches. By the time we made it down I-5 to Salem and over Santiam into Sisters, the valves were noisy and the engine was hot and tired. Nothing terribly wrong, just ready for a rest. We got home and the next day Totoro was much happier hanging out in the driveway. I got the timing belt fixed on the Honda CRV. The B20Z engine in the CRV is and interference motor, meaning the valves and piston occupy the same space at different times and will smash into each other if the engine is out of time, say, when the timing belt breaks. Luckily, Sommer shut the engine off just as the belt sheared a bunch of teeth off the belt, saving the engine and us a bunch of money. Totoro is also very happy not to be the sole transportaion for our fmaily. It was seeing a lot of miles lately. I'll post pictures soon, soory for the boring post. :)