Mt. St. Helens

Here are some photos from our trip to Mt. St. Helens last week....actually make that two trips.  Last Tuesday, we rented a plane and flew it over the area and then that Friday we drove down, stayed the night, visited the Johnston observatory and hiked.   Beautiful weather....which was quite unexpected our second trip down!

From the flight:

We were awed by the devastated landscape still so apparent after 31 years:

Spirit Lake to the left and St. Helens Lake to the right:

And then from our hike later in the week:

We hiked out to Harry's ridge viewpoint where we could see Mt. St. Helens, Spirit Lake, and Mt. Adams in the background:

Kenya

I was a little slow this time around posting pictures but I thought you might enjoy some Kenya pictures from a trip I made earlier this year. First time in Sub-Saharan Africa!








Lake Alice - glacier lake on Mount Kenya (also where Prince William got engaged).

Lions!! -)

Two crocodiles being lazy on the river.


Can you spot the leopard?

Old news, new photos

Ok, so I've meant to post this for months. During Memorial Day Weekend this year, David and Wendi, Andrew, Isaac and I headed down to Madras for a little painting project with the Phillips. We wanted to surprise Jennifer by painting the house before she and Naveen returned from Morocco. It was a very successful weekend with tons of help from Phillips kids, friends, and anyone who happened to drop by. We painted that house in 2 1/2 days along with the interior living room, hallway, and kitchen. We enjoyed great weather, meals together, and watching movies to relaxing in the evenings. I did hear through the grapevine that I was called a slave driver, but by gol' that house looked great when we left, purple door and all! Please add photos if you have them...I'd love a "before" photo if Jennifer can find one and I'll add it to my post ;)

Here we are all together.

BC Nationals

Last week Vicki and I took 3 of our dogs to Albany, OR for the Border Collie Nationals. Only border collies were allowed and we had a great time. Thought you might like this picture of Cassie with her ribbons.

A Week of Accomplishments!

In the last week, we've celebrated two great events. On July 1st, Isaac turned 1 year old...he's crazy crawling everywhere and very busy, opening and closing things, eating dirt, hiding clothespins in our shoes (ouch!), and pulling up on everything! He has had his hard knocks..falling out the front door step, scraping his face on Uncle David and Aunt Wendi's fireplace, and acquiring quite a few slivers on the tops of his feet from crazy crawling across the deck, but all in all, it's a grand time in his little life. He will be so happy to meet more of his fun family next week at the reunion.

While he did not like the birthday hat, he did LOVE the birthday cupcake frosting!!

Secondly, Andrew and David summitted Mt. Rainier on the 4th of July this year. The plan had been in the works for a year, and with God's blessing, they had absolutely perfect weather, clear skies, and a view as far as the eye could see. We were very happy to have them back at sea level Monday night after their very long weekend. What a reward to watch fireworks and eat yummy Wendi food on the deck after a job well-done. We always enjoy our visits and this time, the weather was just delightful.

Reach the Beach 2011

Some photos from our latest bike ride...the annual Reach the Beach.  We rode 80 miles from Newberg to Pacific City on the Oregon coast through rolling hills and lush wine country.  I was a bit apprehensive since it was the longest I've ever been on a bike but it was great!  Weather was perfect, it wasn't TOO hilly, and there was lots of food....a fantastic way to spend David's birthday.

Suzy and Art agreed to drive our car to the coast for us and apparently serve as our pit crew as seen here where Art is installing a bike rack:

Me at one of the (many) rest stops for food, drinks, and maintenance:  We couldn't go for more than 10-15 miles without someone offering us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, power bars, gatorade, or cookies.  I liked this. :)

James, one of the roving mechanics, helping David with his flat tire:

Here, we're about 10 miles away.  You can see Haystack Rock in the background:

In Pacific City nearing the Finish Line, David looking happy :)

At the Finish Line reunited with Art and Suzy:

We stayed for a couple nights at a condo in Neskowin.  Interestingly, it turned out to be owned by Sharon Kitzhaber, the First Lady of Oregon.  I guess she rents it out when she's not staying there.   It was decorated in an Art Deco Old Florida theme.  Lots of flamingos!  Plus there was a View Master with lots of reels, including pics from the Pendleton Round Up from the 1950s!!

More Isaac

Happy Spring! Maybe I'll just make this into my own blog?! JK. Congratulations Amarjeet on the marriage to Desiree! Keep us in the loop and we'll look forward to seeing you at the family reunion and meeting great grandson #3 later this year! We're heading down to Oregon to check on the Madras clan over Memorial Day Weekend. We are sooo looking forward to seeing everyone in just a couple months. Our spring has been windy, but finally our cherry blossoms are out, along with the tulips.

Isaac is still content and loves throwing things and eating Everything he can get his hands on now! He seems to LOVE black beans and chicken, eggs, broccoli, carrots, crackers, banana--pretty much anything you throw at him! So fun to see those little personalities come alive! He'll love meeting the Phillips later this month!
Here is a shot from a hike we did with Sarah and Steve at Hanford Reach Easter weekend--beautiful sunshine, but about a week too early for wildflowers this year :( Seems it's been a bit cooler this spring!




Here he is ready to ride the range with Uncle Charlie. He was very serious sitting on the rocking horse Grandpa Richards made for him when we visited in March.