Newport -Christmas at the Oregon Beach '11

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.