Sisters' Weekend

 After much planning and coordinating...the Lyons sisters and sisters-in-law had a very special weekend gathering at Wendi's house in Dash Point June 29-July 1st.  It was a wonderful time of fellowship and fun.  We laughed and cried and talked and ate and relaxed and walked and ate some more and went to church and ate some more and talked and watched Pride and Prejudice, and it was the most splendid time!  What a run on sentence!  Even some went to the zoo and visited a Korean spa..we'll save the details for the secret sisters' society. 

It is a joy to be a part of this wonderful family.  The younger generation should celebrate how privileged they are to be born into such an incredibly strong, wise, Christian family--blessed our we to be Lyons and their affiliates :)  We look forward to next year's gathering as we attempt to make this an annual event (but is that possible amongst Lyons?)  Until next year, be brave, strong, and cheerful, leaning on God is all you say and do.  Love to all the Lyons' women!! 

Sunny days in Central Oregon

    So in addition to yesterday's sun, today was pretty nice as well, I believe it got up to 75 degrees! We let the chickens and ducks out today.  There are two coops; the "Duck" coop has 6 ducks, 6 hens, and one rooster, the "Front" coop has no ducks, 8 hens, and 2 roosters (don't ask me why). Usually, when the poultry are allowed to roam we do one coop at a time, but because it was so nice today, we let them all out, minus a few roosters. :) The majority of the time was spent guarding the flower beds and garden, watching the ducks find the pond, and keeping the more adventurous chickens out of the drive way and front yard.  All in all, quite fun!

The flock in the bottom yard. Well actually only half of them.

I really detest this rooster, he has a habit of attacking one's legs when they aren't looking... Needless to say, he didn't get to come out today.  Thankfully however, all the roosters are Bantum roosters, which means they are less than half the size of regular roosters i.e. --> not as dangerous and easily kicked.

Another rooster, the only one who did get to come out.  He is much nicer; doesn't attack humans, only other roosters and the occasional prowling animal. Clover by name. :)

This is Lydia and I. She is a very nice little bantum hen and lets you pick her up. I think she actually likes people.

 This is the newest member of the family, Razo.  Razo is a very sweet dog; he doesn't chase cats or chickens(notice picture below), he hops in the car whenever you ask, and he doesn't run off when you take him outside. However, he is a slightly nervous dog and will force his way onto your lab if he hears high-pitched birds or frogs croaking.  He also hates being alone so does everything he can to follow you everywhere! But we like him. :)

After watching chickens for awhile we all retired to the shade for some lunch. :)
Love you all!
Nuka Jane

First real sun for Central Oregon yesterday! Marley Mae and I took advantage to get outside and enjoy it. By the end of the day we were both exhausted and I had a sun burn! But it was good. Nathan is in Uganda for the next 2 weeks. His blog is five15crux.com, and for those who have Facebook; his team has a page called Uganda 2012. However, there was plenty of tweets and such coming in while they were in the US but now there is just silence. :-/ I'm sure he's fine though and I pray that he is following God's will.
Love you all! Nuka Jane

 Marley Mae was very patient with me. :)

 Taking in the sun with the Gerhardt girls

Spring is finally here!

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 ;)