Summer is Officially Here

This will be my (wait... let me count on my fingers)

... seventh summer in Central Oregon. After all these years, the one thing I've learned is to decipher which is a good indicator of summer's arrival and which is not.

Is it the near-90 degree temperatures? Nope, that can happen in mid-April.

Is it the opening of the Cascade Lakes Highway and the McKenzie pass? No... it can still be awfully cold then.

Is it the --Ohhhh, hold up-- what's that giant cloud of smoke I see coming from the general facility of Crooked River Ranch? What's that smokey smell in the air? Is that a forest service bomber I see up above me, flying directly over my house as it re-fills at the Redmond Airport?

OK. Our first official grass and forest fire of the season, prompting road closures and evacuations.

NOW it's summer.

He pauses, so that readers can get the full ice cream effect

One more thing I did over the weekend

My mom brought a disk of all of her digital pictures of Cameron.

That's an interesting look on Jeromy's face. I can't tell if it's exhaustion, fear, or dissappointment over the fact that the NICU staff asked him to change out of his scrubs because they were worried someone might think he was a doctor.

The Landscaping Project

(Because I'm just so happy it's finally done)

(Well, except for the leftover bark mulch.)

(And the gazillion trees and shrubs I should plant.)

What we did this past weekend

In a matter of a few short days, our yard went from this

(Can you see that giant weed pit just to the right of this egg-hunting Cameron?)

To this:

The fence was added a couple of weeks ago. We're planning on hiding the giant electrical box with trees and shrubs later, but what a difference! My parents and grandparents offered to come and help out with this huge task-- something that would have taken us days to accomplish. So a big thanks (again) to them.

Other major accomplishments during the holiday weekend:

Mom, Grandma, Lyndie and I pickled 75 pounds of asparagus

We dealt with some major drainage issues in our driveway and yard

Washed vehicles (with our very own hands... not through the carwash)

And visited with family.

I accidentally* ditched Grandma for...

The A.C. Gilbert Childrens Discovery Center?

In my defense*, when we talked on Tuesday she had neither confirmed nor denied whether or not she was actually coming to Central Oregon today. Thursday. So, we proceeded with our plans to go to Salem for a Day of Fun.

Here's the story on the museum: this A.C. Gilberty guy? Invented the erector set. The erector set! I also think I saw somewhere that he is credited with "saving" toys during World War 1 but I feel the need to do a bit more research on that. Anyway, to honor and commemorate this Salem native, the brilliant folks who decided to build a children's museum in his honor also built a giant oudoor play structure that looks exactly like a giant erector set.

Yeeeahh. I'll stop saying erector set now.

Okay, so it totally looks like one when you're there. Truly. Plus, it's two-story AND kid and adult friendly and quite possibly the most fun I've had since the 19-bottle-of-wine weekend.

Cameron sure had fun.

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

Can you see that? That ball is floating in mid-air... in the Laballatory!

Cameron and the Foam Pit

Because one can never have too many pictures of their kid in a pit of foam blocks...

put DOWN your bidder number and step AWAY from the table.

Oh, look. It's Jeromy and Vito.

And the Dancing Green Bay Packer of Trinity Lutheran School Auction Fame.

Let's just say that the money that these two spent this past weekend? Could cover all three of our kids' Pre-K tuition next year.

Ahem.

But the good news is that they get to go to Lambeau Field (sp?) and watch the Green Bay Packers play at home this fall/winter. AND they get to be shuttled around the great city of Green Bay by the lovely Scholz family who, out of their pure love for all things Green Bay and on account of a hefty promotion, picked up and moved to Green Bay this spring.

So, are YOU ready for some football?

More pictures from Trinity's Run for the Roses Auction this past Saturday...

One of the TWO (count 'em, 2) Carpenter/Polk Pre-K 3 tables. We were there to represent, y'all. Also, there were bottles of Jim Beam on the table.

So this is what leftover $450 cheesecake looks like, huh?