Mt. Adams

Jon and I heard that Mount Adams is always (in season) covered with Huckleberries. Being new to the area we had a lot of research to do, on where to go, camping and any regulations. At first we thought it would be a good day trip, but later found out it is like 4 hours to Mount Adams. We than decided that we could do an over night trip.

With all this panning going on, we also decided that it would be fun to invite some friends. Our neighbors Britton and Jessica and their kids came along with us. We left on Friday, and got there just in time to set up camp and make dinner. We camped by a stream. On Saturday we went and played for a little before we went picking. We had a couple maps, but were still not quite sure where to go pick. As we were driving we saw a lot of cars just pulled off the side of the road. We found a side road and pulled off. Now we found out after talking to rangers that usually the mountain is full of huckleberries, but for some reason this year they were a little bit more sparse. We picked for about 4 hours, and all we have to show for it is 2 quarts. Now I will say Sage did not make it easy, any bush with berries her height, were gone by the time we got there!

After we picked we stopped in this small town where we saw a group getting ready to raft a river. We stopped and talked to them. The river seems really fun. We did find out that some rapids on there were class 4 - 5. If we get the chance to go down them, we would have to go on a guided trip at first.

All in all it was a fun trip. Some times the short trips are the hardest. There is so much to plan and prepare for that it seems you only get a few minutes to enjoy it. We plan on going back next year, but maybe giving it a few more days or a couple trips.

About Time...

( Sorry that the picture is a little off, it is the best I could do)

Improvements

This week has been very busy, but really good. We finally got shelves in the garage. Now all we have to do is get them painted and than organize the garage and fill up the shelves. Jon and his dad did a really good job, and they look amazing!!



We also were able to do a little work on the front yard. I was excite to get something done, so than our house does not look like every other house on the block. I can't wait to see when my plants bloom, but it still looks good. Also we decided to put bricks around the tree. I must give credit to Jon who picked out the stone and the design. Now all we have to do is get some flowers to put around it. I just love getting these projects done!!

Backyard

We finally have a back yard!!! There is only a little sand left. Jon spent a few days putting in the sprinklers (and did an amazing job!!). We decided that since we have the dog we should sod. Our friends had just finished laying sod down, and that inspired us even more. We did it on a Friday Jon had off and invited a few friends over to help.

It looks good even now and even with a little devil that wants to play on it. We have only one section left that we will be finishing soon.

Before Pictures







During Pictures







After Pictures







It is so nice to be able to see grass when I look out the windows. I am also really surprised how much cooler it makes it. But what I really enjoy is that we do not track in as much sand :)

Little milestone

Ok so this is a small accomplishment. But I finally found out how to change the post date. It was really starting to bother me, since it takes like weeks to finally post what we have been doing.

From now on I will have the correct date on when the activity occurred.

One point - Aubrey

Camping

Jon and I both love being so close to the property. So when Mom and Dad are going down they give us a call. It seems every time they do our weekend frees up. We had a lot of fun as always. Now the weather was so HOT. Which is funny cause Dad always complains that he goes when it rains, well we did not get rain, just sun. We actually got a to play a lot. For those who don't know camping at the property is more like working all day. There is always things to be done and fixed. Which we all enjoy, but sometimes it is nice just to enjoy nature.

We started out cutting a few logs so that Mom and Dad could take them home for firewood. But that just included Jon and dad going crazy with a chain saw. I say more fun than work. We did fix Dads camera. That was very important, see hunting season is coming up so this helps us see what really is walking around. And the other really important thing we did was restock the pond. We go fish small fish out of the stream, put them in buckets and dump them into the pond. Looking back we did do a lot of work, just the fun work.

The whole time I kept telling Mom how weird it was that Dad would hang around camp with us, and that he was not rushed or in a hurry to go get something done. But this trip won't happen every time. Labor day weekend, when the boys aren't hunting we will be fixing a fence again.

Now those who know my Dad might think I am making some of this up, but I am not I even have pictures of him having fun!!



Jon has not used his chain saw for like 5 years or more. Dad kept making fun of how small it was. Upon returning home, Jon would now like to trade his chain saw and get a bigger one!



Dad got a new camera, so we put that up.



Because the deer and elk won't leave it alone the boys put barbwire around it so that they won't knock it down.



Jon and Sage fishing



Dad working very hard.



So Dad put down his pole to go dump the fish they had already caught. So my Mother being so scared of fish decided she would try and use the fly fish ( of course never doing it at all before). So as you can tell she has perfect form and it is a wonder why she did not catch one. It was probably a good thing she didn't, I am not sure what she would have done if she caught it.




And I can't forget Sage. She did such a great job running, and swimming. She swam A LOT that day!

Winn Reunion

This year the reunion was at Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. Jon was not able to come due to work. Lets say it was a really long drive! It was a short weekend filled with water park river floating and of course the hot springs themselves. It was really fun to get to see ALMOST everyone. But next year I will diffidently be seeing everyone! Now I wish I had taken more pictures (and I didn't even take these ones, mom did) But being around so much water makes it hard to bring your camera everywhere without the fear of getting it wet.



The river was cold, and it was not even a super hot day. But this spot got just about everyone who went down it. You can not tell but the missing people are Megan, Trent and Emily (2 cousins that live in Burly Id)



Now a few minutes to re-group



And Emily is at it again, along with Trent (but you can't see him) with little help from Moo



"That was a fun ride!!"

Portland Weekend

Jon and I went to Portland. It was Jon's idea. See he really likes to reload, but he does not have much of the supplies. But see my dad does, so Jon wanted to go down to get some work done. Sage did pretty good in car, but by the time we got to Troutdale she was tired.



(that is right, she climbed behind the back seat head rest and fell asleep)

On Friday we went to have lunch with my Dad at his work. He has a little more than an acre in the back field. Every summer his work puts out 8-10 cows. So every day Dad goes out and feeds them and has lunch with them. It is funny they come to the sound of his voice. At first Sage did not like them, but than they became friends. And the cows could not take their eyes away from her.





We took a break to walk around, trying to find some pheasants so that Sage could get some practice in. We found this little canal and thought, the day is warmer than at the property. So we tried the water once again. She did better. But of course with water and dirt, comes mud. She was filthy.











After that little fun, we went back to cows!!









But before we left she had to get a bath before getting into the car!! Though I do not know how clean the water actually was, but she was cleaner than before.

Memorial Weekend

Jon and I went camping to my parents property for the weekend. It was Sage's first trip. The weather was so cold and it rained once or twice on us. There are not a lot of pictures because as always, we work more than we play at the property. We ended up building a lot of fence, down and up a steep hill. Let me tell you when we are all done fixing the fences, we are going to be pros!!!











Sage liked being so close to where we ate, she just wanted to take a bite. But once she figured out she was not going to get anything, she turned to sticks






One afternoon Jon and I got a chance to play at the pond. We wanted to see how well Sage did with water.





She did not like it, so after playing with the frog...we headed down to the creek, where it was shallow and Jon could go in with her






She did not last very long. But overall we all enjoyed the weekend. It was full of hard work and a little bit of fun!