pringle park

6.25.2012

  {mid June}

{January 19}

Pringle Park on a sunny evening a couple of weeks ago.  Peaceful, warm, serene, with the wonderful sound of Pringle Creek running through it ~ a far cry from the gray sky and muddy rushing water of the January flood.

evening sun

6.21.2012

 
Yesterday evening's sun was much appreciated by all.

flags!

6.20.2012


 
 

Last time we visited my parents, my mom gave Thor a list of states so he could look for license plates on our drive home.  Since then, his interest in geography, maps, and flags has continued to grow.  Yesterday when he complained of being bored, I remembered an idea I saw on this great site.  He pretty much spent the rest of the day drawing flags from a book he happened to have from the library, The Kingfisher Student Atlas of North America.  (He threw the French flag in the mix just for Mama.)  He learned about new places and made some pretty cool art for his room.  In all, he made 21.  He was so excited and proud every time he finished another one, and Mama likes to see that in her boy.  This was a great project!

kah-nee-ta

6.18.2012



We'd hoped to spend a few days at Kah-Nee-Ta to celebrate both school being out and Father's Day, but I wasn't able to get Friday off work so we settled on going for the day Saturday.  We got on the road early since it's about a 3-hour drive (always gorgeous going over Mt. Hood).  The pool was packed but we found a sliver of concrete to lay our towels on, and Husband and I took turns with Thor in the pool.  We were sure he was going to be tall enough for the big water slide this year, but he was just a tad under the line, a little disappointing for him, but he had a blast anyway.  He was definitely the kookiest wild child goofball going down the kiddie slide!  We stayed at the pool a couple of hours, then walked around a bit before heading up to the Lodge for lunch.  I love the Lodge.  It sits up on a hill and the restaurant has huge windows with amazing views.  It's a really nice place to relax after the pool area chaos.  

Husband and I both have lots of memories of staying at Kah-Nee-Ta when we were little - he with his family in the teepees, and I with my family in our camper.  Now our boy is making memories there, too.  It felt great to feel the heat of the sun and the wind in our hair.  It was just what we needed that day. 

We stopped at the Frog Lake Campground on the way home and walked a trail down to the lake.  It was gorgeous, we're going to have to go back sometime to hike around some more.  So many beautiful places to see here in Oregon...endless side roads to take.

willamette mission

6.17.2012


Thursday evening it was so nice out we decided to go to Willamette Mission State Park, a short drive from Salem.  We'd been there once before, but it was in the winter and we didn't look around much at that time.  It looks like there's lots of trails for biking, hiking, and even horseback riding.  The place has an interesting feel, I'm interested in reading up on its history beyond what's on the State Parks page.  Thor was thrilled to see a huge nest with a Bald Eagle in it (we were all pretty thrilled, actually).  We took Wheatland Road back, and wow, it's beautiful out there.  Lots of farms with bright green sprouting crops, cute little old houses, and even several fields of hops.  We ended the day with a rooftop (and had it to ourselves!) dinner downtown.  It finally feels like summer is coming!
by mlekoshi