Carving Pumpkins

It's that time of the year again, scooping slimy gut like stringy substances from the insides of pumpkins. Turned out pretty good though!

Coarsegold Tarantula Festival

Where we live, in October, the Tarantulas come out in force looking for a mate. They are often seen crossing the highways, climbing the exterior walls of houses, and so on. So our little town has an annual Tarantula Festival the last weekend in October to help raise awareness about the little hairy guys (like that they are actually quite shy gentle, and their bite will not kill you). So here are some photos of the event.

Tarantula Festival Part 2

During the Tarantula Festival this weekend, the kids got to take part in a number of different activities and contests. They decorated pumpkins, entered a pizza eating contest (they both eat too slow however, and Max was still chewing a mouthful of pizza long after leaving the stage) and a toy tarantula race. Sadly, we didn't get to enter the real tarantula race, because after hunting all over our property the day before, the little buggers were all hiding, and we couldn't find one to catch!

Tour of the Jelly Belly Factory

Since the kids had this last week off from school (but we still had to work) we wanted to give them a little "mini" vacation. So on Wednesday, we loaded up five kids into our friend's SUV and took a 3+ hour drive up to Fairfield to take a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory. It was good fun, and we all ended up with WAY too many jelly bellys!

Isaac plays soccer

This weekend we got a few good photos and a bit of video of Isaac's soccer game. Click on the link below to see the little green scorpions in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zfc2UspIus

Butterfly Garden

During an August visit to SLO we

were lucky enough to spend a little time in Idee and Theresa's garden. It's always so beautiful!

Soccer Season

Isaac decided he wanted to play soccer this year, while Max decided he didn't. Isaac's team is called The Green Scorpions. So far they've had two games, and are 1-1.

Max decided to take a hip hop dance class instead, so once he learns some moves, we'll post a video :o)

First Day of School

The boys started back to school in August. Max is now in 3rd grade and Isaac in 1st. Where does the time go? They wouldn't admit it, but I know they were happy to go back and see all their friends.

Great Summer

We've been having a busy, but great summer. It's been full of road trip, boat trips, pool/beach time, and visiting with friends (old and new) and family. Below you'll see some of our summer exploits. However, I think the best part, can be summed up in this photo and short video (click on the link below.) :o)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ-d9LHBPls

Jet Boat Trip Up The Rogue River

When Martin was a kid, his family took a jet boat trip up the Rogue River one summer and he's always remembered it, so we decided to do the same with the boys this year on the way up to Oregon. It was a great day, although we got pretty soaked along the way!

Hiking at Silver Falls With Old Friends

This year I was encouraged to make a facebook page as a way to interact with my students. Mostly I end up procrasting and wasting time on the thing, however, one benefit was finding my old school friend, Angie Van Rheen now living in Norway. After chatting a bit, we realized we would both be in Oregon this summer at the same time and arranged a meeting. It was a nice reunion, and a third classmate (Kay Mitchell) also came along!

Visiting the Enchanted Forest

The kids (and their cousin Brady) had fun visiting the Enchanted Forest near Salem, Oregon. It hasn't changed much at all since I was a kid, so it was fun for me too!

If you click on the link below, you can see Daredevil Max in action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv3clJ21oks

Boating in Washington

We had such a great time at my sister Marsha's house in Washington. Of course, one of the highlights was spending the day on the river in their boat. The kids especially loved innertubing.....Uncle Chuck couldn't drive fast enough.

Playing on the beach

My sister has a beautiful house on the river, and the kids had a blast playing on the beach and in the mud.

Music at the Lake

This summer in our little community, they started having Friday night music at the lake. It's a nice casual little affair where people bring out their blankets and chairs, the restaurant does up a BBQ. Max had a blast dancing to the music. As always, he put on quite a show.

More Photos from the Coast

Here's more general scenery from the coast..... I really liked this funky little painted house!