study break at the Apple Barn

Yesterday we took a break from school (and work!) to take an impromptu trip to Oregon Heritage Farms!

This is a wonderful family farm operated by my Book Club friend Kim.  It is known county-wide as THE place to go for apples and harvest fun.  :o)  Each year Kim adds something new: this year there is a covered picnic area and an apple-hole game, and our NEW FAVORITE: cider slushies!!  Along with the slushies and some donuts as a treat, we bought a gallon of cider, a frozen pie, and some Jupiter grapes to take home.  Oh, and each kid got to choose a honey stick, too.  ;o)

Goats are always a hit.

huge apples

The littles went straight to the bounce house;
the bigs, to the shop.

Our new obsession: cider slushies

This was such a fun way to celebrate the last day of summer. :o)  And what a great summer it was!!  We are looking forward to fall and all our traditional autumn activities in the coming months.....

some July happenings

July was a full-blown "summer" month for us!

This year we stayed close to home all summer (after our big May trip to Scotland--oops--didn't post any stories about that yet!!).  We had mostly "typical" adventures, with a few new ones thrown in.  Here are some photos from about half of July:

4th of July parade on Main Street, with
friends and cousins

We brought cinnamon rolls to share.

Light-saber duel as a "half-time" display between fireworks

Seaside weekend with cousins...8 kids but only 2 adults... :o) :o)

more fun at Migrant Ministry

5 kids in VBS this year!!!  Bunny was a leader, James was in
music, and Mariposa, Gemma, and Sedric were participants

Anniversary date night at Little Bird in Portland

Anniversary get-away at the Allison Inn

spa time at the Allison :o) :o)

Papa did lots of excavator work for us--
Sedric, too!!

3 kids went off to Camp Howard (Bunny, James, and Gemma)
and came home with lots of memories
(in this pic, James is with friend William)

All 3 of my Camp Howard kids won the coveted "Cougar Award" for setting an excellent example for all campers.  We had fun listening to Bunny and James' stories about Gemma's first year at camp--apparently, she was a BIG hit.  :o)  Everyone knew her name by the week's end, which isn't really surprising if you know Gemma.  :o)

Mariposa was a BIG helper with Bunny gone, so I rewarded
her with a shopping trip and a visit to Mod Pizza