Camping on the Molalla River in September

The weather was perfect - the sun was shining and Steve and Michelle had a rock skipping competition going. Meanwhile, the rest of us were resting. We were at Feyrer Park on the Molalla River southeast of Portland - a small campground right on the river. Mike and Marli joined us and we had a great time.

Marli was crazy enough to get into the water - it was cold and then she and Aunt Michelle had a bet going that each would swim to the other side and back and then Marli would get $2.00 from her Papa and $1.00 from Michelle. Of course, for money, she did it and forced Michelle to get into the water, too. The rest of us decided that it was way too cold for us. Mike fell in and assured us that the rocks were hard and the water was cold.

Even Clarity didn't get too excited about getting all wet. She was content to walk at the edge with her daddy and play in the sand. She loves to get good and dirty!

Papa is a good refuge when a girl needs milk. Clarity spent time with Papa and then napped at the beach which gave us all more time to soak up the sun and complain about how cold the water was. Marli was in and out most of the afternoon.

We had a good time, good food and played a lot. We tried out new Ladderball game and all enjoyed it although Clarity found the balls a little soft and easy to bite a chunk out of so she lost her turn to play. There is a playground there, too, so sliding, swinging and running around were in order.

Our weekend in Tillamook 6-30-07

We took the girls to Tillamook for a long weekend and had a blast. There were horses there so they spent lots of time feeding them. We even had to make a trip to the store to get long carrots so they wouldn't scare Jaelyn so much when they ate. She was sure they were going to bite off her hand. Marli was a little more daring. Here's papa showing them it's safe and that the horses are gentle.

We also spent time being "tourists" and went to see a waterfall in an old growth area where we all forded a stream to get to the salmon berries. The girls say

they were good - I was too chicken to try them - afraid that something like Montezuma's revenge would befall me in the night!

The girls spent an entire day in the ocean and on the beach. We did lots of walking and enjoyed the sun when it finally came out. They were really brave jumping in the waves but when they laid down in the surf they discovered that there were vary large sand crabs in the water and they claim that they were biting them. Either way, it ended their laying down in the water.

Papa and I weren't as impressed with the campground as the
girls were - no privacy, the "spots" were small and very close.
But we were close to the playground and managed to eat well,
play hard and have fun. We invited one of our neighbors who was
alone to come over and have s'mores with us and she brought

some monster marshmallows that she'd gotten in Mexico. The girls were thrilled - and she had a dog that liked them so it was all good.

Papa and I are off to Arizona for a few days to see our newest granddaughter if she ever decides to arrive. She's being a little bull-headed so we may have to go down and coax her to come out and play with us.

Hope your summer is going well. We'll keep posting pictures.