Champoeg, OR

We wrapped up our summer with a three day camping (yurting?) trip last week to Champoeg, OR.

(forgive the photos - the only photos I took were on my phone)

We stayed in a YURT...

/yərt/     noun     

1. a circular tent of felt or skins on a collapsible framework, used by nomads in Mongolia, Siberia, and Turkey.

...actually ours was a circular tent made of cloth (furnished with a bunkbed,a futon and a desk, powered by electricity), used by the Dougalls :)

We filled our days with lots of kickball and baseball played in the grass in front of our campsite...T was the number one fan!

The visitor's center was only one mile away and we took many bike rides to/from.  

They also had a beautiful garden that we took a tour of...

We were on the Willamette River which was beautiful!

The first day we took a 5 mile round trip bike ride along the river into Butteville to the Historic Butteville Store.  The kids continued to ride their bikes every chance they got and we quickly realized that the bike paths were lined with wild blackberry bushes which provided plenty of sweet treats for our bike riders. 

The second day we took the kayaks down to the river and enjoyed being on the river...

Three of my boys participated in a hot dog eating contest for lunch the second day...yes, that is 6 hot dogs (with buns) in front of each participant.

In the end J ate 4, Rich ate 5 and C ate 2.5

Gross!

Unfortunately mom forgot to bring ketchup and mustard which makes it a bit harder to put the dogs down!

On our return home from Champoeg we stopped in Woodburn for some factory outlet shopping and then we went miniature golfing in Wilsonville.

Summer is wrapping up quickly but we have no complaints as we have played hard and (hopefully) enjoyed every minute!

everyone is accounted for..

We currently have SIX hens* 

and today (for the first time ever!) 

we got SIX eggs!!!!

(a couple of days before we left on vacation, one of our red hens simply wasn't in the hen house when we went to lock up one night.  She has never left the chicken run so we were very confused by her disappearance, not to mention that the couple of hens that we do have that like their "freedom" always return when it begins to get dusk.  So that is why we are down to six hens from our previous seven.)

no looking back

My youngest child had his 5 year-old well check this week.

He FINALLY hit 40 lbs

(which interestingly puts him at 40% for weight with a 45% for height at 43 inches)

which means he can DITCH THE CAR SEAT and move into a booster!

I thought I might be sentimental as my last child made this transition but tossing the car seat was done with absolute enthusiasm on my part.  

I may have even done a little dance!

and then it hit me...

I will never have another child in a car seat...

I will never have to potty train another child...

I will never have to teach another child to ride a bike....

and I am okay with it all!

I think I am enjoying this new stage of life!

$300 bucks is $300 bucks

(that title is for you Mike)

Earlier this week I took the kids to the bank to open up their very own accounts...seeing as my older two have been quite the entrepreneurs this summer and had bulging pockets!

The kids were excited to begin with but their enthusiasm was over the top when we arrived and the bank representative told us that they had a "refer a friend" program going on...

so when T opened his account and referred K, they BOTH received $50...

then K referred C and they BOTH received $50...

and so C referred J and they BOTH received $50...

(J is currently anti photo which I am trying to respect)

Those $50 bonuses really gave a boost to each of the kids accounts and they each left with a skip in their step.

Just don't be surprised if they recommend their credit union to you the next time that you see them.

20 years and counting!!!

I can't believe that it has been 20 years since this...

While I was in Utah, my graduating class had it's 20 YEAR REUNION!

Me & Mel

Andrea, Me, Mel

Me & Kim

Kari, Heidi, Amy, Becky, Mel, Me

Here's to another 20...that will probably pass as quickly as the past 20!

{Utah} time with friends

We have a handful of friends that we LOVE to see when we make it to Utah and this trip was no exception.

The kids and I met our cute friends, The Bucks, at the Payson Community Pool and we made a day of it.  Seriously...5 hours later and the kids were still going strong.  Had the kids not been hungry, we would have closed the place down.  I sing praises for that small town pool...but even more praises to dear friends that we can never quite get enough of.

We almost forgot to snap this quick photo of our kids with the Hinckleys!

(yes that is Rich in the photo - he joined us for the last couple days of our Utah trip)

The Hinckleys are our Las Vegas friends that have (conveniently) moved to Utah so that we can stay in touch with them easier when we come to visit - okay, so that isn't "why" they moved but it is a great perk!

other friend visits....

of course I got together with Melanie and Andrea...we grabbed yogurt at the new Farmington Station and got comfy in their outdoor seating and didn't stop talking (or probably take a breath) until 1 a.m.  I am sure the security guy was thrilled when we finally left.  Loved the catch up and the fact that after 25 years we can still talk like we are still in junior high!

The kids and I got to spend a morning with Ashley and her cute kids.  The timing couldn't have been better since we caught them less than a week before they move out of the area...although we have made grand plans to coordinate our Davis County summer trips from here on out and until forever!

And my bonus friend visit was with Christina...who I knew in Las Vegas but then she moved to California and then to Indiana and I thought we would be doomed to never see one another again...but she was in Utah for the weekend!  Our visit consisted of meeting off the 106th exit and giving quick hugs but it was great to see her live and in person and I can't believe how the years fly by!

{Utah} time with cousins

Our time with Utah is never complete without spending time with cousins!

I am so grateful for my brothers and their wives taking so much time away from their schedules to spend with us when we come to town.  With my older brother now living within walking distance of my parents, my kids actually got more time with cousins than usual...and somehow I have less photos...go figure!

My kids enjoyed the set up in the back of Mike's truck for their first Drive In Movie in YEARS!

We saw Despicable Me 2 and at least one of my kids stayed awake for the entire thing...the 2 year-old twins never batted an eye!

In the course of the week we had cousins over for dinner 3 times - twice at my parents and once at Mike's.  The kids had a ball playing together and K was in heaven with four little girl cousins that she could "mother".

other cousin time...

K got to have a sleepover with Aussie, which is a big deal because neither K or Aussie are allowed friend sleepovers.  The plan had been to camp overnight in their own tent but when the camping was cancelled they made due with sleeping (did they sleep?) on the floor of the playroom.

K was asked to babysit for three younger cousins and she jumped at the chance to spend an entire evening with Mark's kids.

{Utah} time with grandparents

After the Dougall reunion, the kids and I drove to Utah to spend a week with my parents.

Our first morning there we went to Salt Lake where K and I were able to go with my dad to the Salt Lake LDS Temple and perform baptisms for family names.  

I loved seeing the names and dates and locations and knowing that they "belonged" to us.

I loved that K's first time at the temple included my dad.

I loved that K chose a postcard with a picture of a temple to mail to a school friend - my little missionary!

It was a great morning.

And while dad, K and I enjoyed the peaceful setting in the temple, my mom got the job of manhandling three boys on the temple grounds - probably not as peaceful as a morning for her.

I printed off a Temple Square Picture Scavenger Hunt (here) for the boys to do while they waited for us and they found everything except two.

The other photos that represent the kids time in Utah is the annual riding of Boppa's tractor.  

The kids LOVE it and talk about it all year long!  

I have even caught T bragging to friends that, "my Boppa has a tractor and he lets me drive it!"

He is right on both counts....

Boppa does have a tractor....and he always lets the boys drive it!

other activities with boppa & diyah...

My mom takes one of my kids each summer to a special lunch date that includes buying a new backpack for school.  In years past it has always alternated between K and C but J got put in the mix this year and got to have his special outing and he came home with a huge, red backpack that ought to last him for a good number of years!

I got my own special lunch date with my mom thanks to my dad being willing to watch the kids.  We followed up lunch with a little shopping and I do believe that  if I lived closer we could make a habit of such afternoons.

{2013} Dougall Reunion: Bathing Beauties

I think the magic of this year's family reunion is how well the cousins connected.

The boy cousins were inseparable and always seemed to be playing a game - whether it be soccer, tag, the bean game, 4picks 1word, or night games after dark.

The girls were no different - all sharing a tent and painting nails and swapping clothes.

One afternoon K and two of her cousins closest in age were out on the dock and we did an impromptu photo shoot that turned out too cute!  

Or maybe it is just the girls that are too cute!

{2013} Dougall Reunion: farm

We spent one afternoon down in the Logan valley at a farm run by a family friend.

The heat and smell quickly got to this mama, but the kids didn't seem deterred and many took the opportunity to actually milk a cow and drive/ride an industrial sized tractor. 

I don't have a photo of the monster-sized sno cones that we got after the farm visit, but needless to say our car load wasn't the only one that was looking for something to cool off with after the heat of the farm visit.  As we drove down Main Street in Logan we passed the car belonging to cousins pulled off at a sno cone cart and then immediately after pulled up to a light only to be side by side with yet another carload of cousins all enjoying ice cream cones.

Maybe we share more than just our last names :)