Briar Rose....the fish

We went to a community party in Medford. Lorili won a little goldfish at one of the games. She was so excited! We tried to teach her how to care for it....you know, like don't shake the bag, and don't grab the fish...but she was too excited about it. Somehow the fish made it to the house, but then she let it loose in the inflatable swimming pool where she would play catch and release. Obviously, the fish didn't survive the day. By the time she was done playing with it, the poor thing just floated at the surface trying to breathe. I told her she was sick and convinced her that if we flushed her down the toilet she would go back to the river where she came from and get better with her family. Here are pictures of the fish when she won her, and then when we are about to flush it. The video gets a little long, but the poor girl fell to pieces, it just breaks your heart.

Grandma Victoria's

We drove a long ways from Nevada to Oregon. Nevada was barron! We drove on the Extraterrestial Highway and saw some Alien stores...weird stuff out there. Did I mention there's nothing out there? Kinda spooky!

We were happy to arrive at Grandma's (only 3 more hours to our new home) where we were greeted by even more cousins!

We left the kids overnight while we went to Albany to find a home to rent. When we came back we found out that Grandma let Lorili marry her cousin!

We went to the Jackson County Fair....

Grandma braided Lorili's hair (that's the first time she's ever let someone braid it)

Aunt Jeanna's

We left Yuma and drove to Logandale, Nevada to visit my sister Jeanna and her family. We always have fun with them. The weather was a little milder than Yuma and the cousins got along great. We even played RockBand on their projector. Yes, we managed to pack it along with all our clothes in our little Corolla and drove it cross-country. You could call us (maybe just me) addicted! It was really fun to play with my nieces and nephews.

Vacation Vacation Vacation!

We left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa Brown for a week while Thor and I flew up to Washington to go Sailing with Thor's Dad and Step-Mom. It was nice to be without the kids for a while, but we still managed to miss them.

We started up at Sucia Island in the San Juan Islands. We had beautifuk weather and worked up a sweat in the kayaks. I was really hot so I thought I would take a quick dip in the water to cool off. I should have taken the hint when Thor refuesed to join me...but in I went and out I came! The water had to be no more than 50 degrees! It was amazing how fast my body cooled down and then started clamping up. Refreshing and salty at the same time.

We had plenty of time for naps and reading

We ate constantly (that is a picture of me eating the BEST strawberry EVER)!

There were lots of beautiful sunsets

We even saw some wildlife...lots of dolphins, but my camera was too slow to catch them. I'll settled for a seal on a log instead.

We happened to be in Port Townsend to see three boats like this one cruise in and fire their cannons. My camera was wiggin out on us so this is the only shot I got.

We enjoyed front row seats to the fireworks show on Lake Union. It was spectacular! This was my contribution to the 4th of July celebrations!

We had a great relaxing week. I think I must have lost some years because on the flight home the flight attendant asked me if I was old enough to sit in the Exit row, she asked if I was over 15! Unbelievable...I guess this is the key to eternal youth:)

At the Lake

While Thor and I were away Lorili and Gabe missed us very much. They had fun with Grandma and Grandpa Brown and many of the cousins. They went to the lake and rode in Uncle Bob's boat and got wet! What's a trip to Yuma without a trip to the lake?