Drift Creek

Yesterday, we decided to get away from our sweltering house after several days of 100 degree heat and go for a little hike. We called some friends at the last minute on Friday and decided to go to Drift Creek. Grant and I have gone there several times, but it had been a while. The cool thing about Drift Creek is the suspension bridge you have to cross to get down to the water, and then, of course, you get to play in the water to cool off from hiking.  

The falls with the bridge above.

Where we played.

The rocks were slippery, and the water was cold. Eleanor refused my help, then slipped around wildly, panicking with each fall only to get up and slip again, and then she was quite done with the whole experience. She didn’t get hurt or dunked under water; she just slipped in the shallows and got really scared. I got to her as fast as I could without falling on my face and carried her over to our blanket.

Grant was the bravest of our group, swimming almost completely under the falls. I got pretty close, but I was nervous about the pressure of the water pushing me down while I was swimming. Plus, did I mention the water was cold? And when you get closer to the falls, you’re practically breathing in water because of all the mist. Our friends’ kids, Johnny and Ellie, got fairly close to the falls, too. Johnny was really tempted, but he was cautious.  

Ellie and her friend, Sammy, the two oldest girls, squealed and shrieked with every slip or wobble as they tried to balance on the rocks.

Eleanor and her friend, Anna Claire, with little sister, Mae. Mae is the same age as Phaedra.

When I told Eleanor we were going hiking with Anna Claire, Eleanor said, “Hooray! I love Anna Claire!”

After swimming, we had a picnic dinner together. There were several chipmunks venturing closer and closer to our food. They were quite brave. The kids loved them. Phaedra squealed and tried to follow the chipmunk up the trail and into bushes. All the younger girls just loved watching the chipmunks scurrying around and snatching dropped food near the table.

When we were done eating and playing, I stayed behind while the others walked back up to the bridge so I could try to get a picture of them on the bridge. Here’s the first thing I saw:

ZOOM! (Anna Claire) Followed by:

ZOOM! (Eleanor)

The adults came soon afterwards.

Grant and Phaedra stopped to wave at me.

And then they got the whole group together.

Brad, Anna Claire, Eleanor, Phaedra, Grant, Mae, Hillary, Sammy, Ellie, Johnny.

From one side of the bridge to the other.

Can you believe these kids were the slowest on the way back up?

And these two were the fastest. They ran along the path almost the whole time. I couldn’t believe Eleanor kept it up even though I knew how tired she was.

We all got home quite late at night. We didn’t have the kids in bed until just after 11. I guess we were having so much fun we lost track of time. It made for an interesting Sunday with both kids so worn out, but we made it through church. I hope our friends had an easier time with their kids.

A Few More

I was too worn out the other night to write much about our afternoon at Minto Brown park. I thought I’d include a few more pictures so I can remember it better.

It was a perfect day to go walking. The weather was fairly cool, and we even had some light rain sprinkle on us from time to time. Our group consisted of my mother and Gary and their two dogs, Mike, and us. We wandered for quite a while, following paths we hadn’t tried before and talking. We even found a few cherries to pick and eat along the way.

When we first got there, we went down to look at the water. Eleanor loves tossing rocks into the water. Phaedra had just woken from a nap, so she was munching on a very late lunch.

After quite a bit of walking, Eleanor was quite worn out. She begged to be carried, but none of us wanted to bear her weight when we were a bit tired, too. Phaedra had had a fever off and on that day, so we wanted her to take it easy in the stroller. I considered carrying her to let Eleanor ride in the stroller, but I didn’t want to expose Phaedra to the rain. Grant let Eleanor ride on the foot rest of the stroller, making it rather difficult to turn, but it was an acceptable compromise. We did get to listen to her squawk every now and then when Phaedra decided to kick her, and of course, Phaedra only wanted to do it more when she learned that it made her big sister squawk.

When we finally made it back, we ate some snacks we had brought. Eleanor mostly ate strawberries. She loves strawberries. 

Grant loves it when I take his picture :)

The kids played on the playground for a while, and then we headed home.

I thought the clouds looked cool as we were packing up to go. I just love a good sunny/cloudy Oregon day!

On a side note, we passed by this old car as we were walking along the path. Doesn’t it just make you wonder how it got there and why it was left there all this time? It almost makes me want to try to write a story about it just for fun.

Book Club

I believe I have mentioned this, but I joined our ward book club last fall. Before that, I was what you might call a “fair weather” reader. I didn’t often find the time to pick up a book, and once I started one, it would take several months to finish. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up with a book club because of time limitations and how slowly I read, but I was determined to give it a try for the social aspect. I was needing more adult interaction in my life.

Most months I have been able to keep up with the book club, and it has helped me to remember how much I love reading. When I was in college, I had to read so much in so little time that I got burnt out. I made long lists of books I wanted to read when I would finally get to the point when I would have time to read things other than what I was assigned. But by the time I got my degree, I needed a break from reading. Once I did get back into reading a little bit, I had to adjust to reading more recent fiction instead of books that were written half a century ago –or more.

I have been able to keep up with book club for the most part, and I’ve managed time to read a few books besides the ones chosen. Book club combined with getting an account on Goodreads.com has really awakened my enthusiasm for reading.

At first, I didn’t suggest any books for us to read together in book club because the main books I read were lengthy, wordy classics that can take months to finish. Then Grant and I read The Harvester over Christmas break, which I suppose was also an old, wordy book. He remembered that his mother had read it to him in his youth, and he felt like it helped shape his views of how a woman should be treated. I loved the book, and quickly suggested that we add it to our book club list.

Last night was our book club discussing The Harvester at my house. There wasn’t a huge turn-out, but our numbers have been dwindling anyway. We had some good discussion. People said they liked it, but they had a few problems with it. They didn’t like how verbose the author was about plants and how overly ideal the main character was. Those are some of the things I liked about the book, so I guess we just have differing tastes. I think that even though I really enjoy modern fiction, I’m still a sucker for an older book. And when I read an older book, I go into it expecting to have to read longer descriptions and trudge through the language a little more. I loved that the Harvester was an ideal character, even if he wasn’t the most realistic of men. I find it refreshing to focus on the positive about a person and strive to be that way, too.

So, it was a fun book club. I don’t mind that we disagreed on some points. I loved having the ladies over to my house (even as hot as it was) to chat, and I’m glad I shared the book. Even after Grant came home with the girls, we continued socializing. People left, and I put the kids to bed. After that, I noticed a few friends were still talking outside my house, so I went out to join them. We talked until everyone realized their husbands would be wondering where they were. It was fun.

For refreshments, I tried to come up with some sort of food they ate in the book that would be tasty. The Harvester was often serving Ruth iced fruit, so I decided a fruit pizza would be appropriate. I had never made a fruit pizza before. This is how it turned out:

I confess, I had Grant arrange the fruit on top. He’s so much better at making things look pretty than I am. It tasted really good. I got the crust a bit too hard, though. I don’t think I’ll cook it so long next time. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law. Recipe is a relative term. I love my mother-in-law, and I love her cooking. I hate trying to re-create her cooking. This is mostly because of my personality and wanting an exact recipe so I can have a better chance at a desired outcome. When I get a recipe from Dana, she tells me the recipe, and then she says, “Now let me see if I can remember how I change it.” Then, she proceeds to tell me the alterations she makes to the recipe she just gave me, and if she hasn’t made it in a while, her recipe is only as good as her memory. I am amazed that her cooking turns out so well every time with how much her recipes shift along the way. I wish I was that brave in cooking, knowing what I can tweak here and there and still have it turn out good. Grant’s mom is an amazing cook.

Along with the fruit pizza, I made my interpretation of the juice the Harvester gives Ruth. It is made with pineapple, orange, and lemon juice, and it is said to be quite tart. I thought it tasted pretty good, especially with ice.

All in all, it was a fun night. I probably didn’t need to stress over it as much as I did, but I suppose I don’t entertain guests often enough to not get nervous beforehand.

Favorite Things Exchange

[Backtracking 07-16-09]

I was lucky enough to be invited to the favorite things exchange for the second time. If you haven’t heard of this, we all bring a grouping of gifts that represent some of our favorite things (with a $30 limit), and then we draw a number to see what gift we get. As we open the gift, the person who brought it explains about each item. I was so excited to go.  Grant was in class, so I had my mom watch the kids. I had to scurry home from Eleanor’s swim lesson, give instructions to my mother, and put Phaedra down for a nap as quickly as I could so I could get there, and I was still a little late.

I took a bunch of pictures. My friends, Carolyn, Kari, and Alicia, put so much work into these parties (or at least it looks like it). I know that when I put effort into hosting an event, I’d rather try to enjoy it than take photos, but I always want photos. So I hoped I might get something I could share with them. The theme was red and white, so everyone tried to dress in red and white.

First, some pictures of the guests:

The gifts.

I received the basket on the far left. It was filled with good chocolates and all other sorts of good stuff.

I brought one of the reusable Target bags. I’ve been “going green” this year, trying to use reusable bags at the store more often. I should have taken a picture of the things I put in my gift, but the time crunch kept me from doing that this year. When thinking about my favorite things, my mind kept going back to food over and over again, so I decided not to fight it. My entire gift was centered around food. Let’s see if I can remember all that I put in there:

• A large container of Chicken Tortilla Soup with the recipe included. I love soup, and that soup has been my favorite for a while.
• Here’s my sad story about the soup: I worked so hard, cooking with a fussy baby while Grant was at class, and made a huge pot of it the night before. We ate it for dinner. I filled the container for the gift and put it in the fridge. I left the huge pot of soup on the stove overnight. All of our delicious leftovers were ruined. I cried. Literally. At least my gift for the party was still okay.
• Bite sized brownies made with my Demarle pan.
• Essence of Jamaica spice –a spicy blend that’s meant for meat, but we use it most on popcorn. It is SO good!
• Ken’s Steakhouse Creamy Caesar Dressing –I had never found a Caesar dressing I liked as much as the ones they have at restaurants until this one. I love a good Caesar salad, and I use this all the time.
• World Market chocolate bar –72% cacao, the smoothest dark chocolate I have found.
• I’m pretty sure I included some gum, because after eating good food, you have to make sure your breath smells okay.
• Relaxing Mint lotion from Bath and Body Works –this was the one exception to all the food. You have to have something to pamper yourself. This lotion is so nice. Grant and I give each other foot rubs with it.

We had little box lunches with pretty labels on all the food, and there was a whole table of desserts:

After eating and exchanging gifts, we all posed for pictures. We took a group photo, but I still hadn’t figured out how to use the timer on my camera. So I didn’t get a group shot with my own camera. Lame, I know.

Sisters/sisters-in-law, Alicia, Katie, Celinda

Kari with beautiful baby Gena

Our hostesses: Carolyn, Kari, and Alicia

3 Months Away from 5

 

  This is my Eleanor.

Strawberry juice smudged around her mouth, only smiling at the camera to get me to leave her alone, and twirling in the evening sun. She is such a sweet, fun loving girl.

That last photo might look like she’s doing a funny pose, but she’s actually watching as Daddy and Grandpa pull out some snacks just above her head. I liked the fact that she was actually looking up, so I zoomed in and took some pictures.

I can’t get over those curls. When her hair isn’t in her eyes (and even sometimes when it is), it is so beautiful. And then there are those expressive brown eyes . . . and those dimples . . . My girls have so much natural beauty. I’ll have to keep them under lock and key when they are teenagers. Or maybe I’ll be blessed, and they’ll go through a real “awkward phase” when they are teenagers, only to blossom into beautiful women.

The future scares me. I don’t ever want them to have a crush on a boy. Ever.