She's gone

Marie left today to return to Korea. We took her to the airport this morning and said good-bye with many tears and much sadness. She has become such a wonderful part of our family over the past 10 months and we will always consider her part of the family. It was very hard to watch her get on the plane, not knowing when we will see her again. Yet despite the sadness of her departure, we feel so blessed to have had the chance to host her. She's brought so much joy, laughter, and enthusiasm into our home and we love her deeply.
We took a bunch of pictures at the airport. To see them click here.

Hot!

Our van has a thermometer that moniters the outside temperature. As we crossed the pass between Bend and Eugene, we made a game of seeing how high the temperature would rise. (Hey, some people watch tv, others watch a thermometer!) We actually came home with pictures of every degree from 98 up to the record high of. . . . . Living on the coast has made temperatures like this a novelty, and we actually had to stop the van so the kids could get out and see what 106 really feels like.

Sahalie Falls

The drive home from Bend is a beautiful one. The high desert is quite different from our scenery here on the coast, but still beautiful. The snowy mountains were even prettier in person than they appear in pictures.
On our way home, we made a point of stopping at Sahalie Falls. We'd been there last year on our homeschool co-op trip to Bend, and it immediately became one of our favorite must-stop-and-see locations. The waterfall is spectacular, and above is a churning pool of water that is a gorgeous teal color I thought only existed in paintings.
We hiked around on the trails a little and got to cool our feet in one of the calm pools of water off to the side of the river. It was obviously a great place for pictures too!

Sun River

Edward Jones held their summer regional meetings at Sun River this year. It was the perfect place for a family get-away, and it just happened to fall on Marie's last weekend with us, which made it even better.

Brad called in advance to tell them a standard 2-bed motel room wouldn't be enough for the six of us. They said it was no problem because they always reserve some larger units for families. We were excited at the thought of having a nice suite or condo, but were we surprised when we first went to our "room".
It was a beautiful 4-bedroom home, fully furnished and nicely decorated. The master suite had an enormous sitting area and a huge bathroom. Julianne and Marie shared a bedroom with its own bathroom as well. Caleb and Elisa shared a room, and we ended up not even using the fourth bedroom at all. There was a hot tub on the deck for us to enjoy, and we also had time just lounging around and relaxing in the living room, complete with a stone fireplace.
Sun River is famous as a biking resort, with 37 miles of paved bike trails that allow you to go virtually anywhere. To our pleasant surprise, we found seven bikes in the garage for us to use. There was even one small enough for Elisa!
Brad had meetings in the mornings, but the rest of the time was great family time. Edward Jones spoiled us with great meals and lots of fun. It was a fantastic vacation and barely cost us a dime!

Click here to see more pictures of our trip to Sun River.

Baseball season

Caleb had another great baseball season. As he was filling out his registration form in the early spring, he all of a suddent exclaimed, "Dad! It says they're looking for coaches! Will you coach my team?" Brad and I looked at each other and knew there was no way we could say no to all that enthusiasm. And so, Brad got to try his hand at coaching.

Caleb's skills continue to improve, and this year he had fun all over the field.

Pitching
Batting

And playing 1st base

Great job Caleb! We are proud of you! (You too, Coach!)

Going away

As much as we hate to admit it, the school year is winding down and it's almost time for Marie to return to Korea. She had a going-away slumber party and had a great time with seven of her girlfriends. They played games, ate snacks, watched movies, and even got a little sleep.

One decade old!

I don't know where the years have gone, but Caleb is now a decade old. He had some of his buddies over for a party at our house. When I asked him what he wanted to do at the party, I began mentally preparing for the work it would take to prepare elaborate games and activities. His first choice was, "I want to take all my friends to the school playground up the street and play together." Done!

The party was simple, but just what he wanted:

Friends.....
Food......
and FUN!
For more pictures of Caleb's party, click here.