BIRDY BABYSITTING

Meet Grungie.
We've been babysitting him, his woman and their three kiddos for the past week for my brother, Ivon.
Out of the five of them, he's the only one hand tamed and he thinks he's a falcon.  He is one cool bird.

Landon loved holding him, Lach held him for only a millisecond.

We had a bit of excitement with the birds.  One of the girls laid two eggs and we had an escape.

I'm not sure which one, but I wish I had a video of me running around trying to catch it.  I was chasing it all over the garage, it almost got in our attic, THEN, when one of the wee ones opened the door, it got in the house.  It took me over an hour to catch it. I could have definitely won America's Funniest Home Video.  No doubt about it.

CRYSTAL SPRINGS RHODODENDRON GARDEN

The rhododendrons opened about three weeks early this year, due to our weather.
Before Mother's Day, it was in full bloom.
Although we missed most of the colorful blooms, there was plenty of beauty to behold.

 

We fed the ducks and geese (don't bring bread for them, just grain - we didn't see the sign until we were leaving - oops), we walked the paths, over bridges and by the water.  There are beautiful water features, a lot of wildlife to see, including a lot of cute baby animals, and gorgeous architecture.

The Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden is such a great place to spend the afternoon.  We absolutely loved it.

ELK ROCK, THE GARDEN OF THE BISHOP'S CLOSE

Visiting this hidden gem has been on my to-do list for quite sometime.

Sitting on a cliff-side over looking the Willamette, is this stunningly gorgeous 13 acre English garden.

I loved everything about this garden.  The blooming plants, the foliage lined meandering paths, moss covered stones, benches to contemplate and the incredible view of Mt. Hood.

In 1957, this private garden was donated to the Diocese of Oregon, by the family, with the stipulation that it be open to the public.

There isn't a lot in bloom right now and it is stunning.  I can only imagine what it looks like in spring, in full bloom.  I'm looking forward to going back so it can take my breath away.

OUR FATE LIES WITHIN US, WE JUST HAVE TO BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO SEE IT

I took the wee ones on a mommy-son date to see BRAVE.  We loved it,with a capital L!

If you haven't seen it yet, go - it's wonderful!

GO SKATEBOARDING DAY

My man clan ride almost everyday, but since it was officially GO SKATEBOARDING DAY, Larry got off work early and we met a bunch of riders at the park for a few hours of fun.

IT'S MY DAD'S BIRTHDAY

This is one of my favorite photos of my dad - it cracks me up.  I've titled it "That is not a "2", that is a "Z"

Happy birthday old man.  We love you!

STRAWBERRY PICKING

We went strawberry picking this morning at Green Bridge Gardens.  We had perfect crisp morning air and delectable berries to pick and, of course, taste test.  We picked for an hour and came home with loads of strawberries.

 We made freezer jam.

We made balsamic strawberry popsicles.

We froze a bunch of berries for smoothies and for dessert tonight we had vegan strawberry shortcake.  The coconut whipped cream didn't set up (bummer) but it tasted fantastic.

We're on strawberry overload and loving every bite!

THIS FOGGY, OVERCAST MORNING WAS PERFECT FOR KITE FLYING

JAPAN DEBRIS FROM TSUNAMI

We went to Agate Beach to see the dock that had crossed the Pacific Ocean and washed up on one of our Oregon beaches.  It's an incredible sight.

It's amazing to realize it's here because of a chain reaction of the earthquake in Japan that caused a tsunami and now we are getting debris.
This is cool but I wonder about what will be coming in next.  I've heard about the expected rubbish and when it comes we are ready to help with the clean up.

WE SPENT THE MORNING AT THE

Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.
We hadn't been there in ages.  It was such a fun way to spend the morning.

 Our favorite area of the aquarium is the shark tank.  It's incredible!

 We put the boys in the hurricane simulator.  Wind speeds got up to almost 80 mph!

They have a couple cool touch tanks.  I could sit there for hours.  To touch the sting rays, I almost had to - they were messing with us.
Next time I'll be more prepared - I know their tricks.

FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND AT THE BEACH

We whisked Larry away to the coast for the weekend to celebrate Father's Day.

We have incredible weather and are having a great time!