Well, the weekend came and went before we knew it. The 4th is one of the only holidays Doug gets off from the clinic so we always look forward to it. In typical fashion, we figured we would just end up working around the farm and having a quiet, relaxing holiday but Doug's friends changed the plan. Coy, Rick and Dean showed up Friday morning with bikes in tow and the four guys were like a bunch of kids all weekend! They spent the day riding their motorbikes on the track and then resting for awhile in the shade and having a drink then hitting the track again or racing through the mowed stubble. It was a lot of fun to watch them having so much fun. What a nice group of guys. Friday evening was rounded out by a fantastic steak cooked on the bbq by Rick and then the girls and I headed to town for a home town fireworks display while the boys headed to shop to tinker around and drink beer.
Kate, Hadley and I met up with our neighbors--the Cochran's--and grandma Betty at the fire station to spread out in the grass and take in the fireworks. I thought they were spectacular and for the first time Kate really enjoyed them too. Hadley, Kate and neighbor Kylie made a party of it and all curled up together under a blanket and watched the amazing show of colors and loud explosions and fire falling from the sky. I love the fourth!
Saturday Doug and the guys headed out after a big homemade breakfast of sausage and farm eggs. They had planned a motorbike trip up Tiger Canyon and across the Blues with a goal of ending up in Dayton but snow prevented this from happening. From what I have been hearing, the snow is sticking around later this year than usual up in the mountains but it made for some creative riding and back tracking down Tiger Canyon to return home around 5. I think they covered about 100 miles which is a heck of a long way on the back of a dirt bike if you have never done it. Doug's brother, Dean, joined them and was able to really try out his new KTM on and off road.
As soon as Doug got home he had to hop in the shower and then we headed to the neighbors for a birthday bbq. Eric and Melissa Cochran invited a group of friends over with their kids and we all sat around and visited and watched the kids play. Eric bbq'd up some tasty chicken and homemade deer sausage from last years hunting season. Unfortunately we had to cut our visit a little short so we could get home and visit Doug's cousin who had stopped by the farm for a visit after moving away 3 years ago. She and her family lived in what is now our guest house for 20 + years before moving to Idaho. It was nice to see her and a few of Doug's other cousins. We visited outside as the sun set and picked raspberries and strawberries and caught up with the changes taking place in their lives with a new marriage and a very successful teaching career north of Seattle in the high school special ed department. Michelle is a very gifted teacher and has such a loving, caring way of dealing with these special needs students. She also has a generous sense of humor which I think must be a necessity when living such a high stress life in the classroom.
Sunday morning Coy and friends loaded up their bikes and headed on their way back to Baker City and Mollala. We hope they come back soon because they are a lot of fun and such thoughtful guests. With the entire day ahead of us Doug and I decided we wanted to go up and spend it in the mountains with my parents and the kids. So....we loaded up the bikes and headed south. What a fun trip it ended up being. Dean followed us on his motorcycle and then we took a off road ride as soon as we got there. We retraced the trails I had been on a week or so earlier with my mom to the breaks of the Umatilla. Of course, this is a moment I wanted to capture on film with my entire family and parents and Dean but as sometimes happens the camera didn't make the trip as we had intended. It didn't dampen the mood though. Kate and Hadley and I picked wildflowers to take back to the cabin and identify with our field guide and scanned the hills for bears. It was a perfect place to catch site of a bear or two picking berries or looking for shade. No luck in spotting one but it will remain one of my favorite bike rides and I am thinking about taking my mountain bike up next time and riding it along the trail. A quieter mode of transportation might make spotting wildlife more realistic.
While my dad and Dean stayed back at the cabin while the girls played, Doug and I lead by my mom headed out on yet another ride. This one was on mountain roads and it took us down around to the end of civilization on Basket Mountain Road to my favorite dream hideaway. A one room cabin that looks out over the entire valley across grass fields and premier cattle pastures. It backs up to tall pine trees and a green meadow with a pond for water. Looking at a picture it could be 2008 or 1945, it would nearly impossible to tell. When I make my final break and move away from "the world" you might find me there.
Ok, so mountain visits always come to an end so we loaded up the girls and headed down the hill. Once we got home I was a ball of fire. I rode Cruiser, fixed fence, weeded, fed, cleaned the house, did laundry and went to bed feeling mighty good about a day well spent. Life IS good.
Kate, Hadley and I met up with our neighbors--the Cochran's--and grandma Betty at the fire station to spread out in the grass and take in the fireworks. I thought they were spectacular and for the first time Kate really enjoyed them too. Hadley, Kate and neighbor Kylie made a party of it and all curled up together under a blanket and watched the amazing show of colors and loud explosions and fire falling from the sky. I love the fourth!
Saturday Doug and the guys headed out after a big homemade breakfast of sausage and farm eggs. They had planned a motorbike trip up Tiger Canyon and across the Blues with a goal of ending up in Dayton but snow prevented this from happening. From what I have been hearing, the snow is sticking around later this year than usual up in the mountains but it made for some creative riding and back tracking down Tiger Canyon to return home around 5. I think they covered about 100 miles which is a heck of a long way on the back of a dirt bike if you have never done it. Doug's brother, Dean, joined them and was able to really try out his new KTM on and off road.
As soon as Doug got home he had to hop in the shower and then we headed to the neighbors for a birthday bbq. Eric and Melissa Cochran invited a group of friends over with their kids and we all sat around and visited and watched the kids play. Eric bbq'd up some tasty chicken and homemade deer sausage from last years hunting season. Unfortunately we had to cut our visit a little short so we could get home and visit Doug's cousin who had stopped by the farm for a visit after moving away 3 years ago. She and her family lived in what is now our guest house for 20 + years before moving to Idaho. It was nice to see her and a few of Doug's other cousins. We visited outside as the sun set and picked raspberries and strawberries and caught up with the changes taking place in their lives with a new marriage and a very successful teaching career north of Seattle in the high school special ed department. Michelle is a very gifted teacher and has such a loving, caring way of dealing with these special needs students. She also has a generous sense of humor which I think must be a necessity when living such a high stress life in the classroom.
Sunday morning Coy and friends loaded up their bikes and headed on their way back to Baker City and Mollala. We hope they come back soon because they are a lot of fun and such thoughtful guests. With the entire day ahead of us Doug and I decided we wanted to go up and spend it in the mountains with my parents and the kids. So....we loaded up the bikes and headed south. What a fun trip it ended up being. Dean followed us on his motorcycle and then we took a off road ride as soon as we got there. We retraced the trails I had been on a week or so earlier with my mom to the breaks of the Umatilla. Of course, this is a moment I wanted to capture on film with my entire family and parents and Dean but as sometimes happens the camera didn't make the trip as we had intended. It didn't dampen the mood though. Kate and Hadley and I picked wildflowers to take back to the cabin and identify with our field guide and scanned the hills for bears. It was a perfect place to catch site of a bear or two picking berries or looking for shade. No luck in spotting one but it will remain one of my favorite bike rides and I am thinking about taking my mountain bike up next time and riding it along the trail. A quieter mode of transportation might make spotting wildlife more realistic.
While my dad and Dean stayed back at the cabin while the girls played, Doug and I lead by my mom headed out on yet another ride. This one was on mountain roads and it took us down around to the end of civilization on Basket Mountain Road to my favorite dream hideaway. A one room cabin that looks out over the entire valley across grass fields and premier cattle pastures. It backs up to tall pine trees and a green meadow with a pond for water. Looking at a picture it could be 2008 or 1945, it would nearly impossible to tell. When I make my final break and move away from "the world" you might find me there.
Ok, so mountain visits always come to an end so we loaded up the girls and headed down the hill. Once we got home I was a ball of fire. I rode Cruiser, fixed fence, weeded, fed, cleaned the house, did laundry and went to bed feeling mighty good about a day well spent. Life IS good.
Lastly, because I some how managed to get through the weekend without taking a single picture I will leave you with the photo I just rec'd from a friend taken when we were little. I am on the left with Kelly Tennent in the middle and my life long friend Todd on the right. We had SO much fun growing up horse back. 
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