This is such a fun time of the year. Our weather has awarded us a break in the temps so being outside is much more comfortable and we are spending even more time outside. We have been looking forward to a trip to meet our friends in Hood River but before we could go I knew I had to take Hadley and Kate to the long awaited fair and carnival. We met up with her good friend, Luke, and his mom, Carolyn, and a fantastic time. Not being a real carnival ride enthusiast I had to think long and hard about how many rides they could go on but the fun side of me won and I bought each of them the bracelet that allowed them to go on as many rides as they wanted and they made good use of it. Kate and Hadley went on just about every ride in the kiddie section with no hesitation. They both favored the carousal horses/merry-go-round which I thought was rather sweet. Doug met up with us after morning clinic and we indulged in fair food while watching the pig races. Kate and I checked out at 3 but Hadley, Luke and Carolyn partied on until dark. While we were at the carnival we got to see my friends Mika and John Frostad from Maui. Their two boys, Rai and Kai, were going on the rides and taking things in. Very cool boys.
When Hadley rolled back home I was down with the horses riding. Tara and Ashleigh and I were making good use of the remaining daylight and agreeable weather. Hadley saw that Ashleigh was riding so she decided she wanted to ride too, only this time she didn't want any assistance (mom leading). So I hoisted her up into the saddle of Cruiser and away she went. I can't tell you how much fun it was to see my sweet, trust worthy show horse pack her around for her first solo ride. He had never been ridden by a child but he was as safe and quiet as he could have been. He even gave a ride to Hadley with Luke riding double. Ashleigh was riding Elvis while all of this was taking place. He is amazingly responsive and quiet with a youngster on board. It was awesome. Cruiser doesn't neck rein so that makes it pretty challenging to navigate around but Hadley managed to get him directed where she wanted him to go. With her new found confidence in the saddle she told me she is going to start going to rodeos. Ummmm.....this should be interesting.
So that wrapped up on Thursday and now we had to start getting ready for our short getaway to Hood River. I had been looking forward to this all summer. We were meeting our great friends Colleen and Damon. They were our neighbors in Yakima when Doug and Damon were in residency. We really enjoyed living next to them and don't get to see them nearly enough now that we live in this corner of the state and they live in Seattle. They have a little boy named Milo who is just a little younger than Kate. After a late start we rolled into Hood River about 4 pm. This gave us plenty of time to head down to the Columbia and watch a little wind surfing and let the kids play on the 
shore. What a beautiful site to see all of those sails! Kate, Hadley and Milo had a fun time wading in the water and playing around the rocks while I got to visit a little with Colleen. She is expecting their second child in October and is the epitome of a beautiful pregnant woman. Absolutely radiant. Damon finished up an afternoon of wind surfing while we were there but was kind enough to go out again so we could watch. It is a pretty awesome sport to watch and the navigation on the water with all the other sailors is a challenge too. There were a lot of kite sailors too. The kids especially liked those.
shore. What a beautiful site to see all of those sails! Kate, Hadley and Milo had a fun time wading in the water and playing around the rocks while I got to visit a little with Colleen. She is expecting their second child in October and is the epitome of a beautiful pregnant woman. Absolutely radiant. Damon finished up an afternoon of wind surfing while we were there but was kind enough to go out again so we could watch. It is a pretty awesome sport to watch and the navigation on the water with all the other sailors is a challenge too. There were a lot of kite sailors too. The kids especially liked those. Before we got to Hood River, Colleen had t
old me Milo was a little ladies man. She wasn't kidding! His adorable looks and sweet disposition was an immediate attraction for Kate who stole a kiss while they shared a view from the rocky shore of the Columbia. As the weekend progressed she did decide she was jealous to Milo and didn't like it if I gave him any attention. At one point when I was holding him she broke into tears and repeated "Baby Down!! Baby Down!!" Jealousy is an emotion I was not experienced with from Hadley so I had to chuckle a little at being her object of affection and not wanting to share.
old me Milo was a little ladies man. She wasn't kidding! His adorable looks and sweet disposition was an immediate attraction for Kate who stole a kiss while they shared a view from the rocky shore of the Columbia. As the weekend progressed she did decide she was jealous to Milo and didn't like it if I gave him any attention. At one point when I was holding him she broke into tears and repeated "Baby Down!! Baby Down!!" Jealousy is an emotion I was not experienced with from Hadley so I had to chuckle a little at being her object of affection and not wanting to share. Saturday morning Colleen and I with the kids in tow headed the 4 blocks to the downtown farmers market. Being within walking distance of shopping is a real treat for me. We picked some yummy fruit from the area and 4 t-bone steaks from a free range ranch in Eastern Oregon. We knew the guys would love this to bbq for dinner. Colleen and Damon's friend, Tim, was also spending time with us along with his girlfriend.
Sunday morning came far too quickly and 
it was time to pack up and head home. Being able to spend even a couple days in a different town and visiting with friends was a great time for us. I appreciated the fact that even after 4 years of not seeing each other they are still the same fantastic people they were before and we are looking forward to seeing them again sooner rather than later. We even talked about renting a house boat to tour Lake Roosevelt on. Sharing parenthood with them makes it even more sweet because the kids all loved spending time together. Can't wait to meet her next baby!!
it was time to pack up and head home. Being able to spend even a couple days in a different town and visiting with friends was a great time for us. I appreciated the fact that even after 4 years of not seeing each other they are still the same fantastic people they were before and we are looking forward to seeing them again sooner rather than later. We even talked about renting a house boat to tour Lake Roosevelt on. Sharing parenthood with them makes it even more sweet because the kids all loved spending time together. Can't wait to meet her next baby!!Shortly after we got back to the farm our neighbors called and asked if they could come down with their family and friends and ride motorcycles on the track. Of course we were happy to see them and it ended up being impromptu party. There were 4 or 5 kids riding their motorcycles around along with 4 dads and then the mom's gathered and then the grandparents....it was really fun to see the kids and visit with everyone. Wish I had my camera with me!! As the sun went down they loaded up and headed back to their farm and then Doug built a fire on our patio to fight off the cool edge of our pre-fall evening. The girls sat around and watched the fire while Doug and Mike and Trey stoked it with branches gathered from the last wind storm. Tara and I headed inside to get the fixings together for chili burgers and I made a peach cobbler with home made ice cream for dessert. So we enjoyed our visit over a few beers and then called it a night.
Why can't every weekend be a 4 day weekend?
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