Small town USA

Today was a watch Tirza play happy homemaker ~ make bread from scratch, hang cloth diapers out to dry, gather eggs from chicken coop... get ready for week of homeschooling girls... you know, kind of like my life. :) SHE is excellent at it all!

The girls, Olivia and I walked into town to get some ice cream.

So blessed to spend time with long time friends!

A Spring afternoon with The Wibel Girls

This atypical Oregon sunshine has made it so nice to be in the great outdoors. I spent a few nights with Tirza and her sweet family (hubby Shane, daughters Mira (8) and Annah (5) and Weston (2 months) at their country home in Silverton.

I brought Annah some hand-me-down outfits from The Kaufman girls (the family that I am a nanny for) and Annah was so excited to put on a new ballet outfit!
I can't believe how fast Mira is growing up. She is a book worm who dazzled us with an advanced knowledge of many subjects.

Annah Pearl

Mira Elizabeth

Joy

Best friends!

So, I 'm taking this crazy in sane totally-kick-my-butt boot camp class for the next six weeks. It's pretty much ninety minutes of pushing ourselves to the limit while being yelled at. "Hughie! Why are you walking? We RUN in BOOT CAMP. Does everyone need to do push ups because Hughie is confused?" Yep, that's my evening four times a week.

I decided Mira, Annah and Olivia could use a little bit of boot camp. And this time I was the drill sergeant!

They have a tad more energy than me and really got into the work out!

Now, drop and give me twenty, Wibels!

Reach for the sky!

And Olivia joined right in. Is this Jazzercise circa 1982, Olivia?

What's this resting stuff? Okay... I'll let it slide. Is it time for ice cream sundaes yet?

One last day in the Northwest

I had to get out of bed this morning. And let me tell you if I could have I would have stayed in bed a wee bit longer. My toes hurt. My nose hurt. And everything in between. Olivia brought me Advil to my bedside and that is never a good sign.

Tirza was busy in the kitchen making homemade from scratch waffles with oatmeal and do-it-yourself wheat and fresh strawberries from the garden. Far superior to my frozen Eggo's. She's domestic like that.

We headed out to Mt. Angel to pick strawberries. The above picture is the Mt. Angel Monastery. Monks chant several times a day.

Hand picked strawberries are 75 cents a pound.

You're looney if you think I was squatting down to hunt for berries. Olivia and Tirza enjoyed themselves and I took it all in behind my camera lens.

Olivia and her new hardware ~ braces! She's on her way to an even more gorgeous smile!

Tirza will freeze the berries and then can them. She cans. I don't can.

Our next stop was the Oregon Garden Resort. It is beautiful and I have to find a reason to stay there on my next trip up North.

Inside the lodge.

Shane and the girls came home from their Central Oregon weekend just after we arrived. I loaded up Mira and Annah with outfits for their American Girl Dolls and cheerleader outfits and pompoms for Halloween. Shopping for girls is my favorite!

Go! Fight! Win!

Annah Pearl!

The night rounded out with meeting up with Dana and riding back to Portland. We joined her hubby Nick and our brother Ken to watch the Lakers Playoff at Buffalo Wild Wings. I met a guy from the LA area who ran the same half marathon yesterday. He's run 13 and confirmed that yesterday's was the hardest one yet. Now I feel a *little* better of my slacker-dacker-ding-dong achy body-ness!

A jam packed long and fun weekend. I love Oregon and get to go back next month for Sonia's shower. My future sister-in-law is having her bridal shower the same weekend as the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. So I just had to book a flight! My friend Carolyn will be coming along too. Her first trip to Oregon. I can't wait to show her my old stomping grounds and the beauty and awesomeness of the Beaver state!