Camping Cottage Grove Lake, Cottage Grove, Oregon - June 18-20, 2015

 I was so excited that Nate invited me to go camping with them.  Brielle could hardly wait to show me she had lost 2 teeth.  Adalei had earned enough money to buy her Lego book.  It was so fun to see them.

 We had fun at a yard sale on the way back from camping. 

 Nate took the kids swimming in the lake.

 Isaiah was especially enjoying the watermelon.

 We had smores with chocolate chip cookies.  They were delicious.

 Adalei made the chocolate chip cookies.

 Isaiah having a cookie.

 Bedtime stories by the fire with the lake in the background.

 Adalei walking on the cable.

 We had delicious French toast for breakfast.

 Playing at the playground by the lake

 Nate did a great job building the fire.  Isaiah loved to throw wood in the fire.

 Misty and Isaiah watching the swimmers. 

I slept in a tent with the kids while Nate/Misty slept in a 2 person tent.

Trail of Two Forests at Mount St. Helens, Washington - June 6, 2015

 This was an interesting little hike on a boardwalk through two forests.  The ground is uneven from the lava from the volcano eruption.

 There is new growth in the forest since Mount St. Helens erupted.

There is evidence of the old forest before the eruption.  This is where a tree was surrounded by lava and later died.

There is an underground tunnel from the remains of the lava flow.  You could crawl from one hole like above and exit at this one.  It is so interesting.

June Lake at Mount St. Helens, Washington - June 6, 2015

  I can't figure out if these plants are wildflowers or weeds.  I have been seeing them all over this spring.

 Jeff and I hiked to June Lake.  The water was so clear you could see the bottom.  Due to the drought, the waterfall was not very big.  I was disappointed as it didn't look like the pictures online.

 I love the purple wildflowers.

 A view of Mount St. Helens

 It was about 3.5 miles round trip.  

Timothy Lake, Oregon - May 30, 2015

 Timothy Lake is in the Mount Hood National Forest.  It is 1,500 acres.

 It was even more beautiful than the pictures show.

 This is me kayaking....  I was a little nervous as the water is 45 to 80 feet deep.  Mount Hood is in the background.

 

 I was washing dishes...

 I loved the hammock!

 We had fun watching the mother ducks with their ducklings.

 Jeff and I kayaked from one end of the lake to the other.

 I was so tired!

 This woodpecker was so cute!

There was a marathon when we were there.  Two laps around the lake for the race so I assume the trail is about 13 miles around the lake.

Here's a picture of Jeff.  We had a great time.  I'm so glad I went.  It was beautiful, peaceful and relaxing.  He took most of these pictures because I didn't take my camera with me.

Trillium Lake, Oregon - May 31, 2015

On the way home from Timothy Lake today, we stopped at Trillium Lake.  It was so beautiful with Mount Hood in the background, 7.5 miles away.  The lake covers 63 acres.  This was my first panoramic picture with my cell phone.

A Sunny Day in Chico, California - May 23, 2015

 Nate organized a get-together in Chico for our family for the day.  Unfortunately, Jason and family had other plans and weren't able to come.  I was happy that Casey and family, and Charity were able to meet us in Chico.  I drove to Grants Pass and then rode with Nate and family to Chico and back.  The picture above is Isaiah going down the slide.

Allison on the slide.  The kids had so much fun on the playground.

Nate and Casey took the kids on a bike ride.  The rest of us walked.  This is Brielle with her scooter.

Weston with his bike.

Elijah with his bike.

Benson with his bike.

Here's a group picture before the bike ride/walk began.  On the left, Benson, Adalei, Weston, Brielle, Elijah, Misty, Isaiah, Nate, Charity, Allison, Casey, Jenna, and Dalton

We had our picnic lunches on the grass.

Casey and Weston playing catch.

Nate and family eating lunch.

They played croquet.

Dalton was having fun with the balls.

It was fun chatting.

We celebrated Casey's 33rd birthday! 

This was Casey's birthday card.  His birthday gifts had been sent to his house.

Watermelon for dessert.

More croquet - Elijah, Adalei, Weston

Watching the baseball game

Talking.....

Benson

Allison playing with a Frisbee

More watermelon

Baseball

Watching

Casey pitching

Hanging out

Benson and Dalton at the park

Allison with her new necklaces

It was so fun to spend the day together.  Thanks to Nate for organizing the event and for Charity's suggestion to meet in Chico.  I'm so glad they could come.  I hope Jason and Ashley will be able to come next year if we do it again.