Hunt Family Connection

Saturday - Eugene Celebration 2011 and the circus

It was a BIG weekend people - packed with all kinds of fun stuff....so much fun stuff in fact that I think I'll have to spread it out over a couple different posts.

First up - one of my favorite things about Eugene....the Eugene Celebration and specifically the parade!

We were up early and off to Kara and Brian's house so that we could walk to the parade (they changed the route this year because of construction). I thought Sam and Graham were pretty cute walking and talking...Graham was pretty excited about being able to carry his own chair :)

Once we got settled into our spot, we enjoyed bagels (THANKS Brian and Kara for getting those ahead of time!) and waited for the parade to start.

By the time the parade was over we were in full sun and worn out! We got back to Kara and Brian's and enjoyed some nice cold water on the porch while the kids played in the yard.

We went home for lunch and naps, and then it was time for the other exciting thing about Saturday - the circus! We had tickets for the Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey Zing Zang Zoom Show. The kids and I had dinner with my friend Kenny and his daughter Faith, and then we all walked over to Matthew Knight Arena for the show.

Something has gone wrong with my camera (boo!) so I have no pictures of this event, but you can go HERE and see a little bit of what we saw.

It had been a long day, so my kids had a little trouble sitting still, but once we got some popcorn that seemed to settle everyone down a bit, especially Ellie who actually had her entire head inside the popcorn bowl at one point :)

It was a wonderfully busy day and I think we were all pretty happy to fall into bed on Saturday night.

Today is my first day back at work, so I have to get up and ready - will post about the rest of the weekend (Ellie's 2nd birthday!!) when I can....

Ellie's Birthday Week

In honor of it being both the last week of summer and the week before Ellie's 2nd birthday, I thought it would be fun to take the kids to the mall after G's tennis lesson on Tuesday and visit the Build-a-Bear Workshop and have lunch together.

As we started looking at the bears, it became clear that Ellie isn't really old enough to make good decisions...or really any decisions about what she wants in a bear...lol. She wasn't entirely focused on the process and preferred to sit and play on the computers there.

There was a perfect option for my baby girl though and she managed to find it....

These are called "small frys" - they are already stuffed, but you can get little outfits for them! Ellie picked out this little pink monkey (which perfectly fits with her upcoming birthday party theme!!) and then she started grabbing and tossing outfits for it up onto the checkout counter - it was pretty hillarious.

Big girl got to walk and carry her own bag! She seems pretty happy about the whole thing, don't ya think?! I can't believe she's almost two, but I can't wait to celebrate it this weekend!!

End of Summer Tennis Lessons

Pa-Paw offered to sign Graham up and transport him to/from one more week of tennis lessons before the summer is over....Graham was THRILLED!

We had Coach Lisa at the beginning of the summer tennis lessons too, so he's already familiar with her. When I went to watch him on Monday I was a little surprised (and proud!) to see how much he had grown, just over this summer.

He already knows some of the things they're doing so is better able to follow directions, and he just seems a little more mature and responsible about what he's doing out there. I know that Pa-Paw has worked with him a little too, so it definitely looks like he's improved his skills a bit :)

He's also been a pretty good helper about cleaning up the balls, but I think his favorite part is stacking them up on his racquet :)

I got to watch him on Monday and Tuesday, but had to go to work on Wednesday during his lesson time. I have some appointments today, but think I'll be able to sneak in and watch for at least part of his last day.

Thanks Pa-Paw for one more week of tennis lessons - Graham and I are both really appreciative :)

Our big beach vacation - the last few days

On Thursday we planned a trip to Florence to visit the Sea Lion Caves and Sandland Adventures.

I only have an outside shot of the Sea Lion Caves, 'cause I didn't go down into the caves with everyone. I've been before and decided to sit this one out. Graham and Ellie went with the group, but mom and I shopped a little in the gift shop, munched on popcorn, and watched the sea lions play in the water.

We grabbed lunch to go from Subway on the way through Florence and made our way to Sandland Adventures so we could check in for our reserved dune buggy ride time.

The ride was great fun and everyone enjoyed it (for the most part!) Jacey wanted us to stay moving and got a big smile on her face when we went fast. Ellie got a little tired of sitting too - it's an hour long ride! The driver was telling us that he had seen a bear out there not too long ago, and just as he finished talking about it, a little black bear came running out across the path in front of us - yikes!!

This is my favorite part of the ride - approaching the beach :)

My kids napped on the way home from Florence (not sure what went on in the other car!) and when we got back home we played, showered, ate (grilled brats, hamburgers, and potato packets), and got ready for the family pictures.

We met the photographer and his wife at the South Beach State Park and walked in to the beach. Everyone did a great job of smiling and posing....

We've seen the previews of what he shot and I'm so happy we did it. More on that another day :)

Some Friday morning goings on....

LOVE this picture of me and my niece/goddaughter Aubrie and our morning hair :)

More coloring - I think we have a great colletion of work to show from all the coloring and drawing that was done this past week!

Mom and I stayed at the house with Graham and Eleanor while the rest of the crew went back to the Lighthouse to explore the tide pools. They had a blast and came back with great stories of what they saw and learned.

We tried to go down to the beach but it was pretty windy and cold - the kids were getting sand in their eyes so we packed up pretty quick and went back up to the house for lunch.

After lunch Graham spent a little time in the hot tub with Nana and Papa, Joel and his family went down to the beach, and I stayed in the house with the sleeping babies (Ellie and Jacey).

I finally got to get a couple games of Yahtzee in with Aubrie - she rolled a Yahtzee of 1s right off the bat!

I didn't do much in the kitchen this past week (no one really wants me in the kitchen I don't think!) but on Friday night I took over to make some homemade pizzas for our last family dinner.

It was still a bit chilly and windy, but Joel made one last fire and helped the kids make a few s'mores...

One last dip in the hot tub was a great way to wrap up the day.

We had done quite a bit of packing and preparing on Friday, so Saturday morning was just finishing touches on that, loading up the cars, and doing what we needed to do to close up the house. It's hard to see this week end, but it's time to get back to the real world, our homes, and our routines.

I asked for one last picture....

....and then we were all on our way!

My ride home was uneventful and the kids slept for half of it. The rest of the family had a much longer day, but they got home without incident as well.

I'm incredibly glad we were able to have this time together - it was such a gift and an amazing vacation. I'm grateful that everyone was able to be here - I know it it's not easy to pull off, but so worth it!!

I leave you with a link to a collection of photos from the week - Beach Vacation - August 2011 - and some video clips that I shot on Friday - Beach Vacation Video - August 2011 (I'm not much of a videographer nor do I know much about my editing software - sorry!)

Our big beach vacation - the next couple of days...

Still here at the beach and LOVING it! I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I have to go home and not be able to wake up and enjoy this amazing view :)

We were supposed to have family pictures taken on the beach on Tuesday night, so we decided to stick close to home during the day so we could all relax and get ready.

We went down to the beach to play a little, but it was pretty windy and cold (not that the kids noticed at all!) Graham literally just ran up and down the beach over and over again...

and Ellie also had fun playing....

The kids didn't stay long before heading up with Papa and Joel to the "hot pool". Carrie, Jacey, and I went for a nice long walk along the beach - loved it!

We got a call from the photographer saying it looked like it might be too windy to do pictures that night, so we made a change in plans and went out to Georgie's for dinner.

We had a little bit of a wait for our seats, so we found a playground near the restaurant - it was soooo cold and windy out...as you can see, the kids still don't really notice or care!

They weren't able to seat us at the same table (I may have had words with the hostess/manager after dinner about this - don't worry, I was totally respectful and calm!) but we were close by and enjoyed a yummy dinner!

I love Georgie's for a few reasons - it's family friendly (there is a treasure box that kids can pick something from after dinner), the view is pretty awesome, and the food and drink is yummy! Nice and casual...I totally recommend :)

After dinner the kids played a bit and then stayed up to watch the sun set into the ocean. As for the grown-ups....after bedtime we've been either playing cards, soaking in the "hot pool", or just sitting in the living room talking....it's been WONDERFUL!

On Wednesday we decided to go check out the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. In all my years here in Oregon, I've never actually been to one....strange, huh??

It was a little bit of a hike to get there, but the scenery was pretty awesome :) LOTS of chilly wind though - I was glad I had Ellie in the stroller 'cause I think that wind could have knocked her over!

There is a height requirement to climb the steps of the lighthouse, but Graham and Mara both made it in. I volunteered to stay outside with the littles 'cause I wasn't sure I could do the steps myself...I'm a little too scared of tight spaces and heights (total wuss....I know!!)

As a side note - Eleanor did a much better job keeping Jacey happy than I did - while Jacey just batted my hands away and cried when I tried to give her some snack puffs, Ellie had no problem convincing her to settle and have a bite to eat :)

Everyone survived the trek up (and back down!) the lighthouse steps - here's the crew after....

We had lunch at McDonalds (kids loved it!) then went home to put the little ones down for a nap. Mom and I took off for some outlet mall shopping in Lincoln City - FUN! I found some back-to-schoolwork clothes for me, and a few things for the kids too (they insist on growing at an alarming rate)

Everyone was just getting back from the beach when we got back home - let me just take a moment to say how well the kids have been getting along...I went downstairs to check on them expecting the worst, but found this!

We had grilled chicken and pork for dinner and then the bigger kids hit the "hot pool" before bed. The little girls had some fun inside the house :)

drinks with Mommy

not sure what was in Jacey's sippy cup to have her end up like this?! :)

Still haven't had any luck with the weather and family pictures - we're hoping it will work out tonight. We have a few items left on our list of things to do and just a couple more days to do them before we have to return to the real world - we plan to enjoy every minute!

Our big beach vacation - the first few days

The blog has been a bit quiet 'cause we've been really busy. I spent last week preparing for and completing early entry testing at work, and at the same time we were preparing for the arrival of our Wisconsin family for our big beach vacation!

My brother's family and my parents all flew into Oregon on Saturday and then met at my house to stretch their legs and eat a little lunch before heading to the coast for our week at the beach! When we arrived on Saturday night, all we had the time and energy to do was look around the house a bit, unpack the cars, and get dinner on the table. It had been a long day for those that had traveled from Wisconsin!

On Sunday morning, we woke up to this view....

We have a great big wall of windows upstairs and a patio downstairs where we can look out onto the ocean....all. week. long. LOVE!!!

We decided to stick close to the house on Sunday.

There was game playing and coloring....

whale watching.....

waiting to play on the beach....

getting toes (and much more!) wet in the ocean....

and warming up in the "hot pool"

We also had our annual "cousins birthday party" - everyone got a present and we had some cake after dinner.

(Jacey-1, Mara-4, Aubrie-9, Graham-4, and Eleanor-almost 2)

On Monday we decided to head out to the aquarium....

After dinner we started a fire and had some s'mores before bedtime...

...and then watched the sun set into the ocean

We're having a great time - it's really wonderful to be together, and even more exciting that we're all together right here with the ocean out our backdoor :) 

10-4!

I love summer!! So much time to get to do things that I wouldn't normally be able to do :) The kids have been gone with Wil....visiting Mum-Mum and Pop-Pop and also spending some time with Pa-Paw and Grandma Chery. While they were away I got to rest up some, get a few things done around the house, and I got to do something new.

My friend Ken is a log truck driver, so I got to spend a day learning what that's all about :)

Our day started EARLY - so early that most would consider it the night before. He waits to hear the night before when he has to be where to pick up the first load. We were to be on the coast by 5am, which means getting to work by 3am, which meant I got picked up at 2:40am, which means my alarm went off at 1:30am! Oh my goodness that's early!!

Of course it's rather dark at 3am, so this is what it looks like when the trucks are getting ready to go...

Even though you can't see the trucks very well in the dark, trust me when I tell you they are large! I was a little intimidated, but managed to get myself hoisted into my seat with my lunch and bag o' stuff for the day.

Now Ken typically does two trips each day - he heads out to pick up the load, then brings it back to the mill...twice. The first trip out was completely in the dark, so i have no pictures of that. I did take pictures the second time we went out, so I'm going to use those to put the whole process in order :)

So this part I hadn't completely thought through...I know that he's going to pick up logs, which means we're driving into a forest, which means the roads aren't necessarily all that wide and paved! This wasn't noticable in the dark, but on our second trip out I realized that we were driving a rather large truck pretty far into a forest, and it wasn't all flat ground! It is very beautiful though....not a bad gig getting to see the sun come up over this every morning :)

Ok - so once you get out to where the logs are, the "shovel operator" (in this case a young man named "Skeeter") unfolds your trailer and loads the logs onto the back. It was hard to get a shot of this that fully conveys how big the logs are, but here's one of the loading process....

I was really impressed with the precision that they have with this - placing logs in like a puzzle, also trying to balance out the weight so that everything sits right and isn't too heavy. And I really can't say it enough, but everything is just HUGE out there!

After the truck is loaded we head on back to the mill...here's a shot of the road going out...

 

And this one was taken just before heading out onto the main road...

So yes, the road in and out is just one lane, so one might wonder how they all keep from running into each other (well I wondered!)

I've been learning some "trucker-speak" - copy? Earlier that morning we left about the same time another driver did, so he and Ken chatted over the CB much of the way to the coast - I teased him that they chat even more than girls do! But once we got in on those narrow forest roads, the CB was used to communicate where we were and whether or not we were traveling with a full load.

It's not the best shot, but I also tried to get a shot of all the other buttons, knobs, and gauges that are inside the truck....

All right - where were we?? We've got the truck all loaded up, and as we left the woods the first time it was just starting to light up outside and feel like morning! On the second trip we probably left around noon and ate a little lunch on the way out to the main road.

So after picking up the load we made our way to the mill. LOTS of trucks are making their way to the mill throughout the day, so it's likely that when you get there you'll have to wait in line....and now I'm wishing I had a picture of the line. Neither of our waits were too long, but the first one in the morning was definitely longer. The trucks come in from both directions, so there are trucks waiting to enter the mill on both sides of the road. What struck me funny, is that most of the guys know exactly who's turn it is to enter the mill...they don't just alternate from one side or the other, it's all about who got there first! It reminded me just a little bit of my work at the elementary schools where it is VERY important to not budge into line in front of anyone else!

So when it finally is your turn, you pull onto the scale and do some paperwork stuff (that's super technical trucker-speak people!) and then pull ahead to be unloaded. So while it took the shovel operator about 20-30 minutes to load your truck, it takes this guy about 2 minutes to unload it - all in one swipe!!

and then your truck's empty again!

Again, I'm not sure the picture can truly convey how big everything is! That unloader thing takes the logs to different places, but sometimes they end up on piles like this...

So after you unload there is a little self-service area where you can fold your trailer back up (I'm almost positive I'm using the wrong words for all this - I'm still new!)

After the 2nd load was delivered we were done! (kinda) - we still had to go fill up with fuel....

and there was paperwork to be done...

I think maybe it was 4:00 or so when we were back in Ken's car and driving back to my house. For those keeping score, that was 11 hours after arriving at the truck - long day!

What a great experience though - I learned lots and had fun doing it :) I leave you with a few more shots from the day....

In the truck at the end of the day - I look exhausted, right?! Slept like a baby last night :)