Gunnar turns 8!!

We got home from Oregon just in time to celebrate Gunnar's 8th birthday! The boys are very much back into Star Wars, so Hans became Darth Vadar for Gunnar's birthday (see photo). Gunnar's big present this year was a set of golf clubs complete with a spiffy bag, some practice whiffle balls, and some real Sponge Bob balls (who knew you could find Sponge Bob golf balls?!).

Gunnar had decided that he wanted to have his party at the Skatin Place here in St. Cloud, so that is what we did. He had 4 friends join him for this party, along with Hans, which made for equal teams for LASER TAG! So, while Orn and I, along with Andrea (good friend, mother of 2 of the boys) roller bladed and chatted the night away, the six boys enjoyed their time playing laser tag and roller blading. Gunnar very much enjoyed his night and is already making plans for his next birthday party!

A night at Swannie and Ted's

As many of you know, my Aunt Swannie and Uncle Ted orchestrated Orn and I meeting exactly 10 years ago this August! Whenever we are in Oregon we make it a point to spend a night with them so that we can all get caught up on each other's comings and goings. Ted invariably puts together a BBQ feast to which Swannie produces nice salads, fruit, bread, etc. This year was no different! We had a wonderful visit out on the back patio on a gorgeous Corvallis evening. The next morning we enjoyed yet another feast on the back patio - this time, Ted's homemade pancakes along with sausage and bacon. After another great visit we had to hit the road as our plan was to drive from Corvallis, Oregon to Reno, Nevada in one day (which we did, rather easily)!

The last day at Gleneden Beach

We had a very nice relaxing week at Gleneden Beach this year, although as we drove over to the coast the brilliant sunshine we had been experiencing dissipated and was replaced with a dull cloud cover. Unfortunately, that remained the case until the day before we had to leave the coast! However, it was not windy all week, so our time at the beach, while grey, was very pleasant and fun filled. The pictures here (taken the last day) are the type that illustrate just how spectacular the Oregon coast can be!! The first one of the boys walking down the street is the view from our house over to the state park where we access the ocean. The rest are self-explanatory. Even though the water is downright FREEZING the boys do enjoy running and jumping in the shallow areas.

The Cartel Boys turn 50!

While we were in Oregon Tom's parents hosted a 50th Birthday Party to celebrate all the guys (and gals) turning 50 this past year. It was a great event! We all appreciated Sally and Allen's hospitality and cringed as things were broken (it's not a party until something gets broken, right?), but they soldiered on! Tom had made a video with pictures from Corvallis back in 1958, the grade school, junior high and high school along with loads of pictures from then and now! He found a picture of Orn from 1st grade - the resemblance to Hans's kindergarten picture is downright amazing. Everyone enjoyed reflecting back on what a great place it was to grow up in Corvallis, Oregon!

Party at Rick's!!

We drove into Portland for the big 50th birthday celebration on August 8th. We spent that night at Rick's condo in downtown Portland. As has typically been the case, various Cartel members (and my friend Jessica from the Peace Corps along with her son) showed up to welcome us 'home.' Since it was Friday, we did our regular Beer and Pizza routine, although this time we were hoping to do it by the pool. Unfortunately the Nazi Security guy was on patrol, so he quickly informed Rick that he could only have 2 guests out by the pool at any given time! As you can see by the pictures, we did have more before we were caught. :)

Exploring Otter Rock

While we were at Gleneden Beach (OR) the boys and I spent one morning exploring Otter Rock (about 5 miles south of our house) with Tom and his kids. Gunnar was in heaven exploring all the tide pools. Hans, on the other hand, was being a typical younger brother and following his older brother around even though searching through tide pools for obscure sea creatures does not appear to be his thing. We did see some neat things (they even impressed Hans) such as star fish, live crabs, and seals lounging on the rocks, not too far away! Sammy (Tom's daughter) did her best to keep up with Gunnar and Hans, while Allen (Tom's son) entertained himself with some rocks (they became cars in his world) on the beach. It was a fun (and educational, according to Gunnar) morning!

The largest Sea Lion Cave in the World!

As we drove from Klamath Falls over to the coast to head up to our house in Gleneden Beach, we made some stops along the way. The first was at a winery in the Umpqua Valley where Orn and I sampled some wonderful Pinot Noirs (and ordered half a case). After that it was only fitting that we do something that the boys could get into -visit the largest Sea Lion cave in the world. The coast was in prime form in the afternoon so we had some glorious sites. All of us enjoyed looking down at the Sea Lions who were basking in the sun along the rocks. After that we took an elevator down 100's of feet into a viewing area where the sea lion cave is in the cliffs next to the water. It was downright comical as we stepped out of the elevator...both boys immediately covered their noses and exclaimed, "what smells?" You know when you're up close and personal with nature! Unfortunately I was not able to figure out how to disable the flash on my camera (flash pictures were not allowed), so I didn't get a chance to attempt any pictures in the cave. I can just report that it was a site to see, and once the boys noses got used to the smell they were more than willing to check out the various displays set up to educate us humans on the life of a sea lion. What a fun way to start our week at the coast!

Crater Lake (Oregon)

This year as we began our trek west to Oregon we started off by flying in to Reno, Nevada (via Houston...go figure). After driving up through northern California we landed in Klamath Falls, Oregon for two nights. We spent one day exploring Crater Lake. What an amazing place. I must have taken about 50 pictures (at least) as we hiked around various trails around the lake. It was truly an amazing site to see! The boys even got to throw snowballs in August! That's something that every Minnesota kid should experience in their lifetime!!

The Boys of Summer

Gunnar and Hans are both into sports, sports, and more sports. In the summer months they can be found playing soccer on Monday and Wednesday evenings and baseball on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Hans's soccer team did GREAT this year, only losing one game very early in the season. Hans quickly set himself apart as one of the three scorers on the team and scored a total of 15 goals during the season. Gunnar's team struggled early on but ended the season on a high note tying and/or winning their last 4 games. Gunnar also managed to put the ball in the net when he was able to convince his coach to put him up front. Both boys are looking forward to next summer and more soccer!

As for baseball, I bumped Hans up to Cub ball this summer which meant that he and Gunnar were on the same team. While their team was not all that successful (they lost far too many games in the final inning!) both boys showed great potential at the plate. We had many Sunday mornings of batting practice over at the local field - it paid off well on the field!

A weekend at the Nelsons Cabin

We spent another wonderful weekend up at Sue and Rob's cabin over the 4th of July weekend. The boys managed to start the weekend out on a high note by taking off in the canoe and getting stranded on the other side of the lake (luckily it is not a large lake). Watching Sue and Ben attempt to rescue them by paddleboat was pure entertainment. Thankfully, Rob showed up and cruised over in the fishing boat to bring EVERYONE home.

The boys also enjoyed tubing all around the lake and they were able to get some fishing in from the dock. Gunnar announced that next year he'd like to do more fishing from the boat...he had much more success fishing from the boat last year.

As has always been the case, we enjoyed wonderful feasts and great conversation. This year, the excitement centered around the antique level that Rob found in Hackensack. Hysterical. All in all, it was a truly fabulous weekend with good friends!

July 4th at Lisa's!

As has been a tradition for years, we spent the 4th of July at Lisa's house in Chanhassen. This year we started off our day watching the Chanhassen parade. That was a lot of fun and we saw Lisa, Dave, Jenna, and Calvin Kirkbride go by in their golf cart! That was fun!

After a wonderful afternoon of visiting with friends, having water gun and water balloon fights, playing baseball, eating, eating, and more eating, we settled in to watch the 4th of July Fireworks (from Lake Ann) right from Lisa's side yard.

Our goal is to always scoot out of town before the Excelsior fireworks get done, so that we can get back to St. Cloud at a decent hour. We were fairly successful at this goal this year. :)