Got Dressed UP, Went to a Fancy Wedding

Okay, blogger is the worst totally free blogging situation with free storage somewhere that I can think of.  These pictures are all scrambled up.  Fact:  we went to a wedding at an organic farm outside of Hood River.  There were games!

It was the day before our 18th anniversary!

There's Jeremy, once a student of mine, and Hannah, his bride!   Whoa.

 Ida loved it!

Also (thanks, blogger!) here is a sneak peak at an owl who sometimes lives outside our back door and poops very large poops.  We like it.

More of this action:

Everyone looked great!

An Important Influence

The girls really like Aunt Jen quite a bit.  Perhaps it's her dogs, her style, or her love for candy.  Maybe all of these things and more?

 There are so many interesting things to discuss with her

There's Fred, too, post-pizza.  Cool!

And then, what can be more delightful, some post-dinner Pixie Stik debauchery.  Jen really showed them how:

Jen even (surprisingly!) mailed us Ida's bag of Confectionery candy, which was strangely left behind.

Thanks for everything, Jen!

OH yes, much to document, still, though now we are at home

So much happened in that tremendous trip. Much of it was documented. Some highlights--like when we encountered Uncle John and Aunt Sally--were not, alas, but still it was excellent to see them. And here are some glimpses of other blessings:

Massive Sheepshead or Freshwater Drum that Miki caught; they didn't even have these things when I was a boy.

Fishing is very competitive with these two; alas, rarely do they catch the same number or size of fish.

Goodness, the LeBlancs came from Canada!  Fantastic.  I wish I had a picture of Sara.  Pierre did many good deeds.  Sylvia worked some angles.  Lillian is exactly like me.

These two went to church!  Prayed for us heathens!

Whoa, a neighbor took this of us!  #nofilter, bro

These two shucked this corn faster than some skinny-dippers can shuck off their clothes!

Oh my goodness!  Greatest triumph!  Channeling her ancestors the Ama, Ella dove deep into the darkness and found the lost anchor chain of our raft!  Davises owe us so much!

Very dramatic sunsets as ever:

I just found it all so mesmerizing and soothing.

And here a performance of Shakespeare!  Miki, as Tybalt, slays Mercutio, played by Lillian!  Later Hamlet and the henchmen got revenge, but it really did take four dudes to put down Miki in her jeggings.  She loved that Shakespeare camp, while Ida thrived at "Adventure Sailing" at my old EYC.

Pleased and proud spectators.  Ready for the bloodbath of "Julius Caesar."

Other adventures:  Ella and Sara (there she is!) headed out to kayak around Horseshoe, and were almost lost to us!

Gigantic Stephen Sauter blocks the sunrise, brings free ice cream.

More swimsuit gardening activity!

More soon!  Candy!

Cousins, Cousines

One reason we travel is to snag some cousin time. Saw Sophie in Shorewood, then headed up here where eventually the LeBlancs swept down upon us from Canadia. But then there's my cousin Anne and the girls' second cousins, too. Who got a boat.

That's Miabelle and Lily, they're "half Asian, half Woodchuck" cousins.  As a matter of fact, Miabelle just turned six!  And if you look closely at this picture you can see cousins Lillian and Sylvia LeBlanc eating some pancakes.

Miabelle is neither particularly photogenic nor attractive, but we were happy to help celebrate her 6th.

The Last Moments of Without Mama

Eagerly we awaited Ella's return to us; whoa, we had fun trying to manage on our own, but we were getting somewhat ragged.  She had embarked on a major overnight flight into bus ride strategy and we had to go intercept her.  We decided it might be wise to do some horseback riding and a quick foray to The Farm on our way...

Here is Ida upon her mighty Steed, Remington!

and Miki on Harry Potter:

Caramel Collision!

Whoa, Mama on the Scene!@@!

Super Whoa!  What's that?  Grambee doing some swimsuit gardening??

Back at it!

Ella got a root beer float, in case you were wondering. And it was a "caramel collision" root beer float, not straight vanilla. Extreme!!

Soon we arrived in Ephraim, Wisconsin, where we set upon many varieties of watersports. SUP:

Kayaking!

Canoe!

As Grandpa Jim famously said, "We are now once again able to provide rides for people in various boats."

And then we began accomplishing the many expensive activities that needed to be accomplished.  Ida did some deft work with mosaics and Hands On:

Miki, upstairs, was working on this ceramic M.

There's Jim himself!  Hanging at the beach!