For the past week, Parker has been visiting his aunts, uncles, cousin and grandma in Portland. We have all had a blast sharing him throughout the week. He's been to the rock museum, rode the MAX, went swimming at Grandma's and the Butler's, floated the Washougal River with the Richey's & Wachlin's, and it's only Wednesday. Today we're off to the farm in Scio with Trish and Roy! Take a look at Parker in the kayak...he is a natural!

Walla Walla is a rainbow of scenic beauty -- golden hillsides, lush greens, creeks to explore, wineries and vineyards, country backroads and breathtaking views. As always, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit! But, when the weather reached 110 on Thursday it was hard to be outside...thank goodness for the Transformers movie and A\C in the theater.
click "Read More" to hear about our trip...

Our trip began on Tuesday night when Chris and I packed up the camper and drove 4 1/2 hours to Walla Walla. We were excited to break out the camper and go for a trial run before our big trip in August.
Shortly after we arrived, the Rathbun's came a knocking on the camper door (as of course, we were parked in their driveway) Months ago, Mark and Julie bought an older home to remodel and are almost finished. They hope to be done by August, so for now they stay at Dave's and we stay in the driveway! The house is going to be amazing!! I hope they keep it for awhile

The 4th of July began with a wake up call at 5:59am and bike ride around Walla Walla...which we thoroughly enjoyed. Then after our morning coffee and pastries we were off to pick up the boys and head to the property (78 acres) to explore. WOW! What a beautiful piece of property. Not only is there rolling wheat fields but also a lush green area with a creek full of life. The boys had a blast catching fish and "hermit crab" type bugs. But just make sure you don't litter on the road or else the neighbors might run you down on their quad!!

In the evening we headed to Mark and Patty's for a 4th of July BBQ and fireworks. Mark and Patty are the best hosts!! We love spending time with them and hanging out at their house. This year we got to try Jay's famous Walla Walla Sweets onion rings...yummy!!!

In the days to follow we went to the Foundry (www.wallawallafoundry.com) where we got to see Jim Dine's "Pinocchio" sculpture. Pinocchio will be 30 ft. tall and installed in Sweden. One word...AMAZING! And then the boys got to make their own sculptures out of tree bark.
We also made it to Pendleton for the Farmer's market, a wine & coffee bar, and of course the Fudge & Toy shop ( a highlight for Parker).

All in all we had a great time and can't until our next Walla Walla adventure!!

Our night began with an amazing dinner "Thanks to Steve" at El Gaucho! We wined and dined in a deep over-sized booth made for six, but seated only 2. We began our meal with "wicked shrimp" and ended with "Bananas Foster" (a tableside flambé for two)..what more could you ask for!! Two hours later, we were off to South Park to meet Chris and Michelle for drinks and then of course, NORAH JONES (the highlight of the night), which Chris had purchased tickets for me for my birthday.
Actually, I'm not sure "highlight" quite describes the magnitude of talent and "awe ness" Norah has...Her voice takes your breath away. And I just about teared up when she opened with "Come Away With Me" which was the first song Chris & I danced to at our wedding.

Mayra, Steve and Magnus made it down to Portland this week-end for a much needed change of scenery. Magnus is a beautiful baby! His little legs and arms are moving like crazy...(I think he's going to be a mover) Olivia on the other hand, is already making waves. She is crawling, standing up, and even balancing. It won't be long until she's on 2's instead of 4's!

Can you imagine being born in 1907? Mary Cole, our Great, Great Aunt celebrated her 100th birthday on May 19th, 2007. Mary is the daughter of Maren(Katrina)and Rasmus Christian Rasmussen who immigrated from Denmark in 1889. Maren and Rasmus had 3 children (Frankie, Edwin, and Mary)

Mary was married to Earl Cole and had 2 sons (Bobby and Donald). If you're wondering how we are related to Mary...here's the scoop. Frankie, otherwise known as "Grandma Frankie" is my mom's grandmother. Frankie was married to Harvey Albertson and they had 4 children(Jim, Mary Belle, Irene, Helen. Mary Belle is my mom's mom. Are you confused yet?

Anyway, we had a fabulous time and we were able to gather 5 generations to celebrate. My mom, cousin Sharon, Aunt Helen, Chris, Rowan and I felt so honored to share such an amazing day with our family.

ps. Aunt Mary is such a charmer! You wouldn't believe she's 100 by the way she moves around! At one point, she even tried to race Helen down the hall! It was also really nice to see how much she is loved by her friends at Sierra. She is truly a special lady!