weekend option #2

While the boys were camping, Susie and I flew Dad away for his birthday weekend.  It was a surprise destination- even more of a surprise for him when we landed at Oakland airport and proceeded to go to the rental cars- he assumed we were headed for Las Vegas.  We drove a Mustang convertible to Napa Valley for a 3 day trip.

On Saturday, Dad's birthday, we had a winery tour via van of 5 different smaller wineries, then snacks and wine at the hotel, and a bit of pool lounging, then birthday dinner at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen.   Sunday we did some store browsing, then a wonderful brunch at Auberge, overlooking the valley.  Then more cruising in the convertible with the top down checking out a few more wineries and a pre-dinner burger joint.

We had perfect weather, tasted some amazing wines (and sent a few bottles home) and had a wonderful roll-out of a new decade for Dad!

weekend option #1

Owen and Richard went on their annual Champoeg camping trip a week early this year, before school ended.  And they brought along Ben, for another change in the tradition.  What didn't change: biking, ice cream, museums, campfires, and a fun time!

visit from grandpa

My dad came to visit for Memorial Day and stayed through his birthday.  I won't say it, but it's a milestone year.

We enjoyed ourselves around Oregon for the long weekend- first with a trip to Silver Creek Falls for a hike and a picnic, and to the Oregon Gardens to see the spring flowers and have dinner.  We also visited a few Willamette Valley wineries for more picnics, walking and a little wine.

Grandpa got to see one of Ben's games, and we threw him an early birthday party for us all to enjoy together.

easter

Some pictures of my handsome boys at Easter.

Owen took golf lessons last summer, so on top of some family trips to mini-golf, he and Richard used the warm days this spring to go out and do some par 3 golfing.  He really enjoys the sport, and got some clubs that fit him this spring.

Ben's best friend Sterling from pre-K also was in Little League.  He visited one afternoon and the boys spent the playtime in full uniform.  Their teams played each other on two occasions.  When Ben was batting at their first game together, Sterling was playing third base.  When Ben made it to third, he and Sterling gave each other huge hugs.  Then when Ben ran for home, Sterling accompanied him there.  That's what best friends are for!!

spring training

Ben continued with karate through the school year.  He earned enough tickets to "buy" a pair of nunchucks.  First he had to get some instructions on how to use them.  His karate school put on an exhibition at LBCC.  Ben's class got to demonstrate some of what they've been learning.  You can see Ben in the front left- he wasn't shy at all about showing his moves to the crowd.

His pre-K teacher noticed that boldness too, and he got to be Noah in his class play of Noah's Ark.  He had several lines and memorized all of them, and spoke them clearly.  He was able to save, once again, all the animals on his ark.

Owen still is cruising on his bike- he and Richard have been going out on riding adventures.  Richard took his cub scouts on a bike ride around Corvallis and stopped to play at Sunset Park.

Ben began Little League this year, his first time trying t-ball.  His team was the Rockies, a mix of talent and experience, but all super cute.  Ben got to be #12 because he was the tallest on the team.  #1 was a full head shorter.  The kids get new field positions each game but most of the fielding happens at first base- the rest of the positions need to stretch their attention spans to keep in the game.    Ben had a blast at practices and at the game. He loved hitting and mostly enjoyed fielding and got to learn a lot more about the game.

spring break driving south then back home again

After our fun weekend in the tree houses, we headed south through Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, so the boys could get some tree hugging in.  We also found off the side of the highway a "drive through tree".  The mini-van fit through, but barely!!

While I was hard at work on Stanford and HP campuses, finishing my classes and doing my final presentation, Richard and the boys explored the museums of Palo Alto and a bit of San Francisco.  The favorite of all of them was the trip to Alcatraz via a short boat ride.

After I received my very official "certificate of completion," we headed back north along the coast, spending the final weekend in Gold's Beach.  Gold's Beach in the summer has jet boats up the river and other fun activities.  In early spring, unfortunately, it was pretty cold and rainy and quiet.  But we did some hiking and explored the beach and swam in the hotel's indoor pool and ate pizza and got ready to head back home.

spring break at the tree-sort

I needed to get to Palo Alto during the kids spring break week to finish a year long class I'd been taking with HP and Stanford.  We decided to turn it into a family road trip, with the first weekend stop at the Tree-sort in Cave Junction in southern Oregon.

Just exploring the grounds was great fun for us- they have a dozen different tree houses for sleeping in, with ropes and swings and walkways hanging in between all the trees.

They also have a wonderful zip-line course in the woods- all four of us were up >70 feet, harnessed up and zipping from tree to tree and then eventually back to the ground.  Owen and Ben both loved it and had no fear.

Our lodgings for a few nights was our very own treehouse, complete with a bunk bed and a full bed, a table, sink, electricity, mini-fridge and a toilet.  Quite swanky accommodations considering we were up 30 feet in a tree!  We made good use of the outdoor camping kitchen, relaxing and grilling our meals, before retreating to our nest each night.