A Black Belt

Paul tested for his firs degree Black Belt on Friday and while we don't have official word yet, there wasn't anything obvious that would keep him from getting it. He did great on his forms, his 3-steps, sparring and breaking those three boards. Yeah!! The belting ceremony is at the end of December. Congratulations Paul!

Pumpkin Carving

It was time for the annual Pumpkin Carving party at JJJ's. What a wonderful event - we had loads of fun as usual.

Mandy at work...

Paul at work...

The combined efforts....



Top row from left to right: Mandy's, Paul's, Grandma's, big one not carved.
Bottom row: little one not carved, Kris', Julie's, Cliff's, Grandpa's and Jason's.

Late Summer Adventures

Since my last post, we have had a few new adventures.

We had fun at the County Fair. We saw lots of fun things and had a few snacks. Here is Paul climbing the Army's rock wall.

We had a BBQ at church.

The first day of school was Tuesday after Labor Day. Paul is in 6th grade and Mandy in 4th.

The weather is still pretty good in the northwest so on the 12th of September we went on a hike with my folks. Here is one of two waterfalls we saw.

Three generations enjoying the outdoors.

Thank you Lord for tall trees!


The hikers!

The second waterfall.

It was an easy hike but it was a really warm afternoon. Even the kids were sweating!


Newport Aquarium
For Paul's birthday he wanted to go to the coast and to the aquarium. Here he is at one of the touch pools.


Mandy got to touch the shark.

Here is a starfish.

We met my brother and his family at Kyllo's for dinner. Then we all walked down to the beach.

We saw the sunset from the beach.

It was another reminder we have so much to be thankful for!!

August Getaway

We managed an end of the summer getaway last weekend. We had a great time.

After a lazy Saturday morning, off we went headed for The Dalles and Maryhill museum. Our first stop was Starvation Creek which was named after two trains were snowed-in the winter of 1884. No one starved, but the name lasted just the same.



We stopped there for the waterfall and to have a picnic lunch.



Then on down the road to The Dalles. It has become one of our favorite spots. After checking into the hotel, we swam at the pool, watched a movie, and generally relaxed. It was nice to just be away.


The next morning it was off to Maryhill. We had been there before but returned to see the new Ansel Adams display. It was fabulous!! As we walked up to the museum, we looked out around us to enjoy the view. The day was...
.... BRIGHT


and WINDY


Outside at the museum are various sculptures. This one represents the fun of rolling in the grass.

This one is a flower. I don't think it was Paul's favorite.


Next on the agenda was a late lunch at the CharBurger in Cascade Locks. We finished the trip with a stop at the Fish Hatchery near Bonneville Dam. It is one of my most favorite spots. It is so peaceful!

Here is Mandy feeding the ducks ...

and Paul feeding the fish.

As you might expect, there were LOTS of fish!


We always enjoy seeing "Herman" the sturgeon!

Mandy snapped this picture of us relaxing.

Here is a lasting memory of the beautiful gardens there!

Next time, you'll have to come along :)

First Major Hair Cut

Mandy wanted to get a shorter "do" so she got her hair cut today. She was able to get the minimum 10 inches without going too short so she'll be sending her hair to Locks Of Love. Her hair hasn't been this short since she was a toddler.

Here she is at about 2 1/2 years old.


Here she is now after the hair cut.


Here is the process.
Before:


During:

After:

Vacation – Part 2

The second half of the week of vacation started with hiking in the Columbia River Gorge on Thursday. Mom gave me a book on waterfalls in Oregon and we finally used it! I love waterfalls!!
We started the day with a return visit to the Vista House. The view of the Columbia River was beautiful.

We continued on to Latourell Falls. Here we had a picnic lunch then a quick walk to the falls.

Our hiking really started when we reached Wahkeena Falls. The hike to Wahkeena Falls itself is short although steep.

We continued along the trail another mile or more to see Fairy Falls.


The day was hot in the valley (90+), but we spent the day hiking in the shade along an ice cold stream.

Back down the trail we go....

It was a wonderful day rejoicing in God’s creation!

The next day we finished cleaning the house as well as remaining yard work in preparation for the BBQ on July 4th: Cousins, aunt/uncles, etc. all attending the Molalla parade in the morning.

Later that afternoon, we met at our place for a BBQ and some fireworks. We even had homemade ice cream!! Happy Birthday America!

Vacation - Part 1

This week is vacation week at the Schroeder house. It started with a quick get-away for Cliff and I to celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary. The kids stayed with Mom and Dad (thank you!) and we drove over to the coast. Since we had our honeymoon at the coast, it seemed like the best place to go. We had dinner at Kyllo’s in Lincoln City and then drove down to spend the night in Florence. On Monday (the actual anniversary), we drove up the coast to Newport and then over to Corvallis. There we looked up our first apartment as well as some of the college hang outs from dating days.

Tuesday was work day – pulling weeds, spreading bark in the flower beds, etc. Looks great :)

Wednesday we went to the coast with the kids. The day started with breakfast at Camp18 – yum! Then off to Astoria for a return visit to Fort Clatsop and Fort Stevens.

















In the afternoon, we spent a few hours at Canon Beach. The kids built some castles in the sand and splashed around in the ocean. It was really windy but also very sunny and fun!!

We have the rest of the week to go, so stay tuned……