August 2012

We have promised each of our grandkids that when they turned 10,
we would take them on a trip in the motorhome ……. Wherever they want.  Well, August is taking us on a “Baseball” trip with Ben. 

Our first game was the Oakland A’s playing the Tampa Bay Ray’s.  Ben got a couple of autographs – the day was gorgeous and we had a great time off.  We took the BART (Rapid Transit) to and from the game.  FUN DAY!!

Next Game was the Los Angeles Dodgers versus the Chicago Cubs.  A great evening game at an icon of a stadium.  We took a bus from 

Union Station in LA.to the game.  Another fun game.  

The Dodgers are Mike’s favorite.

We had a down day waiting for the Padre home game so we went to Seaworld.  We had so much fun.  I love Seaworld – it’s my favorite! 
We rode the rides ….. we went to the shows …….
We ate gobs of food …..It was a blast!

Petco Park in San Diego was totally awesome.  We took a tour that showed us the private parts of the stadium.  Unbelievable!  There are seats behind home plate that sell for $53,000 per seat per season.  Yikes!!  The stadium was outstanding, the city was great.  We took a rapid transit train from Chula Vista to the game.  The Padres played the Chicago Cubs.

Next game was the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. the Washington Nationals.  It was really hot in Phoenix…. 114 degrees.  It was brutally hot but when we walked into the covered stadium – it was
instant comfortable.  The roof was closed and the stadium
was air conditioned.   It was another great game!

Another spare day so we took off and spent the day at Knotts Berry Farm.  This was Ben’s favorite day off.  Mike loved the lady of the night
but Ben wasn’t too sure.  :)

The next game was the Anaheim Angels and the Seattle Mariners. 
A really hot day – We roasted but as soon as the sun moved past our seats
and we were in the shade it was fabulous!  A great game! 
The Angels stadium is awesome as well.

Back to the Bay area and another day off baseball.  We took the ferry into San Francisco and then took a bay tour. 
The Golden Gate Bridge was shrouded in fog.

Alcatraz is now a national park – the buildings are old and beginning to decay but the stories of the convicts who lived here still live on. 
Ben loved Alcatraz.

Fisherman’s Warf – San Francisco.  We had a great day sightseeing.

We came in to San Francisco the next day to see our last game.  It was the San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals.  The Giants stadium is located right on the waterfront and is beautiful.  Great game!!

We had Ben with us for 3 weeks and loved every minute. 
We sure hope he had as much fun as we did.

We got back to Sunriver to find our lot partially flooded. 
Problems with controlling the water level in the
Deschutes River has the water backed up.

We have so many deer visiting our lot.  These fawns weren’t a bit afraid of us.

I machine quilted this quilt and I was very pleased how nicely it turned out. 
This is one of my favorites.

August has been an exciting month.  We had so much fun with Ben on his Baseball Trip but it’s also good to be back in Sunriver again.  We have been out kayaking twice this month – each time better than the last.  We are loving the kayaks.

Looking forward to a quieter September!

July 2012

July has been a runaway month.  It has just whizzed by and is gone already!

July 4^th Bend hosts a Pet Parade --- It is wonderful!  Dogs, Cats, Lizards, Birds, Steer, Horses, Chickens and many others beloved pets are represented!

I finished hand quilting my favorite quilt.  It is a Kim Diehl pattern and I love it. 
I’m very proud ……. (even if I do say so myself!)

Our friends John and Bonnie Kearsing took Mike and I kayaking
one day and we were hooked!  We immediately left from the lake and bought our own kayaks!   There’s one thing missing ……. Oh yes – It’s the water. 
We’ll take care of that!

Our grandson Colby – He’s so great at baseball and he just loves it!

Speaking of Baseball – We took in a couple of Bend Elk’s baseball games this month.  

Really fun time!

One of Mike’s very good friends, Perry Swanson and his wife met us in Sisters for the annual outdoor Quilt Show.  The quilts were fantastic ……… until a huge thunder storm appeared and it started pouring.  I’ve never seen such organization ….. they had over 1200 quilts down from their displays in about 15 minutes.  

Fox Family Campout 2012

A great time when the family all gets together and has fun!

Brandon, Karen, Ben and Anna at the top of Lava Butte

One hot gorgeous day, we floated kayaks and rafts down the Deschutes.

Such a fun, relaxing time!

We met John and Bonnie at Sparks Lake in the Cascades.

Definitely the most beautiful lake I’ve ever seen.  This kayaking is really fun!

One day while waiting for motorhome service, we drove over to Smith Rock State Park to see what everyone is talking about.  It’s beautiful …… the entire park is in the canyon with a very steep hike down (and back up)   Lots of hiking and rock climbing.

OK – with our new kayaks ……. We now need a new storage shed to keep them in!

John and Bonnie – Just look what you started!  I love it! 
A new places to store “stuff”

Ben (our oldest grandson) is just about “10” and as we promised, we are heading out on a trip with him.  He has chosen to take a Baseball Trip ….. so we are heading south.  Our first stop was at Durango RV park in Red Bluff.  It’s hot (96 degrees) so we headed straight for the pool!

In Vacaville, we took in the Jelly Belly factory.  A tour and $60 worth of Jelly Bellies later …….. we headed back to the motorhome.

Tomorrow is our first Baseball Game.  The Oakland A’s vs Tampa Bay.
Should be a great trip!  Stay tuned ……….. 

June 2012

Is it June ????/ or Jun-uary??  The weather hasn’t decided that it’s summer yet…… but I have faith that it will warm up – sooner or later!

We started the month up in the Portland area with our grandkids, Ben and Anna.  They were still in school but so very close to the end of the year!

Ben & Anna’s new dog – Lucky, is growing so fast!

Ben’s baseball team played an outstanding game!

Anna is taking gymnastics lessons – and she loves it! 
Do we have a future Olympian on our hands?

Back in Sunriver, we have some visitors – The Pedersen’s have come to stay for a while.  They were looking for a house – and they found one in Sisters!  Congratulations to Steve & Linda!

Can you see the fish in this beauties mouth?  He landed right behind out lot!

Wildlife galore!  This doe was posing for me!

Another great visit – from John & Bonnie Kearsing.  We really enjoyed having them stay with us for a couple of weeks.  We love seeing our “ORI” friends!!

What a gorgeous morning sky as I flew out to Boulder Colorado for a
“Quilt Retreat” at Paula Lucas’s home.

Although we quilted every day – we also took some time for sightseeing. 
This was snapped at the “Stanley” a historical hotel located in Estes Park.

The quilters with Boulder in the background.

The weather was hot! ….. around 100 degrees most every day.

The Brown Palace Hotel – a landmark in downtown Denver.
So much old world elegance!

While I was in Colorado – Mike was on a camping trip up by Mount Hood with our two sons and two grandsons.  Mike said it was pouring – miserably pouring ….. but the fishing was good!

Marc & Maria took a week to get away and Camryn & Colby came to visit Mike & I.

We had so much fun ….. We went to town, took a few hikes, went to see “Brave” and several other good things!

A terrific month!  Now if the weather would just warm up –
it would be an even better month!

May 2012

At the beginning of the month, we left our Winter home in Indio and headed north to Moab Utah for a Jeeping rally.  We spent two weeks in Moab and as usual, the area was gorgeous.  The rally was a huge success with dinners, trails and lots of together time.

This is a view on my favorite trail……this is "Hidden Canyon."  So gorgeous!

On the "Seven Mile Rim" trail, we came across Uranium Arch…….
one of hundreds in the Moab area.

This is Mike climbing up slick rock on the "Fins and Things" trail

The view from another one of my favorites is awesome.  The canyons are thousands 
of feet below this lookout on the "Top of the World" trail.

After we left Moab, we traveled south to St. George Utah.  Some of our very dear friends have set up housekeeping in a retirement community in St. George.  Everything you can imagine is within a few miles of their home.  We really enjoyed spending time with Denny & Kay and getting a taste of their town. 

Next stop was our summer home in Sunriver Oregon.  

Five days after we arrived, we awoke to SNOW!! Now we were in Sunriver last Christmas and there wasn’t a single flake of snow……… But honestly, it’s almost JUNE!  What’s the deal?

Both Mike and I were in desperate need of a grandkid fix!  So 6 days after arriving in Sunriver, we headed to the Portland area to see the kids and grandkids.

Five days with Marc and Maria and we were able to take in five baseball games of Colby’s! 
Colby is just finishing up the third grade.  He has grown so much. 
We really enjoyed watching him play.

Colby’s team took second place in the tournament over the weekend!

Camryn is just finishing the 6^th grade.  She is taller than her Grandma and so very grown up!  Camryn is going to play soccer this year and we were able to see one of her practices.

We also were happy to have a great visit with our friends Ken and Darlene Sutton.  They brought us up to speed on the changes in their lives. No matter how hard we try to stop it – time is marching on.......

Stay tuned – June is shaping up to be an exciting month!