Super, Sunny Saturday, Quiet Sunday?

Saturday was what is for this spring a rare sunny day. Now that the kids are sleeping in, we all are, so it was mid morning before we headed to Angle Lake to feed the ducks. But there were no ducks, so we fed some crows to get them to announce noisily that food was available. Then we got some ducks - well, a few ducks. These ducks! Mama was grateful for the hand out. Isaac liked the remote control air craft carrier zigzagging on the water.

One duck is soon fed, so we spent some time at the playground in the park.

Back home, I'm sure there was play house time in there, too. With Irene there always is. Isaac kicked the soccer ball around. We took advantage of the good weather to have a late high tea lunch on the patio. It's amazing how good peanut butter and jelly sandwiches taste when cut into little triangles. There was chicken with brie and ham with Havarti too. And the dessert tray was filled with cookies I had stashed away in the freezer after Christmas.

Cheers!

There was a Sounders match Saturday evening. Jill had a ticket from Jake, and Isaac was using my ticket to sit with Grandpa. Jill was hot to go, and looking "fan"tastic, so they headed to the train plenty early to take in the pregame fun and the March to the Match.

The band, Sound Wave, was adding to the excitement.

Back at home, Irene and I picked some flowers for the kitchen table, and then came in to read pop up books and watch the news. About 5:30 the phone rang. It was Tad, an old friends of Jake's, and our friend too, offering two free tickets to the game. At first I turned them down, because Irene and I seemed too tired. But then Irene said yes, she would like to go, so I called Tad right back and arranged to pick up the tickets at will call.

-

We grabbed a quick snack, got on our Sounders gear, and headed for the light rail. We arrived at the stadium about 15 minutes before first kick, found Tom, who got us free water and a bag of peanuts that come with our regular All Inclusive tickets, and Irene and I went to find our seats.

-

Irene was a bit overwhelmed at first as the crowd erupted at the introduction of the home team players. But she settled down and that bag of peanuts in the shell kept her occupied for a long time.

-

We checked in with Mommy and Isaac and Grandpa at half time, then returned for the final half. Good news, the Sounders won 3-0 over New England.

-

After the match we met up with the rest of the family to help collect the flags and banners that had been displayed by the North End Supporters, which means Jake and Joe mostly.

This was not the match for using the giant banner. That's next Thursday. Sure hope it's a dry day too. And yes, we will be sitting up high on the sideline for the match and will take pictures.

-

Before leaving we had Joe take our family photo.

Then it was back home on the train and a very late bedtime for the kids.

-

Today is wet and drippy after early morning rainfall. We're all kind of doing our own thing for a while. I'm hoping to get a little more time with the Sunday paper. I have already checked the sports page.

-

Jill and the kids will depart for Whidbey Island late this afternoon to spend time with Jake and Tom's sister, Auntie Jan. They'll return Thursday, in time for the next soccer match.

-

In the meantime, Tom and I will have a little catch up time to straighten up the house and tidy up the yard. And we could sure use some more sunny days.

Friday In Seattle

Friday has been another busy day. We all went out to breakfast in Des Moines (WA, south of the airport)with some of our regular Friday morning group. Then we took a walk on the fishing pier there. Back home, the kids put on dress up clothes and went to play in the playhouse. I went grocery shopping. Tom took a package to UPS, and Jill met a friend for a visit and lunch. After I got the groceries put away, I had a few minutes to sit and read until I was needed for a party in the playhouse. Then we crept through the pathways in the yard avoiding "bad guys". After a mini-lunch, the kids took naps and I got some time to catch up on a few blogs. We had dinner at 4:00 because we had an assignment that took us downtown to the stadium by 6:00. We rode the light rail, and followed directions to the truck loading zone behind the stadium, where we signed in and got access to a VIP parking area. This is what we found there. The letters were being affixed to the huge banner. Then we had to accordion fold it, so that it would be ready to open out and run up and over three sections of fans in the north end of the stadium on June 10th. Shhhh. It's still a secret. When we are getting things wrapped up, Jake had time for a little hide and seek with his niece and nephew.

Isaac and Irene helped drag the massive bundle out to Joe's car.

Then, minus Jill, who stayed behind to hang out with Jake for a while, we headed back to the light rail station. Here we were crossing over the pedestrian bridge when a freight train passed under us.

The stadium loomed over the tracks.

We checked out this little plaza outside the China Town station.

After the train ride home, we had ice cream, then the kids had baths, and I just got them to bed at 9:45. At 10:00 Jill walked in. Now I'm done for the day and I have a recorded TV show to watch to wind down.

Day 6 - Home From the Sea

We did get out for a beach walk yesterday evening! What a relief to have an end to the rain. We were getting cabin fever. This is cold ocean water here on the Oregon Coast, but it's hard to keep these kids out of it. It's a good thing we have a wood stove to hang the wet clothes over. They were cold by the time they got in and had a warm bath before settling in the watch Nemo. Keeping them up late has helped to get them to sleep in, which we like. - I went back out the capture the sunset.

This morning dawned clear and sunny and I went out for a brief walk before anyone else was up. I cooked breakfast and Jill, Irene and Tom made the bakery run to augment the eggs, sausage and fruit. Jill got her gear collected and then took the kids out on the beach while Tom and I cleaned the cabin.

-

We hit the road about 11:30, with Irene declaring "Grandma, we had a great time on the beach!"

-

We stopped by the Tillamook jetty to check out the construction. They're rebuilding parts of it.

Irene didn't want to leave the ocean and so we assured her we would stop to see it at least once more. We always love the view from Neakanie Mountain.

With a late, big breakfast, we made it to Astoria before stopping for a late lunch at the Bowpicker. They have the most amazing fish n' chips made with tuna. The picnic tables were full so we spread out our beach towels.

It's a long trip home, between four and five hours, depending of traffic. We decided to stop in Olympia to stretch our legs and to visit more ancestors. Isaac had wanted to know about Tom's Reeder family, so we stopped at the Masonic Cemetery where three generations are buried.

Tom's parents, Jill's grandparents, were gone long before Isaac and Irene were born. It's too bad. They would have adored the kids.

- We "borrowed" some rhodie blossoms from an old bush nearby to decorate their resting place. Irene helped me find flowers that "didn't belong to someone else".

After a dinner stop we arrived home about 7:00. We unloaded the van, and then the kids and I went outside. They prepared a "surprise" Happy Summer Party for me in the playhouse with a lovely play dough cake, and we played Find the Flower using the photos I had taken of the glass flowers. And yes, they thought the flowers were pretty cool.

-

Several loads of laundry are done and everyone is either in bed or headed there. I will be soon.

I'll try to catch up with you a bit tomorrow, but the schedule is filling up.

Day 3-5: At the Beach

I'm using Jill's lap top, tethered to her Droid phone, to post from our rustic cabin. It's a bit slower to post photos, but it's amazing technology none-the-less. We arrived at Rockaway Beach mid-afternoon on Monday. Knowing that our good weather wouldn't last, we hit the beach right away. We had a beach fire Monday evening and fixed our s'mores. Tuesday morning Jill made us hurry to get up and get going. She had waited all year for her donut fix at the Garibaldi Bakery. We all eat one gooey goody. Jill eats four. Then we were back on the beach for the morning. We had a few light showers, so we used the shade umbrellas to keep off the raindrops. By Tuesday afternoon the rain arrived in earnest, and our beach time was over. We stayed in the cabin and read books and played games. Last night we had a terrific storm with heavy wind and rain, but we were snug in our cabin. Today we planned excursions. After donuts at the bakery, we went to the Pioneer Museum in Tillamook. We all had fun looking at the old stuff. And then we were off to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We go here every time we come to Rockaway, but we always watch the cheese making process, taste cheese, leave some cash in the gift shop, and eat ice cream. Back at the cabin we settled in, had a late lunch, and played, read, and all took naps. Isaac and Irene played aquarium with their new sea creatures. The rain has finally stopped and we kicked the kids outside with Grandpa while we get dinner going. Maybe we can get a beach walk in after dinner.

Day 2 - In Molalla

We're really in day 4 of our oddessy, but I'm just catching up, in more ways than one. We're at the beach cabin in Rockaway, and this afternoon we're rained in. But we've had some good beach time, which I'll catch you up on tomorrow. On Sunday we drove the 200 miles to my mother's home in Molalla, Oregon. After lunch, we headed for the train park at Shady Dell. This is a train hobbyist's park which opens to the public on summer weekends and gives rides on a donation basis only. This is the fourth year we've visited. It has become a tradition that we hope we don't outgrow too quickly. Yes, I rode, too! Then we stopped at the nearby Adams Cemetery, where my father is buried, since it was Memorial Day weekend. My sister Ilene and her husband Mike had taken Mom there the day before and brought flowers. Since it was such a nice day we drove into the hills to pass by the farm where my mother grew up in Meadowbrook, and then on a bit further to the Pioneer Cemetery at Clarks, where my great grandparents are buried. This area is covered with Christmas tree farms, which made a fun place for hide and seek for Jill and the kids. Back at Great Grandma's house, the kids had fun on the tire swing. We had a great visit before leaving late morning on Monday to head for the coast.