Owen, Sara &
Andrew Hoelter

The big kids and Dad went “autobahn” tubing up at Hoodoo this past weekend – our first play day in the snow of the season. All had a great time – the kids especially liked lunch in the RV our friends drove up. Owen has now decided we need one … maybe next year.

Mostly sunny day in central Oregon, with Three Finger Jack in the distance.

Sara enjoyed the rope tow to the top, though she walked the first three runs.

Time to head home!

Yes, we had to drive up to the tallest point in the city to play in it, but we were able to build a snowman within the city limits — a rare thing for our mild Oregon city. It was a nice way to spend a Monday holiday…

Last week was First Day of School week.

Drew was up first, heading off to his very first day of school with his Mom-made lunch bag.

He was so proud. And cute.

While Drew was at school, I took the big kids to the coast for our annual back-to-school beach trip. It was 95° with blazing sun back home, but on the coast we had 59° and fog.

(The ocean is somewhere in the fog behind these two ninjas)

We did, however, find sun a bit further north.

The next day it was Sara and Owen’s turn. Sara wasn’t much into the photo shoot.

Owen is getting too tall for our standard front-porch portrait. Perhaps next year I’ll bring out a step stool.

We did get a few shots of all three of them, but I think the little ones put on their Daddy-wants-me-to-smile-so-I’m-going-to-smile smiles.

All had a great first week, including Mom and Dad who are glad to be back in the school routine.

First you load your camping gear (preferably waterproofed), your kids and some food in a canoe.

Add a boat full of friends.

Don’t run into a snag and capsize your boat.

Then find a campsite, like this one on Wells Island near Buena Vista ferry.

Attempt to dry out your stuff, while being ever-so-grateful for following the impulse to waterproof the sleeping bags.

Cook some dogs and marshmallows…

Watch the stars.

This is not a bear, raccoon or a dementor.

Load up in the morning and paddle towards home!

When brother and sister stay up way past their bedtime, they become best of friends, even choosing to stargaze late into the mid-summer night.

Warm pajamas (both Owen’s), warm socks, wool blankets, and popcorn help set the mood.

Not sure how many stars they saw in our central city backyard with high clouds in the sky, but they sure were cute.

Summer on…

Interesting discovery…

I think they miss each other when they are apart.

Say that, and strangers will give you candy! Unfortunately, Drew is now dealing with the reality that it only works on Halloween and his prize still has to be unwrapped and “checked” by Mommy. Hey, better safe than sorry, right? I found lots of substandard Snickers and KitKats this year, not to mention the Almond Joys.

We had some neighborhood and school friends over for pizza and trick-or-treated our neighborhood in a big group of WOUND-UP kids.

We didn’t get any great pictures of our kids in the hustle/bustle of getting everybody out the door without falling down the stairs or running into the street, but here’s Owen as a “lego guy”.

Sara made a really cute witch, but didn’t like her hat, so ended up looking like a strange graduate or choir member with messy hair. Here she is (in motion) with her buddies, a knight and a dinosaur.

Here they are in action:

Our pumpkins were awesome this year–Thanks Uppa and Grandma Judy!!

For the past couple of years, Peter has taken the kids to the beach for the last day of their collective summer break. This year the weather was NOT cooperating, but they braved the raindrops and climbed the big dune. I love these pictures where the kids look like they’re about to fall off a cliff into the ocean!

They specifically requested Pacific City so they could climb the “big dune” (aka Cape Kiwanda). Here is some great video of Drew and Sara rolling/falling down the dune.

There is no video, however, of Peter simultaneously carrying two small children up much of the 750ft dune.

Normally when we come to this day of the year—the last day of school—I would have pictures of Owen carrying an egg on a spoon, passing it quickly to a classmate. There would be a shot of Sara looking on, wanting to join in, and Drew hanging out in the backpack.

Not this year. Owen, who has stayed home sick just once this year, came down with a fever last night, and thus missed the very last day of 1st Grade. He was a classy kid throughout the day, assuring himself that “there’s always next year”, even though he was missing Field Day.

The day did have its upsides: A rainy 57° F June day is not a great day to be outside, and with the little ones at daycare, it was just Owen and Dad. This meant iPad time, a sack lunch meant for school but eaten at home, a two-hour nap, and, best of all, a full-volume screening of “The Empire Strikes Back”. Feel free to now do your best Chewy impression out loud.

It was also the last day of sorts for Sara. She begins preschool in the fall, and is home for the summer. She’s been going to “Billie’s house” since she was two-months old and has always loved it. She is excited about school, but we know she will miss Billie and her friends there. At least she will get to visit when we pick up Drew.

Nov. 2008: Sara and daycare friends saying goodbye for the morning.

It’s fun to watch these kids march forward in life—sometimes as planned, sometimes in unexpected ways. They both ended the day happy, you can’t ask for more…