Fox River Grove Visit

What a great visit with the "Grand-Angels".
On Saturday, Eli celebrated his third birthday! He is a very talkative and exuberant youngster, and he loved hanging out with his Daddy and Grandfather in the garage. Eli loves his trucks and cars (anything with wheels) and greatly enjoyed playing with his new action figures. Eli loves Rex (a huge 110 pound dog) and despite the differences in size - they seem to play together quite well.
Brynn, Eli and I had a wonderful time reading books together and playing outside. Brynn thinks she would like to be a fashion designer and is an avid reader with a well developed imagination. Brynn is growing up so fast - what an absolutely delightful young lady!
My iPad was a big hit with the kids. Both Eli and Brynn loved playing with my iPad and watched the Toy Story App over and over and over ...Good thing the battery life is so outstanding.

Visit with Betsy

Last week, Frank's sister (Betsy) drove out from Colorado to visit for several days. Although the weather was somewhat inclement, we did a bit of sightseeing. One of our first stops was the head of the Metolius River out at Camp Sherman. Believe it or not - you can see the spot where the water bubbles up out of ground. The Metolius is a favorite fishing spot - only catch and release. The color of the foliage was absolutely magnificent.

After our short walk to the head of the Metolius we stopped at Camp Sherman. Just look at this picture of a cabin located on the river. Please notice the yellow and pale green looking pine trees - they are called Tamaracks (also known as Larch trees). When I first noticed them, I was really upset - thinking that something was killing the trees. Later I learned that Tamaracks are the only deciduous conifers. We just planted one in our yard - however, it is only about three feet tall right now. No matter - we are still looking forward to witnessing (close up) the growth cycle of this fascinating tree.

We also drove Betsy out to see Suttle Lake. It was an overcast day, but there was an ethereal layer of mist hovering over the lake and the foliage was especially vivid. We also enjoyed a tour inside the main lodge. What a great visit!

Color - glorious colors

Wow - I've always heard about the Fall and the explosion of oranges, reds, and gold - but this is the first time I've really experienced the change in season. I wish this window of transition lasted longer. On several occasions, I have taken note of a particularly glorious aspen, or red maple and thought "Okay, better come back tomorrow with my SLR and shoot this!" only to return in the next couple of days to find the leaves had already dropped to the ground. The pictures above were taken with my iphone.