Fam Jam 2013

I think this year's Fam Jam was the best yet. Brian was able to get sites on the water Wednesday- Sunday with amazing views and he upgraded our canopy so we had lots of shade. The weather was in the 80's, perfect for swimming and boating, but not too hot and the water was warm! We added another week day, which was great because it wasn't too crowded on the water. We were able to get up, have coffee and water ski around 8:30/9:00 and still have glass. The boys went fishing one morning and Isaiah had a blast. No catch, he just had fun hanging out with the boys. Ashley swam all the way out to the floating dock and had fun hanging out with the girls. We changed things up a bit and only had organized dinners so we weren't on such a schedule and I think everyone agreed worked out better. We celebrated Aunt Becki and Grandpa's birthday's, had great camp fires, ate s'mores and plenty of other yummy desserts and food.

2 Fam Jam signs this year, this one made by Becki and Dallas

Best site yet!

Celebrating Aunt Becki and Grandpa's Aug birthday's



Grammy and Grandpa's addition this year.  Everyone had a ton of fun paddling around in the kayak... even Gramps!



This truck entertained him the whole time.  He had so much fun, adding and dumping sand, dirt and rocks then giving it a wash.

Nap time was not at the usual time.  He tuckered out right before dinner each night and asked to take a nap!

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Flight with Dr. Lund

Flying is one of Brian's passions.  Before we got married, he paid a lot of money to fly an airplane and ever since it has been a dream to get his pilot license.  When he started working for Kaiser and found out that Dr. Lund (one of the Anesthesiologist) flew airplanes, it was an instant bond.  The hard part was finding a time when they both weren't on call and the weather was nice.  Well, last Monday was the day and I was invited!  I've had hesitation in the past when Brian talked about flying with him, but when I was invited there really didn't seem to be a good reason not to go, Grammy without hesitation had no problem taking the kids.  It was amazing!  What I was most impressed with was how much concentration you have to have while flying.  Between the radio and watching for other aircraft, there isn't much time for chit chat.  I kept quiet in the back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery while Dr. Lund let Brian fly!

Oregon City Falls.  We got to fly over our house!

Downtown Portland

Yep!  That's Brian flying!!!!!

Clark County Fair

On Saturday we took the kids to the Clark County Fair. This was the first time they had been and the first time they rode on the BIG rides. I was shocked at how brave they were! The first one was a car ride that went in a circle... not very exciting, although Isaiah did have fun. Then he decides to go on the big slide where you sit on a blanket to go faster! He climbed up those steep stairs all by himself not even looking back, I couldn't believe it! After seeing him do it, Ashley felt brave so they went down together and that was pretty fun, but afterwards there seemed to be no fear from either of them! We took them on a roller coaster, the "Tilt-A Whirl" and the "Scrambler" or "Twist, I can't remember the name, but my stomach was turning! They had fun seeing all the animals too, but I think the rides were a hit!

Bend

We had such a great time in Bend this year with my parents and Uncle Dan. The weather was in the mid to high 80's and sunny until the last day when a thunder and lightening storm came through. We had a big storm last year while we were there, so the kids were a little apprehensive, but they still did really well (we tell them it's angels bowling and that seems to make it better). I on the other hand love thunder storms. They remind me of growing up in the midwest. We spent a lot of time during the week at the pool and riding bikes around the resort. What a big difference a year makes. Last year they didn't want to ride at all and this year they begged to ride their bike everywhere. There's a new BMX track by the tennis courts that the kids had a blast riding on. They were a riot to watch! Sunday we tried to float down the river, but the kids are too young (I think next year we'll bring our own and we should be fine). Instead Grandpa, Grammy and Uncle Dan rented paddle boards. It worked out perfect because there was a really nice bike path along the river and a bridge we could watch them cross under. There was also a park nearby where I could keep them entertained for an hour. I atually got on the paddle board and tried it out at the end, it was a lot of fun! This is something that Grammy has wanted to try out for a long time, so I'm glad she got the chance to do it and at such a perfect spot! Being on the river is definitely the thing to do in Bend. On Monday we took the boat to Cultus Lake, which ended up being a great find! There is a really nice resort with cabins and a restaurant. The lake has sandy beaches to pull up to and spend the day or camp on. We met a family that has been camping there for 50 years! They haul everything in by boat for 2 weeks! It's pretty rustic, so I don't think we'll be switching our Fam Jam location, but it was considered. The views of the mountains were amazing. One morning Mom and I went on a long bike ride into town to get coffee while Grandpa entertained the kids with miniture golf, feeding the horses, riding bikes and playing on the playground. They took a good nap that day! Then at the end of the week, when we knew it was going to be cool weather we took the bikes to Sun River for the day. We stopped to check out the new water park (Sharc), rode our bikes to the stables, found a great playground, and had lunch and ice cream in the village. I think this was one of my favorite days, but it's hard to pick one because the whole week was so fun!

This was their little hide-a-way in the condo.  Ashley even took a few naps in here.

Uncle Dan stood in for Papa throwing Isaiah in the pool.   Those two were inseparable while he was here and did a lot of chillin' in the hot tub.

Movie Night.  Grammy and Grandpa brought over popcorn and "Rio".  What a cute movie!

Riding bikes while the rest of the crew gets settled on their paddle boards.  Kids can't go down the river until their 6 (well, at least on rented tubes)

Grammy and Grandpa mastered the paddle boards!

After biking for a while, we found this cool park to play at while they were paddle boarding

I even climbed on for a try.  Thank goodness these paddle board were pretty stable because I don't have my swimsuit on!

Riding the new BMX track at 7th Mtn

bike parade around the basketball court

Cultus Lake

Making a "campfire" with Grammy.  I love their imaginations!

BBQ at the condo

Sunriver bike ride

Big bear at the Sunriver Lodge