August 27, 2014

Spirit of Boise Balloon Festival


We got up early this morning to drive down to Ann Morrison Park for the annual Spirit of Boise Balloon festival.  The Festival spans several mornings and an evening, but Wednesday is the kid friendly day when youngsters can roam the skies in a tethered balloon.  Melissa and Lauren got to fly the friendly skies. 







August 26, 2014

Burgdorf Hot Springs

On our family vacation, we visited one of my favorite places, the Hot Springs at Burgdorf.  It was a very peaceful and serene morning that we visited.  We didn't stay too long, but it was great to visit again.


 


 


 

August 25, 2014

Coffee Stop

While we were in Oregon, we enjoyed excellent coffee from many different places:
  • Dapper and Wise
    • A roaster that roasts espresso in Hillsboro.  Visiting their tasting room, it mostly featured espresso, espresso and lemonade, espresso and sugar, espresso and hot water, etc.
  • Mojo 
    • A small drive through coffee kiosk in Lincoln City, featuring Stumptown coffeee.  We got Lauren her first hot chocolate there.
  • Governor's Cup
    • An coffee house in Salem, which has become been around for quite some time, as far as coffee houses in Salem.



August 22, 2014

Oregon Coast - Lighthouse

While over at the Oregon coast, we visited the famed Tillamook Cheese factory, and then took a turn over to Cape Meares State Park, and the Cape Meares Lighthouse.  A big attraction at the state park is the Octopus tree, which might be representative of several of the various sites on the Oregon coast.  On the way back from the coast, we stopped at Multnomah falls.








August 21, 2014

Oregon Coast

We recently went to the Oregon coast for a week.  We went to Neskowin, North of Lincoln City.  It was a good week, featuring classic Western Oregon weather of fog and rain.  Lauren experienced the ocean for the first time, getting knocked over by a wave.  By the end of the week, she'd recovered and was frolicking amongst the waves.



  


  


August 20, 2014

Pacific Northwest Live Steamers 60th Anniversary

On our recent vacation to the coast, we stopped at the Pacific Northwest Live Steamers.  The weekend that we stopped in was the 60th anniversary of the train park in Mollala.  Lauren had a fun time, and there was a troupe of old cars (model T's, model A's, Buicks, etc) visiting also.  The train park there has four acres that the tracks run around, including bridges, fountains, and a creek.  You can see from Lauren's smile that we all had a fun time, despite the heat.





August 18, 2014

Waterskiing and Boating

Whilst up at Payette lake, we had a fun time boating, canoeing, and waterskiing.  We drove grandpa's ski boat around several times.  We canoed out to Shellworth island, which featured raspberries, huckleberries, and even some wild blueberries.  And I went waterskiing one fine calm morning on glasslike water.










August 16, 2014

Huckleberries

We recently spent some time up in McCall, Idaho.  While we were there, we picked a large amount of wild huckleberries for huckleberry pancakes.  The huckleberries were super thick this year.  The best yeild I have ever seen.   And I heard the same from everyone out picking!

"I love you, berries!"









August 9, 2014

Reading Railroad

I've been slacking on posting for the last few months.  So here's some content:  A few of the books I've read in the last few months.  I've gone through a raft of books by Terry Pratchett:  Raising Steam, Moving Pictures, Monstrous Regiment, and Maskerade.  I've also read Otto of the Silver Hand, by Howard Pyle.  A fun historical fiction read.   I also read White and Gold: The French Regime in Canada, by Thomas Costain.  While some of Costains books are fun historical based reads, this book was a bit tedious.  Maybe it's just hard to make Canada fun.

Some books I'm currently reading:  Methodical Bible Study, by Robert A. Traina, Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible, A: Playing by the Rules, by Robert H. Stein, and Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics, by Jeannine K. Brown.