Whoopie!!! First day of school!!!

Today marks the first day of school for my sweet hubby -- and the beginning of year #22 at Philomath Middle School! He's actually been back in the swing of things for a few weeks now, with inservice meetings, classroom preparation, etc., but today is his first day with actual kids sitting in their actual seats at their actual desks (well, hopefully they're staying in their seats!). Mark's schedule this fall includes five classes of 8th grade U.S. History, and one class of 7th/8th grade Wood Shop. So, here's to a great year, honey. Your students are SO amazingly blessed to have you as their teacher. I'm so proud of you, and I love you to pieces! ♥

The story of two precious bracelets...

Truth be told, I'm not much of a jewelry person, with a few notable exceptions. I have my wedding and engagement rings, which are very simple yet priceless to me, an anniversary band, and a ring that used to belong to my grandmother. I didn't even get my ears pierced until I was 26, and the only earrings I wear are very small. But I have recently been the recipient of two very special pieces of jewelry, both of them bracelets that I am rarely without. The one shown above was a Mother's Day gift from Chris and Sarah, and was handmade by Sarah. It has thirteen beads on it, with each bead representing a person in our family: Mark, Jo, Sarah, Chris, Jake, Beka, Ayeresam, Ben, Christine, David, Nikki, Adelaide, and Hannah. I love that she made it especially for me, and that the beads are the color of each person's birthstone. Also, beads can be added to the bracelet as new people join our family. Love it, love it, love it! ♥

The second bracelet was a recent birthday gift from Dave and Nikki. You'll have to click on these pics to see the details, and when you do, you will see that this lovely piece says "Grammy." There is also a sweet little heart-shaped charm at one end that has two tiny baby footprints impressed in it. This one is precious to me on several levels as well. First, because it represents a wonderful, major change in my life that occurred this year when I became a grandmother. Second, because the word Grammy just makes me so happy! I went through a long thought process trying to decide what I wanted to be called when I became a grandmother. Would I be Grandma? Nana? Mimi? Granny? I have friends and relatives who go by each of these sweet names. I actually thought I had settled on being called Grandma, but somehow it just didn't feel like it quite fit me. Our recent trip to Santa Barbara helped me to solidify my thoughts. In talking to my mom (who is "Grammy" to our kids), I learned that both of my sisters are (or plan to be) "Grammy" to their grandchildren. And Mom told me that she would be so thrilled and honored if I, like her, chose to be called Grammy, too. And so, my decision was made. And it just feels so good and so right. Our grandkids' other grandmothers both go by Grandma, so being Grammy will also give our grandkids different names for each of their grandmothers, which could prove handy. So, thanks Sarah and Chris! Thanks, Dave and Nikki! Love the bracelets, love what they represent, and love you! ♥

The Hills are Alive (and not just with the sound of music...)

On Tuesday, Mark and I journeyed for the first time to the beautiful Bavarian mountain town of Leavenworth, Washington, where we watched "The Sound of Music" in an outdoor amphitheater. Tickets to see the play were a birthday gift from Mark last month, and our date was August 17th. It was such an incredibly delightful production, performed very professionally by people from the Leavenworth community. So well done. As you can see above, the amphitheater is situated in the forest above the town, and is the perfect setting for the classic musical. When Maria begins singing "The Hills are Alive," she actually comes walking through the trees to the stage. Breathtaking.
This is the actress who played the part of Maria. Fans of the movie will know that Julie Andrews set the bar pretty high, and we wondered beforehand how Maria's voice and acting would be. We need not have worried - this young woman did an amazing job.
Some of the singing nuns! One very fun moment came during the wedding scene, when Maria weds Captain Von Trapp. As Maria, the beautiful bride, descended the hill in her gorgeous wedding gown, and proceeded down the center aisle of the amphitheater, everyone in the audience stood, just as we would at a real wedding. We were all so caught up in the story that it just seemed like the perfectly natural thing to do. Made me cry. ♥
Upon checking into our hotel room, we were greeted by this not-so-little fellow. I took his picture with a dime-sized coin next to him to give you an idea of perspective. He was just inside the door. Yes, inside. Mark got him outside alright, but I captured him and brought him home in a zip-lock bag. Why would I do such a crazy thing? Because I have a blog, and he needed to be documented. Duh. Plus, I thought he was pretty cool. Yes, the hills are indeed alive.

Happy Birthday, Christine! ♥

Today our dear daughter-in-law Christine turns 25!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR CHRISTINE!
WE ARE SO EXCITED TO WELCOME YOU
AND BEN TO OREGON SOON!!!
We love you so much.

While Mark has been laid up with a broken foot, he decided to do some painting. He is a gifted artist, and he utilized his talent by depicting the history of our little town of Philomath. The painting, done in acrylics, was done on an antique cross-cut saw. Click on the pictures to see the amazing detail.
Philomath's history is heavily tied to the timber industry, so the first picture is of a logging truck. Next comes the Harris covered bridge, followed by the original school house.
Next in the lineup is the Moses Brothers store, once located on Main Street. Locals will recognize the name Vina Moses, and it was fun to learn that she was part of the family that owned this store for more than 50 years. (Be sure to click on this one to see the people in front of the store and in the delivery wagon!) The next structure is probably the most recognizable in our town: the Philomath College building. Now housing the Benton County Museum, this is one of the founding buildings in Philomath.
The final two buildings depict the United Brethren Church, part of the denomination that founded the college, and finally the train depot. This project took Mark most of three weeks to complete, and he's decided to enter it in the county fair. But whether or not he wins a ribbon, it's been wonderful for him to be busy painting and using his "down time" in such a creative way. Way to go, honey! It looks AMAZING!

Almost forgot...

A few days prior to Mark's bicycle accident (which caused him to have two broken bones in his left foot), we returned home from spending a few wonderful days in the Wallowa Mountains of Northeastern Oregon. Since the accident, our lives have been busy with x-rays, doctor appointments, crutches, learning to navigate the world on one leg, doing some double-duty around the house for me, etc. And in the busy-ness of it all, I forgot to post some pictures of our trip. We are so thankful we could enjoy that time together before the wheels fell off the wagon, so to speak! :-) It's so crazy that we'd never before been to the Wallowas. We'd heard that the area was beautiful - after all, it's nicknamed Oregon's Switzerland - but we had no idea just what we'd been missing. The fun sign above marked the entrance to the little town of Anatone, which is north of our destination.
Arriving in Joseph, Oregon, we were greeted by this sign.

Frank McCully was the founder of Joseph, and served as mayor for a time in the later 1800s. And we didn't know this prior to our arrival, but the bed and breakfast where we stayed is the former McCully home. That made us feel so historic!
The lake is gorgeous. Sort of banana-shaped, and fed by the water from the gorgeous mountains that tower above it.
This old deer was meandering down the road by the state park which is at the south end of the lake.
We decided to ride the tram to the top of one of the mountains. It looked like it might rain, but except for a very brief shower on our arrival at the summit, it was beautiful.
We had no idea that we would be greeted by snow at the top! But we're tough - we can handle it!

There were so many squirrels - or are those chipmunks? Very cute and tame - not afraid of us at all.



There is a lodge at the top of the tram, with a nice restaurant.
From the restaurant you can see the lake and watch the tram cars arrive.
Mark enjoyed a burger, while I had a wrap.


Riding the tram back down the mountain.

Joseph is a cute little town, full of history and quaint shops. This is the view looking south toward the mountains.
And here is looking north.
The next day we drove to Imnaha, where the only things to see are the store and the post office. But such a cute post office!
Below is the restaurant where we ate lunch.
We tried something new for an appetizer at dinner that night - fried dill pickles! And they were so yummy! They bread them with a light coat of crumbs, deep fry them, and serve them with a dill sauce. Fun!
Below is the bed and breakfast where we stayed.
It's called Belle Pepper's, as the owner's name is Belle, but as I mentioned above, it is actually the old McCully home.
They had a lot of chickens, too. And since we have four chickens, Mark was interested in how they had their hen house set up. We ate eggs from these girls both mornings at the B & B.
A view of the Three Sisters from our drive back home.
If you haven't been to the Wallowa Mountains, we would highly recommend it!

Baby A and Baby A

Over the Fourth of July Weekend, both of our sweet little grandchildren were at our house: Miss Adelaide Grace Dorr (3 months), and Master Ayeresam Jacob Dorr (12 months). We filled our little plastic pool with the hose, then supplemented that cold water with hot water from the house, and the little ones played. Well, Ayeresam played, while Adelaide was a bit more curious and cautious. Very fun times!
Little Adelaide with her Grandpa.
Not much beats the heat like water on a hot day.
Adelaide on the hammock with her Mommy Nikki.
Busy with measuring cups and funnels from the kitchen.
Adelaide didn't quite know what to make of the pool, but she was definitely a styler in her cute ruffled swim suit! Such precious times with such incredibly precious little people!