Quiet Sunday Morning

Jason is here for the weekend and he and Allison took the kids to camp for Sunday breakfast. Lox and bagels and the works are a favorite and are served every Sunday morning at camp. Soooo....it s quiet around here for Dick and me. Of course, quiet is all relative and compared to other times with 3 tired and hungry little girls, it is peaceful.

It may be more quiet than usual but we do have 3 big dogs in the house right now and a cat. Poor cat has been avoiding all the dogs, kids, etc. and finally ventured out while we were watching TV late last night. She discovered Jason's near empty glass of water on the table and managed to jam her head in it in an attempt for a drink of water. I hadn't realized she was looking for water so after nearly getting stuck in the glass, she now has her own water downstairs with her food. It was a show in itself.

The dogs are getting walked in shifts. It takes two or three of us if we take them all out at once and heaven help us if we get to visit another dog or two. We must be quite a sight. Dick decided to take all 3 with us to Starbucks this morning in his SUV. I am not sure what got into him but he is in charge of all dog decisions. The whole back end of the car is full of golf gear so the three dogs sat in the back seat. Each one could us a backseat for themselves. Mr. Lincoln decided he had enough on the trip home and jumped into my lap. Did I mention he weighs 65 pounds and is the smallest of the three? When we finally got home and piled out of the car, some tourists were walking past with their Whippet. They smiled and chuckled a hello as I got out with Sophie (Allison's boxer) but really got a laugh when Dick then had his hands full with our Portuguese Water Dog, Lincoln and Brett and Liz' dog, Tillee, a huge Bernese Mountain Dog. They seemed to almost scurry down the street to get out of our way. All the beasts wanted to play with their newly spied friend but had to settle for a walk across the street to our vacant lot.

Now we are home. Three monster dogs are asleep after the outing and I think Dick may be ready to doze too. It's just a quiet Sunday morning!

We finished up the Jr. Golf program yesterday with 5 holes of golf, hot dogs, drinks and happy kids. What could be better?
Tomorrow I am off to Portland to babysit St. John while Liz works at Sand in the City. I have volunteered at this event for a few years but this year I volunteered to help watch SJ. On Friday, sand will be dumped into Pioneer Square in downtown Portland and it will be a madhouse with people building sand sculptures. But what a sight when they are finished! It is a major fundraiser for the non-profit Liz works for, Kids on the Block. Good Luck.
I am also anticipating a fun time at St. John's birthday party on August 1st. I can't believe he is going to be a year old. Then again, Liz was pretty big at Sand in the City last year and we were all on pins and needles anticipating a childbirth DURING the event.
The girls are all very happy at camp. Allison is shouldering more responsibilities daily especially with camp stepping out on it's own this year. It should be a challenge. Eliana, Sarina and Dena are all making us laugh with their activities. Sarina had lost her towel at the swimming pool and had to have a counselor dry her off. The towel will show up. Dena is going to bed nightly wearing a pair of underwear OVER her pajamas and diaper (in anticipation of someday really needing them). I got an email from Eliana today (even though she is living right here) telling me how much she loves camp, and she loves camp, she really loves camp.
I have been working on broken things recently...a broken dishwasher (2 weeks waiting for a part) and a little bump on my car (I've turned into that garage a hundred times and never bumped before). Plus trying to get the sand to exit my house even though the girls dump their shoes outside and shower after beach time. Is Dick bringing it in? Am I? It is a mystery.
Other than that, things are pretty normal around here: Starbuck's regularly to see friends (they have a corner that is called Dick's office and friends actually stop by because they know we are there...4 people today), golf for Dick, keeping up with family and friends for me, grooming Mr. Lincoln, nose prints, hand prints and salt off the windows, reading, cooking dinner nightly when my campers got home, watching the surf and wildlife and getting out in the community. Just another fine day at the beach.

Into the Swing of Summer

Our activities are rolling now! Eliana finished a week at girl scout camp and then a week here at BB camp and came home exhausted. 2 hours later, she woke up! Now she has joined her 2 younger sisters for day camp while Allison is pulling it altogether so all the campers have smooth sailing while there. Last night she had a call that one camper had boarded an airplane from China and needed a linen pkg (which was supposed to be preordered). She had to scramble this morning to buy everything from a sleeping bag to sheets and towels to even a pillow for her. With over 200 kids arriving today by bus, plane, train from Seattle and cars with mom and dad, it keeps her hopping. She will be ready for a glass of wine tonight.

Dick and I are busy wrapping up 5 weeks of the Jr. Golf program he initiated. Next week we end things with a short round of golf for the kids so they get final instruction on etiquette and so they can try the skills they learned first hand on the course. We are amazed not only how excited the kids are each week to really learn golf but also how much they have improved in that time period.

We are proud of Sarina for recently signing herself up for swimming during the camp skill building time block. Now she is swimming at least twice a day and having a ball. Dena is having fun learning all the camp songs and hand motions her sisters are teaching her. A 2-year-old doesn't always get them perfectly but she ends up with the right move and words at the very end and that is all that matters.

Of course, we are also squeezing in a little cooking, sand digging, playing with Lincoln and kite flying after camp most days. Hope you enjoy the photos. It's just a busy summer.

4th of July

It's the 4th and the grandkids are decked out in red, white and blue. Since they are pretty tired from camp all week (including Allison) and their Dad is here for the weekend, we decided not to plan much. It's Oregon, we will be grilling salmon and corn on the cob for dinner and watching all the big and little fireworks out our front window on the beach. Those will be thrilling but the cat will have to be locked in a big closet so she doesn't run off for 2 days like she did last year. Happy Birthday USA. And I hope it is just a big celebration day for all of you too.

First Day of Summer Camp

I woke up this morning with my 2-year-old granddaughter, Dena, in my lounge chair with her special, purple blankie, her cup of orange juice (like coffee, she can't start the day without it) and "reading" Grandma Sue's book by James Patterson. She complained that the book only had one picture. The picture was of James Patterson who looked somewhat like Grandpa Dick according to Dena. She said next time she would get a book from her room with pictures but today she would read mine.

We successfully got everyone off to their 1st day of BB Camp here at the coast but on Devil's Lake. Dick and I headed to Starbuck's right away for our "orange juice" but it was the real thing with caffeine. We will see how we do by the end of the week.

By the way, Allison found more stuff stored at camp to wash and I swear we are on the last 3 of 6 loads today! Just a nice clean day!

I am still doing laundry but the towels are now finished and I am on to blankets and (can you believe it?) 16 more sets of sheets. I think this will be it and all of it can be hauled out to camp soon. Whew.

Dick was out walking Mr. Lincoln this morning and a garbage trucked pulled over to talk to him. The guy said he has been watching Dick on channel 4 (Government Access Channel) and likes what he has been doing and likes his ideas during the City Council meetings. He isn't the only stranger to recognize Dick and stop to chat. Makes it all worthwhile.

We stopped by Starbucks this morning as Dick headed out to marshal at the golf course. They had what they call the "golfer's special" ready for him. It was a cup of coffee and croissant bagged up and ready to shoo him out the door so he could make his tee-time (only today he wasn't playing). For me, on the other hand, it was a plate with a warm croissant, a newspaper and the overstuffed chair. I'm not sure who got the better service...but it was great service for both of us.

I came home to continue the laundry and watched the 5K beach run go by our house....see pictures above. I take pictures rather than participate!

Just another day at the beach.

BB Camp

It is almost time for Allison and the girls to invade the beach. We are looking forward to their summer with us and just this weekend, we purchased a tour of the fire station, ride on a fire truck and ice cream with fire fighters at Cold Stone for them all. As a City Councilor, we will let Dick ride along with them.

Dick and I spent this past few days washing sheets. I thought it was 32 sets but it turned out to be something like 58 sets of twin sized sheet sets for use at BB Camp this summer. Check out the photo. We washed, dried, and folded the sets and then placed each set into its pillow case for safe, clean keeping until needed. The camp is on the east side of Devils Lake here in Lincoln City and I am sure we will get to know our way around it as time goes by. We took all the sheets, plus a load of pillows and sleeping bags that we brought over from Portland, out to camp this morning and deposited them in a storage room for summer use. At the same time we picked up blankets and towels that also needed washing. Looks like we will be making another trip out to camp by the end of this week. Laundry really is an easy thing to do to help out with such a wonderful cause and we can do it right here at home. The camp kids are going to have lots of experiences they will never forget. Clean bedding and towels will be just a little luxury while camping.

Dick is off to his Council meeting presently and it should prove to be another long eveningl. There have been extensive discussions about the vacation rental homes locally and how to alleviate any problems before they happen. I will be watching from my easy chair here at home since it is televised locally. That way, I can change the channel if I get bored!

The summer waves are depositing more sand on the beach right now. This year there is a berm forming directly in front of our home thus a little stream/pool forming on our side of the berm whenever we are at low tide. The girls will have fun playing in these pools after the water warms up each day, so I hope the berm remains. We did get to see 10 kite surfers whisk on down the beach a few days ago. What a sight! And what a lot of air they could get leaping over the waves! It is so amazing to watch. Just another lazy day at the beach.