THE MANDATORY STOP

We flew into Portland and my brother Andrew and his wife Jess picked us up at the airport and drove us to their house in Albany for the night. We had a lovely rest and woke up excited to get the most out of the time in Oregon with my family!

After breakfast we loaded up the cars and headed south to Grants Pass. If you ever find yourself between Portland and Grants Pass...keep your eye out for the Rice Hill exit. It is a mandatory rule in the Abblitt Family that if you are in this area....you MUST stop and eat some of the yummiest ice cream ever. Granted, it doesn't look like much...but, the ice cream makes it worth the stop. Trust me!

Don't judge me....I'm in Oregon and I'm eating ice cream.

I can be excited if I want to be!

GRANTS PASS OR BUST!

(from July 2009)

Our trip to Oregon began with a "long" car ride to the airport.
The girls got cozy watching a movie.



On a lay-over at the airport, we decided to grab lunch before heading to the next terminal. The girls felt they needed to "freshen up" and get their hair pretty. Luckily, the restaurant was prepared for this and already had "dinglehoppers" on the table. (Those unfamiliar with "The Little Mermaid"....dinglehopper is the seagull to human translation of fork.)





Then off to the catch the tram for the next terminal...Brooklyn loved this!
Almost like Disney Land :)

WE ARE BACK!

Well, I know it seems to have been a LONG vacation!!! Started July 1, 2009 and it appears to be over January 7, 2010. But, we have actually returned to Grundy, left for other places and returned again several times. Now, seeing as that I have a lot of extra time due to needing to be off my feet throughout most of the day and the NOT so gentle coaxing from my dear friend Grace....figured picking this back up would be a good idea. So, it might take a little time to get caught up but I'm going back to July and our trip to Oregon and catching back up to where we are today.

Alright, Grace...stop the countdown...this counts as a post, right???

BON VOYAGE...

Today is the day! We are starting our journey west to Grants Pass, Oregon. So very excited to return to the land Scott and I were married and for spending time with my family. Hope everyone has a great week and there will be lots of pictures once we return : )

SO...THERE YOU GO, MOM!

We are getting ready for church and Brooklyn comes out of her room dressed in a pink shirt, black skirt and flip-flops that are yellow, orange and blue. I suggest that she should wear her pink flip-flops or pink crocs that would go better with her outfit. As the wise almost five year old that she is...this is her comment back to me: "Mommy, don't you remember? It doesn't matter what clothes I wear or what shoes I wear because God loves me anyway". Alright, girl...you wear those yellow shoes with that pink shirt because you are right! God loves you no matter what!!!

GARDENING....I MEAN WEEDING!

I have a garden this year for the first time. There was super excitement and lots of enthusiasm once the grass was freshly tilled and new plants and seeds in the ground. Then life happened and I found out that gardening did not get my first priority. After probably 4 weeks of ignoring my garden, the results were VERY SCARY!

My good friend Stef and I planned to walk and catch up this afternoon. But, after she offered to help weed and Scott convinced me that pride was not a reason to reject the opportunity to bond with a friend and come away with much needed gardening knowledge, I made the call. And, being the great person she is...Stef came over for reinforcements!

Although, she only accepts the title "Master Weeder", Stef is actually a highly skilled gardener. So, whatever you want to be called, Stef - you are an awesome friend. Thank you for all the help today!!!

My garden after a couple hours by myself

Mandy & Stef showing off the hard work

Stef teaching Brooklyn how to take a picture of yourself

AT THE PARK WITH FRIENDS

Scott and I are part of a couples small group Bible study. And, the moms and kids from this group got together at the park yesterday (except we are missing the Currens....until next year, right Grace?) It was a beautiful day and a fun time with friends.


Still not sure how Tyler's story ended...



My little toughy...this picture is actually from a
different park earlier in the week






Brooklyn and Tyler





In trying to get the kids attention, JennVen lets out this loud whistle. And, instantly all
the moms want to know how to do this. So....

Jenn (right) gives us all a lesson and Melanie really wants to learn (sitting on left)

The lesson goes something like this...
Put your first two finger tips from each hand together, put them in your mouth to
fold your tongue backwards and blow.

When Jenn does this....very loud whistle. When Melanie does this...more of a blowing up
of a balloon noise accompanied by a shower for anyone near. Good effort though, Mel! And to be fair...I gave
up shortly after trying. It was more fun to watch :)






Apparently, the whistling lessons were just too much for Tyler!

***Disclaimer*** The bottle was found in the sand at the park. It was
NOT the beverage brought for him. At least that is the story Jenn is
sticking with ; )