"Tea with Two"............

The most delightful young ladies came to my door the other day. They were out for a walk with their babies, strollers loaded. The doorbell rang, and there they were. "Hello" they said in their very grown up voices. "Can we come in for a visit?" So I invited them in, served some "tea" (aka Crystal Lite) and "bikini" bread (aka zuccini bread). We had a most wonderful visit about what we have been doing lately and about how school was going. Then the little ladies left through the back door to go fix dinner at their house on the back patio. :) I love those precious moments with my little ladies! :)

Plums, Anyone?
One of the fun discoveries of our new house was the big plum tree in the back yard. And boy, was there a mother load of plums! We have canned two batches of plum butter, several jars of halved plums and 5 jars of plum sauce (like apple sauce), given lots of plums away, and there are still bunches of plums on the tree. It's fun to do canning, especially with the weather being cooler and cloudy. It makes me feel like a pioneer woman, putting up my fruit for the winter. :) I also enjoy the aroma of plums and mixed spices wafting through the house, and all the big pots and pans on the stove and in the sink. It makes me feel like I'm really accomplishing something grand. :) However, when it's all said and done, I'm sure I'll be "plum tuckered out"! Hee! Hee! :)

Gone are the hazy, lazy days of summer...(or however that saying goes). I love the freedom of Summer, but I must say I was ready for the routine of the school year to begin.

Here are some of the highlights and stand outs of our summer............

Spending time with extended family.....

Trips to the beach.......

Our 13th wedding anniversary. Reid planned a wonderful date...dinner at a nice restaurant, a walk through the Portland Rose Gardens, and dessert at a yummy Italian dessert place.....
...









The sale of our Texas house!









The purchase of our Dundee home....

Packing, moving, painting, unpacking, etc.....













Our three wonderful, memory-making camping trips......



























Nattie's severe allergic reaction to the sun......









Our trip to Klamath Falls.......









Making memories at "Next of Kiln"......

And others I don't have pictures for...

Cameron's big bike wreck. The girls and I were in KFalls, and there were no band aids in the house. Oops! :) Our neighbor came to the rescue with her first aid kit. No broken bones thank goodness!

Katie's 4th of July broken tooth. The jump rope handle hit her in the tooth and broke off a good sized chunk. The dentist said 1mm more tooth broken off and she would have needed a root canal. Phew!......

Attending the American Idol concert in Portland with the kids, my mom and dad, and my brother Mark's family. Of course my camera battery died right when I tried to take the proof of attendance photo!

And countless other milestones reached, memories made, quiet moments, fun times, and everything in between that I can't think of to write down.

So here we are on the first day of school...







































My, how time does fly.

Ok, so this is week old news. Oh well.