The Big Visit to Sweet Home August 14th-28th, 2007

It seemed that August was never going to get here. We knew most of the summer that my parents (AKA Papa & Grandma Eyie) were coming for a visit. We were looking forward to this visit....and Ryan had his toy guns stashed waiting for Papa to arrive.

About a month prior to the visit, Mom called and said "Grandma & Grandpa are coming". You don't know how much excitement that brought to our household. Kristin was floating on cloud nine for days! She wasn't the only one...as I did a little jig myself! Several days later, we got a call that Gramps was in the hospital. Now, to tell the kids. It's only 3 weeks until their departure date, and who knows what the future holds. Kristin is upset, but knows it's more important for Big Papa to get better, than it is for him to come & visit. Thankfully, the Lord answers prayers and not only did Big Papa get better, but he and Grams came to Oregon! God is Good!

AUGUST 14th, Tuesday This day starts early for us as we get up early to change beds, tidy the bathrooms, and that sort of thing. We are just about ready to leave for our friend Tracey's at 8:30 AM, and just as we're heading out, we get a call saying that their flight is delayed by an hour. So, we hang out, and go to Tracey's an hour later, and she delivers us safely to the rental place where we pick up our wheels for the week. It's a nice Chevy Tahoe, (yes, I know, the Ford girl in a Tahoe--but I really liked it!) and we take off after checking out and head to the airport. We realize that we've forgotten straps for the roof, as we figure we'll need to put luggage on top. A quick stop in Stayton for some straps, and we're on our way. We arrive at the airport without event and Ryan finds Grandma Eyie fairly quickly, after walking right past her in baggage and the get the luggage to the car. Grams & Gramps however, are lost with Dad in the airport waiting on wheelchairs. We finally all meet up and have a great laugh at Grandma, who makes us smile. We won't embarrass her here, but those of us that know the story, will always chuckle about her cruise through the airport with her paper blowing in the wind...

We arrive home and have a relaxing evening. Kristin is glued to Big Papa...and we have a nice visit. Everyone is exhausted, as the Michiganders and the Ohioans have been away since 3am Eastern Time, and finally head to bed at 9 or so.

AUGUST 15th--WEDNESDAY--A 'hang around the house' day. Shawnna heads to work, so she can spend the next two weeks with everyone. Kristin & Big Papa entertain themselves all day. I don't think I've seen my Grandfather ever laugh the way he did tonight. He then enthralled us all with his backwards ABC's. He later amazed us with reciting the Gettysburg Address....thankfully, he didn't do the entire speech, but I'm sure he was prepared!! Kristin has been teaching everyone sign language. We've learned Drink, Eat, Hungry, thirsty and Water.

AUGUST 16th--THURSDAY--Chores & Fun How many ways can you say "Pat-a-Cake"?? Kristin decided that Gramps needed to do the hand clapping games with him. When she tried to teach him one of the new hand clap rhymes, he recited patty cake to her. They then went off on every variation of Patty Cake that there was, and then they made up their own. They had us all entertained. Picked Black Berries and made Cobbler for dessert! Had friends Sean & Tracey with their kids for supper. It was a nice evening.

AUGUST 17th--FRIDAY--SISTERS & BEND--We wake to a beautiful sunny day. We have a leisurely morning, and pack a lunch, and head to Sisters where we picnic, and then head to Bend. We hit Pilote Butte and have a beautiful view on a beautiful day. We head to Sisters and enjoy some of the shops there. Its a fun day together, and we arrive home late, but so much fun.

AUGUST 18th, 19th, 20th--SATURDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY--Recuperation and Catch Up Days! We rest, as we're all pretty tired from the full day on Friday. We putter around on Sunday, and then on Monday we get some laundry done, and plan the rest of the week. The weather hasn't been too nice the last two days. Monday we do celebrate "SPECIAL DAY". It's a day that Mom & the kids pick to have a fun day.....which usually involves lots of little gifts all day long. She saves the holiday toys and decorations and treats that she passes out to the grandkids. When she comes, they have Easter, Christmas, Halloween, and all those other fun holiday treats and they look forward to it every time. They can't pull in the driveway and say Hello, before they say "When is Special Day?". I'm not sure Ryan will ever outgrow it!

AUGUST 21st--TUESDAY--A full day of fun. We head to Silver Falls after lunch, and enjoy the nice day with few people there. The lodge is open and the back area has an interesting slide show. We then head to Silverton the back way, and go through town. A visit to the Oregon Gardens is amazing. I'll tell you, this wasn't the biggest place on my list of things to do, but the kids & I had a blast. If you get the chance, its worth the trip through. We will be heading back someday! I was sorry Bill wasn't with us, as they were setting up for Sunset in the Gardens while we were leaving. It was an adult evening with wine on the patio...watching the sun set over the beautiful gardens.

AUGUST 22nd--WEDNESDAY--Another full day of fun. We decide to head to the coast. It's overcast when we arrive, but burns off quickly. We hit the outlets to restock Mom & Dad's supply of undergarmets, and then head south from Lincoln City, and hit all the beautiful pull offs along the way. By the time we get to Cape Perpetua, it's getting late, and obvious that we won't have time to let Kristin play on the beach. Oh well, I guess we'll have to come back! We head into Florence for a famous Clam Chowder feast at Mo's and then head home. We arrive around 10PM. A full day, but well worth it.

AUGUST 23rd--THURSDAY--We need to rest, since we decided we need to go back to the coast, and enjoy the botanical gardens in the summer that we see in the winter all decorated for Christmas. Kristin & Big Grandma watch from the porch for birds. We should have filled the feeders two weeks before they came, as they are just now arriving after we filled them last week. We all head to bed at a decent hour to hit the road early.

AUGUST 24th--FRIDAY--We head to the coast, the southern route. We stop at the Elk Viewing area just before we hit Reedsport. The elk are very far off, and I think we have a better view of them from our front porch than we do from this viewing area. The kids are spoiled, they didn't even give a second look....too far away. We had just seen 9 (1 bull-8 cows) in the field below us last Monday. After lunch, we head to Sunset Beach State Park. Kristin & Ryan play in the water, and walk on the beach. Shawnna & Bill get to do the same. Grams, Gramps, Mom & Dad hang out on the bench & watch the kids play.

Down the coast we go to Shore Acres State Park....a beautiful botanical garden, on the rocky, beautiful shores of the Oregon Coast. We wander around here for a few hours and then go to check out the whales and sea lions. Have a nice dinner in a small family run diner, and head back home. Another full day of fun.

AUGUST 25, 2007--SATURDAY--We rest after many days in the car!! We enjoy the sunshine, and the visiting. We pick plums, and berries, and the pears are almost ready. Can't wait for those!

AUGUST 26,2007--SUNDAY--We take a ride to McDowell Creek Falls here near the house. Gramps even hikes down to the upper falls viewing platform. After our time there, we go for a ride through the back roads of Sweet Home, and take the long way home.

AUGUST 27th, 2007--MONDAY--Kristin & Gramps are still play hand clapping pat-a-cake games, and enjoying each other's company. She has been pretty much glued to him these last few weeks. She will miss him when he goes home. We do some laundry so everyone can take home clean clothes, and everyone is a bit mopey, knowing that tomorrow is the "Day". It's been a great visit, and I'm ready to do it all again. It was great having my parents & Grandparents here. Our kids really enjoyed the time too.

A Work In Progress

As we put this together, mainly to keep our family up to date, and write more than we can on the family web site, please be patient! We'll get it all figured out!