We had a great spring break this year. The weather was AMAZING! I can't remember the last spring break we've had with actual sun. The first part of our break brought us to Astoria. Astoria, oh how I love you. I have many, many fond memories visiting cousins, uncles, aunts, grandma out on the Fernhill Holly Farm. Literally acres and acres of land to explore. This town also holds special memories for me because it was down on the docks with the barking seals that my then boyfriend proposed to me. Below is a picture of the tree in my grandma's yard that Daniel carved our names into. He started to carve STEPHANIE and after he got to STE he decided that was good enough. This tree brings a smile to my face.
Beautiful grandma Timmerman's house. She has lived in this house for at least 30 years alone since the passing of my grandpa. She took care of the yard, house, and garden up until pretty recently. She's 91 and we all decided it was time to force her to relax. My cousin Liz and her husband live with her now and they are so good to her.
My sister Lindsey and I took our kids here for a couple of days (Daniel had to stay home and work. He was pretty bummed). You can barely see the kids at the bottom of the hill. I just loved watching the kids run around with so much space and freedom. They are about the age that I remember the most as a kid. We would wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, and not be home until we got hungry for dinner.
The kids running down grandma's hill and off to another adventure. Below the grass on the right is actually a very old concrete swimming pool that was there when my mom was growing up. I've never actually seen it full and functioning but the thing is pretty ancient and cool. We used to love and play in there after a long rain.
Did I mention that the Timmerman's have amazing gardens? This is my aunt Evelyn's garden. She is prepping it for the season. This is my DREAM garden. You should see it when it is in full production. All kinds of yummy fruits and veggies to eat fresh!
I had to snap a quick shot of the boys in the loft playing in their PJ's. These are the exact teenage mutant ninja turtles that my cousins and I played with growing up.
My cousin Jerry lives with my aunt still. He has epilepsy and has to take medication that affects him pretty heavily. These kids were fascinated with him! He is a very good artist. The kids were all huddled around him watching him sketch a dragon.
Jeffrey and Isaiah sitting in Dieter's makeshift swing. Dieter is my cousin Greg's son and he is just about one of the cutest kids ever.
The kids running off to more adventures. This one is on the other side of the farm.
This adventure brought them to a dead porcupine. They drug it down, with a stick, to this bush. They said it was his burial site. Tanner thought he was pretty brave by pulling out a few quills. I thought he was as well.What a great trip!
The latter part of the week Daniel took some time off of work so we could go camping. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. We still found some great things to do here in Corvallis. The night before Daniel and Isaiah ventured out to the river to drop our crawdad trap. We got up early the next morning to go retrieve it.
The latter part of the week Daniel took some time off of work so we could go camping. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. We still found some great things to do here in Corvallis. The night before Daniel and Isaiah ventured out to the river to drop our crawdad trap. We got up early the next morning to go retrieve it. Unfortunately it had rained all night and the water level had risen so much that we couldn't get out to it the next day. It's still out there. Just waiting for some sunny days to bring the water down.
It was so early that Daniel fell asleep at the wheel and Isaiah had to take over.
Later that day we decided to drive along the Alcea and find a new fishing spot. Isaiah's friend Gavin came with us which was a lot of fun.
Isaiah caught his first fish!! Daniel has been dying for this to happen for him. From the mouth of Isaiah, "I've caught fish before in ponds filled with fish but never in the wild! This is awesome!" For the rest of the day he was saying, "I can't believe I caught a fish! Can you believe I caught a fish?)
Gavin and Isaiah. They had so much fun together. We were hoping Gavin would catch one as well. Maybe next time.
I ventured off to look for a more private spot and just about died when I almost stepped on this snake. I came running down the path yelling, "There's a huge snake down there." Instantly three boys running the opposite way back down the path to catch it. Classic boy/girl difference.
Life is Good!
It was so early that Daniel fell asleep at the wheel and Isaiah had to take over.Later that day we decided to drive along the Alcea and find a new fishing spot. Isaiah's friend Gavin came with us which was a lot of fun.
Isaiah caught his first fish!! Daniel has been dying for this to happen for him. From the mouth of Isaiah, "I've caught fish before in ponds filled with fish but never in the wild! This is awesome!" For the rest of the day he was saying, "I can't believe I caught a fish! Can you believe I caught a fish?)
Gavin and Isaiah. They had so much fun together. We were hoping Gavin would catch one as well. Maybe next time.
I ventured off to look for a more private spot and just about died when I almost stepped on this snake. I came running down the path yelling, "There's a huge snake down there." Instantly three boys running the opposite way back down the path to catch it. Classic boy/girl difference.
Life is Good!