Waldo Lake

At the end of August we went to Waldo Lake with the Smiths for three days. There are no hotels or even showers on the Lake, but there are latrines and communal spigots with running water. We aren't the greatest campers but the Smiths were there for back-up and they really encouraged us to come. Glad they did!

Here is Georgie on the beach. We didn't get any pictures of the campsite, our regular beach, or kayaking on the water (major fail), but we did get some great sunset and mountain biking photos.

The lighting at sunset was incredible, hence the photo overload.

The girls and Naxi with Maya and Amira. Waldo is the second largest natural lake in Oregon. There are no motorized craft allowed on the lake. It is gorgeous and clear and cold.

Juliet doing some yoga in the sunset

Ashley with Kara. Kara and Nate are both Ironman triathletes and major runners. Nate routinely qualifies for Boston and has run two centuries. Kara ran 40 miles for her 40th birthday. Needless to say we feel like couch potato blobs around them.

Family picture at Waldo Lake. This might be our Christmas card picture this year.

Maya and Georgie. Maya is hysterical. She is one of the most hot-and-cold kids I have ever met. Sometimes she will spend hours alone in the van and not want to interact with anyone, but other times she will melt your heart with how sweet she can be. She hisses like a cat and makes claws at me, originally because she was trying to keep me away from her mom, but now it is how we say hello to each other.

Kara and her girls.

Juliet the Tree Hugger

Georgie with Naxi in the sunset. Snowmelt from the mountains in the background forms the headwaters of the Willamette River.

Isaac with Naxi

And Ashley with Naxi

Not sure who took this shot, but Isaac doctored it up to use as an avatar photo

The first two days were cold and rainy, but the third day was sunny and glorious. We went for a nice long bike ride on a trail around the lake that was easy enough for the 8 year olds.

Juliet with Naxi on the trail. The first section is through forest, but after riding for several minutes were came to the Burn Area, where a fire occurred several years ago.

Riding past a pond

Juliet handles herself really well on the bike. Lots of practice riding back and forth to school!

Kara on the trail

Amira by the pond

Georgie on the trail

This was our destination, a place where the trail neared the lake

Look at how clear that water is. Even more impressive than Tahoe, given that there is no wake chop.

Kara and Amira. Nate stayed with Maya back at the campground. He had already run about 20 miles that morning.

Another possible Christmas card photo

Even though we were super cold for two days, and short on food, and there really wasn't anyplace to wash one's hands (which I do obsessively numerous times every hour), the kayaking and biking on that third day really rescued the trip and made us excited to come back again next August.

Juliet's birthday and Georgie's Pinocchio play

In late July 2018, Nann, Craig, and Reese flew out to visit us in Oregon. Georgie had the role of the villain Stromboli in the production of My Son Pinocchio at the Majestic theater, and Juliet had an 8th birthday to celebrate. We took them to the Basement, the game room of the OSU student union building. During the summer it is a great place to escape the heat and have some fun.

Isaac and Papa shootin' some pool.

This is one of the more unusual air hockey tables I had ever seen. Each of the four players has a goal that they defend. Rather than scoring points yourself, every time someone else scores on your goal, you lose a point, and once you lose five points you're out. The game continues until there is only one player left. It's a fun King of the Mountain twist.

I love the looks of concentration on their faces.

After billiards, air hockey, and bowling, we headed to an early dinner at McMenamin's, a NW chain of Irish pub restaurants. Apparently the original has a beautiful hotel on the property.

Reese and Gaga

Ashley and Isaac

After dinner we had planned on parking closer to the theater, but the van wouldn't start! Luckily, we had plenty of time to walk to the theater before the performance. Thank goodness for small towns. In fact, we had forgotten to buy Georgie flowers, so I ran back to the van, which started (!), bought flowers at the Co-op, and then parked close to the theater.

This isn't actually a shot from the play, it is a staged photo that ran in the local paper. Georgie had wanted the part of the Blue Fairy (on the left), but she was perfect as the evil Stromboli, who abducted Pinocchio and tried to make money off of him, a la P.T. Barnum.

Here she is after the show. Those are some serious eyebrows.

Some fellow cast members. Pinocchio was a good friend also named Reese, and la Professora Buonragazza (in green) is a friend named Sara. Great story from after the play: as we were pulling away, Georgie saw Sara on the sidewalk and wanted to say hi/bye. Problem was, Georgie was in the way back and Isaac was sitting by the open window facing Sara. She yelled out, "Hi, Sara!" Sara turned and made and eye contact with Isaac, who is a grade ahead of Sara at school and broke eye contact as fast as he could. It was embarrassing for the two of them but hilarious for all other passengers in the van.

The next day we had Juliet's birthday party at the house. We invited friends from school, soccer, and one lonely boy whose parents are our friends. Ashley bought several cans of cheap shaving cream and we pulled out my old T-shirts so the kids could have a huge shaving cream fight.

Early on, before the glasses came off.

Getting more serious now. In the blue on the left is Eli, the lone male. Thankfully, he is already kind of girl crazy and didn't mind spending the day with bunch of females.

Kayleigh and Brennan from school.

Juliet with Katie, from soccer.

The birthday girl!

It was inevitable that they would end up on the trampoline.

Georgie is bodily expressing how we all felt after the party.

The next day was Juliet's actual birthday, July 29th, and we spent it with the family in pursuit of the ideal swimming hole.

This one comes pretty close. A covered bridge passes over it and the water is very still with no current to speak of. It was warmer than the other one we briefly stopped at, but not warm enough for Ashley to get in.

Goofing off in the water

I took Naxi out into the middle and made her swim back. She is a good swimmer and doesn't mind running and jumping in the water, but hates being so deep that she has to swim.

The Petteys at the covered bridge.

After some good days off I had to go back to my livelihood, so the Petteys went to Suttle Lake Lodge in the Cascade mountains. It is just a few minutes from our local ski resort, Hoodoo, and reminded Ashley of the resort from Dirty Dancing.

I wasn't there and I used some of these pictures in the post about Liz's visit, but they are just too good to not include and comment on. This is the main lodge.

Naxi heading towards the girls on the dock

This photo of Juliet is outstanding. The pose, the facial expression, the hair, the romper. Just perfect.

Isaac provides a nice contrast. But still, a lovely place to eat breakfast with Gaga.

Papa and Reese

Playing corn hole, one of the highlights of the lodge. The mountain in the background is Hoodoo.

Not sure if this is an artistic shot or a selfie botched by the wind.

Having ice cream in the twilight at a great resort by the lake with your cousin. Can life get better?

Yes! Having ice cream in the twilight at a great resort by the lake with your cousin and your dog!

Aunt Ashley and Niece Reese

The lounge in the main lodge with a record player, vinyl albums, games, a fire place, and pets welcome.

The main doors, hand carved

Isaac reluctantly joins

Ashley framed that previous photo perfectly, but when you hand the camera over to a stranger to get a shot of the whole group, you end up with a lot of "empty space", as my dad would say. Let's fix that:

Much better!