Family Visit

 Things were lively here the past week. Nick and Lauren came up from Napa on Sunday, and Dave brought my grandchildren Jeremy, Soren, and Susanna from Colorado on Monday. Fortunately, the Oregon weather gods gave us a break and we had a lot of time playing on the river, going to the coast, and enjoying activities around River Song.

Monday, before the Coloradans landed, we went to Strawberry Hill Beach.  Lauren saw her first Sea Star!

Nick, looking for a unique angle, while Daisy has his back.

Nick and I got a little silly with the driftwood.

New best friends!

Tuesday morning, Susanna made pancakes for everyone.

Jeremy was eager to go fishing, so I showed him a fishing hole about a mile down the river where he spent several hours.  He finally caught a small trout and released it.

Serious business!

A pretty sweet spot!

Nick and Lauren are very much into plants and spend a lot of time searching for and identifying them.  Lauren is an herbalist who has a very successful business called Wooden Spoon Herbs.  You can find her products at Whole Foods and online.  They made this bouquet on a stroll around the yard.

Seems like everyone gets a picture by the baboon!

Susanna and I went on a "snail rescue" mission and ended up hiking about 3 miles without finding a single snail.  We did find a little stream with a swing.

We had a lot of laughs playing charades in the evening.

Dave, Soren, and Susanna playing Totika Kohatu, a wood rock balancing game.

Undaunted by cold water, Susanna, Dave, and Jeremy took the plunge.  Later, I floated around in a tube, as well as Dave, Nick, and Lauren.

Jeremy and Dave chillin'.

Gail and Susanna had hours of fun making bead jewelry.  Gail said that for every one thing she made, Susanna made ten things.

After the 57 degree river the hot tub sure felt good.  The kids logged hours in the tub.

Susanna does everything to the max!

Woohoo!

We returned to the beach where it was cold and windy.  That didn't stop Susanna and Jeremy from wading into the surf.

I barbecued some chicken which Gail had marinated to add to our all American dinner.  Nick made Rancho Gordo beans, and Lauren mashed potatoes. 

Soren and Jeremy were eager to learn how to weld.  Soren here, practicing on some flat steel.  He and Jeremy picked up technique quickly.

Jeremy using an angle grinder to prep some metal for his yard art creature.

Jeremy is very handy with tools, having done the brakes and sway bar bushings on his car.

Working on the "wolverine".

Nice job, Jeremy!

Not shown, unfortunately, is the amount of work and planning Gail did to make everyone comfortable, entertained, and well fed.  Thanks, Hon!