Summer Adventures . . .

  My oh my, did our summer go by in a flash. I have so much to catch up on. It seems to be easier and faster when I have so much to post about to post all the pictures, and then explain as I go.

Leaving off after our Memorial Day camp trip.
Austyn had Outdoor School this year and Quade was fortunate enough to be able to tag along like always. They get to go to Camp Lutherwood on Highway 36 for the last week of school and do amazing activities all week long. It is so much fun! I was a parent helper for one of the groups and loved being able to watch Austyn and Quade experience this event.

 Quades first bus ride. His mind was blown that you didn't have to wear seatbelt.

Nature hike for one of the many stations.

Jordan finally finished his truck project. It now has a flatbed on it and he is so proud of it and loves driving it everyday. He says it's like Christmas every morning when he wakes up and gets to drive it to work. He worked so hard on this truck and it took him so long. He is pretty incredible to be able to build this thing from the frame up.

We brought out the Lemonade Stand again for the Highway 36 garage sale. The kids absolutely love doing it and they are so good at it. Austyn pretty much ran the stand, while she sent Quade out scouting for customers. They worked really well together.

Papa and Austyn taking a ride on the ancient Express during the garage sale. It's so much fun because we sit at the end of the driveway for two days doing nothing but hanging out and visiting. We look forward to it every year.

It wouldn't be summer without our summer tent campouts. This year I think we set a new record for the amount of nights slept in the tent. Pretty sure we only slept in the house like 10 times in 3 months. My parents got us a new tent for Christmas last year because our last tent was falling apart from being up in the sun for so long. The memories made!! It took us (Quade and I) a bit to adjust back to our normal sleeping alone in our own bed routine when school came. 

The kids called the tent our Moon tent because it had a hard framed door which was shaped like a moon. It was pretty cool.

No summer would be complete without our usual rodeo fun. My parents joined us for one and it was so fun to have then there with the kids.

Quade sitting on a tortoise in the coolest petting zoo I've ever seen. And to make it even more amazing we knew the families that put it together.

Austyn got to the face painter before I could interject with her choice of design. But she did look adorable.

We spent so much time in the river this year. Almost everyday we would be in the river at some point. Most of the time a few times a day. The kids are at such a perfect age. They enjoyed just splashing around, making forts, and they both became expert rock skippers.

We had the best 4th of July. Harrisburg Parade in the morning, BBQ at the river in the evening with the whole family, Quade did his first Mutton Busting ride, and then back to Harrisburg for fireworks.

 Daddy giving a pre ride pep talk at the Philomath Frolic. His second go round with Mutton Busting.

 Hold on COWBOY!!

Our favorite rodeo has been the Philomath Frolic. We spent an entire day this year enjoying the whole experience. Parade in the morning, then fair rides all day, mutton busting, logging competitions, more mutton busting, then the rodeo. It was super hot, but it was so much fun.

Quade got his very own dirt bike this summer. He is absolutely amazing on it for only being 4 years old. Took right off like he'd done it for years. He can now do everything on his own but kick start it. He's not quite heavy enough to kick it over yet. Austyn on the other hand, can start it and ride like a pro. She has no fear and is so fun to watch. Who would have thought she would be interested in riding a dirt bike. She even has been riding my Dads bigger dirt bike and loves it even more.

We went on a camping trip to East Fort Rock. It's an area for riding ATVs. It was very hot, extremely dusty, and infested with Bees. The kids didn't mind the heat, dust, or bees so that's all that mattered. We were able to have an fun filled week. With our favorite camping partners.

While we were over in that area we took a break from the dust and the heat and toured the Lava Caves outside of Bend. Super cool and the kids were amazed.

Our next camping stop was Crescent Lake for our annual horse camping trip with Jordans entire family this year. We went straight from East Fort Rock to Crescent Lake. A two week camping spell. It was amazing and we could have stayed even longer. When we got there the mosquitoes were so terrible that we couldn't get out of the trailer in the evenings. Poor little Quade was eaten alive. He reacts really bad to mosquito bits and by day two or three he had festering bits and was covered head to toe. We dressed him so the only thing showing was his face and it still didn't help. He has mosquito bracelets on each leg, each arm, and around his neck, and covered in bug spray.

Jordan let Austyn use a real pocket knife for whittling. She was very excited and can't wait to get her own pocket knife.

Quade loves to help with projects. He was helping my Dad fill in a hole with sand. He is such a good worker and he is so good at thinking ahead.

The kids danced again at the festival. They really enjoy it. I love dressing them up in their outfits. They are so darn cute. Quade was determined to be a Viking for his costume, but when I asked about it they said No. He still enjoyed his traditional outfit.

Petersen family pictures that we took at Jordans parents house this summer. They turned out pretty good. I love the one of Jordan and Quade.

CRAB TRIP !!!!! Our most favorite camping trip of the year. I think I say that about all our camping trips though. But this one is the best. We were able to watch the eclipse while we were there. It was pretty fun to witness. And the kids were very excited about it. Since we were on the coast it was pretty foggy and quite a ways away from the totality zone, but non the less it was fun.

 Hiking the tide pools is so much fun with these guys.

 I thought these rocks were really neat.

And of course Quade can't play around water (or anywhere really) that he doesn't want to take his clothes off.

 This is how good of a trip it was. Sacked out before we even leave town.

So we had a fishing derby again this summer and it was nothing like last year. We barely got any bites and only caught 3 itty bitty catfish. Although the kids still had a ball, I was a little disappointed about no fish. It was really fun to watch the kids learning to cast and the patients that is required for fishing.

 First Day Of School!!!!!!! I can't believe I have a 1st grader and a Preschooler.

Oh and last but not least, our new little girl Andi. She is a 10 week old English Mastiff. Sweetest, most laid back puppy you've ever seen. At the end of July we lost our pup GEM. She got ran over and broke her back. We unfortunately had to put her down. It was so devastating for us. We were just getting ready for our two week camping trip when it happened. We were so excited for her to come with us. It was so hard to wrap our heads around her just being gone. So hard with her being a puppy. I thought I could wait longer or until KODA was gone before we got another puppy, but I couldn't take it any longer. KODA is now staying at my Grandmas house full time and I hated coming home to a home without a dog. It makes my heart so happy to be greeted by my dog. So we (I) had been researching what kind of dog would work best for our lifestyle and came up with Mastiff or Great Dane. I found both on Craigslist and texted Jordan, who was at work at the time, which one he would rather have. He responded and within 4 hours, we had ourselves our sweet little Andi. Jordan had know idea I was even looking for a puppy so I surprised him at work with her. SURPRISE!!!

She is so mellow she won't walk from the parking lot to the soccer field. I decided to dust off the stroller and load her up in it. She loves it. And at 25 pounds there is no way I can pack her that far. Wont be too long and she won't be able to fit into the stroller anymore. But by that time she will have gotten a bit more stamina to walk longer distances. We have had her for a week and an half and she has already gained 5 pounds. She will probably get to be 130 pounds or so. That is what her mother weighed at 3 years old. Her father weighed 170 pounds at only a year. She's my BIG baby. And I love her so much.

Quade is loving school. He only goes two days a week for half a day. He has started soccer again this year. He is on a big kid team this year and loves it. I put him in the Kindergarten age group so he would be more on his playing level. I haven't got to watch him practice yet because I'm coaching Austyn's team. But I'm super excited to see how he does. He is loving his dirt bike. He is getting better at shifting and using the break. Also he has started to use the trees in our field as a make shift track. Weaving in and out of the trees. He found another new past time recently thanks to my Dad, hew as introduced to a wrist rocket. You can always find him doing something 100% boy related. He thinks every rock, acorn, stick, etc. is a treasure and wants to keep it. He has taught himself to do front flips on the trampoline. And he is a master builder with Legos. He is my little buddy and he makes my heart so happy.

Jordan has begun his final study sprint for his promotional test in November. He studies every day, all day long and at work if time allows it. He is so dedicated to his job and advancing himself to where he wants to be. He also got the amazing opportunity to travel to Wisconsin and help design the next firetruck they will be receiving. He had a great time and loved being involved with something like that. It was an incredible honor to be chosen for that. He will continue to be on the team and design the other upcoming trucks and engines when they're ready. So it was like a successorship for that. Nothing else is new with him due to the fact that every spare moment he has is taken up with preparing for his promotional test. It will all be worth his dedication and hard work very soon. I'm so proud of him. 

Not much new with me. We are adjusting to being on school schedule pretty quickly. I do enjoy having a routine to follow. I am helping coach Austyns soccer team and loving it. I love watching the kids play sports. It's so much fun. I will continue to help at the school and sub whenever I can. But mostly I'm focusing on Andi and getting her socialized and trained. I'm enjoying her being an easy puppy. 

That's all for now. I left Austyn out of this post because her Birthday post is coming up in a few days and I wanted to save it all for her own post. Hope all is well.