The last days of summer

We spent the last days of our summer break in La Grande.

The weather was gorgeous...85 during the day and cooler at night.

We took the kids to the Cove Warm Springs Pool.

The pool is heated geothermally...and it's oh so pleasant!

Ryan and J both had fun jumping off of the diving board. Ryan started on the platform,

then moved up a stair. Before we left, he jumped from the second to the top platform.

Ryan and Emmalee's cousin

Getting braver!

All tired out!

The next day, Bob, Greg and Theresa took the kids to

play mini-put at Riverside Park in La Grande.

This is a nice little course...very nicely landscaped and the kids love it.

Emma got a hole-in-one on the last hole.

That almost balanced out her continual cheating on the other holes

(she likes to move her ball if it's not in just the right spot).

Grandma with the kids

Cousins

This is a bit out of order, but one evening, the kids

raced each other down the sidewalk on their scooters.

So while everyone else was either playing mini-put or picking huckleberries,

my sister-in-law Holli and I drove out to Richland, OR. She was

raised there and hadn't been back for a couple of years. I'd never been, so we went on a quick roadtrip. It's beautiful out there...very few people, lots of wild animals (we saw a golden eagle

and a few deer) and cows and horses. Miles as far as the eye can see of sage brush.

It makes me appreciate so much all that we have, and the struggles faced by those many

years ago to reach this part of the nation.

Some may think I'm strange, but this is my dream home

(with updated wiring and plumbing).

At the cemetary in Richland...

I don't know how old the town of Richland is. We ate at one of the two local restaurants, and

the owner told us that his ditch water rights are dated '77 (that's 1877), and there

are those that date before that.

One of the very old (and unoccupied) houses along the way.

Can you imagine the history in this house?

These old vehicles are located just off of the exit from I-84. We spotted them on the way to Richland and stopped on the way back. I loved how they were all lined up, up against the backdrop of the hills, like they were ready but had nowhere to go.

On Saturday, Theresa, Holli and I stayed in town and went to the Farmer's Market (forgot my camera!). Meanwhile, Bob, Greg and Walt took the kids to Morgan Lake for some fishing.

Morgan Lake is just 5 miles out of La Grande. They didn't catch anything (might have more to do with their attention span than the number of fish currently residing in the lake), but they

had a great time.

Bob said that Emma would cast, wait a few seconds and then get quite

irritated that nothing was on her hook.

I don't see her spending a lot of quality time fishing

in her lifetime.

It's kinda hard to see in this photo...

...but I'm so glad that I wasn't there!

Grandpa

A little wildlife on the way back down the hill.

~~~

Now we're back home...getting ready for school!