This weekend on Saturday Papa came in after being in the northwest for work and we went to the Oregon Airshow. It was really cool with lots of jets and stunt planes capped off by the Blue Angels. Amazing.
Thanks Papa!
Happy 4th of July from the Donaldson Crew!
We went downtown to the Bend Pet Parade this morning followed by a pancake breakfast in the park. Tonight we will have friends over for desserts and will watch fireworks in the park. This holiday is our favorite!
With today off for the long weekend, we drove up to the Cascades with no particular target in mind. As we drove by Devils lake there was a nice area by the water that was available so we stopped. Water was very cold as it drains right off the mountain but the kids had fun in the kayaks and catching frogs along the shore. The pictures don't do it justice but the lake almost glows green due to the mineral content in the water.
I took the Older Boys on a hike up Tumalo Mountain this morning. A good starter hike in terms of distance and difficulty but with amazing views of Mt Bachelor on the hike up. Then at the top you get treated to views of the Sisters mountains and Broken top.
Kelly and Abbie went down to California this weekend for Erin's baby shower. Thursday was also the last day of school, so I took Friday off and we did a boys camping trip to East Lake in Newberry Crater. We stayed at Cinder Hill Campground on the east side of East Lake. The weather was beautiful and warm during the day (around 70) for this time of year. Evenings were still cold for sleeping though so staying warm in the sleeping bag was important!
Here is some shots our campsite after setup, the beach as well as cooking hot dogs over the fire for dinner.
Friday evening after dinner we did a canoe ride over to east lake lodge for some ice cream and then back to warm by the fire.
Saturday we tried fishing but no luck. PJ was not super patient so we didn't get a lot of time to try (note - the picture of him lying in the boat throwing a slight tantrum). Also on Saturday we did a short hike, daddy cooked a turkey zucchini bake in the Dutch oven for dinner, and camping would not be complete without s'mores for desert at least one night. Last of all - the boys received their 'journey to manhood' gifts which I present annually to them starting at age 6. Noah received a pocket knife this year (turning 8) and Hunter received an antique spyglass (turned 10)
Sunday morning we packed up, and on the way out we stopped in for a short walk to see Paulina Falls before heading home. One of the may cool things to see at Newberry Crater.
For Kevin's birthday, we went up to Walton Lake for the day with our friend Tina and her 3 kids. Walton Lake is in the Ochoco Mountains east of Bend. This small, pretty lake sits about 4000 ft and is surrounded by Ponderosa pine and green meadows. We brought up the canoe with two kids kayaks that we got for this summer.... which they love! We tried a little fishing and got to witness an amazing display by a bald eagle flying over the lake looking for its dinner and even doing a mid-air fight with an osprey.
