Amy just finished a 4 day Cheer-leading/Dance Camp and she came home with a trophy for Best Overall Cheerleader. She had a lot of fun and even managed to become a role model for some of the younger girls. There were 4 or 5 girls that seemed to be clustered around her hanging on her every word. As we drove home, I reminded her of when she was younger and looked up to older girls - now she is in the position to influence those around her!

WOW, she is really growing up!

Mt St Helens

Last week we drove up into Washington and met an old GE walking buddy of Dan's, Rick Sheldon. Dan and Rick used to walk every day at lunchtime. When we were back in NY in June they met up at their usual spot and walked again. This time Rick was the one doing the traveling. He and his wife had just completed an exciting Alaskan Cruise and while his wife was busy with other interests Rick met up with us at Mt. St. Helens.

It has been 30 years since the blast and Rick remembers brushing dust from the volcano off his car in NY. We were all impressed by the Visitor Center, movie presentation & exhibits. What is left of the mountain is also pretty awesome. We had a spectacular day to enjoy all the sites. After about 6 hours together Rick rejoined his wife in Tacoma and we drove back to Portland to spend the night.

After breakfast at IKEA - yum! - we did some shopping then raspberry/blueberry/cherry picking at Olson's Farm just outside Salem right off the highway & then home to Bend. It was a great 2 day adventure.

Cross-Country Drive/Fly June 18 - July 3, 2010

We left early on a Friday morning and drove through Washington, northern Idaho and finally settled in Butte, MT, 700 miles from home on our first day of driving. The next day we drove 650 miles and found ourselves in Bismarck, ND. It didn't take quite as long since the speed limit is 75 mph through Big Sky and Prairie country. After a relatively short drive, we stayed in Minnesota visiting Dan's family for several days.

The fly part of the trip was from Minneapolis to Albany where we spent several days with Nancy's family. On the way back to Minneapolis, our 6 a.m. flight left Albany 55 minutes late and we had only 5 minutes (in theory) to make a connection in Detroit. What fun it was to run from Gate 67 to Gate 15 carrying luggage. But we made it! It felt really good to get back to our car, which was waiting for us in Minneapolis.

The third leg of the trip took us through, SD, WY, and Idaho before we got back to Oregon. Along the way we did "touristy" stuff in western South Dakota, which is very nice. We found Rapid City to be almost as nice as Bend. Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone had all kinds of tourists, but they were both fun to see. However, Bend really looked good when we got there; but maybe not quite as good as it did two and a half years ago when we drove across the country to move here.

The photos in the slide show are essentially in chronological order and capture what I wrote above.

I know we have just returned from our cross country summer adventure but I'm just too lazy to try to sort thru 250+ photos today so I will just put that off for another day.
Here is a photo of Amy with her best friends - they have really become quite a foursome this year and they are an interesting mix. Gina was born in Korea and although her Dad was born & raised in the states he works in Seoul while Gina, her Mom (a native Korean) and brother live in Bend. Miriam was born in Germany - her Dad is German and her Mom was living & working in Germany when they met, married and had Miriam. Alanna was born in Hawaii. Her Mom is of Mexican heritage, grew up in So Cal and her Dad, of Indonesian & Dutch heritage. He grew up in Guilderland NY. Amy & Alanna were email buddies prior to us moving to Bend. They all have a great time together and we enjoy them when they spend time in our home.

We made it home in time for Bend's annual 4th of July Pet Parade. Bella did her best to be patriotic!