30.7.08

joseph, oregon

It seemed that everywhere I turned, there stood another Tippett relative. It was great fun and Joseph is a delightful little town. Queen Christi and her entourage made the Saturday morning parade. Ryker's favorite entry was a string of radio flyer wagons protesting the town's failure to bring in a carnival this year. Beautiful views of the Blues could be seen from the rodeo, which was top notch. Uncle Wayne pulls his camp trailer with an 18 wheeler. Ah well...he's always been a little over the top. :-) We like camping!










wallowa lake, oregon

Wallowa Lake has a lot to offer. We especially enjoyed playing in the unbelievably cold water creeks that flow into the lake from surrounding mountains. Ryker and new found friends became extremely proficient at dam building. "Guys! Come see." He'd call. "We're averting water." Averting, divoiding, avoiding, diserting...whatever. He used them all and we knew what he meant. As apparent in the photos, the local deer are well fed. Very cool.













the stuff we're made of...

There she is, the USS New York, made in part with 50,000 pounds of steel from the World Trade Center. That's the stuff we're made of!

19.7.08

chief timothy - clarkston, wa

ryker had the time of his life on that tube! it was cousin taylor's first water sport experience and i think it was the highlight of her week in washington. many thanks to brian and eric for their patience and endurance. the boat drivers usually tire long before the kiddos in the water but these two hung in there. in ten short years (when eric is 60 and i'm 40), our kids will be the teenagers wrecking havoc at this park. looking forward to those days so long as the supervision proves more diligent than eric was in the days when ryan and i were dating and camping at chief tim. it's a good thing his charges were so responsible. :-)








daddy's girl...











The adoration is obvious...and mutual. "Dada?" Em asks, looking wistfully at the door. She has yet to say Mama. I can wait, I suppose.

silverwood theme and water park - spokane, wa

"I hate this ride! I hate this ride! I HATE this ride!" Ryker screams all the way down the Raging River. "Well...that was pretty fun." he exclaims shortly after disembarking. Next ride...same story. In fact, this is pretty much how every ride/slide went. Too bad Ryker's Mom forgot the camera. Ah well...we took a few pictures at the Hot Rod Cafe on the way home.







14.7.08

multnomah falls, or

rosalyn and i made a quick trip to portland, hiked multnomah falls and visited the gorgeous maryhill winery and amphitheater on the return trip. the falls are amazing! our five mile loop took us to five different falls. it was good of todd to loan me his wife for the duration. :-) we're so glad to have had all four texan's here for a full week. good times!