4th of July at the Nesbitt Ranch!

We made the trip down to Ola, Idaho for the Nesbitt family reunion. It's an eight hour trip for us with the last hour on a curvy gravel road. All the NON-DRIVERS in my family decided we should leave in the middle of the night so they could all sleep and we could arrive earlier in the day. Easy decision for them!! So, off we went at 2am... ...and actually is was the greatest four and a half hours of pure silence I can ever remember!!
I reallly enjoyed watching the sunrise! After only 3 or 4 wrong turns we made our way down into the beautiful valley that we so fondly remember from years past, and we were instantly transformed into cowboys! (or so we like to think) :) Grandma and Grandpa were there to greet us. We hadn't seen them in so long but after a few short minutes it was like no time had past at all!
The next day the 4th of July festivities commenced! Included: cattle drives, roping, calf branding, tagging, inoculations,and castrating! "I know! Now you REALLY feel that you missed out!"

We rode all around the area on horseback and 4-wheeler. People got to try things they hadn't ever done and go places they've waited their whole lives to go. It is a beautiful place that, at times, feels and looks like Heaven on Earth. To cool off from the blistering heat and wash the sweaty dirt off our bodies, there was the ever popular swimming hole that I just can't believe is still there! Nothing changes at the Ranch. When we are there we feel like we've stepped into another world. Many fond memories for me from spending time out there as a kid; now hoping to create some of those kinds of memories for my children.

We all went to Cannon Beach for the day. We left at 10-somthing and so we got there around noon. It was 52 degrees, windy, and overcast. Well, that's what the Oregon Coast is! So... we put on our coats and unloaded everything and set up camp. As soon as we dropped everything Alex was all, "okay, are we ready to go home?" and then he just started cracking up!! He said, "Why would anyone do this on purpose??" It was so funny, but kinda true.


Summer doesn't really like the cold beaches either so she was kind-of a party pooper. She napped in a rolled up blanket much of the time. She was skipping school to be there with us and she did say, "I think I would rather be at school." LOL!



But, as the day went on it got a little warmer and a little sunnier and despite Alex and Summer, the rest of us had a lot of fun. We flew our kite, BBQed hot dogs, fed the sea gulls...





Isn't that awesome?? They did this forever!

They also did a lot of ....

... RUNNING! Patches also loves to run on the beach. So then Alex gets this bright idea to sprint up this steep dune eight times for a workout. He MADE Summer do it. Nicole and I were willing participants. In fact Nicole did it 10 times. Summer and I did it 9 times and Alex never reached his number 8. He collapsed at the bottom and just layed there forever. Poor Alex. He is 41, you know. :(
By the time it was 5pm it was sunny and warm and everyone was having such a ball, that we just couldn't imagine making them leave. We stayed another hour or so and then packed up, stopped at the taffy store on the way out, stopped to eat at DQ, and headed home! All were exhausted as was the plan. And we created some more memories for our family!

Sledding on Mt. Hood

Alex had to go up sledding with the youth one Saturday, so I figured we would all go so we could spend time with him and have fun together. It was a long walk from the car to the hill so Eddie helped out carrying Charly.



Max had fun just sliding down the hill on his butt!

Charly didn't like it all that much, but she was a good sport. On the "sled ride" back to the car, she fell asleep in the sled. We carefully layed her, sled and all in the back of the car where she proceeded to sleep for over and hour!

It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a ball together!