great weekend at the farm...

wow, was the weather nice in southern oregon over the weekend. it was almost a little too hot on saturday, but i'm not complaining because before you now it we will be wishing for sunshine. :) sarah and dj were down from seattle as well, so it was a great weekend visiting with family and of course getting a few chores done.

picking up the irrigation line for winter...

evie spent pretty much all day outside, even when it was nap time! she wanted nothing to do with going inside, and she seemed to fall asleep in anything that was moving and made noise.

round 1 was the tractor...
separating the calfs from there mama's...which made for a weekend full of lots of mooing! they were also getting a little spray to help with the flies.

this steer coming out of the shoot is our dinner in a few months...yummy!

evie had a front row seat in the mule while we were doing the cows...notice bully in the background :)

hanging out in grandpa's shop after a swim in the creek. it was so hot on saturday that i took her overalls off and we headed to the creek with the dogs.

round 2, she fell asleep sitting up riding the 4-wheeler, so i found a shady shot and let her sleep...

since evie was taking a break everybody decided to take a break...we were actually watching dj dig stumps out with the backhoe, which i would have to say he was good at running a backhoe!

the backhoe stopped running, so evelyn woke up...i guess she likes the loud sound of the backhoe with no muffler! :)

this is a terrible picture, but its the only picture i got of dad and gale's new pup. her name is abby and she is a super good pooch. evie loved her, even when she knocked her over, she thought is was funny. and for some weired reason allie really liked her. normally allie is stuffy around other dogs, she is kind of a one dog show. but her and abby were best buds all weekend in fact i caught them sleeping together on the back door mat. maybe allie has softened up a bit now that she has had to deal with evelyn pestering her all the time. :)

a mouth full of cherry tomatoes...

she discovered her pockets over the weekend! in the background is the old pooch rex. we had rex back when i lived at home, so you do the math, he is really really old! :)

round 2, asleep yet again in the mule!

we always enjoy our visits to the ranch. we showed up thursday late afternoon and evie and i (brian had to work) didn't have to get in the truck until we went home on sunday. it is nice sometimes to just be and not feel like you need to go and do all the time. thanks again dad and gale for a great weekend!

this ones for the boys...

i know i have a few boy blog readers our there that i thought would appreciate this post :)

brian got a a 5x6 elk on friday with his bow...

brian has had a lot of fun this season being back in oregon and hunting with his friends on familiar ground. he and his hunting partner tyler have been doing a lot of biking in on the logging roads and camping out for the weekend in the wilderness. they bike in 10-15 miles to get away from all the people and to look for the "big one"! brian got this elk just before dark in the pouring rain and thunder. right before he shot him with his bow, the elk was laying in a muddy swamp that covered his whole body except his head and horns. this made the butcher process a little more messy than normal. tonight is the butcher party, so hopefully we will be done with the messy part soon.

this is a funny picture that tyler took of brian on one of there many biking/backpacking adventures in the dark! :)
these boys surprise me every year with the drive and effort they put into hunting. i guess its just the love to hunt and all the adventures that go along with it are a bonus! :)
and now we start deer season...

our little blowfish...

they take underwater pictures in evelyn's swim class, so here she is! i'm so impressed with how much she loves the water. she has been practising her kicking and bubble blowing nightly in the bathtub. :) we took advantage of the sunny weather on tuesday to enjoy our last swim outdoors. we got lucky there were only two other moms and kids there. it was almost a little weird having the whole outdoor swim park to ourselves. we also got signed up for our next session of swimming lessons. the lessons are indoors this time...we will sure miss those sunny days we got to spend in the outdoor pool.

zoo visit with cousins...

evelyn and i spent the weekend in portland while brian was out doing his hunting thing. :) it was a mixed bag of events; i had my wisdom tooth pulled on friday...ugh, and then zoo visit on satruday, and then off to longview to have an open house and spruce up the yard. it was a busy weekend, but it was nice to check off a few things on my list of to-do's that i have been putting off ...(tooth & longview trip) :)

the cutie cousins...

checking out the big alligator...

snack time...

riding the tiger...

we had a great time in p-town visiting with aunt lucy, mom, gwynn and payton. thank goodness mom and aunt lucy came to the zoo with me to keep track of the three little rascals. :) i just can't believe how big miss gwynn and payton are getting...payton was cracking me up, he kept saying evie, evie, evie, over and over again. i think he likes saying her name. on the way home from the zoo miss gwynn wanted to make sure we showed "tiffany" the pictures from the zoo! she is really into calling her mom and dad by their first names...what a sassy little thing she is!!! we are hoping to see them lots more this fall...we miss those crazy little tigers!

eugene half marthon!!!

we did it...the brownsville girls rocked the eugene marathon!

evelyn and i pre-race

it was a little chilly in the morning...perfect race weather!
that's me in the white waving (bottom left)...brian and evie were waving to me from the bridge :)
post race with my sweet pea...i fished in 1 hour and 55 min., my goal was to finish in under 2 hours, so i was thrilled with my time!

running mama's and kids...

i would have to say my first half-marathon experience was awesome. the weather was great, the course was scenic, and the treats at the finish line were worth the hard work. as you crossed the finish line you were handed chocolate and mimosas, you could also get water if you wanted it. :) we also got these really cute silver charms that have a picture of a runner on one side and "EWH 13.1" on the other side. (EWH=Eugene Womens Half)

i really enjoyed training for the half marathon and i'm looking forward to running more in the future. i think a half is the perfect distance to still enjoy running, a full just seems like a little much for my legs. :)

happy running to all my running friends out there!!!

ps-the cute new running outfit was courtesy of my awesome husband! it was waiting for me on my bed when i got home. (he had already left for his over night hunting/backpacking adventure!)

oregon state fair...

evelyn and i met my mom at the fair on friday. we got there right when it opened thinking we could beat the heat, but i think we still picked the hottest day of the week to go. :) miss evie enjoyed all the animals, watching the dock dogs, and the pretend circus show.

mama sow with her piglets...

this little one on top was the runt. i felt so bad for her, she was trying so hard to latch on, but just couldn't get it... poor baby :(

evelyn looking serious as she watched the piglets...
we even got to a watch a few 4-Hers' show their prize animals. this brought back some memories, i so remember washing my sheep and combing her all fluffy for showing. :) i hope evelyn gets to experience 4-H someday, i think its a good learning experience for kids and you even make a little money to save for college.
evie would clap and clap after they announced the winner :)

binoculars at the ranger station...mom, i see you!

thanks mom for braving the heat with us and taking the pictures.

(i dropped my camera with the zoom out last week and it quit working...ugh!)

cooking...

the fall weather we have had over the last week has been making me want to cook like crazy! it is even more fun now that i have a helper and tester! :)

making cookies...

testing them...yum yum!

making jam with aunt lucy...it is hunting season around our house, so that means i get to spend lots of time with my sisters and girlfriends while brian chases animals with horns around the mountains! :)

watching the banana bread cook...

mom, "i think its done!"

dress up...

aunt amanda got her this apron and she literally wore it around the house all morning with her crown around her neck! she even put some toys in the pocket of her apron. i think one must have slipped down into her pj's because when i went to change her diaper there was a wood animal in the leg of her pj's! :)

banana, yummy...actually i think she likes to smash them between her fingers more then eat them :)

all the cooking we are doing is also making us do a lot of eating...i guess we are storing up for winter early! :) i normally always wear an apron in the kitchen, so its funny that evie wants to wear one now, although i would have to say they work better then a bib!

i hope you all finding some fun things to cook this fall!