Summer Fun!

We spent last week at BBR~ our "official" vacation for the Summer of '08. It was a special treat to be there for an extended amount of time and to have our friends, the Finnemans, with us! Despite the recent developments at the Finneman house (read more here) there was NO LIMIT to the amount of fun we had! We played, biked, went swimming, feed the fish at the hatchery, had a picnic at Drake Park in Bend and the list goes on! The girls were in heaven with their buddies there...so much so that Mark and I both felt like we didn't really see them all week. (Don't worry...we were totally okay with that, a little distance was just what the doctor ordered!) The adults enjoyed watching the sunset each night on the back deck, made complete with cowboy hats! After reading parts of the book Heaven, by Randy Alcorn, I just can't stop thinking about how these natural wonders, like Central Oregon, give us a glimpse into what heaven will be like. So amazing! Speaking of books...I finished TWO! Dead Heat by Rosenberg...intense and exciting. And Dangerous Surrender by Kay Warren...intense, sad, happy and exciting. L & R watched the girls on Wednesday morning while Mark and I hiked Black Butte for our 9th anniversary. Not exactly "romantic" but it is kind of fitting. After the Finnemans left there was a day of sadness...we were all bummed. But by the next morning we had somewhat kicked out of it. We hit the pool in a BIG way. The girls have become such swimmers, it was hard to even get them out long enough to refuel and re-sunscreen. Lucy is like a deep sea diver...she's underwater so long it started to make Mark nervous about brain damage! She just loves to be submerged! Molly worked on her strokes and lap swimming. She also got to try her hand at fly fishing on the Metolius and even rock climbing! She's extreme...kind of like her daddy! Mark had a case of "fitness OCD"...biking, running, swimming, hiking. I even got into the groove and found that I really do enjoy swimming...maybe I wont drown during the AI Triathlon after all! Despite our overload of exercise we returned feeling flabby and full...yes, there was some MAJOR overindulging going on. I, myself, consumed probably a years worth of Trailmix in just 5 days! Yikes! But totally worth it! Thank you Finneman's for a wonderful vacation! It was a pleasure to be together!