Hiking the Falls

It's another of our date weekends. We decided to embark on summer hikes and this was our first! We drove out to Silver Falls State Park, about 25 miles from Salem. The weather was picture perfect: blue sky, sunshine, and temps in the low 70's. We couldn't have asked for a better day!

These are the South Falls; you can actually walk behind them. Mind you, it's a little damp and misty but what a view! The roar of the water and coolness were such a treat. If you look closely, you can see people walking behind the falls.

On our drive in, we saw this field of red blooms. It was quite the sight! Not sure what the flowers were but it was so pretty.
Here's a close-up - anyone know the flower?

We then hiked to the lower South Falls, which are smaller in size (only a 93 fool fall!) but still majestic. Greg is looking mighty fine here!
The view at the entrance/exit of the falls. It's such a pretty area; if I weren't so partial to the ocean, I'd live here!

Here we are on the return from the falls; the entire hike around the sets of falls (there are 10) takes you for a hike of 8 miles. We are looking forward to doing the entire loop soon!

Of course, when it was all done, we had to stop at Greg's favorite ice cream shop! It was quite refreshing!
Can you guess: his or hers? We really are enjoying these weekends! It's so much fun to spend this time together and it's great fun to plan the weekends! Not sure what's in store for June....that's Greg's month.....stay tuned!

Remembering the Sacrifices

Memorial Day is a time for remembering the sacrifices those who chose to serve to defend our freedom and the liberty as we know it. Here's a tribute those men in my life who have so freely given of themselves. I love you all! Thank you for your sevice. It will be a reminder always to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so I can be grateful for the freedoms I have.
1961: Dad in the Air Force. He spent 27 years with this service before retiring. Thanks, Dad! Love you!

Greg: 1968 He chose to enlist in the Army and was sent to Vietnam. He served with his dad and brother all in the same year's span (1968-1969). I'm not sure how his mom coped with all of them being gone at the same time. Thank you, Greg, for being willing to serve and protect. I love you!

I never thought I'd see either of my sons in the service, but Ryan decided to join the Army under the Medical Corp. His graduation from medical school was quite the ceremony. He received his captain bars and it was very moving. One of the coolest parts was Dad wore his Air Force uniform (he bought a new one just for Ryan's graduation) and helped pin his bars on, along with Aimee. Thank you, Ryan for being so willing to serve. This is a difficult time in our country with the war in Iraq and I am so proud of you! Love you lots, son!

Thank you so very much to all our servicemen and women. I pray that you are protected and watched over as you fight to keep our country safe and free. And to those who have lost family members while they fighting the good fight, my prayers are with you on this Memorial Day. Thank you and God bless you!

Caly: May 1996 - May 2009

It's so hard to write about a beloved pet who has left this world and gone on to a special place. But we wanted to remember this special dog as we first fell in love with her at 7 weeks! Beth and Bryan had a Golden Retriever, named Autumn, before and loved this breed. We didn't know much about them but Caly won our hearts! It was a standing comment whenever we saw her that we were going to "steal her away" from Beth and Bryan! She truly was a very special dog and we will miss her terribly! Caly, you had the best owners in the whole world and they, through you, have taught us how to love in a wonderful, new way! We know you have a very special place in heaven!

Caly is taking herself for a walk around the Bowden homestead! She's a spry 7 week old!

Dinner anyone? Where's the beef? (8 weeks)
June 2003: Caly came to visit Rusty and they had the best time! These dogs were the best of friends. We laughed at their antics of play! The chewed up toy in Rusty's mouth was a gift from Caly - he still has that mangled toy!

October 2003: She loved being outside and in the grass. It was where she was happiest! We will always remember saying good-bye as she laid in the yard. We will miss you Caly.

Team Pelican

Mother's Day....a day to be spoiled and pampered....and since kids were scattered about doing various other activities....Beth, Mom and I had Team Pelican to provide the pampering!
The Team: Sous Chef Greg and Master/Head Chef Bryan busy preparing breakfast..

Master Chef Bryan: preparing the main course and directing the menu preparations. He came up with the secret menu and deligated tasks to.......

Sous Chef Greg....in charge of the potato and cheese frittata.......

The final four dishes: Creme Broulee French Toast, Potato and Cheese Frittata, Fresh Fruit Medley, and Vegetarian and Pork Bacon.....
And the judges......Culinary Queen of Bread Beth, Amazing Chef Ann, and Marvelous Taster Margaret.....the breakfast scored a perfect 10! Thanks, Team Pelican, for making our Mother's Day Breakfast and time together so special!

Funky Ladders and other things.....

It was a gardening day and I have most of the garden planted. I decided to put in funky tomato ladders - some are spiral and others are triangular! We'll see how these work! Pretty weird!

The early crops are up and quite happy! It's fun to see it all grow! The onions are by far the best in the garden at this point...we'll start the harvest of the early ones in the next few weeks. Yum!
The finches finally discovered their food....it took several days but only a few hours of pecking to devour the tasty morsels! Lots of fun to watch!

This lilac is a tribute to our family name: Fiala Remembrance. It bloomed for the first time this year after two years in a pot. It only had three clumps of flowers and they were very fragrant. I am really enjoying the spring flowers.