Generations

When I was a kid, one of my favorite parts of summer vacation was the time I spent at my grandparents' house in California. It was Northern California, not too far from San Francisco, so I didn't come home with a fabulous tan or spend days lounging on the beach. But my there was a pool to swim in, bikes to ride, and a big yard where we played. Grandma cooked us wonderful meals and Grandpa told us funny stories.

When I was a teenager my grandparents sold their house and moved into a retirement home. Our visits grew shorter. Slowly they started to travel less and less. I had kids of my own and had less time to go see them. And then my Grandma got sick, which kept them from traveling at all.

After she died, things were very changed. None of us who knew her and loved her will ever be the same.

But the person most affected was obviously my Grandpa. I can't imagine what it must be like, losing the person who you love the most and who you have spent so much of life with. How do you get through something like that? When I look into his eyes now, I can see they are finally starting to shine again. But there is still a little empty space if you look deep.

This weekend I visited Grandpa. He hadn't seen Boo in years. He got to meet Q.P. and Scott's mom for the first time. And, while talking to Chloe and telling her a story he might have told me when I was her age...

I saw him laugh...

C(o)urses

When you asked your kid what they wanted to do on their summer vacation, what did they say? Mine (well, one of them) said, "More school, please!!"

Stinky is away at Evil Genius School this week... thanks to some extremely generous local folks. We got a little sneak peek at what college tuition is like in the 54F household, and without a nice scholarship from the University, support from the community, and a good painting gig this great experience would not have been possible. So from both of us... Thank You!!!

So Stinky is living in a dorm room for the next two weeks. We knew he would be sharing with another evil genius. Turns out his roomie traveled here all the way from South Korea! How cool is that? I wonder if he will teach Stinky to say "My mom is the greatest" in Korean? Heh... right.

Hoopy

It's not a really big secret that I am not a big fan of exercise.

This is not to say, I am not active. I enjoy getting outside for a nice long hike or a walk with friends. I like golfing and swimming too. What I find difficult is exercise programs.

Lately I have felt like I could stand to "firm up", if not drop a few pounds. So I have been walking several days a week with a group of friends. But I also wanted to add something a little more aerobic to my routine. You know, something to get my heart pumping and maybe help with some "core strength" while I was at it. But my knees just can't take step class, I find lap swimming to be monotonous, I'm not flexible enough for yoga, and I just don't like lifting weights. What to do?

Then I heard about hoop dancing. I found a class here in Bend and convinced Kate to come with me. I thought, hula hooping is something I can do! But I wondered what we would do during the 90-minute class.

We did a LOT! There was a fair amount of stretching and keeping loose. Of course, we spent most of the class keeping the hoop moving 'round as well. Then the teacher emphasized this was a hoop dance class. We were encouraged to move about, freestyle, as we became comfortable and it felt right. It was work to keep the hoop going, but as we went she also taught us some fun moves.

Like moving the hoop around your waist, as is "normal". Then spinning it up over your head with one hand. And spinning it back down to your waist with another.

Without letting the hoop stop spinning.

It was difficult. But very enjoyable! By the end of class I could keep that hoop going throughout the move. It didn't look quite as smooth and natural as when the teacher did it, but I felt like I made progress. Maybe someday I will be good enough to show the world. But for now I think I'll keep it in the studio.

Class was so much fun!! The music was fun and upbeat, and everyone seemed to be having fun. I think I had a goofy smile on my face pretty much the whole time. Yes, it would have been embarrassing to let people watch, but that was the beauty of this class. No one is really watching you because everyone else is concentrating on learning the moves at the same time! Also since we were all pretty much new to the hooping scene, the hoops banged to the floor fairly frequently so no one felt like they were any better or worse than anyone else.

I'm hooked on hooping. My next class is on Monday night. I am looking forward to learning the next fun move!

Want to give it a try? If you are in Bend check out Hoop Dazzle. Hope to see you there!

7-11

Sure, the Twilight Crit is tomorrow, and we have the Summerfest and Sisters Quilt Show to look forward to this weekend.

But let's face it... you know why mid-July is really the best time of the year. Admit it!

Free Slurpee Day is tomorrow! (Cuz it's 7-11, geddit?) Don't forget to run the kids down to your closest store and get them a free 7.11 oz cup-o-summer. And if you have been living under a rock and are a Slurpee n00b, be sure to learn how to pour one before you make a big mess (or waste valuable dome space).

Which flavor is your favorite?

Bounce!!

Are your kids bouncing off the walls?

Then take your kids to Bouncing off the Wall this summer. You too can experience results like this:

Splash

I didn't go wakeboarding this weekend. Don't get me wrong... I tried. But through a nasty combination of age and total lack of athleticism I never quite made it fully out of the water and vertical.

Anyways... it was fun to try something new. And it was a blast to hang out at the lake, ride on the new boat, and soak up some sun. Our kids were elsewhere so we got to play with the nephews for a change. They showed me their tree fort, helped me with word search puzzles, took me on walks, and taught me how to play "Aggravation". They loved playing with Divot, taking her out to swim, and throwing a football for her to chase into the water. On the lake we watched them wakeboard, while others waterskiied and wake surfed. Scott tried the wake surfing too, and was up on his first try. It looked like fun but I was worn out from all my previous efforts with the wakeboard. (Not really, but it sounds good right?)

Balloonatic

Kent Couch is going to try again!

This morning I received the following note:

Okay so we need a little buzz... This is really exciting! Kent Couch is taking off Saturday [July 5th] at 6:00 from the Stop and Go Mini-Mart on 27th and 20. We will hopefully be posting a few post from the chase crew thanks to the folks at the wireless source.

So, if you have ever been interested in seeing our local cluster balloonist in action go down to the Stop & Go tomorrow morning. Last July he made it all the way to La Grande, though his chair was only found and returned last month. This time around he has a full featured website, including interactive trip tracking. I wonder how far he will fly?

Good luck, Kent!

Meant

I've meant to blog about several things lately, but I haven't. If I had found the time to post you might have enjoyed reading about...

...My trip to Ignite Portland 3. Kate and I had a fun time. Afterwards we went to dessert at Rimsky's with Ana's mommy and daddy. But hey, at least you can look at my photos from the event.

...Eating dinner at the new Flatbread Community Oven in the Old Mill District. While the gelato was worth going back for, the pizza was a little "meh!" Oh well...

...Boo's ballet recital. The one that lasted three hours, in a non-air conditioned auditorium. That also featured tap dancers. Which proves that I love Boo. A LOT!

...Hiking the McKenzie Trail to Tamolitch Pool. With Divot and a friend. To see a waterfall that happens once in a lifetime. It was worth the drive.

...Eating Chicken & Waffles in Downtown Bend. But they were a little too classy for my taste. I bet I know who can do better. (And I'll let you know as soon I hear whether they give it a twirl!)

...Going to a Bend Elks baseball game with Occidental Girl and her family. RHPB bought OC a sno-cone which quite possibly made him a new best friend, but might also have made her head spin around from the sugar rush. Oops!

...Our family trip to da beach. It was windy but still fun. We hiked, played in the sand, and found geocaches. Oh yeah, and I got older while we were there too.

...How sore I was after walking (at 6:30 in the morning) with Chubby Mommy and Speedy Kate.

Sorry folks, I meant to do better. Where the heck is this summer going, and would someone please hit the pause button?!