davenjam: August 2008

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Mountain Biking

We went mountain biking on Thursday and stopped at one of the high points on the trail to check out the view of Corvallis below. It was spectacular riding and really close to our house - so we will be frequenting the extensive trails!

Bouldering

On Wednesday we went bouldering! We hadn't been climbing in a while so it felt really good to be back on rock.

Bouldering

Tea Shelf

Dave built Jamie a shelf for all of her teas!

Tea Shelf

Dave's Shelves

Dave built shelves for his shed. He was very happy to finally organize the shed!

Indie

This is our newest addition. Isn't she cute?

Baking a Blackberry Pie

Portland with Maura

After we dropped Rick and Lori off at the airport, we got to spend three days with Maura in Portland as we awaited Indie's arrival (the cat).

We went to the ridiculous Soapbox Derby, where people build their own cars and then race them down Mt. Tabor! It was awesome! Our favorite ones were the "Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner at the Table" Car and "Rock Band on Stage" Car. Moreover, we did a little bit of shopping, went to the Hawthorne Street Fair, a local brewhouse, and a cool vegetarian restaurant where you play Boccie ball while you wait for your food. We also got to see the campus of Lewis and Clark where Maura went to school and we picked a ton of blackberries on the side of the road!

August 16-18

Portland with Maura

The Coast - Day 3 and House Photos

Day three of the Oregon coast landed us in the sand dunes! It was a surreal experience. They went on forever and we ran and played on them for over an hour! We also saw a lighthouse up close.

At the end of the photo set are a few photos of our house.

Enjoy!

August 15

Oregon Coast - Day 3

Monday, August 25, 2008

The Coast - Day 2

Our second day on the coast we woke up to more fog. We drove into town in Newport and grabbed some breakfast. After spending some time in the little shops we decided to take a short drive down Hwy 101. Little did we know that the fog would lift and we would get sucked into the beauty of the coast! We saw big whales and the tiniest dog ever, gorgeous rugged coastal views, architecturally intriguing bridges, and ended up eating more seafood and spending the night in yet another coastal town. The beauty of spontaneity!

August 14

The Coast - Day 2

The Oregon Coast - Day 1

We made it to the coast! After a problem with the radiator in the car that delayed us a couple hours, we finally arrived in Newport. We picked a perfect day for the cool Oregon coast, as the valley was having record highs! Our motel had a private beach access trail that meandered through about 3/4 of mile worth of bizarre greenery that made you feel like you were parading through the jungle. When we actually got to the beach, the fog gave everything an eerie feel...We explored the tide pools and played on rocks before heading back up to our room.

That evening we went down to the Bay Front area and had supper at Mo's. After supper we walked along the boardwalk, explored the docks and a few shops before ending the evening at a Rogue bar where Dave was overwhelmed with his beer options!

August 13

The Coast - Day 1

A fully functional kitchen

On Wednesday morning we got up and decided to make Swedish pancakes since we had fresh blueberries and a fully functional kitchen! Mom taught Jamie how to make them. We had a slight radiator problem so we were delayed getting to the coast - but we eventually got there and it was beautiful!

August 13

A fully functional kitchen!

Our House

The big window in the forefront of the photo is our living room. The smaller window on the left side of the photo is our bedroom.

Making Progress!

Tuesday, August 12.

Making Progress

Fixin' and Hangin'

More photos of fixing things, hanging up pictures, and our reward for all our hard work: yummy dinner and microbrews!

Monday, August 11

Fixin' and Hangin'

The Cleaning and Organizing begins!

Sunday, August 10

Cleaning and Organizing

Unpacking

Here are a few photos of when unpacking started for real.
Saturday, August 9.

Unpacking!

Portland

After we arrived in Corvallis, saw our house, met our landlord and neighbors, unhooked the car from the car dolly, and finagled the big Penske truck into our driveway, we headed north to Portland to pick up Rick from the airport. Since we were in Portland anyway, we decided to spend the next day there and explore a little bit. We ended up at a tea shop.

Portland (picking up Dad)

When we got back to Corvallis on Friday night we did just a tiny bit of unpacking.

Unpacking

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Driving to Oregon

Dave, Jamie and Lori spent three days driving across Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon to get to Corvallis. We camped along the way and had marvelous scenery!

Driving to Oregon

Packing

We got really lucky and ended up having lots of help packing: Skip, DeDe, Soren, Collin, Will, Rick, and Lori all helped us throughout the day!

Thanks!!

Packing

Mortar and Pestle

Jessica gave Jamie a mortar and pestle! Hooray!

Kaiser Kids Family Reunion

This year's family reunion was held in St. Joseph, Missouri. We had a great time seeing everyone before we moved!

Kaiser Kids Family Reunion 2008

Florida Vacation

We made a trip down to Florida to spend a week with Dave's siblings, nieces, and nephews.

We had a great time hanging out, spending time at the beach and pool, playing poker, playing frisbee golf, getting massages, cooking dinners, and exploring Amelia Island!