Shakespeare!!!

Ashland is famous for it's Shakespeare festival. One of the best things about this trip was that we got tickets for one of the plays and were joined by my Uncle Jeff, his wife Gail, and their kids Rebecca and Robbie. We had a good time in Ashland and saw the Comedy of Errors. We were a little suspicious of this one since we knew in advance that the setting was changed to the old west and that it was done as a musical. Surprisingly, it turned out to be totally enjoyable.

The Farm!!

After cosmopolitan Ashland, we made the last stretch of drive to the rustic farm.

There was a lot of relaxing done, but we also had many chances for adventuring. We took a long walk to Tony and Jeannie's house up the hill and introduced Jack to a horse.

We also finally got to meet Dad and Molly's new dog Charlie. He is a very well behaved Golden Labrador who would chase balls until he keeled over if he could. Jack especially loved to throw the ball for him. It was probably frustrating for Charlie since Jack could only throw the ball about 2 feet, but they seemed to both enjoy it.

We had some great meals, and it was extra fun with Jeff and his terrific family.

Canoeing!!

Since we had a little more time than usual this trip, we finally made it canoeing. It was Finn, Robbie, Dad, and I exploring the wilds of Lake Dorena. Luckily Robbie is (almost) an Eagle Scout, so we managed to survive the adventure.

Saturday Market!!

A great thing about Eugene is their Saturday Market that takes place during the warmer months. It is a real flashback to earlier (better) days, with musicians, jugglers, and various freaks enjoying the festivities. Here is a picture of some freaks that we found on the grass. Notice the salamander perched on the small freak's head! Also, note the crazy yoga happening in the background! It's a great scene (and I wish I had taken more pictures!)

Farm Fest!!!

One of the great highlights of our Oregon trips is known as "Farm Fest". This is a yearly gathering of friends, both old and new, to eat good food, enjoy each other's company, camp out, and (especially for me) to play music! I think that this was the 12th annual one, and it is always one of the most eagerly anticipated parts of our year. Although we were missing a few important faces this year, Farm Fest still didn't disappoint. There were kids running around, tents sprouting up, and delicious food being eaten. And of course there was music!! Unsurprisingly, there was much folk music - lots of Dave Carter this year - but there was also a rousing Wild Thing, and even a very spirited Down By the Bay from Finn! One of the best parts though is when people play their own songs, and there are some very talented song writers and performers in this group.

Fred (shown here in his Sunday finery) is one of the real stars of Farm Fest. It seems like he knows every song ever written, and has added a few great ones himself. He had a beautiful new guitar, and one of my favorite things to do is to play along while he strums and sings.

A great part of this year's farm fest was my Uncle Jeff playing the banjo & singing -pretty well actually! He had written some good songs about monkeys, and had also brought the words and chords for the Leonard Cohen song Halleluja. The sing-along with that was one of the highlights of the whole trip.

We were also happy to see Em's cousin Jocelyn and her 3 kids. All of the kids running around and roasting marshmallows really adds to the fun of the night.

La Jolla Weekend

We had a great time last weekend in La Jolla (San Diego) with Grandpa Hank. He is actually the kid's great grandpa & I'm so glad that they're getting to know him. We went down to the beach near the sea lions (strangely absent that day) and as usual, Finn was scared of the waves, but all of the sudden, his latent ocean genes kicked in & he decided to try the water.

Ten minutes later, he was soaked & having a great time in the (small) waves!!

Here he is with his mamma - trying in vain to keep her pants dry.

Anyway, the next day he begged to go back to the beach, so we went to the La Jolla Shores, which is about as perfect as a beach can be for kids before they can swim. We were so happy that grandpa came with us as well, and it was all we could do to get Finn out of the water at the end of the day.

Here's the family with grandpa apres-swim. Notice that we didn't even bring swimming trunks for Finn, but we'll know better next time!

Not to forget about Jack - he has developed a great fondness for yogurt.

4th of July

Finn and I spent Fourth of July at Lacy Park in San Marino. Unfortunately, Em didn't make it becuause Jack is still a little young for all of the hoopla, but it was still fun. They had a Dixieland band, and glow sticks for sale, and we had a great time with Josh & Adrienne & Lorelei. They also had the brightest, loudest fireworks ever! Finn was a little nervous at first, but he's a brave guy & finally got into it.

Finn's B-Day!!

We celebrated Finn's 5th birthday on Saturday (even though his actual birthday isn't until the 11th). We went to one of the many kids' play areas that are springing up all over Los Angeles (Amy's Playground in South Pasadena), and it was fun for the kids and easy for us!