Visit with our Michigan family

My sister's family lives in Michigan in our former hometown.  There have been many summers where we do not see one another at all.  This summer we have the blessed opportunity to see one another twice--once in Oregon and once in Michigan.

Her family did a whirlwind tour of California and the Pacific Northwest.  They started in LA and are working their way to Mount Saint Helens in Washington staying at air bed and breakfasts viewing sights along the way.  All their adventures could compile into a blog of their own.

I am grateful we could be the Oregon leg of their journey.  We were able to do some fun outings with them in and around the Willamette Valley plus give them much needed down time.  When they mentioned the idea of coming in June, I warned them about the "June gloom."  We can get cool, gray, rainy weather in June making us question when summer is going to begin.  This week has been the opposite extreme.  We have extreme heat and temperatures climbing into the 100's.  I am grateful for access to a pool and central air conditioning.

We met up with them on Friday afternoon and did the Mary's Peak Summit Hike.  There were still many wildflowers in full bloom.  It was much cooler up on the peak than it was in Salem.  It's the highest point in the coastal range.  On a clear day you can see most of the Cascade mountain peaks and the ocean.

We went to a pizza restaurant afterwards in Corvallis.  Afterwards we went back home and had flourless chocolate torte (my favorite dessert my husband makes!) with raspberries in celebration of my sisters' birthday!  It was the first time I have been with her on her birthday in a very long time.

Yesterday we fought the 100 degree temperatures by cooling off in a pool near our house.  This is the fourth summer we have purchased a summer membership to this private pool and the first year we have the membership all summer.  Even though we do not get much extreme heat (this week is an exception) our whole family loves the pool.  I personally find peace and relaxation in or around water.  It has been a good investment for our family and it is even more fun to take extended family and friends along.

Rob has always been good at diving and has been teaching our kids to dive each summer.  Our oldest is pretty good at it.  This is something I never fully mastered and still struggle to spring off the board.  

Last night we took my sister's family to the World Beat Festival in downtown Salem.  It is a celebration of multiple cultures through art, food, dance, and kids activities.  We had friends performing dances from the islands of Samoa and Tahiti.  We enjoyed watching them dance.   We all got food from a variety of countries and enjoyed doing some art of our own.

This afternoon half of our crew is hiking at Silver Falls State Park while the other half (myself included) is seeking refuge in the air conditioned house, resting, or preparing for a new week.  Tomorrow morning my sister's family is leaving to go white water rafting and then climb Mount Saint Helens.  They will depart back home to Michigan mid week.  My oldest and I are leaving for the Yakima Valley area of Washington for a week of middle school camp.  The youngest two are attending VBS at our own church.  The husband will begin another week of sabbatical.  Part of that will include our garage sale which will hopefully rid us of all the day care items in the garage.  We will all go our separate ways, but I am thankful we could spend a weekend together.