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Happy 12th Birthday Violet!
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Fourth of July at Cory and Arianne’s
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Stars at Vernonia Lake
Ever since I saw the Milky Way on a camping trip in 2015, I’ve been hooked on photographing our galaxy center each summer.
I found a blog post that included a download with a chart when the Milky Way would be visible in my area and started planning when I could see it again.
Cannon Beach was my first choice, but as the day arrived, the weather forecast showed clouds. So I used a combination of Dark Sky Finder, Google Earth, and Google Maps to find a new location. The chart showed that the Milky Way would be south and I also wanted to find an interesting foreground.
L.L. Stub Stewart State Park has been a good location in the past, but the campgrounds are closed to the public after dusk. I explored further north and found Vernonia Lake, which didn’t appear to have a gate in their parking lot.
It turned out to be a great spot and I managed to snap several shots before a patrol officer parked nearby to suggest that my time was up.
Originally, it was just for a week or two. Maybe a month. Or a few months. But I returned to the office 15 months after Oregon closed down because of the pandemic. Not wearing a mask for the first time was abnormally normal and normally abnormal.
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Saddle Mountain Hike
We asked our realtor where his favorite hike was, and he named Saddle Mountain. Then our friend Leah mentioned she was going to climb Saddle Mountain the coming weekend, we joined her for the ascent.
Saddle Mountain is a difficult hike up about 1,600 feet in elevation, often with trails of loose rocks and steep paths. We arrived around 7:40am after driving up 7 miles from Highway 26. At the top, we were at 3,290 feet in elevation. We could see several mountaintops and marveled over the clouds below.
At first, I don’t think I’d ever want to do this hike again because the top was so windy so the reward wasn’t as satisfying as say, a waterfall. However, after seeing some other photos taken from the summit, perhaps I could be convinced to do it again so I could photograph a sea of clouds passing by.
On Pointe’s performance for Sleeping Beauty was delayed, like many events last year, due to the coronavirus. Thankfully, the pandemic is getting closer to a new normal, and they were able to showcase their hard work this weekend.
Jenni and the kids all attend On Pointe School of Ballet and performed in Sleeping Beauty.
- Jenni played a Lady in Waiting
- Kadie and Violet played the Flowers
- Bruce played the Wolf
See the photos below for brief recap of the story.
Aurora is brought to the king and queen and sleeps. 
The fairies bless the child. 
The fairy who wasn’t invited is angry. 
And curses the sleeping baby. 
The fairies cast a sleeping adjustment to the curse. 
Aurora is grown up and celebrating her birthday. Jenni is a lady in waiting. 
The ladies in waiting hitting a pose at the end of their routine. 
Aurora being tempted to the spindle. 
Aurora’s finger is pricked by the spindle. 
Aurora falls asleep as foretold by the curse. 
The fairy who cast the curse celebrates the activation of her spell. 
Kadie and Violet are flowers. 
Bruce is a wolf with the red riding hoods. 
Bruce’s jumps have grown leaps and bounds the past two years. 
The fairies leading the prince to the castle with the sleeping Aurora. 
The prince is enamored by the sleeping beauty. 
Encore!
See all of the photos from the performance.
And here’s a brief video highlight of the sections Jenni and the kids performed in.
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Happy Birthday Gerbils!
It’s embarrassing that we only have two blog posts about our gerbils. And the only other one was when we first got them from the store. They have been an adorable addition to our family and we love spoiling them.
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Hayden’s 2nd Year
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Adelman Peony Gardens
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A Duo of Dales
We hosted our first sleepover since the beginning of the pandemic with our neighbors this weekend. Our kids wasted no time making up the moments they’ve missed.
We visited Rivendale at the Jenkins Estate, but on the way there, Annabelle highlighted that she enjoyed Hazeldale Elementary School’s playground. So after a brief trip down memory lane at Rivendale, we jumped back into the party wagon and headed off to Hazeldale.
I’m so grateful that playgrounds are moving away from sawdust and using turf. I’ve heard from our homeowner’s association that it’s cheaper to maintain and no more slivers in hands and knees.