Labor Day

September 5, 2016

As much as I dislike starting school before Labor Day, there are a few advantages.  Both last year and this year I felt like Labor Day was more relaxed because we weren’t starting school the next day.  We were able to enjoy it without the stress of getting ready for school.  Not so bad.  This year we labored around the house in the morning, and then had fun in the afternoon.  We headed to Portland to hike a part of the Wildwood Trail with my family.

The Wildwood Trail is a long trail in Forest Park, but we only hiked a short section that led to the Witch’s Castle.   It was a beautiful day.  It’s so crazy that there is such a huge, forested park in the middle of Portland! Grace and I stopped to admire this tree that had several slugs on it.

I dared her to lick one, and she did it!!!

So gross!  She said her tongue felt funny aftewards, so the numbing must have worked!

We explored along the way.

The Witch’s Castle (also known as Stone Castle) isn’t really a castle.  It’s an old bathroom and ranger station that was built by the city in the 1950’s but was damaged in the Colombus Day storm in the 1960’s and abandoned. 

It said to be a witche’s castle because it was built on the same location as a cabin a man built in the 1880’s.  The short version of the story is that his daughter eloped with one of his workers, he killed the worker, and accused his wife of being bewitched and forcing him to commit the murder.

Kind of creepy, but cool!

The twins and I climbed up above the castle.  It was pretty steep which resulted in a few scared moments for the twins on the way back down.

After our short hike we drove to Pittock Mansion.  I love the view from up there!

Isaac and Grace REALLY wanted to go inside.  I promised them a visit some other time with the library pass. 

We realized how hungry we were when Tenley produced a bag of Pirate’s Booty and everybody attacked it!

We went back to our house for a pizza dinner, then we headed to Mike’s for ice cream cones. 

Now it really feels like summer is over.  Time to buckle down!

Labor Day Weekend

Our Labor Day weekend this year was definitely filled with labor.  On Saturday we cleaned our fence in preparation for staining it.  The poor fence was in terrible need of attention and we finally gave it some.  It was a hot day but we worked hard and got it done fairly quickly.  It was amazing how much better it looked after putting a little elbow grease to it!

Emma was extremely helpful that day and Isaac and Grace also got right to work. 

We had to call Isaac “Worker” all day, and he toted his tools with him everywhere he went.

That evening we went to a fun party.  We were able to relax and enjoy friends and even played a rousing game of tunnel tag!

We were back to work on Monday morning, this time staining the fence.

It didn’t go quite as well as the cleaning.  I had a small panic attack within the first hour.  I wasn’t sure if I liked the stain, we realized it was going to take a LONG time, I was worried that we should have just left it cleaned, it was very hot, and Isaac and Grace were NOT cooperating.  They stayed busy for a little while “painting” the house with water, but most of the time they were crying, fighting or begging for attention.

Poor Grace got sunscreen in her eye which didn’t help matters at all.

Thankfully Emma was a trooper.  She worked so hard that day and did a great job.  In fact, she was better at painting evenly and was more meticulous than we were!  Emma is such a good worker and she put a lot into making the fence look good.

As the morning progressed I settled down.  I decided I liked the stain and realized it would eventually get done.  Then, our friend Sean came by to help.  We all could have hugged him!  It was so nice of him to come help.  He brought Djeryd which gave Emma somebody to talk to.  Best of all he brought Anna who played with the twins and they were happy as clams until naptime.  We couldn’t have finished it without him!  Thank you Sean, you are a good friend!

We still have a few places to stain, but most of the fence is done and looks tons better than it did!

That evening we really got to relax and have a good time.  We went to the Gibb’s house for a hot dog roast and to play in the dirt pile.  We went a little early so Isaac could get some time on the big rigs.  Dave and Shannon know how much he likes construction vehicles and that he wants to be a worker when he grows up, so they indulged him a little.  First he and Emma got a ride on the dump truck.  Don’t let the look on his face fool you.  He was being shy and wouldn’t give Dave or the camera a smile, the stinker.  He talked about it for days afterward so I’m sure he was actually having a great time!

He perked up a little when he got to drive the backhoe with Shannon.

He was concentrating intently when he and Lee drove the excavator or “excabator” as Isaac says it.  They scooped and dumped dirt much to Isaac’s excitement.  Actually, I think Lee was just as excited! 

What an experience for Worker Isaac!  He loved it…even if he didn’t show it right away.  While Isaac was riding, Emma and Grace were also having fun.

After playing on the big rigs and eating dinner with friends, it was time for the famous dirt pile.  It took a little convincing for Isaac and Grace to go up, but once they did they had no problems getting dirty and playing with Emma and the other kids.  They got absolutely filthy and had a great time.

Love this picture of boys being boys!

Sliding down the dirt pile in a garbage can lid was a hit.

What a fun and dirty bunch of kids!

They were REALLY dirty.

After the dirt pile the kids got sprayed with the air compressor to get all the loose dirt off.  The kids just giggle and laugh, they love it!

The air compressor fun continued with the adults…

After the kids were “clean” they got ice cream cones and played some more while the adults ate and talked. 

It was such a nice night!  It was nice to relax after a busy day and it was also nice that school still wasn’t starting for another week.   

Thank you Gibb’s!  We love you and had a great time.  Finally, here’s my favorite picture of the night.  Cute kids!