Not so cute and cuddly

Out early one morning, we ran into these guys.  At first, I thought "So cool!  I always wanted to see monkeys in India!"  We snapped a few pics . . .

but then, the guy who's house it was started chasing them away. . .

So we followed them, because I was trying to get a close up of the little baby monkeys.

 
But see this daddy monkey?  He and his buddies really didn't like that . . .

5 or 6 cute little animals turned into raging psycho possessed monkeys chasing me down the road.  Luckily only one of them got to me.  I think the rest were scared off after my wild scream of insane fear for my life.

Yes, there was a hole in my shirt.  And yes, except for the PTSD, I am okay now.

Ready and waiting

Grandma's chickens are growing and ready for the warm sunshine . . .

Unfortunately, this is what our yard looked like yesterday.

Come on already, Spring!  We want warm weather!

The Crazy Rooster (and our love for Grandpa Jensen)

 My in laws have lots of animals - cows, horses, goats, chickens- and last year, they had a rooster.  And he was absolutely crazy.  Or mean might be a good word.  He was like some crazy attack guard dog, but not quite as smart.  Whenever the grandchildren went out, grandma would remind them to carry a stick in case the rooster decided to attack.  Yes, sad, but true.  And it wasn't even when it was provoked.  It would see people in the driveway and come all the way across the yard to peck and squawk at them.

So last spring great grandpa Jensen came to visit and, as he is the adventurous farmer type, he offered to take the rooster back home with him to Oregon.  In a box, in the car.  They made it home safe and the crazy old rooster acted much the same at Grandpa's farm as he had here.  But it became somewhat endearing, and because Grandpa lived alone, I think he liked having a "guard" to alert him when someone arrived.  Unfortunately, in the end, the rooster was too much like a dog and chased a car into the street and was killed.  Poor rooster, and poor Grandpa Jensen.  But such is the life of a farmer.

There are many stories we could share about Great Grandpa Jensen - about his life as a farmer, about hunting and fishing along the Owhyhee,  about how as a pilot he and grandma used to fly all over the world, about how they set a great example by putting the farm work on hold and going on a mission.  With almost 50 grandchildren and over 100 great grandchildren, they have left a great legacy for the Jensen family. 

We are so grateful that we got to see Grandpa just a few months ago and visit him on his farm in Oregon last August.  We will miss you, Grandpa, but we are so happy to have the plan of salvation and to know that you are home now with your wife and the others who have gone before you.  Thank you for your life and your love.

Darwin Ernest Jensen

Sept. 4, 1925 - Feb. 28, 2011

The end of a tradition?

So ever since Corbin was ONE, we have been going to this place called HEE HAWS every fall. It is your typical fall festival/pumpkin gathering type place and I have always thought it to be a fun family outing until . . . (a) for the second year in a row, I felt sorry for the penned up animals (and I don't even like animals that much) and (b) all of my kids were wheezing, hacking and having crappy allergies all night long after. So that night I am thinking - why would I take my poor asthmatic/allergic-to-everything kids to a place with hay and dust and animals? Who knows. But I will probably forget by next year and take them again anyway. And we did have a dang good time despite it all.

Into farm country

I am having a great dilemma trying to figure out how to post about our big family vacation, because (1) I have about a thousand pictures, (2) those pictures are probably mostly only cool to me, but (3) this is most likely the only record I will make of this trip so I feel like I cannot leave anything out.  And maybe other people (ie. my mom or sister) may actually be interested in every detail of our trip and who knows, maybe someone else will one day want to trek out to the Oregon coast via Washington and will say "Hey, what was it that you guys did?  Where did you stop?  What was the best things?   Etc, etc."  So I'm open for suggestions.  For now, I'll start from the beginning and you'll just get what you get.  If you want to see more pictures, I'm sure I will eventually post them on Facebook (not all 800, don't worry).

Our first stop after a seven hour drive (which I thought was going to be five hours) was in Eastern Oregon/Idaho to visit Russ' family.  We stayed with one of Russ' cousins and had a great time playing and visiting.  We also had the pleasure of attending the Malhuer County Fair, which unlike where we live, was actually about the animals.  Russ remembered going there as a kid (he grew up on a ranch there) and had fun reminiscing, and believe it or not, we actually ran into someone that remembered him (or his brother).  Best part:  Corbin riding the mechanical bull.  Yee-haw!

Another reason for our stay out in farm country was to visit Russ' grandpa.  He still lives in Nyssa, which is slightly bigger than the neighboring town of Adrian, where Russ lived.  The Jensens have been in that area for several generations now, so it is fun to see all of the history and hear the stories.  The boys loved visiting with Grandpa Jensen and exploring his little farm.  Russ is a farm boy at heart, so he loved being there as well and showing his boys a life that is so foreign to them.

Around the Farm . . .

The boys' favorite part ?  Playing with Grandpa's dog. (And no, Russ, that doesn't mean we should get one.)

Up Next:  Skamania and the beautiful Columbia River Gorge . . .

Bring a poncho!

If you want to sit close enough that you can see well and get good pictures, you either have to be prepared to get wet (uh, soaked) or you have to have a poncho. They sell them there for eight dollars, or you could bring your own which probably cost less than a dollar. We didn't have ponchos. I dont mind being wet, but I prefer not to have my cameras doused in water - which then means I had to sit way up high. Oh well. The boys on the other hand, had no problem getting completely soaked - part of the fun I suppose.

So here's the Sea World breakdown:
Corbin loved Journey to Atlantis - a roller coaster with a big splash at the end.
Cody loved most everything, and was totally entralled with all the shows.
Colton loved the tide pools, which he exhibited by throwing a screaming fit when we tried to take him away.
We all loved the Sea Lion and Otter Show the best.

All in all, awesome day. A good end to our trip.