Day 2 - Dufur Adventures!

We arrived after dark.  Dwight, Chad (Dwight's brother - for those who don't know) and a couple of his 11 wonderful helpers emptied our trailer, set up our tent, found some comfy bed mats, and got the trailer set up as sleeping quarters for Dwight and I and Vienna.  It was quite cozy and comfortable - albeit FREEZING! :-)  All things considered, we fared quite well under the bright moon and crisp temperatures and found everything covered in frost the next morning.  Ahhhh .... I CAN be a pioneer. :-)

Chad, in his exuberant spontaneity, took several of the children on an early morning run in the Dalles. Everyone put on the NEW Bend Soap t-shirts (soon to be available for purchase) and ran their little legs off!  Nothing like an impromptu 5k to start off the day!

The sun came out and the day turned out to be BEAUTIFUL -- warm and picturesque!!  The blossoms were out and as I was capturing God's beauty, a hummingbird decided he wanted to be photographed as well. :-)  Jenise says these blossoms stay for only about 4 days - so the timing of our visit was impeccable.

Time to prep for the party!  In a busy, but amazingly orderly Jenise fashion, jobs were assigned and prep done by 11am for the noon party.  The menu:  Soup and salad - 4 salads, that is.  Complete with homemade ranch dressing and Garlic Pesto Cheese bread for a side.  Mmmmm....

Uncle Dwight got babysitting duty of all 7 of our children, as well as some of C&J's.  He ROCKS!  Lunch, naps, changing diapers, preserving lives ... And what else do you suppose they did?? 

  Why ... go snake-hunting, of course! 

I'm told they found 4 snakes!  You good little hunters!  The dead-eyes in the group killed 3, but left the last for re-population purposes. :-) 

And yes, that is my little girl with a snake!  It was bound to happen, with her wild Daddy and 6 older brothers.  Fortunately, it's dead -- though I wouldn't plan on it for next time.

And another highlight ... the ROPE SWING! Swinging out far over the hillside, these guys had a blast ... and an adrenaline rush.

After the rest of our delightful time, Karaline's fabulous party, a bunch of cleanup, and a BBQ dinner, we journeyed on to our next stop ... the COAST!  It was hard to leave, being that it's one of our FAVORITE places to be (mostly because of the people!). But, one cannot outstay one's welcome ... and we had another adventure ahead of us.