Booren Family Reunion 2007
Tuesday, June 19th
I woke up early and worked from home today so we could get to Silver Falls right at check-in time. The drive in took only 40 minutes or so, which was nice because our borrowed car (we lent our van to Meg's oldest brother, whose family of 7 flew in from Virginia, and are driving Meg's Dad's Camry) was literally packed to the roof.
Wednesday, June 20th
We woke up around 7:30 a.m. and ate cereal in our cabin. I spent the much of the morning playing (and teaching) baseball with most of the boys which, surprisingly, Aaron said was his favorite part of the trip.
The main event for the day was playing on a bunch of ultra-huge inflatable play equipment that Charlotte's older brother owns for a business venture, and he brought a 40-foot slide, a bouncing castle, and an obstacle course, which we set up in the South Falls day use area. I think just about everyone--including Grandma and Grandpa--took a plunge down the slide. Aaron and Edward preferred splashing around in Silver Creek, though, so I got a good sun tan keeping them safe.
Thursday, June 21st
The older boys/men played a round of golf at Evergreen in Mt. Angel. The last time I was here, the course was completely covered in water (March '99). But it was in great condition today, and the weather was sunny and the perfect temperature. I played every hole poorly, and it was probably one of my worst rounds of golf ever. I hit line drives and ground balls every time; I'd like to think this is because I was taught so well in baseball (i.e., fly balls and pop-ups are bad). I still enjoy playing, however, and no matter how silly it seems, 2.5 hours of walking and hauling around 20 pounds of iron makes for a decent workout.
Friday, June 22nd
We left our campsite around 10:00 a.m. and walked half a mile to the trailhead at South Falls. Our goal was to hike the 4 miles to the North Falls parking lot, and then shuttle everyone back to South Falls. A number of people expressed interest in hiking an additional 3 miles back to South Falls along the Rim Trail (thus no need for a shuttle or driving at all), but more on that later.
We started out in a large group, but differing abilities, and the number of kids you were in charge of made staying together impossible. With Edward on my back and Aaron on my side, we were at the rear of the hiking party for most of the venture. Aaron has done more difficult hikes before, but he struggled with this one. I don't know if his asthma was hurting him (camp fire smoke really makes it hard for him to breathe), but he struggled to finish. I gave him small treats along the way to encourage him to finish, and said something like, "You can hike two more miles after eating those Skittles." His reply: "If I eat this booger, I can hike like 70 more miles!"
Edward did very well sitting in the backpack for nearly four hours, with only a break at lunch (at Double Falls). Emmalee was kind enough to hike with the boys and me, and she was actually able to motivate Aaron to pick up and his pace and finish the hike strongly. Once we all made it to the North Falls parking lot, Emmalee and I (with Edward-the-monkey on my back still) hiked to upper North Falls, thinking that's where everyone was. But alas, the three of us were the only ones who got to experience one of the best hikes in the park. When we returned to the parking lot again, almost everyone else had finished the hike and were napping in the cars. Emmalee was the only person who wanted to keep hiking, so her dad kindly agreed to accompany her and I (I gave the monkey back to his mother) on the final three miles of the trail. It only took us about an hour or so, and everyone was surprised to see us back so quickly.
Saturday, June 23rd
The boys slept horribly the night before, so we all woke up late--but we just packed up and were on our way back to Salem within an hour. After taking much needed showers and reading up on all the news that I'd missed over the week, we were back in the car again driving to Sherwood to take family pictures.
It was crazy trying to fit all 342 of us into the picture, and Edward wanted nothing to do with it. Fortunately, we were the last family staged in the picture, so we didn't have to control him for too long. Edward just can't sit still for more than a few seconds, unless he is watching a movie (his current favorite, I think, is 101 Dalmatians). Afterwards, we hit the Booren stead for one final BBQ--then it was home to sleep in our own beds.
Overall Reactions
Grandma made a chart that the kids could place stickers upon completing a task. Some of the tasks included picking up garbage, helping their parents, or brushing their teeth. At one point Meg's sister Sara asked Aaron for a hug, and he said, "Why? It doesn't count." Meaning he wouldn't get a sticker for it, so why should he?
I woke up early and worked from home today so we could get to Silver Falls right at check-in time. The drive in took only 40 minutes or so, which was nice because our borrowed car (we lent our van to Meg's oldest brother, whose family of 7 flew in from Virginia, and are driving Meg's Dad's Camry) was literally packed to the roof.
Wednesday, June 20th
We woke up around 7:30 a.m. and ate cereal in our cabin. I spent the much of the morning playing (and teaching) baseball with most of the boys which, surprisingly, Aaron said was his favorite part of the trip.
The main event for the day was playing on a bunch of ultra-huge inflatable play equipment that Charlotte's older brother owns for a business venture, and he brought a 40-foot slide, a bouncing castle, and an obstacle course, which we set up in the South Falls day use area. I think just about everyone--including Grandma and Grandpa--took a plunge down the slide. Aaron and Edward preferred splashing around in Silver Creek, though, so I got a good sun tan keeping them safe.
Thursday, June 21st
The older boys/men played a round of golf at Evergreen in Mt. Angel. The last time I was here, the course was completely covered in water (March '99). But it was in great condition today, and the weather was sunny and the perfect temperature. I played every hole poorly, and it was probably one of my worst rounds of golf ever. I hit line drives and ground balls every time; I'd like to think this is because I was taught so well in baseball (i.e., fly balls and pop-ups are bad). I still enjoy playing, however, and no matter how silly it seems, 2.5 hours of walking and hauling around 20 pounds of iron makes for a decent workout.
Friday, June 22nd
We left our campsite around 10:00 a.m. and walked half a mile to the trailhead at South Falls. Our goal was to hike the 4 miles to the North Falls parking lot, and then shuttle everyone back to South Falls. A number of people expressed interest in hiking an additional 3 miles back to South Falls along the Rim Trail (thus no need for a shuttle or driving at all), but more on that later.
We started out in a large group, but differing abilities, and the number of kids you were in charge of made staying together impossible. With Edward on my back and Aaron on my side, we were at the rear of the hiking party for most of the venture. Aaron has done more difficult hikes before, but he struggled with this one. I don't know if his asthma was hurting him (camp fire smoke really makes it hard for him to breathe), but he struggled to finish. I gave him small treats along the way to encourage him to finish, and said something like, "You can hike two more miles after eating those Skittles." His reply: "If I eat this booger, I can hike like 70 more miles!"
Edward did very well sitting in the backpack for nearly four hours, with only a break at lunch (at Double Falls). Emmalee was kind enough to hike with the boys and me, and she was actually able to motivate Aaron to pick up and his pace and finish the hike strongly. Once we all made it to the North Falls parking lot, Emmalee and I (with Edward-the-monkey on my back still) hiked to upper North Falls, thinking that's where everyone was. But alas, the three of us were the only ones who got to experience one of the best hikes in the park. When we returned to the parking lot again, almost everyone else had finished the hike and were napping in the cars. Emmalee was the only person who wanted to keep hiking, so her dad kindly agreed to accompany her and I (I gave the monkey back to his mother) on the final three miles of the trail. It only took us about an hour or so, and everyone was surprised to see us back so quickly.
Saturday, June 23rd
The boys slept horribly the night before, so we all woke up late--but we just packed up and were on our way back to Salem within an hour. After taking much needed showers and reading up on all the news that I'd missed over the week, we were back in the car again driving to Sherwood to take family pictures.
It was crazy trying to fit all 342 of us into the picture, and Edward wanted nothing to do with it. Fortunately, we were the last family staged in the picture, so we didn't have to control him for too long. Edward just can't sit still for more than a few seconds, unless he is watching a movie (his current favorite, I think, is 101 Dalmatians). Afterwards, we hit the Booren stead for one final BBQ--then it was home to sleep in our own beds.
Overall Reactions
Grandma made a chart that the kids could place stickers upon completing a task. Some of the tasks included picking up garbage, helping their parents, or brushing their teeth. At one point Meg's sister Sara asked Aaron for a hug, and he said, "Why? It doesn't count." Meaning he wouldn't get a sticker for it, so why should he?
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