October 7th - 30 Years

On October 7th we celebrated 30 years of marriage. This is a real accomplishment, but with out getting too sappy I can't think of anyone that I would have rather gone through all the ups and downs of life with. I think we have a true friendship that has endured the trials of everyday life. I thought you would all enjoy seeing how we looked 30 years ago; and although we look a little older (maybe a bit shell shocked) we are still a couple today. Laurits, thanks for 30 years of being by my side.

Motley Mill Creek Crew

We recently had the pleasure of hosting (from left to right) our son-in-law Ian and two of his friends Bobby and Bart for a weekend of extreme mountain biking at "Black Rock" just south of where we live. This is an area inside the National Forest - Coast Range that has been cultivated for some wild mountain bike rides. During the summer season the forest service even runs a truck to ferry riders to the top so they can get in more rides. I snapped this before photo before they left and had fully intended to take an after picture, but unfortunately they returned home to a minor crisis; no pump for the well which meant no showers. After a short amount of time the guys managed to pull off a "MacGyver" type feat where they were able to run water from the neighbors outside faucet to our house thus by-passing the well. Though it was dark, hence no after pictures, everyone was able to shower and we all ate a nice dinner. We look forward to hosting you all again. This time Ian take my camera so you can take photos and videos from the course.

Barn Improvements

So living in Oregon we seem to experience wet winters, and when we built our barn we failed to take into consideration the direction the wind would blow the rain.  This resulted in it becoming necessary to close all the big doors on the barn to keep the rain from soaking the aisle.  Hmmmmm why not put a porch on the barn so the door can be open?  That is exactly what we did.  We called our barn builder and told him what we wanted and asked him to come up with something that would look attractive as well as provide the functionality we wanted.  The result is awesome and we love the new look of the barn.

Here is a better picture of the bench. It is so relaxing to sit out in the barn and enjoy the crisp evenings. There is room for guests so come a "sit a spell" at the Osterud ranch!

Operation Chipmunk

So some of you know that I started my morning well intending to be at work on time, but oh know the woodland creatures saw to it that would change. I was about to make my lunch for work when I noticed that Boris the cat had caught a chipmunk who was not dead yet, but was on his back twitching. I was very unhappy about this, but I at first decided to let nature take its course (but oh no I could not leave it at that). I tried to ignore what was happening outside my patio door and make my lunch, when out of the corner of my eye I saw the chipmunk flip over and attempt to scurry away. Now it was time to make my move, so I race to the door to yell at the cat to drop the now recaptured critter. As I slid the door open wide the cat ran in with the chipmunk in his clutches and I am sure I yell something and he reacted by dropping the chipmunk. Oh great so now the chipmunk sees he is free and is racing around my kitchen climbing cabinets and I am running around trying to follow where he is going. Then the unthinkable….he finds the one and only hole in my kitchen and disappears inside. Oh crap!!!!!! So not knowing quite what to do I call my fearless neighbor who is an animal lover like me. I believe her first reaction was to laugh, but then she came over. We bravely opened cupboards but soon realized the little chipmunk was trapped between the sub-floor and the cabinets. I soon began dismantling the cabinets, but I did stop short of removing the counter top. We tried a yard stick to flush him out but he hung on in the corner. We even tried to get him to stick to the yardstick with duct tape, but that didn't work either. So Kathy suggested I go to work and she would go to the farm store and get a live-trap for chipmunks complete with bait. So long story longer…………… she set the trap and our little friend left his hiding spot and took the bait. Kathy took him down to the woods and he let loose some grateful squeaks as she let him loose. She did snap his picture before letting him go. I Love a Happy Ending  I owe Kathy big time, and for today I will a vow not to rescue any more woodland creatures….of course tomorrow is another day.

Be Afraid

So life lesson learned........do not leave your camera in your car and then tell your son who is borrowing your ride that you left the camera in the car. You never know what will show up in the camera's memory. I think this is a picture of Sam showing us his best "I am applying to Grad School" face. Either that or he is impersonating a gopher picking his nose; or is that thumbing his nose at Laurits the fearless Gopher hunter.
Well at least the camera came back with one picture worth keeping. He took a picture of my sweet grand-dog Gigi. Isn't she cute?

Fancy Enuff Bigtime AKA "Frosty"

A few weeks ago I got a new show horse. I had been keeping my eyes open for a horse that would be safe for me to ride and show and happened upon Frosty right in our backyard. He is very fun and I am excited to own him and show him in the next show season. Here are some pictures of him being shown with his former owner Noel Nelson. She has won several world titles with him over the last two years.

The first night that I went to see him I had a pretty decent ride. I think this is the first horse that I have ridden that I felt successful on the first ride. Here is video proof of that night.
Frosty and Babs' first ride

Big and Little

Okay sorry for the long hiatus. It has been crazy busy or maybe I have just been plain lazy but I will get back with the program. I blogged earlier about the Now and Then with the cousins getting together after eleven years. Well during that visit we got a chance to poke some fun at my son-in-law that was born at 6'4" and my nephew that hasn't reached his growth potential yet. The two struck up a bond and we thought a picture of the two together would be fun......so here it is.

Okay so if Willie stood on the hearth they got a bit closer to seeing eye to eye.

Happy Birthday Wuzzle

Twenty six years ago today we were blessed with a tiny baby girl named Laurie. Today she has grown into a beautiful, confident young women that we are very proud of. We gave her the nickname Wuzzle - after the Disney characters; since we were certain she was half ferret and half little girl. See as soon as you tucked her into bed at night - her little eyes would dart around and then the fun began. I am sure if you ask Sam he would tell you she got him in a ton of trouble by causing mischief after they were supposed to be asleep. :) Any way Happy Birthday Wuzzle.

Love Mom and Dad

Then and Now

What a difference a few years make. Back in March of 1997 my family traveled to Ohio to visit my sister and her family. This April we had many of the same cousins together when we all came together to celebrate my Mother's 82nd birthday. It was fun to try to recreate the scene, though I did not have the original at the time so no every one is in the same place.

I thought about having a contest to see who could name everyone, but I will try to name everyone though my memory has faded a bit :)
(From Left to Right back row - Tisha holding Sarah, Sam, Nik , Kathy - middle row - Noel, Laurie holding Hannah, Mathew, Christopher - front row Marie, Joshua)




Now - (From Left to Right back row - Mathew, Christopher, William, Sam, Joshua - Front row - Hannah, Marie, Kathy, Laurie Sarah)

Early Morning

Some days getting up early to feed the horses is drudgery, but in the spring and summer I love the amazing sunrises. This photo was taken a few weeks back. Now don't get me wrong most mornings it seems like I have just fallen into a deep sleep when the alarm goes off. I stumble through the dawn and out into the cool morning. What I love (on the days when it is not pitch black and raining - lets be real feeding the horses at 0'dark-thirty in the winter is just plain work) is the soft knicker coming from my equine friends as approach the barn. Sometimes after everyone is fed I just stand for a moment in my drive and savor the sights and sounds of the dawn.



FYI - Laurie said I needed a new post and the one I am wanting to write still needs a photo to be scanned to go with the post.....so this sappy one will have to do for now

Witness Protection Program

Most of you know I am nuts about my little Granddog Woody. Well his people (the same ones that put little dogs in clear plastic boxes) – see http://www.tomdeboard.com/wurdy - think they need to take him to South Carolina. As you can see Woody loves the farm dog life and is treated like royalty as he is carted around the farm.



That is why he must go into hiding.

First Attempt

In an effort to keep family and friends up to date on the “Aurora Gang” happenings, I have decided to join the Web Log age and create a “blog.”

I took this picture at the Swan Island Dahlia festival a few years ago, but thought I would include it in this post. The little bee and dahlia are just an indication of the beauty that surrounds us. I have a lot more pictures that will appear in future posts as well as more that I hope to take. I had to get something up though since Laurie linked it from her blog. :) So here we go!