Oktoberfest

Mount Angel Oktoberfest is this weekend.  Are  you going?  We'll be going on Saturday afternoon.  Polka Music, Chicken Dancing and Tasty food.  What more could you want?

Mount Angel Oktoberfest - Home

View from Mount Angel Abbey 2005

Reagan, Jody and Brea in the Conga line. 2003

Brea and Jody enjoying the musical stylings of Salzberger Echo. 2011.

Raevon enjoying the fun with a pal. 2011

9-11 Day of Service

Did you participate in the 9-11 Day of Service?

Mom, Brea and I purchased items for a supply drive our church was doing for a local Women's shelter.  Brea and Mom went to help organize, box and gift wrap the items on Saturday.  I was at a job fair. 

It's not too late to decide to volunteer. 

Hands On Greater Portland - A Great resource to find a Volunteer Opportunity that fits you

Also check out the Volunteering page on my other blog, www.PortlandFamilyFun.com to find lots of volunteer ideas.

Summer Party! The Next Adventure! August 25, 6pm

It's that time again!  The summer party is this Saturday night, August 25, at 6pm.

Join us for Bingo, Dinner and Movies by Moonlight!

What to Bring:

A Bingo Prize, something cheap, Candy Bar or Dollar Store item.

Something to Eat.  It's a Pot Luck!  Dessert, Main Dish, Salad ?  You decide!

We'll have drinks, utensils, plates, cups, etc.

Call to let us know you can come and what you might bring!

Don't miss the social event of the season!!!  ;-)

Mitchell Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD







The Mitchell Corn Palace is in Mitchell, SD.  It was 106 degrees when we
visited.  It's nice and air conditioned inside and has a huge gift shop, of course,
a movie theater where they show you a short movie about the famous palace
and a refreshing concession stand.

Yes, this building is covered in corn!  There are lots of corn murals inside as well.

They built this in 1892 to showcase their corn and get tourists to Mitchell.

120 years later, it's still working!

Each year they change the theme, this year, "Youth Activities". 
Maybe they are running out of ideas?

Check out the You Tube video all about it. 

Cornelius!

Badlands, Painted Canyon, Theodore Rosevelt National Park

The Badlands of North and South Dakota are amazing to see.  These photos are from Theodore Rosevelt National Park in North Dakota.  It looks like you are driving through completely flat land and then you drive around a corner and POW!  Photos don't do it justice.  Thank goodness we weren't driving through it at night, we never would have seen it.

The Big Float

Brea and Raevon spent their Sunday afternoon at Portland's Big Float.  Thousands of people got out their life jackets and floatation devices and floated across the Willamette River.  Our friends Kate, Mary and Dylan Darling, along with Becca and Leon also floated on the river. 

Check out this photo essay article from the Oregonian with a picture of Brea in it.  Second annual Big Float on the Willamette River in Portland (Photo Essay) | OregonLive.com

Big Man #3

Did I mention that we saw a third Muffler Man on the trip?  It's hard to tell, but this guy has a tire in his hand.  But it looks like a little toy!  He's on the sign for the Tire Factory store in Billings, MT.

Funny thing is, we were looking for Muffler Men, but I never looked up their locations, we just happened upon all three of these guys.  #1 and #2 were right off of the highways we were traveling, but this guy was on the outskirts of town in Billings and we never would have seen him if we weren't driving around in the middle of the night looking for an open gas station.