September came and went. 

 First off Emily and Joshua drove up, I still can not believe she can just jump in the car and drive up here.  We went to do the usual school shopping and out to a movie.  The years have flown by, I am holding on to what I have left of them as teenagers.

 I decided we need to get to know our neighbors.  We have had the ones on each side of us over, but this time we invited them from way down the road.  Everyone of them said how much they have wanted to have an event to meet each other and were so happy we took it on.  We are anxious to continue meeting up, hopefully more than once a year.

 I took the little kids school shopping and bought some shirts for the California kids as well.  I didn't buy these shoes for them, their Mom did, but I thought this was such a cute photo.

 I met up with Maria and Alison.  Pretty amazing that it is almost 50 years since we met.  We don't see each other as often as we would like, but at least we are able to manage a get together every month or so.

 Carlos and his family were in Oregon for a visit.  He came from Costa Rica and was such a fun friend to our family when he was a CASS student.  Pretty sweet to see him as a husband and daddy now.

 John and I took a drive to Mt. Angel for the Oktoberfest.  We bought our family Christmas gift cards at the Glockenspiel Restaurant.  I think my Mom, especially will like it since it is German.  I am hoping that we can manage to use that card at the tulip festival time.

 I can't let a month go buy without at least one flower from the yard.

 The big event for the state was the Columbia Gorge being set on fire.  It started labor day weekend.  We noticed the smoke as our neighborhood BBQ started.  It began on the Eagle Creek Trail by Punchbowl Falls.  Some teenagers were shooting off fireworks and videoing it with their phones and now the whole gorge is messed up.  Acres and acres of trees and trails are ruined.  A few homes were lost, but thankfully, no human lives were lost.

 Sunrises were eerie and beautiful at the same time.

 The smoke was so bad here, we could barely see out across the canyon.  It was so smokey we made sure and kept the doors and windows shut.  It was terrible on the eyes and to breathe.

 And just as we thought it was going out, the firefighters set fires to backburn.  Here was a new fire that was set to try to control them.

 Finally, we had some rain and the skies were clear and bright and normal again!

 Sunrises were normal again.

 We had real clouds instead of smoke out there.

I really do like to see the clouds snaking along the river down below. 

 The sun is shifting back to the other side of Mt. Hood.  This morning, it rose just at the top of the mountain.  It made a really cool shadow as it rose.