Roloff Farm - 2nd Visit - 10/24/08

Friday was a great day! I have had it planned for a couple of weeks and was looking forward to it.
I was planning to take my daughter and 2 of her college friends to Roloff Farms, The Cheesecake Factory and the NW Women's Show. I knew it was going to be a really long day but felt that it would be filled with laughter, lots of pictures and some good food.


The plan was we would leave the house early so that we could get to Roloff Farm by 10 when the gates opened. I wasn't sure what traffic to the farm would be like and thankfully we got there about 20 minutes before the gates opened. Surprisingly, we weren't the first ones at the gate! There were 3 cars in front of us. Wow!
We got out of the car and took a few pictures. The man at the gate even offered to take our picture so I could be in it too. Thank You!!

After we parked we went to get our tickets for the Town tour. The girls were excited as none of them had ever been there before. When we were waiting in line I noticed that the bike on the zip line had a new addition - a large pumpkin with sunglasses on it. I said hello to Karen, the lady who did 1 of the tours I took 2 weeks ago. She said she remembered me and was glad that I came back. I introduced my DD (darling daughter) and her 2 friends. She is so nice. A good representation of the people who work at the farm.

While we were waiting for the tractor to fill up the Roloff's dog Rocky came to our little seating area and got some love from the girls and the other people sitting with us. He is such a sweet dog and the girls just loved him. He stayed with us until we got to the "Town" then off he went in search of squirrels.

After the tour we walked around the pumpkin patch. I noticed that there were several guy around the trebuchet, then I noticed that Amy was talking with them. But I was more interested in the trebuchet and what they were doing with it. Then one guy was climbing it and clipping something onto the top of it. As I continued to watch I heard and saw the trebuchet move. The men working with the trebuchet were just seeing if the electrical was working. I heard one man say that they didn't want to keep moving it as people on the field might think they were going to launch pumpkins.


As I was walking away I saw Amy walking up the gravel patch near the tour lines. I greeted her and asked if she could pause for a real quick picture, she was kind and did stop. Thanks Amy!! She said she had to rush, she was going to pick up her son from school. I thanked her and told her she made my day. I told her that we were going to the NW Women's Show and asked her if she wanted to join us. She said she'd love to but she had to stick around the farm and work. But it sure sounded fun. I wish she couldhave joined us. It would have been so much more fun with her with us.



The girls loved having their pictures taken in front of the wagon and on the sofa in the gift barn. We paid for our purchases and started heading to the car when Karen asked if we wanted to take pictures with Amy. "Of Course!!!" Karen wanted me/us to get that done after Amy took pictures with this nice group of men from South Carolina. They did their pictures and 1 of the guys called his wife and asked Amy to say hi to her. She was kind enough and did it. You could tell that the wife was really surprised.

Finally it was our turn!! Karen took a really great picture for us. Thanks alot Karen. That was wonderful and the girls and I are really thrilled to have had that chance.
We will be back next year.

To see more of the shots I took check out my album - Roloff Farm - 2nd Visit

Next was lunch at the Cheesecake Factory - so, so yummy. And I hope that waiter calls DD. LOL

We had a great time at the Women's Show and the girls want to go again next year.

My Blinded By The Light - Night

About 3 months ago I was checking out the local casinos concerts that I would really like to see. I was thrilled when I saw that Foreigner was coming to Chinook Winds. They were doing a 2 night sow. I chose Saturday night instead of Friday so I could be more relaxed and not have to come directly from work.

I remember listening to them after I graduated high school. I love their music. Many a day I would crank up the stereo rockin' to the sounds of Foreigner, Boston, Chicago, Queen, Steve Miller and more. Driving in the car with the windows down in the summer was the best! I could sing out loud and not bother anyone with my off key, skipped word singing.

I was glad when I ordered my ticket. Knowing I would be sitting on the end of an aisle. Hoping that I would be able to get some good pictures. But, knowing all along, that the day or two before I went to the concert I would have to check with the casino if cameras would be allowed.

I had the day planned. I would leave town about 2, head to Lincoln City to the outlet mall, look for new shoes. (Love those white Reeboks) and check out the cost of a new lens for the Canon digi cam. Go to the casino, gamble a bit, have dinner, gamble and then the concert.

Not wanting to spend a lot on gambling I took out a $5 bill and put it into a machine. Thankfully the machine was kind. I would go up, then go down, then back up a bit again. At a point I was up $30. Yeah!!!!

Dinner was delicious. I got there just before it got crowed and you would have to wait a long time to get your food. Plenty of choices.

With the concert starting at 8pm the doors would open at 7. I headed downstairs looked at the choices of shirts and CD's for sale. I have really never been a person to purchase stuff at the few concerts I have attended. But I did splurge and get a t-shirt and CD. But the catch on the CD purchase was you also got a raffle ticket for the drawing at the end of the night for a signed guitar. OK - I honestly knew the chances of my winning were slim I did it anyway.

After I got my shirt and CD I went to the car to change shirts, wanted to wear the new Foreigner shirt at the concert, and leave the CD; didn't want it to get lost or broken. When I came back they were letting out the VIP people who got to have a meet & greet with the band. I got to chat with this really nice couple who showed me their signed CD. I really liked them. Bid goodbye to them when the doors opened.

I found my seat, a bit further back from the stage than I had originally thought. Bummer, I might have a hard time taking good pictures. The nice lady usher and I chatted while I waited for the concert to start. I noticed the stage had a beautiful guitar set up center stage. Took out the camera to take a shot of it and the usherette said that cameras weren't allowed. The band said that only cell phone cameras would be allowed. She told me I could check it out with the head security guy. His answer was the same.

After the concert started I took the camera out and tried taking pictures. Thankfully no security telling me or anyone else to put the cameras away. YEAH!!!! I enjoyed watching the band sing, dance and flip their hair. I especially enjoyed it when lead singer Kelly Hansen jumped off the stage and onto the railing 1 row down from me, walked and danced on the table or railing.

As the concert was drawing to a close I went up closer to the stage to get some better shots. Hoping that I would be able to get some sort of souvenir from the concert. I almost had my hand on a drumstick. Rats I am too short. But I did get 2 guitar picks!!! Yippee

I got home downloaded the shots I took - can you believe it, over 250 pics and 3 videos.

I had such an awesome time.

Now to wait until this Friday (10/24) when DD and her 2 friends and go to Roloff Farms, Cheesecake Factory and the NW Women's show. It will be soooo fun and another day of photo ops.

If you want to see more of my shots from the concert ...http://good-times.webshots.com/album/568167032PZvPld

Hope you enjoy them.

My Pumpkin Patch Trip

Well - October is here. I was thankful for this 4 day weekend. Time to refocus myself. Ahhhhh I can feel those brain cells relaxing. I wanted to something fun on Friday so I decided I was going to go off to Roloff Farms. See how long it takes to get there for when DD and I go to the NW Women's show we can stop there first.

For those of you who don't know - the Roloff's have their own show on the TLC network called "Little People Big World". It shows the family of 6, where 3 of the members have 2 types of dwarfism and how they cope on their 34 acre farm in Hillsboro. They open their farm up during pumpkin season. Many people from all over come and visit the farm during October.

They offer 2 types of tours; the Town Tour & Scenic Tour, have lots of pumpkins ready to take home, a few exotic animals, and lots of stuff for sale.

It was a bright chilly day. When I arrived it looked like it was just beginning to get busy. As I walked through the parking lot I spotted one of the farms "mules" (an all terrain vehicle) with an older gentleman on the passenger side. (Of course I had my camera with me) I thought it might be Matt's father so I took a picture. I immediately went and got tickets for the two tours. I decided to do the town tour first. Waiting is not always my best trait. Especially when I do things on my own. So - I waited for about 40 minutes. The farm was getting busy enough that they had to get another tractor/wagon started. It was a fun tour. The best part was the 10 minute stop at Western Town and being greeted by Matt's parents - Ron & Peg! Our tour guide was great! This wasn't her normal job but she did wonderful. She even told us that Matt was on the farm doing an interview. She asked if we wanted her to call and ask him to stop by and say hi. Yeah - we did!!

We got to have pics taken with Ron & Peg. As we boarding the tractor/wagon Matt Roloff and the interviewer, cameraman and another guy named Dustin showed up. Matt talked with us and we all took pics of him in his mule.

Back at the waiting area for the next tour. Ahh - more waiting. Just under an hour! The tour was interesting. Parts of the farm you wouldn't normally be able to see. Views were great of the distant mountain range and of the lower part of the farm.

After the tour I walked around the pumpkin patch taking pics. I checked on the animals and walked through the gift shop area. I did buy myself a t-shirt. But decided to wait to get my pumpkin until DD and I go together. As I was walking back to the car I saw three guys from the camera crew hanging out, I chatted with them for a bit. They were real nice and asked me questions about how I liked the tours. I told them I liked it but on the scenic tour Matt should think about trimming the trees fo a better view of the mountains, so you don't get random branches if your pics. They thought it was a great idea. All in all it was a great way to spend the day.

Hope you enjoy the shots.
Me with Ron & Peg Roloff

Matt in his Mule

Matt being filmed

Producer guy - Dustin

One of my favs of the day