Oregon

Our annual Oregon trip was awesome! I love Oregon in the summer and I love spending time with my family! We split the time in half - a week with my mom and a week with my dad. 

My grandma died in April and they were getting ready to put her house on the market so we paid it one last visit. It was weird to see if empty, but it still smelled like my grandma! I was very, very close to my grandma. The first 5 years of my life I lived right down the lane from her and once we moved away, she came up to Oregon or we went down to California to visit a couple times a year. When I left for BYU she was in SLC on a mission and I spent a lot of time with her my freshmen year. I even got to go with her on a few European trips. Throughout college and into my married years I spoke with her on the phone about once a week. When she moved to Oregon to be closer to her kids I would visit every time we were in Oregon. When she started going down hill it was rough! Luckily, I was able to FaceTime her only a few days before she died and she still knew who I was and who my kids were and I was able to tell her I loved her. She died Easter morning, which was very fitting. She loved her Savior and had one of the strongest testimonies I ever heard! Her funeral was perfect and I was able to sing with my mom and sisters. I have wonderful memories of my grandma and I can't wait to see her again!

Earlier this year my mom and Jim purchased a RV, or as Tyler calls it - a home van. He's been dying to go camping in the home van, so my mom reserved a campsite for the weekend and Tyler got to fulfill his dream. He was SO excited! The campground was only about 30 minutes away, but being Oregon you felt like you were in the middle of the forest and a beautiful forest at that! Seriously - death by nature beauty!

Hanging out at the campfire with grandma and being silly.

After taking a few pictures, we realized that the flash made the reflective strip on the chairs glow so Mark had the idea to make it into a light saber. 

We went on a few hikes during our camping trip. It's seriously Ferngully! Even though I grew up here, I forget how green everything is! And the smell! Awwww! That is what forest is supposed to smell like!

My Oregon daisy princess. She loved picking all the flowers. She had quite the collection by the end of the camping trip!

It rained for a while one of the days so we stayed in the home van. Clara liked to climb up in the front and pretend to drive. 

We also played games like Dino-monopoly (or Dino-onopoly as Tyler called it). Tyler LOOOOOOVED this game and by the end of the trip every one would take off running when Tyler got it out. We started volunteering each other to play in order to avoid being recruited ourselves. NO MORE DINO-MONOPOLY!! 

When we got home from the camping trip Katelyn, cousin Madi, and Melissa came to visit from Washington. We love Madi!

Mark wants to hit as many Oregon waterfalls as he can. This year we visited Wahclella Falls. It was a beautiful hike and waterfall! 

The trail followed a river/creek up to the waterfall.

At first we thought this was the waterfall....nope. Just a little bonus along the way.

Ginormous trees!

The real Wahclella Falls. Oregon perfection!

The hike was a loop. You took one way up to the falls and a different way back to the parking lot. On the way back we found a little cave.

We also found this wall where water was just dripping down the entire surface. Not just a stream, like a wall of water. It's hard to see in the picture. It was so refreshing after the hike up. It was like being in a nice cool sprinkle of rain. 

We also found this snake enjoying the sprinkle.

On the way home we had lunch at Burgerville. Best. shakes. ever. I want one right now! The food is so fresh and amazing! Tyler decided for the first time ever that he actually liked hamburgers after eating here. He kept saying, "This is so delicious!" The great part - in the kid's meals you get a packet of seeds instead of a toy. Oh Oregon - I love you!

For Mark's birthday, my mom and Jim got him a round of golf at this fancy shmancy golf course. Kyle was supposed to go with him, but couldn't get off work to come down, so I got to go. I spent most the time in the cart reading. Not a bad way to spend a morning.

Clara loves the Sophie dog!

The kids first ever sparklers. They aren't legal here, in Apple Valley. The only one who got burned? Me. 

The second half of our trip was with my dad and Sheila and all the sibs. My dad rented a house on the Deschutes River in central Oregon. I'm still trying to convince Mark we should move here. It's just perfect for Mark - outdoorsy, half desert, half forest. I mean what more could you ask for? He says maybe when we retire. Only 30 more years! This was the backyard. The house had a dock and we could jump in whenever we wanted. 

My dad also rented some kayaks. I didn't get any pictures because I was always in the water with no phone! But it was so fun! Heather and I went on a 10 mile kayaking trip and our little family did a nice 3 miler. We had so much fun playing in the water and spending time with my family. My other grandma was there and we got to play lots of games with her. So many good memories! 

GORGEOUS!

We spent the last couple days in Portland before we had to come back home. We had to go to Kruger's Farm before we left! While we were there blueberries and peaches were in season. So Yummy! We love Oregon!