Trip to Oregon - Part 2

After our beach adventures we went to a local splash pad that I like (Wilsonville splash pad at Murase Plaza Park).  They have a fun playground there too.  We had a picnic lunch on the grass there and that's when the trouble started.  There were a lot of bees at the park.  They were waspy things hanging around the picnic pavilion freaking all our kids out.  We moved to the grass but they followed us.  I guess our kids aren't that bee savvy 'cause there was a lot of screaming about the bees.  We played at the relatively bee free playground for a while then went to the water feature/splash pad.  There is a lot of clover growing nearby the water and there were lots of bees there.  The kids were pretty freaked out by the bees.  They played in the water a little until we had to leave but walking too and from the car again involved lots of bee screaming.  So I think I need to show my kids how to act around bees. No one got stung by the way.  We drove from their up to my sister's new house in Vancouver, WA.  We took the Canby ferry across the river.  Here we are on the ferry.

All the cousins playing.  They played together along time before they started with the video games.  They had a lot of fun.

Here is Ruth at my sister's having fun with a game they have

Emma thinks our nephew Gideon is her special friend.  He is about 1 year older than her.  I'm not sure he feels the same but he tolerates her at least.  She helped him pick up fallen apples from the yard.

They played Frisbee golf while the other kids played video games and the adults sat on the patio talking.  It was a very nice evening.  My sister and brother in law invited the kids to spend the night and they were very excited about that.  Thanks Ruth and Dana for a fun time!!

We picked them up the next morning and stopped at Ikea on the way home to sit on couches.  We left our old living room couches behind.  Scott had had them since before we were married and they were starting to show wear after so many moved and so many kids.  So we're in the market for a new couch.  We liked this one at Ikea.

The kids had fun exploring other things there too

Hooray for Ikea!

After Ikea we went to Scott's school, University of Portland.

It was fun walking around and seeing some of the places Scott hung out.

Some has changed.

That night Scott and I went to dinner and then to see The Phantom of the Opera in Portland.  I have never seen it before but listened to the soundtrack a lot as a kid trying to piece the plot together.  And I've seen the movie that came out a few years ago.  Scott was unfamiliar with it but we both really enjoyed it.  We listened to the music in the car a lot over the next few days.

The next day we explored Westmoreland Park.  I have never been there but its a great old park with a newish nature playground that the kids enjoyed.  Logs to climb on.

There was a big sand and water area that the kids liked too

Emma was fine until she spotted some bees.

Grant with a waterway and bridge he helped build

We walked on the boardwalk through the wetlands at the park

Looking at a stream through the park and playing Pooh Sticks.

Checking out the ducks

We met up with Ma2 and Pa2 for Hawaiian Shave Ice

Very tasty!

Grant and Pa2 sort of matching

On Saturday we got to see the annual town parade in Scott's hometown.  It's part of their town festival.  The kids got lots of candy and had a great time!

Here they are checking out their loot

It was a busy week but also fun and relaxing

Scott got to get together with some of his high school friends later on too.  

And before we knew it our weekend was over.  We drove back to Utah in one long day.

Trip to Oregon - Part 1

Last week we took a quick vacation to Oregon.  It was the new house tour.  We drive from Lehi to Boise the first day and stayed with Scott's sister in the Boise area and saw their new house.  They have lived there a year but we haven't seen it yet, so that was fun.   We had a great time visiting with them but I forgot to take any pictures.  :(. The next day we drove from Boise to Hermiston, OR and stopped to visit my brother, Will and his family.  They also are in a new house - but have been there about six months.  We had fun visiting with them.  Here are all the cousins together.  Top row: Anna, Whitney, Rachel, Megan, Matthew and baby Hannah.  Bottom row: Grant, John, Emma and Adam.  It was fun to see them.

We continued on into the Portland area and stayed with Scott's parents.  Here we are getting ice cream and milkshakes one day.  I love the berry milkshakes they have in Oregon in the summer.

We celebrated Ma2's birthday.  Anna insisted on baking something for the occasion and Ma2 helped her make a pan of brownies.

The next day we drove to Tillamook to see the new cheese factory building.  It was SO CROWDED!!  This was at lunch time and I highly recommend going later (or earlier) in the day to avoid the crowds.  Maybe its just busy now 'cause of the opening of the new/updated building but it was pretty bad.  Here we are outside.  The building looked very impressive.

They had some new cute displays

We got to try attaching a milking machine to a fake cow (not pictured) and that was fun

We could barely see the factory floor 'cause each window into the factory was plastered with people.   We waited about 20 minutes for cheese samples.  They were good!  But the waiting. :(

We did locate the Tillamook van!

Then we waited A LONG time to get ice cream.  There are two lines (one inside and one outside) and they were both super long.  The kids were melting down by the time we got ice cream.  The ice cream was also melting down.  It was so busy at the ice cream counter that half the flavors were sold out, including my beloved Tillamook Mudslide.  The flavors that remained were soft and melty.  When we drove back by the factory at 4:30pm (after the beach) the factory parking lot was a lot emptier.  It may just be the excitement of the new building opening and might not be so busy next summer, but in the future I think I will plan to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory later in the day.

After the crazy cheese factory we drove to Rockaway Beach nearby.  

It was overcast but not too chilly.  The kids flew kites courtesy of Ma2 and Pa2.

Kites at the Oregon coast are always a good idea.

The kids played in the water a little

When it started to mist and looked like rain might be coming in we decided to head back home.

Everyone was beat on the way home

More Oregon adventures to come!

More Summer

We've been keeping a pretty low profile for most of July.   Scott and I have been trying to sort out house things little by little.   The sale of our California house fell through due to our buyers being unable to sell their house.  The market in California has cooled as summer rolls on and we were getting worried about selling.  Luckily we were able to get our house back on the market and get renewed interest in it and a new buyer, with no contingencies this time.  We will close on that sale soon, so things are moving along.  And we will also close soon on the purchase of our new (to us) house in Utah.  The house we're buying is in Davis County, north of Salt Lake.  More on that in the near future.  So things have been a little weird and stressful but it should all get resolved soon.  Here is Grant making pretzel designs.  This one is a school he tells us.

Not sure what Emma was making

The kids had swim lessons and made good progress.  We've also been swimming for fun a lot at the indoor pool.  That's Grant down there waving at me.

We got free slurpees at 7-11 on 7/11.  There were big lines.  Utah is crazy for free slurpees apparently. A lot of the slurpee flavors were too liquidy to really be called a slurpee.  The machine couldn't keep up with the demand.  But it was free.

The kids got to be a part of the scout raingutter regatta.  My dad is/was the Webelos leader so they went with him one night while Scott and I did house stuff.  John's boat (that he made - pictured above) won all his races!  Way to go John!!

Anna has been cooking a lot and trying new things.  We found an easy sugar cookie recipe we all liked.  Get the recipe HERE.

They were good!

My parents had their mission farewell at church just before entering the MTC.  Here we are with my parents and my brother, Dave.  They gave nice talks then headed to the MTC the next day.  They got to live at home while at the MTC since they live in Utah County.

We went to McDonald's one day for lunch.  I liked this McDonald's because you can order at a kiosk (less talking to humans) and there was a nice play place.  It did get pretty busy.

Another day when Scott had the day off we went to a trampoline place

The kids had fun swinging on this trapeze

And falling in the big foamy pit

Grant, who is 7, lost 3 teeth in the space of a week.  It's getting pretty lonely there in his mouth.

Had some Harry Potter fun at Target while shopping for school supplies

Trying on different backpacks

I was able to register the kids for school in our new district so hooray for that.  John will be starting kindergarten and he is really excited.  Elementary school is K-6th grade here so Matthew, Anna, Grant and John will all be in elementary school.  Emma is beside herself with sadness.  She wants to go to school too.

School will be here soon!

My mom let Emma wear some of her clip on earrings

Emma loved it!

Emma (and Skye) helping me make brownies

My parents spent about 10 days (I think?) in the MTC and were then on their way!  They are off to serve a mission in Bloomington, Indiana seminaries and institutes.  We all miss them!  More summer fun to come.