Hwy 101

Monday morning we started the long trek home. We could have cut over to I-5 and gotten home in about 5 hours but we took the scenic route up Hwy 101. It mainly winds along side the ocean and goes through all the little towns along the way. It was a pretty drive. We stopped in Tillmook and looked around the factory. The kids liked seeing all the cheese makers and we got to try out several different types of cheese. We also stopped in Seaside for a couple of hours. This town has so much to do! They have a salt water taffy store that has 170 different flavors. Yummy! Of course we loaded up on that before we got back on the road. We took the Hwy all the way up to Astoria and crossed the mouth of the Columbia River into Washington. Dylan loves bridges and was quite fascinated by how long this one was. It was almost 5 miles long! We finally made it home at about 8:15pm where Grammy had a welcome home cake waiting for them! So they gobbled that up and then went to bed (I know so healthy). It was a long weekend and a lot of driving in the last week but what a week it was!

Playing on the Beach

Saturday morning we went down and picked up the kids from Grandma and Grandpa's by the ocean. The had a great time but were ready to come home this time. We all had a great time at the beach house and played on the bay, flew kites (it was Dylan's first time to fly one!), played games and relaxed. Every year we get together around my dad's birthday. We used to all travel down to his house and visit but he passed away almost 5 years ago and so now we make sure to still get together somewhere. It is a nice way to keep the tradition around and honor his birthday. My Dad would have been 59. Happy Birthday Dad, I love you.

642 feet of water

Friday morning we headed over to Multnomah Falls. This is the 2nd highest waterfall in the United States. It is beautiful as well. We hiked up to the top which is 2.2 miles roundtrip. It is a really steep trail and we were both half dead when we made it up there! But it was pretty cool to look over the ledge and the creek feeding the falls was beautiful as well.

After the falls we started driving to our main destination of Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast. We were meeting Mike, Judi, Kerri, Josh, Michele, Steve, Brandon and Devon for a weekend together.

Skamania lodge

When we headed down to the Gorge we decided not to make hotel reservations because we didn't know where we would be when it was time to sleep. Luckily we have a GPS and looked up hotels. I love my GPS and feel a lot safer about traveling outside my comfort zone without getting lost. So we when we looked up hotels there was a listing for Skamania. We called and they had rooms available but I was a little leery about booking a room without seeing it first. So we drove over to it and it turns out it is a huge golf resort! We were shocked. The views of the base of the Columbia Gorge we stunning. It had a pool and an indoor and outdoor hot tub. There were also spa services available, a formal and informal dining and lots more. It was so huge that we didn't have a chance to explore it all but they said they also have a kids play area. Here is the link to the hotel if anyone is interested. http://www.skamania.com/

Waterfalls Galore!

The last time the kids were on vacation we didn't get to do a whole lot together because Tom was working so this time he took a few days off. On Thursday we went down to Multnomah Falls which is about 45 minutes East of Portland. It is SO beautiful. There were so many waterfalls and hiking trails that we had a hard time choosing which ones that we could make it to. On Thursday we hiked up Wahkeena Falls and got to see many others. It was so nice because there weren't very many people on the upper part of the trail so it was quiet. The trails were pretty steep and it was a great workout! Every once in a while the switchback trail would show a view of the Columbia River that was breathtaking. I would HIGHLY recommend making this trip. We would like to take the kids here in the fall.

A romantic weekend

With the kids gone Tom and I decided to head up to Victoria, B.C. We took the passenger ferry up there Sunday morning and came back late Monday night (Tom has Sunday/Mondays off this month). We had such a great time. We walked so much that I had to buy some new shoes! I know sad huh? I had only taken flip flops and with that much walking it just wasn't working for me. We stayed in a little B&B called Abigail's and it was great too. Very cozy. It was a really great trip and it was so nice to be able to spend some really good time together. That's hard to remember to do in the hustle and bustle of life.

Antique City

On our way back from dropping the kids off we decided to stop in Aurora, just outside of Portland. If you like antiques this is the place to be! We only made it to about 5-6 of the stores though because it was SO hot and not many of them had air conditioning so we decided to come back when it is a little cooler. Instead we went to Fabric Depot which is like the Costco of fabric stores or the Shipwreck of bead stores! It's HUGE!!! We had a good time looking around and I got some fabric to cover the toy box in the living room and a few other pieces.

Gone Again?

On Saturday my mom and I took the kids down to meet with Grandma and Grumpa by the Ocean. They will be staying down there for a week. I was a little nervous dropping them off because Dylan has a little fever and a runny nose but Grandma did raise 4 boys so I guess he'll be fine. I buckled them in and off they go!

It getting hot in Here, finally

So the nice weather is finally back. It's hard to believe that it is almost the end of August and almost back to school time. Makayla is ready to get back to it and see her friends. Yesterday we went to the Sprinkler Park and had a great time. We got to go with a group of friends so the kids had a great time. It was about 94' so the water felt good, although it was REALLY cold! The kids also had a great time playing tag and hide-n-seek in the trees.

Help Baby Mia

One of my good friends and co-dance teacher (Mimi) recently had a beautiful baby girl named Mia. She is about 3 weeks old and while Mimi was pregnant they discovered that Mia had a heart defect and needs a heart transplant. Since this little girl was in the womb she has been fighting and has been doing incredibly well. Please check out the blog that was set up for Mia http://helpbabymia.blogspot.com/ and think and pray about her often. She is so small and so precious. Mimi and her husband John are also very strong but this is so hard on them. They also have 2 other small children that are just waiting for their little sister to come home...

Water Park

The sun is back and so off we went to play. Our good friends, Caroline, Sophia, Christian and Ian invited us to go to the water park and so we packed up a dinner picnic and off we went. We went to the evening session which runs from 4-7:30. It worked out really well because we would go play for a little bit and then have a snack or a drink and then go back to more fun. The girls get along really well and can both swim well and so they pretty much stuck together. At the park there are water slides, a wave pool, a lazy river, and an area that is pretty shallow and has a play structure in it. They all loved all of it. Poor Ian got car sick driving down there and so he laid in the grass the whole time. Sorry, Ian, I guess my driving was a little much! By the time 7:30 rolled around we were beat and ready to head for home. Of course we stopped by McDonald's and picked up an ice cream cone 1st. What a great day we had, Thanks Caroline for talking me into going!!!!

Fly Fishing Lesson

Tom is an avid fisherman and within the last year or so has really been into fly fishing. Him and Ray tie all of their own flys and go out as often as possible to test out the rivers and occasionally lakes. They went on a big trip in June to Montana to fly fish non-stop for 4 days. It was a dream for Tom. I always wondered what it was that he loved about it. Many times when he comes home from fishing he has caught a couple of fish maybe even one but he is always so relaxed. He never keeps the fish, it is all catch and release. So what's the deal? My mom and Ray had the kids today so I decided to figure out the mystery and have Tom teach me what he is so passionate about. We headed out to the Cedar River and after Tom got me dress in his waders and boots (I don't have my own set up of course. Tom's boots were only 5 sizes too big for me so it was a bit awkdard to walk in) we went down to the river. It was such a weird sensation as I got into the river. I mean I know that waders are meant to keep you dry but guess what, they really do! It was strange to be thigh high in water, feeling the pressure of it and being perfectly dry. Tom was pretty sure I was a dork. The river was beautiful and very peaceful. This is nice, OK I am starting to understand. Now the fishing part. Tom stood behind me and taught me the "art" of casting. It actually is quite an art and much easier to watch on "A River Runs Through It" than to do. I must say that I picked up on it fairly quickly and began casting on my own while Tom caught bugs. It turns out that there is so much more to fly fishing than fishing. You have to learn about which bugs the fish are feeding on to know what fly to tie on. Fish are much smarter than I ever gave them credit for! I fished in one spot for a while and then we moved down stream to another hole where Tom taught me a few more tricks to the trade. It is hard to have the timing of it right and not get all tangled up in the line! And you have to be careful not to get caught on the branches or stuck in the rocks. I did both....In the second hole (I think that's what it is called) I got a bite but that's all. I watched Tom fish a little and then we headed back up the river. Walking against the current is a great leg workout! We had a wonderful time and I did get the answer to my question. It is so peaceful out there. No matter what river or lake you are fishing it's just you. There are no phones or t.v.'s. No pressures of work or life. It doesn't matter who you are or where you live. The sound of the water is very soothing. It was so nice to be able to do something with Tom that he loves so much.

Super Dylan!

I had gotten the kids some dress up clothes while they were at Grandma Nancy's and they have been having a great time with them. They both love to dress up and Makayla particularly loves to dress up Dylan in girl clothes! She thinks it is quite hilarious. Dylan doesn't care YET because he get lots of attention and laughs when he is in a cute little dress. But at this garage sale I found Dylan a Spiderman, Superman, cowboy and firefighter dress up clothes so at least now he has the option of other clothes! His latest stunt is putting on his Superman costume and jumping off the side of the couch. He gives the countdown and off he goes! It's so funny because when Makayla was his age she would barely jump off a curb! When I took this little video clip I was laying down so I could take it looking up at him. As you will see he took that opportunity to think he was funny....

August 1st

OK so it is August 1st and it is raining and a bit chilly. I know we live in the Pacific Northwest where we tend to experience our fair share of rain but come on, this is ridiculous! I am a warm weather, sunshine girl myself and like temperatures in the mid 80's. I guess I need to move to Mexico.