The Road Trip - Oregon

I surely love Oregon. And my parents' house has become a fun place to stay. It may be small but they have expanded the living space into the great outdoors. Each of the last two times we've gone to visit tents have been set up in the backyard for visitors who won't fit in the house. And every night it seems there is a bonfire going out there. It's just naturally relaxing to sit around a fire talking. And going to visit family really is all about doing just that, sitting and talking, catching up on all the together time that is missed when living far away. Of course roasted marshmallows help any situation to be even more enjoyable.

Highglights of Oregon for me:
1) Lots of time with my big sister Corey who I've lived far away from for a VERY long time.

2) The beach - Ah...the beach. I love the water. And the day we went wasn't cold or rainy. The kids enjoyed the water and let us stay long enough to venture out to the tidal pools. Caleb crawled over to cuddle with his grandma and grandpa, Jayne ran into the water (with hands held), and the seagulls swarmed, stalked and attacked our food when they saw that all 8 of us (Corey, Mom, Dad, Me, Nate and the 3 kids) were waist-deep in the water, yards and yards away.

3) The temple - Nate and I hadn't been to any temple together in a year and a half, and I don't think we'd been in the Portland temple since our wedding 5 1/2 years ago.

4) My little brothers teaching Evander about Zombies, Wolverine and Cyclops - AND watching them run around the yard and play battles with him. I knew having a bunch of annoying little brothers had to pay off someday!!!

5) Mom and Dad a.k.a. Grandma and Grandpa - I love watching my parents be grandparents. It's fun and cute to see. I know I'm getting older when I don't think that they're old enough to be grandparents, because they totally are and I'm just in denial about my own age.