This Summer in Oregon

It was a totally different experience from last time. First of all, we spent only 10 days in Oregon as opposed to the entire month...but also we had Dylan and Graham join us, too. It was non-stop fun and excitement. So many good times with family. The weather was perfect, and we couldn't have asked for a better time.

First order of business is riding the swing with the ocean view

Gavin's favorite...the green tractor

Swinging with the sweet boy

Lots of toast!

Graham turned into a good snoozer!

Picking huckleberries on our hike to Drift Creek Falls

Gavin had so much fun with his two older cousins

D&G&Z

Picnicking at the waterfall

Wheelbarrow rides with Grandpa

Ice cream with cousins

Some time to zone out for these brothers

Judah, the huckleberry master

Baby cousins, Zoey and Graham

Cut his first couple teeth on vacation

Operating his dad's mill

Climbing around at Cody and Abby's property

Fogarty Creek then pizza with just the four of us.

Guinea and Grandpa's backyard

They may not look much alike, but this guy loves food every bit as much as his big brother did as a baby.

D and I took the boys to the tide pools and lighthouse

Looking for sea urchins and starfish

Lunch in Newport at this little crab shack. Oh yum.

Devil's Lake

After his ride on Grandpa's jet ski

Serenading Aunt Tuna

Hot tubbing with Uncle Jace

Hunting for newts at Spring Lake. G loved it.

A ride from Tunes and UJ

Rolling bocce balls into the skate bowl

Who doesn't love some smoke bomb action?

Sparklers in the street

Outside recreation with the cousins

Story time with UJ

Miki is so good with Baby G2

Lots and lots of love in this family

One of my two "late" nights out with the grown ups. 10pm fireworks over the lake!

Gavin and UJ. BFFs

Lunch after church. No food required for G2, just the menu please.

Walking to the pancake breakfast for the 4th of July

Gavin flew to breakfast...but the line was too long so we got donuts instead

Walking to the parade

Our parade crowd

I took the boys to the beach while everyone was working. Graham had sand for lunch.

I wanted a selfie with my big boy, but he just threw sand at the phone.

Dreaming big. (I think.)

Gavin met a boy also named Gavin, and they had a blast running from the waves.

Our little set-up for our two trips to the beach that day.

Guinea teaching Graham to play.

Before we left town, the whole family went to Portland for indoor skydiving. Tom had bought us all a skydiving adventure for Christmas, so we were able to cash it in. It was so awesome.

On our final day in Portland, we visited the Rose Garden, the Japanese Garden and Washington Park before catching our flight home. It was cool and overcast. The perfect way to close out our trip before returning to the inferno.

For as great a time as we had, it feels so nice to be home. After leaving on June 20th, we spent nine nights in four different hotels and the remainder of the time at the Millers' house. We flew on four different airplanes and had two different rental cars, and we did not travel lightly. I'm exhausted in every sense of the word. The boys did better than I had expected...and actually I didn't expect much of anything. Trying to stick to a plan or any sort of structure while traveling would have been impossible and stressful beyond its worth. We just went for it, and I'm so glad we did because we had a blast. Gavin had a little too much fun and was endlessly amped the whole time we were there. For one day, Dylan went back to AZ to pick up some work and everyone else was busy so it was just me and the boys. It was the only downtime of the whole trip, and everyone was asleep before 7. (It was glorious.) Other than that, Gavin was mostly crazy and delirious, and his behavior was atrocious at times. It's hard to live like that for 17 days, so I'm super relieved that I can take back bedtime now that we're home.

I also wanted to kiss my computer and my Vitamix blender upon our arrival at our house. I know, it's so dumb to love material things like that, but it's really hard to go without a fruit smoothie and some time to zone in out in front of a screen for almost three weeks! Anyway, I've got some laundry and unpacking to do, and I'm hoping to have the house re-stocked with food shortly. In other news, Gavin had an eye appointment today, and the doctor says everything looks great! We have an appointment in 6 months for a vision check. The doctor thinks he'll be in glasses at some point in his childhood. Considering everything else going on in the world, I can hardly think of that as a problem at all. We'll be dreaming of our next visit to the beautiful PNW. And anyway, summer, you're only half way through. Let's let the good times continue to roll.

(My next order of business is to fix the Hawaii post. Some pictures didn't make it in, and they're all out of order. It's annoying. But I'll be back to write and ramble shortly thereafter.)