Summer Has Arrived!!

We've waited along time in Tillamook for summer to arrive! Finally this weekend we had some great weather! We took advantage of every moment we could and soaked up all the sun! First we went to the beach and played in the sand. We had a picnic on the beach which is pretty fun except for the gritty feeling of sand which occasionally gets in your mouth! (yuck!) Then we played hide and seek in the big driftwood. Huge logs were all over the beach so we would hide in, on, and around them--it was really fun! For Father's Day Nate got a new fishing pole and for Ty's early birthday he got all the fishing gear to go with it! So we did a little fishing in the afternoon which was pretty fun but we didn't catch anything! We're still learning though! We finished the night off with a BBQ with friends. We love being with our friends the Bastings! We played a fun game of horseshoes husbands vs. wives and the losers had to do Sunday dishes!! Well you can guess who lost--the wives! But it was all okay, Nate made the most amazing dinner: Marinated Salmon--holy crow it was good!

Oregon to California

---Tillamook Oregon---
---Sacramento California---
---Salt Lake City Utah---
2200 miles round trip

When we found out there would be a wedding in the family we were thrilled with the opportunity to not only see family but to get a vacation as well. We just didn't realize how big of vacation this would actually be! We began our journey from Tillamook driving south down the coast of Oregon. What a beautiful drive! We camped along the way and enjoyed the magnificent scenery as well as fun times with the kids! One of the stops we made was Heceta Head Light House. We enjoyed a fabulous hike up the hill and saw snails, bugs, a rabbit, and different kinds of birds! The view at the top was awesome.


As you can see from the photo the kids were pretty good little friends this trip! They had a really good time together! Don't get me wrong, they did have their moments, but for the most part they did great! Ty constantly wanted to hold Mara's hand and help her up the hikes. Mara on the other hand was perfectly content being her own little person!


Our first night we stayed at Sunset Bay State Park. Although it was a beautiful and serene campsite we didn't stay long enough or explore it too much. Instead we went to Cape Arago and saw some of the most beautiful scenery and interesting landscape. We viewed crashing waves right along the coast and then the scenery changed to southern Utah looking rocks and hills. They also had a Botanical Garden at Cape Arago which was absolutely covered in all colors and flowers.





A few years ago after Nate and I had graduated college we took a road trip out to Oregon and It was fun to walk along the downtown shops and do a little window shopping and feel like a tourist! We tried Umpqua Ice-cream which is pretty good (not as good as Tillamook though!!) Bandon also has an awesome beach with huge rocks and seals right up close .
The day we visited Bandon was the nicest day we had seen for weeks! The sun came out and it was beautiful--however the wind also came up and boy was it blowy and cold! We were nearly blown right off the beach, but it was still a great place to see. drove along the coast. One of our favorite spots we saw was Bandon Oregon. (Nate loved this spot so much he wanted to name one of our sons Bandon---sorry I don't think so!) But we were anxious to see this area again because we were so impressed by it years ago.

The second night we camped in The Redwoods. When we were planning out our trip we must have miscalculated the miles just a bit! We realized the place we made reservations to stay were still several hours of driving away! We faced the big dilema: keep driving to our reserved spot where we payed already or just find a new spot...well we kept on driving! Right about sundown we needed a little break from the car so we went on a neat hike through the Redwoods called Lady Bird Johnson trail. It was so neat to see some of the biggest trees! We made it back to the car right before it got dark--I was a little worried we were going to be lost in the dark and have to sleep right there in the Redwoods without even a sleeping bag!! But we made it back and kept on driving several more hours! We rolled into camp around midnight, set up our tent and fell right to sleep!




After driving through the Redwoods and stopping a couple times to hike we made it to the California Coast! Boy was it blue! The Oregon Coast just doesn't seem as turquoise! It was just so bright blue! We drove down to Fort Bragg and played a little in the water before we made the final drive to Sacramento (Marysville) where we stayed with Nate's Great Aunt Bev.

CALIFORNIA

We had a great time getting together and seeing the Lewis family in California.
Ty ate up all the attention he could get from his grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Mara is the shyest girl ever and struggled being around so many 'strangers' She was fine as long as she was connected somehow to her mom and dad. It took a little time for her to warm up to everyone.
(Doesn't Mama look Gorgeous!)




The wedding for John and Tracie was beautiful, the ceremony in the temple was really nice. We enjoyed walking around the temple grounds, and I was even able to take Ty inside to the visitors area and show him part of the inside of the temple. We were both amazed at the beauty and he loved seeing all the pictures of Jesus.

Cute little Mara--so sweet but when a little girl knows what she wants, don't try stopping her! She was ticked because she wanted to play in the water fountain! We just wanted a quick family photo but there was no way she would even look at the camera! She had really been a trooper all day, from the temple to the luncheon, by the end of the night she had had it!

Oregon Photos

Next stop: Utah

UTAH

As you can see the kids had a great time playing at Mimi & Papa's! It was so nice and hot outside we soaked up all the sun we possibly could! We went swimming a couple times and Ty went to the movies with Popcorn Papa! We went to the Bouncing off the Walls with Mimi and Aunt Lorisa. We also had a wonderful time at liberty park (twice) with the Lowry family.

The latter part of our trip to Utah was spent with the Lewis Family. We went up to Big Cottonwood and had a cookout on Friday night. Boy was it good to be back up the mountains again! We don't know what's better roasting hot dogs up the mountains or out on the beach!! Both are great fun!

Saturday night we enjoyed a nice reception for John & Tracie. It was really beautiful and nice to see extended family and friends. Mara's favorite thing about the reception was the fountain which she continually played in!

On Sunday we visited Temple Square and listened to the
Music & the Spoken Word in the conference Center. We loved seeing the temple grounds and Ty and Mara have a thing for smelling flowers--can you tell! We enjoy the nice and cool visitors center on such a hot day and we were able to see an exhibit on The Family.

Do I have something in my teeth?
Mara enjoy a delicious chocolate cookie, and we couldn't help but laugh when it made her teeth black and it looks like she missing a tooth!

On Sunday Night we had an early birthday party for Ty who will turn four on the 4th! He opened presents from his grandparents and aunts & uncles and we even had cake and icecream! When he saw his cake with four candles he said to his grandma "Am I four already?" We tried explaining that he wasn't four until his real birthday, and so since then we have heard "Now am I four?" Ty received for his birthday many great gifts--one in which the whole family was able to enjoy: T-ball! We had a blast as a family all playing T-ball out on the front lawn together. This was Ty's first time playing baseball and he kind of got confused running to the bases but we all had such a good time playing together as a family!

Utah Trip Photos

Ty loves to swim