Oregon 09'

We had a really good trip back home to visit my family last week. The boys had so much fun at the trout farm last year that we decided to go back and do it again. I think they enjoyed the blackberries growing over the fence better than clubbing those tiny little fish though :( I prefer to see my food after it has stopped writhing in pain. Poor Sam got really worried about all the blood. Yuck!

Tennis near the beach house.

 

I think Logan plays better than me. I guess that's not saying 

much!

OK, Dad. This picture is kind of weird. I look like I'm levitating?!?

Afton, Bryce has Superhuman strength. He clobbered me a few times!

Mount St. Helens

This is at Mount St. Helens. It's pretty incredible the destruction it caused in such a short time. Scientist believe the last eruption at Mt. Shasta was 10 times the size of St. Helens! The boys were terrified that the volcano would blow up on us. Whew, we made it out of their alive! After all the fear subsided it ended up being their favorite part of the vacation.

We also spent a few days out at Mom and Dad's beach house in Rockaway, OR. Dave and I got to go out a few days early while my parents watched our kids, so we could celebrate our 9th anniversary! It was so strange not to have the house full of the sounds of children laughing, playing, and fighting. I've almost forgotten what it's like. We did quite a bit of hiking. We took a couple hikes along the coast. Both of them were on peninsulas straight up over the ocean. Too bad I left my tennis shoes back in Sacramento. I think my fear of heights started coming back. Flip flops + muddy trails + 150 foot dropoffs within inches of the trail = one scared chica. I got many looks at my choice for footwear, but only one lady had the guts to say it, 

"Oh, your gonna get muddy, hunny!" I'm not afraid of a little dirt. Bring it on! It was pretty funny! The views were amazing though! There is nothing like the forrests in Oregon. Of course our camera got left behind with the kids. When the kids met us a few days later we managed to convince them to go for a little walk. They were rather unenthusiastic as it transformed into a 2 mile uphill hike to the top of the hill behind their house. We took turns carrying Audrey the whole way. The boys grumbled quite a bit about how we were trying to kill their legs, but alas we made the summit! I was so proud of my little men!  

Triumph!

We also got a lesson in skim boarding from my 8 year old nephew. He creamed me at that one too. I'm not all that coordinated, but I had a blast trying to stay up on that thing. Maybe I'll try surfing next year?