Trip to the Coast!

Mark needed to attend a business meeting in Tillamook, Oregon a couple of weeks ago and we decided that the girls and I would join him and have a little mini-vacation. Boy am I glad we did! We had so much fun and I can never get enough of the coast! If you haven't been to Tillamook, you should know that it is known for its dairy farms and cheese! So of course we had to check out the cheese factories in town. The first was a small factory: Blue Heron. We enjoyed seeing it. I love this picture - not because my husband and children are animals, but because Samantha is looking up to her big sister. Too cute!

The big tourist attraction in town is the Tillamook Cheese Factory. It's very large and the tourists are encouraged to go in and see how the cheese is made and packaged, and also to learn the history and the process. It was really very fascinating, especially for Mark who grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota.

One of the best parts of the tour is being able to sample all of their cheeses. The girls kept going through the line because they love cheese so much. It was very delicious!

Of course you can't leave without having a Tillamook ice cream cone! Oh my gosh, was the chocolate mudslide ice cream yummy!

After the factory we purchased a few picnic necessities to go to the lighthouse and have a little picnic before Mark needed to be to his meeting. It was so gorgeous there and a perfect spot for picnicing! While Mark was in his meetings the girls and I stayed at the hotel and swam in the swimming pool and played games. Fortunately Mark was finished early and so we drove about 10 minutes up to the coast to Rockaway Beach where my family once stayed years and years ago. It was beautiful!

Of course, if you have never been to the Oregon Coast you should know that it isn't really ideal for swimming. The water is freezing and the temperatures along the coast are only about 60 degrees. But the views are breathtaking and the sand is very inviting. We had a good time chasing the waves on the beach.

I love the ocean. It's a very sacred place for me. There's something about looking out at the vast expanse of water and waves and feeling very close to heaven...but also a little frightened at the magnificence of it. I feel so blessed to view such a creation! If I had my choice to live anywhere, it would be near the ocean.

On the way home we stopped at Multnomah Falls for a quick break. They are so beautiful but it is always crazy busy there.

The trip was a blast and I am definitely looking forward to our return!

Camping Trip

Summer is the time for camping trips! Our family met up with my parents and my sister's family up at Ukiah-Dale campground for a couple of days of fun. The weather was beautiful and it felt so good to be in the great outdoors! Samantha always likes to try to help set up the tent. Sometimes she helps a little too much. :) We got up bright and early the next morning and boy were we cold! It's amazing how chilly it can get in the mountains during the summer. We all worked together and made a nice yummy breakfast for us all to enjoy. The hot cocoa was a big help in getting warmed up!

Here is Sam and Christian enjoying their breakfast with Gramma.

Here is Emma with Ashlynne gobbling up their eggs and potatoes.

Camryn and Myah were having a bit of a hard time getting into the swing of things at 5:30 in the morning. We were awfully tired!

Mark is feeling a little camera shy.....

....And so is Grampa!

Hopefully we'll be able to do some more camping before school starts up again in a few weeks. We really had such a fun time!

Trip to Utah

In July we made the trek to Utah for a college reunion with some great friends of mine. The four of us were roommates at LDS Business College and we have stayed close over the years. At the beginning of the year, we realized that this summer would mark 15 years since we first met and we felt like we should celebrate! We haven't all been with each other since 2002 so we made a promise that we would bring our families to Utah to catch up on old times. Kim and Jim hosted the event at Aspen Grove which is up Provo Canyon. It was so beautiful and a perfect spot to get together. There were lots of fun things for the kiddos (and the parents) to do. This next picture is Emily with her sweet little girl Audrey. She was a little camera shy most of the night but I did manage to get a few shots of her.

There was a little water spray area that the kids enjoyed doing. There's nothing better on a hot day then playing in the water. Thanks to Jim for making it a fun activity for the little ones.

There is a cowboy village which was super fun. Here is Samantha with Aspen (Kim's oldest) who became quick friends. They were working at the General Store when I snapped this picture.

Here is Kim with her little girl Madi. She is so sweet and she and I enjoyed some good snuggle time throughout the day. We couldn't get enough of her!

Most of the time Tiffani and I were fighting over who got to hold Madi and carry her around. (Just kidding....no fighting was involved!)

Samantha has been watching John Wayne movies since she was old enough to sit up on the couch and watch with Dad. She comes from a long line of John Wayne lovers (on both sides of the family) so I couldn't resist taking this picture. Howdy Pardner!

Here is Emma, Aspen, Samantha, and Lukas (Emily's husband). Lukas was a good sport having all the kids follow him around everywhere.

It was such a fun day! I can't believe it's taken us so long to plan our reunion. We made some very special memories and it was wonderful to pick up where we left off. Can't wait until the next reunion!!!!
One the way back from Aspen Grove that night, we stopped to see the Mt. Timpanogos temple. Mark and I were married here and we haven't been back since we left Utah several years ago. We wanted the girls to see where it all started. It was so beautiful that night.

We stayed with my brother and his family in Herriman while we were in Utah. It was great to have some cousin time with Katie and Luke! We went to a splash park near their home and the kids splashed around like crazy!

Even Kate got in on the action....

Here is Luke and Emma drying off.

We had a fun filled day with cousins playing around and having a yummy lunch out. Then we came back to the house for more water time in the back yard. We got the Slip 'n Slide out and had popsicles to cool us off. It was about 100 degrees that weekend!

Here is my man Luke! What a buff guy he is! :)

We really had the greatest weekend with our family and friends! Wish we could see more of each other and that we weren't eight hours away. Todd and Sue were great hosts and made us feel right at home. We hope to see them again very soon!

Summer Vacation!

This year we had the opportunity to take our vacation to the Mid-West to visit friends and family. Because it is such a long distance, we are only able to make the trek every other year so we were really looking forward to this trip and taking advantage of all of the fun things along the way. (I took over 200 pictures on this vacation but will only show a few here.) Our first night we stayed in Salt Lake and visited with my family members there. It was a quick visit because we had to be on the road very early the next morning in order to make it to our hotel in Nebraska. The third day we made it to my aunt's home in Iowa to visit with her and my uncle and my sweet grandma. We were there a couple of days and loved every minute of it. It's been seven years since we last saw them so it was very special to be with them again. They had never met Samantha and Emma was about a year old when they saw her last but it only took about 30 seconds for the girls to feel a special kinship with their Iowa relatives.
After our visit in Iowa we drove a few hours south to spend some time in Nauvoo. Mark and I visited Nauvoo when I was pregnant with Emma but we hadn't been back since. It rained so hard while we were there but we were determined to make it special and enjoy every aspect of that wonderful city. Here is the beautiful Nauvoo Temple! What a site it is!

One of the places we went to was the Family Living Center where we saw several displays on what life was like back in Nauvoo's heyday. This sweet sister missionary showed us how bread was made and then allowed us to try a bite. Of course, it was delicious and the girls were tickled to get up close to the large oven.

This area was the Monument to Women which had about a dozen statues representing the many roles of a woman. It was one of my favorite exhibits.

Here we are at the Blacksmith shop. We learned how the Nauvoo pioneers made wagons, wheels, horseshoes, etc. We each came home with a nail ring and a horseshoe.

Of course we had to spend some time in Carthage as well. That was a wonderful experience and we were so grateful to have taken the girls to this sacred place. The sister missionary was a great tour guide and the Spirit was very strong. The girls listen intensely and had lots of questions.

After our time in Nauvoo we drove up to Minnesota to visit with Mark's family. Along the way we met up with a dear friend of ours and her boys. (Tami, Hawkeye, Orion) We went to the "Bounce Depot" and had a great time catching up with each other. The kids bounced and jumped and ran around and were thoroughly exhausted by the time we were ready to leave.

While in Minnesota we stayed a night with Mark's sister Karen and her family. Their daughter Amber is Sam's age and the three girls had a blast playing with each other! Here they are at Famous Dave's!

Another fun activity we did was visit an indoor water park. Oh my goodness, did the girls have a great time! Who doesn't love swimming and going down water slides for four hours straight? Thanks to Uncle Dan who took the girls down the big slides because the mommys were a tad bit nervous to go themselves. In this picture the girls are sitting and waiting for Aunt Karen and Uncle Dan to come out so we could head home. They were so tired they could hardly see straight so they needed a little sugar pick me up for the drive home.

We had a nice dinner with all of the Minnesota family members where we took lots of pictures and laughed about old memories. This is me with Karen.

After six days in Minnesota it was time to head home. We went to Wyoming to stay with Mark's other sister (Joanie) and her family for a couple of days. Her girls are our girls' age and they had the best time playing together! Rebecca and Mariah raise chickens so Emma and Sam learned how to pick up chickens and feed them and gather their eggs. It was a great adventure for them!

After we left Joanie's house we headed towards Salt Lake and made a stop at Independence Rock. The girls were very intrigued with finding the scratches in the rock where people have signed their names over the past 170 years.

Down the road a few more miles is Martin's Cove where we stopped to look around. Martin's Cove is where the handcart companies stopped during their trek west in 1856 and is a very special spot. The Perrys have ancestors who were in one of the companies so we found their names on the wall.

We made it back to Salt Lake to visit with family for one more night before heading home to Oregon. Here the girls are with their Auntie Tracie who made us breakfast before we hit the road one last day. I forgot to get pictures of Todd, Sue, Luke, and Kate but we had lots of fun being with them, too!

It was a wonderful and LONG trip - it took us 16 days. We were glad to be home but we made so many fun memories along the way! The girls were troopers and didn't complain too much about seven entire days in a car. Thanks to everyone who helped make our trip so great!

Happy Graduation to Samantha!

Samantha officially finished preschool on June 3rd by having a graduation ceremony with her little classmates. The girls sang songs, wore their graduation caps and received diplomas! It was very precious to watch. Sam so enjoyed her time in Joy School but is quite ready to move on to Kindergarten! We are so proud of you Samantha - what a special little girl you are!

Emma's Last Week of School

Much of the last week or two of school this year was spent on field trips and extracurricular activities. One thing that Emma's class did was invite all of the parents to the classroom and see everyone's portfolios from the past several months and watch some homemade videos that the kids made. Emma and one of her classmates made a video called "The Foot Book" which was adorable. She also had a farm unit where they planned out their own farms - including all of the animals and outbuildings. It was really fun to see Emma in her classroom and to see what she's been working on in school. First grade was a great year for her! Good job Emma - you made mommy and daddy VERY proud!