Oregon `10

Going back to Oregon was really a fun trip for me, even though I really wish Andrew could have been there too. It's where we met, and went to college, and where his family still lives. I had a few days in Salem before heading down to Klamath Falls, it was great to see old friends and on the way back through to Portland, Aunt Bekah came with us to help with the kids and see friends too. Seeing old friends and family always makes me wish we lived closer, but I know in time that will happen and we really are happy in Danville. It's a great town. Here are some of the pictures from our time and the little stories to go with them.

One morning in downtown Salem, we all met up and Paula (middle in black) had her husband come hang out too. Some homeless man saw Dale with all of us gals and kids and said, "Are they ALL yours?" We had one good laugh.

Ella Braden & Peter were three peas in a pod. 

John and Ian are only a few weeks apart and they made good stroller buddies.

This is our college. New clock tower, new dorms, fresh paint everywhere, fancy walkways...nothing like when we were there. In a way I'm glad for the simplicity of our time there, but it is nice to see great new changes. Even the coffee shop I managed my senior year looks like a cozy little cafe' and they even serve Starbucks! The kids loved running around there, but those hills really wore them right out.

Kim, myself and Kate all had babies really close together. This is us trying to get them all to look~not happening. 

Paula, me, Courtney, Janie, Kate and Kim with some of the kids. We're still good friends and it's been 6 years! The kids sure all had fun together and it was great to see everyone again. Janie saved my behind by coming to help me when we arrived in Portland. I had to rent an SUV and wait forever. If I had been alone, there would most assuredly have been tears shed. (Thank you Janie!)

Paula was my roomate and bridesmaid! I can't wait until she experiences the blessing of mamahood. I love big bellies. Well, when they house babies, or they're ON babies, that is.

John loved the new toy selection that visiting others' houses brought :).

I took this picture a few minutes after meeting our new niece Haley Joy for the first time. She sure is adorable! Ella loved holding her and said, "She matches, she's a girl just like me." Since then, she has told me she wants a baby girl almost every day. 

This is pretty much a flashback for Andrew (minus the Nalgene sippy cup).  Peter played in Daddy's old dirt when we were with Grandpa Ben and Grandma Barb. The kids had to have a bath every night, hands down with how much we were out and they were in the dirt. 

Andrew's parents with Aunts and Uncle. We enjoyed visiting and getting to know all of them better. This made me even more sad that Andrew had to work and couldn't come, since it was practically a mini family reunion.

Andrew's good childhood friend Ryan, and his family Megan, Macy and Miles. Ryan was in our wedding and it has been great catching up with his family when we go back to KFalls. Our kids love theirs and Peter will never forget Miles because he gave him his FAVORITE green Nalgene bottle.

Miles and Peter were feeding the goats. Nevermind that my son is holding on to a barbed-wire fence. There were no injuries I promise.

This is Train Mountain right outside KFalls. We got to ride this little train 3 times and everyone, even John loved it! 

Grandma Barb with John. 

I'm so glad these pictures turned out. I didn't expect them to look so good for all 3 kids. Good memories  and fun times, especially for Peter, who LOVES trains right now. 

We went up to Lake of the Woods 2 times while we were there. The weather was amazing and the kids loved the water. John was just crawling and dangerous enough to eat rocks and sticks, so that was more of a challenge, but he had fun watching everyone play. 

Rebekah and I with the giant trees in the background. 

Grandpa and Peter at the lake. They had really nice chairs there. This was right after I cut Peter's hair the shortest it's ever been. He sure looks ALL boy now.

John is taking a snooze in my carrier that I got there. Finally something that works to carry around my heavy children :).

The story here goes like this: Aunt Bekah brought us all little chocolates when she came. Peter did not eat his and it melted to the wrapper. Grandma helped Peter lick it off the wrapper and I'm pretty sure more of it ended up on his face than in his mouth. 

Katie, Haley and Jonathan came from Washington to see family while we were there. I'm glad they did, it was so nice to meet Haley and catch up with them.

I've been teaching Ella to write her name. This was the first time she did it all by herself. It was great that it's on a magnadoodle because it's clearly seen and I'm definitely hanging this picture on our wall. I'm so proud of her and how much she is learning. Now, every big E she sees, she yells, "E! That's spells my name!"

We went to the park and I wanted some pictures of the kids and I. John was not as cooperative since he just kept reaching for the camera strap, but I have these ones anyway. I'm bias, but I love how cute these kids are :).

I have an entire other section of pictures that are currently not uploading correctly on this computer, so if I can get them to work I will. One of the days we went to Crater Lake and had a nice time up there for a few hours with more extended family. Also, more of the lake pictures had the kids in front of a GIANT tree. I always forget how big the trees are in Oregon and how pretty it is there. August is a great month to go there and play! :)

Alaska

 Our time in Alaska was bittersweet. It was great to be with family and friends and hard to say goodbye to the family we had lost. In June, my Grandma Jane passed away and in July, my cousin Loren. We got stuck in Chicago and missed Loren's funeral, which was one of the worst days of my life. Everything went wrong. But we made it there eventually and we were just glad to arrive. We had a small service at the house for my Grandma Jane and saw family and friends. I hadn't seen my mom's cousin Tom in years and he said to me, "So, how are you doing? Every time I turn around you're swelling up with babies. You guys done yet?" HA! So blunt~that's our family. We laughed and cried. The whole trip. 

The kids' first time playing together at the park. They are all eating tootsie rolls in this picture.

We went to Sourdough Mining Company for dinner one night and Andrew had his fill of crab and I stuffed myself with halibut and corn fritters.

We all went bowling together, one of my family's favorite things to do. This is my Aunt Carol.

Gramma and Ella at the Saturday Market having lunch. 

The night of my 10 year reunion. Where does the time go? We had a nice time and it was fun for me to introduce my old friends to Andrew and show pictures of the kiddos.

Saturday Market with the family.

This was one of the only nights I got to see the mountains while we were there. The weather was cloudy so much of the time, but this picture captures how close and huge the peaks are to Anchorage.

I always have to make a trip to Great Harvest for fresh bread.  This was our trip there. 

My mom insists on us all getting matching shirts and going out for the day. Here we are this year in those shirts. 

The guys before a fishing trip. It was about 7am here and they caught quite a few that day. Bill, John, Andrew and Michael.

Pop Pops with John and Emerson. Those 2 are only 5 weeks apart from each other.  TROUBLE.

5 Cousins under 4. Ella, John, Emerson, Levi, and Peter. 

My cousin Michael holding John. 

Our silly and very last minute trip to Whittier. It was sunny in Anchorage so we piled all the kids in the cars and headed out. We drove right to the rain and had to wear clothes from Renee's trunk that were on their way to Salvation Army. We were all thankful for that bag because we were not prepared for the weather. It was fun anyway.

This is a little wagon I saw and I love what it says and the background of the Whittier board walk and boats.

Getting all these kids in a picture is a challenge, but they were having fun in the rain and eating candy.

Emerson was learning about snorting and I happened to catch this picture of him one night. He's just stinkin funny and so cute :)

My Grandpa had given us a bag of clothes for the kids and there happened to be some really old stuff in there that we couldn't resist putting on the kids. It was a serious flashback to our childhood and we laughed so hard. I love how Peter looks like a little posed 80's child model. 

My cousin Loren, who passed away, this is his daughter Regan. She is almost 2 and the kids loved playing with her. She looks a lot like Loren and my Aunt Carol. She's a sweet little one and I look forward to seeing her again. 

While we were in AK, John was learning to crawl. These little towers were  what he wanted to reach for most, so we would set them up and watch him go. By the time we left, he was up on all fours and getting a few knee lengths.

Regan and I. 

All the cousins!

S'mores face on Levi! Our last night we had a fire and roasted marshmallows. 

Baths followed after the marshmallows. 

Bath, bed, and we flew out the next morning for Oregon.