Oregon Eugene

The kids and I have had a blast this past week in Eugene visiting Aunt Jenny and Uncle Justin.  The week was filled with beach time, forest time, and good ol' country time in this beautiful part of the Pacific Northwest.  

Our first full day in Oregon, we drove to the coast... it was SO cold, but Emma Rose insisted on stripping down to her swimsuit to play until she was literally blue-lipped and shaking.

(Note the tongue)

Cute story - we stopped for lunch on the way home, and while Jenny was in the restroom, Porter got excited and started knocking on the door to get her attention... A waitress scolded him that someone was inside and he needed to wait his turn.  He said, "It's okay; that's my Cool Aunt Jenny" ("Cool Aunt Jenny" is how Jenny signs every single birthday and Christmas card...)

We also visited Eugene's Raptor center, where the kids got to see owls, vultures, eagles, and osprey of all kinds.

"Sowa" is Polish for owl - love this pic my 2 little Sowas!

Typical Emma Rose face as the osprey gets fed some rabbit.

We hiked outside Cool Aunt Jenny's house one day.  At the start of the hike, Porter was telling me how boring hiking was and that he never wanted to hike again (Emma Rose needed no convincing to continue on, however...)

We found huge banana slugs, snails, and all kinds of other interesting things of nature.  And we played "Simon Says," "I spy with my little eye," and dragons.

We reached a park at the end of the hike, and Porter announced that he had so much fun that for his birthday next year he wants to come back to Eugene.

Porter's hands-down favorite, however, was visiting the Oregon Air and Space Museum.  The kids got to play in a few old planes and helicopters, and inspect old "fighting jets," as Porter referred to them.

Porter was super-impressed at the size of one of 3 sets of wheels from a Boeing 787 and has not stopped talking about it!

Of course, we visited a little bit of wine country in Oregon.  We went to Tyee, a favorite of Jenny and Justin's.  The kids had a great time exploring the surrounding farming grounds and orchards.

Again, the Sowa tongue...

 Cheers, Jenny and Justin!  Thanks for an amazing family get-away!

Summer Camping Trip

We had a blast on our first 2014 summer camping trip over the 4th of July weekend.  The Garcia family joined us for a super-fun time at Weston Pass.

The kids had SO much fun.  Right next to our camping site was a little trail to a river where the kids played each day.  We also played "Capture the Flag," "Kick the Can," "Simon Says," you name it...the whole experience made me want to be a little kid again!  

And of course nights included burgers, s'mores, and my personal favorite, a show in front of the campfire put on by each of the kids' favorite friend (Sofia's Marney the Moose, Porter's Dino the Dinosaur, and Emma Rose's Gigi the Giraffe). 

We took a little off-roading trip on our second day so that the boys could shoot guns and the kids had fun skipping rocks, exploring old cabins, and collecting flowers.

Sofia the birthday-girl smiles her precious smile.

This is a new look for me - what do you think?

And of course, when it was time to go, Porter's highlight: Helping his dad get the camper hooked back up to the truck:

 It was SO fun camping with another family - especially one that we all love so much.  Thank you, Team Garcia, for making this 4th of July so special!