Before and after the beach, we were in Portland, at my parents.
The drive from Kalispell was a the longest amount we have driven in a single day.
But, with a couple of breaks, we all survived it.
Getting to Oregon meant seeing my family. My mom invited some people over for a BBQ our first Sunday there, including my dad's cousins Chellae!
It was so nice to see her and her husband. Plus, one of our friends brought some Henry Weinhard's.
Which means I taught the kiddos how to blow air across the top of the bottle and play music.
They thought it was hilarious.
So that's what I did with a decent part of my evening.
It was nice to be with my Mom and Dad, just hanging out.
I love seeing them interact with my kiddos.
And just be silly themselves!
We hadn't seen Grandma May (Grandma Great) in 4 years, so we relished the opportunity to spend time with her!
This is four generations: my grandma, dad, me, and my kiddos!
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We took this one because we went out to eat for dinner and another patron said as we were leaving, "Four generations, right? You should take a picture and put it on Facebook!" Thanks for the nudge, nameless man!
One of our mini adventures in Portland was going to the Witch's Castle in Forest Park.
It was a nice walk in Forest Park, leading to an abandoned stone building.
Affectionately known as the Witch's Castle.
There are a number of legends that have been made up about the area,
Although none of them involve witches. Go figure.
We went in the morning to beat the heat and enjoy the shade.
Because there was quite a bit of heat while we were in Portland. Some of the ways we had to beat the heat included staying inside my parents air conditioned house
The wooden blocks are always a fun time.
We also did spend some time outside,
Mostly in the hammock.
Because when you have a hammock, you use a hammock.
We went out to eat
and went to the library.
Finding a book to read - where there is A/C - is always a good choice.
Grammie May took us all to the movies.
I'm not sure when was the last time we all went to the movies, between Covid and the kids being too young.
We all enjoyed it this time, because, again, A/C + comfy seats + snacks... what could be better?
When we weren't inside the air conditioning, we spent quite a bit of time playing in water.
Both at parks and at home.
Some days were quite warm, and other days were hot. There was a heat warning a few days and so we sought out things to do in the air conditioning. Mom suggested the nickle arcade, and it was such a good idea.
We all had so much fun, with the air hockey table probably being our favorite.
Kyler and I beat the kiddos fairly soundly. but every game between the two of us went all the way down to the wire. We're similarly matched in air hockey skills, at least.
Our final day before we headed back, we went to the temple and recreated one of our wedding photos with the entire family.
The missionaries from the Visitor's Center gave us a tour of the grounds (while it was still cool)
and then brought us inside to share a video and their testimony with us.
Not a bad way to finish off our vagabond month.
Because it was finally time to head back home.
A month was a long time to be away, as you can see.
Our final stop of our journey was a quick break at Lundbreck Falls.
In spite of seeing the sign countless times, we'd never stopped here before.
It was a fantastic vacation, although I'm not sure I'd do a full month gone again. Still, it was worth it.
We went to 5 different wards in the five weeks of July, ending with our own. In Loradona's ward, we joined ward choir, singing Come Ye Desconsalate. The kiddos different primary teachers loved it them. It's easy to love their craziness for a single Sunday at a time...
We played 20 questions... And later, a new game: 20 answers (to one question). And we saw a lot of amazing things and spent a lot of time together.
Still, for the rest of the summer, I'm not going any further than an hour away from home - at most!
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