Portland

So last week, Adam was talking with his mom and she mentioned that there would be a family reunion the next week up in Portland...... Yup, you guessed it. We loaded up the car a couple of days later and headed out for a fantastic adventure! ;)

We ADORE the North-West and really anything about it. (Well, the huge amount of rain might not be totally cool;) We drove straight to Eugene,OR and had the opportunity to have fabulous friends that took in a couple of vagabonds for a couple of days. We stayed with our good friends Teressa and Dave, and had SUCH a good time! We went to the beach, snuck in a good 'ole game of dominoes (Dave you're going to be humbled next time! ;), and caught up on all the good stuff in life. Thanks you guys!

The BEST restaurant on the planet!!! I LOVE this place!!! Food straight from their backyard ;) (Adam doesn't like seafood, so he was a champ to let Teressa and I have a treat)






The view from our table















It was pretty windy at the beach, so Adam found another way to entertain himself ;) Didn't I say in a previous post that he will find random ways to entertain himself? Photo proof is now available!







Unfortunately I totally forgot to get pics with Teressa, Dave and their ADORABLE little girl, but I guess that just gives us an excuse to see them again soon ;)


So, on Friday we headed to pick up my Mother-in-law from the airport and start the busy family weekend! We had such a good time touring around Portland and seeing all of the old hangout spots she had (Bev grew up in Portland, so we were able to see some really cool stuff)


At the Rose Gardens once again! I love this place! Dang gorgeous




















Visiting my future house once again ;)
















After the Pittock mansion I got to go to my little heaven on earth... Powell's bookstore! Could life get any better? An ENTIRE city block with 5 stories of wonderful books.... Ahhhhh..... DEFINITELY heaven ;)








Then on Saturday we headed downtown to the Portland Market. I really enjoyed being able to just wander the booths and see all of the handcrafted items. There are some seriously talented people out there!






Adam enjoying the trip














Then we headed over to the reunion and had a grand 'ole time chatting with everybody. It was good to meet some of the cousins I had never met and it was good for Adam to see some of them for the first time in 10 years. Gotta love family get togethers!



Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, so we had to head back home on Sunday. On our way home, Adam wanted to show me this random little spot on the Oregon/Washington border. There was this random guy that had seen Stonehenge in England when he was there for WWII and he decided to build another one in the state of Washington. It's in memory of those soldiers and is COMPLETELY random ;) Adam told me I could scratch this off of my Bucket List and I said it didn't quite count ;)

Bear Lake

I don't know how this paradise has escaped my attention before, but it is honestly a piece of heaven! Adam hadn't even been up there until a month ago and he kept saying "This is huge! I never knew it was so big." My surprise was the sandy beaches..... almost as good as the coast ;) We had planned this expedition a couple of weeks ago with my sister and brother-in-law, Tasha and Justin, and some friends Collin and Michon. It was such a fun day! We were able to just relax and play in the water until we were worn out. Definitely a perfect day ;)



Adam settling in for a wonderful day in the sun ;)





The cutest little swimmer on the lake!


The boys burning all their energy off playing Frisbee in the water.

Wyoming, Part 2

So we were able to have TWO full weeks with family, and enjoy the fairly mild Wyoming weather. The second week started off really great with a girl shopping trip up to Cody, Wyoming. It was really great to just chill with my sisters and mom (and Mylah ;) but getting out of stores quickly is NOT always a talent the Whipple family has ;) I guess it has been cultivated over several generations! We had a great time and I loved our girlie trip.

The next day, My dad, my brother, Adam and I got up bright and early and headed out to fish on Sunshine Lake. It was gorgeous! I had so much fun! (Even if I did get out-fished by my husband ;) I guess I had been too cocky the week before.....

We got rained out for a bit, but headed out on our boat again after only half an hour.














Enjoying the view


















After we enjoyed Sunshine Lake, we met up with my sister Tonya and watched Transformers 2....... was anyone else disappointed in the sexual content? I really liked the story line, but was SERIOUSLY disgusted in how they tried to sell anything inappropriate..... maybe I'm getting old, but it won't be a video I add to my collection.


The next stage in our vacation was heading back up to the mountains! Justin had joined us from Oregon, so we were able to head back up to the mountain for 2 more nights..... seriously my happy place! I love it up there.





The view from our tent. Gorgeous, huh?







One night we were peacefully playing Dominoes and in walks this moose! It walked RIGHT BY our table! If I would have reached out my hand, I could have touched the dang creature ;) All I could think was "Don't move.... please don't charge us. Don't move" ;)











After the excitement with the big ole' moose, the boys decided they needed to have a boat race. Whenever Adam gets bored, he starts pacing around trying to find something to entertain him. This night his creative mind came up with the race of the century! (We're not entirely sure who won..... there were a lot of rocks on the home stretch ;)






The race is on!











This is what happens when you take an adorable 2 year old to the bathrooms in the mountains! Check out all the beads! A random lady thought she was the cutest little thing and gave us a HUGE handful of beads..... go figure. It pays to have an adorable niece ;)





So, then we headed down the mountain on the 4th of July and helped my grandfather with his firework stand. Can I just express my intense love for Wyoming on the 4th of July?! EVERYTHING is legal to set off there! We went crazy for about 2 hours at my uncle's house and the boys LOVED the legal opportunity to light the world on fire ;) It was awesome to laugh until my sides hurt!

I LOVE the 4th of July..... it's really great to think of what this country stands for. I truly appreciate what our military men and women do for us and pray for them always. God bless America.

A couple of days later we headed home and back to reality. It was really special to spend so much time with our grandparents. I love them dearly and appreciate their patience in putting up with us! These moments go by so fast....

Wyoming: Part 1.5

After reading the blog, I (Adam) felt the need to interject and comment about the whole "catching a 'tree fish'" scenario. Yes, I did throw my hook-n-bobber into the tree, but in my defense there are a few factors that my wife failed to mention:

1. The tree was practically in the water (to those of you that were there, go along with it or your Christmas presents are in jeopardy)…
2. I think that my hand was pretty well maimed after taking that hook into my hand, thus throwing off my aim. Also, I noticed that she didn't mention that it was HER fish that I was pulling the hook from--I do have one tough cookie of a wife, but she draws the line at grabbing a slimy fish…
3. I was trying to cast between Shari’s line—being the accommodating husband that I am—and the shoreline (in total maybe a 30 degree area). Given that this was really only my 2nd official time fishing, that tree at 45 degrees wasn’t that bad of a shot…

By all other accounts, Shari’s post is correct and I can now whole-heartedly endorse this blog… Stay tuned for more, including a close encounter of the moose-kind!