OREGON TRIP 2007

Okay, so I know it's been a long time, so this will be a novel of a post.

Our trip to Oregon was great! We met up with X's parents at the airport and spent a few days going down the coast and going through Eugene (my old stomping grounds) with them. Then we met up with my family at a cabin at Lake Odell in the Cascade Mountains. When we lived in Oregon we spent a couple of Christmases snowed in at Lake Odell, so it was a good trip down memory lane for us.

This family reunion was a bit different. First of all, it was a reunion of my immediate family...but we all live within 15 minutes of each other here in North Dallas. "So what's the point of going all the way up to Oregon?" you might ask. For FUN! What else? The other thing that made our reunion different was that all of the 3 people who have married into our family brought their parents with them too. So we had Kendra's, Kristy's, and X's parents with us at Odell. We all get along great, so it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures:Us with X's parents, Colin and Sheryle at Heceta Head Lighthouse on the coast (obviously).

We took a fun dune buggy ride on the sand dunes in Florence, however, our dune buggy was an old school bus turned into a sand machine! We were in the back and we laughed hysterically because it was so bumpy and incredibly windy! X and I knocked heads several times.

Here's Colin enjoying the exhilarating rush of wind that only the back row enjoyed!

We had amazing views as we crested the top of the sand dunes...

...and then had a fun rush as we flew down the other side (as fast as an old school bus dune buggy can go, mind you!). We really had a good time on this ride! I've never been on something so dang bouncy, but you can probably understand by looking at the dunes themselves!

The coast was its usual windy, cold, choppy, but beautiful place.

Next Stop: Lake Odell. It is gorgeous up in the mountains! It was nice to be on a lake surrounded by green trees!

We visited an old growth forest.

Went golfing, where I discovered that I am a stellar golf cart driver. Blackberries are in season right now and as the guys would tee off, you'd find the drivers (Colin, Tara, and me) chomping away on fresh blackberries on the side on the course.

Took the obligatory family reunion picture all in matching shirts (thanks to CK for the design) at some waterfalls that we always liked to visit.

Uncle X with sweet Nora (I didn't trust myself holding her and climbing on the rocks at the top of the churning waterfall!)

We went to Clear Lake and you guessed it...it's very, very clear! I love this shot of the back of the shirt!

This is me enjoying my skittles as someone else rowed me around the lake. I wanted grapes served to me off a platter too, but they weren't available at the time.

As you can see we weren't so synchronized, but we're working on that!

Cute picture with the parental units (no, we didn't plan the primary color outfits!)

The other really cool thing we were able to do in Oregon was meet X's Uncle Neville for the first time. Neville is Colin's older brother who left NZ to go to BYU-H and never went back and has been in Lebanon, Oregon ever since. This was X's first time meeting him and his daughters. It was so fun to meet them and I know it was the highlight of the trip for X for sure. He's never met any first cousins on his dad's side (but don't feel bad for him, he knows plenty second cousins and those whose connections are too distant to remember). The girls (Liz, Michelle, Jenny, and Sharee - not pictured) were really cool and we look forward to getting to know them more.

We also got to stay a night in Silverton, which I have come to know and love through our family friends, The Smiths. The Smiths live in Southern California but have family in Silverton and I would occasionally join them on their annual summer visits. I feel fortunate to have come to know their family and love the friendship that we have! We were able to stay in Sharron's beautiful home on the Abiqua Creek, eat their divine blackberry cobbler with Kristi and Grandma Mills, and, last but not least, binge on fresh blackberries right before heading to the airport!

Thanks to everyone for helping make this trip a great one!

(this post was motivated and paid for by Janette Church)