Summer Vacation 2014: Boise, Idaho

Lauren, Tyler and I flew into Boise, Idaho from Eugene, Oregon.

We actually flew Eugene to Portland and then to Boise.  I'm pretty sure we could have driven in the time it took us to get there.  But who wants to drive that boring stretch of Central/Eastern Oregon?!

(My Mom did but I didn't want her to have to turn around and drive home by herself.)

 Matt was on a work trip to China (again!) and he would meet us in a couple of days.

We got to spend our first evening in Boise not only with G'ma Jan and G'pa Michael but also with the cousins, Madison and Crisstopher.

First up?  Take the dogs, Farrah and Rachett, on a walk to the neighborhood park.

I love all the green colors.

I especially love how M and C are posing in the bottom right photos.

Cousin Selfie!

"Laurdison"

The next day G'ma Jan, Aunt Jennifer (Matt's sister,) and I took our kiddos to Roaring Springs.

It was a bit on the chilly side but the children did not care.

The next day G'ma Jan took the kiddos to the park while I went to pick up Matt from the airport. 

She let me drive the Lexus!

(I kind of want one now.  Babe?)

I drove both the Lexus and Matt home safe and sound.

That evening we had the best pizza made in G'ma & G'pa's wood fired pizza oven.

Family Picture time

(G'pa Michael, G'ma Jan, Jennifer, Todd, Me, Matt

Madison, Crisstopher, Tyler and Lauren.)

Cousin Time!

top:  they all look to be about the same size even though they range in age from 5-10

bottom:  Lauren and Crisstopher playing screen time,  Madison checking Tyler's temperature with the infrared thermometer.

One evening we went out to dinner at Cafe Ole.

The food and drinks were great but what I remember most is that both L and T were able to win a teddy bear out of the grab-it  machine.  When does that ever happen?!

G'pa Michael is a great planner and he likes to have fun.  He made sure we had fun every single day!

We went swimming at the condo pool.

It was a bit cool (and rainy) for me which is why I'm wrapped in the towel in the bottom right picture.

Look at Lauren's face.  Grandma Jan is obviously telling her a very funny secret!

One afternoon, we went bowling at Big Al's

 Big Al's is a bowling wonderland.  You can bowl, eat, drink, and play all the video games you want.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the video games we played but I know we all had a blast.

After lunch we enjoyed the flowers and the fountains in the shopping area.

At might we would play some mean games of Uno.

 Lauren even got to sew a blanket for her new teddy bear.

Maybe she'll teach me how to sew one day.

On the Fourth of July we went downtown to catch a glimpse of the annual parade.

Grandpa Michael just happens to have keys to Boise Plaza so we got to watch from the roof!

Awesome views!

That night we went to the Boise Hawk's baseball game and to see the 4th of July fireworks at the stadium.

Boise Hawks played my hometown team the Eugene Emeralds.

What a fun evening!

Happy 4th of July!!

We had so much fun on our Summer Vacation 2014.

It was wonderful to see our family again and we made so many great memories.

Thanks for such a good time!

This is the sign of an AWESOME VACATION!

Summer Vacation 2014: Garden Valley, Idaho

The kids and I actually spent a couple of days with Grandma Jan and Grandpa Michael in Boise before heading to Garden Valley to visit Papa and MeMa but I'll talk about them in my next post about our Boise Vacation.

Our time spent in Garden Valley was all about the great outdoors.

Lauren and Tyler had a lot of brand new First Time experiences.

We are lucky we get to explore the great outdoors of Garden Valley from PaPa and MeMa's beautiful home.  I'm sure you remember reading about this home in the July 2007 issue of Country's Best Log Homes!

We never get tired of taking pictures of it when we visit.

The view out back isn't bad either.

Especially if this pretty girl is sitting on the porch.

MeMa and Lauren looking for wildlife.

We started our days with a walk around the neighborhood with Barrett the bullmastiff.

(Yes, this is their neighborhood.)

After breakfast and our morning walks were finished we headed outdoors to do some outdoorsy stuff.

FOUR WHEELING

We explored all over the hills as far as the eye can see.

Sometimes MeMa and I would stay at the house while the men took the kids out.

And other times we would all head out together.

Tyler with PaPa, Lauren with MeMa, and me with Matt

 After a few rides as passengers on the 4 Wheelers Lauren and Tyler wanted to learn to drive on their own.

Daddy was brave enough to teach them.

Here's video of them learning to ride.

First time driving a 4 wheeler!

Lauren

Tyler

FISHING

There is a little pond down the road from PaPa and MeMa's so we took advantage and did some canoeing and fishing.  MeMa and I took advantage of the soft grass and plopped ourselves down.

First time in a canoe!

 

PaPa caught this fish but Lauren wanted to hold it before throwing it back.

Check out Tyler fishing from the dock with help from PaPa.

He caught his first fish!

One day we took our fishing poles and drove about an hour up in the mountains to Lowman, Idaho.

Beautiful views!

After lunch at the Sourdough Lodge we found some ponds to do a little fishing.

We were excited to learn that Fish and Wildlife had just stocked the ponds with thousands of fish.

Lauren caught her first fish!

In fact, everyone caught a fish or ten on this trip.  Even I caught a fish, but unfortunately I'm the one taking the pictures.

Memories from this particular fishing trip:

1.  Lauren caught the first fish of the day. However, her fish completely swallowed the worm and after Daddy finally got it out it started to swim upside down and in circles.  Lauren being the sweet sensitive soul that she is got very upset saying she didn't want the fish to die.  (it did)  We gave the fish to another fisherman who was keeping some fish to eat so hopefully that made her feel a little better.  Unfortunately, her fishing for the day was over as soon as it began.

2.  Matt somehow got a fishing hook stuck clear in his thumb.  His Dad had to get it out for him.

3.  Barrett, not wanting to miss out on his catch, saw a fish swimming by the shore and decided he was going to go for it.  Barrett's youthfulness and solid 160 pound frame is no match for anyone trying to stop him with the leash. Especially Dyann who weighs quite a bit less than him.  So, when Barrett went in the water so did MeMa.  I was across the lake watching so I laughed out loud!  Lauren who was next to her told me she tried to wait until MeMa started laughing too.  Here's a picture of her soaked jeans after the fact.

 SHOOTING

 There is an outdoor shooting range (picnic table and a field dug into a hill) near PaPa and MeMa's house and L and T were both excited to shoot up some cardboard boxes.

First time shooting a gun!

(not a BB gun like they shot at boy scout camp)

They both had a pretty decent shot!

 The morning we were going to head back to Boise the kiddos begged and begged for one more chance to ride the 4 Wheelers.

Daddy and PaPa were happy to ride along with them.

(kitchen window view - hummingbird and the 4 wheelers) 

They've improved and gotten quite confident I must say.

Lauren

Tyler

On our way back to Boise Matt said he really misses doing all these outdoor activities.  Four Wheeling, Canoeing, Fishing, Shooting etc. etc.  We need to make more of an effort to get outside and have fun.  I'm pretty sure we can do all these things in Georgia even though it's more fun with family. 

What a great visit with PaPa and MeMa and the kiddos will remember it as the summer of many firsts!

FIRST TIME DRIVING A 4 WHEELER

FIRST TIME IN A CANOE

FIRST TIME FISHING IN A CANOE

FIRST TIME CATCHING A FISH (BOTH L AND T)

FIRST TIME SHOOTING A REAL GUN

Summer Vacation 2014: Oregon

We had a great time on our THREE WEEK Summer Vacation!

Matt only had a week of paid vacation so the kids and I flew out two weeks ahead of him.

(Matt did get to take another work trip to China while we were gone so he didn't sit home teary-eyed and missing us the whole time.)

All checked in and waiting at the gate for our flight to Portland, Oregon.

Grammy and Uncle Brian picked us up at the airport and we headed to Uncle Kevin's house in Hillsboro to spend the night before heading to Grammy's house in Springfield. Uncle Kevin and Aunt Mili were out of town that night so we had free rein of the place.

Grammy being Grammy had gift bags waiting for the kiddos.

Legos et. al!! 

While L and T built their new Lego sets I went through my carry-on to throw out all the trash.

I may or may not have found this in the front pocket of my CARRY-ON.

(Am I liable if I admit to something on a web log?)

TSA may or may not have done a superb job of screening my bag.

More pics from our one nighter at Kevin and Mili's.

1. Dinner 2. Playing with cousin Patrick's racecars 3. Showing Uncle Brian Tomodachi Life on the 2DS

The next day before heading South to Grammy's house we spent a few (quite a few) hours at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. (OMSI)

Informative, Fun, and Great Exercise walking ALL OVER the PLACE

Then it was off to Grammy's house for one night only.

Lauren quickly acclimated to Grammy's House Rules.

(Cookies for breakfast are acceptable)

Grammy planned a fun trip for us to Wildlife Life Safari and Crater Lake.

 On our way out of town I spotted this window with Steve Prefontaine and stopped to get a picture.

In college I lived on the hill where he tragically died in a car accident.  While living there they filmed outside my house for the movie "Prefontaine." I remember keeping a lookout for Jared Leto who played him.

Okay, back to our trip.

We headed down I-5 toward Wildlife Safari which is near Roseburg, OR (a couple hours South of Grammy's house.) 

Anytime you travel from Springfield/Eugene to Roseburg you MUST stop at Rice Hill and enjoy the best ice-cream ever.  Umpqua Ice Cream from a shack on the side of the Interstate!

Wildlife Safari!

We drove through the park to see all the animals and then got out to explore the grounds and petting zoo.

It was a fun and memorable experience for the kiddos.  We had a one eyed goat? deer? follow us for quite awhile who quickly earned a spot in the kids' heart when his lack of depth perception let him (gently) smash his face into our car window.  I don't seem to have a picture of him but I have plenty of others. 

We were hungry after Wildlife Safari so we made our way to McMenamins for dinner.

I believe Lauren was reliving her terrible twos and throwing a tantrum in the bottom left picture.

Since our hotel for the night had a pool, L and T had to check it out.  Who cares if it is an outdoor unheated pool?  Who cares if it is only 65 degrees out?

(Luckily there was a hot tub.)

In the morning we headed East toward Crater Lake.

One of the Natural Wonders of the World!!

On our way to the Lake we were held up by a big Rock Slide.

It was on purpose to dispose of loose rocks and it was actually pretty cool to see.  We were only delayed about 20 minutes because these guys/gals make quick work with the bulldozer.  Up on the cliff they inflate balloons (no dynamite) until the rocks start to fall.  The rocks pound to the street below and then the bulldozers come out and clean it up like they are cotton balls.

Amazing! 

Crater Lake at last!

The beautiful day made it absolutely breath taking.

Bottom left picture: the reflection looks just about perfect

Now that you've admired the Natural Beauty of Crater Lake it's time to enjoy the peeps who came to see it.

What an awesome experience and a beautiful day to boot.

The snow pack was still too high to hike down to the lake so after we thoroughly checked out everything we could we headed back to Grammy's house.

BUT, just for the night.

The next day we packed up once again, grabbed GG & Mr. Buddy (her Bichon Frise) and drove West to Florence, Oregon to start our drive up the coastal highway to Grammy's beach house in Lincoln City.

We stopped in a few cities along the way to check out the sites.

It was yet another beautiful day!

(It's very rare to have cloudless sky on the Oregon Coast)

As soon as we made it to Grammy's beach house L and T were all about heading straight to the beach.

So that's what we did.

Uncle Brian showed up shortly and taught Tyler the art of "tagging."

Gotta love my brother "DUDE BRIAN." ;)

 Later on at the house:

1. GG in the kitchen 2. Relaxing in the living room 3. Conked out for the night 

The next couple of days were full of beach house fun.

We were joined by Uncle Kevin, Aunt Mili, and Cousin Patrick when they got back in town.  We did some sight seeing in Depot Bay, lots of good eating and of course more sandy fun on the beach.

Lauren posing on a walk to the beach.

Beach Fun!

1. Cousins holding hands 2. Sand aerobics 3. Grammy and GG chilling 4. Beach fun with the Uncles

 We couldn't spend all our time at the beach because Lauren needed to school her Uncles at RISK.

Before leaving the Beach House we attempted to recreate this picture from last year.

June 10, 2013

We almost got it perfect but GG forgot to put on her bathrobe. hehehe

I believe the layout is better this year.  The giant (me) needs to be in the middle.

Other Family Photos

(just missing Uncle Brian who had to go to work and Patrick who earned himself a time-out)

Love my Family!!

 We couldn't stay at the beach house forever so eventually we made our way back to Grammy's house in Springfield.

When we got home it was the perfect time to make Chocolate Chip Cookies!

It started off all fun and games and eating cookie dough! but somehow (bottom photo) both kids burned their fingers and had to nurse them with ice while Grammy finished the final batches.

(This is why I don't make the cookies in my house.)

While at Grammy's house the kids would play for HOURS with the Army Guys.  It was fun to watch their creativity and reaffirm that they CAN entertain themselves without Screen Time.

The last full day we were in Oregon, Grammy & GG hosted a small get-together in our honor.

Cousins got to play with cousins and us grown-ups got to catch up with one another.

The food was out of this world!

We had so much fun in Oregon and the days just flew by.

Before we knew it it was time to start the next leg of our Summer Vacation 2014 in Idaho.

We didn't fly out to Boise (Eugene-Portland-Boise) until the afternoon so we made sure to get some family pictures.

1.Four Generations

2. GG and her GG Babies 3. Grammy choking the GKs 4. Momma and her babies

 Me and my Grams

She looks like a doll next to me. Love her!

And we're off to Idaho to see the rest of our family.

'Till we meet again!

**PS**What I don't have a picture for but I do want to include in this post about our Oregon vacation is an evening we spent with my Dad's brother Ken (Uncle Butchy to me and the kiddos.)  He and my Aunt Charlotte offered to let us use their van to drive to the coast.  When we stopped by to pick up the van we all went out to dinner and then took a drive around memory lane.  He took us to the jogging paths that he and my Dad would often run together.  He talked about running with my Dad (Grandpa Bob) and asked the kiddos if they wanted to go for a run with him.  Lauren was game.  It was fun to see his enjoyment running with Lauren (and hers too.)  What was even cooler was later that night in bed when Lauren asked me to tell her more about her Grandpa Bob (my Dad.)  He died when she was three and Tyler was one so neither really remember him.  It made my heart smile that she wanted to know more about him.

I'm Back!!

Well hey! Hello there!

We are all back from a THREE WEEK VACATION and I should have a killer blog post up soon about our vacation to Oregon and Idaho (and China.)

In the meantime my entire house is covered in THREE INCHES of cat hair and my fridge looks like this:

I need to go to the store pronto.

We'd be set if we could live off of condiments.

(In all honesty, my fridge actually looked worse but since it was so empty I decided to wash the shelves and interior before I took the empty fridge picture.)

My house, however, is honestly covered in cat hair.  

Once I get things cleaned up around here I'll start working on our fabulous vacation.

Hope you all had a fantastic July 4th!