Ape Caves and Girls Day Out in Portland

Needless to say, by Wednesday we were pretty pooped.  We hung out at Jared & Kathy's that morning and then decided to do Ape Caves.  They're lava tubes that you can hike through.  It was super cool.  Ya...that was Avery before the hike.

      This was the only place light enough to get a picture of.  Really pretty and fun adventure!

 

     I believe that nights activities consisted of a movie for the kids and the adults hanging out and talking. When Corey & I were talking about the trip and our favorite thing about it we agreed that the best thing was having one on one time with Jared and Kathy.  Every night after we put the kids to bed we'd stay up talking and laughing together.  So although we went to Washington for Spring Break and to see the beautiful Pacific Northwest, it was the time spent with the Larrabees that meant the most to us.  Love you Washington Larrabees!!

 

 

     I'm not gonna lie.  The Girls day out was so much fun!!!  We started out at the Japanese gardens.  I'll say it again for the billionth time...beautiful!  All of our pictures looked like postcards. 

 

 

     After the gardens we had lunch at the food trucks, yum.  Then we perused Powells Books.  After that we went to Salt & Straw.  It's a fun ice cream shop with different kinds of flavors.  The kid helping us was kind enough to let me sample quite a few including olive oil ice cream.  Kathy got a lavender ice cream and I got strawberry balsamic with black pepper and a pear with blue cheese ice cream.  I was in creative, fun food bliss.  (Thanks Mic for the recommendation!!)  Then we wandered through the cute shops in Portland.  Thanks for such a fun day Kathy!! 

 

More Beaches...

     We enjoyed our sleep in and continental breakfast & headed to the Astoria Column.  It was a fun little attraction.  They sell balsawood airplanes there so when you get to the top of the column you can throw them off. 

     Then we headed to a couple more beaches.  The drive alone was beautiful.  The forests around these beaches are dense and unique.  The moss has grown over these trees and created short, stubby branches that look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. 
     First was Indian Beach at Ecola Park.  It was a breathtakingly beautiful place and we enjoyed finding crabs and other sea creatures in the tide pools. 

     My whole life I've heard my Dad talk about going to Cannon Beach & Haystack rock.  I've wanted to see it for as long as I can remember.  So even though we were pretty 'beached-out' everyone humored me & we went to Cannon beach.  I've seen pictures of Haystack Rock, but nothing prepared me for how big it is!  I literally gasped when I saw it.  Haystack Rock....check!

Astoria, etc...

     Kathy & I both had extensive lists of things we wanted to do and see so we did just that!  First stop Astoria. 

      The Sea Lions were out and loud!!  So fun to see & hear them up close. 

     Then we had a chilly lunch at Cape Disappointment.  Corey and Jared had a contest who could take the coolest picture of the waves crashing in. 

 

     We found some fun creatures at Fort Stevens, an old army base that you can explore. 

  

   Then we were off to Shipwreck Beach.  This was super fun and made for great pictures!  Keaton had saved up for over a year for an ipod and finally got it this year.  He had it with him taking pictures like crazy and forgot about it in his pocket when he went into the ocean to jump over waves.  He was totally devastated.  He was sweet to smile for the pictures, but he'd been crying and so upset.  We all said a little prayer that he could at least find it.  After a few minutes of looking in the ocean he saw it flipping around on the sand as the tide went out.  It was a little miracle for him and made it possible for him to replace it for half the cost instead of starting from scratch.  I'm so thankful for faith-building experiences for my kids! 

     After being out all day we decided to get a hotel instead of driving back to Jared & Kathy's.  This was a heavenly idea!  We checked in and relaxed while Corey and Jared picked up toothbrushes and pizza.  This was the view from our river-side hotel room. Gorgeous!

Happy Easter (Washington Part 2)

     It was so so great to have the Larrabee families together again! First stop, Salamander Creek.  It's a great place close to their home.  The dads took the kids exploring while the moms made dinner and caught up.  

 

The next day was Easter, Conference & Tate's birthday so we had a lot to celebrate.  Since Kaihli  & McKay's birthdays were within a week we celebrated them too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Washington

     We were so lucky to be able to visit Jared & Kathy & the girls for spring break this year.  From everyone we talked to we knew it would be beautiful.  Seeing is believing! 

Multanomah Falls

 

     We left after school on Friday.  We tried to make it a road-trip and stop to see things along the way.  First stop....Twin Falls Idaho Temple.  Beautiful. 

 



     We were so fortunate to have a pit-stop for our 15 hour drive.  Our good friend Brittany grew up in LeGrande, OR.  Her parents were out of town and so they let us crash there to break up our drive.  It was super nice to have a place to sleep, thank you Long's!! 

    

      He has a cool truck and I took pictures of Connie's tulips since she'd miss them by being out of town. 

     The next day we got an early start and stopped at the "Bridge of the Gods."  It was so fun to come into this beautiful Columbia River Gorge and see all the huge bridges and waterfalls.  Much different than our desert country.  

 

 

 

We took the scenic highway and stopped at a few sights, but by this  time everyone was pretty anxious to see the Washington Larrabee's we've been missing so much!

 

 

 

 

 



Style...

    

When I asked Keaton if I could take a picture of him he said "so I can look back and laugh at myself?"   Well, ya.  This kid loves his style.  He's saved money for shoes and gotten special clothes as gifts just to complete this look.  Great style Keat! 

The West's Came!!!

      The Wests came on a last-minute trip to check out colleges for Andrew.  Heather is one of my all-time-favorite-people-ever!  It's so crazy!  Andrew was twelve when they left!!  It was so fun to spend the day with them as well as the Parkinsons & Larkins.  You know your friendship is good when you can pick up like we've never been apart.  Love you Wests!! 

     Then.....

Now....

      McKay still considers Emma one of his best friends and they totally picked up where they left off...fun, silly, genuine friends. 
     Tate & Jane spent a ton of time together as toddlers.  Sadly they don't remember much so it's not quite the same, but we have tons of baby pictures of them together to embarrass them.  Tate would not smile nicely for anything...stinker!

Then.... (sweet babies!!)



Now....