Family Vacation

We took a trip! With Greg and Debbie fully vaccinated and restrictions relaxing we decided a trip to Utah was overdue. We spend two roller-coaster weeks visiting each of our extended families as well as friends and places that we've been missing.

We started our journey after work on Tuesday evening but we only planned on going a 1/4 of the way before stopping for the night. Debbie loved having all day to pack the car and put the house in order before leaving.

We enjoyed just a short drive to Eastern Oregon and then stayed the night in a hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel was not pet-friendly so Debbie chose to sleep in the van with Bella. We started off bright and early next morning to continue on our way. We were having a good day, stopping for a few geocaches, and at our favorite gas stations; but about 7 hours into our drive the van started acting up. It could not handle much more than 55 mph and had such a hard time going up hills. We were able to limp into a mechanic who dropped everything to take a look. 

After leaving the mechanic the van still wasn't performing as it should. We took a little breather at Debbie's cousin's house where the kids loved all the baby animals and Greg and Debbie tried to figure out what to do.

 

 

Ultimately, we decided to stay the night in Southern Idaho instead of risking a breakdown in the middle of the night. The hotel we found was beautifully situated on the Snake river but it was not pet-friendly so Debbie stayed with Bella again.

The following morning Debbie took the van to a different mechanic just to get it checked again. He couldn't find anything wrong with it. He suggested getting some engine cleaner and sent us on our way. We were able to make it the last three hours to the house that Debbie's parents had rented for the weekend. We were warmly welcomed and got settled in. Bella was again on the outs because the owners didn't want her in the house. She spent the next few days hanging out on the porch. We were out there with her as much as we could be though.

The most exciting part of the rental house was the game room. There was a climbing wall over a foam pit, foosball, air hockey, and billiards. Whenever we were at the house the kids were in the game room with their cousins.

We had a few adventures outside of the house. Bella loved the hike on the Limber Pine Nature trail. Alex collected pieces all along the trail and build a little bark boat. Abby was given the freedom to go the speed she wanted with her cousin. They were a good pair and were so sweet with the smaller girls.

Later that afternoon we decided to visit the beach despite the predicted rain. We attempted to time our visit between rainfalls but soon after arriving the sky opened up and drenched us all. Abby loved the whole experience and did not mind getting wet by the rain or the lake. Everyone else was less than enthused. We didn't stay long opting for getting milkshakes instead but it made for a good story and some memorable laughs.

Even though we arrived late to the party we were so glad that we had a few days to spend with most of Debbie's family. Abby and Alex missed half of their cousins but played hard with the kids that were there. After packing up and cleaning the house we headed to Utah County. Along the way, the van's check-engine light came on again. We were able to make the drive without major problems though it was stressful.

We had a few un-planned days in Utah Valley. We loved visiting in-person with Greg's grandparents, more time with cousins, games, and food.

When Greg's brother and family arrived there were lots of things on the to-do list. Among them were: the trampoline park, BYU campus (which included the paleontology museum), and the Scera pool. 

Greg surprised everyone by arranging a shave ice truck to come to the house. The kids were jumping up and down with excitement. We all had at least two cups each. Bella even got in on the action with a cup of ice (no syrup). It was very fun.

Alex made sure to go out with Papa for his yearly JDawgs lunch. This year it was at JDawg's original location just off BYU campus. They were nice enough to let anyone join this date. This location is only two blocks from where Greg and Debbie first met. It was fun to walk the same paths we did when we were dating and talk about how the campus has changed.

Our last activity in Utah Valley was Grandma's birthday present: family portraits with the whole family. The location and lighting were beautiful and the photographer came prepared with candy to bribe the kids. There was a lot of time spent trying to get the babies' attention and lots of configurations of groups. Abby and Alex looked pretty big compared with their baby cousins. True to form Alex performed for the camera. Greg snagged this pretty GQ picture while waiting between shots. After the photoshoot, we hopped over to nearby Heber City to get ice cream from our favorite shake place.

 

 

 

Since apparently, we hadn't had enough driving yet, we headed out for the next part of our trip - Grand Junction, CO.  Greg's family decided to rent a house there as a chance to see somewhere new and go someplace with fewer distractions.

While there, one of the major attractions was Colorado National Monument where we did a hike (some did more than one) and saw some very pretty scenery.

At the house, the cousins enjoyed playing, especially the game of "spray-Abby" which they seemed willing to do for hours.

Alex, in his usual fashion, was not as interested in getting wet outside.  He found a hidden alcove under a bench and used that as his hideout to play on his kindle.  It was a bit anti-social but it gave time for the adults to catch up and play games so I guess there was some benefit.

On the 4th, we had heard there would be fireworks in the city so we let all the kids stay up and watch for them.  They ended up being a little further away than we expected but that was maybe a good thing as they weren't too loud for anyone.

We had already been to one dinosaur museum in Utah but there was another one just 5 minutes from where we were staying and we felt like we had to go there too. This one was a little more hands-on and the kids spent a while exploring while parents chased them to keep up.

Abby's big excitement for the summer was that she got to stay in Utah for a few more weeks to do some activities with friends and family while Alex and Greg and Debbie did the long drive back.  We ended up doing the whole 1000 mile drive back in one day which was a little silly but it meant we didn't have to unload things more than once and Alex is a very easy kid to travel with. 

The trip had a lot of driving and a lot of different hotels/places to stay but it was worth the chance to see people in both Greg and Debbie's families.  We had a lot of fun and now need some time to recover from the vacation!

School is Out

We made it! A full school year is complete despite the challenges that COVID-19 wanted to throw at us. The year was confusing and draining at times. Everyone had to adjust frequently with half of the year spent fully remote and a quarter of the time in a hybrid schedule before finally returning to their campuses for the last quarter of the year. What a whirlwind. The kids definitely grew in more than just academic ways this year.

final day, first day

final day, first day

On the last Monday of the year, Alex was excited about a movie and popsicle party with his class. Sadly, Debbie was called not long after school started to come back and pick him up. Alex had been in close contact with a classmate who had tested positive the previous Friday. With instructions for a 10-day isolation period, Debbie drove back to the school disappointed that he'd miss all the fun things that happen the last week of school. As it turned out one of Alex's friends was also being sent home. As Debbie talked with the other mom they realized that the two boys could isolate together. Debbie brought both boys back to the house and they spent the rest of the day playing. We found out later that if Alex had proof of a negative test he'd be allowed to return to school for the last two days: field day and a half-day. We had his friend over the next day for isolation (Debbie made them do a little bit of reading and math), his regular distance Wednesday, and then he was back on campus Thursday. Alex was so happy that he was able to complete the year with his teacher and class at school.

On the last day of school, Abby and Alex celebrated with the neighbor kids. They had homemade milkshakes that Debbie made as well as a bit of hide-n-seek and yard play.

On the weekend Abby had a swim meet. This time Debbie was a volunteer timekeeper. Debbie had more fun than expected and really enjoyed watching Abby compete. Unfortunately, Abby was disqualified from her relay event because one of the other swimmers performed the wrong stroke. Abby swam well though and set personal records in some of her other events.

Visitors

It's been nearly nine months since we last saw Greg's cousins who live in Seattle. We were so happy they wanted to spend a weekend with us. There was a lot of gaming accomplished (both on screens and off), catching up, and eating. Not everything was photo-documented but that's okay because we were focused on each other. Hopefully, it's not such a long time before we see them again.

Service and Sunshine

We've been loving the spring weather. Our garden is happy and we eat salads, tacos, and sandwiches frequently. Harvesting produce right before eating it is so satisfying. 

A while ago Debbie ran into information about a service project. Everyone was excited about putting food boxes together for others. The event was very organized with an assembly line that we walked through gathering items for each box. Everything was so smooth that just half an hour after the event started all of the boxes had been filled. Abby was disappointed that she was only able to go through the line twice. We had a lot of fun and hope to have similar opportunities soon.

Our days are getting longer and Debbie has loved doing little outdoor outings with the kids. She and Abby have gone on little hikes and geocaching with the time between dropping Alex off at school and needing to drop Abby off. 

Debbie took Alex to the library and farmer's market one beautiful afternoon. Alex had a few market tokens which he spent on huge Cosmic Crisp apples.

 

Memorial Weekend

This weekend was a long weekend for everyone and an extra-long weekend for Greg (he got Friday off).  With so much time available, Greg decided to take the kids for an overnight adventure to explore some of the Columbia gorge.  Greg picked the kids up from school and then they went down to Oregon and enjoyed some really yummy pizza and dessert before staying in a hotel (even though the kids usually get bored and sleep poorly in hotels they always get super excited any time they get the opportunity).

On Saturday, we went for a drive through the gorge and saw three waterfalls, did a short hike, and visited a museum focused on the natural and human history of the area.  It was a pretty fun trip!

Throughout the weekend we have had awesome weather with blue skies and warm afternoons.  Debbie loves evening campfires and s'mores and there have been plenty of opportunities.  We also got a hammock for Christmas and finally put it to use this weekend.

We have a tradition of learning about a new culture each month and on the last Sunday of the month, we have a feast with food from that country/culture.  This month it has been Japan and for our feast, we learned how to make sushi and tried out making vegetable sushi (with sprouts from our garden!)  It turned out better than expected though it will probably not become a regular staple.  Since we had 5 Sundays this month we also did a teriyaki chicken which probably isn't very authentic but it was yum.

We celebrated Memorial day the same way we have for as long as we can remember - with grilled burgers and family time outside.  Before dinner, we were working on a new zipline platform and putting in a new zipline system (the previous zipline was snapped when an excavator accidentally clipped it).  The new zipline is fun but just a little too zippy. 

It's been a great weekend and we're a little sad to see it end!  At least just a short week ahead.

Project Weeks

We're constantly working on multiple different projects around here. Recently, Debbie's Dad came for a visit and to help move some of those projects forward.

Before Papa arrived the kids had purchased their own little crafting kits. They got the idea from a YouTuber they like to watch and were very excited for their kits to arrive. In typical fashion, Alex worked on and completed his kit within a day. Abby, however, is going much slower and being quite meticulous. They were both happy with this purchase.

The first day of Papa's visit turned out to be a play day. The kids had remote-learning that day so after they finished studying we were able to go out on an adventure. We spent some time exploring Fort Vancouver then had dinner at our favorite Korean place. At Fort Vancouver, Papa took the kids to all the different display houses within the fort. Bella was not welcome inside the fort so Debbie took her for a walk around the park. The park was beautiful and there was a lot that we did not explore. We'll have to go back another day.

Debbie had two main projects she wanted to work on while Papa was here: chopping wood and working on the playhouse.

Back in February, we had a few trees taken down. Since then we've had the trunk rounds waiting for attention. The goal was to get all the rounds chopped into firewood. Everyone chipped in a little bit by either moving rounds, chopping or stacking. We're glad that we rented a wood-splitting machine. The job would have been much harder and taken much longer if we hadn't. As it was it took more than six hours to complete. The kids were grateful that they were at school for most of that time. This was the more labor-intensive job but Debbie is sure excited to have a full woodshed. Greg is pretty sure we went overboard and we now have a couple years of wood stocked.

The other project Debbie had in mind has been her hobby project - converting a storage shed into a playhouse for the kids. Because this is a hobby project Debbie is trying to be as resourceful as possible. By a stroke of luck, Debbie came across some old french doors that someone was giving away. With a little ingenuity, Debbie and Papa installed those doors as fixed windows in what used to be solid walls. Alex enjoyed helping to make the holes for them (see video) and the end result is pretty impressive. The windows help make the shed clubhouse feel a lot bigger. There is still a lot more to do for the project but Debbie was glad for the help on this particular part.

After saying goodbye to Papa the projects continued. Over a couple of days, Debbie fixed a leaky pipe in the driveway. Greg is still planting and watering grass seed, and gardening has been a constant for both of them.

We love all the new things that being property owners has taught us. Our DIY projects are a lot of work but fulfilling. Hopefully, this won't be the last project week Papa spends with us.

Alpaca Farm

We have had a very pleasant spring with plenty of sunny days giving us opportunities to work and play.  While our weeks are very busy with work, school logistics, swim lessons, drama club at the middle school, etc, we treasure our weekends and try to make the most of them.

One of our favorite things about our town is the effort they put into supporting small businesses and the local area.  There is a city-sponsored event where if you do 5 nearby hikes (and answer clues from the hikes) and eat at 5 restaurants in the city you get a commemorative cup.  We don't really need more cups in the cupboard but it seemed like a good excuse to see more of the area.  We're up to 3 restaurants and 2 hikes so far, here are some pictures of one of our recent hikes along a river (which the kids of course ended up going into and getting soaked)

 

Whenever we drive to town or school or swimming lessons we always pass by a small alpaca farm and we like seeing what the alpacas are doing.  Debbie noticed that they were doing tours so we jumped on the opportunity and got to spend part of a morning learning more about these alpacas.  The kids loved how soft and fluffy they were and enjoyed feeding them some pellets.

The alpacas aren't the only animals getting attention... Alex is always up to *something* and for a few days, one of his realizations was that his clothes fit pretty well on our dog Bella. Bella patiently put up with it though she kept looking at us like she was a bit embarrassed.

And lastly, in Allen-animal-news, it is spring which means lots of wild rabbits around as well as lots of deer roaming around.  We have a group of 3 deer we see a few times a week near our house including this close encounter in the forest while Debbie was on a walk. 

That's it from the woods for this week!