Deschutes River Fun with Friends

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First Day of School

First day of middle school for Dylan; first day of eighth grade for Izzy.  As you can see by Izzy's t-shirt, she is a WEB Leader this year.  It is a student government group for eighth graders.  They help mentor the new students and incoming sixth graders.  They have to have good grades and be excellent students as well as stellar kids...so proud of her!  WEB stands for "where everyone belongs".

Here's to a great school year!

Seattle and Victoria!

I love that we live just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Seattle.  And that from Seattle, we can hop onto a ferry that will take us to Canada...Vancouver Island is one of my favorite places ever!

My boys at Kubota Gardens

Obligatory Space Needle photos!

Playing in the fountains in the heart of Seattle :)

A Titanic moment on our way to Canada

Victoria is beautiful!

Can't wait to go back!

Little Cultus Lake

We snuck away with the Young's to Little Cultus Lake this weekend to get some much needed rest and relaxation.  First item of business, hang the hammocks.

Next was unload sandwiches and lots of yummy snacks.  Last (but not least) was to get out the gear!  Kayaks, tubes, paddle boards...the perfect recipe for a successful afternoon in the sun.

Dylan and Sullivan decided to eat their lunch on the lake.  Literally. They went out really far (they are the little red/orange dots in the middle of the lake), then put up their feet and enjoyed!

After lunch, the boys (and eventually the girls) started hunting for crawdads.

Corie and I took a pass on the crawdads, and opted to go out on the kayaks and explore the lake.  When all was said and done, it was a perfect afternoon.  Can't wait to make more memories with these amazing friends!

Bend Lava Bears!

This little stud made the Bend Lava Bears 11U travel team.  Between that and his regular little league team, we have had a summer full baseball, baseball, and more baseball...with some swim meets in between.  Needless to say, our weekends have been packed!  Dylan is an incredible ball player; fundamentally sound and full of love for the game.  He eats, drinks, and sleeps baseball.  In my opinion, there are few things better in life than spending the afternoon at a ball game!

We are proud of you, Bucky!

Multnomah Falls-Gorge 50K

Luke was kind enough to sign up for a 50K that took us to this gorgeous waterfall.  Multnomah Falls has a 620 foot vertical drop.  Amazing!  We hiked to where we could see the water as it spilled over the mountain...breathtaking.  

Here is a photo of Luke running toward the finish line with two of his biggest fans cheering him on:

Spring Break Stay-cation

We had the most amazing spring break! The kids loved having a vacation from school, and on the days I didn't work, we explored a little more of our beautiful surroundings. Every time we go on a new hike, I feel like we have barely scratched the surface of all the things we want to see here in Oregon!

First we went to see some waterfalls. Sahalie and Koosah Falls are on the McKenzie River Trail. The water was such a breathtaking light blue in some spots, and as clear as glass in others. The power of a waterfall never ceases to remind me of how incredible mother nature is.  Here are some of my favorite shots:

After seeing the falls, we drove to another section of the McKenzie River Trail. We felt like we had stepped onto the set of The Hobbit! It is a lava field that has been covered with moss and trees and mushrooms...we crossed cute little bridges and tried to avoid holes in the ground were trees used to be. It was strange and peaceful at the same time.

Just when everyone's legs started to get a little bit tired, and we decided we were hungry, we realized we had finally made it to our destination! Tamolitch Pool. It is also called the blue pool. I can't describe what seeing it in person was like. It truly took my breath away. It was so neat to see the looks on the kid's faces as they came around the corner and saw it! It is this perfectly still little pool that looks like someone dumped blue food coloring into it. Then at the edge of the pool, it turns back in to the river. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it firsthand. Put it on your bucket list-you won't be disappointed!

On the way back to the car, everyone was happy and worn out. The kids still had enough energy to build themselves a human totem pole, though! It was a great adventure with great friends. Can't wait to see where we end up next...

Coos Bay 2015

Isabelle's swim meets took us to a lot of beautiful places last year, and it has been fun to re-visit them this year. We recently made our second trip to Coos Bay (where Izzy got her best times in every single event she swam!), only this time we stayed at the Oregon Dunes KOA instead of the casino. We had a really pretty view outside of our cabin. Izzy took this photo from the front porch:

It was amazing weather again this year. 65 degrees! Isabelle and her friends even swam in the ocean. Here's a shot of her and Gigi right as they were getting in...I think they almost abandoned ship, but they powered through. There was a darling little seal that wanted to swim with them, but he always stayed about 15 feet away. It was adorable!

The coast never ceases to amaze me. Absolutely breathtaking.

Izzy had a lot of fun with her friends. It always amazes me that they have any energy at all after their meets. Those girls work so hard! Here's a shot of them being goofballs at the old lighthouse (all that is left is the foundation):

When the sun started to go down, Isabelle took the opportunity to take some pictures. She is really good! I am not as good, so I just took a picture of her taking pictures. I wish you could see how high above the ocean she is in this photo...it was making me nervous that she was standing on the edge of the foundation.

And I can't leave out the best supporters on the planet. As far as little brothers go, I think these two are pretty exceptional! Two peas in a pod for sure :)

We tried to mix things up a little this year, so we stopped at the John Dellenback Dunes Trail. It started like this...

and ended like this:

It was just a short 2 mile walk to the beach where there were sea lion pups! We didn't have much time to explore, so we will definitely go back next year. Our last stop on the way home was the Dean Creek elk viewing area. It is right off the highway near Reedsport, and we weren't disappointed! This little guy hopped the fence which made for some great photos...I guess the grass really is greener on the other side ;)

All in all, another great road trip! 

Christmas 2014

It was so fun to finally be in our house for Christmas! The kids loved cutting down our own Christmas tree...

and they were so excited when they came downstairs on Christmas morning!

It was so nice to be able to stay home all day in our pajamas, do puzzles, play games, relax, and just be together. 

Hope you all had a great holiday!

Winter Solstice Baby

Dylan had an awesome birthday this year. Being the supportive brother he is, he spent most of the day at Izzy's swim meet cheering her on. After the meet, we came home and opened presents...thank you to everyone who thought of him and sent him presents, cards, and birthday messages! He chose to go to dinner at Pastini at the Old Mill, and all in all, I think he had a great day. It's hard to believe my baby is 11!