Northwest Getaway

We made it all the way to the top! What a hike!

Just kidding.

We rode up on the chairlift of course.  Between Memorial Day and Labor Day Mt. Bachelor offers rides up the chairlift to take in the amazing view.  And it was a really incredible view! Wow!   This is just another reason that Bend, Oregon is super awesome.

Here I am at 7800 feet  outside Scapolo's (the restaurant).

To the left of my head are the 3 Sisters peaks and to the right is Broken Top.

 I like the picture below of the sun setting over the mountains.  You can see so far in the distance.

For our extended weekend {thanks to parent-teacher conferences} we took a quick family trip!

Our first stop: The Portland Oregon Temple.

 There's a great little visitor's center there. Anyone can go! If you're in the area it's worth a stop.

 Next stop: Doernbecher Children's Hospital for Carly's appointment. This was just an office visit- thank goodness!  It's been a year since her last treatment and the pediatric dermatologist says her port-wine stain is darkening again. :(  I asked if it was still medically necessary to do the laser and he said yes.  It seems her's is an aggressive growth  SO, we'll be back here in January.  And twice every year for the foreseeable future.

Off to Washington....

 To THE GREAT WOLF LODGE!!!!

I can't believe I forgot to bring my camera!

We had a BLAST!!  Our friends the Neals were there too so we got to hang out with them for a bit.  Nolan and Tatum rode on the water slides over and over again. Carly and Beck hung out with me or Dan in the littler kids' section which was also great fun.  The kids dressed up in Halloween costumes and ate some pizza for dinner.  There was a whole list of stuff to do for the kids, but mine were happy to swim, swim, swim! 

The next afternoon we packed up and drove on.

Notable story:

We stopped for a bite to eat at a pizza place off the freeway.  We piled out of the van and  stumbled over each other into the restaurant.  There were a few other people in there as we made our way to the counter to order.  We didn't wait long for the pizza to arrive.  It was typical:  the kids ate and spilled their drinks.   I stayed to cleanup the mess while Dan herded  the kids out the door.  As I was cleaning I saw a man in his 30's hold the door open for them. He shook Dan's hand and said something I couldn't quite hear.  Then he went back to his bar stool and sat looking out the window to finish his meal all alone.

As we were pulling out of the parking lot Dan turned to me and said," That guy just shook my hand and told me I was a lucky man.  He recently lost his wife and 4 kids in a car accident."  This stranger had tears in his eyes as we left.   

We drove in silence for a while not sure what to do. 

We are so fortunate. Life is so precious. 

Think of all the things we COULD HAVE said. We were at the Visitor's Center of the Temple just the day before!!  Families are forever- not just "till death do us part".  If this ever happens again I want to be ready to open my mouth and say what Heavenly Father would want me to say.

I have found that many people know in their hearts that families are forever- meaning you will still be married to your spouse and enjoy relationships in the same way that you do here on earth- BUT their church does not teach that.  I think our spirits just know the truth when we hear it.

After that:

We did some shopping and saw the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.

Then we drove to Buckley, Washington to stay with my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Darren.

Again, I did not bring my camera (Grrr!)

They were SO amazingly kind to treat us to dinner at a wonderful Thai food place. We kinda disappeared when the check came or else we would've split that, Sorry! { I was out with a crying baby and Dan took a kid to the bathroom.} But a HUGE thank you to them! They are wonderful hosts and have a lot of love in their hearts. They are so funny and smart and Christlike.  Love them. <3 p="">

So the next morning after picking some pumpkins from their patch we were off again! 

this time to Seattle.

I had never been here before.

 The Aquarium...

We went to the Science Center too. We liked that place and the butterfly exhibit. We missed the planet movie though... Nolan would have LOVED that. He loves outer space.

Anyway we raced back to Portland(ish) to stay at Shelly and Doug's little house.  No, I'm not saying they have a little house.  I mean the smaller of the 2 houses.  There is an original home that's 100 years old made into a casita .  It's so awesome. Nolan talks about this house all the time; he was THRILLED to stay there! They kept going up and down the stairs saying, "Wow! Wow! Wow!" 

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Shelly and Doug because they were gone.  How amazing are they to let us stay there?!  We truly are blessed to know such giving and loving people in our families.

Then we went home. The End.