Oregon Trip - Part II

Black Butte, 2014...

As I mentioned before, my mom's sister, husband, and their kids and grandkids meet up with our family for a week of fun, family, and adventure. We've done this for a number of years and we've rented the same big rental home each time. It's a fun tradition. Sometime during the week we stop to take family pictures. I haven't gotten the large group shot yet, but here are some pictures of my family minus my brother and his family.

Last time we were here, Gavin was in my belly! Seems like the time just flew by.

Ru got right to work being his resourceful, adventurous self. He made this little tee pee/hut for the kids using all the scrap wood, rocks, and tree bark around on the ground. Oh, and he also made a see-saw for the kids out of a big 'ol log.

Oh how much my boys enjoy being outside!

The kids enjoyed many things but I think the biggest highlight was playing with cousins. For Kyle, he especially enjoyed his cousin Abby who is closest to him in age. The two hit it off completely and spent the entire week together. We hardly ever saw the guy and whenever we went looking for him, he'd be having the time of his life with his new best friend. :) When we weren't at the house reading, putting together a puzzle, or preparing a meal, this is some of what we did:

Horseback riding -

Abby with her daddy, Rob and sister Michaela :)

Yee-ha!!

Bike riding with Daddy or Grandpa -

Playing an all-family kickball game -

(A little video my cousin Mark made of the game can be seen here: http://youtu.be/8ED1REdaDqk)
(And a cute little video on how all the couples met : http://youtu.be/ItfpkOTVaEs)

Trips to the creek -

Swimming - (There are many pools, but this little one was just down the road from our place so it got a lot of use.)

Layin' out with Grandpa - (or, trying to keep warm while Grandpa lays out!)

For Rudy, the two major highlights of the trip were getting to see and stay with Randy in Portland, and an all-day fishing trip with my uncle. The men caught their maximum and came back oh so happy. 

The week flew by and before we knew it, we were making the trip back home. Fortunately, the flights all went according to plan. Unfortunately, Gavie was a real pill in the plane. He kept saying and signing, "All done plane!! All done!!" He was completely over it.  (And so were his parents!!) Kyle, on the other hand, was mesmerized with the whole process from checking-in to picking up our bags when we landed. He's been playing with/flying his metal Southwest plane ever since we got home. He surprised us just today by quoting the flight attendants word for word with all their instructions and post flight directions to catch connecting flights, etc. 

When we landed, Rudy and I felt as though we could barely stand we were so exhausted. (I hadn't slept the night before due to a really gnarly headache. A lovely way to start a long day of travel! :) Thankfully, I have a sister. An amazing one at that... she took us home from the airport and had bought food for us. She prepared the boys' meal, fed them, bathed them, and put them to bed while Ru and I ate and fell into bed. This gift of service was HUGE to us and so appreciated. 

We had a great trip, saw so many family members, did so many fun things, and now are thoroughly enjoying the fact that we will not be traveling for quite some time! :) Thanks to everyone who made this trip happen... including GG, Randy, Auntie Jan, Mom and Dad and Michelle!! Xo