The Oregon Trail

I finally got my photo editing program back... but now all my photos are on a hard drive in SLC.... so... luckily, I do have a few photos on my computer! These are all from our trip in August up to the Northwest and back.

We went a different way than we had gone before because I am an Oregon Trail (the Video Game) nut. I dunno why I love the game so much... it could be because I played it every day in elementary school computers class. Now, its only the second application I've ever paid for on the iPhone. Sadly, you cannot leave tombstones on the iPhone version, but the music is pretty good and the graphics are a little better than the 1984 version (which is still available on the web, btw). ANYWAY, sorry for the tangent...
So, we followed the real Oregon Trail all the way to Portland, and it was awesome. Up above is the Deschutes River, which Jonah and the girls floated down. We camped right on the river and luckily it wasn't until after we left that my dad reminded me of the time he and my mom went white water rafting down the Deschutes and my mom lost her swimsuit during a crash and had to wait in the river until they could find her some clothes! Sorry, Mom... I had to tell.

Here is a great fish hatchery on the Columbia River with some monstrous sturgeon.

We had some very serendipitous Oregon Trail-like experiences, i.e. when we went through Seaside, Oregon and found this park and while the kids were playing, the city council came and set up a big free barbecue party. Score! Also, look at Ana's teeth above-- Double Score!!!

We drove about 40 minutes out of the way just so we could drive through Elsie, Oregon. For cuteness. We also nearly got hit by eight cars while getting this picture.

We're going to move next to this lake. Lake Crescent in Washington. Gorgeous. I've loved it for years, so we never miss a chance to stop by if we're in the area. We had a good swim, and Jonah was wishing for a ski boat.

We finally made it up to Blakely Island to enjoy the splendor for a couple weeks. My dad let us stay in our old family house that's going to get torn down/remodeled this year so he's moved everything out of it into his other house... there wasn't even a bed there, so we slept on the floor right by the front windows. It was perfect.
The weather was a bit chilly for the whole time we were there, but we did make it into the lake a few times and got tons of four wheeling, kayaking and crabbing in.

We love those kayaks in the early evening. The water's so smooth the kids can even manage it.


The only time the kayaks feel dangerous is when Elsie is in them with me and she'll suddenly lean over the edge to see a starfish or something and I scream and try to stay upright. So far no total immersion. But, we try to keep her on shore anyway.

We fished and fished at Horseshoe Lake, but no luck. Did catch a few bass at the Second Lake though, which is quite rare for us. We sadly did not have the giant slingshot to throw the fish back with...

However, Jonah and Ana caught 57 crabs total, and all right in front of the house. They would just take the rowboat out and come back with dinner. Fancy.



We finally left and drove back to Idaho for Ana's b-day and baptism extravaganza! It was nice to get one more weekend at Bear Lake, especially since I had the swine flu for the whole week we were there in July.

We were so lucky to have a bunch of our favorite friends come up for the occasion. We had my mom, Jonah's sister Saren and her family, Jonah's parents and other sister Charity, and our friends Amy and Gary and their family (who brought their four wheelers, to the boys' delight), and MaryLynn and Jared and their family (who brought many snacks, to everyone's delight). Tons of people, good food, and great times. I'll eventually get the other photos up of Ana's baptism, which was truly heavenly, but for now, here's some photos of her and her BFF... (thanks Amy! and thanks for the licorice!)

Elsie loves sand almost as much as she loves princesses... so she was always sneaking to play in the sand while wearing her dresses.


Ana had the best birthday surrounded by so many people she loves. Here she is with BFF and cousin Eliza.

We made four cakes to feed everyone, which made Ana so excited because it just meant more cakes for her to decorate. Can you say frostingness?!

Cam somehow managed all the Ana-centered festivities. Maybe because he had his bud Hadley and about six other boys there to play pirates, Goonies, and Transformers with. There's just nothing like outnumbering the girls.

Anyway, more photos to come soon. We're probably going to move up to WA sometime this month or next, so get excited. Just in time for winter...