Oregon ~ Tide Pools at Indian Beach

It was glorious fun to check out Indian Beach during low tide.  The beaches are less crowded here and the landscape provides for more opportunities to investigate!

The ocean was a place everyone enjoyed - but don't let the smiles fool you!  The water was freezing!

Just couldn't stop taking pictures of these two...

First time finding starfish and other creatures...

My honey...

Busy bees...

Fishing for shrimp...

Headed out...

Oregon ~ Fun with Friends and Family

It was a treat to visit Merl's Aunt Marjorie, Uncle Joe, and cousin Lori and Bob in Salem.  After that on the Fourth of July we headed to friends who just moved to Oregon from Arizona this year...

Yes - this is the backyard....

And so is this...camping in the backyard!

Love the horses...

Friends having fun...

More friends having fun...

And more...

The kids organized a talent show... this is the audience...

Hilarious girls singing upside down...

Knife throwing...

Little boys version of singing "Let it Go..."

Little girls' version of "Let it Go..."

World Cup Soccer in the garage/barn...

Good-lookin' parents and grandparents...

Better lookin' kids!

That's a wrap on a great Fourth of July - 2014!!!!

Oregon ~ Bob's Red Mill

Bob's Red Mill was a cool outing we had early on in our trip.  What an amazing story of perseverance. Bob is a Christian man with quite a life...fun tour and good eats!

Lucia just couldn't believe it when the tour guide said the grain she was touching was from Ethiopia!  Imagine!  The same place as she is from...so cute.

Bob's Red Mill is one of the most clean facilities I've ever seen and a well run company - buy their stuff!

Oregon ~ Stunning Beauty

I knew this trip would be a photographer's dream...everywhere I looked was a photo it seemed.  The green foliage, luscious water, and breathtaking views...were good for our souls.

Multnomah Falls

One of the views from Horsetail falls...

Indian Beach at low tide...

Haystack rock ~ Cannon Beach

Downtown Portland

Mt. Hood

Oregon ~ A dream come true!

Three years of dreaming is what it was...

Since the day our dear friends left on a jet plane to move to Oregon we began to long for when we'd all be together again...

We talked and aspired, and skyped and hoped.  The days turned into years as the kids grew and life sped by.  After Madison and I visited in the winter of 2013 we came home determined to return with the rest of the family the next summer.  

We saved, planned, and set our sights on a vacation like we'd never taken before.  For the last 16 years our vacations have primarily been to see or be with family and we had not ever been gone over one week.  

God is merciful and gracious and so kind.  He blesses friendships and declares His love for us in amazing ways.  He preserves and grows relationships. This June, for the first time ever, all six of us boarded a plane together - to fulfill a hope in our hearts.  What a glorious trip it was!

Portland from the air....

Mt. Hood from the plane...

Together again...