Vancation: Next Stop, Portland!

On Thursday, June 19th we woke up and started our drive to Portland, Oregon. It's only a three hour drive which at this point seemed short to us! We arrived at lunch time and headed to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) which I had heard great things about. We had lunch and then spent the next several hours exploring. It was nice to have a fun kid-friendly activity and a break from the car. The kids really enjoyed it. Emerson's favorite part was the dinosaurs. Reese's favorite part was the water area. She was wearing an apron but then promptly slipped and fell on her bottom which resulted in her shorts soaking wet. She's a klutz just like her mother. This is another stop I'd recommend to families visiting Portland.

Emerson & T-Rex

Little Paleontologists digging for dinosaur bones

Reese: "Don't let that dinosaur eat the baby!"

Reesie playing in the water room

We drove to Sherwood, Oregon and arrived at my brother's house late in the afternoon. The kids were beyond excited to see their cousins and next thing we knew they were off playing. We enjoyed a nice dinner on the porch as it was a warm and sunny night.

Kaya & Keaton

Kaya & Uncle Robert

Reese & a fistful of raspberries

The Haul

Picking strawberries

The next day found us a week into our trip! That morning we headed over to a local farm to pick fresh raspberries. Emerson and Reese loved the outing, especially since they were with their cousins. After lunch and naps my brother Matt came home from work and he, Robert, Emerson and Kolby headed to Mt. Hood. Our nephew Kolby's birthday is in June and each year since his first birthday Matt and Windy have taken him camping at Mt. Hood. When we planned our trip the weekend we'd be with them happened to be this year's camping weekend and they were nice enough to invite us to tag along. Since Reese is potty training, Keaton was 9 weeks old and I was 9 weeks post c-section and my RA had just come back I knew we wouldn't be up for camping. So Windy, Kaya, Reese, Keaton and I stayed at their house another night. We watched Frozen, went out for a delicious Mexican dinner and had some girl time.

The guys stopped and had dinner on the way up to Mt. Hood. They set up camp, built a fire and made smores. Emerson loved sleeping in a tent with his daddy. 

Kaya & Emerson cooking hot dogs on the fire

Matt, Reese & Kolby

Aunt Windy & Keaton

Keaton's first camping trip

Keaton sleeping in a tent!

Saturday morning the girls and Keaton got up early and drove up to the campsite. We went down to the lake where we had Kolby's birthday celebration and he opened his presents. The kids loved Kolby's birthday cake which entailed each kid taking a handful of red velvet cake and putting it in the back of a toy dump truck. Then they each took a turn adding toppings - various kinds of candy, chocolate syrup, etc. Once it was all mixed up Kolby put a scoop on each plate. The kids thought it was so awesome! The rest of the day was spent down by the lake fishing and kayaking. My brother Matt took Emerson out in a kayak and he took to paddling like a fish to water. He paddled behind my brother for an hour then came in and switched to a smaller kayak that he took out by himself and paddled for another hour.

The birthday boy with his cake

Emerson loved kayaking!

For dinner we cooked hot dogs and sausages over the fire and then made smores. The kids had only been camping at a campground outside of Fort Collins once for Reese and twice for Emerson so they thought this new experience was great. They both thoroughly enjoyed peeing in the woods, Reese "Mama, I peepee in the potty in the woods!" After dinner I headed to a nearby hotel with Reese and Keaton.

Emerson & Robert on a walk

Sunday morning Reese, Keaton and I got up, checked out of the hotel and headed back to the campsite. We spent the morning down at the lake fishing, the kids played and then Robert took both Emerson and Reese out for quick rides in the kayak before we drove back home. In the afternoon we watched the US/Portugal World Cup game, played in the backyard, and had some pizza.

I'm so glad my brother married this lady!

Uncle Matt snuggling Keaton

Emerson & Daddy by the camp fire

The whole gang!

Were so glad we were able to come and visit!

It was so wonderful spending time with Matt, Windy, Kolby & Kaya. It's so great when we can get the kids together and watch them play with their cousins. And it was nice that the Stevensons got to meet Keaton. It was a great visit!