Summer Vacays Part 1: Oregon and Cali

Hello, dear friends and family. I know, it's been a really long time. But frankly, we have been traveling what feels like practically nonstop. I feel jet-lagged even though I never set foot on a plane. But we have spent many, many hours in our car.

In June, we drove to Klamath Falls (sadly, we have nicknamed this particular drive "Driving through H-e-double-hockeysticks" because it is just not a fun drive) to visit my dad and step-family. After 13 long hours, we made it safely to my dad's. He lives in a pretty house nestled on 80 acres of farmland. Our visit came right in the throes of farming, so he was spending a lot of time outside moving his irrigation lines and tending to all his animals. One day while we were there, Grace and I put on some mud boots and wandered out into the fields with him. I wanted her to gain an appreciation of my first real "job" in high school moving irrigation pipe, but alas, I think she was a little too young to comprehend it all. ;) She was having fun the first little while till she began to get wet from the tall grass.

Grace and her cousin Karmyn (who lives with my dad and Bridgette) are only 9 months apart, so they had a ball together this trip.

Cousin Bathtime!

Grace and Connor loved that my dad has dogs. They kept looking outside to see them.

See? Look at that beautiful dog. Connor loved looking at it until it would get too close. Then he'd run for his life. :)

Sidenote: So don't these pictures make it look nice and sunny in Klamath Falls? WRONG! It was sooo cold. In June. And guess who didn't pack any warm clothes for the kids? Yeah, me. Good thing Grace could borrow Karmyn's sweat pants! And may I ask, why can it NEVER be warm when I visit my dad's? Seriously, Klamath Falls. It's summer. Get the memo that it (was) June and WARM UP!

While we were there, we went to a fun bounce house place called Jumpin' Jacks with Grace and Connor's cousin Karmyn and her mother Syndahl, along with my dad. We spent a couple hours there and then went to lunch and some waffle place up by Moore Park that was yummy.

I also got the opportunity to see an old friend from high school. It was SO fun to see a friend that I literally hadn't seen since graduation day. She looked fantastic, and it was so great to meet her husband and their son who is just a couple of months younger than Connor. I am actually really bummed that I didn't have the sense to get a picture with them!

And of course, I got to see some of my very favorite people on the planet, the Mortensens, who took me under their wing when I first joined the LDS Church. A couple of hours was simply not enough time to visit with them.

I also LOVED the fact that my dad decided to join us for church on Sunday, along with Karmyn. It was a great Father's Day tribute, and although Grace was super tired from the long drive the day before that made her extra-fidgety at church, hopefully my dad still got something out of it!

One thing that Boyce observed was that Connor noticed every single fighter jet that flew by my dad's house (he lives near the air base he worked for for so many years). Maybe someday Connor will have a passion for jets and flying that my dad has; wouldn't that be neat!

So one of the highlights was that Grace and Karmyn got to ride Dad's horses together. Now that was fun!

Even though Klamath Falls is a big town (or a very small city, whichever you'd prefer to call it), I have to say they have a fabulous Children's Museum. Tiny. Easy to find your kids. Much unlike the one we have here which frankly leaves me with small bouts of trauma after each time I go. But I digress...we hit up the Children's Museum and Grace, Karmyn, and even Connor had a great time.

This picture feels like 3-going-on-16, does it not?

I know. I have wicked awesome photography skills.

Dad and Bridgette spoiled us the last night we were there by cooking some amazing tri-tip (actually, Boyce grilled it, but they bought it!) and I don't know what else - it felt like Thanksgiving! We had so much fun and were sad that our visit there ended so quickly. We captured one last photo before taking off to California.

Bridgette, Dad, and the three grandkids. So cute!

So after four days in K-Falls, we drove down to Bakersfield to spend the weekend with Boyce's parents and so we could go to his high school reunion. And man, I am sad to say I don't have any pictures from the event! His reunion was at the country club and was a super nice catered dinner. It was fun to meet his friends from high school and he had a fabulous time catching up with people. Although, he was disappointed that more people didn't go.

Of course, we had a fun time seeing Boyce's parents, too. And he and I sang a duet in his parent's church ward as well, which was fun. We were only there in Bako for the weekend and so on Monday we made the long trek home. We did decide to make a fun pit stop for lunch in Las Vegas and went to the Rainforest Cafe. It made an impression on Grace, who for many days after, asked when we would be visiting the rainforest again. :)

I don't even have words for this expression!

I also have to include this picture, which displays how long our drives were during this trip. At one point when Grace needed to expend some energy, Boyce helped her do some stretches while eating at Subway.

So this was only Part 1 of our summer vacations. Stay tuned for blogs on our Campbell Family Reunion at Bear Lake and our Fewkes Family Reunion in Star Valley, Wyoming. If there is one word that could summarize this whole summer it's FAMILY!