Memorial Day Memories

I hope you all had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend! Ours was fairly busy but we had some time to relax when we joined Mackenzie's parents and brothers for camping Sunday night to Monday.

We left after we did worship at church...here we are excited to get to the campsite. One of the most amazing things about Oregon is that camping is a short drive away and you have many options to choose from. We drove about an hour or so to our campground.

When we arrived, Mackenzie's grandparents Jim and Alice were at the campsite for the day. Alice and Sharon were in the camper, Jim and Eric were out fishing and the other guys were just having a good time relaxing or carving things out of wood.

It was so nice to just take time to sit by the campfire and catch up.

Even Bailey (Eric and Sharon's dog) came along for the fun. Grayson set up this really neat dog run from one tree to another, so she wasn't just stuck in one spot. I think she really enjoyed being able to move around more.

Sharon and Eric...they looked so sweet holding hands that I wanted to capture the moment...however when asked to hold hands again, Eric felt like having a bit of fun! hmm I wonder where my husband gets his comedian-style from?

Eric later took Alice, Sharon, and I around the lake for a short ride.

Here's Jim and Mackenzie watching us off. My husband cracks me up! He makes me laugh just about every day. It's so fun!

The weather was so ideal for camping. It was so beautiful. Sunny, warm, and not very much wind. We went to this same location about 2 years ago and the weather was much colder.

Here's Sharon enjoying the boat ride.

I love this man!

Grayson and Grandma Alice.

Hayden caring some wet pine. He carved a neat totem pole. I wish I got a picture of it!

Sharon and I...I was having a little too much fun. I wish the trip went longer!

Grayson working with the fire and Hayden carving his totem pole.

Grayson and Mackenzie having a great time together.

Here is our cozy little sleeping arrangement. Since we were only spending one night at the campsite, we decided to put the seats down in the back of Mackenzie's 4Runner, lay down a cozy mattress pad and spend the night in there! It actually wasn't too bad! Mackenzie was a little cramped due to his height but we both felt that it was pretty comfortable all in all.

Well, there you have it! A short but fun camping trip! I can't wait to go on more this summer. We plan to go on a 3 day long river float with Mackenzie's family this summer as well. I just love all this time we get to be outside and enjoy God's beautiful pictures that He paints for us!

Have a blessed day!

Lets Go to the Ocean

On Monday, Mackenzie and I took a trip to the coast. We were very lucky with the weather. It wasn't warm, but it didn't rain!

Just for a heads up, this is the
"coast" not the "beach". It is not crowded with people like the beaches in Southern California and the water is not warm. In fact, it is rarely warm even in the summer! You could imagine the culture shock I got when I moved up here from Southern California! I really enjoy what both places has to offer. The Oregon coast is just a beautiful site to see and the California coast is warm and sunny.

We drove about 45 minutes from home to get to our first destination and really didn't stay long there. We checked out some antique shops in two cities and decided to go further north. Our third destination was where we saw these seals.

We stuck around watching them for awhile. They way they interact is really very interesting. One seal in particular kept trying to get up on the dock and the other seals would start, well honking at him...Is that the noise they make? Anyway, his attempt to get on the dock failed but, alas, he kept trying and they just kept on "honking".

Many of them just slept.

My husband looking off into the distance...it was hard to get pictures of him this day! I think he's getting tired of taking pictures for "the blog". I told him that they're not just for the blog, but also for our memories! :) He's so great.

I love how random artwork like this bike is displayed. There's a lot of random artwork like that throughout the city I live in as well. I think it's pretty cool!

We then decided that it was time to go down to the water and look at the ocean. Can I just say that I love the ocean? The waves, the smell, the sand in your toes. It's such a beautiful, relaxing place.

I love this shot of him.

These seagulls cracked me up! The way they sit on their posts in such a uniform fashion is so neat. Look at that, exactly 5 facing forward and 5 facing the ocean. How does that happen?

His favorite pose...Steve Zissou. You may notice that there is a pipe in his mouth. He enjoys smoking his pipe for the flavor and doesn't do it very often. He and his guy friends have "guys night" once a week and that is typically where he smokes it. He does smoke sometimes outside our home as well. I'm not completely thrilled with the idea of him smoking the pipe but I'm also not too worried either. He doesn't inhale and I know that he is not addicted to it. It's just a little pastime for him. He's actually gotten into collecting vintage pipes and looks for them when we go to antique stores. He likes the history they hold.

There's those birds again! I just love how the sun hits the water in this picture.

Mackenzie managed to capture this moment...me, in the midst of falling off the driftwood!

As we were walking down to the ocean, I noticed this little tea shop. It was closed but I just loved that little yellow door and had to take a picture!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Be Mine, Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you all have a wonderful day, spending it with your loved ones!

We're going to have a quiet day, go to an inexpensive dinner, and then I am going to make a fancy dessert! We're trying to save some money this year and keep it low-key, so it'll just be romantic at home! I'm ok with that!


This weekend will be quiet, but I'm excited because we're going to take a day trip on Monday to the coast! Hopefully I'll have some beautiful pictures to share!

One more thing, today is the 150th anniversary of Oregon achieving statehood! Happy anniversary Oregon! I just love this state!

Please don't forget to join me tomorrow for Worship and Praise Sunday! Read more here! I will have Mr. Linky up tonight at 8:00pm if you'd like to post early!